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« Previous EntriesHockey Days Gone By
Thursday, March 29th, 2012Yesterday, I went to an Albany Devils game with my son’s class. The Devils gave Capital District schools tickets to a matinee game as a community outreach program. As soon as I sat down in my seat, my eyes wandered across the ice and to the right by the team bench. Why over there? Well, that is where I sat for several seasons in a row, during every home game when I had Season Tickets to the Albany River Rats.
Ah, those were the days. The original team filled with New Jersey Devils prospects like Patrik Elias, Petr Sykora, Mike Dunham, Steve Sullivan, and so many more. As you can see from the photo, I had an amazing hockey spot. I sat center ice, a few row back from the Devils bench. We sat so close to the players that I can actually say I learned some interesting phrases as they screamed to the visitors bench at times.
For some reason, it was like I had been sent back in time. There must be something special about the air during a hockey game. It brought me back to my college days where I had few responsibilities, no husband, and no kids. I love those memories, but so thrilled to have my family and life.
Do you have a place that you like to visit that reminds you of your “old school” days?
BTW – For any old time River Rats fans, the photos above were taken on February 2, 2001. It was a River Rats game against the Hamilton Bulldogs with an autograph session on the ice after.
Purim Parties Galore
Sunday, March 11th, 2012Holidays come and holidays go. For some reason, Purim seems to stick around longer and longer each year. I love the holiday and the fun associated with it. However, getting kids dressed up so many times, heading to events, and everything else can get rough after a week.
Still, looking at the fun that the kids had makes it all well worth it.
Tomorrow, we will finally be able to put another Purim “season” behind us and move on. This bring me to the other reason Purim may have a sore spot with me. This fun holiday reminds me that Passover is just around the corner. We need to weed out our cabinets of non-Passover food and start thinking about our Seders. I think I am still in denial about all that goes with shopping and planning.
For now, I will remember the Purim celebration at JSL’s school that included a concert from Andy the Music Man. It was so much fun watching the kids parade around in costumes, sing, and dance with Andy. He was full of energy, funny, and so patient with the kids (and adults too). I know we will be looking to see where he will be performing in the weeks ahead to catch another show. Capital District readers, if you have a chance to see Andy – do not miss it!
I recorded a video of the Purim parade that was so adorable. I will share it with family members privately since I do not have permission from all of the parents to post it on YouTube.
Did you celebrate Purim? I would love to hear how you kept the fun times going with your family.
Celebrating Platypus Day
Sunday, March 4th, 2012Did you know that yesterday was Platypus Day? Over the last few weeks, we had heard that Radio Disney was going to be at the Hannaford Kidz Expo held at the Empire State Plaza.
Since Saturday was Platypus Day, they were focusing their area of the Expo with Phineas and Ferb. To get into the spirit, all three of the boys wore one of their Perry shirts to unite with Agent P. The people at Radio Disney loved this and commented to everyone, including TechyDad. The kids had fun searching for the clues that were hidden for an Agent P Scavenger Hunt. This was one of the signs hidden at the event.
When we got home, I made sure to get a photo of the boys with their Agent P masks and the Phineas and Ferb shirts that they wore in honor of Platypus Day.
Although very crowded, it was a lot of fun. More about the Kidz Expo coming soon from TechyDad when he shares JSL checking out friends from Reptile Adventure. NHL and I had seen them over the summer when JSL did not want to go. I do believe this may have been a favorite for the little kiddo.
Did you do anything special for Platypus Day? Would love to hear all about it, or about your adventure at Kidz Expo if you were there.
Magical Kiddie Concert Moments
Sunday, January 8th, 2012Recently, I wrote about recalling memories of going to concerts as a child. TechyDad and I have taken the boys to several concerts over the years. When we had the opportunity to go to the Laurie Berkner concert yesterday, we jumped at it. My family has been fans of Laurie for a long time thanks to her appearances on Jack’s Big Music Show. I will write more about the amazing show later, but now I wanted to share a few photo memories of our experience.
Of course, we will also remember this show because of something that happened toward the end. Laurie was on the stage floor “taking a nap” and Susie, Adam, and Bob were trying to get the audience to help wake her up. Suddenly, you hear Bob mention that they have a runner. TechyDad and I both captured this moment on video. A sweet little girl was dancing with a bunch of other children. Then, she bolted up onto the stage. What you will see the band members do is beyond magical. They went with the flow and worked it into the concert. Here is the video:
We have a lot of other videos and photos from the Laurie Berkner Band concert to share soon. A huge thank you to Laurie, Susie, Adam, Bob, and everyone else that made this concert at Proctors an extra special day for MY family and so many others.
Disclosure: My family and I received complementary tickets to the “Animal Party” concert thanks to The Laurie Berkner Band. The opinions are mine as a long time fan of Laurie Berkner and I received no other compensation. Posting this was done to share a fun experience and not expected in return for the tickets.
Decadent Desserts for the Holidays
Tuesday, November 22nd, 2011
Thanksgiving is coming, Thanksgiving is coming! I do believe it may be my favorite holiday because of time with extended family. Each year, it is a surprise to see which members come into town to be with all of us here.
