Tiny Oranges – Fresh, fun blog for OC moms

Happy Valentine’s Day Mamas!  I hope you have  LOVE-ly day celebrating with those you love.  I loved this guest blog by Linda Hunter, Chief Education and Operations Officer of Pretend City Children’s Museum, on little easy things you can do to show your children you love them. Such great reminders! 

And in honor of Valentine’s Day, Pretend City is giving one FREE admission today to anyone with the purchase of a child’s ticket from 10am – 5pm! Print the Pretend City Coupon at the end of this post and take someone you love today!

10 EASY WAYS TO SHOW YOUR CHILDREN YOU LOVE THEM

“Sometimes we all need a little reminder to take a break from the daily chaos of life and let our children know just how special and loved they really are.

In February we’re celebrating the day of love all month long, but here are some small ways to inject a little love into every day of the year!  Of course the ways you show love to your children change with each new stage of development, but these ideas bridge all ages!

Here are my top 10 favorite ways to take a moment to show your love:

1. This one works like magic - look your child in the eye when he/she speaks to you.  Keep eye contact until they are done speaking.  I guarantee that they will feel your love and validation.  P.S. It works with adults too!  It’s the simplest form of engagement between two people.

2. Put your cell phone, iPad and electronic games away and focus on your child when you are doing something with him/her. This goes for simple things like riding in the car together, taking a walk, playing or reading.

3. Trust your child to lead YOU sometimes.  Let them take the lead when walking, playing or conversing.  You will learn a great deal about how your child thinks and what they know.

4. Dance and sing with your child.  No matter what age and no matter how badly you sing, mutually engaging with music is energizing and puts parent and child on an even playing field.  This allows each to truly get to know the other in a new way.

5. Set reasonable limits for your child and consistently keep them.  Although they won’t like it, it is essential in building a child’s sense of security in the world.  And somewhere down the line they will realize that the limits are a message of love from you. But you have to be VERY patient!

6. Invite your child to teach you something.  Curb any instinct to correct or teach them and you will discover many new and important things about your child that you never knew.   And most importantly your child will feel loved, trusted and empowered.

7. Say you’re sorry when you’re wrong.

8. Take time out to do simple things together like:

* Play in the rain and splash in the puddles
* Give each other foot massages
* Read to and with each other
* Let your child brush and style your hair
* Build with blocks
* Ride bicycles
* Color on a huge piece of paper laid out on the floor
* Paint one another’s nails
* Make up silly songs
* Tell jokes

9. Establish and keep family traditions, no matter how big or small.  Once you do, you’ll see how much love the traditions hold the first time you forget to keep one!

10. Take lots of photos and/or video and look through these together often, sharing funny stories about the best times! Children especially like the story of when they were born, or when you brought them home for the first time.”

Thank you so much Linda, I think these are great reminders of how even little things can go a long way!

www.PretendCity.org

[Disclosure: Pretend City is a Tiny Oranges Sponsor. And on a personal note, one of my FAVORITE children's places in all of Orange County!] 

I recently discovered the company Cheap Collage online and thought it was a cute idea so I wanted to share it with you. If you are interested in making your own collage, enter code “tiny50″ for  50% OFF any order through 2/14/12 – yippee!

First you choose your shape or design your own, upload your personal photos, and then your photos are used in the shape of the design to make a personal and unique piece of artwork.

With Valentine’s Day coming up, I thought this heart collage would make a VERY cute gift for a grandparent or child (but please note Valentine’s order deadline is 2/3 to ensure you get it on time!)

You can also choose to incorporate one picture or many pictures inside of one word, like your child’s name or FAMILY.  How cute would that be?  Or, something like “LUKE TURNS 3″ with pictures throughout the year for a birthday party idea?

You could make one of your vacation, use honeymoon or wedding pictures, make one as a gift for a alumni that is nuts over their alma mater, anything!

They also have great race car or airplane design for those of you with little boys who love all things that go! Or a butterfly for your little girls.

But this one happens to be my favorite…and just in time for the month that we celebrate it…

Ahhhhh…and once again, to show us their love, Cheap Collage is offering a coupon code to Tiny Oranges readers to make it even cheaper.

Enter promo code “tiny50″ for 50% OFF today through 2/14/12.

www.CheapCollage.com
Follow Cheap Printing Company on facebook *  Tweet with @PrintingCheap on Twitter

Have a great weekend everyone!

Last year, the Company 77 Fire Truck pulled up to my house and all the neighbors came out for a one-of-a-kind pizza party! I wrote all about this SUPER FUN experience HERE.

It was a total and complete HIT with both the kids and adults! Not to mention the best darn stone cooked pizza I have ever tasted!

That’s why when I saw this Plum District deal come through yesterday, I was jumping up and down to be able to share it with you.

With the deal, you can throw a party for up to 30 people at the location of your choice (all they need is a flat surface and space for a 30′ long truck) for only $249! This package typically costs $695, so this is just an incredible deal for such a cute party idea.

Please note, with this voucher, 2 hour party slots are available Monday – Friday ONLY between 3 – 6pm.

Snatch it up for a team party, birthday party, family reunion or  have a bunch of neighbors pitch in and plan a summer block party.  The options are endless, and so is the fun.

Click here to read the nitty gritty and purchase this deal. Please also note that the voucher expires on 7/24/12.

[Disclosure: Plum District is a Tiny Oranges Sponsor and also an Affiliate.]

Do you have new fitness and health goals this year? Would you like help reaching those goals faster? Ummmm, who wouldn’t?!

This video is about an amazing service called Metabolic Testing offered by Registered Dietician, Christine Cortez, of www.FoodWorks4U.com in Irvine.

Christine did the Metabolic Testing on me recently and in this video you can watch exactly what it involves and how it can help you take the guess work out of weight loss and help you achieve your fitness goals by working smarter (not harder!)

Make sure to watch all the way through to the end to find out Christine’s top 3 tips on HOW TO BOOST YOUR METABOLISM (they are easy and doable!) as well as a SPECIAL OFFER for Tiny Oranges readers on this testing for January and February 2012 (it’s affordable!)

www.FoodWorks4U.com
Follow Food Works 4 U on Facebook * Tweet with @FoodWorks4U on Twitter

[Disclosure: This is a Sponsored Vlog to help spread the word about Christine's services to OC moms!] 

I had to kick this week off with a post about getting in shape, because I know this mama had one too many sugar cookies over the last month. Boo. But it is a new month and a new year and there is no time like the present to get in shape and feel your very best.

Have you ever wished you could have a personal trainer to kick your boo-tay into shape, but has the price been out of budget?

Would you love to have the benefit of working with a personal trainer but NOT pay personal training prices?

If the answer to the above is YES! YES! YES! you are going to flip over what Pure Fitness OC in Lake Forest has to offer.

What they do at Pure Fitness OC is refreshingly different.

Here’s why: Each person is getting affordable personal training, it is just in a group setting.

How it works:

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