Review + Giveaway: Cheeky Monkey Peanut Allergy Prevention Project #ad

This is a sponsored post.

New parents often have a lot to worry about and wondering if their child will develop food allergies or a peanut allergy is one of them. An alarming 3,000,000 people including 2% children in the US are allergic to peanuts. Despite expert advice since 2008, withholding peanut food from infants does not reduce risk of peanut allergy, however, a recent study found that introducing peanut food during infancy can reduce the risk of peanut allergy. Introducing Cheeky Monkey Peanut Butter Puffs. They're 100% organic, high in protein, non-GMO, Gluten-free, has no chemicals, no added sugar, no preservatives, no trans-fats, not fried, Vegan, dairy-free, and has no flavor extracts. 

Date Night: Book of Mormon Musical at Segerstrom Center #scfta

Disclosure: We attended a media preview.

Date night isn’t a common occurrence at our house. Evenings and weekends are usually reserved for helping the kids with homework or attending/coaching sports events. But when I heard that THE BOOK OF MORMON was coming to the Segerstrom Center for the Arts, my husband and I took it as a sign that we needed to break from tradition. Combining my passion for musicals with his love of South Park humor (made famous by Trey Parker and Matt Stone), we were ready for a date night made in heaven.

3 New Spring Salads @BoudinBakery PLUS a Giveaway! #BSF2016

Most recently we were out sampling new spring salads at Boudin SF Bakery with Corporate Chef, Alan Skversky. Available for a limited time, three new salads are available on their menu including last year's favorite: the Lemony Couscous Salad. Find out more about the salads below and enter for a chance to win a gift card!

Mango & Red Quinoa has romaine and spicy baby arugula lettuces, red quinoa, mango, red grapes, red onion, almonds and goat cheese tossed in a house-made mango citrus vinaigrette. (287 cal, vegetarian, contains nuts)

Ticket Giveaway: America's Family Pet Expo 2016 4/22-4/26

Celebrating all things pets, the 27th Annual America’s Family Pet Expo returns to the OC Fair & Event Center in Costa Mesa this Friday, April 22 - Sunday, April 24, 2016. Catch a dog show, check out exotic reptiles, pet animals, shop for accessories, or find for the perfect pet to adopt. Pet Expo brings us cats, dogs, miniature farm animals, birds, and exotic reptiles all together in one place so we can enjoy them all.

Important note: Please do not bring your pets. 

New to the Pet Expo

New this year is a collection of mini-farm animals including mini donkeys, mini cattle, mini sheep, mini dairy goats, chickens, rabbits, and pot belly pigs. Also, horses from Camp Rusk Foundation for Retired Horses will make their debut.

Giveaway: Family Style Meal at Yalla Medi! #yallamedi

If you love Mediterranean food without the long wait, Yalla Medi has build-your-own pita wraps, skewers, salads, and a selection of fresh Mediterranean side dishes and sauces. Here's a Yalla Plate that I sampled with two different proteins: house-made Falafel and Steak Skewers. It comes with Basmati rice, mixed greens, and three sides.

Wraps

You can order one of their signature wraps or make your own. I tried their Moroccan Wrap, and it was super hot because of the fire feta. (So good though). Other signatures are The Greek, Jerusalem "Street Style" and Lebanese.

Ticket Giveaway: Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series April 23 - 24! #LOORRS2016 #KidsGetInFree AD

This is a sponsored post. #LOORRS2016 #KidsGetInFree

Do you love short course off-road racing? The Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series is coming to Lake Elsinore, California this April 23rd and 24th, and they're bringing intense four wheel action to the tracks! Lake Elsinore Motorsports Track is an outdoor racing facility with four tracks for all levels of riders. You'll get to watch featured drivers: Taylor Atchison, Kevin McCullough, Bryce Menzies, Jerett Brooks, Casey Currie, and many more. Families can now pick up FREE Kids Admissions at SoCal Wahoo's Fish Tacos PLUS one lucky reader will get to win tickets and a gift card to dine at Wahoo's. Get the info below!

