September, 2011 | The Angel Forever

Monthly Archives September 2011

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Rally for Recess with Danimals

Posted on September 12, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

I have to admit something right now. When I was teaching, recess duty was one of my least favorite parts of the day. You see, recess meant heading outside with the kids, often freezing while they ran around and got rid of some much needed energy. Living in the northeast, even on those cold and snowy days, we were outside. There were only certain temperatures and wind chills that would keep us inside. On those days, I could see the importance of recess. It was a time for the kids to run, play, and get stresses out. They would walk around the track and chat with buddies, or chase each other around and climb on a playground. It really didn’t matter what they did – it was their free time to move their bodies before heading back inside to work for the rest of the afternoon.

Now, as the parent of two children in school, I watch to see if they have recess every day. In addition to this, I want to know if they will have PE and or time in the gross motor room (that’s the preschool indoor room). I know the days that my older son has PE. He seems more focused and still adores learning to play sports and I hope he keeps this throughout his lifetime.

When I received an e-mail from Mom Central telling me about the new Danimals ‘Rally for Recess’ Blog Tour, I immediately signed up. If I could help to spread the word about this great project they have I wanted to. We were sent a giftcard to purchase our own Danimals products. I would share a picture, but, well, they gobbled the Smoothies before I was able to get a photo.

So what do you do?

Purchase specially marked Danimals products that have codes on them.
Sign up online and enter codes for credit
Help your school earn the most points in their league

The top five schools will win a $20,000 playground makeover and ultimate recess day. There are also instant prizes and other details available on the Rally for Recess website. The programs runs through February 8, 2012. You can find codes on Danimals packaging (or free by mail) to enter and register schools online. The top school in each of the five categories (based on size) with the most codes registered wins!

Be sure to tell your school about this opportunity. With recent budget cuts, they can use your help to try to revamp their recess equipment. Lots of families probably purchase Danimals for yogurt snack options and can take a few moments to register their school for possible prizes. Imagine the smile on the faces of the children if your school wins the big prize.

Disclosure: I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Danimals and received a gift card to facilitate my review. In addition to this, I received a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate. All opinions are 100% mine and in no way influenced.

Categories:
Blog Tour food glorious food school yummy

Never Forget Red, White, and Blue = Hope

Posted on September 11, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Each year since I started blogging, I have written about the events of September 11, 2001. Every time I do, tears come to my eyes. Not only am I a New Yorker, I am an American that lived and watched as our country was challenged in a way it had never been before. I sit here today, trying to put the fear of future attacks behind me. The reality is that as this ten year anniversary comes, my fears intensify.

My boys know nothing different, but I do. We were so naïve before September 11, 2001. Never did we think something like this could happen in our backyard, but it did. Families lost loved ones. Men and women became widowers and widows. Children were forced to grow up without a parents. Now, we watch as these brave people grieve and show their faces before countless cameras.

What strikes me the most over the last few days are the children of September 11. These brave tweens, teens, and twenty-something young people have matured so much faster than they should have. They are proof that the American spirit can not be dashed with such horrible tragedy. These young people have done amazing things. They have used the memories of their parents to push and pursue things. A common theme from all of them is that the events made them stronger and who they are today.

Ten years ago, I remember something else that happened. As people began to realize what had happened in NY City, Washington, DC, and Shanksville, PA – familiar colors came out. Red, white, and blue were everywhere. Almost every house in our area had Old Glory flying high. In addition to this, people were wearing shirts with the flag on it. Pins with the flag were being worn on lapels. I remember trying to buy them for people because we all wanted them on our jackets as the cooler weather came in.

A little less than a month after September 11, we celebrated the Jewish holiday of Sukkot in my aunt and uncle’s sukkah. These decorations show just want was happening at the time.

I truly hope that people come together today, on the 10th anniversary of this tragic day and remember. We need to remember those that lost their live, we need to recall those that saved lives, and we MUST think about reviving the sense of American spirit and community that existed in the months after.

Once again, we need to embrace the red, white, and blue in the name of hope because we will never forget.

