June, 2010 | The Angel Forever

Monthly Archives June 2010

Prev Month( 5th ) Next Month( 7th )

My new second grader

Posted on June 26, 2010 9:27 pm by TheAngelForever

Dear NHL,

September seems like such a long time ago. You went into school at the start of 1st grade and were nervous. You had a new backpack that seemed so big at the time. You did not know your teacher and were anxious to see your friends.

Fast forward to June, last Thursday to be exact. That afternoon it was official, you are now a second grader! It is hard to believe that you are finished with the first grader and moving on up in elementary school. You have learned so much in the last year and have made us so proud. In the last year you have read well over 200 books and counting. That scared little boy that you see above on the first day of school is no longer here. You are so much more confident now. Here you are on the last day of school as you learned who your 2nd grader teacher will likely be.

That last bit of my little boy is gone since you have grown up so much this year. I really hope you know how much I love you. I am so excited that you will be going to camp this summer. I think you will have a lot of fun running, playing and exploring all that they have to offer. Of course, the days that you are not at camp, JSL and I will have adventures with you. We will do crafts, bowl, go to the park, swim, dance, sing and be silly together. I want your summers to be as memorable as I recall mine being.

Love,

Mommy

_______________________________________

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 looking back milestone nhl photos school summer

Caved into Character Bandz Craze

Posted on June 25, 2010 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Flash backs of my childhood and the jelly bracelet craze came flying back recently thanks to Silly Bandz. Kids all around are begging parents to take them from store to store looking for these rubber bands that are shaped like butterflies, basketballs, elephants and more. As the mother of a son almost done with first grade, I was curious if he knew about them.

Yes, NHL had seen Silly Bandz on classmates and knew that his cousins had them at JSL’s birthday party. That was pretty much all he knew and cared about. I was relieved that I would not have to be one of those parents that went on a wild goose chase to find these greatly sought after items. This was the case until Friday.

Last Friday, after school, I took the boys to the store to get a few items. As we were finishing up our shopping, we ended up in a section that had all things for Toys Story 3. Suddenly, I was face-to-face with packages of Character Bandz. Yes, Disney has signed up with a company to made these bracelets in shapes from Toy Story 3, Cars, Disney Princesses and of course Mickey Mouse.

To buy to not to buy?

I sent out a few Tweets to see what to do. The boys were curious about them and I was not sure if we should buy them. There were three different sets of Toy Story 3. I must admit, I had no clue how many were in the package. In the end, the boys wanted something else that was much more expensive. I turned their attention to the Character Bandz. This is what we bought and took home to open:

When we opened them up, we found the five designs: Buzz Lightyear, Woody, Jessie, Bullseye, and Rocket Ship. The package showed that there were four colors. Much to my relief, there was one of each color for the five designs. So for $4.00 we received 20 of the bracelets. I set them into piles and had the boys take turns selecting two from each of the characters.

Thank goodness, there were no real fights. They were both so happy to have them and put them on. Here are the boys modeling their Toy Story 3 Character Bandz.

What has been funny to me is that JSL is more interested in them. NHL wears them for a little while and then wants to put them away. To make sure they are not lost we have snack bags marked with their names. If they come off their wrist, they must go into the bag. So far so good. The best part, the boys are not begging for more. They seem content with these. Of course, they have not seen the other Disney character options yet either. I guess we shall see what happens if/when we ever see them.

So my questions this week:

1. What fad do you remember from your childhood?

2. Do you have any Silly/Character Bandz in your house? (Adults and not only kids are into them it seems)

Always curious to see what others have seen/heard by them during this latest craze.

_____________________________________________________________________________

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 MckLinky there if you are participating.

Aloha #105

Categories:
Aloha Friday brothers Disney jsl nhl photos shopping

TechyDad and Moi – 9 years ago today

Posted on June 24, 2010 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Dear TechyDad,

Let me begin by saying that I am so lucky to have you as my husband. Not every woman can say that they have a husband that cooks dinner almost every night, loves to play and teach the kids all things geeky, work as my webmaster for free, likes to grocery shop and is an all around amazing person, but I can! I know I do not say it enough, but thank you for being you. Sure we may hit a nerve with the other one from time to time, but that is to be expected when you have been married for nine years and counting.
11 Under the chuppah

It is hard to believe that nine years ago today we walked into the synagogue unmarried and left as husband and wife. The year of preparations were a whirlwind for a day that I would love to have back. The day that I became your wife was magical, but so much was a blur. If I could get that time back I would love it. I would have paid more attention to the little thing. Like the goofy smile when you signed our ketubah or look on your face when I came down the aisle to join you under the chuppah. Sure I can see these in photos, but I wish I had savored the moment a bit more. Of course, you know the truth. I was a little distracted during our actual ceremony. Underneath my layers of dress, I was doing the "gotta go" dance. Apparently my teacher bladder failed me that day.
16 - Our first dance

I wish I could remember more little details about our first dance as husband and life. Instead, I what sticks out in my head more are the images from thinking we were going to be killed during the Hora when raised up in the chairs. The expression on my face captured by the photographer says it all.

15 Help me . . . I'm going to die!

Of course, I would never want to go back in time if it meant that things would change. So much has happened over the last nine years. We have both grown up together. Sure we are both still kids at heart, but we have added a lot of responsibilities. Together we have two beautiful little boys, a house of our own and hopes/dreams/goals that we are both working toward.

May we always remember the good times, learn from the tough times and help each other to focus on the things that matter most – our time together and with our family.

