Holiday fun at the OC Zoo

Looking for some Holiday Family Fun this weekend?

Head over to the OC Zoo (at the Irvine Regional Park) on Saturday December 18th for fun activities including story time with Mrs. Claus, crafts, face painting and Santa of course!  Between the hours of 10:00 am - 3:00 pm you can see all the animals open their presents and find treats hidden inside Christmas trees.  All activities are included with the admission to the park ($2 per person and parking costs $5 a vehicle).  For more information you can go here.

And of course you don't want to forget to ride the Christmas Train at the park while you are there. Information about when it runs is here.

Read more...

Do you know any "Freaky Eaters"?

Do you know any "freaky eaters"?  Someone addicted to one food in particular?  Someone with a food phobia that has a major effect on their daily life?  Well, TLC is now casting for it's new series Freaky Eaters.  Armed with a team of qualified experts that will use a number of techniques, each participant will be helped to overcome the emotional & physical problems that occur with freaky eating.

  If you or someone you know falls in to this category, nominate them for the show!  Send an email to freakyeaterscasting [at] gmail [dot] com. Be sure to include you name, number and email address.

Read more...

Yoplait coupon and a good cause

Love Yoplait Yogurt? 

I'm sure you've heard of it, at this time of year Yoplait will donate 10 cents to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure® for every pink lid sent in through December 31, 2010 (go here for more information about sending them in).  There's still time to gather up the lids and send them in.  To make it even easier, here is a link to a manufacturer's coupon from Yoplait! Click here to download the coupon.  Feel free to pass this on to everyone you know!

Read more...

Snow Land in Costa Mesa this Saturday!

Looking for a fun family activity in Costa Mesa this weekend?  

Head on over to the annual Holiday Snow Land hosted by Torelli Realty on Saturday, December 11, 2010 from 12 noon - 3pm.  It's free (except for concessions, etc.).  

Santa is scheduled to arrive at 12pm (via Fire Truck) and will be available for free pictures with the kids.  There will be hay wagon rides, cookie decorating, music a collection of toys for the Toys for Tots program and food collection for the Share Our Selves food drive.

The following schools will also be present:

-The Estancia High School sports teams will be raising money by selling donuts by Jess Gilman, (the officer who was recently profiled in the paper for his donut making), hot dogs, polish sausages, sweets, crafts, and more.

-TeWinkle Middle School is selling coffee, hot cocoa and snacks to raise money for their programs.

-Adams Elementary School is selling shaved ice to raise money for their PTA and recycling efforts

-The Indian Maidens will be selling popcorn and brownies to benefit their organization.

-The Estancia High School Cheer Team will be doing face painting and volunteering their spirit throughout the day.

Snow Land will be located at Balearic Park – 1975 Balearic Dr., Costa Mesa, CA 92626

Saturday, December 11, 2010.

Read more...

Feeling Like I'm From the Stone Age...

It's happened.  That moment I knew would one day arrive.  I feel like I grew up in the Stone Age.  I guess I did, in a way.  I grew up in the Stone Age of computers!  

My oldest came home today and announced he had a PowerPoint slide due for his class on Friday and he had all of his information on his thumb drive.  Um... What?  He's in third grade!  Honestly I don't think PowerPoint was even created until I was in High School or College and now kids are learning to use it in third grade.  Wow.  I feel so old.

I remember sitting in typing class in high school being so worried about getting the spelling correct.  Yeah... spelling isn't as important anymore with the invention of spell check and auto correct.  Speaking of auto correct... be sure to check out this hilarious site (warning, it's for Moms, not for kids as there are innuendos and other words, but it's pretty funny!)

As I sat there watching him type away (at his lightening speed of 15 words a minute) I realized that the world has really changed.  Today, being able to say you are proficient at PowerPoint is a bonus on a resume, but in 20 years it will be like saying you are proficient in using a manual typewriter.  I wonder what the buzz words for resume's will be when he's creating his first resume.

