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« Previous EntriesPersonalize Father’s Day Cards with Treat – Giveaway
Thursday, May 24th, 2012June is just around the corner and with that thoughts of summer, time with family, and Father’s Day come into my mind. For Father’s Day, the day is all about the special men in our lives. Since the boys were born, the focus has moved to celebrating the day as a family for TechyDad.
In past years, we have gone mini-golfing, to see a movie, and the amusement park. I’m not too sure what TechyDad will want to do. Of course, we also make sure to spend time with Papa. He is such a special part of our lives as well.
I know I will be spending time with the boys before Father’s Day to create some special cards for the men in our lives. We are excited to try out the new partner site from Tiny Prints called Treat. Treat offers personalized greeting cards that are fun to design for Father’s Day. Just looking around I already see something referencing Elvis that will be perfect for Papa, and a bunch that the boys will love to add photos to for TechyDad. Our photos from Disney World will be perfect additions to many of the cards that we can have shipped right to them, Grandpa, and uncles that live a distance from us.
Did you know that you can try Treat Cards for free? You can and perhaps it could be for Father’s Day. Simply use the code FREETREAT at checkout and the card will be sent right to the recipient for the time that you specify. This day and age, we often forget how special it is to receive a card in the mail. Treat Cards now helps us to do this by allowing you to schedule cards up to a year in advance and ship them out in time for a Birthday, Anniversary, or holiday that you are celebrating.
For more information on Treat, you can follow them via Social media on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Google+. Now for some other fun thanks to Treat Cards.
Treat Cards would like to offer a giveaway to one of my readers for 10 free tokens to use for your own personalized card purchases. Think about how easy it will be to design them at home, have them sent, and the happiness you will provide to the person on the receiving end of the card.
Rules for Giveaway:
- MAIN RULE – Leave a comment letting me know what type of Father’s Day Card you prefer to send. Do you like silly, sentimental, or some sort of combination and why?
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 – If you win who will you be sending cards to with your tokens?
- 1 Bonus Entry – Tweet the following about the giveaway: Enter to #win 10 tokens from @TreatCards & @TheAngelForever so you can get creative when sending cards http://bit.ly/KNAicg. #giveaway. (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 May/June. Leave a comment here to let me know which one. This Bonus entry may be done twice per day.
To enter, please follow the rules above within the comment section. The giveaway begins May 24, 2012 and ends June 3 , 2012 at 10:59 EST. You do not have to be a blogger to enter, but you 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 residents only – Treat Cards does not ship outside of the US at this time.
Disclosure: I wrote this post as part of a Global Influence campaign. I will be receiving tokens to order cards to send to my family and friends in return for writing this post. As a customer of Tiny Prints, I look forward to trying out Treat soon.
Disney Cast Member Magic
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.
Today my Baby is Five
Monday, May 14th, 2012Dear JSL,
Five years ago yesterday, I had no idea that my world would forever change again. It was Mother’s Day and I was very pregnant with you. I slept a lot of the day because I was so exhausted. When I woke up Monday morning, you made it quite clear that today would be your birthday.
Now I look at your sweet little face and the baby, toddler, preschooler is slipping away. You are getting to be so big and will be heading to kindergarten in September. I can not believe that my baby is going to be a kindergarten kid. Your sweet personality makes you so easy to get along with. You are one smart cookie who has a great sense of humor, loves to perform plays for everyone, and help others. Here is a look at your fourth year.
