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Tuesday Tales – The Little Red Hen and the Passover Matzah

Posted on March 20, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Have you ever heard of the PJ Library? I have written about it before, but it really is an amazing program available in some areas of the country.

Basically, Jewish families within the area with children can sign them up to receive a new book, music CD, or other item each month. Our boys are lucky and have been getting PJ Library items for several years now. As an educator, I love seeing all of the new books and authors that I have never experienced before. As a Jewish mother, I adore reading about holidays, people, and places that mean a lot to our religion. To see if your community participates, head over to the PJ Library website.

With Passover coming right around the corner, JSL received a new to him book.

Holiday House Books — ISBN: 9780823423279 — Paperback Picture Book $6.95

The Little Red Hen and the Passover Matzah is a great picture book for families to read together. The book takes a cute spin on a familiar tale. We meet the Little Red Hen as she begins to think about Passover. She knows that soon she will need to make matzah, which will mean planting wheat.

Adults and older children will quickly notice the attention to detail that author Leslie Gimmelman includes in the book. The Little Red Hen often uses Yiddish as she kvetches about the chutzpah that her friends who keep denying her assistance as she asks. Over and over, we see how The Little Red Hen keeps working toward her matzah making goal to get done in time for the Passover Seder. Her friends refusing to assist does not stop her from pushing forward.

When JSL and I were reading he adored the illustrations from Paul Meisel. Meisel’s art helps to further bring The Little Red Hen’s Passover tale alive. We can see how hard she works to make the matzah in the 18 minutes and then set her beautiful Seder table.

Of course, when you read the story you will see how The Little Red Hen becomes a mensch. Children of all ages can see how perfectly this word matches her actions given the story.

I highly recommend this book for all children and families to learn about Passover. The Little Red Hen gives some great details in a fun story that is perfect for readers of all ages.

Are you a member of the PJ Library? I would love to hear about books that you have received from them. As always, please share what you have read recently. Be sure to link up to your book posts in the comments below. Include something you read on your own, with a child, or someone else. Tuesday Tales are all about spreading the love for books.

Disclosure: My son received this book as a member of the PJ Library. Membership in our area is free and we are never expected to review/write about this, I simply wanted to share a great book. An Amazon Affiliate link is included in this post for the book mentioned. I will receive a percentage of money for the sale should you opt to buy the book through that link.

Categories:
books Educational holidays interesting photos Product review Tuesday Tales

Favorite Disney World Resorts

Posted on March 19, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Over the years, I have stayed at a lot of the resorts at Walt Disney World. This Spring, we will be adding two more to my list. Growing up, I stayed at The Contemporary Resort (multiple times), Dixie Landings (multiple times and now called Port Orleans Riverside), and Caribbean Beach (multiple times). Since I have been married, we have stayed at The Beach Club Resort, Pop Century (three times), The Polynesian, and The Grand Floridian. Thanks to Disney dining, we have also visited Port Orleans French Quarter, Animal Kingdom Lodge, Boardwalk, Wilderness Lodge, and Fort Wilderness campground.

Deluxe Hotels:

I don’t think I could just pick one of the deluxe hotels. If money were no option, it would be tough to select which one. There’s monorail convenience, great overall location, and never stayed there before dream.

If I had to pick a resort on the monorail, I would immediately pick the Contemporary. I love that you can simply go down to the ground floor and walk to the Magic Kingdom along a palm tree lined walkway. It isn’t usually crowded, plus you always have the monorail to jump on and get back with relative ease. In addition to this, The Contemporary has Chef Mickey, The Wave, and The California Grill (never been there yet).

After staying at the Beach Club Resort on our honeymoon, I fell in love with the location. Not only is it simply gorgeous with an amazing pool, you can walk or take a boat to Hollywood Studios and Epcot. TechyDad and I often walked into Epcot for dinner, or over to the Boardwalk for a snack or another meal.

A deluxe hotel that I have not stayed at, but visited many time to dine there is the Animal Kingdom Lodge. I would adore waking up one morning and opening my door to view animals like giraffes while sipping my cup of coffee. Another perk would be having Boma and the other great restaurants located steps from our room.

Moderate Resorts:

Looking back I loved the quaint, quiet feel of Dixie Landings. We stayed in the mansions there twice and it was fun to bike, boat, and walk around the resort. Since our stay there, the name has changed. I know the the kids would also adore Port Orleans (either section), but would probably prefer a stay at the newer Pirate Themed rooms at the Caribbean Beach Resort.

Value Resorts:

We adore Pop Century as a fun filled value resort at Walt Disney World. We have never stayed at any of the other value resorts to date. Our last three visits have included nights at this destination.

