Helping Others

This Saturday, May 12th is the National Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive!  You have a week to go through your kitchen pantry, drawers, and cupboards!  Any extra food items you have or know that your family will not use you can simply place in a bag and leave it by your mailbox!  Your mail carrier will then collect the bags of food on Saturday as they are making their daily mail deliveries!  Donating couldn’t be easier!!

I have a neighborhood cluster mailbox (you know, the kind where the whole street picks up their mail from 1 set of mail boxes) so each year I leave a note in my mailbox stating that my bags of food to donate are by my front door!  My mail carrier doesn’t mind!

So if you need an excuse to go through your pantry and really spring clean and check those expiration dates, then here’s your opportunity!

Donate items like canned meats, fish, soup, bottled juice, vegetables, pasta, cereal and rice that do not require refrigeration. Please do not include items that have expired or are in glass containers.

Saturday evening my husband gets to help unload all the food from the mail trucks at our local post office!  I can’t wait to see his pics of how much food comes in the help our local 3 Square Food Bank here in Las Vegas!

Sarah McDuffie!

Congrats to you!  Check out all that Kidville- Las Vegas has to offer!  And if you weren’t the winner, know that you still can get some FREE Kidville Play Space passes (5 passes valued at $50).  Just sign up for a semester of classes or sign up for their Summer Camp program at Kidville and mention The Vegas Bloggers referred you!  You will get those awesome 5 Play Space passes for FREE!

Hello, my name is Michael (better known as the husband of the Coupon Geek) and I’m the guy who runs the IT for her website. Recently, I was able to watch a special sneak preview of Marvel Comic’s The Avengers in IMAX 3D. This was my first IMAX 3D movie I’ve ever seen! At first, I was skeptical of the 3D experience, but I gotta tell you, it made the movie! I highly recommend that when you see this movie (and you should see this movie) that you watch it in IMAX 3D.

The movie itself was great. As the 6th movie the Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers brought together the iconic Super Heroes Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye and Black Widow, all introduced in previous movies (Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor, and Captain America: The First Avenger). The movie was an action packed 2 1/2 hours. Although long by modern movie standards, the movie didn’t feel long. I think everyone in the theater would have been happy for it to have been even longer so we could enjoy this great fantasy movie that Paramount Pictures and Marvel Entertainment created for us. One thing that I noticed during the movie was several unexpected moments of great humor. In the middle of a heavily packed action scene, a very funny segment was added. The humor didn’t detract from the action! The entire audience would laugh at these and helped, I believe, the audience related on a more human level to these super heroes.

The movie ends, leaving you satisfied, but wanting more! The credits roll, but don’t think about standing up and leaving! In a moment or two, in a post credit scene, you’ll find out who was really behind everything that happened in this movie, and, perhaps, we are introduced to the villain for the next movie. So hang in there even though everyone around you is ready to go!

And is this surprising reveal really in movie #7? I know I can’t wait to find out!

See more movie reviews here!

Do you realize that summer is coming and that means your kids WON’T  be in school, but WILL need something to do?  Okay, I won’t remind you anymore, but I will let you in on a little secret= Kidville is the exciting new place located in Tivoli Village (Rampart and Alta, just south of Summerlin Parkway) that has art, music, dance, sports, gymnastics, science, and enrichment classes for kiddos up to age 6.  Oh and Kidville even has the coolest indoor playspace my kids have ever seen!  Not only can your kiddo take a class here at Kidville Las Vegas, but how about a hair cut, new clothes, maybe have a birthday party, or even do a SUMMER CAMP?

Waiting Patiently for Class!

I’m Amanda the LV Grocery Smarts Coupon Geek and I am part of the Vegas Bloggers go to camp with Kidville Las Vegas.  This means I got the opportunity for my 4 year old BOY to attend the Savvy Science class at Kidville and to blog about our experience so I will start from the beginning:

A phone call to figure out how to get there, because I’ve never been to 1-Kidville and 2-Tivoli Village!  The office staff members were very friendly and knowledgeable on the phone and gave me great directions!  Enter Tivoli Village from Alta!  Turn right at the roundabout and drive in a horseshoe shape to get to the parking garage.  If you park in the free underground parking lot and park in Row C you can take the elevators up and be right inside the Kidville store!  Awesome!

