What to Eat When Mommy's Out of Town

I received product for review in order to facilitate this post and giveaway. All opinions are my own and I only share products and services I know will be useful for my readers.

A few weeks ago I attended ShiftCon, a health and wellness blogger conference..  While I didn't have too travel far, it was just an hour and a half up the freeway in Los Angeles, I wasn't planning to drive back and forth and needed to think ahead on what my family would be eating for dinner while I was away. Any mom who goes away for a few days has probably had the same thought as I did... "I hope they don't eat out for dinner every night." My husband is pretty good with cooking dinner, but it is definitely a tall order to be charged with caring for the kids all day, taking them to all their soccer games and softball practice and finding the energy to put a balanced meal on the table. I mean, it's hard enough when it's both of us here. Well, lucky for me an opportunity to try out Charlie's Classic Cooking came at the right time!

What is Charlie's Classic Cooking you ask? It's a meal plan delivery service prepared by an honest to goodness chef. But, wait. There's more! Cooking classes (for kids and adults), cooking club, catering, fundraising and much more. When Charlie came to deliver our 4 family sized meals and told us a little more about his services my daughter's ears perked up about the kids cooking classes. She is eager to get in the kitchen, but just needs a little more direction than what I can give her to let her budding culinary aspirations take flight.

A Little More About Charlie:

With over 25 years of experience of teaching and providing healthy nutritious meals, Chef Charlie has made it his mission to teach everyone the importance of healthy living. Throughout his career, Chef Charlie has prided himself on creating meals from all natural ingredients with no preservatives or additives and 100% trans-fat free. Every delicious dish, whether it’s from our economical and healthy meal plan or customized cooking classes, is always fresh, using locally grown produce and the finest sustainable ingredients seasonally available.

Our meals were delivered cold and in 4 easy to store containers. I had to move a few things around in the fridge to get everything to fit but really what mom hasn't dealt with rearranging things? There was a sheet with our meals listed and instruction to prepare them. I was excited about not just the ease of having dinners ready to go in our fridge for when I was gone, but that these meals had no preservatives or additives like you would find in most foods in the freezer section of the grocery store. 

Because I didn't want to miss out on the entire experience I actually served up one of the meals before I left for my conference. We had the Fettuccine Alfredo with carrots, broccoli and red peppers.

Side note: I couldn't find the sheet of paper with the cooking instructions! So I tossed together all of the ingredients - which all of the items are already cooked - popped it in the oven and warmed it up for about 25 minutes. It came out great! When I found the instructions it had something quite different detailed but either way it turned out great!

This was restaurant quality but with that home cooked feel, you know where it doesn't taste weighed down by fat in order to add flavor? My kids ate it up and wished I had not added all of the sauce. The sauce came in a ziploc baggie and I should have followed my own advice "start with a little, you can always add more." The good thing is that for those who LOVE alfredo sauce, you know there is plenty! I loved that this was a dish that had veggies already mixed in, of course for the health benefits but it also just made the dish that much more appealing to eat. How often do you get 3 veggies on your kid's dinner plate? Nice work Charlie! 

I was excited to try the Lime and Cumin Grilled Chicken with tomato Corn Relish and fresh green beans when I returned from my conference. No hassle dinner after a full weekend of hustle and bustle... BONUS! 

It was so nice to have not just the main course but a full meal with side dishes easy to prepare and tasty to eat. We ended up eating this meal outdoors on the patio which was perfect for this end of summer meal. 

The menu changes weekly and everything is made with natural and local ingredients. And you save a ton of time in meal planning and grocery shopping and most of the food preparation has been done for you. This is a great resource for San Diego families to give themselves a break from the rigor of fixing dinner every night or to save time during the busy holiday season. 

Charlie's Classic Cooking wants one of my readers (that's YOU!) to experience what it's like to have the night off from worrying about dinner. Enter below to win a delivered meal for a family of 4 valued at $75. 

