looking back | The Angel Forever

Category Archives looking back

Brothers Gone Goofy

Posted on August 1, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Each time you walk up to a PhotoPass photographer, the experience is different. You never know if they will be serious, silly, or sentimental. As we walked from the front of Epcot back to our resort for the final time, we stopped in the front for some pictures. The photographer did some with JSL and I as we were waiting for TechyDad and NHL to arrive. Then, he kept swapping people out when we were all there. The boys loved how silly he was. When I was editing them for our CD, I thought their pose and the border were simply perfect for each other.

Be sure to stop by Focused on the Magic by clicking on the button above to join in the Disney magic this week.

Categories:
brothers Disney fun laughs looking back travel vacation

Hello from the Cockatoo

Posted on July 15, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Growing up, we had a lot of pets. There were times that we had hermit crabs, fish, hamsters, and birds. There were actually lots of birds. At one point, we had two parakeets, four cockatiels, and two cockatoos. Pretty Boy was the original pet that I really remember. He was a baby cockatiel that we got shortly after my little brother was born.

Eventually, we got Pretty Boy a very skittish girlfriend name Baby. They had no interest in each other, but lived nicely in the same cage. Ninja and Teddy were two parakeets that were for my brother and I to take care of. They replaced the hamsters once that phase was over. Then, I really wanted a cockatiel of my own. I went and picked out Cinnamon. She was a beautiful cinnamon purl cockatiel who was super sweet. When a bird flew down to someone who worked with my mother, Wild Thing was adopted by us since we could not find his owners. They liked each other a lot. We had many eggs from them, but no babies ever hatched.

When I was in middle school, we finally decided to get a larger bird. Although my father always wanted an African Gray, we decided on a sweet little cockatoo who had giant Whiskers by her beak. Whiskers was our baby and loved to be out, play with us, talk, and go outside to see the neighbors. A year or so later, while I was in Florida with my cousin visiting family, my parents purchased another cockatoo. Moose was a gentle giant and quickly became my baby.

I have written about Moose and how he saved my oldest son’s life almost eight years ago when he passed away in my arms. These days, Nana and Papa only have one bird left in their house. Whiskers is now 21 years old. The boys have fun making him dance, sing, and talk. The other day I wanted to test out the video on my phone and Whiskers was the perfect subject.

Next time I hope to capture Whiskers dancing along with JSL since she loves to do that. What pets did you have as a child? Do you have similar pets with your children?

Categories:
animals looking back me moments photos video

Disney’s PhotoPass Magic

Posted on July 12, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Family vacation time means that you have your camera out and are always taking photos along the journey. Of course, most of the time one of the adults is missing because they are the one capturing the memories. Thanks to Disney, those days are now over. The Disney PhotoPass allows the entire family to gather together for amazing memories as a group. Like this one with TechyDad, the boys, and my parents at Hollywood Studios. I added the birthday border since we were celebrating JSL’s turning five while there.

When we went on our first family trip to Walt Disney World in May 2009, we heard about PhotoPass. We bought the CD before we went and made sure to read up on what they were about. Basically, there are photographers throughout the Disney parks and resorts. Not only will they take pictures of the entire family in front of Cinderella’s Castle, but you can go to designated areas to see Disney Princesses, Mickey, Minnie, Winnie the Pooh, and countless others.

Each PhotoPass photographer has a camera that will scan your card to save your photos. When you see your first photographer, you simply ask for one of these PhotoPass cards:

The photographer scans the card and they are saved together. When you get home, you are able to access all of your photos, add fun Disney borders, purchase additional items, and more on the PhotoPass website. You are able to buy individual pictures, or get the rights to the photos via CD or now zipped files sent to you. Here is a photo we took with Duffy the Disney Bear soon after we arrived. When we got home, I added the fun Flower & Garden Festival border since we were visiting during this time. You truly could spend hours adding numerous borders to photos on your CD in case you want them one day.

Tip: The PhotoPass Card is small and similar to a credit card, so it can get lost easily. Take a photo of the card with your cell phone. Even if lost, you will be able to use the number on the back to access any of your magical memories.

When we went to Disney in April, we were debating whether or not to get a PhotoPass CD. We figured we would risk it and wait to see how we liked the photos before making a purchase. TechyDad and I were not sure if my parents would utilize it enough with the boys when they were with them. If you purchase the CD before hand you can often get deals. Lucky for us, the team from the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration gave us an amazing present at the first event when we arrived. It was the new PhotoPass+ CD for our families.

