SoCal Savvy Mom

Nov 17
2014

12 Days of Christmas Giveaway Oceanside

We are so excited to share with you the “12 Days of Christmas” including giveaways and rewards for “buying local” with the California Welcome Center of Oceanside! Whether you are visiting Oceanside or live here stop by the welcome center (located at 928 N Coast Hwy, Oceanside, CA 92054) anytime between now and December 18th to enter to win.

oceanside sunset While at the welcome center check out the local gift section, there are tons of cute and unique gifts from local merchants, also all purchases will receive a 12% discount! The items included are a limited edition custom T-shirt by Surf Ride that features the Oceanside Pier and celebrates Surf Ride’s 40^thanniversary, beach-inspired, custom jewelry by Oh Yeah and Coola’s Hang Ten brand of natural sunscreen. Don’t miss Surf Ride’s annual black friday sale for HUGE savings on all the surf brands you love!

I have lived in Oceanside for ten years and this week was my very first time visiting the California Welcome Center Oceanside. I am happy I took the time to stop by to see all they have to offer. Tons and tons of local attraction information, maps, guides, visitor to do list and so much more! The welcome center is also a convenient spot to purchase discount tickets, coupons and maps to area attractions. The Oceanside Welcome Center is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with the help of the wonderful volunteers.

Don’t forget to enter to win one of 12 gift certificates for your favorite local restaurants and attractions while at the Oceanside Welcome Center!

Upcoming Holiday Events in Oceanside

Thursday, December 4 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., Oceanside will kick off the holiday season with a grand Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony at Regal Center Plaza at 401 Mission Ave. in downtown Oceanside. This family-friendly event will be filled with activities for the whole family. Children can visit with Santa Claus, create a craft, enjoy the zip-line, tree climb, bounce houses, and games or take a ride to the pier in the horse-drawn carriage. After the tree lighting ceremony, visitors can head over to the Sunset Market for all their holiday gift needs, plus music, and a children’s activity area.

Friday, December 5 from 7 p.m.-8:30 p.m. 4^th Annual Christmas Concert at Mission San Luis Rey – The historic church at Mission San Luis Rey is a majestic, spiritual setting for listening to traditional Christmas carols. Holiday carols are performed by Premier Brass and singers from the San Diego Opera Chorus. The concert will be followed by a delicious dessert reception in the Sacred Garden surrounded by thousands of holiday lights. Tickets range in price from $40 to $60 per person and proceeds benefit preservation and maintenance of the church. Register online by clicking here or call (760)757-3651, ext. 161. The mission is located at 4050 Mission Ave., Oceanside

Saturday, December 6 from 10:00 a.m. & 12:00 p.m. Coaster Holiday Express – Families can take a ride on a magical holiday train with Santa, Mrs. Claus and friends on Saturday, December 6. North County Transit District’s Coaster Holiday Express is a specially decorated train ride that features photo opportunities with Santa and classic carol singing for children of all ages. Each 65-minute Holiday COASTER Express ride travels non-stop and roundtrip from Oceanside to Solana Beach. The ride is recommended for families with children between the ages of 3 and 10.

Last year we had so much fun taking our son on the Coaster Holiday Express! It is only $8 per person this year with departure times of 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. from the Oceanside transit center. Please note tickets are not available day of and it will SELL OUT AND FAST! Tickets may be purchased beginning at 8:00 a.m. on Wednesday, November 12th in person at a transit center or online here.

Saturday, December 13th from 7:00 p.m. to 9 p.m. The Parade of Lights at Oceanside Harbor is a fun tradition that residents and visitors look forward to all year. On Saturday, December 13 from 7-9 p.m., fishing boats, sail boats, yachts, kayaks and dinghies will dress up in holiday swag and circle the Oceanside Harbor to enchant onlookers. Many of the boats feature people dressed up like Santa waving to the crowd.

Each Thursday in December from 5-9 p.m., Oceanside’s weekly Sunset Market is transformed into a Holiday Gift Market with hundreds of unusual and exotic gift ideas from around the world. The Certified Farmers Market section features farm fresh produce and floral items plus a myriad of gourmet food items to take home for holiday parties. Strolling carolers add to the merriment. Kids are delighted by pony rides, face painters and a jump house. Sunset Market is located in downtown Oceanside at Pier View Way. Markets will be closed on Thaksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. For information, contact MainStreet Oceanside at (760) 754-4512 or click here.

