San Antonio's SAVE Program

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of SAVE for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

If you are thinking of visiting the state of Texas particularly San Antonio, it might help if you go to SAVE – San Antonio Vacation Experience website. You'll be able to find great discounts on tours, rental cars, hotels and more. When you visit the site, it also allows you see a map that shows you where the recommended attractions are. It is kid friendly too.

If we go to San Antonio, I would like to take RC to Sea World (coupons provided at SAVE), San Antonio Children's Museum (20% off w/ SAVE)  and San Antonio Zoo ($2 off/person with SAVE).

I want to experience the Grand Trolley Tour and save $3 per person. I'm usually not particular with hotels as long as it is clean and comfy. It's always better though to have a big room for the family. I would like to stay at the Holiday Inn Riverwalk for as low as $89 per night. With SAVE, you can also shop at Market Square and get discounts on purchases you make.

If you want to view the other discounts provided you can click here --- SAVE – San Antonio Vacation Experience.

If you visit San Antonio, Texas which places do you want to go? There are so many options like go on ranches, helicopter tours, various museums etc. Limited Time Offers are going by fast. I know we're not going anytime soon  but if ever we move to the mainland, Texas is definitely a place we would like to visit. Hopefully, discounts will still be available.

You can follow them in Twitter @SAVEinSA for updates and more information aside from visiting the website. I am their follower now.  SAVE – San Antonio Vacation Experience can save you a lot especially if you are taking the whole family. Being able to save while you take a vacation is really good.

Walk on Lava Fields

I remember when we went to the Volcanoes National Park many years ago, we had to drive there before we see fields of lava everywhere but if you land in Kailua Kona, you'll see these lava fields almost instantly when you get out of the airport, miles and miles of them.

These pictures were taken on the way to Mauna Kea but we did not drive all the way there.

Be Creative with Astrobrights

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Astrobrights Papers by Neenah Paper for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Paper is a common material we use to educate kids and instill creativity. I think RC would enjoy AstroBrights papers, just the bright colors would give her additional entertainment.  She’s not going to school yet but I know ways on how to use AstroBrights papers at home. We can make DIY kid-friendly home decors especially on the holidays. We can also use it for charts, color matching , drawing, painting etc. It would be great for scrapbooking too.

AstroBrights Papers come in 23 bright colors. You can use it for projects at home, school and even office. It’s eco friendly, and it’s partially made with recycled materials.

There is an ongoing “Give a Brighter Year” sweepstakes. You can check out their Facebook page (AstroBrights papers)  for more information. It’s divided in eight periods.  To enter, you will have to like the Facebook page and submit an entry form. They are giving away $30,000 in supplies for your favorite school. The school information will also be entered in the entry form when you join the sweepstakes. You then have the chance to win $500 gift card for yourself.

You can also join the “Make Something AstroBrights” challenge. A lot of mommies shared their talents. If you are not creative, you can still take a look and get some ideas on their Facebook page. You can win Visa giftcards ranging from $100 to $400 if you join. It’s divided in four periods—get going, get artsy, get playful and get AstroBrights paper. The prizes go up for each period.

Don’t forget to check out the sweepstakes and challenge on their Facebook page -- AstroBrights papers

Challenge Yourself Express Yourself with Revlon

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Revlon for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

You may notice that I don’t put much make up on but I’m joining the challenge of Revlon. I have always wanted to try to get out of my comfort zone and learn how to put make up more. I watched tutorial videos and read articles but I still have a long way to go.

Here is one picture of me wearing the eyeprimer and one eyeshadow pallette from Revlon. This is a combination of three colors.  I love these colors, I just need more practice on putting them on.

 

 

 

They also provided me with SuperLustrous™  red lipstick, Colorburst™  lipgloss and a Colorburst™  lip butter. I love the lipgloss and the lip butter but I’m not sure with the super red lipstick. They all have bright colors but the lip butter and the lipgloss shine and they can be "adjusted" more while the lipstick is bright red even if you just dab it on your lips. Well, it's a challenge, be bold and pretty!

 

 

The additional color in the picture is the eye primer, another awesome product.

As I mentioned, it was a little hard to take a picture but I'm still sharing it with you. I was wearing the SuperLustrous™  red lipstick at the picture above.

These next pictures show the three Colorstay™  longwear nail enamels that I received. This is probably my favorite of all and the first thing that I tried when I received the package. I love the color orange. It's such a happy color. I have to let it dry completely though so it can withstand the test of household chores especially washing dishes. The first time I tried it, it peeled quickly because I was busy moving around. It takes a little time to dry but be patient.  I put the nail polish again a few days after and it's not peeling yet. When I went out to meet my friend, it is also the first thing that she noticed. She likes it too.

 

Here are the two Revlon Colorstay™ eye shadow pallettes. There is an instruction at the bottom on how to wear the colors altogether and it was the one I followed (first picture above). I personally like the one on the right because of my dark complexion.

 

Revlon Photoready™  is a makeup primer. You can use it alone or under the make up. It is very lightweight, this is always something that I notice on creams that I put on my face because I don't like the feel of creamy stuff on my face. I was hoping I will be instantly flawless when I try this but I can still see some acne and marks (silly me!). They are less noticeable after application and that's what matters.

 

 

You can express yourself with Revlon, try these make up and nail enamels! I know I'm not a make up or beauty guru but I adore these products. I always loved Revlon. It's for all women. Join the movement of self expression with the Revlon Expression Experiment using a Facebook application.You can get started here:

Revlon Expression Experiment

 

Cooking With Little Kids

beat the eggs

peel the boiled eggs

make an instant pudding ( we did this many times) I got the idea from the once a week preschool class that we go to. I'm looking forward to the class starting August, the teacher mentioned there will be more cooking/food preparation for the kids.

put sauce on the meat before putting it on the oven ( my easy lazy kind of cooking)

 

I was peeling carrots here and other vegetables and she wanted to sit beside me so I gave her the carrot skin and a washable paint. After she's done, she said she made a very  nice picture. It's her description to every art work she does.

This is not about really about cooking but still about food-- make a juice (okay, we did not have juice at that time, I gave her a moderate ice tea mix)


Our kitchen table is so beat up.

Today, I let her spread Nutella on her crackers for the first time, maybe next time she can make sandwiches. I really want to do cake or cupcake decorating with her and pizza making.

I think this activity promotes confidence, whenever she helps me with food, RC is usually proud of herself after. It also promotes fine motor skills. Sometimes, I think she will be able to do everything in the future whether I do these activities with her or not but I guess the goal is to prepare them earlier not mostly academically but emotionally by building confidence. Again, patience is a virtue! I'm talking about not rushing because it will take a longer time if you do this with kids and the mess of course.

Paniolo Greens Resort

We stayed at Paniolo Greens Resort when we went to the Big Island last month. We occupied a unit that was on the second and third floor. The kitchen and the living room at the bottom and the bedrooms at the third floor. The units at the first floor are bungalow style.

It was a good experience staying there, it was only the second time where we rented a unit that has the amenities of a home instead of just a bedroom. The price was good too comparable to renting a hotel room. We cooked mostly for breakfast, we used the living area and the lanai a lot too.

No toys and too much clutter!

There were two bedrooms. I was not able to take a picture of the other one, we only used one anyway and there were two bathrooms. There was a washer and a dryer which we also used.

There was no ocean view but the golf course view is equally good.

On  late afternoons, the wild turkeys visited us.

We will consider staying there again when we go back to the west side of the Big Island.

I feel that I am so behind my blog posts, it's just that I'm focusing on other things this time. Mostly when I sit infront of the computer it's about browsing through toddler/ kiddie stuff. My upcoming blog posts will probably be about the activities we do mostly indoors.

I started with Ebay again, I know I mentioned I won't sell anymore till I find a cheaper way to send items but it was just the most convenient way for me, it still consumes time but probably not as much as when I have my own website. Offline, I also try to find some gigs so I can help the family financially while I stay a stay at home mom and still play hard with my daughter. It's hard challenging but it's worth it. Well, personally from my experience working 8.5 hours a day in a company like I used to when RC was still so young was harder.

What Do You Do in a Day?

I've been thinking about a quote that I came across recently and it says, "You'll never be as busy in your life as when you were a child" and I agree.  I compiled some of the pictures within a day and here are some of the activities we did.

I was reading the "Taste" book to her and I thought after we read it, I let her taste some items in the freezer/pantry-- salt, Nutella, bacon, lemon juice, lettuce (she spit this out), thousand island dressing and honey. We had a good laugh with this especially when we made sour faces.

The shaving cream comes with shaving toys so it's made for boys but I thought that I can use it for this bin. This is one of the most common sensory bins that I see online. I will make a lot more sensory bins because she can do free play and I don't need to be beside her all the time with this activity (except I should expect the mess).

Painting with spoon, old toothbrushes and paintbrush. I'm glad I saved this cardboards from over a year ago and now we're getting a lot of use from it and it's free. I got them from my previous job.

She wanted to do puzzles, so we did, puzzles after puzzles after puzzles. She memorized the "What Goes Together" puzzle pretty quickly, I think in two days because she insists she do it over and over. It was from a yard sale for $1. She likes it a lot so when I saw the "Match It Numbers" from Ross Dress For Less for $5, I grabbed it right away. With the numbers, she only matches the pictures with the number figure and then I give her the word.

I thought this alphabet letter puzzles would be easy but since we had it, I always get kind of frustrated when we do it, the "have to double my patience meter" kind of activity. She knows her alphabets but somehow with this puzzle, I have to guide her a lot, maybe because it's too big for her?

I just got this geoboard from Education Works ( a local store). She says she made a "mail" (envelope). She likes it but I have to sit with her so she'll play with it long enough. Have you thought of fine motor skills before you had a child (if you do)? I feel like I think a lot about small details now.

Aside from these activities, she also drew faces at the dry erase board, learn how to count more, played with magnetic dress up Cinderella, did stamping, jump up and down on the bed while I was folding the clothes  and watched LeapFrog -The Amazing Alphabets and Numbers Ahoy in Netflix (another over and over  kind of activity). We exercised for 30 minutes while watching "Bo on the Go". She was using her toy vacuum while I do my own vacuuming. She was also in the shower twice because of the sensory bin mess.

You'll never be as busy in your life as when you were a child-- sooo true! Busy kids means busy moms to those who stay at home, of course to those who work too. Btw, I'm trying to look who originally quote that and I can't find it.


What are the favorite things you do indoors with your child? I keep looking at these kind of blogs lately, those that feature what to do with kids, I'm addicted.

Koko Crater Botanical Garden

This is my second time at Koko Crater Botanical Garden. It has been so long since the last time I was here. There are many exotic plants and it looks untouched in some areas. I can tell not very many people come here. It even felt a little scary for me  because we were the only people there. There was a guard by the entrance but once we're inside, there was no other group that was there. I kept thinking that somewhere along the way, we'll see some other people that are walking or having a picnic but there are none.

I like this part with the cacti, small and huge ones.

RC can't leave this tiny blue bug after the picnic. We also saw one wild cat and we fed him some chips.

I think it's an interesting place especially to those who love nature.

Everytime RC sees plumeria, she runs and smells them. I think plumeria is becoming my favorite flower too, they smell so good and they're beautiful. I like how we saw about three or four colors of plumeria flowers here  instead of the usual yellow and white.

I guess there will always be bougainvillea, they're abundant here.

I'm so proud of RC for not complaining during the walk. We only stopped once to have a picnic. Going up and down walking on a rocky path must be hard for a three year old, and this walk is probably about 2 miles long. We were walking very slow though.

This is what we did for 4th of July. We did not come to see any fireworks this time, maybe next year.

I've been lazy to comment and link on blogs lately. I know I keep typing this all the time,  but thanks again to those who keep visiting.