The Angel Forever

The Yankees Stink Shirt

Posted on August 13, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Dear JSL,

Yesterday morning, I had to bribe you a little bit. It was Papa’s birthday and I wanted you to try to make him smile. As you know, he’s not really into the smiling thing. Case in point:

Anyway, there is a shirt that Uncle I bought NHL when he was little. The shirt is not exactly loved by Daddy. He does allow one of you to wear it on special occasions for Papa. This morning, I pulled it out, but you were not really into wearing it. So I bribed you. Lucky for me, you asked for some lemonade with breakfast. DONE! Here you are wearing the shirt at Hoffman’s.

I think the problem with wearing this shirt is that you get a lot of attention. Seeing that we live in NY, a Yankees Stink shirt either gets a lot of glares, or laughter from Red Sox fans in the area. Of course, this didn’t phase you too much. You liked people looking, smiling, and giving you attention. Plus, you were busy being a big helper on the rides with cousin BA.

Then, you were thrilled to go again, leading the way with BA in the back driving solo.

Of course, during this time NHL was on the roller coaster with Uncle I. You did not quite get what a big deal it was that they were in the front row.

What impressed me even more was you also went on a ride you were not too sure about. Rides up high seem to get you scared. Cousin SG wanted to go on one with you. After chatting a bit, you agreed to try it. You can tell you were not thrilled here.

Then, while you were whirling around above, I heard giggles. Yes, you were laughing and smiling while flying with cousin SG for your last ride of the day.

Of course, you probably thought the ice cream that came right after this – rainbow sprinkles and all was another part of the bribe.

Thank you for being such a big boy. You helped Papa smile and you made me so very proud by being such a big helper.

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.

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birthday cousins Dear Kid Saturday family food glorious food fun jsl nhl photos summer yummy

Birthday Cupcakes

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

It’s true. Several years ago, I decided to start making cakes for the boys instead of buying expensive ones from a bakery. Some of this decision was to make matters easier, at least I try to tell myself that. Another factor was the need for an egg free cake since my niece is severely allergic to eggs. The egg free requirement has pushed me to making cupcakes since cakes with the “fake eggs” are too moist and fall apart. Check out what happened to NHL’s special lemon cake that he wanted last August (oy):

Thanks to the cake failing miserably at the last minute, an emergency run to the store was needed. The funny thing was that people devoured the cake mess. So I am now insisting on cupcakes that stay put in their paper boundaries until we can use real eggs. Truth be told, cupcakes are fun to make. Of course, after decorating 10 – it gets a bit tedious when you have other items to prepare for a party. The last request in May was from JSL. He wanted a Jake and the Neverland Pirates Party. The cupcakes that resulted were here:

I have learned that I LOVE my Wilton icing decorator. With one little step, my cupcakes get a boost and look more professional. When we asked NHL what theme he wanted for his birthday this year, I was a bit anxious. Would we be able to find items and how would I be able to carry it into the cupcakes.

I lucked out big time. NHL wanted something with animals, specifically lions. Thanks to his love for the safari at Disney’s Animal Kingdom – the idea was born. Earlier this week we had all of our supplies and decided to do a test batch of the lion cupcakes that I wanted to make for this weekend.

More to come about the lion cupcakes soon. I took a bunch of photos during the experiment and more will be coming after the weekend with the new tools I bought to make it even better. A big thank you to Amanda from The Cupcake Blog for having her amazing resource guide for all things cupcakes. Love the inspiration that keeps the fun going. Oh and my little lion up there, it was featured the other day since I shared it with Amanda on Twitter.

One more thing before I get to the Aloha Friday question:

Happy Birthday Dad!!!!!

So, my question to you this week:

If you could design a dream cupcake, what flavors would you incorporate and what would you decorate it with?

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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 #164

Categories:
Aloha Friday animals baking birthday family food glorious food fun photos yummy

Up Close and Personal With Hippos

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

Back in March, I was able to participate in the Wild African Trek at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. As one of the lucky people that signed up quickly enough, I was part of a small group of bloggers during out time. When I left off, we had started out tour and had just arrived at the Hippo area. Alex stopped to tell us all about hippos. We learned about their blood sweat, how they communicate with wheeze honking, and more.

Then, it was time to head over to the viewing area. This is where our harnesses would be hooked for the first official time on our trek. Yes, those gorgeous black straps seen in back were going up and over us for some prime viewing of the hippos.

It is against my better judgment to share this photo, but here I am looking out at the hippos. You can see my harness stretching back onto the apparatus that allowed us to move around the area (forgot to take a photo of that).

Here’s another view of others in our group around the platform.

