Yesterday was JSL’s 5th birthday. Monday birthdays are tricky when you are in school. It means you can’t do anything too big and elaborate, but still need to make the day extra special. On Sunday, JSL finally opted not to ask for an ice cream cake and wanted a chocolate cake with sprinkles in it. That can not really happen, so he picked something else, along with frosting and items to decorate the cake.
In the morning I took the boys to school. When I dropped JSL off, his teacher E had him make a special birthday crown. Later on when I went back in, the crown was complete.
Then it was time to have a birthday snack with everyone. When the kids were done singing to JSL, he was asked to share how old he is now. Yes, he now needs an entire hand.
After a story and some dancing, we packed up to head home. We were on a mission. Before going to school JSL asked me only to bake the birthday cake. As a new big five year old, he wanted to help frost and decorate his own masterpiece. So I set out supplies and we started to work.
JSL soon learned that when you pull up on frosting…cake will follow along with it. Thanks to that, he also learned how to repair holes with more frosting.
Once the cake was covered in frosting, it was time to add some color. JSL was careful placing sprinkles at first, then he started to just dump them on, and eventually he wanted some gold to add a little sparkle.
When the cake was finished we pulled out the present that he begged for. JSL wanted walkie-talkies for his birthday. These are the cool Perry ones that we found for the Phineas and Ferb fan:
Unfortunately, the walkie-talkies did not work. We called the company and they were amazing. Later on we brought them back to the Toys R Us and exchanged them for some the exact same item that worked perfectly. Then we came home to have some of the cake that JSL helped to make.
It is still so hard to believe that my “baby” is already five!
Trying to find a healthy snack food that is low calorie, low fat, filling, and tastes good can be a difficult task. A few months ago, we were visiting my brother and his family. One night, he shared a snack that was absolutely delicious. I was immediately jealous because it was amazing and we had nothing like it near us. It was called Kim’s Magic Pop.
The months went by and I never thought about them again until Nana and Papa had them at their house the other day. Yes, they were able to find them locally. Now, I think we may have a bit of an addiction. The boys and I love them and the kids loved watching them get made. Thanks to the Delice Global website, we now know all of the flavors that Kim’s Magic Pop could come in. They include:
Original
Onion
Cinnamon
Cheddar Cheese
Potato
Strawberry
Whole Wheat
7 Grain (coming soon)
Super Fiber (coming soon)
Honey Wheat (coming soon)
Although I like them plain and right out of the bag, I think they would also be delicious with some hummus. No doubt we will continue to experiment with different ways to enjoy them. At just 15 calories each, the wow factor when crunching them has been worth the wait.
My question to you this week:
What is a new snack food that you are currently enjoying and why?
Disclosure: We have paid for many bags of Kim’s Magic Pop with our own money. Just thought of this post one day while I was crunching on a delicious snack and wanted to share.
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.
When I start to think about Walt Disney World, one refreshing treat comes to my mind. I immediately begin to imagine myself walking through the Magic Kingdom to Adventureland and getting one of these at Aloha Isle:
Please excuse the hot, sweaty, and frizzy haired me in the background. That photo of me holding my beloved Dole Whip Float was right after I finished the three hour African Trek. I called the boys and they were over at the Magic Kingdom. I immediately knew the place to meet. We introduced the boys to their first Dole Whip Float and they are definitely fans of this refreshing treat.
If you are a Dole Whip newbie, I suggest checking out AJ’s post on The Disney Food Blog all about the beloved Dole Whips. From there, she links up to additional posts about the topic and even where you can find them outside of Disney parks. Zannaland also wrote about The Great Dole Whip Controversy. Yes, people are that serious about their Dole Whip preferences.
So let’s talk frozen delights at Walt Disney World. Have you had a Dole Whip before and what is your favorite location to enjoy this delicious snacks?
Cupcakes and books are two topics that I love to talk about on my blog. I often write about baking, taste testing, and observing beautiful cupcake creations.
Most Tuesdays, I write about books that we are reading, or something related to a literacy topic. Last week, Tuesday Tales meshed both of these topics into a delicious new book review for The Cupcake Club: Peace, Love, and Cupcakes. In my review of the new book, I explained that this new series is written by a 9 year old girl and her mother.
Sourcebook has graciously offered a giveaway for one lucky reader of The Angel Forever to receive your own copy of The Cupcake Club.
Rules for Giveaway:
MAIN RULE – If you could invent your dream cupcake, what would it be. Let me know the type of cake, frosting, filling, or beyond that would make it a reality.
The following Bonus Entries may also be done. Please be sure to leave separate comments for each that you complete below to make sure you get the right number of entries.
1 Bonus Entry – Who would you like to read The Cupcake Club with and why?
1 Bonus Entry – Follow TheAngelForever on Twitter and leave a comment with your Twitter name below.
1 Bonus Entry – Tweet the following about the giveaway: Enter to #win a copy of The Cupcake Club from @Sourcebooks @jabberwockykids & @TheAngelForever http://bit.ly/HUmYP3 #giveaway #cupcakes (May be done once a day – leave link to Tweet in comment below for new entry)
1 Bonus Entry – Leave a comment on any of my non-giveaway posts from the months of March/April. Leave a comment here to let me know which one. This Bonus entry may be done twice per day.