Charlies Classic Cooking

The food just needed to be reheated and dinner was served! I so appreciate the opportunity to give Charlie's Classic Cooking a try and will remember them for the future.

Disney on Ice - Dare to Dream - Giveaway

Do you love Disney? Do you love watching ice skating? Do you love winning tickets?

Then this is for you! 

Disclosure: Tickets have been provided to me in exchange for sharing the upcoming event.

Disney on Ice Presents Dare to Dream presented by Stonyfield YoKids Organic Yogurt.  I pretty much love it when two of my favorites partner up to bring something magical to kids! The show is coming to town (San Diego) Oct 1st-4th.  Enjoy reliving some of your favorite moments from Disney's most popular features with our favorite princesses, Rapunzel, Snow White, Cinderella and Tiana. Of course some of their side kicks will be skating alongside them and dazzling us with their moves on the ice. My kids love Tangled because there's a character for everyone to identify with!

  

What's your favorite Disney movie?

Here's a little preview to show the kids and get them excited about going to watch their favorite characters take the ice.

I have a family 4 pack of tickets to giveaway for opening night, Thursday Oct 1st 2015! Be sure to scroll down and enter for your chance to win.

The place to be is Valley View Casino Center on Sports Arena Blvd. Kid tickets are just $10 (excluding VIP and Front Row) making it a great family affair! Adult ticket prices range from $15 to $25 and there's VIP seating ($45) and Front Row seating ($60) THOSE tickets go very quickly!

Over a 4 day period there are just 7 shows, and the day time shows go quickly so if you want to buy tickets do it now.

o   Thursday, Oct. 1             7:00 PM

o   Friday, Oct. 2                 7:00 PM

o   Saturday, Oct. 3             11:00 AM, 3:00 PM & 7:00 PM

o   Sunday, Oct. 4               1:00 PM & 5:00 PM

There's so much sparkle and imagination throughout their shows, it's such a great way to share a little magic as a family and create those lifelong memories. I'm looking forward to taking my kids and making it an evening to remember!

Here's your chance to enter the giveaway...


Disney On Ice Dare to Dream Family 4 Pack

Be sure to check their website for the entire tour schedule. There are plenty of stops and likely to be one near you very soon!

10 Need to Know Tips before Visiting LEGOLAND

We have enjoyed Legoland Merlin passes in years past. It is seriously one of our favorite Southern California hot spots. As my kids have gotten older we've become quite busy with their sports commitments so it has been awhile since we've been to Legoland California. When I announced that we received free tickets to go spend the day exploring all that is new with Legoland in order to facilitate this post and giveaway, they were super excited!

The kids really wanted to check out LEGO Chima Water Park, one of the newer and most popular areas at Legoland.

Cragger's Swamp is within LEGO Chima Water Park offers plenty of hands on fun! There are 50 interactive water play features and the water is just one foot deep. 

One of our all time favorite rides is Lost Kingdom Adventure. Laser guns and keeping score make this a fun family competition. It's usually boys in one car and girls in the other and we tease about who's going down!

Our excitement is obvious as we are next to get on the ride!

There's something about boats and Legoland. We kinda dig them!

This is Skipper School. Kids can even take the wheel!

Pirate Reef is a splashing fun time!

Amberly and I got to be in the very back of The Dragon!

The kids got their "drivers license" too! They love driving. I think it has to be with being in control.

Over in Miniland USA we found some fun activities were going on and joined in the fun. Hula hoops and the limbo are some classic summer past times that I loved as a kid.

Amberly happens to love the hula hoop.

Everybody makes it through the first few limbo rounds.

There's so much more we did that I didn't snap a photo of, like go to Castle Ice Cream, take our usual ride on Fairy Tale Brook, explore The Hideaways, ride Knights Tournament and catch a little bit of the Friends Forever show. One day is simply not enough time to do it all! I was looking at their website and am considering a surprise return trip because of the awesome deal they have right now.

