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Monday, May 21st, 2012When you immerse yourself into the world of Walt Disney World, you quickly realize that part of the magic is thanks to the amazing Cast Members. Yes, I said Cast Members, not employees. As a member of the Disney production team, all individuals that work within the Disney umbrella are referred to as Cast Members (CMs in Disney lingo).
On our last visit to Walt Disney World, I wish I had gotten the name of several of the CMs that went far above and beyond what they needed to do. There was the CM in Mouse Keeping that arranged special friends and left us nightly surprises in our room. 
Luckily, we did keep track of a few names to make sure to recognize them.
Kimmy from Garden Grove, CA was the CM at Beaches and Cream that had the entire place sing Happy Birthday to JSL. He was so surprised since he thought the flashing lights were to present another Kitchen Sink at a table.
Countless CMs were involved in helping us through an emergency and then they left some Pixie Dust one evening. It was completely uncalled for, but very much appreciated. After taking the photo below, Papa and I walked down to the front desk to thank them and get names of the CMs responsible for this sweet gesture.
What I wish is that I had taken more photos of these amazing individuals that as a team made our trip even better. I have many names and will be writing to Disney to praise these individuals. Still, photos would have been nice – a face to personally thank them here on my blog.
There were also CMs that made us laugh like Steve from Wallingford, CT. Steve was our fearless Captain on The Jungle Cruise. He was absolutely amazing, keeping the kids happy and tossing in some much needed adult humor.
Another person that made me smile while I was having a rough last night was Stephani from Centerpoint, AL. While I was stressing over last minute purchases and packing at the Yacht Club Resort store, she made me laugh and smile. Suddenly, the idea for this post came into my head. I knew that I had to get a photo of this woman who had made me forget about the stresses of packing my family up to leave Walt Disney World. She laughed, but I explained that I was a blogger and there was a reason for this. She recalled the conference earlier, posed, and told me to make sure to spell her name properly.
It is because of these CMs and countless others that my family will always remember this magical trip that we had together. I will never be able to thank them enough, but hopefully by writing this and letting others share in the wonder – it will be at least something.
Do you have a magical CM tale to share? I would love to know how someone at Disney helped to make your trip even more special or went above and beyond. Let me know what this person or people did and how you thanked them.
Disclosure: Although we paid for our own trip to Disney World to attend the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration, we were given an incredible deal from Disney. Also note that Disney never asked us to blog about this event. As a long time Disney fan, it is my pleasure to share my experiences from the event and our extended stay.
Disney Junior Swashbuckler Soiree
Thursday, May 17th, 2012From the minute we received the more detailed schedule for events of Disney Social Media Moms Celebration, something caught the attention of my children. Yes, NHL and JSL immediately noted the Swashbucker Soiree, especially after I read them this:
Ahoy matey! Aye – now this is a family dinner you won’t want to miss! Brought to you by Disney Junior, join us for a buccaneer-themed evening along the beach with live music, a treasure hunt and plenty of fun for everyone.
The boys literally jumped up and down. They guessed that Jake from Jake and the Never Land Pirates would be there and possibly others. The boys, well, they are good at guessing.
After the Cocktail Reception – Passport to the World welcome, we went out to the beach by the Beach Club Resort to meet up with our families. With one quick look, you could see we were in for an amazing pirate party!
Disney Junior handed out pirate bandanas and pirates greeted us as we walked onto the beach where a pirate band was playing music for all of us to enjoy. Then, it was time not to walk the plank because there was an amazing buffet of pirate inspired goodies for all to devour.
While the boys and Nana and Papa were eating, TechyDad and I were able to chat with some of our friends on the beach. We also caught up with head GEM (Good Enough Mother) Rene Syler and stopped for a photo. TechyDad helped the kids eat while we gabbed and gabbed with Rene and every other person I bumped into.
Of course, my little mateys had a hard time staying by their seats soon after this. You see, once they saw someone enter the area, they did not want to stay at the table. Check out who joined the party below.