To celebrate turning four, we had a lot of pirate celebrations. Jake and the Never Land Pirates had made a huge impact on your life and everything seemed to be pirates. It was also the first time that you rode solo on the Merry-go-Round at Hoffman’s. (May 2011)
June started off with a major scare when you had a febrile seizure at school. Thank goodness you were in great hands that day. The rest of the month was a lot less eventful. You finished your first year of preschool and we spent time together before NHL was finished with second grade. (June 2011)
We had a busy summer together. NHL, you, and I went to a lot of events at the library and Michaels for their craft program. You loved making items and sharing them with everyone. The summer was also very warm and you liked heading into our little pool to play and the spray ground at the park. (July 2011)
The end of the summer was filled with preparations for NHL’s 8th birthday, going to the movies, more trips to Hoffman’s, and keeping cool. Mommy and Daddy were supposed to go away and you were so excited about possible presents from Disney. Hurricane Irene had other plans and you worked to help us prepare the house for her arrival. (August 2011)
School started back and you were going five days a week for most of the day. Although I missed our extra time together, I knew playing with your friends and learning was important. Each day I would look forward to see all the books, drawings, and creations that you would make. We also went apple picking on your first fieldtrip of the year. (September 2011)
The Fall brought an extreme interest in learning to write. You were constantly writing new books at the start of each day in nursery school. Then, at home, you were using the new LeapFrog goodies we received to try reading on your own. Of course, we ended the month with snow in October just in time for Jedi Tigger to go out for some treats. (October 2011)
We had a relatively quiet month in November. You declared that you liked fruit on a stick, constantly played your guitar, and kept using your favorite markers each morning at school. (November 2011)
Muppets, Snowflake the Bear, Chanukah, and more pirates filled the month of December. You loved playing dress up, especially with your Jake and the Never Land Pirates shirt on. I have a feeling that was your super costume for the Super JSL Buzz Lightyear show that you liked to do all the time. (December 2011)
Thanks to you sleeping in our bed, Daddy and I finally agreed that it was time to get you a big boy bed. The two of you still wanted to share a room, so we bought bunk beds that were delivered on New Years Eve. Much of January was spent getting used to the new sleeping arrangements and wondering why you would not play in the missing snow. (January 2012)
February brought an illness that kept you home from school for a while. Thankfully, we kept febrile seizures away. During break from school, we kept warm inside the house making crafts and also went to the library to explore and see friends. You continued to love going to school to see all of your friends, teachers, and of course your speech therapist C. It was becoming clear to all of us that you were growing up so much and ready to be a kindergarten kid soon. (February 2012)
Lots going on in March. My favorite little pirate came out to play for Purim. Pirate JSL also liked to add more to his costume when playing at home. We had fun at Platypus day looking for Perry. Finally, snow arrived that allowed you to head outside to play. (March 2012)
The month began with Passover preparations. That kept us busy as we were also getting set for another trip to Walt Disney World at the end of the month. You also fell in love with making pottery at a friend’s birthday party. (April 2012) 
Please excuse me if I cry a little today. It is hard for me to believe that my baby has gone from this:
to this in five short years:
As much as I am sad to see you get older, I am excited. I can not wait to see more of who you are becoming. I look forward to watching you learn to read, write, and develop into more of the character and sweet young boy that you already are.
Happy 5th birthday sweetie and here is to many more happy and wonderful memories ahead.
Love,
Mommy
Past B-day posts to JSL:
Brave Mother’s Day Wishes
Sunday, May 13th, 2012Five years ago today, I was very pregnant with my second son. JSL had not gotten the memo that he had been given eviction orders. He decided that it was not in my best interest to come Mother’s Day weekend when my favorite doctor was on call. Instead, I spent Mother’s Day 2007 hot, uncomfortable, and wishing I was holding my baby boy.
Of course, the joke was on me when I realized that I had been in labor all during Mother’s Day and just blocked out a lot with sleeping in front of the AC unit.
Now, I am the mother of two beautiful and amazing boys. NHL and JSL keep me on my toes, make me laugh, and treat me like the princess in our house ….most of the time. It only seemed fitting to jump into a photo with Cinderella and my two little princes.
Now, I will leave you with a special Mother’s Day message from Disney Pixar and the characters from Brave.
Happy Mother’s Day to my mother, mother-in-law, grandmother, aunts, sister-in-laws, cousins, other family members, friends, and all women. May your day be filled with many wonderful memories.
