O' LEGO Tree

One of the new things I look forward to every year (and hopefully it will continue for sometime) is Mad Dog's employee gift from LEGO. Last year they started a new tradition  in the LEGO Group - a specially developed LEGO gift for all employees around the world.

In 2009 each LEGO employee received a LEGO Heart, as a symbol of the reintroduction of one of their six values - caring. The LEGO gift accompanied a wonderful gift Tapas servicing set from a European company called EGO Together . I love the set we received last year and though I think (I could be completely wrong about this) Mad Dog was a bit baffled by the gift, we have used it and enjoyed it ever since.

This years gift was even better. With the launch of LEGO Games internationally this year, the company made an obvious choice to develop and design a unique game for it's employees. With the focus of this time of year on friends and family what better way to celebrate that then to gather around a fun game.

The 2010 gift includes a special collectors edition of Happy Holidays: The Christmas Game. It's Christmas, and Santa needs his reindeer to deliver all the colorful gifts under the tree. Pile the gifts onto the sleighs, fly the reindeer around the tree, and try to collect the most presents. Build the tallest stack of gifts of two colors to win! The game comes with all the piece to build and play. We're very excited about this and are looking forward to playing this possibly Christmas Day at my Mom's.

Along with the game we also received another wonderful gift set from EGO Together. Part of my love for their products is the design of their line. The company based in Denmark has an amazing design aesthetics and beautifully crafted pieces are a special treat (they tease me with the catalog they include). This year we received pieces from their Bamboo "MAGNETficent" textile series. The products are made from sustainable bamboo. The set included two pot holders with small magnets in the corner instead of a loop that will break after tons of use, a dish towel and apron (perfect for Mad Dog since I got a  new apron for Christmas - wait for another post). The set also included a metal mounting plate that can be attached anywhere and the pieces can hang from. I'm sure Mad Dog thinks I'm crazy after seeing how excited I was over the set. 

I love the employee gift we receive each year from LEGO and the idea that there are other LEGO employees all around to world opening their e gift just like us. I like that LEGO gives their employees not only a special gift of play, but they also give something else that compliments one of their 6 values - DESIGN. Though a huge part of LEGO is of course creativity and play, what makes LEGO so great is their timeless design. This is part of the reason that even if Mad Dog didn't work for the company they would be a huge part of our lives. The learning and creative properties of the "toy" are timeless and allow our children to grow with each new building they destroy and rebuild. 

Thank you LEGO for another wonderful year and an amazingly thoughtful gift. 

It's a Marshmallow Winter

Black Friday is nearly here. For those of us who do not work retail we might not realize the time and preparation put into making it go as smoothly as possible. Weeks ahead of time there are notices from Corporate Offices, larger shipments of product which have to be unloaded, stored or stocked in the same stock rooms that have been bursting at the seams with everyday stock and of course decorating for the holiday season. This process starts earlier and earlier each year for some stores. Retail can be demanding in general, but put the added stress of the holidays in play and Soccer Mom's strung-out on getting the perfect toy for little Bobby and you have a recipe for some yelling, crying, pushing and even maybe some disappointment.

I don't go in for the Black Friday excitement. I don't get up at the crack of dawn or stay up overnight waiting in line for something that will be a 1/2 the cost it usually is. I just don't do it. Partly because I'm a Black Friday Widow. My Mad Dog works Black Friday. He works very hard to prep for it, and he is good at what he does. I will admit, as the 24th of December comes closer I did enjoy the craziness of the shopping when I worked for Barnes and Noble. Being a Community Relations Manager at B&N, the outreach to the schools stopped during that time of the year and we were reassigned to other areas we were needed. I work many of my shifts as a "Line-Manager" directing people to the next available register, helping people with Gift Card selections etc. I did this the Holiday Season I worked at B&N 8 months pregnant with Lex. I loved it. I enjoyed chatting with customer, listening to the stories and hearing them interact with other customers. Mad Dog thinks I'm insane, but I liked it. Since I don't go in for the insanity myself, I got to live it through them. 