You can see that we are across the water from where the vehicles on the Kilimanjaro Safari go during their tours that visitors can take in the park. Here is a group. I must say often times they were more curious about us on the ledge, and not the two giant hippos feeding down below.

Our timing was amazing, we got there with some of the hippo research scientists who were going to feed the animals below us. The two gentleman were so nice explaining what they were doing and answering questions. Of course, they were skeptical when we asked them to do a wheeze honk demonstrations – perhaps it was the cameras and videos that stopped them.

They explained that feeding time is also when they are able to check the dental care of the hippos and make sure they have no injuries in their mouths. This gave me a new appreciation for the game Hungry Hungry Hippos.

These two particular hippos were father and son and they were near us. All of the girls were at the other end of the water area. Here are a few more photos of the boys from our view on the ledge:

Soon, it was time to head to the next part of our adventure. We thanked the researchers for all of the learning and continued on. When we saw the next item on the trail, we knew there was no turning back.

Finally, it was time for some of us to face our fears. Yes – we would soon be meeting both of these

The days of joking about this were over. Now it was time for Shannan and I to meet the bridges. To be continued!

So what do you think so far? Would you have gone on this amazing adventure within the wonderful world of Disney? Please share any behind the scenes tours that you have experienced.

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.

Categories:
Blogging Conference bloggy friends Disney DisneySMMoms Educational fun interesting looking back me moments photos

CowParade Las Vegas – 2002

Posted on August 10, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Quick note about this week’s Wordless Wednesday. Photos were taken in Las Vegas throughout the city during the 2002 CowParade exhibit. We had countless other photos on TechyDad’s digital camera. Unfortunately, that camera was stolen on our way home in the airport (right off my back). These were pictures that I took and scanned with my now dated film camera. Wandering and seeing all of the CowParade pieces was amazing in itself.

Categories:
cousins family fun interesting jl looking back photos TechyDad vacation

Tuesday Tales – DC Super Heroes Books

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

Tuesday Tales

As the mother of two little boys, I have written about my need for a tutor in Super Heroes 101. I do believe I may have found something that will help my need to learn more about the characters that my boys love, but also keep my oldest reading.

While at the library with TechyDad one rainy Saturday, the boys were looking at the chapter book section together. At this point, we had just gotten NHL reading the A to Z Mysteries and he realized that chapter books were not as scary as he thought they were. Suddenly, they noticed some Batman and Superman Series from Capstone Publishers. Yes, there they were pulling my son under their spell. He asked to take one home to try. That book was finished rather quickly. On our next trip to the library, he picked up these three Super DC Heroes Superman books.

As a reading teacher, I have learned that I will rarely turn my nose up at any book that a child will read. Thankfully, these days there are a lot more books out there for reluctant readers, especially on topics that boys will be attracted to. These books range from 3-4 grade reading level and have an M in Guided Reading Level.

NHL seems to really like these books. He will sit and devour them and then after tell us all about them. As a parent, I like that they keep his interest and are giving him more than a simple story. How do they do that? Well, let’s look inside one of the Superman books. Yes, they have pictures within, but they are also filled with dialogue among the characters, show paragraph formation, and more for early reader/writers.

Saturday night, NHL finished one of the books. TechyDad opened up the book and that is when the two of us realized how much more was inside. At the end of each book, there is a summary from Clark Kent on Daily Planet letter head. Within this, he summaries who the arch nemesis of the book is and highlights and explains crucial parts.

Then, there is a biography page. This is perfect for people like me who are still learning about all of the people. On the opposite side is a glossary of terms. Check out the vocabulary, not too shabby for a chapter book. The teacher in me was impressed and happy that children were being challenged while reading these books.

Then, I heard TechyDad asking NHL questions. You guessed it, there were some discussion questions at the end of the book. Not only did they make NHL think about what he read, but called on prior knowledge to make connections. Each built on things and really made the reader explain why they answered one way or another. In addition to this, there were some fantastic writing prompts. One asked you to write your favorite part of the book from a different character’s perspective.

What you may also notice is that the last page points you to a website for the kids. The publishers have a spot where you can go and catch up with characters from all of their different series, including the DC Super Heroes. Thanks to this, I now know there are 16 in the Superman series and can reference the characters and things with NHL in a safe, child friendly setting.

My lesson learned, I will not judge a book by it’s cover again. Just because it looks a bit comic book like, it can still pack an educational punch.

What have you read recently? Please be sure to link up to your Book Posts, and/or leave a comment below. Include something you read on your own, with a child or someone else. Tuesday Tales are all about spreading the love for books.