TheAngelForever | The Angel Forever

Author Archives TheAngelForever

Hues of Blue Crochet Blanket

Posted on May 19, 2014 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Last summer, I finished my first big crochet project and quickly fell in love with granny squares. During the fall, I was itching to get something else started while making hats, wristers, and other small projects. At some point in the process, JSL begged for me to make him a blue blanket. I was not entirely sure where I was going on this crafting adventure, but over the last 24 weeks it has grown, and grown, and grown. If you follow me on Instagram, you will be able to look back and see when I bought many hues in blue and really got this project started.

The week after JSL’s surgery, all of the individual granny squares were made. We took a field trip to Nana and Papa’s house to use their floor. While JSL did not select all of the yarn colors (they were limited in Caron Simply Soft), I wanted him to make the final design. He really enjoyed figuring out the pattern and setting it up.

After all of the rows were connected by single crochet, I took the blanket back to see how big it really was going to be. I had a little helper jump on top to give you a size comparison.

I had hoped to finish the afghan before JSL’s birthday, but there was just too much going on. Days later, I was able to surprise the kiddo with the completed blanket when he woke up in the morning and snuggled under it.

I do believe he was a happy camper, though he keeps telling me several are not really blue. I remind him they are blue-green and acceptable given the circumstances. Next, I will be using the colorful combination below for a new project.

So what knitting, crocheting, or craft projects will you be working on this summer? I

It's Me

In case you missed JSL’s antics while helping with the pattern, I shared a little video on Instagram from that day.

Categories:
arts and crafts crocheting me moments

Time to Turn Seven

Posted on May 14, 2014 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Dear JSL,

It is so hard to believe that my little guy is turning seven years old today. It just seems like yesterday when you were born, spent your days with me, and eventually went off to start school. Now, I look at you and you are a little boy who has a personality of his own and is almost finished with first grade. When I look at your sweet little face, the baby is almost completely gone and it pulls at my heart. While I want you to grow up and learn, part of me wants you to stay little and innocent forever. You are so sweet and always put others before you when at school and even with your big brother. Of course, being my kiddo you do have a stubborn streak and it has been nice to see you stick up for yourself recently. Along with that is your determination. Just this weekend, you decided that you will learn to ride your bike without training wheels. You want this and I know you will master it before long. No doubt I will be chasing after you when you set off full steam down the block.

Here is a look back at your sixth year.

To celebrate turning six, pirate cupcakes were requested to share with your kindergarten class. You and I were also busy getting ready for your pirate craft party that would be a few weeks after your real birthday. It was the first friend party that you had and you were so excited to create pirate items and be with your friends. In May, we also became members of the miSci Museum where you adored going and exploring. (May 2013)

Birthday boy and pirate cupcake

The month of June was an emotional month. You were so excited about learning and writing at school. A lot of your time was spent making everyone special books. There was nothing stopping you and you just wanted to be an author and share your creations. Of course, you were also sad to be leaving kindergarten behind. You cried because you did not want to leave the wonderful teachers who helped you to come out of your shell during your first year of elementary school. (June 2013)

July was a busy month. You loved Independence Day weekend when we spent time at the lake with cousins and a lot of extended family. NHL went to camp for a week and you and I were able to do some fun things together while he was there. One of the projects we worked on was taking our the knitting loom that you asked for on your birthday. (July 2013)

Knitting Loom Crown

As the summer continued, it was time for you to go to camp for a week. You really loved the experience, but were not in love with the swimming part because people moving your items and them getting lost. August is also when you officially became a Whoovian. Suddenly, you were a Doctor Who geek that wanted to know everything and anything about The Doctor. This was a proud moment for Daddy because you fell in love with his sonic screwdriver and wanted to buy your own. (August 2013)

Doctor Who Geek in Training

Before we knew it, the summer was over and you were heading off to first grade. This was a big adjustment because it meant being on another floor of the school and eating lunch in the cafeteria. Later in the month, when I went to a conference in Atlanta, you sent a special someone along with me. You asked me to take photos of Timon during my travels. I did this and it seems to be a new tradition thanks to you. (September 2013)

First Day of School - September 2013

The autumn was a rocky time. You were upset with some items and had a difficult time expressing them. My sweet little guy suddenly was sad and did not want to go to school. You made my mission to stop high stakes testing and education reform more of a pressing matter after you went to the school nurse with chest pains because of math. It broke my heart watching you so sad about learning. Thank goodness your teacher has done her best and tried to help the situation. Halloween marked fun moments when we picked out pumpkins and you had a blast playing with pumpkin guts. (October 2013)