Ticket Giveaway: Disney on Ice Presents Treasure Trove #disneyonice

Disney on Ice presents Treasure Trove - Presented by Stonyfield YoKids Organic Yogurt is coming back to Southern California to delight young fans with a skating spectacular featuring an extraordinary lineup of stories from the Disney Vault for the ultimate Disney celebration! Tickets are now available from April 13-24, 2016 at the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario and Long Beach Arena.

Highlighting eight Disney movies and featuring more than 50 Disney characters, Feld Entertainment’s Disney On Ice presents Treasure Trove – Presented by YoKids, will create memories your family will treasure for a lifetime...

Brunching at Saint Marc Huntington Beach

Most recently we went in for a tasting at Saint Marc Pub-Cafe, Bakery and Cheese Affinage for their new brunch which is offered every day/7 days a week. Located at the new Pacific City Center in Huntington Beach, you can find them on the second floor. Free flowing bread baskets, yummy danishes and croissants baked fresh daily, twisted grapefruits, bacon bar and bites, and cheese boards - I am totally enjoying. Ordering is via iPad.

Bakery 

They're offering up a variety of croissants and danishes like almond croissant, chocolate croissant, peach & bacon danish, strawberry & almond danish, apple & cheddar danish, ham & Swiss croissant, and spinach & feta croissant. With so many varieties to choose from all baked in-house, you'll absolutely find a favorite.

Movie Giveaway: ICE AGE Great Egg-scapade on Digital HD! #iceage #insiderseggscapade

Do you and your family love Ice Age films? Scrat, Manny (Ray Romano), Sid (John Leguizamo), and Diego (Denis Leary) return once again for an all-new holiday adventure, Ice Age: The Great Egg-scapade!

Peaches really wants to see an "Eagles Show" with her friends on Easter Day instead of celebrating the holiday with her family which made her mom sad. Meanwhile, an angry pirate bunny, Squint (Seth Green), wants his revenge from a previous film. When Sid falls asleep egg-sitting, it was the perfect opportunity for Squint to steal the eggs and hide them. It was a hunt for eggs and Squint’s brother, Clint (Blake Anderson), is there to help. After the families reunite and the eggs began to hatch, Peaches realize that family is cool.

This short Ice Age film was a cute new way of explaining how the Easter Bunny and Easter Egg Hunting all started. It runs about 20 minutes and includes bonus features like how they designed Scratch, Scratte and more! (see the list below)

Inside Discovery Cube's New Dora and Diego Exhibit PLUS a Family Membership Giveaway!

This is a sponsored post. #discoverycubemoms

There's a new exhibit at the Discovery Cube OC. Even though my kids may have outgrown Dora and Diego, the Dora and Diego - Let's Explore! exhibit was fun to explore. Plant flowers in Isa’s Flowery Garden, help Tico gather nuts at Tico's Tree and Car, uncover pirate treasure at Piggies' Pirate Ship, help baby animals in the Animal Rescue Center, line up the stars at Constellation, and help Dora and her friends pilot the Rocket Ship. Like the television series, the exhibit is designed to help children use eight different abilities proposed by Dr. Howard Gardner at Harvard University (verbal/linguistic, logical/mathematical, music/auditory, visual/spatial, bodily/kinesthetic, naturalistic, and interpersonal (social and self).



Family Guides
Be sure to grab one of these Family Guides upon entering the exhibit! It is nicely illustrated to help families get the most out of the exhibit as well as exploring at home. What I like about the exhibit is that they have interactive components throughout the exhibit encouraging parents to be a part of the experience. For example, in Isa’s Flowery Garden, I saw a sign that said, "Grownups, help your child say it in English and Spanish," and "Grownups, C'mon and play! Slide a puppet through the fence."

Featured March Signature Items at STACKED: Food Well Built PLUS a Giveaway!

My family and I been out trying new spring menu items around OC, and if you love pesto and arugula, you're going to love this month's Signature Items Menu at STACKED: Food Well Built. If you haven't been to STACKED, I'll just quickly explain that they have a unique tabletop iPad ordering system where you can completely customize your order. You will be able to remove, replace, put it on the side, or how ever you wish, and then you send it to the kitchen via iPad. Here are March's featured menu items...

Basil Pesto and Wild Arugula Pizza (or Flatbread)

Their pizza comes with basil pesto, grape tomatoes, red onion, wild arugula and Mozzarella cheese. Every bite is a mouthful of arugula and gooey melted cheese. It's so good and perfect to share.

