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To Happy Meal or not to Happy Meal

Posted on August 20, 2010 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

As a child, I remember going to Mc Donalds from time to time to have a Happy Meal. Back in the day, the Happy Meal was packaged in a really neat cardboard contraption that went along with the toy being promoted. When you opened it up, you found your hamburger, french fries, Mc Donald Land cookies (miss those) and toy. These days, the Happy Meals come in a generic paper bag with a puzzle or two on the outside.

We do not go to Mc Donald’s too often. When we do treat the boys to it, they usually do not get a Happy Meal. The kids are just as happy getting something else that is less expensive. The last two times we went to Mc Donald’s, I admit, I caved. NHL and JSL really wanted the Super Heroes that they were promoting. On Tuesday, when I asked NHL where he wanted to go for his 7th birthday lunch, he immediately replied Mc Donald’s. We walked into the restaurant and saw the Super Heroes on display. When we placed our order, I asked if they still had any left. Thank goodness they had two, and they were ones that we did not have from the previous trip.

As you can see, the boys were very happy. So my question to you this week:

What was your favorite Happy Meal toy growing up? If you can’t remember, what about your kids or grandchildren?

I still remember as a high school/college student going to chase down the mini Ty Beanie Babies. Ah, what memories.

If you are a fan of The Wiggles or know someone that is, be sure to enter my giveaway for their new DVD. For another chance stop by TechyDad’s blog for a second chance to win one.

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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 linky there if you are participating.

Aloha #113

Categories:
Aloha Friday birthday food glorious food fun jsl losing my mind nhl photos yummy

Happy 7th Birthday NHL

Posted on August 17, 2010 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Dear NHL,

Seven years ago today, my world changed. The instant that you were born, I fell in love. You were and are such a special little guy. No matter how old you get, you will always be my baby. It is so hard to believe that you have grown into quite the young boy. In a few shorts weeks, you will be off to second grade to learn new and exciting things. It seems like only yesterday that I held you in my arms rocking you to sleep. Now, you are quite the independent kid who is shying away from hugs and kisses in public. It’s okay, I understand since I was a kid a long time ago. I know that when you smile your silly way, or give me a zerbert that you love me.

Now let’s take a walk down memory lane at the last year – NHL at 6.

About a week and a half after you turned six, you lost your first tooth. Sure it was filled with drama, but you did it. That night when we got ready for the Tooth Fairy you were so proud. (August 2009)

The school year began and you were ready to go with your new backpack from Bubbe and Grandpa. (September 2009)

The flu hit hard just before Halloween. Luckily, you were finally well enough to head out to a few houses that Goulish night. Your love of Mario Kart Racing showed with your costume selection. (October 2009)

Twas the night before Thanksgiving and you had a blast at a hockey game. You lived up to your initials of NHL and had a blast watching warm-ups down by the boards. (November 2009)

December was a month filled with many items. On my birthday, you ended up in the Emergency Room to have a cut by your eye glued. There was Chanukah and playing in the snow. Thanks to Hebrew school, you wanted to say the prayers each night that we lit our menorah. (December 2009)

January was a very cold month. There were some days that we decided to stay in our PJs and play. Some of the happiest memories were watching you and JSL together. Loved brotherly tickle attacks. (January 2010)

In February, you became another official Disney addict. When we planned a quick trip to Disney World for a conference, you fell in love with everything – including the characters and getting autographs. (February 2010)

In March, you were able to say some of the four questions for Passover in Hebrew. You rode your bike like a pro when it was warm and were even interviewed on television about saving your school the day before a rally. (March 2010)

April marked a first for you, you cut your own hair. The scissors are now a lot higher, along with the Sharpies. The end of the month was also when you officially finished the Alef Bets at Hebrew School. We were so proud of you and your love for Sunday School. (April 2010)

In May, you helped us plan JSL’s third B-day party looking for all things Winnie the Pooh. You also had fun at another building clinic at Home Depot. (May 2010)

June marked the end of first grade. You were sad to leave school for the summer. Earlier in the month, you went to a family wedding. You declared that you wanted another wedding to go to soon since you had so much fun. (June 2010)

The start of the summer was fun filled with movies, being silly outside with water, camp, cherry picking with family and spending the day at the lake. Oh and thanks to your super skills at potty training, JSL is no longer in pull-ups! (July 2010)

So far this month you have wanted to keep things a bit more quiet. You love using the computer. Most days we will allow you to have some time using it. At home, you have my old laptop that you love playing math games and doing puzzles on. Here you are at Nana and Papa’s house. (August 2010)

This year, we have learned a lot about you and together we have grown. I hope that this year is even more fun and care free than last year. Please know that Daddy and I will do everything in our power to be in your corner cheering you on. I know that you can do and be anything that you want. This year is going to be great and togetehr we will make sure it happen. May the magic of your birthday continue the whole year through. NHL, always know that I love you with all of my heart.

Mommy

Categories:
birthday Disney family fun looking back milestone nhl photos school

Happy 00110011 00110101 B-Day TechyDad

Posted on August 3, 2010 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Dear JL,

Today is your birthday, and a special one at that. Not one with a zero at the end, but something more in the middle. I hope that you have an extra special geeky birthday. With any luck the end of your birthday week will be exciting and extra sparkly at BlogHer. I also figured you would get the message above. I went the extra distance here and went to a translator to figure out how to do it properly.

