Spring may officially be here in the Capital District. As the weather warms up, I hope to be able to spend more time with my family outdoors. In addition to writing here, I have also been busy contributing to other places.
Since my last update, I have written two new posts on The Disney Driven Life:
My other Education posts there can be found under NDM183 – that’s me!
I have also been working on more articles for the KidsFunPlaza magazine. The April issue should be out in the Capital District within the week. You can check out the March Digital Issue here:
I have also had some new blog posts on the KidsFunPlaza blog:
Before we left for Disney World, we were all really curious about the relatively new collectables called Vinylmations. Basically, artists have created art pieces on a standard Mickey Mouse vinyl figure. The results are a multitude of series of these fun critters.
When we looked at them online, you were really interested in the Muppets, Toy Story 3, and Animation options. Daddy was curious about the Star Wars one (which we never saw in person). I wanted to see the Nerds and figure out which one to begin my collection with.
When we switched resorts, you were an amazing helper. Thanks to being really great at the conference, we offered to buy you your first Vinylmation at Pop Century before we went back to our room. We asked you to wait to open it in our room so I could capture it on video. I wanted to do this since Scott on InnerMouse had featured a video of a little girl doing something similar. I figured it would be fun to capture this memory for all of us. Here is what happened:
As you can see, you were VERY happy with the Swedish Chef Vinylmation – thank goodness! By the end of our trip, you had a few additional friends to add to your new collection.
What I love about Vinylmations is that all four of us enjoy looking for them, reading about them, and saving our money to get more. I can not wait to see which one you add next. I love your passion for Mickey collectables – you should be proud of being NDK78!
Love,
Mommy
Disclosure: Although we paid for our own trip to Disney World, we were given an incredible deal thanks to Disney. The sweet conference fee included 3 nights at the Grand Floridian, several meals for the entire family, 7 day park hoppers for everyone, conference/meals for me and some other items to take home. 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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If you want to participate in Dear Kid Saturday, head on over to Cutest Kid Ever by clicking on the button below.
Several years ago, I started working on a Facebook page for my blog. For some reason, I never pushed the publish button. At the time, I was more focused on other ends of the Social Media spectrum. The reality is that not everyone likes Twitter. A lot of people prefer to use Facebook. By not pushing that button and setting up the Facebook page, I was only hurting myself.
Jacobson is the head of market development for Facebook. While listening to everything that he told us, I knew that I was going to have to go home and finish working on my Facebook page. One of Jacobson’s biggest points that hit home is separating your personal and professional Facebook identities. He showed us an example using Mark Zuckerberg’s two profiles. He also talked about Building your brand on Facebook.
Yes, I knew it was time to get to work on Facebook. There was a need not only to publish a public page for The Angel Forever, but to have my own personal profile for family and friends.
One of the many items that Chris talked about was using different forms of social media as outposts to get people to your blog or home base. Yes, I was utilizing Twitter in many ways, but Facebook was something that I foolishly ignored for too long. I will be sharing more from DisneySMMoms in the upcoming weeks – there is a lot to process.
While home with a sick kiddo this week, I finally tweaked my Facebook page for this blog. Over on the left, I even put a way to head there if you would like to.
See, I even took time to get a button for the side of my blog like the one above. It is a work in progress, but so is everything else in life.
This week my question to you is:
Do you have a Facebook page for your blog? Any input on whether having one or not having one has made a difference from your experience. If you do have a Facebook page, I would love to know so I can stop by visit and say hello.
If you feel a little bit of love in your heart, I would love for you to like The Angel Forever on Facebook as well. Thanks so much!
Disclosure: Although we paid for our own trip to Disney World, we were given an incredible deal thanks to Disney. The sweet conference fee included 3 nights at the Grand Floridian, several meals for the entire family, 7 day park hoppers for everyone, conference/meals for me and some other items to take home. 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.
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.
My oldest son has been fascinated with lions, tigers, and all big cats for years. The first time we went to Animal Kingdom on the Kilimanjaro Safari he got upset that we did not see the lion awake. The next time around, we saw the king sitting up on top of his rock.
