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Putting My Family First Can Hurt

Posted on January 10, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Guilt, sometimes it hits like a big freight train. This weekend, my extended family will all be together for a special reason and I will not be there. My first cousin is getting married and I am going to be home instead of doing the Horah in celebration.

Why, you ask?

I am putting my family first. For multiple reasons, going would not be a good choice for the four of us. No need to go into that here, those have been explained, discussed, and debated countless times over the last year. There is no doubt that I am hurting feelings, and I feel quite guilty about that. Still, I do hope that family members will forgive me and realize that I am being an adult and doing what is best for my children.

On the night of the wedding, I will sit and remember babysitting my cousin when he was little, going to his hockey games, and joking with him as he helped to paint our house. So many memories of watching him grow up into the man that he has become. Perhaps we will get some donuts to celebrate the event – I know Cousin A will get that reference. I wish both A and A a wonderful life ahead of them and much happiness in their new life as husband and wife. Although we will not be there in person, we will be with you in our hearts.

With that, I leave you with a song that seems fitting right now. The song is My Family by The Laurie Berkner Band. The song really hits home and seemed appropriate at this moment

When you’re in my heart, you’re in my family,
When I’m in your heart, I’m in your family.
When you’re in my heart, you’re in my family,
When I’m in your heart, I’m in your family!
Fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers,
Cousins, friends, sons and daughters,
Uncles, aunts, and grandparents
I’m so glad you’re my family!

Have you ever had to put your family first and miss a big family event like a wedding? I would love to hear from you and share in the comments below.

P.S. Many tears were shed in the typing of this post, but I still know it was the right decision for my family.

Categories:
cousins decisions family looking back me moments photos video

For the Love of Cookie Dough

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

I am definitely my father’s child. I LOVE cookie dough. Give me cookie dough ice cream and please hold the vanilla ice cream. Admission: I am the adult that actually keeps all of the cookie dough chunks from the ice cream to savor at the end. For my last birthday before becoming a mother, TechyDad skipped buying me a cake. Instead, he surprised me with a tub of cookie dough.

On one trip to Walt Disney World as a child, I remember eating at Hollywood Studios and getting a Cookie Dough pie. It was the most amazing creation. When I went back next time, it was not there. Tears were shed, hopes dashed, and we had to move on.

Thanks to Pinterest, my cookie dough fever is back. People keep pinning recipes for sweets that involve none other than cookie dough. Just looking at them seems to keep me happy and smiling. One day, I do hope to try a few, if not all, of these goodies.

My first repin was for this Philadelphia 3-Step Cookie Dough Cheesecake. I love the concept of the Cheesecake Factory cookie dough cheesecake, but do not like the chocolate crust. Way too much for this girl. So check out how delicious this looks:

Source: evalawrie.wordpress.com via TheAngelForever on Pinterest

Soon after this some Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles caught my attention. They were also pinned to gawk, stare at, and dream about.

Source: eat-drink-smile.com via TheAngelForever on Pinterest

I am not too sure how I feel about Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies. As someone who is not really into chocolate, it may be a bit too much for me. No doubt, many others would adore it.

Source: recipegirl.com via TheAngelForever on Pinterest

Locally, I have tried Cookie Dough cupcakes at Fluffalicious. They were very good, but I was curious about baking them at home. Thanks to Pinterest, I found just that item.

Source: alli-n-son.com via TheAngelForever on Pinterest

I know that if I head over to Pinterest now, I will find many more amazing pins for things with cookie dough, and lots without.

If you have any cookie dough recipes or pins that you adore, I would love for you to share below. Let me know in the comments and I will come find you on Pinterest.

Categories:
food glorious food looking back me moments photos social media yummy

Magical Kiddie Concert Moments

Posted on January 8, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Recently, I wrote about recalling memories of going to concerts as a child. TechyDad and I have taken the boys to several concerts over the years. When we had the opportunity to go to the Laurie Berkner concert yesterday, we jumped at it. My family has been fans of Laurie for a long time thanks to her appearances on Jack’s Big Music Show. I will write more about the amazing show later, but now I wanted to share a few photo memories of our experience.

Of course, we will also remember this show because of something that happened toward the end. Laurie was on the stage floor “taking a nap” and Susie, Adam, and Bob were trying to get the audience to help wake her up. Suddenly, you hear Bob mention that they have a runner. TechyDad and I both captured this moment on video. A sweet little girl was dancing with a bunch of other children. Then, she bolted up onto the stage. What you will see the band members do is beyond magical. They went with the flow and worked it into the concert. Here is the video:

We have a lot of other videos and photos from the Laurie Berkner Band concert to share soon. A huge thank you to Laurie, Susie, Adam, Bob, and everyone else that made this concert at Proctors an extra special day for MY family and so many others.

