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3/25/2023 KPBS Be My Neighbor Day!

Abby H.Leave a comment

My kids loved Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood when they were tiny. I watched Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood when I was little. I love the lessons of kindness, sharing, and how Daniel and the whole Land of Make Believe gang live and work together to make their world a better place.

So imagine how excited I was when KPBS reached out to share Be My Neighbor Day.

In celebration of Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood (DTN) and PNC Grow Up Great® (an initiative of The PNC Financial Services Group), Fred Rogers Productions is working with PBS stations across the country to host Be My Neighbor Day community events. Building on the values and themes of DTN, the events are used as an opportunity for member stations to collaborate with new and existing partners while promoting local volunteerism, family engagement, and community development.

KPBS is excited to join forces with local community partners to host San Diego’s first-ever Be My Neighbor Day on Saturday, March 25 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at the KPBS station on the San Diego State University campus. Young children (ages 0-8) and their families will celebrate kindness and learn how their neighbors are working to improve our region’s natural environment (and preserve the planet!) through interactive displays and meaningful activities. Current exhibitors include America’s Finest Charter School, Climate Science Alliance, Girl Scouts San Diego, Japanese Friendship Garden Society of San Diego, Living Coast Discovery Center, Salk Education Outreach, San Diego Children’s Discovery Museum, and the SDSU Office of Energy and Sustainability.

If you and your family want to check out Be My Neighbor Day, click here.

March is National Craft Month! Free Crafts & Crafting Deals!

Abby H.

Did you know that March is National Craft Month?

It’s one of our favorite months of the year. We are definitely a crafty family. While I was researching for this post, Bitty Girl was drawing Gatcha girls at the kitchen table, and Big Kid was drawing maps for the dragon game he’s making.

For those of you who love crafts too, check out this sweet deal from Craftsy–Celebrate National Craft Month at Craftsy! Get your 1-Year Premium Membership for only $2.49, originally $97!

Craftsy also offers a lot of free classes. Here are just a few that I love:

Recipe: My Favorite Pasta Salad!

Abby H.

In my recent post about hosting a mermaid-themed party, I mentioned that we will be serving pasta salad.

One of the things that I love about pasta salad is that it’s so flexible.

Basically, all you need is a pound of pasta (your choice) cooked per package directions, drained, and rinsed. After that, whatever you add is up to you.

  • I use 1 cup of dressing to start. Usually, I use zesty Italian-type dressing, but if you are a pesto lover, 1 jar/can of pesto and a few tablespoons of your favorite oil (I like avocado oil) is excellent. Red or green pesto, whatever your preference is. If you are serving vegetarians, avoid red pesto because it contains anchovies.
  • 1 cup of diced cheese- Mozzarella, or mozzarella pearls, or cut up a couple string cheese sticks.
  • 2 cups vegetables, cut into bite-size pieces.  Bell peppers, broccoli, black olives, tomatoes (either grape or cherry), and fresh, shelled peas are some of my favorites.
  • Optional, but tasty: a bunch of fresh basil, cut into ribbons (chiffonade).

Mix all ingredients together, and store in a tightly closed container for at least 4-6 hours prior to serving.

This recipe serves about 8-10 as a side dish, less as a main dish. If you need to add meat to this, as a can or 2 pouches of chunk tuna, drained and rinsed.

Planning a Mermaid/Under the Sea Themed Party? Dollar Tree To The Rescue!

Abby H.

I’m working on planning a mermaid-themed party for a certain little girl in my house. Thankfully, Dollar Tree has some great supplies on the cheap! These are available in-store and online.

First off, check out these cool iridescent shell-shaped eggs. Perfect for hiding candy or tiny gifts like bracelets or rings. In the store, there are a lot of beaded necklaces, like there.

There are mermaid-themed party paper goods too. Plates, cups, and napkins. One thing I love about Dollar Tree is that with the rising costs of everything, I’m able to host cute themed parties and stay on budget.

I’m loving these cute mermaid buckets, they would be great for goodie baskets. If you aren’t sure what to put in them, I’d suggest mermaid facial masks, nail polish in “mermaid” colors- there are tons of colors in stores, mermaid tail shaped hand soaps,  Nail art sets, nail files (there are ocean/mermaid themed ones in the stores, and bath bombs- some stores have mermaid tail-shaped bath bombs. All locations have bath bombs in various scents and sizes.

Don’t forget to hit up the home decor area to look for beach, ocean, and mermaid themed signs.

As for snacks and menu, we’ll be serving:

  • Strawberry lemonade, complete with frozen strawberries (available in the stores) as our beverage.
  • Cold Pasta Salad using shell pasta (recipe is forthcoming)
  • Goldfish crackers
  • Fresh Fruit cut into star shapes- Watermelon, pineapple, apple (with a hole cut in the middle where I remove the apple core)

I love using the plastic “crystal” serving ware from Dollar Tree too. It makes the party look fancy, without worrying about little hands breaking anything special or vintage.

