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Monsters University is Coming

Posted on February 28, 2013 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Rewind to 2001. It was the year I finished college, the summer I got married, and the moment I fell in love with monsters. Monster’s Inc. came out at a time when we needed to laugh, believe, and be innocent once more (less than a month after September 11). The movie brought us into a world where we learned that laughing was a far more powerful item than fear. We watched the beautiful friendship of Mike Wazowski and James P. Sullivan. Then, we watched the pair overcome their fears to work as a team and help Boo when she ends up in Monstropolis.

TechyDad and I saw the movie when it came out. Now we share our passion for all of our monster friends with the boys. The boys had to go back to see their friends last spring with Nana and Papa just because.

Now, the entire family is excited about a new chapter of the monster tale coming out. This summer, Monsters University hits the big screen on June 21. We will head back to school and see Mike and Sully as they get educated at MU.

I know that we will be going to see it as a family treat to celebrate the end of the school year. Until that time, the boys will likely watch new trailers about the movie over and over. If you have not seen them yet, here is one to check out what the new movie will be about.

What do you think? I would love to know if you plan on going to watch how it all began with Mike, Sully, and our other monster friends.

It's Me

Disclosure: Disney PR notified me of the some Monsters University news. I was not compensated for this and simply wanted to share since I adore all things Disney. You know we will be going to see Monsters University when it is released June 21, 2013.

Categories:
Disney looking back Movies

Disney Letter “I”

Posted on February 27, 2013 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Thinking about Disney in terms of the alphabet is always fun. Of course, it is even more interesting when you think a little outside of the box. With Disney Letter “I” there is Iago and even Isabella from Phineas and Ferb, but what other items would I discover when heading back to Walt Disney World via our photo memories? Please join me on a whirl wind tour from our December adventure.

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 food glorious food travel vacation

Tuesday Tales – David Carter’s 100

Posted on February 26, 2013 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Counting is a huge milestone for children as they learn and grow. Even bigger these days is the need to work on counting to the magic number 100. Children in kindergarten work toward the 100th Day of school. They keep track of days by tally. As they go, they not only work on counting by 1s, they also work on counting by 5s and 10s all the way to 100.

When Sterling Children’s Books contacted me about reviewing David Carter’s latest book, I jumped at it. We are big fans of Carter and my kindergarten kiddo was getting close to his 100th Day of school.

David Carter’s 100: Lift the Flaps and Learn to Count! – Written and illustrated by David Carter – Sterling Children’s Books – February 2013 – ISBN 9781402787386 – $17.95 – Ages 3-7

When we opened up the book, the boys had been told that this was by the author and artist that made the pop-up books that they adored. With that in mind, we were curious to see how Carter would approach a flap world. When we turned the first page, we were floored with the levels of detail – literally!

As you go throughout the book, Carter takes us to many different places counting 5 on each page, and 10 for each section. We go:

Under the sea
On a busy city street
Into the forest
Within a garden
To the land of dinosaurs
Around a dessert shop
Along a beach
Exploring the jungle
Beyond a barnyard
Investigating a classroom

The bright and cheerful illustrations take us into the environments on each page. As we flip each flap open, we learn about items that can be found in each location. Children not only learn how to count, but they are working on themes within the pages and adding new vocabulary words

To preview more of the beautiful pages of the book, you can watch the book trailer below.

Once again, David Carter’s creativity did not disappoint our family. This book was packed with many valuable lessons in a friendly hands on way that is perfect for young readers.

Have you read a book by David Carter? 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. Tuesday Tales are all about spreading the love for books.

It's Me

Disclosure: My family received the book mentioned above from Sterling Children’s Books in order to facilitate this review. No other compensation was given. The opinions expressed are my own. An Amazon Affiliate link is included in this post for the books mentioned. I will receive a percentage of money for the sale should you opt to buy the book through the link.

Previous Tuesday Tales about David Carter Books:

Categories:
books Tuesday Tales

Fun Times Making Slime

Posted on February 25, 2013 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

During the summer months, I looked to Pinterest a lot for ideas. I was searching for items to do with the boys if it was too hot, rainy, or to save for the winter months if we were snowed in. I pinned craft items, science items, writing items, books, and fun recipes. Most of the time, I would just pin them into a board so I could check back later. There was one instance when I immediately went out to get supplies.