Categories:
looking back photos real world news

Back to Nursery School

Posted on September 10, 2011 9:46 am by TheAngelForever

Dear JSL,

On Tuesday you went with me to drop NHL off to school. Then, it was time to head over to your school to meet and greet everyone. You would not be staying alone, it was just a quick visit. On the way in we stopped for a first day photo like we did last year.

Then we had to wait a while before it was time to go into your classroom. We looked at the photos of all of the teachers on the bulletin board. While there, you had some fun being silly and asked me to take a bunch of photos.

Finally, it was time to head in and find your cubby. We found everything and suddenly you started to cry. You were sad because you thought I was going to be leaving. I think you were a bit overwhelmed because of so many new faces. Your best buddies from last year were not back, or in another classroom. It was a lot for a four year old. We all reassured you that everything was ok, and went to sit and work on your star of the week bag.

Then you wanted to explore the room. Miss L showed you were the blocks were. You sat there so happy making a structure that kept getting bigger and bigger.

There have been tears most mornings, but the smile on your face at the end of the day tells the story. I know you are going to have a fantastic year playing, learning, and growing. Before we know it, you are going to be a kindergarten kid. For now, I want to cherish this time which includes a fun apple picking field trip together soon.

Love,

Mommy

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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.

Categories:
Dear Kid Saturday jsl milestone photos school

Enough With the Weather

Posted on September 9, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Weather – not exactly the topic of choice for a blog post, yet it is one that is on my mind. You see, in my part of NY, we expect weather issues in the winter. Ice and snow often keep us home, make driving treacherous, and cause damage to our home. This is not usually true in the spring, summer, and fall. These seasons are relatively quiet most years.

Mother Nature apparently decided that she was going to get our attention this summer. Over the last two and a half weeks, it has been wild, wacky, and down right deadly in certain locations.

Tuesday, August 23 – The boys and I just got into our car that had been serviced. As I turned the key, the car started to buck violently. The boys did not seem to notice. I got out of the car. This is when I felt dizzy and like my knees were going to go out from underneath me. This should have been my clue, but I was tired and getting ready for a romantic 10th Anniversary getaway with TechyDad. Thanks to Twitter, I quickly learned that what I had felt was not my car – it was an earthquake. Yes, in NY we were experiencing the quake that started in Virginia. Linda Carmical wrote about the social media connection and how word spread.

Sunday, August 28 – Hurricane Irene, came up the east coast and left a major impression on regions that were a lot further inland than ever expected. Thanks to this monster storm, we had to cancel said trip to Disney World. Roads were flooded throughout NY, bridges closed, and rivers running into homes that are gone. We were so lucky, but so many others were not.

For a few days, the weather was quiet. The sun came out. People started to clean up, repair homes, and move back into areas that had been evacuated by the Mohawk and Hudson Rivers. Then it changed.

Sunday, September 4 – While at a birthday party, my father called us. He wanted to let us know that there were tornado warnings throughout the area. Sure enough, when we looked outside the wind was wild and the sky rather black. The party was over and we knew that closer to our house was getting better. As we left Chuck E Cheese, a clap of thunder shook the entire parking lot. A car alarm went off, and the sky was lit up with bolts of lightning. As we drove you could see the ominous sky fading behind us. By the time we reached our home the news of a tornado in Amsterdam had been confirmed. Here is a video that was filmed of the Tornado crossing the NY State Thruway (at about 5:48 in the video):

This seemed to open the rain up to the area again.

Monday to Thursday, September 5-8 – Yes, Mother Nature decided to dump more water on the area already inundated with flooding after Hurricane Irene. Welcome the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee. Pieces were not picked up and inches of water were back all this week. Back to school has been gray, rain filled, and nasty. The Mohawk and Hudson Rivers, along with countless other creeks and waterways are over their banks. Watching the reports out of Binghamton, NY and other areas just breaks my heart. At midnight on Wednesday, areas in Schenectady County that had been evacuated during Irene were once again in chaos. People were told to leave immediately as water started to spill into the streets.

My heart goes out to all of those who have been dealing with this horrible weather and damage. We will be working on a project to help locals with items that are needed. Of course, I so wish we could bring some of the water to those in Texas. Thanks to the drought that area could really use it to help stop the raging wildfires.

So my question to you this week:

Do you recall many natural disasters from your childhood? If you do what were they and how did they change your life? Dare I ask . . . how is the weather by you?