Note: Huntington Beach location offers the flatbread (pictured above) instead of the pizza.

PEANUTS Family Movie Night PLUS Giveaway! #PeanutsInsiders #PeanutsMovieNight

We love family movie nights. It's one of the most easiest and inexpensive ways to spend quality family time together. I love it when we can enjoy a film together in our PJ's and when my kids are acting loud and crazy, no one is there to judge us. Thanks to Fox Home Ent Insiders (FHEI) , sometimes we get to go all out and make it a party! This family night, we're celebrating The PEANUTS Movie coming to Blu-ray, DVD, + Digital HD and FHEI sent us a wonderful movie kit which included PEANUTS-themed treasures. 

Ticket Giveaway: International Children's Day Festival at Aquarium of the Pacific

Photo: Courtesy of the Aquarium of the Pacific

The Aquarium of the Pacific's 11th Annual International Children's Day Festival is back again and they're celebrating the amazing talents of children of all cultures featuring dance performances in West African, Mexican, Pacific Islander, Cambodian, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, and Persian. Come join the fun on the weekend of April 9-10 from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. There will be an international children's choir, martial arts demonstrations, face painting, Japanese origami, Native American crafts, and Pacific Islander traditional children's games.  The Aquarium will also honor a local youth with its annual Young Hero Award in recognition of his or her efforts to make our planet a better place. Please find below the schedule for both days, a coupon, and a chance to win tickets, because we get to send one lucky reader to the festival with a family four pack!

FREE Child Admission Coupon

Get FREE Child Admission with Paid Adult Admission with this coupon! Valid on April 9-10, 2016 only >>  {{get it here}}

Great Wolf Lodge: Mommy and Me at Scooops Kid Spa #gwlsocal

Remember when we were touring and previewing the new Great Wolf Lodge in Garden Grove? It's going to take a while to share everything they offer, but I'm going to start this series with a Mommy and Me Spa Afternoon at Scooops Kid Spa. Sometimes you need to make a little time to celebrate being a girl, wear tiaras, and feel like a princess. Needless to say, I was the best auntie of the day, because our mani's and pedi's came with an ice cream treat at the end. 

Hint: It's open to the public! You don't need to be hotel guests to experience Scooops and the first two hours of parking is free with validation.

Show Review: Odysseo by Cavalia - Irvine, California #odysseoOC

A few weeks ago for Cavalia's Odysseo Social Media week, we attended as media and were able to take photos/videos during the show. My husband and I were completely blown away! It was a wonderful theatrical experience as each segment tells a story. This show is great for all ages, and they're performing in Orange County until the end of the month!





Even if you're not a big horse person, you will be amazed! While we waited for the show to begin, they displayed fun facts about the show like there are 65 horses and it takes about 2 years to train a trick horse, 4 years to train a liberty horse, and 6 years to train a dressage horse. Then when the show started, it was high energy and got us all excited to see more. Both riders and dancers were entertaining and fun to watch. In some performances, the horses are trained to perform without reins!

TICKET GIVEAWAY: Harbor Breeze Cruises Whale Watching + Aquarium of the Pacific #lbwhales

Disclosure: We attended as media.

We could spend a whole day in Long Beach. Most recently, we went whale watching with Harbor Breeze Cruises for two hours and then stopped into the Aquarium of the Pacific right after to grab lunch and explore more marine life. It was a great day to be on the water, because we saw several animals including a gray whale, a fin whale, a humpback whale, and dolphins. What's unique about Harbor Breeze is that they have stadium seating in the front of the boat. You'll want to bundle up though, because it gets really cold on the water at high speeds.

How to find them:

Harbor Breeze Cruises is located right next to Aquarium of the Pacific at Dock #2. You'll want to get there at least 30 minutes before departure. They offer different types of packages (see below).

8th Annual OC Restaurant Week March 6th-12th #ocrw

For it's 8th year, OC Restraunt Week celebrates the amazing dining establishments throughout Orange County and is featuring 140 restaurants in 21 cities. From casual and family-friendly establishments to upscale and fine dining, there is a perfect place paired with the perfect meal that awaits. Participating restaurants during the week long event offer special three-course meals, many including a cocktail or signature item at no additional charge. Each restaurant  has the freedom of showcasing it's best offerings by their talented chefs while personalizing each menu to best represent their own interpretations and cooking styles. We attended a preview featuring several of the amazing culinary locations involved throughout the week long event and are sharing some of our top picks below!