And for those wondering, we only invite 4-6 of Bitty’s good friends to parties. I can’t have a house full of 20+ kiddos. My neighbors would never forgive me. We may have a viewing of The Little Mermaid while we eat.

And of course, I’ll be making invitations on Canva for free, saving the image as a PDF, and either printing them out to hand out or emailing them to friends parents/guardians.

8 Gifts for the Sensory Seeker on Your List

Abby H.

There are a lot of reasons people are sensory seekers- For the most part, Fidgets and the like keep their bodies busy and it allows their brains to focus. People with ADHD, ODD, ADD, ASD, or simply those who are very stressed, may “fidget” to help focus.

Fidget spinners, doodling, and tactile small toys are all great. Some people who are sensory seekers (whether they know it or not), require more such as deep pressure or being bundled up. Regardless of whatever type you have, here are some of our favorite gifts that have helped our family:

Remember the Bop It toy from the 90’s? Twist it, pull it, bop it? This Fidget cube is the smaller, more discreet version. With 6 different tactile fidgets, it’s a great way to discover whatever kind of sensation works best.

If you are looking for something bright and colorful, a little more engaging…
These “snake” fidgets as we call them, are IT.

We have some in the sensory box, my car, and the kids’ backpacks. They are fun- you can make a circle, or a snake, my son likes to bend them in weird ways and pretend it’s his mustache.

If you are new to the world of fidgets and sensory toys, this is a great “starter pack”.  It has all sorts of great small toys. They are discreet too.

Some people need sensory items to help them decompress. Items like weighted blankets are great for this type of need. Weighted blankets act like a hug and release feel-good hormones in your body, and help quash the stress hormones like cortisol (1). Weighted blankets for adults should be 10% of their body weight. For growing kids, it should be 10% of their current weight, plus 1-2 pounds to allow for growth (2). I really like this weighted blanket, especially since it has a removable cover. It comes in 2 sizes and 4 different weights.

My big kid loves being wrapped up in a blanket, almost like being swaddled. That gets exhausting after a while, so I took to the internet to find a solution.

Hug Sleep, Sleep Pod is perfect. Especially with a weighted blanket on top!

For fun time, when rolling around and being silly, we’ve found that this stretchy sack is tons of fun, and helps him regulate. And yes, these type of sacks come in adult sizes too!

The next item, while not a toy or fun doodad, is essential in my mind. Not just for sensory seekers, but for those that just need a break from sounds. Loop Earplugs are a life changer. My big kid is easily overwhelmed by sounds, especially out in public, or when his sister is having a hard time herself and is vocal about her troubles. They are discreet too, which is important for tweens and teens.

The last two items are both in my car at all times.

Some sensory seekers chew. Were you a pencil chewer as a kid? Always have gum at your desk? “Chewelry” or silicone jewelry that’s meant to chew on keeps your pencils and fingernails safe.

My big kid has these sweet shark tooth necklaces. There is one in my car (and one in his backpack). He informed me that all the cool kids at school have them. He also told me some junior high girls have pacifiers- which was popular when I was in high school…

And finally, these Liquid Motion Bubblers are great for helping kids (and adults) calm down and center. Remember a few years ago when DIY calm-down jars were all the rage? These are a much better idea- They aren’t going to open and get everywhere. One of these lives in my center console for when kiddos need to listen to some quiet music and re-center themselves.

Toys, Books, and Art Supplies Deals At Target This Week!

Abby H.

Target has some really great deals this week on toys and books- perfect for stocking up for the upcoming holidays!

Score a $5.00 Target Gift Cards when you spend $15+ on toys or books.

There are of course exclusions, click on the image and learn more.

And if that’s not enough for you, you can also score 25% off one toy with Target Circle here.

Target has started their Black Friday Sale early, and there are a lot of really great offers this week, as well as more planned throughout November.

If you have an artist in the fam, Target is offering 50% off selected Art & Writing kits this week. I know my littlest would totally dig this Sharpie set. 

If you are a military veteran or active duty member, Target has a thank you discount currently- just in time for Veteran’s Day! Get 10% off two separate purchases (restrictions apply). This discount is redeemable Oct 30 – Nov 12. Click here to learn more and details on how to verify!

And remember that you can save an extra 5% at Target every time you shop with your RedCard. You can learn more and apply here or in store. This 5% stacks with other coupons, discounts, and deals.

Target also gives you a discount of five cents per reusable shopping bag that you use per transaction- just remember to bring the bags in your car into the store!

Ooly: Awesome Gifts for your Little Artist!

