Blog Hop
Falling in Love with Disney
Monday, February 13th, 2012My first real memory of a trip to Walt Disney World was when I was in kindergarten. Of course, I had actually been there several times before that. My parents have a cool 1970’s style photo album that they turned into a scrapbook of my adventures there. There are photos of me running around the Contemporary Resort kiddie pool, taking a big sister only trip with my parents, and more. Still, my memories are of a family trip with another family. I remember going to Chef Mickey in what would eventually become Downtown Disney.
Epcot had just opened and I fell madly in love with Dreamfinder and a cute purple dragon named Figment.
My love for Figment held on during that trip when it was time to pick something special out. The figment I am holding below was the special friend I picked out from a bribe my father made with me for going on Space Mountain.
Growing up at Walt Disney World, I watched as it went from one park to four over the years. The Contemporary Resort and Polynesian Resort soon had more and more resorts cropping up throughout the sprawling land that Walt Disney had purchased in Florida. Going to Orlando and spending time at Walt Disney World with my mother, father, and brother was priceless. It was a place where we were carefree, all kids at heart, and my father and mother laughed, smiled, and were relaxed. Memories of my father leaving his lens cap on during the Hoop-De-Do Review always make us laugh. Then there was soaring high over the Seven Seas Lagoon with my brother as we went parasailing for the first time. Classic times that were even more magical at Disney.
It’s no wonder that TechyDad and I picked Walt Disney World as our honeymoon destination. He had never been and I wanted to share my passion for this special place. I do not think it took a day and he was hooked. We even had a special tenth anniversary trip planned there in September. Unfortunately, that trip was canceled thanks to Hurricane Irene.
Now we both have watched as our two boys have caught the Disney bug. We have watched NHL and JSL meet characters, grow big enough to try out new rides, and many other items with us.
There are other places that we could go on family vacations, but each time is unique and provides us with special moments. Disney World is like a home away from home where we can forget about our troubles and enjoy time together.
So now it is your turn. What made you fall in love with Disney? Feel free to share a story, link up to a funny memory, or anything else in the comments.
P.S. A huge thank you to Mariana from The Domestic Buzz for creating this magical Blog Hop!
Counting Down the Days to Disney
Monday, February 6th, 2012To tell the kids or not to tell the kids? That is often the question that many families contemplate as they plan a Walt Disney World vacation. I will admit, as we finalized our plans to go to the 2012 Disney Social Media Moms Celebration, I was not sure what to do.
I wondered how I would be able to keep this BIG secret from my boys. I always watch the videos of people surprising their children the day of and wonder how they do it. TechyDad and I just did not think it would work for several reasons.
- Our house is not large enough to have a secret packing area. Packing for a big trip is stressful enough in a smaller house. I could not even imagine trying to do it while in stealth mode.
- How does one talk to teachers and others at school about missed days, but not tell their child? My eight year old would know something was up as I went into school and came out with a load of work.
- I am WAY too excited and can’t stop thinking about everything. I wanted to be able to share the magical planning and joy in my heart with the kids now. Winter can be depressing enough, so having something to look forward to as a family seemed like a great idea.
There were other items on my mind, but those were the biggest things. To date, we have never been able to keep a Disney trip a secret from the boys for long and I think it has been the right decision for our family. When we told the boys that we were going to Disney World, their faces lit up. Then, they wanted to know when and how many days away it was. Chatter about rides to visit, places to explore, and Hidden Mickeys to find have dominated things in recent days. The boys sit together and read planning guides and think about how they will notice a new Hidden Mickey in their adventures.
Each day, they recite how many days are left until we head to see our favorite destination. Excitement is definitely in the air. At eight, NHL gets that we have just under three months until we go to Disney. JSL is only four and does not quite get it. I have thought about making a Mickey Ears paper chain to help us count down the days. This will help him to see as we get closer to the day of our trip.
Have you ever kept a Disney trip or something else a secret to surprise your children on the day of your trip? I would love to know how it went and if you have any other count down traditions that you do with your family.