Yes, that is Jake from Disney Junior’s Jake and the Never Land Pirates. When Jake came out onto the Swashbuckler Soiree scene, many of the kids (including mine) were off to participate in the fun and games. Once NHL and JSL had their photo taken with Jake and the pirate slide behind them…
They had to beware of other pirates. This colorful crew of pirate misfits were teaching the kids how to perfect their pirate pose for the camera.
Looking back on it, I wonder if they were really just trying to help and protect the kids. Soon after this, two scallywags that you may recognize showed up to join the party.
Of course, when you party like a pirate, it is important to stop to enjoy a cool ice cream treat.
This break also means that it is the perfect time for the Pirate mother to send out an Instagram or two to share photos from the fun. And for those that finish their Mickey Ice Cream sandwich early, it’s always interesting to hide your feet in the sand!
Of course, little pirates that have been up since the wee hours of the morning get tired when the sun sets. We knew that we had many more adventures ahead on Friday and beyond. While others remained to dance in the dark, we went back to our room in the Yacht Club Resort to settle the boys in for some sweet pirate dreams.
More to share and lessons learned from our time at the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration coming soon.
Disclosure: Although we paid for our own trip to Disney World to attend the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration, we were given an incredible deal from Disney. Also note that Disney never asked us to blog about this event. As a long time Disney fan, it is my pleasure to share my experiences from the event.
Cake Wishes from the Birthday Boy
Tuesday, May 15th, 2012Yesterday was JSL’s 5th birthday. Monday birthdays are tricky when you are in school. It means you can’t do anything too big and elaborate, but still need to make the day extra special. On Sunday, JSL finally opted not to ask for an ice cream cake and wanted a chocolate cake with sprinkles in it. That can not really happen, so he picked something else, along with frosting and items to decorate the cake.
In the morning I took the boys to school. When I dropped JSL off, his teacher E had him make a special birthday crown. Later on when I went back in, the crown was complete.
Then it was time to have a birthday snack with everyone. When the kids were done singing to JSL, he was asked to share how old he is now. Yes, he now needs an entire hand.
After a story and some dancing, we packed up to head home. We were on a mission. Before going to school JSL asked me only to bake the birthday cake. As a new big five year old, he wanted to help frost and decorate his own masterpiece. So I set out supplies and we started to work.
JSL soon learned that when you pull up on frosting…cake will follow along with it. Thanks to that, he also learned how to repair holes with more frosting.
Once the cake was covered in frosting, it was time to add some color. JSL was careful placing sprinkles at first, then he started to just dump them on, and eventually he wanted some gold to add a little sparkle.
When the cake was finished we pulled out the present that he begged for. JSL wanted walkie-talkies for his birthday. These are the cool Perry ones that we found for the Phineas and Ferb fan:
Unfortunately, the walkie-talkies did not work. We called the company and they were amazing. Later on we brought them back to the Toys R Us and exchanged them for some the exact same item that worked perfectly. Then we came home to have some of the cake that JSL helped to make.
It is still so hard to believe that my “baby” is already five!
Snacking on Kim’s Magic Pop
Friday, May 11th, 2012Trying to find a healthy snack food that is low calorie, low fat, filling, and tastes good can be a difficult task. A few months ago, we were visiting my brother and his family. One night, he shared a snack that was absolutely delicious. I was immediately jealous because it was amazing and we had nothing like it near us. It was called Kim’s Magic Pop.
The months went by and I never thought about them again until Nana and Papa had them at their house the other day. Yes, they were able to find them locally. Now, I think we may have a bit of an addiction. The boys and I love them and the kids loved watching them get made. Thanks to the Delice Global website, we now know all of the flavors that Kim’s Magic Pop could come in. They include:
- Original
- Onion
- Cinnamon
- Cheddar Cheese
- Potato
- Strawberry
- Whole Wheat
- 7 Grain (coming soon)
- Super Fiber (coming soon)
- Honey Wheat (coming soon)
Although I like them plain and right out of the bag, I think they would also be delicious with some hummus. No doubt we will continue to experiment with different ways to enjoy them. At just 15 calories each, the wow factor when crunching them has been worth the wait.
My question to you this week:
What is a new snack food that you are currently enjoying and why?
Disclosure: We have paid for many bags of Kim’s Magic Pop with our own money. Just thought of this post one day while I was crunching on a delicious snack and wanted to share.
