Tiny Oranges – Fresh, fun blog for OC moms

Have you been to Zoomars Petting Zoo yet? Lyla (my 3 year old girl) and I visited on Monday morning and had the BEST time!

Their motto is “Innocent, Old Fashioned Fun!”  Isn’t that refreshing in our world of cell phones, iPods &  iPads?  To be able to shut it all down & show our kids how things were done in the olden days?

Be sure to enter below for a chance to win one of two Zoomars Zap Passes (good for 20 anytime visits, a $75 value)!!!

We have been so busy lately that I loved taking a few hours to slow it down and focus on enjoying some quality time just she and I.

First stop was the bunny rabbit/guinea pig pen.  Armed with a bin of vegetables (available for purchase at check in)- Lyla couldn’t get enough of the cuddles and feeding the adorable little guys.

Then we wandered over to the Alpacas- we found them fascinating, their big round eyes, the way their top lip split in two as they ate our carrots, and don’t get me started on their FANCY new hair-do’s!  They are freshly back from the groomers and they almost look like Alpaca-poodles!  Too cute.

Next she took a spin on a precious pony in the FANTASTIC new horse corral.  There were two to choose from, a cute pony and what I would call a horse.  My brave little girl wanted the big one!  When she was placed in the secure saddle (complete with a back rest) she said “Look I’m up high like Daddy!” (Her Daddy is tall)

Then we were off to the corn box.  It’s a sand box but instead of sand, it’s filled with millions of dried corn kernels!  Lyla was in heaven diving & rolling around making snow angels (or rather corn angels).  All of the parents standing around were  marveling at the sheer brilliance of this concept.

She loved the playground’s swings & slides, the loopy train ride & then back to the bunny rabbit/guinea pig pen.

At the Miner’s Gulch kids can pan for emeralds, rubies, crystals, sharks teeth, arrowheads, dinosaur bones, even fools gold!  Party like it’s 1849 and bring your next birthday party to Zoomars to partake and your guests have a built in goody bag!

Or if you are a SERIOUS gold digger you can even spring a few extra bucks to pan for REAL GOLD!  

Keep an eye out for a new rabbit run & a second guinea pig pen for double the cuddly fun coming soon!  The Zoomars family has also recently welcomed three new llamas Buttercup, Dia & Jack to their crew!  Be sure you stop by to welcome them to their new home.

Oh & you can’t leave without saying HOLA to Pedro the Potbellied Piggie!  He wagged his tail just like an excited little puppy & I REALLY wanted to take him home with me…

More Exciting Happenings at Zoomars in the months to come~

May:

Free train rides in May for Check-Ins on Facebook, Foursquare and Yelp.

June:

Magic Matt Young will be dazzling at Zoomars June 22nd & 23rd to with exciting close up magic!

June is Zap Pass appreciation month!  Use your Zap Pass to spin the wheel and win FREE stuff like train rides & feed baskets!

July:

Summer Camp for ages 3.5-10 starts the week of July 23rd- lead by a descendant of the Californian Achjachemen Nation, Jacque Nunez. Where Kids Connect with Mother Earth and learn about animals and what they teach us through creative play, games, songs, crafts & storytelling.  A 1:6 teacher to student ratio for an enhanced learning experience.  Washing Tonka the Turtle is always a huge hit!

Check out their site for details.  Be sure to secure your spot now & use code TINYORANGES for 15% off camp tuition!

August:

Mark your calendar~ Zoofest (3 live bands!) August 24 to kick off San Juan’s Rodeo week!

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If  it were up to Lyla we would have stayed at Zoomars ALL DAY.  

(Next time I should plan accordingly!)

Have fun making quality memories and sharing some good old fashioned family fun at Zoomars!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

(Zoomars is a beloved Tiny Oranges Sponsor- be sure to check them out in our OC Biz Guide under Birthday Party Venues + Petting Zoos!) 

So this post is going to be about periods. Bad periods. But I promise I will not be graphic. So, if there are any guys reading this (which I doubt), you might want to continue on with your web browsing.

I was unsure as to whether to write about this topic and my experience, so I asked Susanne’s opinion to which she said, “Jen, we all have periods and we are not 12.” Not in a harsh way, in a nice supportive way, and I thought, that is SO true!

I think us girls can handle it.

I am writing this post mostly to ask for help and advice and to see if anyone has experience with a procedure called endometrial ablation (EA)?  It was something that was completely unheard of to me until this week. But first, the back story on my experience and what lead me to look into this.

The past 6 months I have been plagued with horrendous periods. I have been in so much pain from stomach pain and cramping, that for almost 3 days out of the month I am MISERABLE.