Disclosure: My family and I received complementary tickets to the “Animal Party” concert thanks to The Laurie Berkner Band. The opinions are mine as a long time fan of Laurie Berkner and I received no other compensation. Posting this was done to share a fun experience and not expected in return for the tickets.

Categories:
fun laughs local event Music photos show TechyDad video

Bunking it for a Week

Posted on January 7, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Dear NHL and JSL,

Today marks one week since the arrival of your new bunk beds. It has been a challenging week. Change is hard and this was definitely a big change for all of us. Not only did bed placement move for both of you, but night time routines became different.

Daddy and I could not longer sit on the edge of NHL’s bed to make sure you were quiet and went to sleep. No, going to the top bunk was really an option. We realized that this caused some hurt feelings after day three when you declared that you no longer wanted bunk beds and wanted your own room. JSL was also upset about not being about to jump into NHL’s bed to give him a hug before bed. Giving up is not an option. We explained to both of you that this was a big adjustment for the two of you, Mommy, and Daddy. New routines and ideas had to be brainstormed to help both of you with these items.

Had the two of your stayed in your room when we were making the beds, you would have heard some complaining. This is not an easy task and will certainly be something that I cringe about. On Friday, while preparing for the furniture store to come back and fix something, I had to remove everything off the top bunk. I completely forgot where I was and stood upright on my knees. Ouch – hitting your head on the ceiling hurts! I think we need some warning labels on your top bunk NHL.

Thankfully, once you are asleep, you both seem very happy and well rested. We all need to remember that it is going to take time, lots of hugs, and patience to get used to our new lives with bunk beds.

Love,

Mommy

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If you want to participate in Dear Kid Saturday, head on over to Cutest Kid Ever by clicking on the button below.

Categories:
Dear Kid Saturday jsl milestone nhl photos sleep

Preoccupied with Pinterest

Posted on January 6, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

“‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, I was trying to avoid things and got distracted by all things Mickey Mouse”

What am I talking about? Just before Christmas, when I was busy with all things Chanukah and beyond, my friend Kelby Carr, aka @TypeAMom, mentioned something about Pinterest. This was far from the first time she had mentioned an addiction to it. I heard about it while in NYC during SheStreams. Of course, I tried to stay away. Why? Not because I didn’t think I would like it. I knew I would and didn’t want another item in my bag of tricks.

Well, Kelby brought me to the dark side that evening. When I said I was avoiding it, she sent me an invite. Within minutes, I was a sold. What’s not to love as a mother, geek, social media person, and crafter? Seriously, WAY too much to offer.

The beauty of Pinterest is you can personalize in any way you want. So far, I have organized my pins into 16 boards. My topics include:

Disney Life For Me – Recipes to Try – Sweet Goodness – Knitting Things – Crafts for Kids – Geek I am – Need to Read – For Those Eeyore Kind of Days – Chanukah Oh Chanukah – Recipes that we Enjoy – Bullying Be Gone – Books from Tuesday Tales – Just for Laughs – Around the House – <3 Day Items – Birthday Party Ideas

On Type-A Parent, Kelby has shared 5 Pinterest Tips for the Beginner. This post does a great job summarizing things for the newbie getting to know Pinterest. Now, let me share a few fun pins.

From “Disney Life For Me” – a favorite Dreamfinder and Figment post from Zannaland

Source: zannaland.com via TheAngelForever on Pinterest

A funny saying that several fellow Geeks shared and I loved for my “Geek I am” board:

Source: nerdquirks.tumblr.com via TheAngelForever on Pinterest

Of course, there are lots of sweet temptations in my “Sweet Goodness” board. Here is one with cookie dough that is taunting me to make it one day:

Source: recipegirl.com via TheAngelForever on Pinterest

There are SO many other goodies out there, but I will leave you with those three pin examples. If you are on Pinterest Type-A Parent also has a Pinterest Profile Linkup that they are running to locate more people. Oh one more thing, congratulations to Kelby. While I sit and type this, she just announced that she was signed on to write a Pinterest for Dummies book.

So my question to you this week:

Are you on Pinterest yet or not? If you are, what do you like using it for? If you are not, I would love to know what you are waiting for.

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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.