AO Opinions is another Market Research company that I get information from. Right now they are recruiting for an upcoming research study:
This week is our first full week of summer vacation! This week both kids are free, meaning no summer school or structured learning. We’ll be playing and swimming all week long. I’ve got a bunch of errands and phone calls to get done.
Yesterday was my big trip to the grocery store. The price of groceries has gone up exponentially over the past few weeks, so I’m leaning more on stores that have good deals like Grocery Outlet, and using my cashback apps like Fetch Rewards.
The CSA emails us in advance to give us a heads up as to what may be in our boxes each week, and that really gives me an upper hand when it comes to meal planning for the week.
Veggies and fruit are delivered each Monday by Yasukochi Family Farms CSA. For $25, it’s a great deal. I don’t have to pick anything, go to the store, or carry it upstairs. I can’t go to the store and get the same amount we get weekly for $25. Seriously. It’s a deal. I spend about an hour on Monday afternoon cleaning and prepping veggies for the rest of the week.
I didn’t do any meal prep yesterday, so I’ll be doing it after the CSA box arrives this morning. Next week we’ll be taking a hiatus from the CSA box. We eat less when it’s hot out, and I don’t want any food to go to waste. It’s going to be hellaciously hot this week, so the meal plan reflects that with lots of cool/cold food.
For those of you that are new to meal planning, I’ve got an easy 101 style post here with super easy tips and steps. After you get that down, here is info about batch or freezer cooking.
I’ve gotten a pretty good inventory of the pantry, freezer, and fridge done (I try to update it after every shopping trip), so I’m able to plan meals and use up what we’ve got with little waste. If you are looking for a kitchen inventory printable, I like the kitchen inventories here. They are great printables.
I only post our dinner plans for the week, because our other meals are usually the same each day.
Breakfast: Coffee with 1/2 and 1/2 for me, and pancakes or something along those lines for the kids. The kids are nuts about pancakes. The Big Kid has been on a protein shake kick in the AM.
Lunch: We pick up free school lunches during the summer for the kids, I also have a plastic tote in the cupboard full of self-serve snacks. I buy treats and snacks in bulk and fill up snack-sized zip-top bags.
Dinner: Usually, I do a crockpot meal on Mondays, but now that we are home all the time, we’ve been having an odd combination of fully home-cooked, scratch meals, and frozen entrees and veggies. I have been posting our meal plans on Instagram too- As well as pics of stuff we are doing to keep busy.
Please stay safe you guys!
Talk Back: What are you cooking for dinner this week?
Over the weekend while we celebrated Bitty Bird’s birthday. We also checked out the Guess in Ten games thanks to Skillmatics and Tryazon!
Skillmatics is a new age brand that develops innovative educational products and games that help children build core skills, ranging from math and language to science and logic, through the joy of play!
We played Animal Planet, but if animals aren’t your posse’s jam, Skillmatics makes many other Guess in Ten varieties:
These games are available on Amazon, or in stores near you.
I’m not sure if the kids or the adults had more fun.
And if you want to learn more about Tryazon, their website has tons of information about all of the cool campaigns and parties they have coming up!
Looking for something fun, air-conditioned, and cheap to do this summer? Yeah, you are!
Kids Bowl Free has been around for years, and it’s a great way to get kids active even when it’s hot outside. I’m so excited it’s back for 2021!
Kids 2-18 can bowl 2 games for free each day the program is running at participating bowling centers all across the US and Canada. All you pay for is shoe rental- or bring your own if you have them!
This program is available all over the US and Canada. The complete list can be found here. Sign up is quick and easy. To get started, register here.
I encourage everyone to take advantage of this deal! It’s one of our favorite summer activities.
This week marks the end of our school year. Woo Hoo? Big kid is doing ESY (extended school year aka summer school) so it’s no big thing for him. Also this week our Bitty Bird turns six! We’ll be having a socially responsible party this coming weekend with friends and family in our bubble.
I went to the grocery store Friday while the kids were at school. 99 Cents Only and Grocery Outlet had tons of great deals, and I was able to stock up for the week (and beyond) and stay on budget.