Here's a bonus video from Legoland California when Owen was really little! He shows you how to sign HELICOPTER:

As promised, here are 10 HOT TIPS to get the most out of your visit to Legoland California:

1. Wear comfy socks and shoes - you'll be doing a lot of walking! When we visit a theme park I always wear my Ecocise Bamboo socks. Super soft and extra absorbent.

2. Pack your snacks and water. Every theme park varies on it's outside food policy. Legoland specifically states on their website:
Please note that coolers and outside food are not permitted in the Park, however bottled water and any food or beverages required for specific dietary needs are allowed."
Because we try to eat as much organic and GMO free as possible (we follow an 80/20 rule) and know we'll be having a few treats in the park, we always pack some of our staples to take with us. We had no problem bringing them in.

3. Purchase and print your ticket at home. This will help you avoid the ticket booth lines. Plus you can score a really good deal by taking advantage of their online offers!

4. Be the first ones there. SEALIFE Aquarium opens one hour earlier than the rest of the park. This should motivate you to leave the house on time. Note: Entry to SEALIFE requires separate ticket or park hopper ticket for entry.

5. Download the Legoland California App, it's FREE! Quickly check show times and special events, wait times for rides and much more!

6. Check height requirements for rides. When our boys weren't tall enough for some the rides this was critical to plan out which rides we would tackle altogether and which ones my husband would take Amberly on separately.

7. Recharge your phone. Taking a bunch of pictures and videos of your family making memories can drain your phone's battery. Charging stations are located in the Baby Care Center, LEGO Clubhouse and Membership Processing.

8. Check Ride Wait Times. Legoland keeps this updated and it can help you in planning which section of the park to visit next.

9. Parent Swap. No reason you can't both enjoy the ride! Some kids don't do well on roller coasters, or maybe they don't meet the height requirement. Wait in line together, let one parent ride with kids that are going, when they return, just swap parents. This is a great concept and not everyone knows about it.

10. Store your stuff. Don't let lugging your stuff around slow you down. Locker prices range from $3 to $10 depending on size and where you choose to rent a locker. Finding cool souvenirs? No problem! The cashier will often ask if you'd like to pick your purchase up at The Marketplace near the exit at the end of the day. What service!

For more helpful tips see Know before you go.

Before I get to the giveaway, I want to share the current promo going on:
McDonald’s is running a promotion in SoCal restaurants (L.A. and San Diego) from June 29th to July 31 t015ly 31. It is a Kids Go Free offer with any purchase at a participating McDonald’s in the promotional period. Kids Go Free with paid adult ticket to LEGOLAND® California Resort and your choice of LEGOLAND Water Park or SEA LIFE® Aquarium.  It is a $104 value!

Okay, now are you ready to enter and try to win your family 4 pack of Legoland California Park Hopper tickets?

GOOD LUCK!




Legoland Family 4 Pack

Disclaimer: I received tickets in order to facilitate this post and giveaway. All opinions are my own.

Slater's 50/50

We stopped at Slater's 50/50 for lunch not too long ago and took the kids. Cory and I had only been once before and I'd been looking forward to going back. I didn't realize another one had opened just up the freeway from us. Since we don't get down to Liberty Station too often this San Marcos location is perfect because it is just a hop, skip and a jump away. Which could pose a problem since I fantasize about this dessert I had once upon a time.

In case you haven't had the pleasure of sinking your teeth into a Slater's 50/50 burger, let me tell you what that 50/50 means.... their burgers are 50% ground bacon and 50% ground beef. You can opt for 100% ground beef, but I don't know why you'd pass on having all that bacon literally fill up your burger! Want to know what else is awesome about the meat here? They get their beef from a local beef supplier that practices humane treatment of animals, practices sustainability and uses no hormones or antibiotics. This is a practice I can only hope will spread! I'm finding that these cool local hipsters are shaking things up with their way of thinking when it comes to serving up natural food choices. Here's one more fun fact that you're going to love.... they weigh the burger after it is cooked. That means you'll be pleasantly surprised by a bigger than usual burger compared to other joints that weigh the burger prior to cooking.


