Mar 15
2013

Family Science Day at Balboa Park

by Nicole Hughes

If you are looking for something fun to do this weekend check out the Family Science Day at Balboa Park. Children 12 and under are free with paid adult all day unless otherwise noted. General admission does not include special exhibits.

FREE drawings will go on through out the day at the Balboa Park Visitors Center. Great prizes include a Family 4-Pack of Balboa Park Passports, tickets toHonk! at the San Diego Junior Theatre, and Old Town Trolley/Seal Tour tickets to name a few.

Over two dozen Balboa Park institutions and community partners will once again put their heads together to demonstrate how much fun learning science can be at the Science Family Day. The park-wide Family Day on March 17 will kick off the weeklong San Diego Festival of Science & Engineering 2012, as various museums and cultural institutions feature science-related hands-on activities and special programs for kids of all ages. In addition, a DNA Moving Performance, featuring one of the world’s longest DNA models (created by area science students), will be paraded down the Prado at 11:15 am. For more information click here.

Mar 8
2013

Easter Egg Hunt Guide 2013

by Nicole Hughes

See below for the full Easter Egg Hunt Guide 2013

Believe it or not Easter is right around the corner and readers have already started asking where they can take their children for a fun Easter Egg Hunt. Please see below the first guide for 2013, more to come!

Cardiff @ San Elijo Lagoon – The San Elijo Spring Eggucation is on Saturday & Sunday March 23-24 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. There will be an egg hunt, themed crafts, face painting and much more for more information click here.

Carlsbad @ Poinsettia Park – The annual EGGStravaganza Spring Festival will be held on Saturday, March 30, 2013 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Poinsettia Park. Please note this is not a free event, the cost is $5 for the Activity card which allows you to participate in what they call the “Egg Scramble,” but there are tons of fun things for the kids to do in the Fun Zone with bounce houses, a giant slide, obstacle courses and a chance to “soak the bunny.” The kids will collect eggs in the ongoing “Egg Scramble” activity between 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Children race to collect assorted eggs on the baseball fields. This activity sends groups of approximately 20 children of similar age into the out field to collect as many eggs as they can. For more information click here.

Encinitas @ Ecke Sports Park – The City of Encinitas Easter Egg Hunt Festival will take place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Ecke Sports Park, located at 278 Saxony Rd. This free event features arts and crafts, entertainment, prizes, jump houses, face painting, pictures with the bunny (for a fee) and over 24,000 eggs! Egg hunt times are as follows: 10:15 – 2 years and under, 10:45 – 3 year olds, 11:15 – 4 & 5 year olds, 11:45 – 6 & 7 year olds, 12:15 – 8 & 9 year olds. For more information, please call (760) 633-2740.

Escondido @ Bates Nut Farm – Celebrate Easter with an old-fashioned Easter Egg Hunt! There will be separate divisions for different age groups, so every child will have a chance to find an egg with candy or a toy inside, the fun begins at 10 a.m.. Pony rides and other family friendly activities are scheduled, so plan to spend the day at Bates Nut Farm, for more information click here.

Fallbrook @ La Palomoa School – Saturday March, 23 there the Fallbrook Community Center is hosting the Spring Egg Hunt, the hunt for children ages 5-11 begins at 10:30 a.m. There are prizes and games for children 2-4 and lots of fun activities. For more information click here.

Mission Bay @ Mission Bay High School Football Field – This is the first year for this Easter Egg hunt at Mission Bay H.S. the fun begins at 11 a.m. on March 30th. There will be over 10,000 eggs filled with toys and candy, there will also be giveaways and raffle prizes. For more information on this Easter Egg hunt click here.

Oceanside @ Buddy Todd Park – The annual Easter Egg Hunt will be held Saturday, March 30th beginning promptly at 10 a.m. Children may visit with the Easter bunny and search for the golden eggs worth prizes! For more information click here.

San Diego @ Kroc Center Recreation Field – Easter EGGstravaganza is on March 30th at 1 p.m., there will be an easter egg hunt with over 10,000 eggs! Visit with the Easter Bunny or bounce on over to the bounce houses, there is plenty to do including crafts, music, games and new this year a toddler zone! For more information click here.

San Marcos @ Walnut Grove Park – Come and have breakfast with Peter Cottentail at “The Williams Barn” in Walnut Grove Park Saturday, March 30 from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. $5 for adults $4 for children 10 & under. Immediately following the breakfast at 10:15 AM, toddlers through 5th graders are invited to the community “Holiday Egg Hunt” where eggs with prizes will be well hidden by the bunny himself! Arrive early to have your picture taken with Peter Cottontail and enjoy carnival games and party jumps. $5 donation per family is requested, for more information click here.

Vista @ Brengle Terrace Park – The annual Easter Egg Hut at Brengle Terrace is not one to be missed! The Egg hunt is on Saturday, March 30th from 9 a.m. to noon. There are tons of games, prizes and more to enjoy, for more information click here.

Vista @ Vista Optimist Club – Sunday, March 24th from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. stop by for an Egg Hunt and pancake and sausage breakfast. There are contests and prizes including a bonnet contest. The Egg Hunt begins at 10 a.m. and there will be more than 10,000 eggs, the hunt is for children 11 and younger. Tickets: $5 (includes breakfast, games and pictures with the Easter bunny) for more information e-mail marycdraves@cox.net.

