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Bandwagon with Joanie Leeds & The Nightlights

Posted on May 9, 2013 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Disclosure: I received a copy of the new CD by Joanie Leeds & The Nightlights from Waldmania PR to facilitate this review. No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own. As big fans of this talented artist, it was a pleasure to check out the new CD coming out shortly.

Music is a big part of our lives. Both of the boys are really into listening and dancing with songs. NHL plays in advanced band at school and JSL is begging to try an instrument soon. I believe that being exposed to different musicians and genres of music has helped both of my boys with this passion.

Several years ago, we were introduced to singer and song writer Joanie Leeds. We reviewed I’m a Rock Star. Our entire family was dazzled by this CD and it played over and over again. When we looked to see what other items Joanie Leeds had, we were intrigued with Challah, Challah and bought it to listen to on Shabbat. Once again, we were not disappointed. So when I was asked to review the latest CD from Joanie Leeds and the Nightlights, I jumped at the opportunity.

When the CD arrived, I had it waiting in our car to surprise the kids after school. To say that they liked it would be an understatement. The boys are in love with the new songs and argue who gets to hold the case to read the words, look at the photos, and decide which song we begin with. Yes, each morning for the last week, the boys debate on the songs they want to hear. This morning tradition helps the boys to be silly, sing, and forget about their worries for the day.

More about Bandwagon

Bandwagon (Amazon affiliate link) will be released on June 25 and is Joanie Leeds’ fifth CD for kids. The CD will sell for $15.00, but you can also purchase the MP3 version online. The music is geared for children ages 2-9 and runs for 42 minutes.

The songs include: 1) “Are We There Yet?” 2) "Back to School” 3) “Bandwagon” 4) “I Love New York” 5) “UFO” 6) “Family Tree” 7) “Nutritious” 8) “Helmet” 9) “Use Your Words” 10) “Little Cloud” 11) “Falling” 12) “Let’s Go” 13) “Canon Song” 14) “Bed” 15) “Nightlights”

Our Thoughts

As mentioned earlier, the kids really adore this new CD from Joanie Leeds & The Nightlights. We have listened the the entire song list countless time in order, and shuffled by request. The song variety keeps everyone in the car happy, including the adults. NHL’s favorite is “Bed” because my little musician likes the way it picks up tempo as the song progresses. JSL constantly asks to hear “Helmet” and “Bed” because he can dance with the one and thinks the other is silly since he does not always want to go to bed.

As the parent, “I Love New York” it great because it makes the sights of New York City come alive. “Use Your Words” really hits home as a parent of a child with Asperger’s. We have used it to talk about standing up for yourself, using words to be an advocate, and not being bullied. I will also note that “Bed” has been a slight earworm for me, but in a fun way. Oh and parody song fans will also love “Nutritious” which is a play off of Stevie Wonder’s “Superstitious” fame.

I am sure we will be gifting this CD and others from Joanie Leeds for birthday presents, baby showers, and beyond because they are great for kids of all ages. A huge thank you to Joanie and company for making a family friendly collection of music.

Additional Disclosure: An Amazon Affiliate links is included in this post for the CD mentioned (noted above). I will receive a percentage of money for the sale should you opt to purchase it through that link.

Categories:
Music Reviews

Walt Disney World Resorts and Relaxation

Posted on May 8, 2013 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

As a child, my family stayed at Walt Disney World a lot over the years. While the number of resorts has blossomed, the experience of staying at any of the options is magical in itself. The Disney Resorts are a destination on their own. Each location is unique and offers a variety of fun options to explore with your family, especially if you are looking to rest and relax. Here are some of the photos from recent trips to Disney World and the different resorts that we have stayed in.

Be sure to stop by Focused on the Magic by clicking on the button above to join in the Disney magic this week.

Categories:
Disney travel

Tuesday Tales – Mo Willems’ Pigeon is 10

Posted on May 7, 2013 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Disclosure: I received some books by Mo Willems to review and help celebrate Pigeon’s 10th birthday courtesy of Disney Publishing Worldwide. No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own. As big fans of this author and illustrator, we were thrilled to participate in this big day for Pigeon and Mr. Willems.

Over the years, I have read a lot of books with children while babysitting, in college, in my own classroom, and with my own two boys. There are times when you may think you have read a book, but then you realize you missed something big. Enter Mo Willems’ famous Pigeon into my world. It isn’t that I am unfamiliar with author and illustrator Willems. I mean, check out my youngest son’s latest collection that he is reading to me.

My kids adore Elephant & Piggie books along with Willems’ classic Knuffle Bunny. That’s what I am not sure how I managed to miss reading Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! The other day a package arrived from Disney Publishing to celebrate Pigeon turning 10.

I am not joking when I say the kids were beyond excited about the box of Mo Willems books. The kids immediately snagged the books and wanted to read them together. First, JSL read to NHL A Big Guy Took My Ball! (An Elephant & Piggy Book coming out May 21).

A Big Guy Took My Ball! (Elephant and Piggie Book) (Affiliate link to Amazon) – ISBN 1423174917 – Written and Illustrated by Mo Willems – Disney-Hyperion – May 2013 – 48 page hardcover book $8.99 – Ages 6-8

After this, I lost track of a lot of what was happening because they were so happy and we decided to make dinner. Fast forward to the next day when JSL started to ask me questions about hot dogs out of the blue. I had no idea where this was coming from. Later on, he sat down with me to read Caldecott Honor book Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!

Of course, when we were finished he begged to continue on to read the other books in the Busload of Pigeon Books collection. This small hard cover book collection includes the original Pigeon book, along with The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog! and Don’t Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late! This was clearly my ah-ha moment. Now I knew why my fussy eater was suddenly curious about hot dogs. Thanks to Mo Willems , Pigeon, and the cute little Duckling, JSL was now intrigued with hot dogs.