Since we do not host Thanksgiving, we often bring a side and/or some desserts. Dessert is my favorite item to make. TechyDad does most of the cooking, but I adore baking. Usually, I will make my apple cake or some bon bon cookies. This year, we will be spending the day with my parents for a relatively small and quiet day together. Of course, this year I am not sure if we will have time to do any baking. Check that. I may not want to do any baking since I am too excited to try more baked good from an event I recently went to.
Two weeks ago, I was invited to a Price Chopper Holiday Cheer event (#PCHolidayCheer – on Twitter). While at the Price Chopper corporate building, they invited us to be their guests. We were able to chat with members from their departments and sample items.
I have to admit, my eyes immediately wandered to one specific section. I think I was most intrigued with the Decadent Desserts because we had already tried the new cupcakes a short time before this event. Now, feast your eyes on more of Price Chopper’s Central Market Decadent Dessert line.
The display showed only some of the items currently available at the Price Chopper bakery department. Please refrain from drooling on your computer as I list some of the amazing items you can try:
Cakes – available in 5” or 8” round:
- Cannoli Dream
- Tiramisu
- Black Forest
- Belgian White Truffle
- Lemon Berry Bliss
- German Chocolate
- 7th Heaven
- Coconut Carrot
- Mocha Madness
- Neapolitan
- Strawberry Duet
- Raspberry Royale
- Chocolate Chantilly
- For the Love of Peanut Butter
- Tres Leches
In addition to the cakes, they also have Éclairs, Strawberry Croissants, Petite Cheesecakes, Chocolate Bombes, Cannolis (made fresh to order so they are still crunchy), Peanut Butter Pie, Decadent Minis, Freshly Bakes Crullers, Decadent Apples, Tuxedo Strawberries, Brownies (look like brownie mini-cakes with different toppings), Fresh Fruit Tart, and of course the Cake in a Cup (monster sized cupcakes).
When talking with members of the Price Chopper Decadent Dessert Team, I asked a question. The Colonie store has a Kosher Bakery. I was curious if most of the items could be made to order there if I ever want to entertain at my house where we keep kosher. I was told that almost every item is, just raspberry items would not be an option. SCORE! This is great to know since we may need something to bring with us from a bakery when going to family or friends.
I do believe that I need to talk to TechyDad and my mother. I think we may have to try the Cannoli Dream cake for Thanksgiving or some other event coming up soon. Yes, the description sold me with the Cannolis along with the real whipped cream on top. YUM!
Oh and if we do not get these for Thanksgiving, my birthday, Chanukah, and holiday parties are just around the corner. I know we will be sampling more of these in our future.
More from the event to share soon. Again, a huge thank you to the entire team at Price Chopper for inviting me to this wonderful event.
Disclosure: I was invited to the Price Chopper Holiday Cheer event to learn about new items and holiday entertaining ideas with other bloggers. I was not compensated or expected to write any reviews. All opinions are my own. I did receive a bag of goodies, along with some amazing new cheeses to thank me for coming.
Art Education Meets Disney – Catch Me There
Sunday, August 7th, 2011When you bring a child to an event where they need to be creative, you never know what may inspire them. Case in point was when the boys and I went to our local library for a Story Tower event run by the Tang Museum. I wrote about the actual program here on my blog in a post titled When Art Meets Library.
I hinted that NHL was inspired by Disney’s Animal Kingdom when it was his time to make a story tower. I expanded on this for my most recent Education post for The Disney Driven Life titled When Disney Collides with Art Education. NHL showed me that he learned a great deal during our trips to Disney. He knew about different animals, their habitats, and where they were within the types of vegetation. I loved how he mimicked this knowledge by creating his own animal kingdom complete with Fast Pass. To read more about this, please stop by and read the rest of the story.
Please stop by to say hello and check out the other magical posts from my Disney Drive Life friends. My other posts there can be found under NDM183 – that’s me!
Have your children ever used things from your travels at times you least expected? Please be sure to share in the comments below.
Carnival and Chocolate
Sunday, July 31st, 2011Yesterday, I wrote all about our travels to Canada, Australia, India, Russia, France, Mexico, and China while staying home. Thanks to the Passport to Fun programs at Michaels, we had the adventure of our life at the local craft store. In the end, we went to eight of the eighteen countries. We missed two because the boys were still in school at the end of June. Then, I completely forgot about the Egypt day on June 25 and Bahamas on June 28. Luckily, I got our act together in time for Canada and beyond. I wish we had been able to make a few others, but they did not work with our schedules and two did not seem age appropriate for my kids.
On Saturday, the program ended with Brazil. What a way to end it making Rio Carnival masks. The boys had a blast working on these with all of the glitter, feathers, and sequins.
Of course, while in Michaels we HAD to check out other items. TechyDad looked for a case to house his grandfather’s old telescope in. Both of the ones in stock were cracked, so we are waiting on that. Then, we looked around for ideas to use for NHL’s 8th birthday. NHL has said that he wants lions and other animals as the focus. We chatted about it while walking around and came up with a safari theme. Seems perfect since he loved the Safari at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. I know one day I would love to take him on the African Trek I went on.
