fun

Rocking out with the Spinjitzu Masters at Legoland California!

Abby H.

If you follow me on instagram, you know that Lil’ Man and I got a sneak preview of the new Ninjago World at Legoland California last week.

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And we had a BLAST! Ninjago the ride is crazy fun! Ninjago World opens officially on May 5th, just in time for summer adventures with your littles!

Rockin' the 3 d glasses!
Rockin’ the 3 d glasses!

LEGO NINJAGO tells the story of four young ninja heroes – Kai, Jay, Cole and Zane – who train under the watchful eye of Master Wu to master an ancient martial art – Spinjitzu. NINJAGO The Ride enables guests to demonstrate their ninja skills without the use of a hand held device and instead, they simply use their hand gestures. Riders collect points for their training and battle efforts throughout the ride and scores are displayed when their quest is completed.

What I love is that the ride isn’t passive, everyone gets involved- and let me tell you, after riding it 3 times, my arms were tired! Everyone in our car got into the action!

 

Our chariot awaits!
Our chariot awaits!

In addition to the new Ninjago The Ride, there are tons of fun activities to keep the kiddos entertained.  Henry loved Kai’s Spinners, where you test your balance as you stand on one of Kai’s spinning platforms and twirl!

 

There is also a building stations where guests can tap into their inner imagination and create LEGO models inspired by NINJAGO. If the kids need to get their wiggles out, check out the rock wall!  Kids can test their agility as they scale a rock wall. Or, check out the lightening drill! Guests can test their speed by pushing the lit up buttons in the speed cage.

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Look at those fierce skills!

And of course, you can’t go to Legoland without running into a few of your favorite Lego Characters!

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In addition to the fun rides and activities, Ninjago World has some tasty treats too. We got to try tasty sandwiches from Ninja Kitchen!

LEGOLAND chefs have put a special twist on Asian street food with Banh Mi Vietnamese sandwiches on fresh baked baguette or steamed Bao Buns with your choice of crispy pork belly, lemongrass chicken or baked sweet chili tofu.IMG_5049IMG_5050IMG_5051

We had a great time! It was fun to check out the sights and sounds of Legoland California.

If you are looking for good deals on admission to Legoland California, here are a few options:

Costco: They frequently have discount tickets available.

Denny’s: Right now, select Denny’s have kids go free coupons available. When you buy an adult ticket, receive a kids ticket free. I’ve only seen this offer in San Diego area locations. I’m not sure if this deal is other places.

 

 

Rad Gifts for Mom from ModCloth!

Abby H.

**The links in this post are affiliate links and I will receive a small commission if you make a purchase after clicking on my link.

ModCloth

Did you know that Mother’s Day is May 8th? I didn’t until I got an email from ModCloth with some cute presents for Mom. So, I thought I’d share!

In addition to the cute items below (which any mom would love to get), ModCloth is currently having a couple really great sales.

 

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This cute deep sea diver tea infuser! Perfect for the tea drinking mama on your list!

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The Star Wars Cookbook Kit-A  cookbook and three awesome cook cutters. Mom will be ready to whip a batch for her Padawan learners in no time.

 

And my last favorite gift for Mother’s Day from ModCloth:

Screen Shot 2016-04-24 at 11.22.35 PMThe Hydrated and Mighty water bottle. I am a sucker for a good water bottle- and who doesn’t like Mandalas!

Anyway, regardless of who you are shopping for this spring- whether it be a mother, sister, aunt, or even yourself, don’t forget to stop at ModCloth and see what kind of awesome deals they have on clothes, gifts, housewares and more!

How do you get so much free stuff?

Abby H.2 Comments

Screen Shot 2016-04-24 at 11.31.34 PMIf you’ve been around for a while, you may notice I post photos on Social media- a lot of it is stuff I’ve gotten for free.

If you’d like to fill your mail box with goodies, here are a few companies that have great, FREE programs where you can earn free stuff!

L’oreal USA: The makeup Giant wants women from across the United States 18+ to join and take surveys on products, daily skin care regimens, and test new products . When you take 5 surveys, you are eligible to receive a full sized L’oreal product (Of their choice)! They also do consumer product testing. They send you a product, you test it and complete a survey.

Vocal Point is a multi-faceted website. One of its greater aspects is that it’s connected to Proctor and Gamble (P&G), and they often times have new or improved products to test and share with consumers. The members of Vocal Point can opt in to receive these items, and them share their opinions with other members of the Vocal Point community.