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Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this fun for Friday. Please be sure to head over to her blog to say hello and sign the linky there if you are participating.
Aloha #202
Dole Whip Cravings
Monday, April 23rd, 2012When I start to think about Walt Disney World, one refreshing treat comes to my mind. I immediately begin to imagine myself walking through the Magic Kingdom to Adventureland and getting one of these at Aloha Isle:
Please excuse the hot, sweaty, and frizzy haired me in the background. That photo of me holding my beloved Dole Whip Float was right after I finished the three hour African Trek. I called the boys and they were over at the Magic Kingdom. I immediately knew the place to meet. We introduced the boys to their first Dole Whip Float and they are definitely fans of this refreshing treat.
If you are a Dole Whip newbie, I suggest checking out AJ’s post on The Disney Food Blog all about the beloved Dole Whips. From there, she links up to additional posts about the topic and even where you can find them outside of Disney parks. Zannaland also wrote about The Great Dole Whip Controversy. Yes, people are that serious about their Dole Whip preferences.
So let’s talk frozen delights at Walt Disney World. Have you had a Dole Whip before and what is your favorite location to enjoy this delicious snacks?
The Cupcake Club – Book Giveaway
Tuesday, April 17th, 2012Cupcakes and books are two topics that I love to talk about on my blog. I often write about baking, taste testing, and observing beautiful cupcake creations.
Most Tuesdays, I write about books that we are reading, or something related to a literacy topic. Last week, Tuesday Tales meshed both of these topics into a delicious new book review for The Cupcake Club: Peace, Love, and Cupcakes
Sourcebook has graciously offered a giveaway for one lucky reader of The Angel Forever to receive your own copy of The Cupcake Club.
Rules for Giveaway:
- MAIN RULE – If you could invent your dream cupcake, what would it be. Let me know the type of cake, frosting, filling, or beyond that would make it a reality.
The following Bonus Entries may also be done. Please be sure to leave separate comments for each that you complete below to make sure you get the right number of entries.
- 1 Bonus Entry – Who would you like to read The Cupcake Club with and why?
- 1 Bonus Entry – Follow TheAngelForever on Twitter and leave a comment with your Twitter name below.
- 1 Bonus Entry – Tweet the following about the giveaway: Enter to #win a copy of The Cupcake Club from @Sourcebooks @jabberwockykids & @TheAngelForever http://bit.ly/HUmYP3 #giveaway #cupcakes (May be done once a day – leave link to Tweet in comment below for new entry)
- 1 Bonus Entry – Leave a comment on any of my non-giveaway posts from the months of March/April. Leave a comment here to let me know which one. This Bonus entry may be done twice per day.
- 3 Bonus Entries – Add my blog button to your website and/or add me to your blogroll. Be sure to leave a link with the location.
- 1 Bonus Entry – Head over to TechyDad’s blog and say hello to him. Let me know where you posted a comment. May be done once a day.
To enter, please follow the rules above within the comment section. Giveaway begins April 17, 2012 and ends April 25, 2012 at 10:59 EST. You do not have to be a blogger to enter, but must leave a valid e-mail address for me to contact you for mailing address once the giveaway is over. I will select the winner using random.org and contact you via e-mail. You will have 48 hours to claim the prize. If there is no response, another winner will be selected. Open to US and Canada residents only.
Disclosure: Sourcebooks offered me a review copy of the book and to give one away to a reader. No other compensation was given and all opinions are mine. Sourcebooks will provide shipment of the book to the winner and The Angel Forever is not responsible for fulfillment of the prize. An Amazon Affiliate link is included in this post for the book mentioned. I will receive a percentage of money for the sale should you opt to buy the book through that link
Tuesday Tales – The Cupcake Club
Tuesday, April 10th, 2012It’s no secret, we like cupcakes in our house. There are several cupcake specialty bakeries in our area and we feel that it is our duty to check them all out. Just doing a cupcake search on my blog will give you a lot of items to look at on the topic. I also like to make cupcakes as part of birthday celebrations for the boys, including the most recent Lion Cupcakes.