Nov 14
2014

Free & Easy Friday’s at the Del Mar Racetrack

by Nicole Connerley

Bing Crosby Season at the Del Mar Track has started with a bang! Every Friday is free & Easy with FREE admission, program and a seat! The Friday dates are November 14, 21 & 28, 2014.

Receive FREE Stretch Run Admission, FREE Program and FREE Seat along with HALF PRICE Beer (domestic drafts), Regular Soda and Regular Hot Dog at Stretch Run Concession Stands.

*You must be a Diamond Club member and scan your membership card at designated Admission Gates and Concession stands. Sign up for a free membership card at the Diamond Club booth before you enter the Stretch Run Admission gates.

If you are planning on bringing your children with you to the track please see our write up about it here.

How to Sign Up

Bring a valid photo identification and present it at special Diamond Club booths at the Del Mar Racetrack or Surfside Race Place. You’ll find Diamond Club signup booths located on the 2nd floor of the Clubhouse, the 1st floor of the Stretch Run and outside the Stretch Run admission gates. You can print out the registration form to fill out and bring with you to Del Mar to speed up the enrollment process.

Diamond Club Membership Rules – Please review the Diamond Club Membership Rules for program terms and conditions.

Nov 13
2014

Why we LOVE the Munchkin LATCH bottle

by Lauren Moisant

Munkchkin has done it again, they have come up with an amazing new product every new mother must have! As most of you know when you are exclusively breastfeeding, one of the biggest worries is finding the perfect bottle to feed your baby milk that is pumped. Babies are used to their mother’s breast and when you offer anything else they usually are not happy. We all know it is frustrating when we know our child is hungry but won’t eat. Why child, whyyyyy? If you are hungry won’t you just take any bottle? No, babies are very particular and they won’t take just anything. With so many choices out there it is often hard to find out which bottle your baby will take. If you are anything like me, you have bought a plethora of baby bottles hoping your baby will like at least one. My prayers have been answered because Munchkin has sent over the new LATCH bottle for us to use and go over everything we like about it in this sponsored post.

The Munchkin LATCH bottle seems to have completely figured it out for us! This bottle, is specially designed for breastfeeding babies, which makes it easier to go from breast to bottle and back to breast without skipping a beat. When nursing, it is all about the latch, making sure the nipple is reaching the back of the baby’s mouth. LATCH has a unique accordion style nipple to move with baby’s mouth. This nipple flexes, stretches, and moves just like a mothers breast would. Since the nipple moves when baby moves her head, the nipple moves with her so she will not lose her latch and ingest air. She has complete control of milk flow by applying pressure to the base of the nipple. The LATCH bottle also has a one-way, anti colic valve at the bottom which allows air flow to enter without causing bubbles reducing colic, as seen below.

Something terrific about this bottle is how easy it is to assemble. The nipple, the collar, the anti-colic valve, and the bottle! That is it, 4 easy parts and you are done! It is an exciting thing when you don’t have to search high and low around the kitchen looking for small pieces that some bottles require. I love that this bottle offers colic reduction with just four easy parts. It is a blessing for mother and baby!

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The very first time using this bottle my son took to it right away. No hesitation whatsoever. No air, no gas, no fuss! It made for a good nights sleep for this mama and baby.

As a special offer to SoCal Savvy Mom’s readers Munchkin is offering free shipping at Munchkin.com with the purchase of any LATCH bottle or pacifier using the code LOVELATCH, the code is valid now until 12/31/14 (one per customer; U.S. residents only please).

This amazing LATCH bottle system is also available both in stores and online at Babies R’ Us.

This Express Yourself post is brought to you by Munchkin LATCH as part of the #LoveLatch campaign. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Nov 13
2014

Beautiful Holiday Cards at Minted

by Nicole Connerley

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Holiday cards are the beginning of the holiday season for our family, every year we send cards to our friends and family around the globe. It is one of my favorite things to do, it helps get me into the holiday spirit. Living in Southern California it doesn’t often seem like Christmas time when it is 75 outside so starting my holiday card shopping early helps. What is great about getting your holiday card shopping done early may be not having to worry about it in December or maybe the extra money you can save! For us it is both, and my main problem is which card to choose? Minted is fantastic because there are so many options, do you want your cards printed on 100% recycled paper? No problem! Minted will even pre-print all of your addresses FREE of charge for a limited time only. Take advantage of this great free option most online retailers will charge you at least $20 extra for this option.