LINKY
P.S. A huge thank you to Mariana from The Domestic Buzz for creating this magical Blog Hop!
Hello UBP11
Monday, April 4th, 2011
Welcome to all who have traveled from the 5 Minutes For Mom Ultimate Blog Party 2011! I am a bit behind in joining this year. There has been a lot going on in recent weeks. Some of you may recall that I am familiar with the UBP. Last year, I was the grand prize winner of the Toshiba Laptop. It all seemed like a dream at the time.
Why?
Well, the night that they randomly selected winners, I had gone to bed early. I was not feeling well. Then, suddenly, my cell phone started going crazy. Tweets with mentions of my name were coming in one after the other. Half asleep, I noticed I was being congratulated, but I did not know why. Then I saw the #UBP10 at the end. Sure enough, I was the winner. Thank you again to Susan and Janice from Five Minutes for Mom for doing this fun event. I am not just saying that since I won last year.
At the end of the UBP last year, I wrote about people that I met and blogs that I loved. One of those was Kelly’s Lucky You. Little did I know that I would meet Kelly at DisneySMMoms a few weeks ago and participate in the Wild African Trek with her.
Please say hello to my family. Here we are with Minnie Mouse after our recent adventure to Disney Social Media Moms Celebration.
So who is The Angel Forever? Here is a little bit about me:
- I started blogging in February 2007 while I was pregnant with my youngest son.
- For almost four years, I have been at home with my boys. Although I love this special time with them, I do miss teaching.
- My blog webmaster is also my hubby. You may know TechyDad from his blog or Twitter. This June we will celebrate our 10th Wedding Anniversary. The two of us had our honeymoon at Walt Disney World for 10 magical days.
- I am a HUGE fan of all things Disney – check out my category list on the left and you will see what I mean. Still processing all things from our recent trip there for the conference.
- It was only a year ago that I came out of my bloggy shell. Before this I was pretty anonymous, never said where I lived, and was happy with that. Now thanks to recent opportunities, I am reinventing my online self.
- The teacher in me loves to read books and share what we read. Most weeks I have a Tuesday Tales segment where I share some of our recent reads.
- In addition to writing on TheAngelForever, I cover Education on The Disney Driven Life (I am NDM183 and proud of it) and am a columnist/blogger for KidsFunPlaza.
- I love meeting new people in real life and online – so please explore and leave some comments, link up to your UBP blog below, and I promise to stop over to say hello and get to meet you. You can also catch me on Twitter and
I am still working on my Facebook fan pageI just finished/published my Facebook page.
Enjoy the 2011 Ultimate Blog Party and see you around!
Disney Social Media Moms Celebration 2011
Thursday, February 17th, 2011
A little over a year ago, I traveled to Disney World to take part in my first blogging conference. For some reason I was not nervous. Unlike my trip to BlogHer, a few months later in NYC, I was at ease going to a location that I knew and loved. What could be more magical than going to meet new people, learn new things, and play with my family at Disney World? The answer, being able to go again in 2011.
Yes, in a few weeks I will be heading back to the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration at Walt Disney World. I feel so lucky to be able to go and experience the magic of this conference. The best part for me is not having to worry about my family. While I am taking part in the events for conference attendees, I know that my husband and boys will be having an adventure in one of the Disney parks.
Ultimate Blog Party ’10 – The After-Party
Sunday, April 18th, 2010On Friday, April 9, I asked my readers if they were going to be joining in on the fun of:
That Aloha Friday question of the week also served as my official UBP10 post for the online festivities. I stayed up the evening it went live to put up my link and waited patiently while 5 Minutes For Mom were working out a few server issues. When the post finally was working properly, I linked up my #UBP10 post, put my Twitter name in and left a comment. My post was well into the 80′s within seconds, but I was the 13th comment on the post. During the week long event, over 2,300 people linked up on the original page. Now Janice and Susan are keeping the fun going. They are asking people to join them with the Ultimate Blog Party 2010 After-Party.