For an appetizer we went with the Fried Bacon Mac N' Cheese Balls. If you pass on these you are making a big mistake. Bacon and Mac N' Cheese together in a ball is a treat to savor! At first the kids didn't want to try them but I convinced them and they were glad. In fact they wanted to order more!

I'm always eager to scout a restaurant for being family friendly. Slater's did not disappoint. They had coloring sheets and crayons for the kids, several choices on their kids' menu and the servers were super accommodating. My daughter was not planning to eat since she lost her appetite on the drive home from an away game. But when the boys' meals arrived, she suddenly found her appetite and when we asked to place an extra order it came out very quickly.


Slater's has a really cool Design It option where you can create the burger of your wildest dreams. And given that kind of freedom was too much to pass up for my husband. I couldn't recall every detail of his burger invention. You will want to put your creativity to the test and develop your own burger anyhow.

I went the traditional route and got the 50/50. It's outstanding! The sunny side up egg not only makes it a mess, it really pulls the whole burger together. The burgers are brought to your table with a knife staked in it. Kind of one of their signature deals there.

We made the mistake of skipping dessert this time. When we went there just the two of us we shared an amazing bacon brownie sundae. The combination made me curious and when I took that first bite I was hooked. And I've been craving it ever since. That just means we have to visit again soon!

The atmosphere is hip and casual. When looking around I thought "I bet this place is the spot on a Friday or Saturday night!"

There are 7 locations throughout SoCal, so find one and sink your teeth in!

You can find this on my Restaurant Reviews Pinterest board. PIN IT now.

Antique Engine & Tractor Show

What started off as a lazy Saturday picked up steam when I saw that my friend the Lovely Lysa had tickets to share for the Antique Engine & Tractor show in Vista. I asked my husband if he thought it would be fun and he said "Sure!" We grew up in Vista and his mom was pretty good about taking the kids to explore different things so he had been to the Antique Gas & Steam Engine Museum before. In fact he had taken the kids there before on a weekday when not much was going on. We figured this was a good way to have them get a glimpse of what life was like 100 years ago.

It took us about 30 minutes to head up the freeway and we still had 2 hours to walk around and explore. I must have taken 100 pictures! Good thing I had made room on my iPhone just the other day. 

As we entered the grounds I could already hear the muttering from the kids. They didn't think it was going to be any fun. My husband reminded them to have an open mind and to be appreciative of the fact that we had an opportunity to do something different. As you can see from the pictures, they ended up having a lot of fun! 

Now onto pictures...

Honking horns is great fun! Especially tractor horns.

We saw a water wagon that brought water in for the orchards.

Model T Fords were on display to see up up close.

The kids were drawn to the various water pumps. 

  

And when I saw this purple contraption of course I had to stop and gawk at it for a minute.

Who knew there were such a variety of corn huskers? It looks like we missed the demonstration.

 

There was an exhibitor with tables full of old fashioned kitchen gadgets

There was more to look at and touch...

I love thinking that about 100 years ago a father rigged up a small tractor and wagon for his son to help him around the farm.

And then we saw the playground.... and get this.... there was a Merry-Go-Round!

I didn't know if I was going to be able to pull them away from it! Since these things don't exist on San Diego playgrounds I had to let them take a spin. And the kicker is we almost walked by and missed it! I think we'll have to go back here in the not too distant future because I want to get some more pictures of them spinning. I did take some video and post it on instagram. I tend to post live from there as we explore San Diego so be sure to follow me there.

When we saw there was a train, the kids wanted to do that too! What's awesome is you pay just $1 and you can ride several times on the same day. Gotta love that!