It’s a Busload of Pigeon Books! (Affiliate link to Amazon) – ISBN 1423175891 – Written and Illustrated by Mo Willems – Disney-Hyperion – April 2013 – 120 pages in 3 mini hardcover book collection $24.99 – Ages 2-6

This box set of smaller sized Pigeon books is now available to help celebrate this famous bird’s 10th Birthday. This set, along with other Mo Willems books and items make fantastic baby shower gifts, and birthday presents for young children.

In addition to this, Don’t Pigeonhole Me!: Two Decades of the Mo Willems Sketchbook(Affiliate link to Amazon) will be coming out June 18. This book for adults will feature 20 years of sketches and ideas from Mr. Willems. The foreword of the book is written by another world famous children’s book author and illustrator, Eric Carle. I know I cannot wait to read this book to learn more about Mo Willems and how his concepts go from notebook sketches to print.

Please join me in wishing Pigeon a very happy 10th Birthday. Now, I would love to know what your favorite Mo Willems book and why. As always, Tuesday Tales is about spreading love for books. Please share 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.

Additional Disclosures: Three Amazon Affiliate links are included in this post for the books mentioned (they are noted above). I will receive a percentage of money for the sale should you opt to purchase it through that link.

Categories:
books Tuesday Tales

The Albany Children’s Book Festival – Part 3

Posted on May 6, 2013 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Going to The Albany Children’s Book Festival was an experience our entire family enjoyed. As I have mentioned in two previous posts (Part 1 and Part 2), meeting some of the talented authors and illustrators was wonderful. In addition to that, the kids were excited to read books that were new to them and add to our summer reading list.

What I really appreciated about this festival was being able to see the local authors. Often times, the kids and I forget that we have some wonderful authors and illustrators within the Capital District area. One example of this is author and illustrator Matthew McElligott. I was introduced to Mr. McElligott by my oldest son after he went to NHL’s school and spoke with the children. I was so curious, I immediately went out and read Benjamin Franklinstein Lives! and adored it. I am hoping to read this and the other books in the series with the boys, plus I know JSL will like the picture books by McElligott as well.

Of course, then there is the moment that you recognize someone and feel so very naïve. That moment was when we wandered over to the table with author and illustrator Daniel J. Mahoney. Mr. Mahoney looked VERY familiar. Of course, it was NHL that realized why. NHL knows his son and I had absolutely no idea about his books none. Ooops! Now that we are on radar, JSL and I are looking forward to Monstergarten which is coming out in July. No doubt we will also look at some of the other books he has written and illustrated.

The kids had a lot of fun talking with author and illustrator Jef Czekaj when they brought their passports over. He even drew a cute little cartoon critter next to his name. I reminded the boys that we had read at least one of his books over the summer. Yes, I recall the kids reading Oink-A-Doodle-Moo multiple times and laughing and enjoying it a lot. I know we will be looking at more of Mr. Czekaj’s books this summer.

After this, the kids spotted a table set up to make some monster drawings. Local teacher, author, and artist Ira Marcks. Mr. Marcks actually had a station set up for kids to create their own Monster drawings. He talked with the boys as they were making their colored pencil creations. He also shared some of his camps and other local events that we will be investigating for the summer. His book Witch Knots is a graphic novel that really highlights his work.

After two monsters were drawn, we took the boys to get their prize for getting a lot of autographs in their booklets. Then it was time to select books so we could purchase them and go home. As I wrote in Part 2, NHL immediately knew what book he wanted to get. JSL, had some troubles selecting a book. We must have gone back to several tables over and over again. Thanks to this, we now have more books to add to the summer reading and several birthday present ideas for the kindergarten kiddo. In the end, my little Matey fell for author and illustrator Victor Ramon Mojica’s book Captain Cross Bones in the Treasure Hunt. I think Mr. Mojica sold the book by interacting with JSL and giving him a cool autographed poster of Captain Cross Bones. I also know we will be checking out Barbara Mojica’s Little Miss History book because they also looked like something the boys would adore.

Check out my little Wizards after we got home and were looking at our books and other items from some local vendors and libraries. You can see they love their new hats and were ready to dive into their new books.

If you hear about a children’s book festival coming to your area, I urge you to make the time to take your kids. This experience was beyond anything I could have imagined. It helped my boys to come out of their shell, gain confidence, and ignite their desire to read even more new and wonderful books.

Categories:
books Educational local event

Time to Tiptoe Through the Tulips

Posted on May 3, 2013 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

I love flowers and observing them outside. The science teacher in me also adores taking photos to capture their beauty. You may think this means that I like cut flowers in my home, but it would not be true. It sounds silly, but I do not like watching flowers die in front of my eyes. Flowers are at their best when they are still on their full stems and with nature.

For some reason, the flowers in the spring time really catch my attention, especially tulips. It fascinates me to watch as tulips push up from their bulbs each Spring. Some years, we may only have two, other times there may be many more. Each morning, I watch them to see if they survived the night. I can count each of the tightly wrapped buds and see that they are sheltering the beauty within.

Thanks to animals, we never know what may or not make it through the night. While the tulips are around, I often find myself walking around to catch them at different times of day. Just a few hours after they were closed up, they finally opened up for the first time this spring.

Then their inner beauty shows through as they open their petals, shimmer, and shine in the warmth of the Spring sun.

Do you ever take time to tiptoe through the tulips as they say? You know, just take time to observe the beauty around you and forget for a little while about the worries and chaos that can be day to day life.