When I heard that Sourcebooks had a new series out that worked around cupcakes, I was excited to receive an advanced copy of the book that just came out last week.
About The Cupcake Club:
Meet Kylie Carson.
She’s a fourth grader with a big problem. How will she make friends at her new school? Should she tell her classmates she loves monster movies? Forget it. Play the part of a turnip in the school play? Disaster! Then Kylie comes up with a delicious idea: What if she starts a cupcake club?
Soon Kylie’s club is spinning out tasty treats with the help of her fellow bakers and new friends. But when Meredith tries to sabotage the girls’ big cupcake party, will it be the end of the Cupcake Club?
The Cupcake Club: Peace, Love, and Cupcakes
What I Thought:
The cover of this book made me drop what I was reading to start reading. I was especially intrigued since I knew that it was written by a mother and daughter team. What I don’t think I really realized (too distracted with Passover preparations) was a bit more about the pair. Carrie Berk is the 9 year old author that wrote The Cupcake Club with her mother Sheryl Berk. Sheryl Berk is a New York Times bestselling co-author of Soul Surfer (on my to read list since my students always had my copy out). Carrie is a seasoned cupcake reviewer. She has traveled all over the world and written about the cupcakes on her website called Carrie’s Cupcakes Critique. Carrie is also on Pinterest, Facebook, and Twitter (all found on her website).
As soon as I started reading the story, I became attached to Kylie Carson. This four grader is still struggling to be accepted in her new school. She likes different things than most of her peers and struggles with keeping troubles to herself. What troubles? Well, Kylie is the victim of a bully and her name is Meredith. Meredith gets great joy in the world when she humiliates Kylie in any way. Kylie is afraid that if she tells an adult what is going on that it will only get worse.
Thankfully, when Juliette, the drama teacher steps in to mentor Kylie her world quickly changes. Juliette tells her about the way she was picked on as a child and how she took up baking to help. This is when The Cupcake Club was born. We follow along on the adventure to recruit three more members and watch how they befriend each other.
Will Kylie stand up to the bully? Read the first book in this new series to find out!
I really enjoyed The Cupcake Club. It read quickly and brought up some great discussion topics like bullying, building self esteem, not giving up, making friends, forgiving, and more. My only small criticism of the book is that I have a hard time visualizing fourth graders taking on so much. As the mother of an almost fourth grader, I think the kids should have been a bit older to be doing so much on their own. Once you read the book and learn about the success of their business, you will understand. Even with this little item, I still thoroughly enjoyed the book. I also love that at the end of the book Carrie and Sheryl include the recipes that they talk about within the story. They sound delicious and will have to be tested after Passover.
I know I look forward to reading more adventures of Peace, Love, and Cupcakes. Now, I am going to share a fun video of Carrie making some fun cupcakes.
What have you read recently? Please be sure to link up to your book posts in the comments below. Include something you read on your own, with a child, or someone else. Tuesday Tales are all about spreading the love for books.
BTW – A giveaway for this book will be coming soon on The Angel Forever thanks to Sourcebook, so stay tuned!
Disclosure: I received this book complimentary of Sourcebooks in order to facilitate this review. No other compensation was given. The opinions expressed in the review are my own. An Amazon Affiliate link is included in this post for the book mentioned. I will receive a percentage of money for the sale should you opt to buy the book through that link.
Quiet First Passover Seder 2012
Saturday, April 7th, 2012Dear NHL and JSL,
This year, we had a quiet first Seder. It was just the four of us, plus Nana and Papa came to join us. I love Passover and being with lots of family, but it was nice to be silly, and get done a bit earlier. We kept things very, very, very simple. Nothing but our “finest china” would do. We also made sure that JSL’s Passover projects from school were ready to go.
At first, everyone followed along in the Haggadah. NHL, you sang the four questions to us in Hebrew. You did a great job. It also impressed me that your little brother was able to sing along after learning the song in nursery school.
Then things got a bit off track once Daddy went to hide the Afikomen. Yes, we had to get our Seder Sillies out.
Friday was a busy day getting ready for everything. Today, it will be nice to spend a more quiet day together while getting ready for our second Seder that will no doubt have more memories made.