Disclosure: Disney PR notified me of the Mother’s Day Brave featurette. I was not compensated for this and simply wanted to share since I adore all things Disney. You know we will be going to see Brave when it is released June 22, 2012.
Tuesday Tales – Meeting Ridley Pearson in Walt Disney World
Tuesday, May 8th, 2012It’s time to jump around on my timeline from events at the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration to share something related to literacy, reading, and books. Nothing could fit in more perfectly than meeting NY Times Bestselling author Ridley Pearson. Since I signed up for his session on Saturday, I knew that Ellen and I would be front and center for his presentation. What I didn’t know is something magical would happen before that.
After the conference session on Friday, TechyDad and I met back up with my parents and the boys. Once back in the room, we debated what to do before the party in DinoLand at Animal Kingdom. We were told that we could head to the Animal Kingdom and exit the park to wait for the group while they finished setting up the area. This seemed like a good plan. On the way out of the Yacht Club to catch a bus to the Animal Kingdom, a person caught my eye. I shrugged it off until I got to the bus area and happened to bump into Ellen and her daughter. I told her that I was pretty sure I had just seen Ridley Pearson in the lobby, but was doubting myself.
After wandering around Animal Kingdom for a few hours, we waited outside the gates, for the rest of the families to arrive. I nudged Ellen and told her Ridley Pearson was walking in with everyone. This is when I mentioned something to my son and reminded him I was going to Mr. Pearson’s session in the morning. 
NHL was busy going on ride after ride before eating dinner. Thanks to this, I had to force him to stop to get at least a little something. NHL and I were at one of the then empty buffet lines when I noticed someone come over on my left. I peeked and noted that it was Ridley Pearson. I said hello and wanted to make sure he was Mr. Pearson. He said he was and then I mentioned I was going to his session the next day. Then, I turned things over to NHL. I mentioned that NHL was a fan of the Kingdom Keepers. Without missing a beat, Mr. Pearson started to talk to NHL. He asked him about his favorite part of the book. NHL explained that he loved the scene in Kingdom Keepers: Disney After Dark 
The next morning before the session began, I thanked Mr. Pearson. Thanks to this encounter, NHL wants to get back to reading the Kingdom Keeper series. He was excited to let his teacher know that he had met the author and kept chatting all night about the Small World Ride chat. Yes, once again, Ridley Pearson showed how a little magic from him could inspire a reluctant reader to jump back into reading. While others were asking for autographs, I knew that I had to get one for my son (little did I know my almost five year old would be jealous of this – ooops). I even took photos to share with NHL later.
More about the session and tour of Epcot with Ridley Pearson coming soon. Have you ever met an author? Please feel free to share your experience below. 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.
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. Meeting Ridley Pearson was just another BIG perk from the festivities. One 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 any of the books through my links.
Laundry FastPass Requested
Friday, May 4th, 2012Coming back from a vacation can be a reality check. After a week away, it is hard to jump into school, work, cleaning, and especially all of the laundry that accumulated over a week in this magical destination:
The last thing I want to think about is all of the dirty clothing, unused clothing, and other items sitting in these bags that need to be put away and washed. Yes, I am hereby officially demanding a FastPass to get done with laundry. For those familiar with Walt Disney World and other Disney parks, you will get that reference. For others, FastPass allows you to get a pass for a ride to come back during a specific time to ride with a minimal wait.
So my question to you this week:
How long does it usually take you to unpack, wash laundry, and put everything away after a vacation?
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.
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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 #201
Saying Goodbye to the Magic
Thursday, May 3rd, 2012Each trip to Walt Disney World is filled with moments we will never forget. This trip has been no different. We all saw
Fantasmic for the first time together. We stayed out late another night to see the Main Street Electric Parade.
Just hearing the music brought me back to my childhood. The smiles on the boys faces as the lights and characters went by was priceless.