As part of Black Friday festivities, Mad Dog and his staff have a little pot luck in their back-room. Everyone brings in sometime, giving people a chance to eat something good, without braving the food court with the holiday shoppers. Mad Dog is making his World Famous Family Recipe Stuffing again this year. I am sending something sweet to keep them going. Sugar is alway a bonus during this season. I made Marshmallow Lego Men Pops. Lex is very excited about them, and asked if they were "ALL going to Daddy's friends?" I promised him some would stay home for him and Loki. 

• Mini-Marshmallows
• Marshmallows
• Crisco
• Lollipop Sticks
• Chocolate Melts - Yellow
• Chocolate Melts - Dark Chocolate (I couldn't find black after Halloween)
• Lollipop Bags

To start with I cut the mini-marshmallows in half with my kitchen sheers. I thought I was going to have to attach the mini-marshmallows to the tops of the big ones with chocolate, but they were sticky enough to adhere themselves. After dressing each big marshmallow with a mini-marshmallow nub I put them each on a Lollipop stick. Since I didn't have a Styrofoam block to push the Lollipop sticks into I used me plastic strainer . I can angle the sticks so that the marshmallow heads float in the air not touching anything. Melted the Yellow Melts with a little Crisco (add about a 1/4 Tbsp until you get a smooth consistence). The Crisco helps make the chocolate smooth and fluid to dip the marshmallows in. I melt the chocolate in 30 second intervals until it is smooth. I then start dipping. Oh before I forget use a deep bowl for this chocolate, it makes it easier for dipping. Dip each Marshmallow in all the way. and then tap off the excess chocolate while turning the pop. This will help make an even coat. 

Once the pop is complete coated, place it in your drying rack (Styrofoam block or in my case the strainer) to dry/harden. Continue on until all the marshmallows are coated. Let these dry and harden. Then melt some dark chocolate using the same thing with the Crisco, you won't need nearly as much chocolate for this part. If you have mad pipping skills you can pip the faces, but if you're like me just use a paint brush (only used for food) or chopstick. Give each pop a Lego face. Dots for eyes and a mouth. Let this dry and then place them in your Lollipop Bags. You can use the twist tie or buy ribbon to tie them off. 

These little Lego Marshmallow Men will be going to the hard working staff of the Burlington Lego Store for Black Friday. I wish the staff polite and pleasant customers, wonderful sales and a Happy Holiday Season. 

Day Three: Animal Kingdom

Thursday started with Aunt Tiffany being sick. To give her and Sean a little more time to wake up I took Lex and Loki to the Boardwalk Bakery for breakfast, which we ate while watching the ducks before returning to the room with breakfast for Sean and a bagel for Tiffany (which we hoped out settle her stomach).

Today the plan was to go to Animal Kingdom with the kids. Animal Kingdom wasn't built the last time I went to Disney, so this was all new of me as well. I have been warned that no matter how hot it is in Orlando, you will always find Animal Kingdom hotter, because of all the foliage in the park. This was so true. Because of this Sean bought Lex and Tiffany hats and a spray bottle/fan to help with the heat. Once inside the park we started our way towards the Safari in Africa, but before getting there we ran into Lilo and Stitch. Lex was very excited to meet them and of all the characters he meet he was most comfortable with these two. I honestly think it was because he have watched the film a million times. He gave them both hugs and even took his hat off for their picture.

Tiffany and Loki sat out on the Safari, while Sean and I took Lex. Lex as all about seeing the Zebras, which sadly we didn't see any of. He called out the animals he knew and waved to each one as we passed. After the safari we headed for lunch, eating in Dinoland U.S.A. and planned our next move. With Tiffany being so ill, we planned for Sean and I to do one ride before Tiffany would head back to the hotel to rest. We planned to go on the Kali River Rapids. The wait was nothing at all, but the wet factor was HIGH. Sean and I were soaked through when we got back to Tiffany and the kids, who had been watching the Monkeys. After we met back up, Tiffany was feeling a bit better and thought we should ride Expedition Everest. Again Sean and I left Tiffany and the kids to explore the animals of Animal Kingdom, while we went in search of the Yeti.