Love,
Mommy
Preschool Seder Time
Thursday, April 5th, 2012Growing up, I still remember Passover Seders at nursery school. When I went to NHL’s during preschool, it brought back amazing memories. Last year, I went with JSL to his first one during his three day a week program. This week, we had another preschool community Seder with JSL’s school. Please join me for a tour of their beautiful event.
When you walked into the room, there were place cards to see which table your family would be sitting at. Then, each of the small round tables was set up for kids and adults to be together. I love that they stack two chairs together to make sure that the kids are able to participate and see everything.
If you take a closer look, there was a Seder plate at the center of each table. Along with this there were platters of matzah, fruit, eggs, carrots, kuggel, tuna, and underneath foil desserts. Each of the kids had their own little setting by them to participate. There were also Haggadahs for everyone to read the Passover story.
When the classes arrived, all of the kids went to find their families at the table. JSL came to sit down and we opened up our Haggadah to get ready.
The kids were active participants. They helped to tell the story, sing songs, and more. JSL had his frog puppet ready when it was time to talk about the plagues.
The kids were not the only ones involved with retelling the Passover story. Some special people showed up as well.
This was a great surprise and so much fun to watch the kids interact with everyone. These will definitely be memories that JSL and I will always remember. Of course, the videos I took will also help with that department. Thank you to everyone at nursery school for making this such a wonderful experience.
Favorite Disney World Resorts
Monday, March 19th, 2012Over the years, I have stayed at a lot of the resorts at Walt Disney World. This Spring, we will be adding two more to my list. Growing up, I stayed at The Contemporary Resort (multiple times), Dixie Landings (multiple times and now called Port Orleans Riverside), and Caribbean Beach (multiple times). Since I have been married, we have stayed at The Beach Club Resort, Pop Century (three times), The Polynesian, and The Grand Floridian. Thanks to Disney dining, we have also visited Port Orleans French Quarter, Animal Kingdom Lodge, Boardwalk, Wilderness Lodge, and Fort Wilderness campground.
Deluxe Hotels:
I don’t think I could just pick one of the deluxe hotels. If money were no option, it would be tough to select which one. There’s monorail convenience, great overall location, and never stayed there before dream.
If I had to pick a resort on the monorail, I would immediately pick the Contemporary. I love that you can simply go down to the ground floor and walk to the Magic Kingdom along a palm tree lined walkway. It isn’t usually crowded, plus you always have the monorail to jump on and get back with relative ease. In addition to this, The Contemporary has Chef Mickey, The Wave, and The California Grill (never been there yet).
After staying at the Beach Club Resort on our honeymoon, I fell in love with the location. Not only is it simply gorgeous with an amazing pool, you can walk or take a boat to Hollywood Studios and Epcot. TechyDad and I often walked into Epcot for dinner, or over to the Boardwalk for a snack or another meal.
A deluxe hotel that I have not stayed at, but visited many time to dine there is the Animal Kingdom Lodge. I would adore waking up one morning and opening my door to view animals like giraffes while sipping my cup of coffee. Another perk would be having Boma and the other great restaurants located steps from our room.
Moderate Resorts:
Looking back I loved the quaint, quiet feel of Dixie Landings. We stayed in the mansions there twice and it was fun to bike, boat, and walk around the resort. Since our stay there, the name has changed. I know the the kids would also adore Port Orleans (either section), but would probably prefer a stay at the newer Pirate Themed rooms at the Caribbean Beach Resort.
Value Resorts:
We adore Pop Century as a fun filled value resort at Walt Disney World. We have never stayed at any of the other value resorts to date. Our last three visits have included nights at this destination. 
The rooms are smaller and you do not have a sit down restaurant, but it’s extremely fun, kid friendly, and they a great food court that includes the infamous Tie Dye Cheesecake. We have adjusted to the value resorts by saving money on the room to use for our dining plans and to extend out stays.
So where do you love to stay or dream of calling your home while at Walt Disney World? There are a lot of Disney posts on my blog from trips during the last few years, so check them out if you are interested.
P.S. A huge thank you to Mariana from The Domestic Buzz for creating this magical Blog Hop! The link will be within this post the day after it is published.
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