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Fun with Play-Doh

Posted on May 28, 2010 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Thanks to only using one snow day this winter, NHL was home on Thursday. The minute he woke up he begged to play with Play-Doh. I have fond memories of using Play-Doh as a child. I remember my salon kit, where I could make the Play-Doh people have hair and then chop it off using special scissors or a razor. We also had a Sesame Street kit and others that I can not recall right now.

For some reason, I remember loving Play-Doh until I used it in the classroom and had my own kids. Don’t get me wrong – I still think it is a fabulous item that really helps kids imagination and fine motor skills, but man the clean up is the pits. Just the thought of this bucket of items can bring shivers down my spine.

Thursday morning, I was nice. I let the boys play with the Play-Doh, but I some rules:

That purple octopus, that the kids lovingly call Henry, was not coming out of the box. Picking all of the Play-Doh out of his parts with a toothpick was not on my agenda today (did it last week). Eventually, I did cave and let them use his six removable arms.
The Fun Factory extruder also a no-go. Yes, it is a great toy to help the boys with their muscle building and fine motor. On the flip side, the little guy got Play-Doh stuck in places last week that I had a tough time with. I needed one turn without it.
The Play-Doh sprinkle maker would also remain in the box. Last week the Play-Doh sprinkles that were made wound up all over the table, hard wood floors, carpet, shoes and more.

This may sound harsh, but it still left a lot of options. The kids could use the rollers, scissors, cookie cutters, and other items that mold/shape/cut or help create items, along with their own hands. Thankfully, the boys did not protest my rules too much. They were too happy to use the Play-Doh.

So my question to you this week:

If you have kids, do they like to use Play-Doh? Kids or not, what are some of your current or past favorite sets to use when playing with Play-Doh?

Thanks for any suggestions. I am always looking for new Play-Doh items that are kid tested and adult approved. . . especially when it comes to clean up.

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Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this fun for Friday. Please be sure to head over to her blog to say hello and sign the MckLinky there if you are participating.

Aloha #101

Categories:
Aloha Friday fun jsl looking back messy nhl photos play time sahm

Presents and Thank you notes

Posted on May 21, 2010 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Some people may call be old fashioned, but I still believe in hand writing thank you notes to people. If someone takes the time to give you something special, the least you can do is write a note and add a personal touch. I think I owe this to my mother. She taught me to always write my thank you notes quickly and then I could use my new gives or deposit my checks. When we got married, I had my letters out to people within two weeks of getting back from our honeymoon – not too shabby!

When I was teaching, I made sure to mail notes to any student’s at their homes. If it was winter break, I wished them a Happy New Year. When it was the end of the year, I thanked them for a fun year and wished them a wonderful summer vacation. On the flip side, I also worked with my students on the art of letter writing. We read The View From Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg (love this book for so many reasons) and talked about the importance of a good "bread and butter" note. We thought about people in our school that helped us a daily basis that could use a nice thank you and wrote them notes to brighten their day. It was always interesting to see who the kids would select from within the building.

Last weekend was JSL’s third birthday party. With the celebration came these presents:

Since the boys are still little, I am the author of their notes. NHL is getting to the point where he can do them, but larger amounts of notes can be too much at six. While I was writing the notes for JSL on Wednesday, I decided to get him involved. I left space on the bottom of the note for him to draw a picture for the recipient with crayons (act surprised everyone when you get them). As I handed the card to him, I told him who it was for. He would shout out their name and immediately begin a special creation for them.

When JSL was done, the card came back to me to go inside the envelope. He was so proud that he helped Mama. I guess getting the kids involved in thank you note writing as young as possible is a good thing.

So my question to you this week:

Do you hand write (not e-mail) thank you notes to people? Why do you or don’t you write them?

P.S. This is my 100th Aloha Friday – I think I need to write Kailani a personal note to thank her for all of these weeks of fun!

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Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this fun for Friday. Please be sure to head over to her blog to say hello and sign the MckLinky there if you are participating.

Aloha #100

Categories:
Aloha Friday birthday family jsl looking back milestone photos

U Taste We Donate Campaign from Pringles Multigrain

Posted on May 15, 2010 8:28 pm by TheAngelForever

A lot of people may not realize that I am not a huge chocolate fan. Instead, I often crave salty snacks. Growing up, I remember begging to take Pringles Light Crisps in my lunch to school. My obsession continued into college, where I would often have a canister in my car for emergencies. They also were easy to pop into a bag for a hockey road trip back in the day.

These days, we are always looking for items that are multigrain and a little more health conscious fun for occasional snacks. Recently, I was asked by Mom Central to participate in a Blog Tour about Pringles Multigrain and their new campaign.

More about U Taste. We Donate.:

From the Press Release:

Pringles, America’s favorite stacked potato crisp, introduces consumers to new Pringles Multigrain, a surprisingly tasty twist on multigrain snacks. As the latest addition to the Pringles family, Pringles Multigrain is packed with multigrain flavor and crunch and comes in three mouth-watering varieties: Truly Original, Creamy Ranch and Cheesy Cheddar. As part of the nationwide rollout, Pringles and Celebrity Chef Tyler Florence are working together to make it easy for consumers to also make a difference while trying new Pringles Multigrain with the “U Taste. We Donate” campaign. Enter the UPC code from any can of Pringles Multigrain between March 15 through June 30, 2010 at www.PringlesMultigrain.com and Pringles will donate one dollar (with a total donation of up to $100,000) to Share Our Strength®, the leading organization working to end childhood hunger in America.