The CSA emails us in advance to give us a heads up as to what may be in our boxes each week, and that really gives me an upper hand when it comes to meal planning for the week.
Veggies and fruit are delivered each Monday by Yasukochi Family Farms CSA. For $25, it’s a great deal. I don’t have to pick anything, go to the store, or carry it upstairs. I can’t go to the store and get the same amount we get weekly for $25. Seriously. It’s a deal. I spend about an hour on Monday afternoon cleaning and prepping veggies for the rest of the week.
Over the weekend, I did some meal prep: I prepared the last of our CSA veggies to roast, and a big salad with all the fixings.
For those of you that are new to meal planning, I’ve got an easy 101 style post here with super easy tips and steps. After you get that down, here is info about batch or freezer cooking.
I’ve gotten a pretty good inventory of the pantry, freezer, and fridge done (I try to update it after every shopping trip), so I’m able to plan meals and use up what we’ve got with little waste. If you are looking for a kitchen inventory printable, I like the kitchen inventories here. They are great printables.
I only post our dinner plans for the week, because our other meals are usually the same each day.
Breakfast: Coffee with 1/2 and 1/2 for me, and pancakes or something along those lines for the kids. The kids are nuts about pancakes. The Big Kid has been on a protein shake kick in the AM.
Lunch: Kids take lunch to school. I eat leftovers. Everyone rejoices.
Dinner: Usually, I do a crockpot meal on Mondays, but now that we are home all the time, we’ve been having an odd combination of fully home-cooked, scratch meals, and frozen entrees and veggies. I have been posting our meal plans on Instagram too- As well as pics of stuff we are doing to keep busy.
Please stay safe you guys!
Talk Back: What are you cooking for dinner this week?
I have been working on this post for weeks, making phone calls and researching. I wanted to get this post up as soon as I could. Unfortunately, there are still some areas that haven’t posted their plans for free summer meals for kids.
Santee School District will be providing summer drive-thru meal distribution from June 14 through July 30, Monday-Friday, from 10:00-10:30 am, at Pepper Drive and Rio Seco schools. Extended school year (summer school) and students attending Project Safe will be provided with food.
San Diego Unified School District has partnered with San Diego Parks and Recreation to have food available at neighborhood schools and Recreation centers throughout the city of San Diego. The complete list of locations can be found here. Times vary by location.
Grossmont Union High School District will be providing lunch for kids 2-18 all summer. Kicking it off, they will be giving out meal boxes on Monday June 7 from 11:30 to 1:30 on a first come first serve basis in the same area where lunches are distributed. Summer meal distribution starts on June 14th 11:30-1:30 Monday through Friday.
Other school districts may be offering free lunches this summer, but currently there isn’t much information available.
If you don’t find any facilities near you offering free lunches, I recommend contacting 211, they may have more updated information.
And the San Diego Food Bank is continuing their neighborhood distributions– Lots of produce and goodies are available each week. No proof of need or residency requirements.
There are all sorts of organizations looking to help families in need.
Even if you are not in dire need, if you need help stretching your budget, these resources are here for you!
Talk Back: How are you stretching your food budget this summer?
This deal just came through on my email and I had to share. We love Rockin’ Jump SD, in fact, we were just there a few weeks ago to celebrate a friend’s birthday.
If you aren’t familiar with Rockin’ Jump, here are the deets: Rockin’ Jump is San Diego’s largest indoor trampoline park and offers something for everyone. In addition to the huge free-jump trampoline arena, attractions include an awesome four-lane Warrior Course with Three Lane Warp Wall, two dodge-ball courts, two basketball slam dunk lanes, two-lane stunt-bag jump area, four-lane rock climbing wall, X-Beam jousting, an all-new 18 hole mini golf course and now a new arcade with over 25 of the most popular games to play and win prizes. It is a great place to play and jump and get all the kids (and adults) wiggle out.
Rockin Jump’s popular punch card offer is back. Huge savings for your family and great family fun for the summer!
For only $49.99, the cards include the following:
Fine Print:
You only have until June 7, 2021 to purchase your card(s). To buy your card(s), click here.
A new month means that it’s time for the monthly update of free food resources in San Diego.