So now here is an acrostic poem that NHL and I wrote for you:

T akes us bowling and to other special places

E njoys time with his boys

C ooks us dinner every night

H as shared Ben Ten, Rug Rats, and Mythbusters with us

Y es, he makes us chocolate PB s’mores for treats

D eserves a magical vacation to Disney World soon

A lways puts our family first

D edicated geek in every way

Please know that the boys and I love you with all of our hearts. We miss you every day when you head to work, but cherish our family time with you when you get home. Thank you for being you, the man that I fell in love with at the outlets when we met, and continue to find more reasons to love each and every day we are together. I can not wait for our adventure together at BlogHer and beyond.

Love,

Your Angel Forever

Categories:
birthday BlogHer jl my boys nhl photos TechyDad

The Kung Zhu time has come in the Zhu-niverse

Posted on July 25, 2010 7:31 pm by TheAngelForever

If you have been inside a store that sells toys in the last year, chances are you have seen Zhu Zhu pets. Each of our boys has a Zhu Zhu that they received as a gift from us for Passover. They really enjoyed playing with them, especially on the wide open kitchen floor at Nana and Papa’s house. Soon after this, I was contacted by Mom Select apply to throw a party for the latest in the Zhu-niverse.

The Kung Zhu line was recently released and have taken on a storm. Geared more for boys, the Kung Zhu line has several commercials that we have seen on television and they are in all of the stores (Target, Toys R Us, CVS and more). To help us to throw the ultimate Kung Zhu party we received pretty much everything you could imagine – LITERALLY. This is the box that arrived and everything out on the floor at Nana and Papa’s house (note how large it is compared to JSL standing next to it):

The trick has been getting kids together for a party. Kind of a nightmare when school is not in session. Since NHL really wants a Kung Zhu party, we will have it on August 22 for family and friends (many more kids in attendance). That is the day that we will break out all of the Kung Zhu games and make some Kung Zhu edible critters. For now, we decided to have our own party this weekend. This would allow us to set everything in the Kung Zhu-niverse up, test run items and celebrate JSL’s potty training success. Let me take you on a tour of the items we have.

First, meet the Kung Zhu’s themselves. There are eight Kung Zhu hamsters. The Kung Zhu Ninjas are Drayko, Yama, Azer and Thorn. The members of the Special Forces are Stonewall, Rock’O, Seargent Serge and Rivet. NHL selected Stonewall (blue) and JSL wanted Sgt,.Serge (green).

When these ordinary looking members of the Zhu-niverse put on their special armor, they turn into fighting warriors ready to do battle. Here are the battle armors that are made for each of the eight Kung Zhu’s. Scorpion Tank and Rhino Tank. Beware: the moving parts on the tanks really catch the eye of little people. . . they will not want to stop playing with these.

Once the Kung Zhu members of the Ninjas and Special Forces are all dressed, they can head into the Battle Arena. Meanwhile, the other Kung Zhu’s can man the battle area in their Spider Tank, Buzzsaw Tank,

Of course, you must also have your Special Forces HQ and Dojo for the Ninjas. These, along with the Combat Bridge, really help to get things ready for the Kung Zhu hamsters.

No Kung Zhu Ninja or Special Forces member can be ready for battle if they are out of shape. To help with this, they have multiple options for training.

Individually, TechyDad found that the pieces were not too difficult to assemble. The hardest part of the assembly was making sure that the items worked together for maximum fun for the entire Zhu-niverse. Here are some photos of our mini Kung Zhu Party.

NHL especially liked putting Stonewall through his training session. Check out the video of this member of the Special Forces team. As you will see, he is a persistent little hamster that is not intimidated by some bricks. (Please note the laughter from the kids – this will no doubt be a lot louder for the big party coming soon).

Of course, JSL had to put Sgt Serge through the process as well. Here is his little guy – note how he comes to attack me at the end of the video.

So, there you have it for now. This is just the start of our Kung Zhu party fun. In a few weeks, we will share more of our adventures with you as other children join our Kung Zhu-niverse for NHL’s 7th birthday party.

Disclosure: This review and party (part 1 – and 2 coming soon) was made possible by MomSelect and King Zhu. They provided me with all of the items shown above to throw the ultimate Kung Zhu party.The opinions of this review were mine and I received no other compensation.

Categories:
birthday fun jl jsl nhl photos play time Product review TechyDad video weekend

30 years ago today

Posted on July 21, 2010 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

This is an almost Wordless Wednesday for a special reason. Thirty years ago today, I was getting ready to become a big sister. Thirty years ago tomorrow, my mother went into the hospital to have my little brother. I have to admit, I asked for a little sister, but got my amazing younger, but taller brother instead.

I am the luckiest sister in the world to have my brother. Sure, he used to be a pain in the rear (wait, he still can be – Hmmmm….), but we have both ~~matured~~ grown up a lot. He has always been there for me, spoiled my boys rotten, married an amazing woman and had two gorgeous children.