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This card is a picture of my husband and I on our annual vacation in San Jose del Cabo at a farm to table restaurant called Flora Farms. It was our favorite restaurant while on vacation this summer and one of the highlights of our trip, as you can probably tell by the huge smiles on our faces. My favorite feature on the Deco Lines Foil-Pressed is the real foil which sparkles! A card that shines is my kind of card.

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The Family Snap Shots card is in the top spot for me! One of the reasons I love this card is you can incorporate lots of pictures from throughout the year. I included a surfing contest where my son won first price during his surf camp. A family picture from earlier in the year, a picture of our son on a beach on our vacation and I even included our wedding picture which was ten years ago this December! Being able to add little captions under each picture is another reason I really love this card.

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The card above the Southern Accent Holiday Card, is a fun card with great holiday cheer. The picture with santa and the ho ho ho matched perfectly for this holiday card!

Minted has all types of cards from holiday, Christmas, New Years, and corporate cards, there are of course photo cards as you see above but also a wide variety of non-photo cards. There are a few different designs that say “Happy Everything” which I believe is so clever sometimes you are sending a card and you don’t know what someone is celebrating. All of the cards are made by designers and Minted has really done something incredible for the art and design communities around the country. Choose your Minted Holiday Cards this season! For a limited time Minted is offering 15% OFF HOLIDAY ORDERS $150+, 10% OFF $100+. USE JOY14 | THE FREE FOIL EVENT: 20% OFF FOIL-PRESSED CARDS. USE FOIL2014.

Nov 10
2014

Coaster Holiday Express! Ride the train with Santa!

by Nicole Connerley

For tickets for the 2017 Coaster Holiday Express click here

To find the updated link for 2016 please click here.

See the 2015 post on the Coaster Holiday Express by clicking here.

Families can take a ride on a magical holiday train with Santa, Mrs. Claus and friends on Saturday, December 6. North County Transit District’s Coaster Holiday Express is a specially decorated train ride that features photo opportunities with Santa and classic carol singing for children of all ages. Each 65-minute Holiday COASTER Express ride travels non-stop and roundtrip from Oceanside to Solana Beach. The ride is recommended for families with children between the ages of 3 and 10.

Last year we had so much fun taking our son on the Coaster Holiday Express! It is only $8 per person this year with departure times of 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. from the Oceanside transit center. Please note tickets are not available day of and it will SELL OUT AND FAST! Tickets may be purchased on Wednesday, November 12th in person at a transit center or online here.

Nov 8
2014

A Caring Conversation

by Nicole Connerley

Whether we like it or not there may be a time when someone we love will not be able to care for themselves. Having Care Conversations to prepare for a loved one or spouse is just as important as their medical treatment. Have any of these care conversations happened to you?

I have two sisters, but I feel like I’m alone in caring for our aging parents?
My husband says he doesn’t want to talk about the future, and gets angry whenever I bring it up. What can I do?
I talked to my father but he said not to worry about it…
When should I have a care conversation with my family?
My family can’t agree on a care plan for my grandmother. Conversations are becoming very unproductive.

These conversations are difficult and with the help of Care Conversations it will turn an unproductive conversation into a positive and productive conversation that every family needs to have. Care Conversations connects us with advice from long-term care professionals (doctors, nurses, home care, skilled nursing facilities) to give the best options for our loved ones.

My family had this discussion with my grandmother after my grandfather passed away. At the time we didn’t know what to ask or where to go, but after using Advance Directives we found what was the perfect fit for her and for us. My son and I visited her often, usually a couple of times a week just to stop in and visit with her. I loved that she was just a few miles down the street from us and she was able to see my little boy (her only great-grandchild) often.

Another main concern when choosing a facility is the cost! WOW, some can be pretty pricy but there are actually a few payment options many people don’t know about. Many insurance companies (depending on the plan) will help with the cost, and Medicare and Medicaid are usually a good place to start. When deciding on what you need be sure and ask how long the benefits will last? If you are in the beginning stages of Planning and Preparing please watch the video below. I know it will be helpful for not only you but your loved one as well.