The rooms are smaller and you do not have a sit down restaurant, but it’s extremely fun, kid friendly, and they a great food court that includes the infamous Tie Dye Cheesecake. We have adjusted to the value resorts by saving money on the room to use for our dining plans and to extend out stays.

So where do you love to stay or dream of calling your home while at Walt Disney World? There are a lot of Disney posts on my blog from trips during the last few years, so check them out if you are interested.

P.S. A huge thank you to Mariana from The Domestic Buzz for creating this magical Blog Hop! The link will be within this post the day after it is published.

Categories:
Disney family food glorious food looking back me moments photos TechyDad travel vacation yummy

Keep Me In Stitches

Posted on March 18, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

While visiting my in-laws and eating at a favorite Greek restaurant, something caught my eye. A sign above a new store read Keep Me In Stitches. I did a double take and said something to TechyDad. The kids wanted to go to the park and I knew better than to take them into a fiber store. The reality is that my boys love knitted objects, but they do not have patience to let me day dream while looking at different yarn.

TechyDad suggested that my mother-in-law and I head to the store to check it out and then meet them at the park. Sold! As we started to browse, I couldn’t help but overhear the owner of the store mention that she was a blogger. As I looked at all of the beautiful yarn, I knew I had to ask if it was ok to take photos for a blog post.

I was told to go ahead. Here are some photos of the beautiful wall of yarn.

We chatted briefly about using Facebook for social media. Little did I know they were also on Twitter, or I would have sent a Tweet out while there. I am definitely going to have fun exploring their website and watching to see what events will be taking place next time we visit. I know if I was local, their Mom’s Night Out Classes look like a fun activity for a group.

Although I did not purchase something, I have my eyes on the Knit Picks Harmony Wood Circular Needle set I was finally able to see in a store. Something I may be asking TechyDad for my birthday. *hint* *hint* *nudge* *nudge*

Thank you Rebecca for taking us on a tour of your beautiful shop. I know that I will be visiting again and will be sure to have a project in mind to purchase some of your yummy yarn. Oh and I am going to suggest that my father-in-law looks into a class to surprise my mother-in-law. I think she would really enjoy something like that.

It's Me

Categories:
arts and crafts knitting me moments photos road trip shopping

Disney Store Blues

Posted on March 17, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Dear NHL and JSL,

The two of you love heading to the Disney Store. Neither of you recall that we used to have one here in our area. Now, we have to travel to the outlet, go to New York City, or see them in another location. Thanks to this, when we go to any Disney Store, it’s like a holiday for all of us. The two of you certainly are NDK when you see this in front of you.

Then the real challenge begins. Where do we begin our tour? Do we look at new shirts for the two of you, check out the toys, or . . . . wait, what is that over there?

We had to convince you that getting Animal and Kermit was not crucial since we are heading to Walt Disney World soon. Then, around the corner from the Muppets display was something else that caught your eye.

You ran to the Jake and the Never Land Pirates area. This was the first time that you had seen the stuffed friends. Again, we told you it was best to wait to see what we may find in Orlando. Neither of you were thrilled with this idea.

An amazing cast member came and heard what was going on. She gave you each a special sticker and coloring sheet. When it was time to leave, they noticed you were both Perry fans. We were asked to stay a minute. In the back, they still had some of the special Perry hats that they gave away on Platypus Day.

We were lucky and managed to get all of us out of the store without buying too much. We bought a few things for our trip, and a few extras. Now I just wish we had a store closer to keep the magic near us for special times like this.

Love,

Mommy

Categories:
Dear Kid Saturday Disney fun jsl looking back nhl photos shopping

Favorite School Projects

Posted on March 16, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Yesterday, I shared a big project that my preschooler made at school. Over the last few months, the kids have made individual craft projects to put together an amazing Shabbat Box for our family. The week or so before that, another part went home because it would not fit into the box.

FYI – Tzedakah means charity. In Judaism, it is considered a fundamental part of life. The boys know that we send in tzedakah each Friday or to Hebrew School because helping others is important.

I love that JSL has learned about Shabbat, about giving, and more. By allowing the kids to make items that they will use when celebrating Shabbat, it becomes more personal to them and they embrace this part of their identity.

So my question to you this week is inspired by all of JSL’s projects:

What is your favorite project that your child has made in school and why? As a teacher on hiatus, I am always curious about projects that other children have completed in certain levels of their schooling. Oh and if you do not have kids, what was your favorite project from when you were in school?

It's Me

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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 linky there if you are participating.