Kutsi Cocina Bar and Lounge in Santa Ana  has your sweet tooth covered with their Maria Bonita Pastel. Layered pastry with lime zest and a raspberry sauce.

Movie Review: Disney #Zootopia

We went to a pre-screening of Disney's Zootopia and thought it was great! Perfect for the whole family and overloaded with cuteness, this film comes out just in time to celebrate the Easter season. The movie is about Judy Hopps (voice of Ginnifer Goodwin),  the bunny who despite the odds of being female and tiny, followed her dreams and became the first rabbit officer. 

DINING: Solita Tacos and Margaritas + New Tequila Tasting Thursdays #solitamommies

We finally got to try Solita Tacos in Huntington Beach. If you love Mexican food with a contemporary flare, Solita is worth checking out. They just celebrated their second anniversary and we got to try their inaugural tequila tasting Thursdays. They're also participating during OC Restaurant Week. If you're wondering if it's family-friendly, they sat us in the middle where we can see the action in the bar area but we were also half way in the patio where all the other families were and where it was much quieter. It's kind of like the best of both worlds. 

antojitos (little cravings)

We tried two items on the appetizer menu. The first being their spicy maria shrimp cocktel which has shrimp tossed in their in-house Bloody Mary mix with tequila and smoky chipotle chiles, salsa fresca, lime and avocado. The portion was quite large (great to share), and it was pretty spicy. Another item on the menu is their fresh and tasty guacamole solita. Served in a fried tortilla bowl, it includes diced mango, tomato, onions, Serrano chile and cilantro.

Moms, Make Time for Sweet Rewards with Betty Crocker

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser.

All opinions are mine alone. #BlissfulMoments #CollectiveBias

Moms, are you super busy all the time, get tired easily, and need a break by mid-week? That is me right now. This year my boys are on different school schedules and will be for another year. After a few days of chauffeuring everyone around, several alarms going off throughout the day, pick up lines, helping with homework, preparing dinner, bath times, and nagging everyone to go to bed on time, I have extreme anxieties and need relief. Don't get me wrong, I love being a mom, but I also need time to recharge to make it through the end of the week. If you feel the same way, I suggest making time for yourself. (Even 15 minutes a day will go a long way.) Here are two easy ways to make time for yourself while enjoying some Sweet Rewards by Betty Crocker™ Soft Cookie Bars.

Morning Break

After I drop the kids off at school, every morning I take a coffee break. I drink it hot, because it takes a while to drink it. Pair it with a sweet treat like Betty Crocker's Chocolate Chip Cookie Bar and add fresh flowers. It's one of the best 15 minutes you can do for yourself. 

Segerstrom Center: The Book of Mormon March 22 - April 3 #SCFTA

Back by popular demand, The Book of Mormon returns to Orange County for a limited engagement March 22 – April 3, 2016. Performing at Segerstrom Center for the Arts, it is written as a religious satire musical as the story line follows two Mormon missionaries on their attempt to share their scriptures with the inhabitants of a remote Ugandan village. 

The earnest young men are challenged by the disinterest of the locals who are occupied by more pressing troubles such as AIDS, famine and oppression from a warlord. The Book of Mormon contains many religious themes, most notably those of faith and doubt. Smart, hysterical, inappropriate, and offensive are some of the words that describe this show. It’s a must see for adults who like South Park humor.

Spring Break Special + Ticket Giveaway at Medieval Times Buena Park | #MTspringbreak #MTfan

Recently some of my blogger girlfriends and I enjoyed a night out over dinner and a show with the knights of Medieval Times at Buena Park Castle. From the moment they crowned us on the green team, we all knew we were in for a great evening. Which My Lady will capture the Knight's heart and get that flower? We were all up for some friendly competition and brought our sense of humor with us.

The show was an epic battle over which Knight was the most honorable and most skilled over tournament games, jousting, sword fighting, and horsemanship.