As the weather started to change, we were very busy. You started to settle into Hebrew School and loved helping me to select new crochet projects. After Halloween was over, you also adored wearing Daddy’s bowtie and fez. You were so in love with the fez that he made you your own and you insisted on wearing it out shopping one day. You laughed so hard when someone yelled down an aisle that fezes were cool. (November 2013)

Chanukah started on Thanksgiving and was almost over before December started. Once again, you enjoyed helping us to light the menorah each night while reciting the prayers. The best part was watching your face light up when we surprised you with Disney Infinity. You adore using this and exploring with NHL. While you may fight over who gets to do things, both of you got along during those cold and snowy days over the winter. (December 2013)

The new year brought a lot of cold. Eventually, snow came and we had fun painting it and trying to stay warm. You were also my main helper when it came to trying things out for my posts on Bedtime Math. You loved heading out to the store to get items and trying them out with me. I think a favorite was probably the foam dough that you played with for hours. (January 2014)

More snow, making snowmen paintings, and creating items for Valentine’s Day kept us busy when you were not in school. You love to make crafts, so we spent a lot of time with various items. Of course, you also enjoyed heading outside into the cold to make snow forts and sled around the area. It was so much fun watching you play with NHL and Daddy. (February 2014)

Let it Go No More Snow

I do believe even you got to a point when you were sick of the snow. You were ready to be able to run and play outside without worrying about falling on the ice. Purim was a nice distraction for everyone. You had fun dressing up like Hiccup and playing games at the festival that we went to. (March 2014)

Passover preparations kept all of us busy. You had fun learning the four questions for the Seder. Of course, our celebration was changed a bit when we had to schedule your surgery at the end of Spring break. You were so brave before, during, and after your surgery. I know it was not easy for you, but you were so sweet even when you were horribly miserable. In the end, we told you that it would make you breathe easier and so much happier later on. Thank goodness you truly believed us. (April 2014)

Here we are back in May with your seventh birthday celebration. While I may be sad that you are growing up, I am so proud of who you are and what is ahead of you. I cherish the time with you watching you smile and hearing your laughter. You are such a sweet, smart, talented, and compassionate little boys. I look forward to watching you grow, learn more, and become even more special each and every day. Always know that I am cheering you on and here for a hug. No matter how old you get, you will always be my baby boy and I will protect you as much as I can.

Happy 7th birthday sweetie and here is to many more happy and wonderful memories ahead.

Love,

Mommy

Past B-day posts to JSL:

Categories:
birthday jsl looking back milestone

Tuesday Tales – Fact or Fib Books

Posted on May 13, 2014 11:37 am by TheAngelForever

Imagine two boys running toward you and grabbing books out of your hands so quickly that you can’t even look at them. That is exactly what happened when a surprise package arrived from Sterling Children’s Books. NHL and JSL saw the titles on two of the items and snatched them from my hands and ran off to read them together. It made this parent and teacher so happy to see the kids eager about reading. They were laughing, learning, questioning each other, and asking for more. What books am I referring to?

Fact or Fib? and Fact or Fib 2: A Challenging Game of True or False – Written by Kathy Furgang – Sterling Children’s Books

May 2014 – ISBN 978-1-4549-0982-8 and 978-1-4549-0983-5 – $7.95 each – Ages 8+

From the back of the book:

Deciding which one of three statements is outrageously false is the challenge you face in each round of Fact or Fib? After you’re made your choices, you’ll turn the page to find out the answers and get more interesting information about each topic. Kids (and adults too!) will enjoy playing Fact or Fib?rainy days, during recess, and at parties-it can be playing anytime, with anyone!

As I mentioned, my boys were hooked with the books and spent hours across many days checking out these books. I truly did have to pry them away to check them out for myself. It was interesting to see the mix of science information presented in a small powerhouse of a book. The pictures on all of the pages are likely what kept my first grader intrigued, but the content alone sold my fifth grader. As a parent and teacher, I adore that a spark of learning can inspire kids to want to know more about the wide range of topics within the pages.

I know these books will be traveling with us this summer. They are perfect for on the go and perfect for summer enrichment. The first book focuses on knowledge about dinosaurs, bugs, and animals. The second book tackles space, the human body (including passing gas), and technology.

What books will your children be reading this summer to keep learning alive? As always, Tuesday Tales is all about sharing our love of books. Please let me know what you have read recently. Be sure to link up to your book posts in the comments below. Include something you read on your own, with a child, or someone else.

Disclosure: As noted above, I received both of these books from Sterling Children’s Books and decided to review them because of the reaction from my children. No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own.

