The Angel Forever

Disney’s African Cats – Earth Day 2011

Posted on April 7, 2011 11:15 pm by TheAngelForever

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.

Here is the official trailer for African Cats:

African Cats begins in theaters everywhere on Earth Day, April 22. You can also like them on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/Disneynature.

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.

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Disney interesting Movies photos video

Memories From Mother’s Day

Posted on April 7, 2011 8:03 am by TheAngelForever

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.

Global Influence Network

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family holidays looking back sponsored post Web business

Hello Potato Heads

Posted on April 6, 2011 7:49 am by TheAngelForever

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Disney fun jsl nhl photos Wordless Wednesday

Tuesday Tales – Afikomen Mambo

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

Imagine dancing around your Passover Seder and singing the Afikomen Mambo with your children as you search high and low.

Thanks to Kar-Ben Publishing, I recently received a copy of the book and CD Afikomen Mambo by Rabbi Joe Black. In a few short weeks, we will be celebrating Passover with extended family and look forward to bringing this book along to our seder. I think the boys will have a blast singing and reenacting the scenes from the book.

More about Afikomen Mambo:

You can put it in your pocket

Put it under the TV

But you can’t hide the afikomen from me!

Popular children’s songster Rabbi Joe Black returns with a catchy rhyme to enliven the afikomen hunt at your seder. Afikomen Mambo, a story-and-song combo for the holiday of Passover, makes a greast “afikomen finding” present and can entertain kids both at the family seder and leading up to the holiday. Includes a CD.

Joe Black is a Congregational Rabbi, a singer, songwriter and guitarist whose music for children is celebrated and sung in Jewish communities throughout the United States, Canada, and Israel. Rabbi Black’s recordings have received accolades from The New York Times, Hadassah Magazine, and The American Library Journal. He has shared his music with hundreds of communities. His previous children’s book was Boker Tov! He lives in Denver with his wife and two children.

Afikomen Mambo – Written by Rabbi Joe Black– Illustrated by Linda Prater– Kar-Ben Publishing – Spring 2011 – ISBN 978-0-7613-5639-4 – $8.95 (paperback) – Ages 1-4 (PreK)

What I Thought:

Over the years, we have collected a number of Passover books for our kids. Afikomen Mambo is not like any of the others that we have. Rather than tell the story of Passover and guide us through the seder, it focuses the importance of the afikomen. The reality is that if we do not have the afikomen, the seder can not be finished

Rabbi Joe Black does a great job for the preschool set. He incorporates just enough key terms from the seder with karpas, charoset, four questions, and other items in a fun rhyming way to keep the beat of the song going. When you listen to the CD, you can imagine a room full of kids dancing around searching for the afikomen during a mock seder. I can not wait to bring this to my son’s preschool to let them dance around to while learning about Passover.

If you are looking for a light hearted book about Passover for younger children, this is a great book for you. Rabbi Joe Black’s singing and fun mambo beat will keep your family dancing while you search for your afikomen.

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.

Disclosure: I received this book complimentary of Kar-Ben Publishing in order to facilitate this review. No other compensation was given. The opinions expressed in the review are my own. One widget within the review is for my Amazon Affiliate where I will receive a percentage of money for the sale of the books should you opt to buy the book mentioned.

Categories:
books holidays photos Product review Tuesday Tales

Hello UBP11

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

Welcome to all who have traveled from the 5 Minutes For Mom Ultimate Blog Party 2011! I am a bit behind in joining this year. There has been a lot going on in recent weeks. Some of you may recall that I am familiar with the UBP. Last year, I was the grand prize winner of the Toshiba Laptop. It all seemed like a dream at the time.

Why?

Well, the night that they randomly selected winners, I had gone to bed early. I was not feeling well. Then, suddenly, my cell phone started going crazy. Tweets with mentions of my name were coming in one after the other. Half asleep, I noticed I was being congratulated, but I did not know why. Then I saw the #UBP10 at the end. Sure enough, I was the winner. Thank you again to Susan and Janice from Five Minutes for Mom for doing this fun event. I am not just saying that since I won last year.

At the end of the UBP last year, I wrote about people that I met and blogs that I loved. One of those was Kelly’s Lucky You. Little did I know that I would meet Kelly at DisneySMMoms a few weeks ago and participate in the Wild African Trek with her.

Please say hello to my family. Here we are with Minnie Mouse after our recent adventure to Disney Social Media Moms Celebration.

So who is The Angel Forever? Here is a little bit about me:

I started blogging in February 2007 while I was pregnant with my youngest son.
For almost four years, I have been at home with my boys. Although I love this special time with them, I do miss teaching.
My blog webmaster is also my hubby. You may know TechyDad from his blog or Twitter. This June we will celebrate our 10th Wedding Anniversary. The two of us had our honeymoon at Walt Disney World for 10 magical days.
I am a HUGE fan of all things Disney – check out my category list on the left and you will see what I mean. Still processing all things from our recent trip there for the conference.
It was only a year ago that I came out of my bloggy shell. Before this I was pretty anonymous, never said where I lived, and was happy with that. Now thanks to recent opportunities, I am reinventing my online self.
The teacher in me loves to read books and share what we read. Most weeks I have a Tuesday Tales segment where I share some of our recent reads.
In addition to writing on TheAngelForever, I cover Education on The Disney Driven Life (I am NDM183 and proud of it) and am a columnist/blogger for KidsFunPlaza.

I love meeting new people in real life and online – so please explore and leave some comments, link up to your UBP blog below, and I promise to stop over to say hello and get to meet you. You can also catch me on Twitter and ~~I am still working on my Facebook fan page~~ I just finished/published my Facebook page.

Enjoy the 2011 Ultimate Blog Party and see you around!