June, 2010 | The Angel Forever

Monthly Archives June 2010

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Wearing pink for Cora – 7 months

Posted on June 30, 2010 7:36 pm by TheAngelForever

Do you see that beautiful baby girl above? She is saving lives as an angel. With the help of her brave Mama, Kristine, they are spreading awareness about CHD and having babies pulse oxygen levels tested at birth. I have written about Cora, and her mother has been my one and only guest blogger here with her poem to Cora during CHD awareness week.

Today is Cora’s seven month birthday. This is the day that Cora’s Story asks people to wear pink and help to spread the word about CHD. I purposely kept the one and only pink shirt that I own for today. When the boys and I went to the park with Nana, I took my picture. My mother asked why and I responded – this one is for Cora.

Sweet Cora, I read your Mama’s wishes the other day and had tears in my eyes. If only I could grant her wishes, especially the one that would bring you back. I do know that I am sending her something special in the mail. Some things to pamper herself and another item to help your charity. I know your family is helping to save other babies.

Kristine, one of my wishes is to give you a great big hug in New York City in a little over a month at BlogHer. You my friend are a hero. Never forget that you are an absolutely amazing and brave Mom.

Categories:
birthday bloggy friends BlogHer charity health awareness

Great Greek Grub

Posted on June 30, 2010 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

A view of our meal at the Greek restaurant near TechyDad’s parents. LOVE their food and wish we had a Greek place near us.

Categories:
food glorious food jsl road trip weekend Wordless Wednesday yummy

Help Fight Ovarian Cancer & Try to Win Electrolux Appliance

Posted on June 29, 2010 5:05 pm by TheAngelForever

Do you dream of a guilt and fat free Banana split? Well thanks to Kelly-Confidential and Electrolux you can make your own virtual Banana Split that helps a great cause. When you make your own Banana Split at www.Kelly-Confidential.com they will donate $1 to Ovarian Cancer research.

Did I catch your attention? Here is more information about the program:

Kelly Ripa and Electrolux are joining forces once again to celebrate the launch of Electrolux Appliance’s new stand-alone refrigerator and freezer – that’s right, the familiar duo has split up., And to sweeten the celebration, they’re bringing in the "Emperor of Ice Cream" Stephen Bruce, owner and founder of Serendipity 3, the landmark New York City restaurant and dessert spot, into the mix.

Kelly and Bruce teamed up earlier today to make banana splits for a cause. And now we want you to dig in, with your virtual spoon! Starting today, at www.Kelly-Confidential.com, you can build your ultimate banana split using virtual ingredients from classic whipped cream to caramel sauce to rainbow sprinkles. For each "split", Electrolux will donate $1 to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund as part of its $750,000 commitment to help fight ovarian cancer. (From 6/29/10 – 9/7/10, Electrolux will donate $1 to OCRF for each banana split made, with a minimum of $35K and a maximum of $40K)

So what are you waiting for? Head on over and build your very own banana split! I already made mine here:

Everyone who logs on to the site and builds a split will be automatically entered for a chance to win the daily prize – $50 towards sweet summer treats – and the grand prize: the new stand-alone refrigerator and freezer from Electrolux. Good luck and have fun enjoying your guilt free treat!

Disclosure: I did not receive any compensation for this post from Electrolux or MomSelect. In posting this I am entered for a chance to win a prize. Since I support this cause and love the creativity I would have posted without the entry to let you know how to help and try to win.

Categories:
charity contests fun web fun

3 Year Portrait Success

Posted on June 28, 2010 9:43 pm by TheAngelForever

No matter what happens, I always cringe when it is time to get portraits done for the boys. Last year, it took us two takes to get them done for JSL. In the end, they came out really nicely. Of course, our experience with Sears Portrait – on the corporate level was less than satisfactory. Still, when it was time to go back for JSL’s 3 year portraits, we went back to Sears. Corporate may not be the best, but it is the people in the studio during the session that really matter.

Originally, I had wanted to get JSL’s portraits done the week after his birthday when my mother had the day off of work. That changed when JSL got hurt the Sunday before. We waited for time to heal his lip and tooth. Things were better and I decided to make an appointment before NHL was out of school. We are not sure if JSL’s tooth is going to get worse, so I wanted to get them in sooner rather than later. I figured try to get it done one evening when TechyDad could go with me. I scheduled an appointment for early evening just about six weeks after his birthday.

Last Wednesday, JSL took a nap and woke up in a good mood. We packed his outfits and props and went to the local Sears studio. At first, JSL was shy with the photographer. Eventually, he got into the groove and was helping to put props into the shot. He really liked playing with the photographer. Our only problem was that he kept running out of the picture as soon as she was ready for the shot. Luckily, she was quick and got a bunch of fabulous pictures.

Here are views from our session. As you will see, they are watermarked from Sears, but I HAD to share them since you can see the character come out of JSL in the various poses. First were some with the giant 3, his favorite buddies and his Winnie the Pooh outfit.

Then, we had a quick change of clothing to sport his new favorite Buzz Lightyear.

Although there were a lot of pictures that we really liked, we quickly narrowed it down to one with the giant three and one close up shot. In addition to this, we received a free collage that had three other pictures that we had not purchased within it. With any luck, everything will come in properly and not damaged so we can pick them up and not worry about portraits until NHL’s 7th birthday in August.

Do you like getting portraits done? What are some tips that you have to a good session?

Always looking for some ideas since you never know what may happen next time.

Categories:
birthday customer service decisions jsl looking back photos

Sea lions and asthma weekend

Posted on June 27, 2010 10:11 pm by TheAngelForever

Nothing like spending the night of your 9th anniversary on the road with your kids (please note the extreme sarcasm here). That is exactly what we were doing Thursday evening on our way to a long weekend with my in-laws. Not that I have anything against my in-laws, but the road from here to there is a bit nerve wracking to say the least. You see, travel from here to there requires driving through roads that border the Bronx and other parts of New York City, and going over two large bridges. By the time we arrived at the Long Island Expressway, I was curled up in a fetal position with my eyes closed and sprouting new gray hairs by the minute. My biggest mistake of the trip was opening my eyes at one point when TechyDad yelled out "Holy Cow!" Let’s just say that NYC drivers are rather daring to say the least. Luckily, we arrived safely and got the kids into bed.

Friday morning, we all headed out to the Atlantis Aquarium. We had been there before when NHL was three (JSL’s age) and so much had changed. The boys had a lot of fun exploring things, but both really loved the sea lion show.

Those were a few of the pictures that I took with my camera. TechyDad took many more of the show, the kids and inside and out of the aquarium. No doubt he will be sharing them and the video of the sea lion doing her dance coming soon.

We had a very nice visit with my in-laws. I did not enjoy myself as much as I could have thanks to my asthma. Usually, I have issues there because of their dog. Lacey has passed away and I actually went there having lung issues. After my sinus infection came and went at my cousin’s wedding, my asthma really kicked into high gear. This seems to be something that happens with any small illness since I had the flu in October. It is safe to say that my rescue inhaler has become my best friend since I realized the cough was really my airways being constricted and needed to be opened from an asthma attack. The heat and humidity outside and even inside really made it difficult to breathe and sleep.This week I am hoping to call my allergy/asthma doctor to get an appointment. Obviously, I need some help getting my lungs up to speed and maintaining them if I get a cold or something else.

On that note, I am off to rest in my nice cool room and enjoy the AC that is making it a bit easier to breathe at the moment. More photos and items to share coming soon.