And in case you missed it,  OC Moms featured a similar story about a couple of restaurant discounts, as well as places to go for some inexpensive — and even free — fun in O.C. Check out the info, which includes details on museums, kid venues and discounted movie days.

If you’ve got a great tip to add, comment here, or go to our OC Moms forum and share the wealth!

More news, alerts, events and things you gotta know:

• ‘Children at Play’ photo contest is still running through Sept. 1
• Inside Autism blog: Our culture and the autism epidemic
• Which beach is best for you? Check out our interactive to decide

You say: You’ll never last another 4 weeks!

I hear: Lay off the ice cream, homegirl. You’re the size of a blimp!

You say: You’re absolutely glowing.

I hear: I’ve never seen the sweat pour off someone’s face quite so eloquently.

You say: If you’re tired now, just wait until the baby’s born!

I hear: Instead of four, you’ll only be getting 3 1/2 hours of sleep every night!

You ask: Are you going to breastfeed?

I hear: A very personal question about liquid leaking out of my boobs.

You ask: Are you planning a natural birth?

I hear: Are you gonna squeeze a watermelon out with the help of a painkiller, or are you insane?

More from the preggo:

• I’m not taking my iron pills (I am now though, thanks to a commenter who scared the crap out of me)
• TMI: Confessions of a nonstop pee-er
• Baby shower day vs. the gift-opening tradition

“For Girls Only: Everything Great About Being a Girl” (Feiwel & Friends, 208 pages, $14.95) by Laura Dower is part-primer, part-history lesson, part-informational bonanza for all things that might interest a girl, particularly one in the tween years.

Dower (who is also the author of the popular series “From the Files of Madison Finn”) does a nice job of including a wide range of subjects: “Planning the Ultimate Sleepover,” “How to: Give a Groovy Manicure (or Pedicure)”, “Jump Rope Lingo,” “How to: Make a Paper Fortune Teller” and “Math Phobic No More.” And there are some interesting history and sociology lessons here, such as an article on “The Real Mothers of Invention,” about important female scientists and inventors, to go along with some basic computer information in the “Tech Girl” section; there’s also an interesting breakdown of “Fashion Through the Ages,” which describes some seminal events, such as how the invention of the sewing machine in 1846 allowed for the mass production of clothing, allowing fashions to change more quickly.

It’s a nice read that you can pour over in one sitting, or pick up and browse when a subject strikes your fancy. Now, if I could only get my boys interested in jumping rope with me …

More on books

• Take a book break at the OC Fair
• Joining the ‘Mysterious Benedict Society’
• Release the budding writer in you

Two daughters in pajamas sprawled out on the floor in front of the TV sharing a bowl of popcorn, their eyes glued to an entertaining Disney flick as the fireplace crackles in the background. Mom and Dad, perched on the couch, reveling in this moment of togetherness and sharing in the laughter and struggles of the hero’s G-rated adventure toward a happily- ever-after ending.

Those days, like drive-in theaters in Orange County, are long gone.

Our most recent family movie night was not spent watching “Finding Nemo” or “Harry Potter,” or even an outdated copy of “Bambi” plucked from a collection of VCR tapes boxed in the garage. Instead, we watched “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.”

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But wait: what’s that next to the price? Does that say that the innocent-seeming muffin contains 630 calories??

That’s what happening to the denizens of New York City now that a law has taken effect requiring chain restaurants to post calorie counts for all menu items. The restaurant chains are predictably resisting and legal appeals are pending. But in the meantime, some chains including Starbucks and TGI Friday’s are cooperating, and the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene began fining scofflaws last Friday.

City health officials are hoping the awful truth about what we’re stuffing our faces with will encourage people to be more mindful of what they eat, and eventually cut down rates of obesity and diabetes.

The new law is opening eyes (and causing jaws to drop) all over the Big Apple, according to the MSNBC story:

Vicki Freedman, who lives in Manhattan, watches her weight and always tries to choose a light option when eating out. But the 26-year-old just discovered that the TGI Friday’s pecan-crusted chicken salad, served with mandarin oranges, dried cranberries and celery, has 1,360 calories.

“That surprised me the most because they market it as a healthy option,” she said. “It’s like false advertising. You think it’s better than the burger and the fries. It’s misleading.” (The cheeseburger served with fries is, indeed, 1,290 calories.)

A 1,360-calorie salad? Ouch. (more…)

Statistics show that even if 95 percent of the time kids “get along” and cohabitate together harmoniously, it is the remaining 5 percent that is the real killer. “I don’t know if you can actually die from over-tattling, but it’s a risk I’m not willing to take with my kids,” said Broughton. “I have sent them to their room until July 25th.” Broughton believes at that time, the return of her children’s grandparents from vacation will slow the progression of boredom-induced squealing.
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This was our annual road trip, and it was the best time we had as a family, since my parents would usually call a truce from their otherwise incessant bickering.

On the road, my brother and I would take up the slack, arguing constantly from our sleeping bags in the back, crammed among the suitcases. No shoulder harnesses in the olden days.

Still, there were plenty of good times, especially because Dad was willing to stop every time we came across some roadside oddity that demanded our attention.

Roadside deer farms or the world’s largest tractor, Dad would stop and check it out when we yelled at him to halt the car.

It always makes me sad when I meet people who are dead-set against road trips, usually because their parents insisted on driving relentlessly without stopping, making the trip a contest in endurance rather than an adventure.

I even had friends whose parents made them pee into a jar, so they didn’t have to stop.

When I adopted my kids six years ago, they hated driving anywhere more than half an hour. I now realize that’s because they’d never been on a car trip.

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As her third birthday approached, Kate suddenly decided that she wanted to be a “big girl”, and proclaimed, “I’m not a baby anymore!”

The earlier potty training attempt at daycare failed miserably about six months ago. She would wet her clothes daily, and the peer pressure technique didn’t seem to work. It was just too early.

With some dedicated prodding by my wife and running around the house in the buff, Kate finally realized that her Elmo potty was not the enemy, but a friend. The days of the smelly diaper have been replaced by a slightly less offensive smelly toddler toilet. Having Disney Princess underwear on hand didn’t hurt either.

The battle-scared diaper pail was unceremoniously thrown into the trash this weekend. Woo-hoo!

The crib to bed transition was much easier. We tied it into her birthday, telling her it was one of her presents. She was very excited, and saw it as a rite of passage– I think Kate realized that her two-month-old cousin, the recipient of her crib, was a baby, and she was a big girl now.

We feared that she would get up in the middle of the night and wake us up, but so far, that fear is unrealized.

It’s a sign that my baby girls is growing up, and the realization has sunk in that the transition from baby to toddler to little girl to teenager has just begun.

A few weeks ago I tested high on my one-hour glucose screening and then had to take the grueling three-hour one. They found my glucose levels to be fine, but discovered I’m slightly anemic. Doc had me come in to pick up some samples of iron pills and told me to take them every day. And I haven’t.

My prenatal vitamins still give me a tummyache sometimes — I’ve always had a sensitive stomach — and I’ve heard iron pills can also make you nauseous. I’ve also heard iron pills can make you constipated.

So I have good reason not to take the darn things, even though I know I should.

I haven’t ignored the condition all together, though. I’ve been eating more leafy greens and meat. And maybe there are other things I can be eating (or not eating)? Cheerios helps lower cholesterol, so maybe Froot Loops can help increase iron? Tons of calcium in milk and OJ, so maybe there’s some iron in Diet Cherry 7-Up?

Sigh. Fine. I’ll go take it.