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Tennis time with 15-Love

Posted on July 7, 2009 9:47 am by TheAngelForever

When I was growing up the neighborhood kids used to play tennis a lot. At first we would simply hit the bouncing yellow ball around the street in front of our houses. As we got older we bought more sophisticated tennis rackets and started to play on actual tennis courts. My brother and I used to go to play for fun during the summer months and would have a great time.

Several weeks ago NHL came home from school with the paper advertising a program called 15-Love. I had heard fabulous things about 15-Love and was intrigued. They actually have a beginner programs for children that are 4-6 years old. From their website: " 15-LOVE’s mission is to serve inner-city youth, ages 4 and up. We welcome everyone, of every background and tennis ability, including summer lessons for adults." The program for kids is 30-60 minutes once a week and at a park close to where we live. It seemed like a nice option to add to NHL’s summer.

Last week we went to the first session. I was floored with how many children showed up. It was a nice sized group of 4-6 year olds, plus a lot in the next age group. Clearly 15-Love had done a great job getting the word out about their program for the kids of this area.

NHL was very excited. He has never played tennis before, unless you count using the Wii. He quickly ran onto the court to learn all about tennis. The kids did some drills where they walked the tennis ball "dog" up and down the court, dribbled the ball with their rackets and listened to the instructors.

1. Waiting for directions, 2. Walking the tennis ball, 3. Taking the "dog" down the cour, 4. Enjoying the activity, 5. Trying to bounce the ball, 6. Showing he is listening

The instructors were fabulous. They were patient with the kids, really explained things in child friendly terms and they were not afraid to work with the kids when they were frustrated with an activity.

At the end of the hour NHL declared that he loved tennis. He talked about going to buy his own tennis racket. I asked him if he was excited to come again and he said he could not wait! Of course JSL may have a different opinion. The little guy was definitely bored just watching everything going on. Eventually he got out of his stroller and found a stray tennis ball that kept him amused …along with his shadow.

1. Having fun with a tennis ball and shadow, 2. Hey Mom look at me, 3. Running near the court

This week I will definitely bring some items to keep JSL entertained more while NHL is out on the court. I do not want to see this little face pouting again.

Categories:
exercise interesting jsl milestone nhl photos summer

A kindergarten farewell poem

Posted on June 25, 2009 2:07 pm by TheAngelForever

Monday morning NHL had his kindgarten graduation. The kids (and teachers of course) did a fabulous job. They sang several songs, read a class poem and then it was time for the class gifts and certificates.

I must admit that I have heard this poem before thanks to being a teacher, but it really hit when my own child was receiving it. Each child was handed a sand pail with the following poem attached and the items included. Here is the poem:

In this bag you will find some things

That hold the key to what your future brings

It is with great sadness that I watch you depart

Because you have a special place in my heart.

A ruler to remind you that there are always rules to follow

Kisses to remind you that you are loved

A pencil to remind you that there are still many things to learn

A marker to remind you to leave a good mark wherever you go

A penny to remind you to use good sense

An eraser to remind you that it’s all right to make mistakes

1. Getting kindergarten certificate, 2. Happy kindergarten kid, 3. Almost a first grader, 4. Kindergarten poem

Today marked the last day of kindergarten for NHL. He is now officially on summer vacation and going to be a first grader in the fall. I am going to miss my kindergarten kid, but look forward to a fun summer with my big boy before he starts a new adventure in learning.

Categories:
interesting nhl photos school summer

Energizer Rechargeable Family Charger

Posted on June 4, 2009 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Have you been to a toy store lately? As the mother of two little boys, I have learned a huge lesson. That lesson is that there are more toys these day that require batteries than do not. As you all know, batteries are not inexpensive these day. With budgets tight it can be tough to constantly buy more batteries. That is where rechargeable batteries fit in. You buy them one time and can use them over and over again with the use of the charger.

Over the years we have had at least two different chargers for batteries. The first one that we bought did not work very well. We bought a second one that was able to charge AA and AAA batteries. This was perfect since we could use them for digital cameras, kid toys and MP3 players. The problem we had was the charger would not work properly. Every time we would charge the batteries, they would deplete their charge before we used them in an item (most of the time in less than 2 weeks). It became quite frustrating to say the least. Another problem we had was we wanted something other than AA and AAA batteries. We had looked for quite some time and could not locate a charger that would expand on these two sizes for a reasonable price.

We were lucky and recently and had the opportunity to try the Energizer Rechargeable Family Charger. This product was just what we were looking for. It is able to charge AA, AAA, C, D and 9V batteries.