I love you with all of my heart and look forward to the rest of our lives together.

Love,

Your Angel Forever

P.S. For a walk down memory lane you can check out more wedding photos here.

Categories:
jl looking back milestone photos TechyDad

Laws of Illusion by Sarah McLachlan

Posted on June 23, 2010 3:22 pm by TheAngelForever

It is hard to believe that it has been seven years since Sarah McLachlan of Lilith Fair fame (which returns this summer after a run from 1997-1999) has put out a CD with music for her fans. On June 15th, we were finally given a taste of McLachlan’s new CD Laws of Illusion.

True to her Canadian roots, the album was recorded in Montreal and Vancouver with Sarah’s longtime collaborator/producer Pierre Marchand. Sarah’s new album Laws of Illusion will be released June 15th just weeks in advance of the kick off to Lilith Fair 2010, the historic all women touring festival, founded by McLachlan.

The album’s first single “Loving You is Easy,” is a Top Ten hit at Adult Alternative radio and is available for sale at all digital providers.

Check out Sarah candidly talking about the making of the album. New videos will be put up on her site everyday. You can also Follow Sarah on Facebook and Twitter.

Tracks:

Awakenings
Illusions of Bliss
Loving You is Easy
Changes
Forgiveness
Rivers of Love
Love Come
Out of Tune
Heartbreak
Don’t Give Up On Us
U Want Me 2
Bring on the Wonder

Lilith Fair Tour Dates:

Jun 27              Calgary, AB                             McMahon Stadium
Jun 28              Edmonton, AB                        Northlands Spectrum
Jul 1                 Vancouver, BC, Canada        Pitt Meadows Airport
Jul 2                 Portland, OR                             Sleep Country Amphitheatre
Jul 3                 Seattle/George, WA               The Gorge Amphitheatre
Jul 5                 San Francisco, CA                  Shoreline Amphitheatre at Mountain View
Jul 7                 San Diego, CA                          Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre
Jul 8                 Phoenix, AZ                              Cricket Wireless Pavilion
Jul 9                 Las Vegas, NV                        Mandalay Bay Events Center
Jul 10               Los Angeles, CA                      Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
Jul 12               Salt Lake City, UT                    USANA Amphitheatre
Jul 13               Denver, CO                                Comfort Dental Amphitheatre
Jul 15               Kansas City, MO                      Capitol Federal Park @ Sandstone
Jul 16               St. Louis, MO                            Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
Jul 17               Chicago, IL                              First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
Jul 18               Minneapolis, MN                     Canterbury Park
Jul 20               Indianapolis, IN                      Verizon Wireless Music Center Indianapolis
Jul 21               Detroit, MI                                 DTE Energy Music Theatre
Jul 23               Montreal, QC                            Parc Jean Drapaeu
Jul 24               Toronto, ON                            Molson Canadian Amphitheatre
Jul 27               Cleveland, OH                          Blossom Music Center
Jul 28               Philadelphia, PA                     Susquehanna Bank Center
Jul 30               Boston, MA                              Comcast Center
Jul 31               New York, NY                          PNC Bank Arts Center
Aug 1               Hartford, CT                             Comcast Theatre
Aug 3               Washington, DC                       TBA
Aug 4               Raleigh, NC                            Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion at Walnut Creek
Aug 6               Charlotte, NC                           Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre Charlotte
Aug 7               Nashville, TN                           Bridgestone Arena
Aug 8               Atlanta, GA                               Aarons Amphitheatre at Lakewood
Aug 10             West Palm Beach, FL            Cruzan Amphitheatre
Aug 11             Tampa, FL                                 Ford Amphitheatre
Aug 12             Birmingham, AL                     Verizon Wireless Music Center
Aug 14             Austin, TX                                TBA
Aug 15             Houston, TX                            Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
Aug 16             Dallas, TX                                  Superpages.com Center

This year Sarah will be joined by: Colbie Caillat, Mary J. Blige, Sheryl Crow, Erykah Badu, Ke$ha, Norah Jones, Sugarland, Heart, Miranda Lambert, Beth Orton, Brandi Carlile, Cat Power, Chantel Kreviazuk, Corinne Bailey Rae, Emmylou Harris, Gossip, Indigo Girls, Ingrid Michaelson, Jill Scott, Loretta Lynn, Metric, Sara Bareilles, Tegan and Sara and more!

My thoughts:

As someone who always wished I had been able to get to Lilith Fair, I was so happy to hear that Sarah McLachlan was not only going back on a summer tour, but releasing a new CD. Laws of Illusion did not disappoint. The power house that is McLachlan picked up right where she left off. Her beautiful voice tells a story through the twelve great new songs. One of the items that I really appreciate about Sarah McLachlan is the simplicity of the music. The accompanying instruments do not over power McLachlan so you can pay close attention to her mesmerizing voice and strong lyrics.

I truly enjoyed listening to this CD. There is something special about Sarah McLachlan that allows you to drift into a different mind set and temporarily leave your troubles and stresses of the world behind. If I was to pick a favorite song or two I would probably say "Loving You is Easy" and "Bring on The Wonder" because they show the depth of artistry on this compilation. Of course, all twelve tracks really lends their part to this. It really had been too long since the last release from Sarah McLachlan.

Have you been to a Lilith Fair and/or will you be going this summer? Let me know so I can be jealous!

Disclosure: Thanks to One2One Network, I received a free copy of the CD to facilitate this review. The opinions expressed in the review are my own.