The Angel Forever

The Making of Clumsy and Snowflake

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

Last week, an e-mail from Build-A-Bear came to me. It was actually for my son. It was inviting NHL to come back to make a new friend. The coupon allowed him to get a free $12 friend, or apply it toward a more expensive one. After seeing The Muppets, we walked up to Build-A-Bear Workshop to see if there was anything that the kids were interested in.

Within a few minutes, NHL and JSL each had a new best friend that they wanted to make. It was no surprise to me that NHL wanted to make a Smurf and JSL picked the blue Winter Wonder Teddy. I had a feeling they might select these after I saw them at an event in NYC during SheStreams

After a short wait, we met with the person to help make our new family members just perfect for lots of hugging. She was amazing. This was not our first time at Build-A-Bear, but I have to say she really made this experience even more special. She talked with both of the boys, helped them to make the Smurf and bear just right.

Then, it was time for the new family members to get their hearts. She had NHL and JSL do a cute dance routine when they gave their friends their hearts. After that, it was time to sew up their buddies to begin their adventure within the store.

From here, it was time to clean our new Smurf and Bear friends. We spent some time at the area making sure that everyone looked just right before we went to the next part of the process.

Once the boys were done here, we went to wait on line to register our new family members. This was also the time that they received their names. NHL named his Smurf Clumsy and JSL named his bear Snowflake.

Once we had the certificates and paid, the boys posed for one last photo in the store. Then, we took everyone home to meet Spike and Puppy.

Of course, Clumsy and Snowflake are getting used to life here with us. Snowflake has already been on several adventures and those will be shared another day. Now, if only I had my own special Build-A-Bear of my own – *wink* *wink*

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customer service fun jsl laughs Local Business nhl photos shopping weekend

Pre Movie Photo Fun

Posted on December 7, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

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fun jsl Movies nhl Wordless Wednesday

Catch Me There – Mickey Mouse and Schools Collide

Posted on December 6, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

What, you ask, is controversial about Mickey Mouse and education? I know many of you are telling yourself that there is so much that Disney, Mickey Mouse, and the rest of the gang can teach your children. You do not have to sell me on that. As NDM183, I write about the world of education in The Disney Driven Life. I have used Disney within my past classroom, with my own children, and beyond.

I have been on a bit of a hiatus with my post on The Disney Driven Life. Then, I had an idea for a topic. Always on the minds of parents is whether or not it is “ok” to take a child out of school for a vacation. Being an educator who once thought a certain way, and now a parent that has slightly altered her theory – this seemed like a great topic to pick up.

What I did not expect was the controversy to hit so quickly. When I posted a question to my teacher friends on Facebook, it got heated quickly. Parents of children came in to defend their views. People talked about what they did as children and now as parents. It made me wonder if I should continue on.

In the end, this heated commenting sparked an idea. My almost finished post morphed before my eyes. It quickly became at least a three post series.

My latest post on The Disney Driven Life: The Mickey Mouse Over School Dilemma – Part 1 is all about how the need to talk about this topic came to fruition. 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!

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Disney DisneyDrivenLife Educational EduMICKation looking back My Other Projects photos school

Fortune Cookie Wisdom

Posted on December 5, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

I sit here in my blogging spot and HAD to type as the kids finish up their dinner. You see, we decided to have some take out Chinese Food. Lots going on today and no time to prepare anything. Of course, it was the Chinese dinner that changed when TechyDad cut into what should have been his steamed vegetable dumplings to find pork. Ooops! Guess who ended up with that? OINK!

Then, it was fortune cookie time. I opened up my fortunes and just ignored what was inside. Then, TechyDad read my first one aloud followed by an even more interesting second one.

I could not make this up! It seriously made me smile after some rough patches this weekend. I smiled and immediately asked TechyDad to get me my camera. I wanted to document these and use them as a blog post. Yes, perhaps they mean nothing. Of course, they could just be the little spark that lights the spark in me and keeps me going on some big projects.

Then, as NHL opened his I had to wonder as well. This was one of the fortunes:

Pretty deep for a third grader, but it certainly could give us a lot to talk about. As a child who has been through so much in this last year, it will be a nice reminder for him to keep his head up, never give up, and to believe in himself.

So what do you think about these fortune cookie notes of wisdom? Would love to hear any interesting ones that you have had over the years, or more recent.

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food glorious food interesting looking back me moments nhl TechyDad

Memories of Muppets Music

Posted on December 4, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Growing up with the Muppets, I remember playing my Muppet Show album on my old Fisher-Price record player. Actually, I think my father also had it on an old eight track as well. Man do I feel old and, with my birthday coming, this hurts even more. Anyway, I have always loved listening to the Muppets sing.

Last week, TechyDad bought the The Muppets Original Soundtrack MP3. The boys have been listening to it a lot with him. I had not really had a chance to listen to it. So when we went yesterday to see The Muppets, I was not jumping in my seat and singing along like the boys. Of course, I fell in love with it as I watched the movie come to life.

To say that I enjoyed the movie would be an understatement. I will just say that I can NOT wait to buy it on DVD and watch it over and over again. More on the movie coming later. One of the items that I really liked about the movie was it was old-school Muppets. It brought us back to the days when the Muppets really did a lot of singing and dancing. The songs were classic and fun for all ages.

When I got home, I found a fun video on YouTube about the soundtrack. It is a bit longer, but worth it. They had a lot of fun mixing The Muppets and their humor with would be YouTube comments.

Yes, the Muppets are back and I thank Disney for making it right. I do think Jim Henson is smiling down watching the next generation of Muppet addicts like my children.