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Category Archives looking back

The Circle of Life

Posted on December 11, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Growing up, I remember going to see ice shows with my family. Now, it’s like The Lion King and a Circle of Life taking my own kids.

Back in the day, the Ice Capades were big. One year, back in the 80’s, they featured The Smurfs. I remember taking my Smurfette doll and getting a program and button (that I still have). Of course, those shows often featured Olympic figure skating stars as part of the draw. These days, there are shows with just figure skating for the diehards, and then family shows like Disney’s that tell beautiful stories with costumes and on ice artistry.

Seeing a Disney story come to life on skates is just beautiful. Here, I share a small section of the Mickey & Minnie’s Magical Journey now on tour. This is the end of The Lion King section. Mickey and friends come back out to introduce us to the next part of their adventure and then Sebastian comes to bring us to the world of The Little Mermaid.

Have you ever been to the Ice Capades, Disney on Ice or another show like those? I would love to know and have you share your memories.

Categories:
Disney family fun looking back me moments photos show video

Catch Me There – Mickey Mouse and Schools Collide

Posted on December 6, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

What, you ask, is controversial about Mickey Mouse and education? I know many of you are telling yourself that there is so much that Disney, Mickey Mouse, and the rest of the gang can teach your children. You do not have to sell me on that. As NDM183, I write about the world of education in The Disney Driven Life. I have used Disney within my past classroom, with my own children, and beyond.

I have been on a bit of a hiatus with my post on The Disney Driven Life. Then, I had an idea for a topic. Always on the minds of parents is whether or not it is “ok” to take a child out of school for a vacation. Being an educator who once thought a certain way, and now a parent that has slightly altered her theory – this seemed like a great topic to pick up.

What I did not expect was the controversy to hit so quickly. When I posted a question to my teacher friends on Facebook, it got heated quickly. Parents of children came in to defend their views. People talked about what they did as children and now as parents. It made me wonder if I should continue on.

In the end, this heated commenting sparked an idea. My almost finished post morphed before my eyes. It quickly became at least a three post series.

My latest post on The Disney Driven Life: The Mickey Mouse Over School Dilemma – Part 1 is all about how the need to talk about this topic came to fruition. Please stop by to say hello and check out the other magical posts from my Disney Drive Life friends. My other posts there can be found under NDM183 – that’s me!

Categories:
Disney DisneyDrivenLife Educational EduMICKation looking back My Other Projects photos school

Fortune Cookie Wisdom

Posted on December 5, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

I sit here in my blogging spot and HAD to type as the kids finish up their dinner. You see, we decided to have some take out Chinese Food. Lots going on today and no time to prepare anything. Of course, it was the Chinese dinner that changed when TechyDad cut into what should have been his steamed vegetable dumplings to find pork. Ooops! Guess who ended up with that? OINK!

Then, it was fortune cookie time. I opened up my fortunes and just ignored what was inside. Then, TechyDad read my first one aloud followed by an even more interesting second one.

I could not make this up! It seriously made me smile after some rough patches this weekend. I smiled and immediately asked TechyDad to get me my camera. I wanted to document these and use them as a blog post. Yes, perhaps they mean nothing. Of course, they could just be the little spark that lights the spark in me and keeps me going on some big projects.

Then, as NHL opened his I had to wonder as well. This was one of the fortunes:

Pretty deep for a third grader, but it certainly could give us a lot to talk about. As a child who has been through so much in this last year, it will be a nice reminder for him to keep his head up, never give up, and to believe in himself.

So what do you think about these fortune cookie notes of wisdom? Would love to hear any interesting ones that you have had over the years, or more recent.

Categories:
food glorious food interesting looking back me moments nhl TechyDad

Memories of Muppets Music

Posted on December 4, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Growing up with the Muppets, I remember playing my Muppet Show album on my old Fisher-Price record player. Actually, I think my father also had it on an old eight track as well. Man do I feel old and, with my birthday coming, this hurts even more. Anyway, I have always loved listening to the Muppets sing.

Last week, TechyDad bought the The Muppets Original Soundtrack MP3. The boys have been listening to it a lot with him. I had not really had a chance to listen to it. So when we went yesterday to see The Muppets, I was not jumping in my seat and singing along like the boys. Of course, I fell in love with it as I watched the movie come to life.

To say that I enjoyed the movie would be an understatement. I will just say that I can NOT wait to buy it on DVD and watch it over and over again. More on the movie coming later. One of the items that I really liked about the movie was it was old-school Muppets. It brought us back to the days when the Muppets really did a lot of singing and dancing. The songs were classic and fun for all ages.

When I got home, I found a fun video on YouTube about the soundtrack. It is a bit longer, but worth it. They had a lot of fun mixing The Muppets and their humor with would be YouTube comments.

Yes, the Muppets are back and I thank Disney for making it right. I do think Jim Henson is smiling down watching the next generation of Muppet addicts like my children.

Categories:
fun laughs looking back me moments Movies Music TechyDad weekend

Thankful for Ohana

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

Thanksgiving and a weekend filled with family for my cousin’s Aufruf has me thinking. TechyDad and I are very lucky to have such wonderful people in our lives. Yes, our Ohana has always been there for all of us over the years.

In honor of our family, I want to share a special moment. When we went to Disney World in March, I really wanted to capture memories of the boys. JSL was finally getting into going to see the characters, but he was still a bit shy. Here are the boys at the meet and greet with Lilo and Stitch at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

It is amazing to see how much they grew and started to love the characters. JSL went from crying and clawing at them, to giving them hugs when he was leaving their side. Yes, this is what memories are made of thanks to Disney loving Ohana.