After Everest we thought it best to give Tiffany a break, so we headed back to the hotel after finding Lex a little bag of plastic animals to play with. When we got back to the hotel Sean and I took Lex to the pool to swim will Loki and Tiffany took naps. Lex loved the pool, and was much more comfortable this time with me. He would let go and attempt to float by himself. We we got back to the room, I took Lex and went to Downtown Disney for a little Lex and Momma time.

I didn't take the stroller to Downtown Disney with Lex, relying on him being able to walk and behave (not my best idea). We checked out the Lego store and walked through the huge Disney Store before stopping into the Disney Pin Traders shop. We were in search of anything Dash from The Incredibles, which no one has anything of. One of the Disney woman in the pin shop showed Lex her pins, and gave him one with no trade, telling him it was between her, him and the Mouse! We ended our excursion with dinner at McDonald's before getting back on the shuttle and heading home. The trip to Downtown with Lex was exhausting. He had a hard time keeping focus and would stop to do a little dance or pose. He amused a lot of the people we met along the way.  

Once back at the hotel, Lex and Loki got ready for bed. Tiffany and Sean went off to Epcot for dinner, with Tiffany feeling much better from that morning. Mad Dog was actually at Animal Kingdom after closing hours for a Lego event, and then returned to the hotel for a night of karaoke with the Lego Team. The kids fell asleep and I got to watch Fringe before falling asleep. Mad Dog woke me at 1:30AM when her crawled into bed completely wired.

Road to Nowhere: Family Vacation

There are family vacations and then there are Family Vacations. We recently went on a Family Vacation, partly thanks to the wonderful people at Lego. Mad Dog had to go to the Fall Managers Meeting for Lego, which was held this year in Orlando, Florida. Even better than that at Walt Disney World. Since he was going to be there for two days and traveling for two, we thought it was perfect for Lex, Loki and I to join him.

The trip allowed us to stay on the resort for 3 nights for nothing and only pay for one night at half the price of the room we had. We stayed at Disney's Boardwalk Inn on Disney's Boardwalk. To help with the kids, my brother Sean and his wife Tiffany came up from Ft. Lauderdale and stayed with us.

Since the trip had some many ups and downs, I made notes for blog posts to write when I returned. I am planning on writing the next 5 posts in order of the trip, each post will act as 1 day of the vacation and will include pictures from the trip.

Fathers (To Be or Not To Be)

With today being Father's Day, this of course got me thinking about Fathers and what it means to be one. The fact that most men can reproduce doesn't not give them the title of Father alone (the same goes for Mothers). I don't want to go into listing the things that are required of people to hold the titles as parents, but some are just commonsense.

Mad Dog is an amazing Father. I can't even begin to list all the reason, but some are: calling Gigi every night to see how her day went; taking Lex to Gymnastics with the SAHM Club that he can't stand listening to; encouraging Lex to try new things; how cute he is with Loki and how she looks at him like he is the only one in the world to her - the list goes on and on.

Being without my own Father makes me think about how he compared with the Fathers I know. How he would be with my kids and with Mad Dog. I think he would like Mike. Do I think Mike would like him - yeah, I'm alot like my Father, but I will say I think my Dad would give Mike a hard time, just to give him a hard time. Tough love. I know that my Father would have gotten a kick out of Lex and adored Loki. Loki would have been his Chunky Monkey too. I know he was with us today in some way.

As for our day - Mad Dog got to sleep in, which was a true bonus for him I think. We later went of breakfast at the Corner Lunch Diner. Very good diner food, and possibly our new favorite place. Lex flirted with the waitress, and didn't know what to do when she flirted back. When we got back Loki took a nap, and so did Mad Dog and I on the couch while Lex ran around watching the Incredibles on DVD. Mad Dog then had to go to work, leaving me with the Monkeys. Oh and I got to state my "Cafe Corner" (Lego Set).

I do hope all you Dads had a good day and I hope all you deserving Dads like mine and Mad Dog had a special day that reminded you why it's so important to be a good Dad.