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Sweet Temptations Surprise

Posted on August 20, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Dear NHL and JSL,

Sometimes surprises are the best thing. Wednesday, we went and picked up Daddy for lunch to celebrate NHL’s birthday together. After lunch, we were going to go shopping for a few things, but then I had an idea. I thought we would head over to one of your favorite ice cream spots. Both of you love Scoops because they have amazing ice cream and you can watch the cows while you eat. When we pulled up, they were closed. I guess I did not realize that they are not open during the day mid-week.

Not to worry. I quickly recalled that a cake shop was right down the road. We had seen their truck over the weekend at a Farmers Market. We did not buy anything from their colorful truck because cousin SG would not be able to eat anything. Your disappointment over the ice cream quickly went away when we pulled up to Sweet Temptations and went inside.

Since it was a special occasion, I told the two of you to pick whatever you wanted from the case. Dangerous thing to do, but I had an idea what you may select. Here is a look at the items that we brought home.

NHL, you immediately homed in on a dragon creation. It was two chocolate chip cookies combined with a large amount of icing inside it’s mouth and on top. When I picked it up out of the box, I was floored with how heavy it was. There was no doubt that you loved it since you kept “mmmmmm-ing” as you ate it.

JSL, you had one item in mind. You wanted something chocolate. It was the chocolate cupcake with chocolate icing, of course. One minute I saw the cupcake in your hands, the next it vanished. Since you were the only one that tried it, you must have really liked it since I have never seen you gobble up a cupcake like that.

Since Daddy was not with us, I did not have any idea what kind of cupcake to get him. After making cupcakes all weekend, I was in the mood to try something different. I opted to get the cookie sandwich to share with him. YUM! The chocolate chip cookies were gooey, fresh, and amazing. The frosting inside was the perfect amount and not too sweet. Half was the perfect amount for me to splurge on.

Little surprises like this during the summer have been so much fun. I hope that we get back to Sweet Temptations again soon to show Daddy all of the fancy cupcake creations that they have.

Love,

Mommy

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Happy 8th Birthday NHL

Posted on August 17, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Dear NHL,

I can not believe that you are already eight years old. It seems like yesterday that Daddy and I were in the store picking out your crib. Then, we brought you home and suddenly you grew up before our eyes.

So much has happened in the last year. Some were amazing, while others ones I wish we could have shielded you from. No matter what, you will learn and grow and have survived these bumps in the road of life.

Now let’s take a walk down memory lane at the last year – NHL at 7.

After your last birthday, you really started to enjoy using the Nintendo Wii, and, with time, the DS. Daddy and I allowed you to try your new games and often your little brother watched on in amazement. Of course, now he’s starting to get some of the Wii games thanks to you helping him. (August 2010)

Second grade, well it proved to be a challenging year. Academically, there was no issues for you. Sad to say, it will probably be the year we hope to forget. Rather than dwell on the drama that included switching schools, let’s recall the happy times. Just after the year started, we went up to the lake for a big extended family weekend. You were so thrilled to drive the boat with Uncle M. (September 2010)

Much of October was filled with preparing for Halloween. You were thrilled to be Luigi again since your love of all things Super Mario was really getting started. (October 2010)

Thanksgiving this year was even more special thanks to Uncle I, Aunt M, and cousins SG and BA coming. This meant celebrating Chanukah a little earlier. I think your favorite part was often reading to the little kids. I loved one of your gifts – your new Thing 1 shirt. You may not remember this, but when JSL was born Daddy and I used to call both of you by those names. (November 2010)

December found us keeping busy with Chanukah, snow, and a fun outing. We all went to see Toy Story 3 on Ice. You loved the entire show and could not wait to see Lotso. It was a magical family outing that we all needed with special time together. (December 2010)

Snow, snow, and more snow greeted us in January. There were several days that school was canceled. This was also the time that I gave you my old laptop to use. You adored playing math games and more on it. I think your favorite snow day was the one where we never got our of our pajamas and stayed warm playing games. (January 2011)

February brought us even more snow and a lot of ice. At a certain point, even you were getting sick of it. Of course, since you were 7, you liked to play outside, build, and try to keep warm. By the end of the month, we were all dreaming of our upcoming trip to Florida. (February 2011)

The magical month of March arrived just in time for a much needed escape from life here in NY. We were lucky enough to be able to go to the second Disney Social Media Moms Celebration. You certainly showed that you are a NDK (Neurotic Disney Kid) and enjoyed every minute wanting to know when we could go back again. Seeing the joy in your face and the stress melt away was beyond magical. I think the highlight for you was meeting Beast since you had been begging for that moment for months. (March 2011)

The snow finally melted away and some warmer weather came to stay. You adored the times when we could head to the park and run around without a worry in the world. Of course, it also allowed you time to be silly in front of the camera. (April 2011)

Much of May was spent getting used to new things. A new school, your little brother turning four, and heading to the circus. You were fascinated with the circus clowns, animals, and acts in general. May was definitely a month where we turned things around and started to see the light at the end of the second grade tunnel. (May 2011)

Lots of things were going on in June. The end of the month officially made you a third grader. Much to our surprise, you were so sad to see things end at your new school. It made my heart so happy that you liked the new place where you learned so much in a short time. We also found a new favorite ice cream location. Yes, we met Nana and Papa there for lunch a few times and we were ok with that. (June 2011)

This summer, we have kept busy going to crafting events. You really do enjoy trying new crafts, as well as learning new things at the library’s passport program. Different countries, lizards, t-shirt making, and more thanks to our travels. Of course, the summer would not be complete without time under the water at the fun new park we found.