During the week, I spent time visiting many new blogs and meeting people on Twitter. Here are a few of them in no particular order:
Jolly Green Mommy – Another teacher, turned SAHM who also happens to be Jewish and have a love for Disney. Love all of her toddler projects to do with the kids and kosher/vegetarian vegetarian menu ideas.
From the Same Nest – Written by two sisters about their lives as wives, mothers and sharing the items that they create in a humorous fashion. They had a hilarious UBP10 post that really caught my eye.
Kelly’s Lucky You – Another Mom that went to DisneySMMom that I wish I had met. Kelly writes about many topics including winning contests, getting free samples and getting the best value for your money.
There were many others, but these are three that came to my head right now. I must admit, I am a little tired right now. I went to sleep early last night (before 11) because I was not feeling well. At about 12:20, I woke up and heard TechyDad going to check on the boys. At about the same time, my cell phone did a beep or two from text messages. I looked quickly and saw it was a Tweet coming in. Seconds later another. This time I could see it was a mention (@TheAngelForever). Suddenly, I saw person after person congratulating me for being the Grand Prize winner of the Ultimate Blog Party 2010!
I yelled to TechyDad to see if his computer was still on (mine was off – go figure). He said it was, so I told him why. We went to check and see what was going on and sure enough, there I was listed as the Grand Prize winner. What did I win?
The funny part, the post just 24 hours before was a wish list of practical things I would really like. Check it out. . . item #2 (the first really just for me):
New Laptop – My laptop is on borrowed time. It is almost 5 years old and the letters are worn off (stickers have not helped either). Plus, the fan makes a horrid noise from time to time.
TechyDad and I both laughed that I should make a new blog post immediately with a wish for a big winning lotto ticket! Well a girl can dream, no?
Thank you again to everyone for coming by my blog, I hope to see you again soon – remember I love comments. Janice and Susan, thank you for the fabulous party. Seriously, I am not just saying that because I won the Grand Prize. I feel honored to have met you both at DisneySMMoms and enjoyed my chat with Susan that Friday after the conference. Now I will be able to finish my Disney posts on the snazzy new computer when I get it.
Hershey’s Better Basket Blog Hop at The Angel Forever
Tuesday, March 30th, 2010I must admit, at this time of year I get a little jealous. Those cute Easter baskets are something I have never had and always thought they looked like so much fun to make and receive. Thanks to Christina at Cutest Kid Ever, I received an amazing virtual Easter basket that even I can enjoy during Passover.
What is the Hershey’s Better Basket Blog Hop?
Do you have a blog? If you do, you could help to raise some money for a great cause. Hershey is donating up to $5,000 to the Children’s Miracle Network with this promotion – $10 for every blog that participates in the Better Basket Blog Hop. The post that you are reading right now is another $10 that will be given to children’s hospitals all over North America. An additional $5,000 to this charity would be the world of difference to many sick children.
In my post, I need to pass along a virtual Easter basket to some of my blogging friends. Here is what my baskey will contain for you. Please remember I am a nice Jewish girl that is dreaming big and has never received anything like this before. All of the items are ones that I like and hope you will enjoy along with me.
- Hershey’s Cookies ‘n’ Creme Eggs
- Reese’s Peanut Butter Eggs
- Movie tickets for your entire family to have a fun time out together
- Eggs to color and design together (loved doing this with friends as a child)
- A Nalgene water bottle to make sure you drink your water each day
- Some hand knitted wash cloths to pamper yourself with
- Vanilla scented body wash
Not sure how this stacks up with the basket that you are used to, but it sounds like fun to me.
Here are the lovely bloggers who are receiving this virtual Easter basket from me:
- Nancy from Life With My Boys
- Renee from Life with my Special Ks
- Mommy Cracked
- Holly from Topic of Mom
- Cathi from Simply Cathi
- If you would like you name here. . . just let me know!
