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Birthday at Buca di Beppo

Posted on August 27, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Dear NHL,

Your birthday was a few weeks ago. One of our traditions for birthday celebrations is to head out to dinner where you like on your special day. Daddy and I were pretty sure we knew where you would pick, but you do have a few places that you really seem to like. Sure enough when it came time to go, you wanted dinner at Buca di Beppo.

When we arrived Buca’s you immediately announced to the people that it was your birthday. Then without skipping a beat, you asked if we could sit in the kitchen for our meal. That is when I recalled that I had not called the restaurant to reserve the special table. I told them not to worry because I had messed up. The man and woman told us to wait a minute. They looked and there were no reservations, so the table was ours!

Although we have eaten at Buca di Beppo many times, we had never eaten in the kitchen before. You were SO excited to see the chefs and other members of the Buca staff making the meals before your eyes. It is a really big and busy kitchen.

While you looked at everything around you, JSL colored/played with Wikki Stix, and of course Daddy sent out a picture to Twitter and his blog.

There were a lot of cool items to look at on the walls around us. Daddy thought it was funny to see Gene Simmons, Sylvester Stalone, Carrot Top, Danny DeVito, and Charlie Sheen eating together with other celebrities.

When our food arrived it was fantastic as usual. JSL had Macaroni and Cheese, you had Linguini Alfredo, and Daddy and I shared Eggplant Parm.

Our server asked if we would be having a dessert to celebrate. We told him that we were heading to Nana and Papa’s to see them and have the cheesecake that you had requested. Even without the dessert a bunch of the staff came to sing to you and there was a fun surprise with candles too!

It was a fun meal out with good food and a new experience sitting in the kitchen. I hope you have many memories of this day for years to come.

Love,

Mommy

_______________________________________

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birthday Dear Kid Saturday decisions family food glorious food fun jsl Local Business looking back nhl photos yummy

Hot Wheels RC Nitro Speeders – Review/Giveaway

Posted on August 25, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

As the mother of two boys, we have a lot of cars in our house. I honestly think Hot Wheels could take over NHL and JSL’s room at times. I often laugh about what would happen if they came to life at night like the movie Toy Story. As NHL has grown up, he has wanted to try more tech savvy car items. At eight years old, NHL has received several remote control cars. Most of them have never worked well, or the remote antennae bend easily, and/or and it is dangerous around other children.

When Mom Select asked me to participate in a Hot Wheels RC Nitro Speeders opportunity, I was intrigued. Imagine a remote control car that stores within the case that fits in the palm of an adult hand. There is no antennae, the car charges within the case, and it can be ready to go easily.

When we took it out of the package, the first thing we did was take a photo to show how small the little Mustang is. Here it is compared to a quarter:

When I said that the remote could fit into an adult hand, I was not kidding. Everything packs up into this small and convenient size. It actually reminds me of the old style Nintendo controller from my childhood.

NHL had fun making an obstacle course for his Mustang. Here are the Mario Chess pieces being used in this unique way.

Although the package states that the Speeders are for ages 8 and up, JSL (4) had no problem using it. I would just keep him away from charging it on his own and make sure to help him take the car in and out of the case. As you will see, he loved it.

After quite a bit of use, the Speeder needed to be charged. Here it is getting some juice from the AA batteries that are within the case.

So, if you haven’t guessed it – we are big fans of the Hot Wheels RC Nitro Speeders. The boys like racing it around and are having fun learning how to control them better. With a little practice, I can see more complex courses being set up to tackle.

Giveaway:

Thanks to Hot Wheels, one lucky reader will win their very own RC Nitro Speeder ($27.99). This would make a great gift for a special child in your life or to be a kid at heart and play.

Rules for Giveaway:

MAIN RULE – What car would you love to see as a Hot Wheels? Tell me the model, color, and anything else that would make it extra special for you.

1 Bonus Entry – Follow Hot Wheels on Twitter
1 Bonus Entry – Follow TheAngelForever on Twitter
1 Bonus Entry – Tweet the following about the giveaway (May be done once a day): Win a Hot Wheels RC Nitro Speeder ($27.99) from @TheAngelForever and @Hot_Wheels http://bit.ly/nJzCaB #Giveaway #Win
2 Bonus Entries – Stop by The Angel Forever on Facebook to say hello and leave me a comment on a status message. Let me know you have done so here.
1 Bonus Entry – Subscribe to my RSS feed (or let me know if you already are) in a separate comment.
1 Bonus Entry – Leave a comment on any of my non-giveaway posts from the month of August/September. 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 enter any of his current giveaways.

