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Counting Down the Days to Disney

Posted on February 6, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

To tell the kids or not to tell the kids? That is often the question that many families contemplate as they plan a Walt Disney World vacation. I will admit, as we finalized our plans to go to the 2012 Disney Social Media Moms Celebration, I was not sure what to do.

I wondered how I would be able to keep this BIG secret from my boys. I always watch the videos of people surprising their children the day of and wonder how they do it. TechyDad and I just did not think it would work for several reasons.

Our house is not large enough to have a secret packing area. Packing for a big trip is stressful enough in a smaller house. I could not even imagine trying to do it while in stealth mode.
How does one talk to teachers and others at school about missed days, but not tell their child? My eight year old would know something was up as I went into school and came out with a load of work.
I am WAY too excited and can’t stop thinking about everything. I wanted to be able to share the magical planning and joy in my heart with the kids now. Winter can be depressing enough, so having something to look forward to as a family seemed like a great idea.

There were other items on my mind, but those were the biggest things. To date, we have never been able to keep a Disney trip a secret from the boys for long and I think it has been the right decision for our family. When we told the boys that we were going to Disney World, their faces lit up. Then, they wanted to know when and how many days away it was. Chatter about rides to visit, places to explore, and Hidden Mickeys to find have dominated things in recent days. The boys sit together and read planning guides and think about how they will notice a new Hidden Mickey in their adventures.

Each day, they recite how many days are left until we head to see our favorite destination. Excitement is definitely in the air. At eight, NHL gets that we have just under three months until we go to Disney. JSL is only four and does not quite get it. I have thought about making a Mickey Ears paper chain to help us count down the days. This will help him to see as we get closer to the day of our trip.

Have you ever kept a Disney trip or something else a secret to surprise your children on the day of your trip? I would love to know how it went and if you have any other count down traditions that you do with your family.

LINKY

P.S. A huge thank you to Mariana from The Domestic Buzz for creating this magical Blog Hop!

Categories:
Blog Hop decisions Disney DisneySMMoms fun jsl looking back nhl photos TechyDad travel

The Power of a Hidden Mouse

Posted on February 4, 2012 9:02 am by TheAngelForever

Dear JSL,

This has been a rough week for you. First, a fever in the middle of the night. Then, you had nap/night terrors that scared us out of our mind. When we went to the doctor, your throat was swabbed and ear blasted with a new contraption to clean it out. In the end, it looks like you have a virus. The fever went away, but suddenly a horrible cough and leaky nose appeared.

While I sat by you and you slept away the fever, I pulled out some old school knitting of mine. I wanted to make something special to help you smile. It brought me back to when I was knitting next to your hospital bed in February 2008. Of course, this time you knew I was making something for you and were so excited when you saw what was hidden within the cloth. The minute it came off the knitting needles you declared it was yours and a blanket for your little monkey. Of course, you were too tired to get your monkey, so you went to rest with it on your puppy pillow.

When NHL saw the hidden Mickey in the cloth, he asked me to make a blanket for his little lion. With your help, we made sure this was made quickly.

Of course, now you are asking me to knit you a Mickey Mouse blanket. Hmmmm……I will have to figure that one out. Now, to work on getting rid of the cough and making you feel better.

Love,

Mommy

Categories:
Dear Kid Saturday jsl knitting looking back nhl photos sick kid sickness

Snow Exploration

Posted on January 30, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

As an adult living in the northeast, snow is something that we have to deal with during the winter months. This winter has been mild, but it does not typically last forever. Although I am not a fan of the beautiful white that falls to the ground now, I was as a child. There are so many memories of building snow forts and snowmen with my friends and family.

These days, my best snow memories have been watching my boys explore and learn about snow play. When JSL went out to play in the snow for the first time as a walker, my camera was there to capture the moment. The best part, I caught his first few steps on video when he learned that snow is slippery. That first winter as a toddler was rough for JSL. He wanted to play and wander in the snow like his big brother, but he could not keep up. Eventually, he got to the point that standing out in the cold did not interest him.

That changed when JSL turned two. As a fast moving and grooving two year old, he was able to safely maneuver in the snow. A year seemed to help him to figure out how to move around within the confinements of his snow pants. He also learned where to put his fingers inside mittens to be able to use items while building in the snow. Yes, experience and time to become familiar with this environment made a drastic difference.

