fun

Legoland California Turns 20!

Abby H.

We’ll be visiting Legoland California during spring break. The kids are so excited to check out all of the new shows celebrating the 20th birthday!

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If you are headed to the park soon, you will be greeted with all kinds of fun!

In honor of the special birthday, LEGOLAND California is handing out free child-size Minifigure hands to the first 1,000 kids entering the Park. The LEGO birthday cake, created out of more than 100,000 LEGO bricks, will also be on display showcasing the many attractions that have been added to the family theme park since it opened 20 years ago including a LEGO submarine, representing the Park’s newest ride, LEGO City Deep Sea Adventure submarine ride.

The birthday kicks off a year-long celebration that includes a new interactive Birthday Dance Party, LEGO Friends birthday show, exclusive birthday desserts, pop badges and more. The new shows can be seen daily now through Sept. 1 and are filled with singing, dancing and characters for all families to enjoy.

Plus, LEGOLAND California is paying the birthday fun forward to its younger guests – all children ages 12 and under get free admission on their birthday all year long! And for grown ups, there is a great deal on Groupon right now! One-Day Admission or Two-Day Resort Hopper Admission to LEGOLAND California Resort (Up to 31% Off)

And starting next month there will be a new 4-D Movie, based on the popular Lego City cartoons! You can check out a preview here.

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If you are looking to do Legoland on a budget, check out my post here.

Do you have someone in your party that has a handicap? Check out my post about the Assisted Access Pass and how we do Legoland with our kiddo with ASD.

Making Plans for Spring Break? Visit the Nat!

Abby H.
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Microorganisms add red and yellow hues to Yellowstone’s Grand Prismatic Spring.

My kids love the Nat! The Natural History Museum in Balboa Park is a fun place for kids (and adults) to explore.  The San Diego Natural History Museum (The Nat) is one of California’s oldest and most respected cultural and science institutions. Founded in 1874 by a small group of citizen scientists, today the Museum studies and works to preserve the incredible diversity of life in this amazing region we call home. The Museum is located at 1788 El Prado, San Diego, CA 92101 in Balboa Park and is open daily from 10 AM to 5 PM. For more information, call 877.946.7797, or visit sdnat.org.

I am looking forward to taking the kids to check out the new photography exhibit: Photography Exhibitions Bring Nature to Life this Spring and Summer National Geographic’s 50 Greatest Landscapes, which opened on March 9, serves as a virtual tour of the world’s most stunning landscapes, from underwater vantages to the expansive countryside to dominating mountain peaks. The exhibition, inspired by the book “National Geographic Greatest Landscapes: Stunning Photographs That Inspire and Astonish,” illuminates the beauty of our planet through its exquisite collection of 50 images shot by some of the world’s finest photographers.

The kids love the 3-d movies at the Nat too! Did you know that Paid general admission to The Nat also includes access to the Subaru 3D Experience in the Charmaine & Maurice Kaplan Theater? The Theatre features the recently opened Flight of the Butterflies 3D showcasing the extraordinary migration of the monarch butterfly. National Parks Adventure 3D is also currently playing, and will be replaced by Conquest of the Skies 3D on July 1. The film invites visitors to travel through time to unravel the 320-million-year story of how flying animals first appeared and then evolved into the huge variety of aeronauts that fill our skies today—from nectar-drinking hummingbirds to armored airborne beetles to bats hunting in the dead of night. Ocean Oasis, a 2D, 40-minute film produced by the Museum, continues to screen daily. The theater schedule is available at sdnat.org/giantscreentheater. I love the theatre because it’s totally kid friendly, the seats are comfy, and the movies are always so well done, even my three- year old will sit mesmerized (and quiet). 

If your kiddos need to get their wiggles out and play, don’t forget to stop by The Backyard, a fun place for littles to play and parents to relax.

The Nat participates in the Free Tuesday in the Park program, which gives locals free access to museums in Balboa Park on Tuesdays. For the complete schedule of free museums, click here.

Thinking about Cutting the Cord?

Abby H.

file1201268366483With the price of cable going up, and dish offerings that can be sort of… meh depending on where you live, cutting the cord may be right for you. If you are one of those people that has to watch “their shows” as soon as they are available, or you need a specific kinds of sports ball, this may not be for you. In that case, try shopping for a better deal with your cable provider or check out a dish provider.