My family received each of the varieties of the the new Pringles Multigrain crisps to try. It was like a trip down memory road hearing the air release as I popped the top of the canister. The smell of the snacks was enough to get my mouth watering. I am a traditionalist and prefer the Truly Original, but the boys are fans of the Cheesy Cheddar. What really impressed me was they are Kosher. We often have a hard time finding multigrain flavored items that are marked as Kosher, so it was a very nice surprise. When we are looking for a special multigrain snack, we will definitely buy more Pringles for our house.

Of course, I also went to the website and entered the UPC codes from my packages of Pringles Multigrain container. The box to enter the UPC code is easy to spot on the first section of the website. Kuddos to Pringles for teaming up for such a great cause.

Confession time, do you like Pringles? If you do, have you tried the Multigrain variety and which one would you love to try to help "U Taste. We Donate."?

Disclosure: I wrote this review while participating in a blog campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Pringles Multigrain and received a tote bag with samples to facilitate my candid review. Mom Central also sent me a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.

Categories:
Blog Tour charity food glorious food looking back Product review

Goodbye to my last two year old

Posted on May 13, 2010 11:28 am by TheAngelForever

Dear JSL,

Three years ago today, I was very pregnant with you. It was Mother’s Day and I was ready to become the mother to another baby boy. Of course, Mother’s Day would have been the perfect day. It was a Sunday and practically on my due date. Your bris would have been the following Sunday and so convenient for relatives from near and far to come to. Of course, you had other ideas.

Almost three years later, you continue to show your independent spirit. You have a voice, opinions and theories about things and are not afraid to let them be heard. Your growing sense of humor and ability to melt everyone with your laugh and smile is contagious. You could also give Curious George a run for his money with your need to learn more about your surroundings. Watching you grow and spread your wings is hard to do, seeing you are my baby, but I know you need to do this.

The last year has been a fabulous adventure. Here is a look back at the last year in your life.

We celebrated your second birthday at the most magical place on Earth, Walt Disney World. Here is where your fascination with everything Winnie the Pooh began. (May 2009)

Then, you made your own sand storm when you played on a beach for the first time. (June 2009)

Of course as much as you loved Disney World, you had a special place in your heart for Wiggles World at the Great Escape. There is just something special about riding in your own Big Red Car. (July 2009)

Being a helper has been very important to you. This year, you have constantly been asking to help Mommy, Daddy, NHL or anyone else. (August 2009)

Within a few months of turning two, you learned new tricks to try to get out of going to sleep. Suddenly, you were a comedian at night and aimed at making us laugh until we had the hiccups. (September 2009)

The fall was tough around here with three of us having H1N1. Then, after you were better, you had your fourth febrile seizure right before Halloween. Still, you loved going outside to play in your Cozy Coupe. (October 2009)

You also went to your first concert this year. It was to see The Wiggles of course. The look on your face when you realized it was really the Wiggles was priceless. (November 2009)

Chanukah became a reality for you this year. You knew that we had to light the menorah each night and looked forward to putting your kippah on before you received something special. (December 2009)

For the start of the new year, a special friend came into your life. We welcomed Piggy Oink-Oink into our family and he has been going places near and far from that point on. (January 2010)

You became even more of a Disney World fan in February when we went to a conference for Mommy. Watching you interact with your big brother there and the characters was even more magical this time around. (February 2010)

With Spring coming, a big milestone came. We said bye-bye to your binky. To reward you for your first night without it, we went out to get something special. Of course, it had to be Winnie the Pooh related. (March 2010)

As the weather warmed up (at least for a while) we went to the park. You were the thrill seeker and showed us that you have no fear. (April 2010)

You continue to try things on your own, and are so proud of your accomplishments. (May 2010)

Please excuse a few extra hugs along the way today. Mommy is taking this growing up thing a little hard. I need to cherish the last two year old hugs and sloppy wet kisses from my baby. Yes, you are growing up, but you and your brother will forever be my baby boys – never forget that.

I love you Robot JSL Pup-Pup and look forward to watching you further explore the world around you as a three year old starting tomorrow. Happy early birthday.

Love,

Mommy

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Past B-day posts to JSL:

Categories:
birthday Disney jsl looking back milestone photos

What’s in a name?

Posted on May 7, 2010 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Expectant parents often labor over names for the children. Hours are spent searching for just the right name for their baby whether with books or online sources. When TechyDad and I found out that we were expecting our first child, we did not have to think too much. It is a tradition in most Ashkenazi Jewish families to name for relatives that have passed away. We immediately knew who we wanted to name our baby after. TechyDad and I agreed that we would name our first baby for my Nana and TechyDad’s paternal grandfather.

For quite some time, we looked at boy and girl names that started with our target alphabet letters.Needless to say, we had no problem finding girl names, but always had difficulty with boy names. Then when our ultrasound confirmed that we were expecting a son, the name hunt intensified. We stretched the traditional rules a little when naming NHL, but we were happy and that is what matters.

When we were expecting our second child, we did not think about names until we knew if we were having a boy or a girl. I knew that I wanted to name for my other maternal grandfather, but beyond that things were up in the air. Several weeks before the little guy was born, my paternal grandfather passed away from a long fight with Parkinson’s Disease. From that moment, we knew that our second son would be named for both of my grandfathers. There was no debate really, JSL’s name was very quick and easy.

So my question for you this week:

How did you decide on the names for your children? If you do not have children yet, do you know the story behind your name?

Have a great weekend everyone and Happy Mother’s Day to all of the moms out there!

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Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this fun for Friday. Please be sure to head over to her blog to say hello and sign the MckLinky there if you are participating.

Aloha #98