The Savvy Science Class Chart

The activity for the day’s Savvy Science Class was on the food pyramid and discussing/ drawing/ eating/ and interacting with all sorts of foods that go into making a healthy salad.  This hour long class was really enjoyed by all the 4 year old participants.  As a former teacher I was also impressed with the learning activities that engaged the students and really get them to the goal of understanding the role of the food pyramid in our daily lives and being able to explain what they were learning.  The kids started by telling each other and the 2 teachers what they already knew about different kinds of foods, which foods were healthy and which foods were not!

Today's Science Lesson- Making a Salad!

They drew foods with crayons on the butcher paper table covering- which they loved!  They each took turns placing their play food on the Velcro large food pyramid that was at the front of the class and did very well to identify to which food group their food belonged.  Of course the class wouldn’t be complete with out actually eating some real food!  The kids helped create their own salads- complete with veggies of course, and other edible components (croutons, oil dressing, tomato, etc) that represented each of the food groups!   My 4 year old got done and asked when he gets to go to class again!  He absolutely enjoyed the class (and being away from his big brother and little sister).  I loved that he was getting individualized attention from well trained (and well educated) teachers and that it was a class that he was genuinely interested in the whole time he was there!

Actively Engaged in His Savvy Science Class

The awesome thing about this class is that it is part of the Kidville Summer Camp program and the focus activity is always changing, meaning your kid won’t do the same science lesson twice during the summer camp!

Savvy Scientists @Kidville-Las Vegas

We also took a tour of the all the spaces and places at Kidville and loved the different rooms- there’s large classrooms for hands on science and art classes.  These are also the birthday rooms to host all your favorite friends for an afternoon of pure enjoyment!  The studio hosts awesome musical shows complete with puppets and singing and dancing!  Our favorite spot was the kid gym!

Zooming on the Zip Line

Kidville has a huge kid gym (well, 2 huge kid gyms actually) where you can drop in for some free-play in their indoor play spaces.  My little 1 year old was right beside my big 6 year old trying out all the apparatus and wearing herself out!  I didn’t mind!

Teacher to Student Ratio= AWESOME!

I'm a Big Kid Now!

And the play space doesn’t get very packed with kiddos so even the littlest ones can play safely in the gym! There’s a rock climbing wall, big soft climbing equipment (like what you’d find in a gymnastics class), a zip line, uneven bars, basketball hoops, trampoline, big movable soft building blocks, and the best part- a teacher who’s in there to help with supervision (and to lift kids up to get on the zip line over and over and over again)!

Check out our video of the indoor playspace (it takes a few seconds to load):

Kidville is the perfect away from home activity, because it really isn’t far (great freeway access), the whole place is air conditioned, and it has such a variety of activities and classes that really any kid could enjoy there time here!  Spending an afternoon just letting the kids play in the indoor play space or having them participate in a safe summer camp is so desirable!  Kidville is also close to many little eateries and shops that you as a parent could enjoy some retail therapy while your kiddo is busy wearing them self out (yes, many Kidville classes allow you to drop off your kid)- so it is the best of both worlds!  All in all we (yes, even me the mom) had an awesome adventure at Kidville and can’t wait to go back!

Great news!  Kidville Las Vegas is so graciously giving 1 lucky reader a FREE $25 gift card to use towards class registration, a salon service, or at the boutique!  You will receive 1 entry into this FREE giveaway for doing each of these:

1) Leave a comment on this blog post telling me your favorite summer activity you enjoyed as a kid  (1 entry)

2) Like us at www.facebook.com/lvgrocerysmarts and then come back here and leave a comment telling me you liked us on facebook.

WINNER WILL BE PICKED AND ANNOUNCED ON FRIDAY, MAY 4TH AT 7 PM!