Mar 7
2013

Easter Egg Nests – Fun Treat Ideas

by Nicole Hughes

It is a cloudy day here in SoCal today, so I figured what better to do than make treats! I am hosting Easter brunch for my family and friends on Easter Sunday and I wanted to try out a few recipes and I thought I would share. I love-making Easter Egg Nests, not only are they adorable but they are ridiculously delicious as well. Items needed to make these are marshmallows, butter, vanilla, and dry chow mein noodles, and small candies for the eggs.

4 Cups Dry Chow Mein Noodles
3 Cups Mini Marshmallows
3 Tbsp Butter
1/2 Tsp Vanilla
Candy Eggs, Mini Robin’s Eggs, M & M’s, or Jelly Beans

Line a cookie sheet with wax paper. Over low heat, melt the marshmallows and butter in a large saucepan, once melted stir in the vanilla. Pour the noodles into a large bowl. Pour the marshmallow and butter mixture over the noodles, stir until well coated. Rub some butter on your hands, this is important as it will all stick to your hands and not together. Then take the noodle mixture and form it into small round bowls in-between the size of a golf ball and tennis ball. Place the balls on the cookie sheet, with the back of a spoon, press the center of each ball to make a hollow indentation. Next let the nests set until they are hard and then fill each nest with candy eggs.

Feb 22
2013

Apparently I’m one of “those people” Things we said we would never do as Parents…

by Nicole Hughes

Admit it, before you had children you looked at “those people” and said I will never do (fill in the blank) or I would never be that type of parent. The truth is before you have kids it is very easy to pass judgement on other parents. Because you have no frame of reference, you don’t understand why they can’t stop their crying baby. Not knowing the parents would do anything to make the baby stop crying, because sometimes baby’s just cry.

There is one time I remember being out to eat with my family when my son was a year and a half. My son was the typical toddler give him a crayon and he will throw it, or eat it, take your pick. My older brother (who did not have children of his own yet) just looked at me like can’t you control your child? The answer is NO! I couldn’t control my child because he is his own little crazy person. Jump ahead a few years to us at a restaurant and now his little one is the crazy child and he can’t do anything about it. It just really made me think about all those things my husband and I said we would never do as parents before we had a child. Everything goes out the window because your life is forever changed by this little person. The days of spending a lazy Sunday on the couch watching TV, or reading a book are gone forever. You soon realize that you will do whatever you can to make the baby eat, sleep, or stop crying, and that doesn’t make us bad parents it just makes us parents.

The things we said we would never do as a parent

Being the parents with a crying baby on an airplane
Taking a bratty or overly tired child to a restaurant
Five second rule on a dropped pacifier
Giving them anything to make them shut up (I mean be quiet)
Using TV as a babysitter so you can cook, clean, or get work done
Letting them have sweets, cookies and candy
Driving around to get them to fall asleep
Letting grandparents spoil them rotten
Allowing them to drink soda (thank goodness my son hates anything carbonated)
Having kids art on your walls, I really never understood why people did that until my son gave me something. He was so proud of it and so happy to give it to me. It isn’t about the art it is about them wanting to make you happy and there is nothing better than that.

Those are some of the things we said we would never do but admittedly we failed on every single one at some point or another. What did you say you would never do, and have you done it? I’m not alone am I?

Feb 21
2013

Baby Shower Ideas

by Nicole Hughes

Last spring I hosted two separate baby showers for two of my great girlfriends. I wanted them to look amazing without spending a ton of money. Most of the items I used for decorating I purchased from the dollar store, like the hanging lanterns, and other hanging decorations.

A great idea that is always a big hit is a clothesline with baby clothes on it. This will also double as an extra baby clothes (and your gift) to the new mama. These clothes can be simple, dresses, bibs, onesies, or anything that you think is cute. If you plan enough ahead of time you can pick most of these items up off of the sale rack. Always remember how old the baby will be when buying clothes, don’t buy a 6-month summer outfit if the baby will be 6-months old in December.

Use items that you already have like placements. We have outside placements that happened to match perfectly with the theme. Fresh flowers, especially bright ones add so such much to a table. I usually purchase flowers from Trader Joe’s the day of the party or day before, there is always a great selection and at a great price.

Everyone loves a cute party favor…right? I go back and forth on party favors to tell you the truth. When it is something most people are going to throw away as soon as the leave the party I just figure what was the point? However when you can snag cute favors at a great price I’m all for it! For this baby shower I gave all the guests flip-flops, and it was a big hit. The hard part was trying to figure out everyone’s sizes but I actually did pretty well, everyone went home with pair in their size. The flip-flops I gave away were from Old Navy, normally priced at I think $3.99 a pair. Old Navy had a sale and the flip-flops were only $0.99 a pair! It was a great deal and something I knew everyone would use since we live in Southern California. I added a little ribbon and a cute little rubber ducky and I was done with the favors!

Feb 3
2013

50% off to Catalina Island!

by Nicole Hughes

Planning on going to Catalina this year? Enjoy a comfortable 75-minute voyage from Newport Beach to Catalina Island on a vessel complete with sun decks and two cocktail lounges. This is the perfect deal as it doesn’t expire until the end of this year. The deal is $35 for round trip transportation on the Catalina Flyer, a $70 value. There are some black out dates around July 4th and Labor Day, you can use it on Valentine’s day if you want to plan a romantic getaway. To purchase or for more information click here. There are limited quantities available so hurry if you want to purchase this hot deal!