Categories:
books Educational Tuesday Tales

Kicking Cancer in the Rear

Posted on May 8, 2014 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Cancer is the C-word that too many of us have heard for family, friends, and even individually. The first time I remember hearing the word was when I was in fourth grade and my Papa J was diagnosed. I have to admit that I was really young and naïve. I do not recall a lot of what happened at the time except that those near and far rallied for him. Since that time, countless family and friends have been diagnosed with different types of cancer. Of course, breast cancer is part of my world. My great grandmother passed away from cancer years before technology and science were able to help diagnose her. Thank goodness these days people like my Aunt S are cancer survivors. Almost eleven years ago, she was diagnosed with breast cancer just before my oldest son was born.

Thanks to my family history, I had my first mammogram two years ago. I wrote about it at the time because so many people are afraid of the machine above. The reality, this machine along with others tests are able to save lives.

Over the last few months, the C word has been on my mind a lot. This week, a special woman that I met for the first time on the monorail at Disney for a conference with her beautiful family told all of us that she was waiting on news about a lump that she had found in her breast. I have met Amanda several times since that visit to Disney, the last time at the Type A Parent Conference in Atlanta. I kept her in my thoughts and prayers as she waited for news on her biopsy. On Monday, Amanda found out that she has stage 3 invasive ductal carcinoma. Amanda is a fighter and Nikki wrote about it beautifully on her post A war to be waged against the big C.

Now those of us in the blogging community are working together to support Amanda and her family during this time. We all know she is going to kick cancer’s butt.

Right now, there is an #AmandasArmy store on Café Press (affiliate link to the store that goes right to Amanda as well) where images like the owl above can be purchased on various items. All proceeds from the store will be going right to Amanda. In addition to this, a YouCaring page has been set up as a direct fundraiser. More items are in the works because this is just what bloggers do for each other.

Amanda, know that my family and I are cheering you on from New York. We will set a date when you have made the cancer run from your body to meet up on that magical monorail once again. This is a promise, not a threat and I will buy you a special slushy at Epcot and a Dole Whip to celebrate.

It's Me

Thank you to Sherry Aikens, SuperExhausted, for the amazing photo of Amanda via the Type-A Philly photos.

Categories:
bloggy friends health awareness PSA

Tuesday Tales – Peter Panda Melts Down

Posted on May 6, 2014 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Just after Passover, I received an email from an unexpected person. Artie Bennett was reaching out to see if he could send me a copy of his latest book for review. You see, Artie had found my previous review of another one of his books. Yes, one of my earliest Tuesday Tales was about his book titled The Butt Book. That honestly is the name of his book and the subject matter as well. Artie noted in his email that Peter Panda Melts Down would be a bit more traditional and for a younger audience. I mean the title alone helped me to know it would be very different than the book I reviewed and his other infamous book called Poopendous!

Peter Panda Melts Down! – Written by Artie Bennett – Illustrated by John Nez – Published by Blue Apple Books

February 2014 – ISBN 978-160905411-3 – $16.99 – Ages 2-5

Peter the Panda is three years old and learning to be more independent. Sometimes he tries things that do not work out, other times he has to stop when he may not be ready. Of course, at three Peter does not always want to do what Mama tells him right away. As we read along, the catchy rhyme and rhythm of the book, we see that a behavior pattern often shows up.

Uh-oh.

Here it comes.

Here comes that frown.

Peter Panda melts dowwwwnnn!

The illustrations by John Nez take us into the world of Peter the Panda and beautifully capture the build up of his melt downs. Of course, the ending of the book (no spoilers here), made me nod and smile even more – thank you Artie!

As soon as I saw the title of the book, I was intrigued. As the mother of a child with autism, I look at melt downs very differently thanks to sensory overload. I was curious how this book could be used by families as a tool. Many children with autism do well with social stories that assist them with coping strategies. On the flip side, as a teacher, I was curious how this book could be used with a preschool set (or older) to talk about how to handle friends if they are melting down, how to calm yourself down, and of course how to use your words. It’s easy to ask a child how they would handle the situation compared to Peter Panda. My thoughts are that sweet little Peter will help many children and families to work on melt downs. Mama often uses positive reinforcement with Peter and this is a huge help with young children. In addition to this, Artie Bennett also has Mama use “If/Then” statements to Peter after he has a meltdown. This strategy has been use in helping our son and others on the autism spectrum. I have a feeling Peter Panda and his Mama will help a lot of young children learn a things or two when they read his tale.

FYI we can not wait for Artie Bennett’s next book coming out in August. Yes, my classy family will likely love Belches, Burps, and Farts–Oh My!

Have you read any books by Artie Bennett? Come on admit it, you know you want to read one now. As always, Tuesday Tales is all about sharing our love of books. Please let me know what you have read recently. Be sure to link up to your book posts in the comments below. Include something you read on your own, with a child, or someone else.

Disclosure: As noted above, I received this book from the author, Artie Bennett, to review. No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own. Artie never asked me to kvell, I opted to do so on my own.