I couldn't resist getting the kids fudge bars. They were only a dollar apiece. This place definitely makes it affordable for families. I was lucky to be get in under the wire and buy these fudge bars just as the sandwich shop was closing shop. 

The kids went to ride the train again and we listened to a banjo jam session.

Cory found the best seat for listening to the banjo jam session... The young man who was driving the train approached us and said he owned it and they started chatting about how Cory's grandpa used to own a tractor like this and the memories it brought back from being a kid and riding in his grandpa's lap while he drove it.

We were getting ready to head out.... but whenever I see vendors I have to go take a look-see and it is a good thing I did. I found this perfect blanket for the 4th of July. Guess how much I paid for it.... TWO DOLLARS. Okay, I am just loving this blanket! And I had a great conversation with the woman who sold it to me about how she hosted foreign exchange students a few years back. 

Then the same woman who sold me the blanket encouraged us to go over and see about building some rockets with one of the other vendors. Well, you can't say no to that! You'll have to check back when I share about that.

It was 4:30 pm and time for the show to shut down for the evening. Over the loud speaker we heard that the vendors and exhibitors or anyone staying overnight at the campgrounds was invited to partake in a tractor parade at 8 pm. Now that has got to be a cool thing to see!

Walking back to the car I saw these signs and knew we had more to come back and see. We didn't make it to the gift shop or the bake shop or the workshop! 

This event rolls back around in October and I am marking my calendar for it.

It ended up being a really fun outing for everyone. The next time an opportunity pops up for you to do something out of the ordinary, I hope you'll think back to this post and take advantage. Thank you again to the Lovely Lysa and North County Deals for this fun, educational experience.

Theatre Under the Stars - Moonlight Celebrates 35 Years

Last week we took the kids to enjoy "All Shook Up" at Monnlight Amplitheatre.

Image via Moonlight Production

This year marks 35 years of magic on the outdoor stage. If you can believe it, I grew up in Vista and never had the privilege of going to Moonlight. Ever since high school I have loved live theatre! When the characters perform live before your eyes there is an added connection to the story line that cannot be fully described. I couldn't wait to share this love of live theatre with the kids!

After picking up our tickets at will call we walked through what felt like a little slice of summer with these beautifully lit arches. As the sun went down they became even more beautiful. This picture is not representing the full romance.

And on the ground there are these timeless quotes about the arts.

 

Next time I plan to ask the kids to read them and find out what they think the meaning is for each one. I love finding interesting quotes like this out in our communities. They can be great conversation starters whether on a date or to inspire your kids to embrace their creative side.

We planned to get there a little early to eat dinner before the show. As luck would have it we were running a little behind but still got to our seats with enough time to eat before the first set. Just one of the many benefits of outdoor theatre.... eating in your seats is totally allowed! Many people in the lawn seats both in front of us and behind us had either blankets sprawled out or what I call wine and cheese tables.

I pointed out to the kids that behind us that there was a lighting crew that would help set the mood for each scene.

I was delighted with our seats even if we were near the back row. As you can see there's not a bad seat in the house.

All Shook Up was a great show! I was toe tapping and singing along to Elvis classics like Jailhouse Rock and Blue Suede Shoes.

The summer show schedule has something for everyone

The kids saw that Shrek the Musical is in August and want to come back for that one!

Moonlight offers fabulous family night ticket pricing on Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday nights. Adult tickets are $24 and kids 15 and under just $10 each. These are good for lawn seats, don't worry, they provide the chairs! This makes picnicking before the show a perfect pair. This time we had reserved seats but the kids already declared that they want to do lawn seats next time.

If you have not added theatre to your summer bucket list, I highly recommend it! If you live in San Diego, the drive to Vista for this truly unique experience is worth it. If you happen to live outside of San Diego, I encourage you to see if there is an outdoor stage somewhere in your vicinity, it truly adds a little bit of magic to summer.

Disclaimer: I was provided tickets in order to share my experience. 

Regardless, all opinions are my own.