We’ve been without cable for about 15 years, and Mr. Husband has been without cable for almost 20 years! My kids have never had cable. They don’t miss out, we’ve got an Apple TV, so they can still watch PBS Kids, and we’ve got Hulu too.

With Apple TV, we can watch YouTube (Once the big kid learned about Rube Goldberg machines, it’s all we watched on TV for a week), Hulu, Netflix (we also have a streaming only subscription). We also have an antenna (like this one), so we can watch local over the air TV.

Depending on how strong the signals in your area are, you should be able to receive:

  • ABC
  • CBS
  • NBC
  • CW
  • Fox
  • PBS (We get three PBS channels)

There are additional networks that are available in various areas of the county.  Here in So Cal, we also get:

Plus we get a few more Spanish language channels, and one Korean language channel.

The thing I like about not having cable is that the kids are not bombarded with commercials for toys, junk food, basic consumer shit that a lot of us were exposed to as kids on TV.  I like that the commercials on Hulu are 30 seconds or less and it’s usually only 1 or 2 per break.

And we spend time doing other stuff. Crafts, science, playing with toys, etc. Yesterday we played stuffed animal clinic and built a Lego zoo.

Kids Obstacle Challenge Comes to San Diego!

Abby H.

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I love the Kids Obstacle Challenge! It’s a super fun challenging event that gets kids moving and thinking! And, it’s coming back to San Diego County at Kit Carson Park in Escondido on April 20th.

From their website, “Our mission is to inspire and challenge kids, and forge family bonds, through adventure and obstacles. We are committed to helping foster a more active, adventurous, and perseverant younger generation.”  I am happy to partner with Kids Obstacle Challenge this year! They have offered my readers a 15% discount with coupon code ADVENTURE15 at checkout.

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I love that parents run for free- it’s a great way to get out and participate in an activity together without breaking the bank.

There are waves starting all morning, so there is no need to get up at the crack of dawn. Waves are done by age, so everyone has a chance to play and go at their own pace.

I hope to see a lot of you there!

 

PineCone Research is Looking for You!

Abby H.
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Pinecone Research is my favorite survey company! Right now they are looking for new panelists! Sign up to take surveys and earn $3 per survey from Pinecone Research. They only send you surveys you qualify for- no wasting time doing lengthy qualifiers.
I earned about $70 last year just from Pinecone Research!
Pinecone will send you an email notification when you have a survey available. Complete the survey and earn points to be redeemed for either cash or prizes. Occasionally, they will send you a product to test, too.
To get started, sign up here!
If you are looking for other ways to earn cash, here is the list of side hustles I do. 

Free E-Books!

Abby H.

mf809.jpgIf one of your New Year’s resolutions is to lose weight, eat better, and get healthy, here are a few awesome free e-books from Amazon. Remember, prices on Amazon can fluctuate- so it may not be free for long!

 

Talk Back: What is your favorite healthy snack?

2019 Upcoming Clothing Swaps!

Abby H.1 Comment

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It’s that time again- Clean out the closets and dressers and get swapping! I love clothing swaps- it’s a great way to get gently worn clothes and other goods (I love looking for linens and new accessories), and get rid of the clothing your kids have outgrown.

The Skyline Swap is scheduled for March 30, 2019. I’ve got it in my calendar and I’ve started the bag of clothes to swap! It costs $2.00 to get in, kids under 12 are free.

Naomi’s Closet is located in Santee, and they provide clothing and toiletries to women in need.

The Sonrise Church in Santee has a clothing swap too! One for kids clothes, and another for women’s clothing. Miss Charity’s Closet & Little Blessings Boutique 2nd Saturday of every month at 9:00 am Contact Charity Murphy for more info clmurphy71@gmail.com

Not strictly clothing related, there is the San Diego Really, Really Free Market. They also meet about once a quarter in various areas around town.

Also not strictly Clothing Related, but one of my favorite give back orgs is the Buy Nothing Project. There are chapters all over the US, and we have a few here in San Diego.

If you are looking for a group that hosts clothing swaps more frequently, check it out the Thread Bumpin’ Meet up Group. They host a monthly swap in OB area.

Trendy Trade hosts events all over the West Coast at various times throughout the year.

Don’t forget Freecycle. Do a quick google search for Clothing swap + the name of your city.

And Finally, the Closet of 54th isn’t a clothing swap per se, but they do help those in need with new to them clothes. They are open once a few times each month. You can find them on Facebook. They are located at the Calvary Lutheran Church, 3060 54th Street, San Diego, CA. Contact The Closet at thecloseton54th@gmail.com.

 

Talk Back:  I’d love to hear about other San Diego area clothing swaps that you know of! Favorite swaps and/or what your best score has been!

DIY Tutorial: Bathbombs!

Abby H.
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They turned out pretty good!

In my goodie bag from Wow Summit a few months ago, we all received CBD oil balm from +CBDOil, and I wasn’t really sure what to do with it. It has a coconut oil base, so for me it was too greasy to use as a topical pain relief (I hate having greasy skin, and stuff like Tiger Balm and Ben Gay make my skin crawl). I had been using it as lip balm, but really, I didn’t need that much lip balm.

 

I have a few books on making your own beauty products, so I looked for a recipe for bath balms, as I seemed to recall that they called for oil to bind the other ingredients. I also did a quick internet search. I took 5 recipes and sort of Frankensteined together a really good recipe.

Most of these ingredients you have in your pantry already. Citric Acid (also called sour salt) can be purchased at Sprouts or whole foods in the bulk section, or in a grocery store with a large Jewish Food section. Or, of course… There is Amazon.

I weighed my dry ingredients using a food scale, so these measurements are by weight.

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Ingredients:

  • 4 ounces (by weight) Baking Soda
  • 2 ounces (by weight) Corn Starch
  • 2 ounces (by weight)  Citric Acid
  • 2 ounces (by weight) Salt (You can use Epsom salt, table salt, or Kosher salt)
  • 2 T. Water (more or less make be needed depending on the weather conditions at the time you make the bath bombs)
  • 1 T. +CBDOil Balm (it has peppermint oil in it, so I opted to add no additional essential oil)
  • Optional (but fun): natural food coloring. I used Watkins. Start with a few drops and add more until you get the color you want.

 

Directions:

  1. In a glass bowl, mix all dry ingredients together.
  2. Add balm, and stir until it starts to clump.
  3. Slowly add water, 1 tablespoon at a time.
  4. Add food coloring and stir.
  5. You can either use bath bomb molds like these, but I used a 1/3 cup measuring cup. I packed the cup, let it sit for a few minutes, invert, and gently tap the bottom of the cup until the bomb releases.
  6. Let them sit overnight before using.
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The Finished product, waiting to cure overnight. 

This recipe makes 4-6 bath bombs, depending on how big you make them.

If you don’t want to use CBD Oil, you can substitute coconut oil, and add in 10-15 drops of your favorite essential oil.

A few of my favorite Essential Oil Combinations include:

  • Lavender and Vanilla
  • Orange and Clove
  • Rose and Almond

Talk Back: Have you ever made bath bombs? Did you like it?

 

 

 

 

 

Dinner Party Idea: DIY Ramen Potluck!

Abby H.14 Comments

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We love to entertain. Dinner parties are a great way to have friends over to hang out and enjoy a good meal without breaking the budget.

We also love Ramen- not Top Ramen, but delicious, mouthwatering, tempting noodles, velvety broth, veggies, and soft boiled eggs. Doing a Ramen potluck is great way to try out new flavors that you may have never thought of.

In doing research for this article, I found out that there are so many ramen toppings and ingredients that I had never heard of (like corn, which you can see in the picture above). So some of the ingredients listed below may not make it into your potluck, but know that somewhere out there there is someone putting it on/in their ramen.

The host can provide the broth. As far as ramen broths, there are lots of options. I like Tonkatsu, which is pork and chicken based. Here is a great recipe.  Not interested in making it from scratch? You can buy Tonkatsu broth concentrate on Amazon.

If you are vegan, Ocean’s Halo makes a great seaweed based ramen broth. Miso is also a popular ramen soup base (Ocean’s Halo also makes great miso, pho, and veggie broth). We usually try to have two big pots of broth to choose from.