If you are not the gift card winner you still can get some FREE Kidville Play Space passes (5 passes valued at $50).  Just sign up for a semester of classes or sign up for their Summer Camp program at Kidville and mention The Vegas Bloggers referred you!  You will get those awesome 5 Play Space passes for FREE!

It’s strawberry season and I put together a group order of fresh strawberries from Chino, CA! Flats were 15lbs ad only $15 for 1 flat! We took preorders, loaded a truck bed full of berries when they arrived in town, and then spent the evening checking off names from my master list when people came to pick up there berries! Anyone who knows me knows I love coordinating big group events so I find this kind of stuff enjoyable!

I did order myself I flat and we started eating them whole the night we got them! I gave 1/2 of mine away! The next day we ate them too and barely put a dent in our 6 little green baskets! I was not intending to make freezer jam, but I decided to since we’re on day 3 of berries at every meal and getting a little burned out!

If you have never canned or made jam then I definitely suggest starting with strawberry freezer jam- there’s no special canning equipment required! If you can use a potato masher, a measuring cup, and boil water then you can do this!

I even enlisted my kiddos to help! First you need 1 green basket full of strawberries. Rinse them under water and set them in a strainer! Cut off the green tops and then cut up the berries in half then in half again (I find it easier to mash them up when they’ve been cut into smaller pcs). Put the cut up berries in a large pot with a flat bottom (I originally put them in a mixing bowl, but the curvy bowl shaped bottom made it hard to mash them). In the pot you will mash them with a potato masher until you like the consistency. Some people prefer chunky jam while others like smooth! Last year I put berries in the blender, but thought it was too runny for our liking!

Pour your mashed berries into a large measuring cup that holds at least 2 cups! You need 2 cups of mashed berries, which I find is pretty equivalent to an entire green little basket of berries! So cut, mash and add more berries if needed!

Pour 4 cups of sugar into your mashed berry mixture and stir until sugar is dissolved. Set timer for 10 minutes and just stir the sugar berry mixture occasionally!

At about 5 minutes left on the timer put 3/4 cup of water in a small pot and an entire pkg of pectin (in the baking aisle by the canning jars). Turn stove on high heat and stir water mixture. Bring to a boil (still on high heat) and let boil for 1 minute while stirring constantly! After 1 minute of boiling and stirring, pour water mixture into your mashed strawberry mixture (after they’ve sat for 10 min) and stir continuously for 3 minutes.

After 3 minutes of stiring you can ladle the mixture into your little plastic containers. Wipe off the edges of any spillage and put on lids. Let your jam set on the counter for 24 hours at room temperature. Then you can move the jam to the freezer or the fridge. Refrigerate any opened containers of jam!

1,000 Flats of Strawberries Loaded

65 Flats of Strawberries Coming to Our House

Just a Few Common Supplies

Strawberry Jam Helpers!

Fruit Pectin + Directions Inside!

I’m teaching a FREE coupon class TODAY Saturday, April 28th at the NW corner of Craig and Clayton at the NutritionNV store (in the 24Hour Fitness Shopping Center next to the Mattress Store) at 10am- 11:30!

Address: 2020 W Craig Rd Ste 304. This place has the coolest cafe type set up- lots of little tables, chairs, and big comfy couches so plenty of room! Everyone in attendance will receive a coupon for a FREE smoothie from the Nutrition NV store!

This event is FREE and opened to the public!

Check the event link to see locations and times of FREE Easter egg hunts happening this Saturday, April 7th at most of the Albertsons stores in southern Nevada!

https://www.eventbrite.com/event/3258960639/eorg?nomo=1

Did you find those 3 extra Double the Value Coupons on page 5A of your Sunday newspaper?  Well they expire today so here’s a few great coupon deals you can score.  The item then the sale price (before using a coupon) then where to find the coupon is listed.  Just double the coupon value and subtract that amount from the listed sale price!  They also have a great bottled water deal doing on that I’m going to stock up on!  Buy 4 Nestle cases of water @ $3 each then get a $5 off your next grocery purchase coupon with your receipt!  That works out to be $1.75 for a case of 24 bottled waters!  Very hot stock up price!!