The Good Housekeeping Beauty Lab: The Beauty Lab needs female testers age 35 and up to help in our evaluations of beauty products. Some evaluations may require testers to visit the Good Housekeeping Research Institute at 300 West 57th Street in Manhattan, but for other evaluations, products can be sent by mail. There is no cost and very little time involved, and participants may keep beauty product samples.” If you’re interested in participating, please contact ghribeauty@hearst.com or 212-649-2408.  I do 1-2

Bzzagent A WOM (word of mouth) website that helps spread the word on tons of great products. Sign up for campaigns when there are products that interest you, use them, and share your opinions (as well as coupons and samples!) with others in person or via the Internet. This sharing is called “buzz”, and the more you buzz and report your buzz, you earn Mypoints points, and chances for early invitations for more campaigns. I’ve been a Bzzagent for about four year, and I receive about eight campaigns per year.

Smiley360  is much like BzzAgent, in that it is also a WOM (Word of Mouth) website. Sign up for campaigns and you will receive samples to use, and coupons to share with friends. Report your sharing and earn points!
From their website, “Do you love to try new things? Haven’t you ever tried a new product and thought, “This would be so much better if…” Well, as a smiley360.com member, you can provide that kind of feedback directly to the source. Your opinion matters. And as a fringe benefit, you’ll earn status in the smiley360.com community, which has its own perks, rewards, and opportunities. It’s a win-win situation, really.”

Moms Meet- Read my post here.

Ralph’s Free Friday Download– Learn more here (one of their prior offerings that has info on the post about the program).

There are websites like MySavings that have a free sample section that is updated several times a day.

PinchMe offers free sample boxes once a Month- some months there are tons of samples, some months not so much, it just depends on your demographic and what they have.

Proctor and Gamble (P&G) offers samples once per quarter. Sign up here.

Celebrate Earth Day with a colorful pinwheel craft!

Abby H.

**The links in this post are affiliate links and I will receive a small commission if you make a purchase after clicking on my link.

April 22nd is Earth Day. Explore the power of wind with a colorful pinwheel craft!

Wind power is a great topic to explore with kids on Earth Day and can easily be demonstrated with a simple craft. Little Passports has teamed up again with Brandy (from Gluesticks) for her Little Passports’ DIY Earth Day Pinwheels Craft.

These pinwheels come together fast and spin in the wind even faster! Celebrate and Explore your Earth!

If you are looking for other fun crafts, check out my post here about crafting frugally.

Legoland California: Special $35 tickets this weekend only!

Abby H.

unnamedCommunity Days This Weekend!
$35 Admission to LEGOLAND

Support our local science, arts and after school programs this Saturday and Sunday!

Specially-priced $35 LEGOLAND tickets include admission with Park hours extended to 8 p.m. for even more family fun!

Buy your tickets online here. You can also get tickets to the SEALife Aquarium at Legoland for just $9!!

This event is very crowded, so please remember to be patient!

Bringing it Back: Meal Plan Monday!

Abby H.

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It’s back! After a long hiatus, I’m back to meal planning! If you are new to meal planning, check out my article on how to get started here.

This week I’m starting off by doing a quick fridge and pantry inventory, and making a batch of cookies.

Monday:

  • D:Baked Ziti, steamed veggies

Tuesday:

  • D:  Indian food (Chicken Korma, steamed rice, steamed veggies)- I have a kit!

Weds:

  • D: breakfast for dinner (probably pancakes, eggs, and sausage) and fruit salad

Thursday:

  • D: Salsa Chicken with brown rice

Friday:

  • D: Bean and veggie enchiladas, green salad

Saturday:

  • D:Veggie and cheese egg bake

Sunday:

  • D: Leftovers

Lil’ Man has started eating a small toasted bagel with cream cheese for breakfast along with yogurt and fruit.  Mr. C has been eating Oatmeal (from a awesome recipe I found online and altered) every AM, and I usually have an HMR Protein Shake, or I’ll make myself a bagel too.

Lunches for Lil’ Man are usually a grilled cheese, yogurt, a granola bar, and fruit (cut up apple, orange, or banana).  I have leftovers or a frozen entree, and Mr. C usually a salad or leftovers or an HMR protein shake (He did  the program last year and really digs on the shakes), or he has a business lunch and opts for a salad and lean protein.

Now I’m off to make a big ol’ batch of cookies!!

 

 

Review: #KABRITA Toddler Formula (Thanks #MomsMeet!)

Abby H.

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Recently I received a neat little box on my porch from Kabrita and Moms Meet.

It contained a canister of KABRITA Goat Milk Toddler Formula and fruit & yogurt pouches.

Immediately, Lil’ Man snagged one of the three pouches (well, not until I got this photo), and he retreated to the table to enjoy it. I gave the mixed berry to Itty Bittums, and she gobbled it up!