Much to my son’s surprise, while walking around Epcot a few weeks ago, he came across some sand cats. Check it out:
Yes, these amazing sand sculptures were made to showcase the new Disney release coming to theaters on Earth Day. Here is a bit about the film from the Press Release:
An epic true story set against the backdrop of one of the wildest places on Earth, “African Cats” captures the real-life love, humor and determination of the majestic kings of the savanna. Narrated by Oscar®-nominated actor Samuel L. Jackson, the story features Mara, an endearing lion cub who strives to grow up with her mother’s strength, spirit and wisdom; Sita, a fearless cheetah and single mother of five mischievous newborns; and Fang, a proud leader of the pride who must defend his family from a rival lion and his sons. Disneynature brings “The Lion King” to life on the big screen in this True Life Adventure directed by Keith Scholey and Alastair Fothergill (“Earth”). An awe-inspiring adventure blending family bonds with the power and cunning of the wild, “African Cats” leaps into theatres on Earth Day, April 22, 2011.For more information about the movie and the “See ‘African Cats,’ Save the Savanna” initiative, check out Disney.com/AfricanCats.
During the film’s opening week (April 22-28), a portion of the proceeds from that week’s ticket sales will be donated to the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) through the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund to ensure the future of lions, cheetahs, elephants, zebras, giraffes and a host of other animals in the vibrant African savanna. The AWF will be working to protect the Amboseli Wildlife Corridor, a passage between the Amboseli, Tsavo West and Chyulu National Parks that is frequently used by a variety of wildlife.
Fans pledge to see “African Cats” opening week by logging onto http://eventful.com/africancats. Participants can watch how honoring that pledge can effectively save the savanna. A real-time counter will show how many people have participated, and there will also be a graphical map representing the number of acres across the savanna that are being conserved based upon the number of pledges received. Upon arriving at the theater, fans can check in via their mobile device to win special prizes.
The teacher in me can not wait to see this for the educational experience. The mom, can not wait to take her son for a special treat to watch all of these magnificent creatures on the big screen.
What is your favorite African Cat that you can not wait to see in the movie?
BTW, if you are interested in some fun activity sheets, an educational activity guide, and a 135-page expanded educator’s guide that would be great for teachers or homeschoolers – you can get them and additional items from the African Cats media page.
Disclosure: Information was sent to me from Disney PR and no compensation was received. As a life long Disney fan, I love to share this information with my readers.
This year, I will be celebrating Mother’s Day as a mother with a kiddo for the seventh time. My thoughts and feelings about the holiday have changed over the years. It used to be a day to gather with extended family for a nice brunch. Then, it became a day to spend quiet time with my family enjoying each other. It changed some in recent years because my little guy’s birthday is very close to Mother’s Day and we have had a family celebration on Mother’s Day at least once. This can easily make the day stressful.
Looking back, it is pretty easy for me to pick out the Mother’s Day that was the most special to me. It was two years ago and this photo is my favorite from the day:
In May 2009, we took our boys to Walt Disney World for the first time. Making it extra special, my parents decided to experience the magic with us. We arrived the day before Mother’s Day, making that Sunday our first full day at Walt Disney World. We woke up that morning and went to Disney Hollywood Studios. It was a magical day with my boys and my parents. Even though my glasses broke, it could not ruin the day. It was filled with laughter, smiles, memories, and milestones for my kiddos. It was also the day that both of my boys were likely bitten by the Disney bug and joined the ranks with the rest of our family.
No matter how our Mother’s Day celebration changes over the years, one thing stays constant. It is a day where we make sure to thank the mothers in our lives. This includes not only my mother and TechyDad’s mother, but my grandmother, sister-in-laws, aunts, and friends who are mothers. Now time to admit something, I am sick of going to stores to fight for a spot in a small display to pick our greeting cards to send people. This year, I plan on sending long distance cards via Tiny Prints.
Tiny Prints provides simple, modern and unique stationery from Fathers Day Cards to personalized greeting cards to thank you cards, business cards, and even custom wedding invitations or photo birth announcements. Offering exclusive designs from the nation’s top designers, easy card personalization, a powerful preview engine and top-notch customer service and paper quality, their designs have been lauded by numerous television networks, publications and celebrities. With Tiny Prints by your side, commemorating every holiday and momentous occasion is a cinch! They offer perfect party invitations for every occasion and memorable personalized photo-gifts like notebooks, photo books and calendars to commemorate the event.
Now, I best be off. I need to start my list of cards to make for special women in our lives for Mother’s Day 2011.
Disclosure: I wrote this post as part of a Global Influence campaign for Tiny Prints. By sharing this information with my readers, I will also receive a Tiny Prints gift code to thank me for my participation. No other compensation has been given.