Suddenly, it is August again and the end of being a seven year old. You now love chapter books, are into Harry Potter (with a crush on Hermione), and are determined to finish and win DS games. You are a big helper, especially when it comes to your littlest cousin. You loved spending your birthday party weekend helping him around the park and other locations. (August 2011)

With tears in my eyes, I honestly find it hard to believe that you are already eight. You start third grade in a few short weeks. Getting to really watch you and spend time being creative with you this summer has taught me so much. I look forward to watching you grow, learn even more, and become the person you want to be. With some help, I hope that Daddy and I can make it more stress free and fun this year. I truly hope that your dreams and wishes come true and you have an amazing year – you deserve it!

Love,

Mommy

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The Yankees Stink Shirt

Posted on August 13, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Dear JSL,

Yesterday morning, I had to bribe you a little bit. It was Papa’s birthday and I wanted you to try to make him smile. As you know, he’s not really into the smiling thing. Case in point:

Anyway, there is a shirt that Uncle I bought NHL when he was little. The shirt is not exactly loved by Daddy. He does allow one of you to wear it on special occasions for Papa. This morning, I pulled it out, but you were not really into wearing it. So I bribed you. Lucky for me, you asked for some lemonade with breakfast. DONE! Here you are wearing the shirt at Hoffman’s.

I think the problem with wearing this shirt is that you get a lot of attention. Seeing that we live in NY, a Yankees Stink shirt either gets a lot of glares, or laughter from Red Sox fans in the area. Of course, this didn’t phase you too much. You liked people looking, smiling, and giving you attention. Plus, you were busy being a big helper on the rides with cousin BA.

Then, you were thrilled to go again, leading the way with BA in the back driving solo.

Of course, during this time NHL was on the roller coaster with Uncle I. You did not quite get what a big deal it was that they were in the front row.

What impressed me even more was you also went on a ride you were not too sure about. Rides up high seem to get you scared. Cousin SG wanted to go on one with you. After chatting a bit, you agreed to try it. You can tell you were not thrilled here.

Then, while you were whirling around above, I heard giggles. Yes, you were laughing and smiling while flying with cousin SG for your last ride of the day.

Of course, you probably thought the ice cream that came right after this – rainbow sprinkles and all was another part of the bribe.

Thank you for being such a big boy. You helped Papa smile and you made me so very proud by being such a big helper.

Love,

Mommy

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Smurf Filled Memories – Then and Now

Posted on August 6, 2011 12:05 am by TheAngelForever

Dear NHL and JHL,

A few weeks ago, we went to see the new Winnie the Pooh movie. While waiting to get into the theater, I went over to take this photo.

The two of you sat puzzled and curious. Finally, one of you asked what they were and why I was taking the picture. Daddy tried to explain about The Smurfs that we grew up with, but it was kind of hard to explain. Later, as we walked around the mall, we arrived at Build-A-Bear where they were handing out hats for everyone.

You were officially intrigued with Smurfs and seeing what they were about. When we got home, Daddy found the old episodes that we grew up with via Cartoon Network on Demand. Since that time, I have heard a lot of Smurf jokes coming from both of you. You both want to be a certain Smurf and battle Gargamel. Luckily, you have not been singing their song.

Nana had the day off of work on Friday and wanted to take us to see the new Smurf Movie. We arrived at the theaters and who should we see while getting our tickets?

Yes, it was Smurfette and Gutsy Smurf. They must have known we were coming. The two of you were so excited. When we got upstairs by the theater, we saw the birthday room all decked out in Winnie the Pooh and Smurf clings. Since we had time, the two of you had fun standing with them for some pictures (tough since the lighting was odd).

NHL, you were blown away with seeing Clumsy’s feet at the bottom of the Smurf area. He was definitely the Smurf that you were interested in seeing.

JSL, you wanted to see Smurfette and Papa Smurf. Of course, you were very excited to have your photo with Tigger and Eeyore.

When the movie was over, the two of you immediately wanted to see my old Smurf toys. I have to see where they are, but I am sure I kept them. It certainly looks like we will be having some Smurfy days ahead.

Love,

Mommy

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Carnival and Chocolate

Posted on July 31, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Yesterday, I wrote all about our travels to Canada, Australia, India, Russia, France, Mexico, and China while staying home. Thanks to the Passport to Fun programs at Michaels, we had the adventure of our life at the local craft store. In the end, we went to eight of the eighteen countries. We missed two because the boys were still in school at the end of June. Then, I completely forgot about the Egypt day on June 25 and Bahamas on June 28. Luckily, I got our act together in time for Canada and beyond. I wish we had been able to make a few others, but they did not work with our schedules and two did not seem age appropriate for my kids.

On Saturday, the program ended with Brazil. What a way to end it making Rio Carnival masks. The boys had a blast working on these with all of the glitter, feathers, and sequins.

Brazil

Of course, while in Michaels we HAD to check out other items. TechyDad looked for a case to house his grandfather’s old telescope in. Both of the ones in stock were cracked, so we are waiting on that. Then, we looked around for ideas to use for NHL’s 8th birthday. NHL has said that he wants lions and other animals as the focus. We chatted about it while walking around and came up with a safari theme. Seems perfect since he loved the Safari at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. I know one day I would love to take him on the African Trek I went on.

While checking out the Wilton cupcake making supplies, we wandered over to their chocolate mold section. NHL fell in love with some things there. TechyDad thought they were really interesting and said we should use our coupons and pick them up. So we did. Don’t these look fun?

So we will be making the Oreo/Pretzel molds to go along with some kind of lion cupcake. Do not think there will be time to paint the chocolate and make it pretty, but it’s still fun and something the kids can help with. If you have any lion cupcake suggestions – I would love to know.

What have you been up to this weekend of July?