My father and I took TechyDad and NHL on the Rock ‘n’ Rollercoaster. This was their first time on a coaster that has a loop.
They skipped it a second time while Papa and I ran back on for another spin.
It really is hard to say goodbye to the magical memories at the end of a Disney vacation.
Thank goodness we have a lot of photos to remember all of the details. So much more to share 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.
Fantasmic Memories
Monday, April 30th, 2012Adventures to Walt Disney World continue to change as the boys get older. Each year, they grow bigger and taller for new rides. In addition to this, they get more adventurous and can stay up later.
For years, we would skip a lot of the late evening shows, parades, and fireworks since the boys were tired.
During this trip, we experienced a first together. We finally got to see Fantasmic at Hollywood Studios. TechyDad and I missed it on our honeymoon because I had sun poisoning the night it was playing.
The timing was right and we got to Hollywood Studios later in the day. We did a few things, had a quick dinner, then walked to get on line. The time in the beautiful arena went quickly. The kids were nervous, but that changed.
We all loved this magical first viewing of Fantasmic and there will be many more items to share soon.
What moments have you shared with your family at Walt Disney World that were special to your family and why?
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.
Hello from Disney Social Media Moms Celebration 2012
Friday, April 27th, 2012This year, TechyDad and I were both lucky enough to be invited back to the 2012 Disney Social Media Moms Celebration at Walt Disney World. The memories that we have from the past and the ones we are making right now will last a life time.
Last year at DisneySMMoms, the speakers were amazing, inspiring, and truly taught me a lot that I have used in life and the Social Media World. In 2011, I listened to these magical individuals:
This year the line up is:
- Amy Jo Martin, Digital Royalty @DigitalRoyalty
- Ramon DeLeon, Domino’s Pizza @Ramon_Deleon
- Peter Shankman, The Geek Factory @PeterShankman
- Lisa Druxman, Stroller Strides @LisaDruxman
- Chris Brogan, Human Business Works @ChrisBrogan
- The conference Host will be comedian Maryellen Hooper @MaryellenHooper
While at SheStreams in September, I was able to snap this photo of Rene Syler and Lisa Druxman after they spoke to us there.
So my question to you this week:
Who would you love to hear talk at a conference and why? It does not have to be about social media, it could be about any topic of interest to you.
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. To see past posts about DisneySMMoms, you can head here.
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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 #200
Love for Doc McStuffins
Thursday, April 26th, 2012I fully admit that I allow my children to watch television and have since they were little. When NHL was little, we would sing and dance along with Bear in the Big Blue House, The Wiggles, Stanley, Jo-Jo’s Circus, and other shows on what was then called Playhouse Disney. By the time JSL was born, the shows had changed and things were morphing into Disney Junior. For JSL, we would sing and dance to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Jake and the Never Land Pirates, and The Imagination Movers.
Of course, Disney Junior is no longer just a morning lineup for children on Disney Channel. Now, it is a dedicated cable station that runs 24/7 with kid and family friendly programs and movies. When the channel debuted, we got to meet Doc McStuffins. Doc is now a major favorite of my four year old son. He pretends to be a doctor and I will often hear him singing the songs when playing on his own.
If you are unfamiliar with Doc McStuffins, please watch this small segment.
As a parent, I love that Doc uses real terms for things (though some are made up), incorporates items to help ease kids fears of medical professionals, promotes women as professionals, and embraces stay at home fathers. There are also great online Doc items on the Disney Junior website.
While at Disney Social Media Moms Celebration, I will be attending a break out session that will be with the executive producers of Doc McStuffins. It will be wonderful to hear how they select topics for the show and make them developmentally appropriate for our children. I know that thanks to their work my youngest is even more well versed in staying hydrated, getting rest, being compassionate, and other healthy living items.
Are you a Doc McStuffins fan? What is your family’s favorite character or part of the show and why?
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. Thank you to Disney Junior for the photo and more clips can be found on their YouTube channel.
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