While checking out the Wilton cupcake making supplies, we wandered over to their chocolate mold section. NHL fell in love with some things there. TechyDad thought they were really interesting and said we should use our coupons and pick them up. So we did. Don’t these look fun?
So we will be making the Oreo/Pretzel molds to go along with some kind of lion cupcake. Do not think there will be time to paint the chocolate and make it pretty, but it’s still fun and something the kids can help with. If you have any lion cupcake suggestions – I would love to know.
What have you been up to this weekend of July?
Summer Full of Crafts Around the World
Saturday, July 30th, 2011Dear NHL and JSL,
Over the last month, we have spent a lot of time at a very unlikely location. Michaels may be one of my favorite stores to go and get baking, yarn, and other fun crafting supplies. The two of you like to go there, but it was never a favorite. This summer, Michaels teams up with crafting sponsors to have their Passport to Fun program. Every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, they had items to make and take that went along with their passport filled with countries. Over the weeks, we not only went to Cananda, but several others.
We traveled to Australia where you made a Koala Bear pin and Aboriginal Art using chalk.
In India, you made elephant pins with different fun glitter glues and henna hands with markers. 
For our time in Russia, nesting doll puppets and a bear pin were our adventure. Both of you were excited to make your own nesting dolls like the ones at Mimi’s house.
Oui, we went to France. While there, you made a cute Frenchman pin and then had an amazing time showing your Impressionist style using Crayola Twistables Slick Stix. I have a feeling we may be buying some of these for future fun.
Our trip to Mexico reminded us of the suns at the Mexican area of It’s a Small World. You used Crayola Model Magic to create your own suns and also made a tissue paper flower.
China was a little messy, but lots of fun. You were able to try some Tibetan sand paintings of your own.
Today is the last of the events for Brazil. I know that I am sad to see this part of our summer over. Luckily, I have a lot of crafting supplies home and we can try some of the other items that were located in the great passport from Michaels. Yes, it has been a fun summer filled with new crafts and learning about different locations in the world. I know both of you will remember much of this. I hope we can continue to explore these items for the rest of the summer.
Love,
Mommy
_______________________________________
If you want to participate in Dear Kid Saturday, head on over to Cutest Kid Ever by clicking on the button below.
Reptile Ready
Friday, July 29th, 2011The summer programs at our local libraries have been absolutely amazing this summer. I could not imagine what we would do if we did not have them to go to. While at the chocolate tasting experience, the librarian mentioned another event coming up. It was going to be Reptile Adventure with Jessica Shea. The description was “Touch a snake, pet a turtle, and see eye-to-eye with a South American frog.” Yes, Reptile Adventure was coming to help the kids learn and meet some of their friends.
NHL was very excited about the program, but JSL opted not to go. He was tired and stayed back with Papa to rest and relax. I thought this was an amazing opportunity to introduce the kids to the wonders of reptiles. I still remember meeting several snakes and other critters during a Girl Scout event when I was a child.
When NHL and I walked into the meeting room, there were several reptiles already out to greet the excited children. One of them was Plaid.
True story, NHL walked right by Plaid and did not notice him sitting there until he nearly bumped into him and it scared him. It was definitely a kodak moment since I had watched the entire event (wish I had my video camera turned on).
Jessica was so patient with the rather large and young crowd before her. She introduced all of her reptile friends that were visiting. Then the best part for the kids, every animal was brought around for them to get a close look, and in most instances touch. Here are a few of the reptile friends that came to visit:
The part that the kids loved, was the opportunity to touch and hold any of the reptiles that Jessica said were up to it. NHL did not want to hold the big lizard, but he asked to hold the spotted turtle named Seurat (love the name):
Then, we went to wait on line to hold the Python. NHL was not too sure about this, but he allowed the Python on his lap and was petting it while chatting away about snakes. A special thanks for the patience of Chris from the library. He was a rock star handling the reptiles and helping with the kids.
After this, we went back over to Jessica who had the Legless Lizard out. I was floored with what I witnessed. Without even blinking NHL picked it up and I got this photo to prove how great he did:
Yes, this truly was a FUN and EDUCATIONAL experience for everyone that was there. When it was time to go, Jessica told the kids to each take a special sticker. NHL did and was so proud to show it to others the rest of the afternoon.
Thanks to the library, we now know about another great business that helps to educate children in our area and may be a fantastic future birthday party experience. Can you imagine?!
So my question to you this week is inspired by our reptile encounter:
What reptile would you love to know/learn more about and why? Oh and no saying you don’t like them – you probably have never met any like these to appreciate them.
- ____________________________________________________________________________
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 #162
Kid Style Chocolate Blind Taste Testing
Wednesday, July 27th, 2011
Disclosure: This was a free event at a local library. Thank you to the amazing librarian for organizing this event. I know my boys had a fantastic time and we all enjoyed staying dry during the storm that passed while participating.
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