To enter, please follow the rules above within the comment section. Contest starts today August 25, 2011 and ends at 10:59 EST on September 12, 2011. 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 U.S. residents only.

Disclosure: I received a RC Nitro Speeders from Hot Wheels to facilitate this review for MomSelect. No other compensation was given and all opinions expressed in this review are my families feelings about the product.

Categories:
fun gift ideas giveaway jsl nhl photos play time Product review

They Grow Too Quickly

Posted on August 24, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Categories:
brothers jsl looking back nhl photos vent Wordless Wednesday

Tuesday Tales – Finding Time to Read

Posted on August 23, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Tuesday Tales

When I was teaching, I was always reading books. Time was spent keeping up on school related items, reading trade books that my students were interested in, and of course reading books for lesson planning. During that period of my life, I rarely had time to read books for pleasure. Yes, I enjoyed the books I was reading – but let’s be honest it was not my first choice.

From the moment my kids were born, books were a huge part of their lives. We have a rather large collection of books. There are books in the book case upstairs, books overflowing in the small book case in the boys room, books all over the living room, and a pile of books next to my bed. Yes, there is rarely a place you go in our house without seeing reading material of some kind.

NHL is now able to read books on his own. This summer was huge for him since he has learned to like tackling chapter books with independent reading. Of course, I can not read all of the books that he is, but try to catch up on some of them to be able to chat with him and ask questions. My dream is to begin a family read aloud of the Harry Potter series since NHL is getting into them. Although NHL loves to read, time becomes an issue. As school begins, time will be crunched even more. I believe once homework is accomplished, reading will be needed to earn time for gaming. I think I will be working on a chart to keep track of this since it will make more sense to him.

JSL adores sitting and “reading” books on his own. He loves to pull out a pile of picture books from our library and sit on the couch to have someone read to him. NHL, TechyDad, and I all read to him and he adores this special time with each of us. At 4, he really wants to learn to read and we are going to work on pre-reading skills at home in the weeks and months ahead.

Thanks to reading with the kids so much, I still am balancing the art of reading books for me. During the day, it is hard with work that has to get done. At night, I find that if I settle into bed to read – sleep seems to catch me.

So fess up, how do you find time to read things that you enjoy?

Of course, since this is Tuesday Tales, I must ask the usual question. What have you read recently? Please be sure to link up to your Book Posts, and/or leave a comment below. Include something you read on your own, with a child or someone else. Tuesday Tales are all about spreading the love for books.

Categories:
books decisions jsl me moments nhl Tuesday Tales

A Back to School Milestone

Posted on August 22, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Back to school in our area does not officially begin until after Labor Day. The day after Labor Day, NHL goes back to school. He will be a third grader this year. It is a big day for him because he has never done a back to school in this building yet. Last year, NHL switched schools at the end of the year. He did this with grace and adored the new school.

For the first time since JSL was born, I will have me time five days a week. JSL will be in preschool Monday to Friday. For 20 hours each week I will be able to devote time to my new business, my writing, cleaning, and ME! Yes, I will miss the boys, but it will be nice to get things accomplished without interruptions. Of course, next year when JSL heads to kindergarten for full days – I will likely be in tears.

As a former teacher, it is strange not sitting at home working on seating charts, lesson plans, and letters to parents and students. It is still nerve wracking to be on the flip side and wonder how the school year will be for both of my boys.

Back to school season is the perfect time to start thinking about items for the teachers in your life. Think about it, they spend a large amount of time in the classroom with your child. The reality is a school family is formed for those 10 months. I know during this time I would look for cards to use to write notes to parents, or for thank you notes when people would volunteer in my room or go on a fieldtrip with us.

So what is a back to school milestone that you remember from your childhood, as a teacher, or with your own children?

Now please excuse me, I am off to make more magical memories before Summer 2011 is over and the 2011-2012 school year rush begins. Oh and when I have time, I will be checking out the lunch notes and other items to surprise kids with from Tiny Prints.

Disclosure: I wrote this post as part of a Global Influence campaign for Tiny Prints. By sharing this information with my readers, I will also receive a Tiny Prints gift code to thank me for my participation. No other compensation has been given.

Global Influence Network