I hardly recall any other hurricanes in our area. I remember them going to Long Island and places south of us, but no flooding in our region like this. This week, we are expecting the sun to return, which is much needed. Of course, this flooding will be an on going issue with any additional rain for months.

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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 #168

Categories:
Aloha Friday bad news looking back messy photos real world news summer twitter weather

Social Media Working Well

Posted on September 8, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Social media is my new world. It is not shocking that when something happens, I turn to that part of my life. Whether it is to celebrate something big, question an item aloud with friends, or look for someone to help me through a tough time.

Twitter, Facebook, and my blog are a part of ME. They are extensions of the person I have become since I stepped into the wild and amazing adventure. I have always said there is good use and bad use of this powerful tool. The truth is that you have to know how to balance what is in front of you before you let your fingers fly on your keyboard, phone, or other electronic device.

On the Saturday that I had to cancel my 10th Anniversary trip to Walt Disney World, I had to call Southwest Airlines. As I mentioned before, the woman on the phone was super friendly and compassionate since she heard me crying. Once I was off the phone with her, I realized that the money coming back to me was not what I had spent. You see it was short $40 for my Early Bird Check ins. Rather than call back, I sent a simple Tweet out to Southwest Air (@SouthwestAir) and their Customer Relations Specialist account (@SouthwestWhit). I asked if there was a way to get my money back since it was not included after I had called and canceled my trip. That’s all I asked and left it at that. I did not want to get in the way of other people and I knew that after a week or so, the mess of the storm would ease up and I could call to find out about this other money.

Monday, as towns near us were cleaning up from the destruction that was Tropical Storm Irene, SouthwestWhit messaged me back on Twitter. She asked for my flight information via DM. After a small glitch in the DM process, she had everything in front of her and said she would take care of the $40 and then said a few magical words. She wanted to know if the rest of my money had already been refunded. I did a double take since I was given vouchers to use by a certain date. I asked if that was possible since I had been given vouchers. She told me yes. In the spirit of good will and the airport I was flying out of (Long Island), they would. I was shaking from shock. I could not believe that, in a simple Tweet, this part of Southwest Air was fixing everything for me. Better yet, Whitney contacted me the next day to confirm that it was refunded in the full amount and to watch my statement. Yes, this is a social medial success story.

A HUGE thank you to Whitney and Southwest Airlines for making this sad event a little brighter. I know we will be trying to rebook our trip and fly with you in the future.

Of course, this was not the only time social media has worked really well. In fact this was quite different because I did not actively seek them out. In the Spring, I sent out a simple Tweet. I mentioned to my husband that I did not think that our dehumidifier that we had purchased ever worked. My husband tried to call the local store, but it was endless cycle of never getting a person. Since it was a fairly new machine, I sent him another Tweet and this time mentioned that we should look into something else and not Sears.

I was not complaining, looking for attention, or expecting anything aside from TechyDad to start helping me to research options. Shortly after this, Sears sent a Tweet back to me. They clearly had a search looking for Tweets that mentioned their company. This is a company that is clearly invested in using their tools and helping consumers. The @MySears account with Rhonda R became a lifeline with this issue.

To make a long story short, Sears went out of their way calling us to find why the local store changed stories on us, were estimating long waits on fixing the machine, and eventually replacing the machine because of a major factory defect. More impressive yet, they recalled me. When I sent a Tweet thanking a Sears associate for helping us to fix our lawnmower (simply needed new sparkplugs), the Twitter team recalled us and said they were so glad it was quick and not like the dehumidifier. Class act all around. Thank you Rhonda for making us believe in Sears!

Is this the norm? I don’t think so, but I do think more companies are starting to get the importance of really interacting and communicating with consumers via social media – whether on their Twitter accounts, Facebook pages, or blogs. Of course, there are still some that never reply to compliments, complaints, or anything. Their Twitter and Facebook accounts appear to be more of a method of advertising to the masses and not a tool to learn and grow with the people that matter.

What companies have you had dealings with that really GET social media? Would love to know how they helped you via Twitter, Facebook, blogging, or some other means. I could ask the flip side, but why dwell on the negative and give them any attention.