It was also less than 20 years ago when computer servers took up entire rooms, now one small server (that could easily fit under your desk) can store as much as an entire room did.  Heck, my iPhone probably has more technology than Apollo 11 that landed on the Moon.

What moments have made you realize you grew up in an entirely different era than your children?

Read more...

The Science of Gingerbread is Here!

© Discovery Science Center

The Science of Gingerbread is here at the Discovery Science Center in Santa Ana!

Be sure to stop in to see some of the very special gingerbread houses decorated by some of your favorite bloggers (including me!).  There are a number of great events and activities for kids of all ages to participate in including:

Hands-On Kitchen Science Activities: Daily through Jan 2 Find out all about kitchen tools, recipe science and more!

"A Matter of Taste" Stage Show: 11a,1p,3p,4p; Sat/Sun through Jan 2How are taste and smell different? Find out for yourself!

Award Winning Gingerbread Displays: Daily through Jan 2See Gingerbread Competition entries throughout the Center!

Photos w/Santa Claus: 11am-3pm; Dec 4&5,11&12,18-24Don't miss your chance to take a photo & visit with Santa!

Cookie Decorating: 11:30a, 1:30p, 3:30p; Dec 4&5,11&12,18-30Decorate holiday cookies and eat them too!

Train Modeling Demonstrations: Dec 4,7,9,12,14,16,18,21,23,26,28,30, Jan1 Check out exclusive demos by Toy Train Engineers of the Southern California.

All activities and demonstrations are free after admission. Dates and activites are subject to change.

© Discovery Science Center

Have you been there yet this year?  What are your favorite Gingerbread houses?

Read more...

Wordless Wednesday - Another Fab Disneyland Purse!

Wordless Wednesday... 

I had to share yet another gorgeous purse I found at Disneyland (this picture hardly does it justice).  Again this price tag is hard to beat coming in at below $30.  Yep, you read that right!

Read more...

Inexpensive and Gorgeous Homemade Gift Kids Can Make

Finding a good gift for family members from the kids without breaking the bank (especially if you have a long list to buy for) is always tough.  A couple of years ago we started making our own ornaments to give as gifts. 

Here's a super simple and even toddler friendly way to make elegant ornament gifts:

At this time of year Michael's sells the clear glass packs of ornaments in a number of different sizes.  If you don't have any on hand, buy a variety of colors of paint (most paint works fine for this project).

Have the kids pick two colors and drizzle a small amount of paint in the ornament and have your child swirl the ornament until all or most of the clear has been covered.

Allow several days to dry, then you can also write with gold or silver pen a special message on the ornament, year, etc.  And Voila!  A fantastic gift that will be cherished forever.

These also make fantastic craft projects for room mothers to do with classes (we've also done this!).

(The above picture is actually of two ornaments made by my boys)

Read more...

Red Velvet Hot Chocolate is Delish!

So I think everyone knows by now that I'm a Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf fan.  I'm also a red velvet cake/cup cake fan.  Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf has combined two of my favorite things for my new favorite winter favorite - the Red Velvet Hot Chocolate!  I had one for the first time today and it is sinfully delicious!

Have you tried it yet?

Also be sure to pick up one of the $1 holiday stickers for the Deck the Walls program to support The Help Group, the largest nonprofit organization in the US supporting children with autism and other special needs.  The program runs now through December 31st in over 200 Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf locations throughout California and the Western US.  100% of you donation goes to the organization.  Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf will also donate $1 from the Winter Dream Tea® and Holiday Blend Whole Bean Coffee retail products.  This will be the ninth years that Coffee Bean has participated in this program for The Help Group.

Read more...

Holiday Cookie Decorating Idea

I hope that everyone has been having a wonderful Thanksgiving week!  I took the time to "un-plug" a bit, but have a ton of fun posts ready for this next week!

_____

Do you still have Halloween candy left over?  We sure do but we've come up with a creative way to make use of the candy... as gingerbread cookie and gingerbread house decorations!

Here's a couple of our creations...

Read more...