Hershey’s Better Basket Blog Hop Rules
- Copy and paste these rules to your blog post.
- Create a blog post giving a virtual Easter Basket to another blogger – you can give as many Virtual Baskets as you want.
- Link back to person who gave you an Easter Basket.
- Let each person you are giving a Virtual Easter Basket know you have given them a Basket.
- Leave your link at BetterBasket.info/BlogHop comment section. You can also find the official rules of this #betterbasket blog hop, and more information about Better Basket with Hershey’s there.
- Hershey’s is donating $10 per each blog participating to the Better Basket Blog Hop to Children’s Miracle Network (up to total of $5,000 by blog posts written by April 4th, 2010).
- Please note that only one blog post by each blog URL will count towards the donation.
Have fun and please share what you put in your basket with me.
Time to laugh
Monday, August 24th, 2009Right now we are up to our eyeballs in getting NHL’s wiggle tooth out. It is hard to believe that my serious six year old once laughed at any word. Case in point, our little guy back in February 2004. At just six months old he was laughing at an unusual word. Check it out to hear the word of the day.
Get Flash to see this player.
Ah, if only life would always be as simple as this!
I thought this would be the perfect addition to the MckLinky Blog Hop this week with the theme Time to Laugh.
Favorite new family photo
Tuesday, August 11th, 2009Anyone with children will tell you that it can be tough to get a good photo of your entire family. The more children you have, the more "interesting" it can get. JSL just turned two, so we had his portraits done. Thanks to the little guy running out of the shot and being cute yet painfully uncooperative, we opted to try a family photo. I think this is my favorite photo of the session.
This seemed like the perfect new photo to add to this MckLinky Blog Hop about Favorite Photos this week. Feel free to join in the fun by clicking on the information below.
Favorite quiet moment at Disney World
Tuesday, July 28th, 2009Welcome to this week’s Blog Hop. The theme this week is Favorite Kid Photos. You can have one or more of your favorite photos of your kids, grandkids, someone else’s kid or even YOU when you were a kid. Funny, precious, heartwarming… your favorite!.
This theme made me brain storm some to when we were at Disney World at May. I recalled one of the few quiet moments of the trip. After a long full at at EPCOT, where we stayed to see the fireworks at the end, the boys fell asleep in our rented double stroller. We all laughed that they were definitely brothers since the poses were almost identical. Several times they both moved about and came to the same resting spot.
Ah, the sweet memories of our first family Disney World vacation. Thanks for stopping by and keep on going with the Blog Hop!
Click here to enter your link in the blog hop and view the entire list of entered links…
3 Things You Did Not Know About Me
Tuesday, July 14th, 2009Welcome to The Angel Forever to those that are new from the MckLinky Blog Hop. This is my first week participating. Many of my blogging friends were participating, so I wanted to join in the fun.
This week the theme is 3 Things You Did Not Know About Me. So here is my list for the week:
1. I started off college in pharmacy school and after two and a half miserable years I left to pursue my dream of teaching. I liked the idea of being a pharmacist (100% job placement and the salary), but always wanted to teach. One day I hope to be back in a classroom, but for now am happy being a SAHM with my two boys.
2. On the teaching front many people may not realize where my last teaching job was. I was the nice Jewish girl teaching at a private Catholic school. It was a fabulous learning experience for me.
3. Hubby and I met in a fairly unique way in 1999. With a wrong click of the mouse, I stumbled into a Yahoo chat room while working on something for college. Something caught my eye before I clicked the window closed. I messaged TechyDad and we started to chat. For several weeks we met online talking, eventually talked on the phone and finally met in person. It was a long distance relationship for quite some time. We did the online dating thing before it was hip and so widely accepted.
Feel free to hop around my blog and check things out. I am a SAHM of two little boys (NHL = almost 6 and JSL = just 2) and wife to TechyDad. As you will see we recently went to Disney World for our first family vacation and this weekend we used our Six Flags season passes for some close to home fun.
Please check out some of the other participants and join in the fun.
