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Have a little chef in the family? Then you will love The Muppets Kitchen with Cat Cora

I have a little chef in my family, well really actually two. My son and daughter are obsessed with baking and trying to help me whip something up in the kitchen. Last week when I was invited by Disney to attend the  premiere of the new online video series, The Muppets Kitchen with Cat Cora, designed for budding little chefs and moms, I jumped at the opportunity. I headed to the Disney Studios and was in for a treat!

The Muppets Kitchen with Cat Cora is a fun cooking  show geared for kiddos and their families. The show is entertaining and features fun cooking tips for the entire family and tips on pleasing even the pickiest of little eaters. One of the things I learned from Cat, who is a mom to little ones herself, is to not sneak food in. She believes in educating children about their food choices. Cat gave out great tips. My favorite and one that I immediately put into practice is on how to introduce new food to your children. She believes that you encourage your kids to get out and try new foods at least once. If they don't like it, they don't have to eat it again but they at least have to try it out once. I sat down with my daughter before heading out to dinner this past weekend and encouraged her to try asparagus and salmon. She tried both and discovered that she liked asparagus but not salmon. It's a great way to have the little ones expand their taste buds!

We sat down and watched an episode last night with the kiddos and they loved it. It is a great show and the site is full of cooking tips, recipes, etc.. It is a great place for moms to check out for fun and easy recipes for the entire family. 
You can watch the series on DisneyFamily.com or Disney.Go.com

Halloween Roundup: Guest post- Seaworld Spooktacular

There are so many fun places to visit this Halloween Season and Seaworld's Spooktacular is one you do not want to miss.Today's guest post comes from my friend Katie, from OCmomactivities.com, who shares all the not so spooky details!

One of the biggest benefits to living in Southern California when raising kids is the constant seasonal activities and the Halloween season is no exception!


We headed down to the Sea World San Diego Halloween Spooktacular and I'm so glad we did! This was our first year going and I know we will go again next year because it was a great experience for the whole family.

In terms of scale, it's not as big of an event, but is still pretty cool. I would have liked to have seen more strategic planning of the traffic flow for the dozen or so trick or treat stations but the creativity and quality of the treats far surpassed my expectations! I absolutely LOVED the baby banana's followed by the individual peanut butter dipping cups!!! What a cool way to run with a theme! (P.S. - Sea World can I have a job in your marketing department? I can't think of anything more fun than organizing things like that! Just kidding.)

Another neat touch was the employees handing out Believe (Shamu) pencils just after exiting the park.

The boys donned their NASA astronaut and Clone Trooper costumes for the event and Sea World provided the trick or treat bags. The event runs weekends from 1-6pm until the end if this month and is included with your admission for the day.


Definitely make time to head down there if you haven't yet this season!

To read more about Katie's adventures head here. 

Guest Post- Saving California's State Parks

Do you know about Proposition 21?

Michele Whiteaker is a blogging friend of mine over at FunOrangeCountyParks.com. At a recent event, she alerted me to an important proposition vote on the November ballot concerning our state parks. I asked her to write a guest post, so I could encourage my readers to get out and vote!

Hi Fans of DayTrippingMom!

Aracely is the best, isn't she?  Tromping all over Southern California and beyond to give us the scoop on great day trips to take with our kids!  (Plus, she's really nice in real life.)

In a nutshell - voting YES ON 21 will provide a stable, adequate source of funding for our ailing state parks.  You would pay $18 each year on your vehicle registration -- and your vehicle becomes your admission ticket to California State Parks. If you drive up to a state park in your vehicle with current registration, you get in for "free."  Since it costs $10-$15 in day use fees now - it only takes 2 visits to get your money's worth. It's the BEST deal on an annual pass around!!!

There are some who would say: "But I don't use the parks, why should I pay?"

• C’mon. It’s $18 dollars A YEAR.
• Don’t you think you might go at least once after you put in your $18 investment into a Trust Fund for the people of California and beyond?  I hope you do.
• Once we lose these parks, this wildlife, these open spaces — they will be gone forever. We can’t take that chance.
• You must know some families with kids — or friends — who make use of the parks. It’s a Good Samaritan thing to do. I think giving friends (or even strangers) the gift of connecting to nature is very honorable.
• If you are already paying for an annual pass, you’ll actually save money.

My favorite explanation on WHY this is important comes in the form the  a YouTube video above "45 Reasons to Vote Yes on Prop. 21" by Folk4Parks.org. 

"I'm voting for Prop 21 because it solves the California State Parks funding problem once and for all. For a relatively small portion of the total California budget, Prop. 21 ensures that all of our park system is protected and preserved. And that the beauty and history of our state parks are exempt from having to prove their value on an annual basis." -Christopher Grant Ward (Folk4Parks.org)

If you want to learn more, you can read my long-winded (but entertaining) posts:

• I Care About California State Parks, Do You? (Sept 2010)
  
• Pretend I'm Schoolhouse Rock (Feb 2010)

Watch more videos from Folk4Parks.org.  Or better yet, follow Yes for State Parks on Facebook and Twitter for the latest news. For more information on Prop. 21, visit www.yesforstateparks.com or email info@yesforstateparks.com.

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