On those days I try to make it through the day until my husband gets home so I can lie in bed with a heating pad. I also get so bloated I look like I am 5 months pregnant. Each month I hope it will be better, and each month it has gotten worse.

So I took steps to get into see a new gynecologist this week to see what I can do and to try to get help because I can’t live like this anymore.  She said it sounds like I have endometriosis, but an exact diagnosis is impossible without surgery. I am going for a pelvic ultrasound in a few days to check for cysts and to make sure there is nothing else going on in there. Of which I pray everything is OK. In my gut I know it will be.

I was presented with options to help, none of which I am excited about, but nonetheless, there are options.

First one I am going to try is a prescription strength naproxen (Aleve.) I am going to try this next month as the over-the-counter stuff is not doing anything for me.

If that doesn’t work for the pain, another option is hormones. Most specifically birth control pills, NuvaRing, Depo-Provera (shots given at the doctor’s office every three months), or an IUD. But I had an IUD in-between pregnancies and had cramping and continuous bleeding, so I don’t want to do that again.

The thing is, my husband and I have already taken the steps to permanently prevent pregnancy since we made the decision that we are done having kids, so I really would prefer not to be on hormones since I don’t need it for birth control.

Then she told me about NovaSure Endometrial Ablation (EA), which is for premenopausal women (OMG I am in a category labeled “premenopausal” at age 37 – eek!) who are finished childbearing. Yep, that’s me.

It’s a procedure that removes the uterine lining to reduce or eliminate bleeding. That means that a percentage of women never get their period again. Others just get a very light period and it doesn’t affect your natural hormones.

I’m not going to lie, on the surface this sounds AMAZING. But I want to hear from real women that have had ablation done to hear their reviews or feedback.

I am a little concerned because most of what I have read about the procedure says it is done to reduce heavy bleeding, with no mention of cramping. Heavy bleeding is not a problem for me, it’s just the horrendous pelvic pain. I am compiling a list of questions for my doctor, this will be one of them.

If anyone would be willing to share their experience, I would be so grateful.  And if you prefer not to share via comment, you can email me at jennifer {@} tinyoranges.com.

Thanks for listening to this post on girl stuff and enduring the TMI about my personal periods.  I just had a feeling that some women would be able to help and offer their advice!

XOXO
Jen

Summer sneaks up on you fast, doesn’t it? And now that I have a grade schooler, I didn’t realize it, but you really have to start planning your summer activities and camp schedule like now!

This post is not to stress you out, but to let you know you can plan for summer with the help of SeekingSitters OC if you anticipate needing assistance when the kids are out of school.

I know a lot of moms work out of the house part time, so when summer rolls around  it can be problematic!  With SeekingSitters OC, you can set up a regular babysitting schedule and know you dedicated, uninterrupted time to work while your kids are having a blast playing with their sitter.

Maybe you don’t have a part time job but prefer not go crazy this summer? Come on, I am not the ONLY one that feels like that, am I?!

With SeekingSitters, you can plan a weekly (or more!) block of time where you can be assured you get at least 4 hours to yourself to run errands, make appointments, take care of yourself, and keep your sanity. Tell your hubby this alone is priceless!

The sitters are all independent contractors, so just as if you were booking a sitter one on one, if you feel comfortable, the sitters are able to take your kids to camp and drive them places if that is what you need help with over the summer months.

Their sitters are AMAZING.  

I wrote about my personal experience using SeekingSitters here. Completely stress-free, no hassle, and our sitter was like a modern day Mary Poppins. She arrived with her own bag of activities geared to my girls’ ages and they were in heaven.

All the sitters are committed to keeping your kids entertained (and off of video games and TV) for the duration of the job. I LOVE this aspect, because I know I am not going to have a babysitter sitting on the couch texting while my kids just watch TV.

A few main points on what makes their service so incredible for families:

* They do all the work for you! No interviews, no calls back and forth, no reference checks, they do all the legwork so you simply put in your dates / requests and they book a sitter for you.

* Safety! All their sitters are prescreened, background checked and have CPR and First Aid training.

* Easy Payments! Payments are made via credit card online so you never have to stress about having cash or going to the bank.

* Personalized Service! Kim Kane, the OC owner will work with you to make sure you get the very best sitter for your individual needs.

* Quality of sitters! Kim does all of the hiring herself, and as a mom of two young boys, knows exactly how high the standards are for a fabulous sitter.  Her sitters are professional, engaging, entertaining and show up on time ready to play with your kids. And when they leave, your house will be picked up in the same if not better condition then it was when they arrived. Important!