This new option for PhotoPass has some really great additional features for a larger price tag. It is $169.95 when preordered as of 7/2012 (normally $199.95). You receive the PhotoPass+ Card on a lanyard, Voucher to order the PhotoCD, and receive the Disney’s Photo Gallery CD with 400+ high resolution digital photos from around Walt Disney World. You can use your card and others on your CD purchase, but the PhotoPass+ cards are special for some additional magical memories. Traditionally, at some of the Disney restaurants, you would buy photo packages with your meals. If you have the PhotoPass+, these will be included for you. Participating restaurants include: 1900 Park Fare, ‘Ohana, Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show, Chef Mickey’s, Cinderella’s Royal Table, Tusker House Restaurant, Hoop Dee Doo Musical Revue, and Princess Storybook Dining at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall.

While we did not take advantage of the dining option during our last visit, we did use another option. You may have photos from select rides in the parks added to your card instead of buying those individually at the end of the ride. These can not be put onto the regular PhotoPass card. Rides that participate include: Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Buzz Lightyear Ranger Spin, The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, Rock’n Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith, Expedition Everest, and Dinosaur. We used this a lot and I will write more about this later. Here is JSL’s first time on Splash Mountain.

One other fun item that you can do with either of the PhotoPass purchases are magic shots. Basically, you ask the photographer if there is a special add on in that location. If there is, they will guide you on how to stand or prepare for the item that will magically appear when you arrive home. Here are a few examples:

And here is one with Photo Magic and a border added:

So many magical memories and much more to share another time. If you have any questions about Disney’s PhotoPass CD or PhotoPass+ please do not hesitate to ask.

Disclosure: All of the photos within this post were taken during our 2012 Disney Social Media Moms Celebration stay and was part of the PhotoPass+ CD that we received. Although we paid for our own trip to Disney World to attend the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration, we were given an incredible deal from Disney. Also note that Disney never asked us to blog about this event. As a long time Disney fan (who has purchased the PhotoPass multiple times), it is my pleasure to share my experiences from the event.

Categories:
Disney DisneySMMoms family looking back photos travel vacation

Transportation Disney Style

Posted on July 11, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

The theme for the Disney Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop is Transportation. As you can see I had fun looking back at memories with different styles of transport for people, characters, and things within Walt Disney World.

Categories:
Blog Hop Disney looking back travel vacation Wordless Wednesday

2012 School Supply List – Grade 4

Posted on July 9, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

If you have been to Target, Walmart, Staples, or pretty much any other retailer recently, you would see a trend. Back to school aisles and sections are popping up and have been since late June. This is especially alarming in New York State, where most children and teachers are in classrooms through June 22.

As someone who used to have a classroom of her own, I remember sitting with the ads making a list of what sales I wanted to get to for my room supplies. Now, I sit here as the parent of a soon to be fourth grader and kindergartener. As of today, I only have a school supply list for NHL who is going into the fourth grade in September.

Showing the list has become a tradition that I have done on my blog since he started school. So here is NHL’s list for the 2012-2013 academic year:

2 Black and White Composition Notebooks
Red, Green, Yellow, Purple, and Blue Composition Notebooks
Red, Green, Yellow, Purple, and Blue Poly Folders
Take home folder
2” 3 ring binder
Wide rule paper (will keep supplying throughout the year)
Pencils (no specific number mentioned)
Erasers
Scissors
Ruler
2 Highlighters
Colored markers, 24 box of crayons/pencils
Pencil Pouch
Glue Sticks (no number again)
2 Boxes of Tissues
2 Rolls of Paper Towels
1 Box of Wipes
2 Dry Erase Markers
1 Clean/old sock
1 Bic four-color Pen
$$ for classroom magazine and agenda book

Like last year, the kids are starting to color code by subjects as they get closer to middle school. This is a smart move that will help them to become more aware and responsible. Everything looks relatively typical in the scheme of things. I am very intrigued to see how they utilize the binder since that is new to fourth grade.

My first step will be to raid my classroom boxes like the one above. I know we will not need to buy pencils, glue sticks, highlighters, or erasers. NHL’s scissors, ruler, and pencil pouch still look like they are brand new and will be recycled as well. Update since I started drafting this post: I went to Staples and Target and began shopping. There are some great deals out there and I wish I had the list for the kindergarten kiddo.

I will definitely be watching the sales flyers to get the composition notebooks, folders, and coloring supplies. As I have stated before, I am a Crayola snob. Sure the other brands are cheaper at the start, but they do not last nearly as well. I learned this one the hard way in my own classroom.

So what are on your school supply lists? Have you found any really great sales yet? Please share below. The teacher in me is always a geek when it comes to school supplies.