Screen Shot 2018-12-30 at 9.26.13 AM.pngAs far as noodles, you can get regular ramen noodles at any Asian grocery store (or most 99 Cents Only locations). I’m not talking about the kind that come in a little bag with a pouch of salty broth, those are fried so they cook super fast and aren’t really all that healthy.

I like the Organic Millet & Brown Rice Ramen from Lotus Foods. As a bonus these are gluten free and have protein in them. Our local Costco sells large packages, which is great for parties.

Some people like Soba noodles (thick buckwheat noodles), and some people like zoodles (the spiral cut zucchini “noodles”).

Now that you’ve got broth and noodles down, it’s time to get creative with toppings! Here are just a few ideas for guests to bring:

  • Eggs: I love a good soft-boiled egg on my ramen.
  • Scallions/green onions
  • Bean Sprouts
  • Seaweed/Nori sheets
  • Canned Bamboo shoots (they will need to be rinsed and probably sliced to made bite-sized.
  • Corn Kernels (defrosted frozen, fresh, or canned with no salt- drained and rinsed).
  • Mayu/Black Garlic Oil
  • Soy Sauce
  • Chili Sauce
  • Rice Vinegar
  • Pickled Ginger
  • Fish Sauce
  • Kimchi
  • Fried Tofu
  • Sesame Seeds
  • Sliced fresh Jalapeños
  • Fried or pan steamed Gyoza
  • Roasted /braised slices of pork (fattier cuts of pork are great in ramen)
  • Cooked Shrimp (I can’t really give you any other suggestions on cooking/serving, I’m allergic to shellfish)
  • Fish Cakes (available at your local Asian Market)
  • Bok Choy
  • Mushrooms (Sliced shiitakes are nice, as are enoki)

And some people like rice as a side to their ramen. I prefer sticky rice, it’s easier to eat with chopsticks.

If you’ve got friends that don’t cook, don’t forget you’ll need chopsticks, bowls, spoons, and beverages.

Talk Back: What is your favorite type of Ramen? 

Kiddolab Toys and Win a Trip to DisneyWorld!

Abby H.

Recently the cool people over at Kiddo Labs asked me to review a product from their website. Uh, yeah! I love reviewing toys!

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KiddoLab is a new brand which supports the initiative to provide babies with a solid foundation for the development of early skills during play. I love that all of the toys are made in vibrant colors with interesting textures and lights and/or sounds.

Screen Shot 2018-12-22 at 5.44.31 PM.pngI chose the 2-in-1 Activity Center, which features:

  • AN OCEAN OF FUN CHARACTERS: This interactive activity center is decorated with adorable sea creatures including a fish, turtle, clam, crab, and starfish.
  • A VARIETY OF ACTIVITIES: More than just a toy piano, all of the fun ocean creatures double as activities of their own; a click-clack fish, a rattle spinner, a sliding star, a push-down squeaker and a baby-safe mirror.
  • LIGHT-UP PIANO KEYS: Three big, brightly colored light-up piano keys are easy to press for little fingers. Intended for ages nine months plus.
  • TWO MUSICAL MODES: Loaded with cheerful music to entertain babies and toddlers, you can choose between free play and tunes to play along with.
  • ATTACHES TO YOUR CRIB: This activity table boasts detachable legs and can then be easily attached to your infant’s crib.
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I set it up, added batteries and let Margaret go to town. She played with it for about 20 minutes. She had a great time.  What I like it that it’s easy to set up and change to attach to a crib. The sounds aren’t high-pitched or tinny, so listening to the sounds wasn’t like most baby/kid toys (parents- you know what I’m talking about!). I love that it’s a toy that can grow with your child. The crib straps and the legs are both easy to install and remove.

Right now, Kiddo Labs is offering my readers a a 25% discount with coupon code: TTPM25  To get started, visit Kiddolab here.

Oh, and it gets better. Not only does Kiddo Labs have great, fun toys for your littles, right now they are giving away a vacation to Disney World. Visit their website to learn more.

 

Thanks so much to Kiddo Labs for the fun toy! All opinions are my own, and I was not compensated for my review. Please see my Disclosure Page for more information about reviews.