Kim recommends working with them now to plan for your summer so she can get you on their schedule.  Many sitters book up due to demand, so the farther she knows in advance, the better.  This is not to say that they can’t accept last minute requests! It is just easier for everyone to plan now if applicable.

I can’t more highly recommend this service.

For more information visit, www.SeekingSitters.com.  You can also visit SeekingSittersOC on Facebook and follow @OCSitters on Twitter.

Kim Kane, Owner, SeekingSitters OC Coastal, Central & South
949.294.1003
kimkane @ seekingsitters.com

[Disclosure: SeekingSitters OC is a Tiny Oranges Sponsor.]

I have to be honest, just the word “bootcamp” scares me. It conjures up images of a big man in my face yelling at me as I am in tears trying to do 100 push ups or something. So when one of my mommy readers wrote to us raving about She Rocks Fitness, a women’s fitness bootcamp which she credited to getting her back into shape after baby, I was curious but also a little concerned about the bootcamp aspect when she told me I really had to take a class to see for myself.

But then I learned that the workouts are only 35 minutes and I thought, “I can do anything for 35 minutes.” Which I did last week and it was AWESOME!!!

She Rocks Fitness is the brain child of personal trainer Michael Sperling (soooo not scary and no yelling, except for encouragement) who told me he built the business based on objections or excuses to why women didn’t workout. Namely…

1. No time. 2. No money. 3. No idea what to do. 4. No accountability.

Any of those sound familiar?

So let’s talk about the “I have NO time” thing. As a mom I think that must be the number one challenge, but 35 minutes makes it feasible!

Let me tell you what those 35 minutes entail.

It was hard, I am not going to lie, I was sweating big time and my heart rate stayed up the entire time.  While we were doing the strength training exercises and intervals, my heart was beating like I was doing 35 minutes of hard cardio.

I asked Michael about this afterwards, and learned this is the key to its effectiveness.  It’s called high intensity interval training, which raises your metabolic rate and helps to burn fat after the workout is over. What mama doesn’t love that? 

And even though it was hard, the workout went FAST. I found myself surprised when he said, “last exercise!”

The second objection, being money, is another area where he wanted to help.

In this setting you get the benefits of working out with a personal trainer, without paying one-on-one prices. 

And now a little word on accountability. Because the way they do it is very cute.

On the wall, there is a picture of every women that works out there with names, and above all the pictures is a huge sticker chart like you would make for a preschooler! When you are done with your workout, you put a little sticker in the box for the date so you can track how frequently you are going. Incidentally, so can everyone else.  Very clever Michael…

I found the workout to be extremely dynamic and because it is a gym for women, you don’t have that meat market factor. I can’t tell you how much I dislike that about other gyms. The women are all there with the same goal – to get in shape – and it was obvious they love supporting each other as well. I loved it!

It truly is for women wanting to make a commitment to get results. You should watch the success stories on their website. Click here for a video of his clients.  Real women, putting in real hard work, getting real results. I find that real inspiring!

One lucky winner will receive a free month of unlimited classes at She Rocks Fitness! Prize must be complete by 9/15/2012. This is my first Rafflecopter giveaway, hooray! I think you will find it super easy to use. Follow instructions below….
a Rafflecopter giveaway

[Disclosure: She Rocks Fitness is a Tiny Oranges Sponsor.]

Taste of the Nation is a premier culinary benefit where the nation’s hottest chefs and mixologists donate their time, talent and passion to raise money for Share Our Strength, an organization with a goal to end childhood hunger in America by 2015.

If you want to get involved to support this cause (AND enjoy an over-the-top amazing evening), Montage Laguna Beach is partnering with Share our Strength to host the second annual Taste of the Nation on Sunday, June 3rd, 2012 at their gorgeous waterfront property.

100% of the ticket sales from this event will be donated to locally benefit Share Our Strength as well as three location organizations working to end hunger in Orange County.

Here’s what’s in store for attendees of this delightful charity event:

Seven celebrity chefs are coming together to prepare farm-to-table delicacies and guests will enjoy an afternoon of delectable dishes, wine, signature cocktails, live music and of course, the picturesque ocean views.

Do I have any fellow Top Chef fans out there? My husband and I loooovvvvve that show, so I was beyond excited to see former chef-testants from the show on the list! To us, Chef Michael Voltaggio is a culinary rock star!

Speaking of the culinary talent, Executive Chef Craig Strong of Studio, Montage Laguna Beach’s Signature Restaurant, will be joined by the following celebrity chefs: