Zimmer Children's Museum - Free Admission

On the 10th Anniversary of the attacks on 9/11, we decided to take a breather from all the memorial services on TV by going to the Zimmer Children's Museum for FREE. We had never been here before and had to go since they were offering free admission today.

The girls had a lot of fun playing in the waterway exhibit and swimming in a shipwreck ball pit. They spent the most time in the grocery store shopping, cleaning, organizing and eating. There was also a synagogue, a bookstore and a bagel shop which they didn't spend hardly any time in these areas. They did have fun playing hopscotch in the pretend park area. It was a good couple hours of Free fun!

The museum does have another Free admission day on Sunday, September 25th, 2011. Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, is also that week. So they are throwing a big party! Join them for a day of reflection and celebration as they welcome a new year with friends and families of the Zimmer! There will be activities for all our Zimmer families to learn from and share with one another. The Zimmer will be open normal Sunday hours from 12:30pm – 5:00pm.

Free Breakfast Entree at Chick Fil A

There's still time to get your free breakfast entree at Chick Fil A. Promotion is going until Saturday, September 10th. Click here to make your reservation.

Homemade Applesauce

In trying to ditch the fruit in can, bag, jar and cup with high fructose, I made applesauce.

Sarah's Applesause
I peeled, cored and chopped just 2 apples to start and put in a sauce pan
Then added 1/4 cup of water
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
and cooked for 15 min. covered until tender.
Then put it in the food processor.

The warm cinnamon applesauce tasted and smelled delicious! My oldest said she didn't like warm applesauce; so I put it in the fridge to cool down. After a few hrs. I had her try the cold applesauce but it was too cold. This baby bear wanted something to be just right at room temp. Ugh! The rest of us loved this recipe warm or cold.

I then tried to just simply slice up the apple for my oldest. She loves them! She now is off the sugar filled applesauce cups and eats the fresh stuff. She loves them even more when the apples are peeled.

Banana, Mango Smoothie

While I was at the grocery store, I was pondering over just how much processed foods there are and everything has a ton of fructose syrup, sugar and preservatives. I always buy the canned fruit, fruit cups and jarred applesauce because they last longer and so my daughter doesn't have brown apples at school. My goal this trip was not to buy fruit in a can, bag, cup or jar and try to get them to eat fresh fruit.

My 1st stop is the produce section. Believe it or not, half of my shopping cart gets filled with stuff from this section. This time, I actually put a mango is my shopping cart! I never had a mango before. My youngest sniffed it and didn't want anything to do with it; but in the shopping cart it went anyway.



Strawberry, Banana, Mango Smoothie
I got home and unloaded all my fruit. I love smoothies and decided to make one. I threw in my blender...

1 cup strawberries,
1 banana,
1 mango,
1 cup yogurt
1/2 cup milk.

It was delish. Smoothies are a great way to get a lot of fruit into you, even that mango! My youngest loved it. My oldest spit it out :(

Escaping Carmageddon to See Pirates

We were not planning to go anywhere near the 405 freeway this weekend. Instead we headed in the opposite direction to Ventura and spent the day with the pirates including Capt. Jack Sparrow. The pirates entertained us with sword fights, action shows and sing-alongs. The treasure hunt and visiting exotic birds are fun too. The kids also really enjoy getting ice cream at Coastal Cone and playing some games at the arcade. It's also a great escape from the heat although it has not been terribly hot these days. Escape Carmageddon and see some pirates!

Pirate Days, Saturday & Sunday, July 16-17, 1 to 4p.m.: Return to the mystical times when the pirates roamed the seas during the 6th Annual Pirate Days Festival. The event features professional pirate live-action shows, pirate themed activities, magic shows, treasure hunts, pirate costume contests, pirate vendors and much more. Admission is free. Free shuttle parking available on Harbor Boulevard.

No Free Slurpees For Us

The girls were excited to go and Slurpees after lunch; but I told them we would not get them if there was a huge line. So off we went to 7-11 for free Slurpees around 2:00. We still had 10 hrs. left on this freebie; so we took a chance. There were many cars driving into their parking lot; so I had my doubts on there being a not so long line. To my surprise, I got a parking spot right in front. Then I looked up. On the door was a sign that said No More Free Slurpee's. I told the girls the news and the disappointment grew and grew. I said I would still take them to get one. But as I got out of the car, a mom and her kids came out with disappointment. I overheard the mom say to them something like the Slurpee machines weren't working right.

Again, I had to bring bad news to the girls. I tried to make it up by getting ice cream or something else; but their hearts were set on Slurpees. Told them we would go back the next day when they could get a frozen Slurpee and not the nasty watered down syrup that comes out when the machines don't work right. Fast forward. The next day they shared a nice frozen half coke half grape (yuck) Slurpee. I was only out $1.50.

Free Slurpee at 7-Eleven on 7/11/11

Our Birthday, Your Bash
Stop by for a FREE 7.11 oz Slurpee drink, general merriment and a one-man dance party should you choose to start it. “Running Man” and “Raising the Roof” welcome. “Macarena” NOT welcome.


Time: Monday, July 11 at 12:00am - July 12 at 12:00am


Location: Participating 7-Eleven Stores