JSL also learned how important it is to stay warm. He would not fight us when putting on boots, a hat, mittens, scarf, snow pants, and his winter coat. Since being a helper is important to toddlers, we bought him a little shovel. The proud look on his face as he went to help clear off the snow was priceless. Of course, I think his favorite part was building a snowman with my husband and older son, and chanting “faster” and “more” while riding in a sleigh.

The best advice I have is to have fun and be a kid again. Take some time away from shoveling to make snow angels, build a snowman, and play in the snow with your toddlers. These magical moments will not last forever and are fun to look back on.

I would also suggest finding some mittens that little fingers can move in, a small kid shovel, sled, and a scarf to protect faces (hard to find for little ones – I knit them for my kids). In addition to this, bring a camera and snap away or take videos to show your children later on.

What types of things do your younger children like to do when they brave the cold weather to play in the snow?

Disclosure: This post was previously published on a project I worked on. The text is mostly the same, but I placed additional photos and the question at the end for my blog.

Categories:
fun jsl laughs looking back photos winter

My Preschool Star

Posted on January 29, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Dear JSL,

This past week was your turn to be the Star of the Week in your class. You were only the third child and first boy, so we were making things up as we went along. Last weekend, we had the sheet home from school with what we needed to send in. First, we had to fill out the All About Me page

Name – JSL
Favorite color – blue
Favorite book – If You Give a Pig a Party
Favorite toy – Bumblebee Transformer
Favorite food – Mac and Cheese
Members in my family – JL, B, and NHL

Then, you had a bag to put a few items for the week in. You needed something that God made and we picked a feather from Whiskers. Your favorite book which I went in to read to the class on Wednesday, and three toys. The toys had to stay for the week, so this was a tough decision. In the end, you picked Bumblebee, a Buzz Lightyear on his ship, and Pirate Stitch. The last item was to include 12 photos for the bulletin board (featured on Wordless Wednesday). The two of us went through a bunch of photos and made a folder. Then we worked on narrowing it down to the 12. You finally picked these out to share with everyone.

On Tuesday, you shared your photos and feather with the kids in your class. Wednesday, I went in to read your favorite story, and on Friday you shared the rest of your special toys. It was a fun and busy week. I was so proud of how much you helped to work on this project and heard that you did a great job sharing. You are growing up so quickly and I am so proud of you.

Love,

Mommy

Categories:
books Dear Kid Saturday Disney fun jsl looking back photos school

Thankful for Speech Therapy

Posted on January 26, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

It is no secret that, as a parent, I have become quite familiar with special services for my children. Thanks to NHL’s low muscle tone, he received Occupational and Physical Therapy to work on his fine and gross motor skills. With the hard work of everyone involved, you would hardly know that he once was a two year old that was unable to walk.

About two years ago I started to battle to get JSL some Early Intervention. His speech was not very clear, but he would “talk” a lot. Sad to say, the system failed us at the start, but has certainly made up for it since that time. In late September 2010, JSL started getting speech two days a week. By this time, he was frustrated, we were flustered, and everyone wanted our little boy to be understood.

We still have no idea why JSL dropped sounds in almost every word. His hearing was fine and other items checked out. It was not simply beginnings, certain letters, or endings – it was all over the place. The little guy’s speech patters were a mystery. Luckily, his preschool knew that he had qualified for services and suggested a therapist to work with JSL. We are so very lucky to have CT in our life. JSL adores CT and we saw improvements quickly. At the end of last year, JSL qualified for summer services and continued sessions this academic year. I do believe that CT is a miracle.

With this burst in speech, JSL has come out of his shell a lot more. He’s so much more outgoing once he gets to know you, and loves to perform song/dance routines. Here is the little guy after his music enrichment class where he made a new instrument. He is singing Shalom Chaverim – the Goodbye song in his classroom.

With recent budget cuts, I do not know how much more time JSL has with CT. More about those cuts and implications for children in New York and beyond coming soon.

Today, I wanted to thank all of the therapists, like CT, out there that work with kids to catch them up to speed before they head off to Kindergarten and beyond. As a parent and teacher, I truly get all of the hard work that they do both on and off the clock for our children. If your child receives therapy, remember to stop and thank their provider for all that they do.