You can still find resources here for Central and East County, and Here for North County.
If you are located outside San Diego County, call 211. If you are not familiar with 211, here is their website and it can point you in the right direction.
Neighborhood Distributions for June 2021 can be found here. Enter your address (or just your zip code) and the map will show you all of the distributions in your area or closest to you. You can filter by the days of the week to find food when you are available.
These Distributions are primarily fruits & veg, however, some locations may also distribute canned goods, dairy, and bread.
Super Pantry Locations can be found here (this listing is countywide). The San Diego Foodbank website also has resources for Diaper banks, free food resources for seniors, and more.
I will be posting Free Summer Lunch information for kids 2-18 in the coming days.
If you know of other resources, please leave a comment! And feel free to share this post with anyone you may know in need.
Today is Memorial Day in the US, and a lot of people are spending the day hanging out with friends and family, visiting the graves of their family who served in the military.
We are spending the day at home, hanging out with the kids, swimming in the pool.
I went to the grocery store Friday while the kids were at school, knowing that the kids would be home all weekend and on Monday. 99 Cents Only and Grocery Outlet had tons of great deals, and I was able to stock up for the week (and beyond) and stay on budget.
The CSA emails us in advance to give us a heads up as to what may be in our boxes each week, and that really gives me an upper hand when it comes to meal planning for the week.
Veggies and fruit are delivered each Monday by Yasukochi Family Farms CSA. For $25, it’s a great deal. I don’t have to pick anything, go to the store, or carry it upstairs. I can’t go to the store and get the same amount we get weekly for $25. Seriously. It’s a deal. I spend about an hour on Monday afternoon cleaning and prepping veggies for the rest of the week.
Over the weekend, I did some meal prep: I prepared the last of our CSA veggies (broccoli) to roast and serve with the orange ginger chicken I cooked Sunday night. I also made some sauces to use throughout the week (orange ginger sauce, stir fry sauce, tzatziki sauce), and I made a batch of hummus. And of course, I made cookies for the week (we’ll see how long they last).
For those of you that are new to meal planning, I’ve got an easy 101 style post here with super easy tips and steps. After you get that down, here is info about batch or freezer cooking.
I’ve gotten a pretty good inventory of the pantry, freezer, and fridge done (I try to update it after every shopping trip), so I’m able to plan meals and use up what we’ve got with little waste. If you are looking for a kitchen inventory printable, I like the kitchen inventories here. They are great printables.
I only post our dinner plans for the week, because our other meals are usually the same each day.
Breakfast: Coffee with 1/2 and 1/2 for me, and pancakes or something along those lines for the kids. The kids are nuts about pancakes. The Big Kid has been on a protein shake kick in the AM.
Lunch: Kids take lunch to school. I eat leftovers. Everyone rejoices.
Dinner: Usually, I do a crockpot meal on Mondays, but now that we are home all the time, we’ve been having an odd combination of fully home-cooked, scratch meals, and frozen entrees and veggies. I have been posting our meal plans on Instagram too- As well as pics of stuff we are doing to keep busy.
Please stay safe you guys!
Talk Back: What are you cooking for dinner this week?
The kids and I spent the day at Legoland California yesterday and enjoyed all of the fun and frivolity of Lego Movie World.
Lego Movie World has three new rides: Emmet’s Flying Adventure Ride, Unikitty’s Disco Drop, and Queen Watevra’s Carousel. There is also Benny’s Playship for the kids to play and get their wiggles out, or they can create at Build Watevra You Wa’Na Build zone. And there is a Splash pad right in the middle of it all for kids (and grown-ups) to cool down!
THE LEGO MOVIE WORLD will be included in the price of admission to LEGOLAND California Resort. Guests can purchase tickets and reserve their spot through LEGOLAND California’s reservation system for their desired Park visit. For more Resort information, operating schedule and to make reservations, visit: www.legoland.com/california.
I love that Legoland has hand sanitizer stations all over, they have social distancing set up in lines and on all the rides. All Model Citizens (employees) are masked up.
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 disability? Check out my post about the Assisted Access Pass and how we do Legoland with our kiddo with ASD.
Hewes Family Fun 