3 Bonus Entries – Add my blog button to your website and/or add me to your blogroll. Be sure to leave a link with the location.
1 Bonus Entry – Head over to TechyDad’s blog and say hello to him. Let me know where you posted a comment. May be done once a day.
To enter, please follow the rules above within the comment section. Giveaway begins April 17, 2012 and ends April 25, 2012 at 10:59 EST. You do not have to be a blogger to enter, but must leave a valid e-mail address for me to contact you for mailing address once the giveaway is over. I will select the winner using random.org and contact you via e-mail. You will have 48 hours to claim the prize. If there is no response, another winner will be selected. Open to US and Canada residents only.
Disclosure: Sourcebooks offered me a review copy of the book and to give one away to a reader. No other compensation was given and all opinions are mine. Sourcebooks will provide shipment of the book to the winner and The Angel Forever is not responsible for fulfillment of the prize. An Amazon Affiliate link is included in this post for the book mentioned. I will receive a percentage of money for the sale should you opt to buy the book through that link
It’s no secret, we like cupcakes in our house. There are several cupcake specialty bakeries in our area and we feel that it is our duty to check them all out. Just doing a cupcake search on my blog will give you a lot of items to look at on the topic. I also like to make cupcakes as part of birthday celebrations for the boys, including the most recent Lion Cupcakes.
When I heard that Sourcebooks had a new series out that worked around cupcakes, I was excited to receive an advanced copy of the book that just came out last week.
About The Cupcake Club:
Meet Kylie Carson.
She’s a fourth grader with a big problem. How will she make friends at her new school? Should she tell her classmates she loves monster movies? Forget it. Play the part of a turnip in the school play? Disaster! Then Kylie comes up with a delicious idea: What if she starts a cupcake club?
Soon Kylie’s club is spinning out tasty treats with the help of her fellow bakers and new friends. But when Meredith tries to sabotage the girls’ big cupcake party, will it be the end of the Cupcake Club?
The Cupcake Club: Peace, Love, and Cupcakes – Written by Sheryl Berk and Carrie Berk – Sourcebooks Jabberwocky – On sale April 2012 – ISBN 9781402264498 – Paperback 208 pages – Ages 9+ – $6.99
What I Thought:
The cover of this book made me drop what I was reading to start reading. I was especially intrigued since I knew that it was written by a mother and daughter team. What I don’t think I really realized (too distracted with Passover preparations) was a bit more about the pair. Carrie Berk is the 9 year old author that wrote The Cupcake Club with her mother Sheryl Berk. Sheryl Berk is a New York Times bestselling co-author of Soul Surfer (on my to read list since my students always had my copy out). Carrie is a seasoned cupcake reviewer. She has traveled all over the world and written about the cupcakes on her website called Carrie’s Cupcakes Critique. Carrie is also on Pinterest, Facebook, and Twitter (all found on her website).
As soon as I started reading the story, I became attached to Kylie Carson. This four grader is still struggling to be accepted in her new school. She likes different things than most of her peers and struggles with keeping troubles to herself. What troubles? Well, Kylie is the victim of a bully and her name is Meredith. Meredith gets great joy in the world when she humiliates Kylie in any way. Kylie is afraid that if she tells an adult what is going on that it will only get worse.
Thankfully, when Juliette, the drama teacher steps in to mentor Kylie her world quickly changes. Juliette tells her about the way she was picked on as a child and how she took up baking to help. This is when The Cupcake Club was born. We follow along on the adventure to recruit three more members and watch how they befriend each other.
Will Kylie stand up to the bully? Read the first book in this new series to find out!
I really enjoyed The Cupcake Club. It read quickly and brought up some great discussion topics like bullying, building self esteem, not giving up, making friends, forgiving, and more. My only small criticism of the book is that I have a hard time visualizing fourth graders taking on so much. As the mother of an almost fourth grader, I think the kids should have been a bit older to be doing so much on their own. Once you read the book and learn about the success of their business, you will understand. Even with this little item, I still thoroughly enjoyed the book. I also love that at the end of the book Carrie and Sheryl include the recipes that they talk about within the story. They sound delicious and will have to be tested after Passover.
I know I look forward to reading more adventures of Peace, Love, and Cupcakes. Now, I am going to share a fun video of Carrie making some fun cupcakes.
What have you read recently? Please 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.
BTW – A giveaway for this book will be coming soon on The Angel Forever thanks to Sourcebook, so stay tuned!
Disclosure: I received this book complimentary of Sourcebooks in order to facilitate this review. No other compensation was given. The opinions expressed in the review are my own. An Amazon Affiliate link is included in this post for the book mentioned. I will receive a percentage of money for the sale should you opt to buy the book through that link.
. In my review of the new book, I explained that this new series is written by a 9 year old girl and her mother.