In July, someone pinned Tot Treasures’ post about making Slime. I was in love with this idea. Both of my boys love playing with Playdoh, Silly Putty, and other similar items. So, I noted the two ingredients that we needed and bought them when I found a store that had them.

For some reason, we never made the slime before the boys started back to school. This week, I really wanted to test it out since the kids were home for February break. Saturday afternoon, the kids were restless and it was raining outside. We tried a craft kit that I bought and it flopped miserably. Thanks to this, I pulled out the liquid starch and clear glue. NHL was very excited about this process.

It had been months since I read the post, so I quickly went to Tot Treasures for a refresher. Basically, it is equal parts of glue and liquid starch. I say basically because we learned that is not always the case (had I read the comments again, I may have avoided the mistake).

The process is really kid friendly, but sometimes you have to wait a bit for the glue to absorb the liquid starch (apparently humidity factors into this as well). If you put too much starch in, you can always add more glue if you have any more. If not, you may notice that the slime is a bit too wet and lumpy. It does not smooth out. We figured this out after the first batch of slime and made a perfect second attempt.

JSL’s second batch came out perfect. Meanwhile, NHL’s first batch was a mess, literally. We did not have additional clear glue to put into the mixture. So I went on a search for more glue in the house. I found a container of white glue and set to make him more slime. How did the white glue compare? Well, here is the result below.

TechyDad said he actually liked the consistency of the white glue more, even if it stayed a bit more sticky. The “recipe” noted using food coloring, but we opted to skip this step. Our goal was for fun without making colorful hands this time. JSL also figured out a fun way of playing with the slime. ACHOO…

What did the kids think? Well, they played with the slime for almost three hours until we forced them to clean up for dinner.

Yes, they had fun laughing, playing, and being creative with their slime. After three hours, we packaged up the slime in containers and are going to see how it holds up for another day of play.

Have you ever made slime before? I would love to know your thoughts on this fun activity.

Categories:
arts and crafts Pinterest

For the Love of Veggie Burgers

Posted on February 22, 2013 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Although I am not a vegetarian, we practically are at home. Thanks to the cost of kosher meat, we typically eat vegetarian foods in our house and only occasionally toss in some ground turkey or boneless chicken breasts. We often eat meat alternatives, tofu, Morning Star Farms products, and fish.

As a BzzAgent, I was asked to participate their Morning Star Farms Campaign that was focused on Changing up Burgers for the better in the new year. I jumped at the opportunity since our freezer is often filled with many of their products. Not only are they healthier for us, they are great to make in a pinch when we are on the go.

Over the weekend, TechyDad noticed a new variety of Morning Star veggie burgers. He had noticed Mediterranean Chickpea and honestly did not need to ask me. It was a given that I would want to try them based on the name. Just check out the product description:

A totally refreshing veggie burger, made with chickpeas, spinach, Roma tomatoes, and traditional Greek herbs and spices.

Although we were given a coupon for a free package of Morning Star Farms burgers, I forgot it at home (ooops). So we bought a package of the Mediterranean Chickpea burgers and some other meatless products for the week.

The other night, we needed a quick dinner and I suggested trying the new veggie burgers. I mentioned it on Facebook and people were intrigued with the package photo. They asked if it was like a falafel. I said I was not sure and would get back to them. Once I took a bite, I knew I had to take a photo and share. Check it out:

Why yes, those are whole chickpeas within the veggie burger. We had some pitas in the house and served them inside them. I can honestly say it reminded me of a falafel pita, but not fried and greasy. It was crisp (baked in the oven) and delicious. The texture was perfect and spices were perfect. The only item I missed – a sauce. The next time we tried it we used a Greek yogurt sauce to add a little something else that really hit the spot.

So my question to you this week:

Do you like veggie burgers? I would love to know how you would create the perfect veggie burger to make for a lunch or special dinner.

Disclosure: As part of the BzzAgent campaign, I was sent a coupon to try a package of Morning Star Farms veggie burgers. I was not required to write a blog post, I simply wanted to share since we are big fans of these products. No compensation was received and all opinions are my own.

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Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this Friday fun.