Abby H.

Recently our friends over at Ooly sent us a little box full of creativity. The kids and I love to do art, make stuff, and express our creative sides. I was stoked to receive the Rainbow Sparkle Glitter Markers, and Chunkies Paint Sticks.

Margaret and I had a blast! The glitter markers are incredible. The glitter is very fine and sticks onto the artwork, even after the marker ink has dried. We colored and colored, without any loss of color or glitter coming from the markers. Parents, I repeat: There is NO glitter transfer!!

And the Chunkies? Perfection. She loves to paint, but I don’t love the setup and mess. These Chunkies solved my problems and let her express her creativity with paint. She loved that the paint dries quickly, and it didn’t get all over her hands (issues that we’ve had with other brands of paint sticks).

Ooly has art supplies for any level of an artist, in several mediums. If you haven’t embraced your inner artist, but love planners or journaling, Ooly has you covered too. They have a pretty extensive of cool journaling and planner supplies!

They’ve put together a Gifts under $20 section, which is perfect for holiday gift exchanges, as well as 8 Bonus Boxes. OOLY’s Holiday Bonus Boxes offer an array of goods to keep you crafting, drawing, painting, and molding. Find the one that’s just right for you and bring your vision, story, or design to life! I’m picking up a bonus box for each of the kids for the winter holidays. I know the kids will love the freedom and creativity each bonus box brings.

And shopping with Ooly gets even better- Now through November 7th, score a free set of Stampables Scented Double-Ended Stamp Markers with any purchase of $60+. Details can be found here.

Disclosure: Ooly sent us samples to try without an expectation of a review, however, once I received the markers and paint sticks, I was so excited to share them with you, I jumped at the chance to share their deals. I love supporting local companies!

 

Tea Collection: $25 PJs Are Here!

Abby H.

** This post also contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.

It’s BAAACK! Just in time for holiday photo shoots and gift-giving, the Tea Collection family Pajama sale is back for three days only! Separates, Footie PJ’s, and nightgowns, all in matching patterns for the whole family.

This sale is only three days,  Monday, October 24, 2022 through Wednesday, October 26, 2022, so you need to get shopping NOW!

No Coupon Code is required!

Fine Print: Select PJ styles at $25, prices as marked on site. Offer valid from 10/24/2022 through 10/26/2022 at 11:59 PM PT. Discount taken will be pre-tax. Cannot be combined with other promotions. No adjustments on previous purchases. Not redeemable for cash. Cannot be used towards the purchase of gift cards. Limited to stock on hand. Please note: costs have increased due to growing challenges in our supply chain. We have added a 0.95 cent fee to all orders. If you have questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to service@teacollection.com.

Low Cost Laptops and Desktops from C2K (San Diego County)

Abby H.

Does your school age kiddo need a laptop or desktop for school work?

Do you live in San Diego County?

If you answered yes to both of these, check out this awesome program from North County Regional Education Center in San Marcos.

Sign up here by October 31, 2022 to take advantage of this event, which takes place on November 5, 2022.

There are two laptops and one desktop to choose from, and the prices start at $100, which is a really great deal.

If you have any questions, please call 858-200-9788 or email programs@c2sdk.org.

Cleaning your Closets: 5 Items That Have To Go!

Abby H.

I’m bringing this up because it’s time to pull out some of my fall/winter clothes and donate some of my older clothes, or clothes that I don’t wear as often.

Here are my Five categories for giving clothes the boot:

Stains: You know that one shirt in your closet that you love, but it has a stain that won’t come out. It’s time for it to go.  Clothing can be donated to be recycled. To find your closest clothing recycling location, click here.

It doesn’t fit: Too small, big, long, or short- it has to go. Time to throw those in the donation pile.  This goes for shoes too!

Needs repair and you lack the time or skills to mend/fix. The pants hanging in your closet are so cute but they are 1/4 inch too short and you can’t sew? One Caveat- Undergarments that are holely or stretched out go directly to the trash. No one is darning mass-produced socks. I mend and repair my clothes as needed weekly. If you are looking to learn about mending clothes, check out my post here. 

Out Of Style: Low-rise jeans? Powder Blue Tuxedo? Your Prom Dress from 1997? Time to throw those in the donation pile.

Cheap Crap:  This encapsulates several categories- Knock off’s (They are mass-produced in horrible conditions), poorly produced “fast fashion” that offers no quality and doesn’t add anything of substance to your wardrobe, and anything you bought and wore once, and it was damaged or you swore you’d never wear again. In my opinion, cheap shoes are the worst and are usually tossed into this pile.

Once you have your donate pile, if you are looking to donate straight away, check for your local non-profits needs. I also like donating my unwanted good clothes to local clothing swaps. For more info about clothing swaps, click here.