In the afternoon, I gave her a bottle of the Goat Milk Toddler Formula after she had some puffs and banana slices. She loved it, and I loved that it didn’t give her a rumbly tummy or gas. She’s got a sensitive tummy, and we had tried countless formulas to find one that made her tummy happy. Now that she’s getting older and is branching out to table foods, we are finding that some cow’s milk based products don’t agree with her.

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Someone did not want their photo taken today while enjoying her “milkies” as we call them

That is not the case with the KABRITA Goat Milk Toddler Formula! She is a happy little girl, and I’m a happy mommy! It’s super easy to mix up- Just one scoop per ounce of water. There is a handy little scoop in the canister.

What I love about the fruit & yogurt pouches is that they are great cold, frozen or at room temp. They come in three yummy flavors:Banana and Natural Vanilla Bean, Mixed Berry, and Mango Peach. I toss them in the freezer and slip one into Lil’ Man’s lunch bag, by lunch time, it’s nice and slushy! A perfect, healthy way to finish up lunch.

Did you know that Kabrita has a trial offer? You can learn more about it here.

Disclosure: I received this product for free from the sponsor of the Moms Meet program, May Media Group LLC, who received it directly from the manufacturer. As a Moms Meet blogger, I agree to use this product and post my opinion on my blog. My opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of May Media Group LLC or the manufacturer of this product.

50% off at Schoola!

Abby H.

14_MAR_SpringBreak_HERO_Blogger

SQUEE! It’s back! 50% off at Schoola!  Just use Coupon Code  SPRINGBRK at checkout. And in addition, if you are new to Schoola, they are offering $20 free and free shipping when you sign up here.

In addition to offering awesome gently worn kids clothes, Schoola also gives a percentage (40%) of each sale to a school. So you can feel good twice: Once while your saving $$, and again because you are helping support a school in need.

To get started, click here. And I can’t wait to see what you have scored!

Price Per Unit: Is Bigger Better?

Abby H.4 Comments

random-aisle-photos 013The price per unit helps you determine if the jumbo sized drum of applesauce is a better deal than a regular sized jar. How to determine the price per ounces is easy, most of the time stores do it for you! Take a look at the shelf tag- it should give you a price per unit, usually in ounces (oz.) or pounds (lb.).

If the price per ounce/pound on the larger container is smaller, then it is a good deal. When comparing, make sure both containers are using the same unit of measurement

Here is an example of what the shelf tags can look like:

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The majority of shelf tags will list:

  • The Item
  • The size of the container (in ounces, pounds, or units)
  • The Price of the item
  • The price per unit (in ounces, pounds or units)

This is also a great strategy to see if the store brand or a brand that isn’t your usual brand is a better deal than what you normally buy.

If your store doesn’t have shelf tags that break down the price per unit, here is how you can figure it out- I recommend using a calculator.

Take the price of the item and divide it by the number of ounces/lbs/units in the package.

Let’s use for our example the Uncle Ben’s Buttery Ready Rice, pictured above on the left.

$1.93 divided by 8.8 ounces equals .219, which is 21.9¢ per ounce.

If you keep a Price Book, you might want to  include a space for unit price, you would write 21.9¢ in the Unit Price Column. You can round up, or leave it as a fraction of a cent, to get an exact price for comparison. Learn more about price books here.

Recipe: Honey Lemon Ginger Syrup

Abby H.1 Comment

P1050863I’m no doctor, but I do know that when we don’t feel good, nothing is more soothing than lemon and honey.

IMG_3602I recently made a very soothing syrup, and I had to share it with you. I put 1/3 cup of the syrup in the bottom of a coffee mug and pour boiling water over it. I have been drinking a mug full twice a day.

It’s quick and easy to make!

Ingredients:

  • 2 C honey (real honey, none of that honey flavored syrup junk!)
  • Juice of 10-12 lemons (reserve two lemons and chop them up)
  • A Thumb sized knob of ginger, peeled and sliced

Directions:

  1. In a saucepan, combine the honey, juice, and ginger.
  2. In a jar with a screw on lid, pack in reserved chopped up lemon pieces.
  3. Cook on low for about 20 minutes. Do Not boil!
  4. Pour honey mixture over lemons.
  5. Screw lid on and let sit on counter until it reaches room temperature.
  6. Store in the fridge.
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Waiting for yummy syrup!
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Hunks of ginger

If you’re looking for the science behind all of this, Lemons contain a lot of vitamin C! Honey is very soothing and coats a sore throat. Remember that honey should not be consumed by anyone under 12 months of age. And ginger contains anti-oxidants.