Facts about the Family Charger:

Energizer rechargeable batteries hold their charge for up to 6 months
Energizer NiMH AA batteries last up to four times longer in digital cameras
Able to be charged hundreds of times
LED Charge indicator is easy to read
Only charges when the unit’s lid is closed, safety feature
Energy Star certified NiMH battery charger that meets the criteria set by the US Environmental Protection Agency and US Department of Energy
Quick charging times (AA 3-6 hours, AAA 3-6 hours, C/D 3 hours, 9V 7 hours)
MSRP $29.99

Energizer now makes 9 different chargers. They even have a place on their website to help you figure out what is the best choice for your needs. They are also offering a $5.00 rebate on the purchase of chargers that you can find here.

Our thoughts on the EnergizerFamily Charger:

We were pleasantly surprised by the simplicity of the Family Charger. It was quick and easy to set up and simple to use. In just a few short hours our batteries were ready to go into toys, cameras and other items that needed fuel thanks to dying battery syndrome. What my husband and I liked the most was we were able to charge batteries in advance and did not have to worry about the charge being depleted. The new technology in the Energizer rechargeable batteries makes them hold their charge for six months, even when they are not in use. This was a huge problem for us in the past. I would charge a bunch of AA batteries for my digital camera and go on vacation. Within the week, or less, the batteries that were freshly charged would have no power in them. This was a huge problem that we had with other brands of rechargeable batteries. The best part for us, we now have a charger that will allow us to use rechargeables for items that take not only AA and AAA, but also C, D and 9V. This is great for our budget and the environment too!

Thanks to Energizer and Linsey (Energizer’s Online Brand Advocate) for this wonderful review opportunity.

Categories:
interesting looking back Product review

Naturally hidden Mickey Mouse

Posted on May 26, 2009 9:05 am by TheAngelForever

If you are a Disney fan, then you probably know that the Imagineers that create Disney attractions hide Mickey Mouse silhouettes within their attractions. Thanks to the popularity of finding the hidden Mickey locations, there are now websites, books and more that allow Disney fanatics a chance to look for them during their visits.

Yesterday we had dinner with my parents for Memorial Day. JL brought his external hard drive to transfer our photos from Disney World to my parent’s computer. Just before we left to go home my mother started to look at the photos. She suddenly gasped at something she saw. Check out the photo below and let me know what you think.

Do you see what we see?

Of course, we think this is just more of the magic that is part of Walt Disney World.

Categories:
Disney interesting looking back vacation

Views from Passover 2009

Posted on April 14, 2009 1:06 pm by TheAngelForever

Each year Passover preparations begin long before the holiday is actually here. We are religious enough that we change out our pots/pans and from pure laziness use disposable silverware/plates. We put all of our chametz into one area and use certain cabinets that have been readied for Passover. This year we thought about what to make for Seders in case we had them at home. It was a good thing since we found out the Sunday before that we would be doing them at our house. Our boys have no clue what is done behind the scenes for Passover. I have to admit that I did not realize much of this until I met JL. Sure, my relatives did all of these preparations, but I only recall going to their homes for the Seders with the rest of the extended family.

When all was said and done we were ready to go for both of the Seders last Wednesday and Thursday. We made chicken, sweet and sour turkey meatballs, oven roasted sweet potatoes, cauliflower and the traditional items for the seder itself (hard boiled eggs, gefilte fish, and charoset). We ran out of time to make matzah ball soup, but added an amazing quinoa dish for the second night.

Now I welcome you to our table to see how my family celebrated at our Passover Seders last week.

Here are two views of our table.

A closer look at our Seder plate all set with the tradiational items:

The boys are lucky. Aunt S and Uncle M bought them some amazing fun items to have during the Seder. Check out NHL’s place at the table and a closer view of the kid’s Seder plates.

Check out all of the extra items that they also received. There are the Passover Ten Plagues Finger Puppets (great to go along with the 4 Question Finger Puppets that we already had), Passover counting book (adorable for JSL), Passover Memory Game, Bag of Plagues, Flip Frogs, and 10 Plagues masks. More about the 10 Plagues Finger Puppets coming tomorrow for Wordless Wednesday.

The boys enjoyed trying most things. Here they are eating the celery dipped in salt water.

While NHL was busy getting the 10 plague finger puppets in order for their part in the Seder, JSL had fun playing with the 4 Questions. NHL even started singing in Hebrew showing us that he has learned a lot at Hebrew School already.

Our only little glitch in the Seder was when JL got quite ill. He had a little too much horseradish along with his wine and turned quite white with massive hot flashes. We finally turned on the fan and he felt better. Of course this photo taken earlier is a little funny looking back at it.

Overall, we had two nice Seders at our house. It was great ,having our boys, Nana, Papa and Aunt T here with us. Still, it will be nice in the future to be able to celebrate with more of our extended family.