Easter 2012

Easter Crew 2012 - NY

Everyone was excited to spend Easter with family...especially at their 'expanse' in Upstate New York. For example, the cousin's playground wouldn't qualify as a 'standard' playground. It's actually called the Spy Center...with lots of tunnels, twists, turns and paths -- along with swings and slides-- all of which hang over the edge of a cliff leading to the Lake below. The older our little ones get, the fonder they become of this super-sized play center! (and the more panicked their parents become!!)

Knock, knock...somebody suddenly arrives at the door!

Uncle Erick answers..."hmmm...what do you want? "



Coloring eggs with the cousins...pure happiness!

The twins LOVE their Uncle Erick...but always want to try to 'kick his butt.' Uncle Erick is a second degree black belt, yet the boys think if they can double-team him, somehow, they'll succeed at the smack down....

Aramis gets into fighting position to aid his brother who has already fallen....

And...they are both down. Uncle Erick didn't break a sweat, nor did he even move from his original stance. Sheesh!

Auntie Beth, Uncle Erick, Jenny Kate and Abs enjoying Easter egg hunting. 
And yes, Auntie Beth is on call...isn't she always? :(



The kids had to find SO many eggs that we had to pull out a wheelbarrow in which to put them...

Abby doesn't mind. She's just happy to have a bucket filled with chocolate!!!! Happy girl!

Uncle Tony helps all the kids with clues from the Easter Bunny during one of 3 arranged egg/scavenger hunt.
Our cousins are the BEST!!

Uncle Erick and King Tony with peeps for Queen Wendy. They really could care less about all of this craziness. They just want to watch golf and drink...
Note: See that house in the background...it's the cousin's PLAY house. Our kids could live in it. Coolio!!

Easter pinata ready. Alec takes a few hits to get warmed up...

Aramis comes in to take a few jabs himself....
Needless to say, it took some time to get the head off the bunny, but eventually, his head went flying! :)

Daddy-Daughter Dance

The very first Father-Daughter Dance took place last week. It was a challenging moment to swallow...realizing that our once-baby girl is now in elementary school and attending her first dance parties. Where did the time go?  It was a special day for King Tony and his Pie. :)

(Check out the awesome tie he's wearing!)

True love lasts a lifetime....
Papa and his baby girl...so precious!

Teacher Appreciation.....

I need CAFFEINE Basket - Starbucks Style

Let's just make it clear here and now....WE appreciate our Teachers, therapists and all the folks that support our kids during their educational journey outside of our home/family. 

If you don't believe me, check out what King Tony and Queen Wendy created, designed and delivered to the royal kidlets' staff today. WHEW!!!!

Candy Bouquet...

"Masshole" Basket... Lots of laughs with this one

These baskets were only outdone by some new 'crafting' skills tackled in the Kingdom and used to decorate many a holiday table.... :)  Let's just say, we don't want to give out our design secrets just yet since the project too SO long to master! UGH!!!


We're guessing its a good idea that one of our family's businesses is focused on gift baskets and gift giving, right? :)

The final 'appreciation' straw was this flavored Crystal Light straw attached to a water bottle. I would have loved one of these myself! Not surprisingly, several mothers around town decided to steal this idea for their very own uses! I can't help but smile--they are pretty freakin' cool!! :)

Spring Break Staycation....

This face certainly does highlight, in every way, the overall feeling of our recent Spring STAYcation.  Who needs to go anywhere when there is tons to do right in your backyard and alongside great friends? 

An unexpected gift received via UPS from Auntie Beth, Uncle Erick and our Upstate NY cousins MaryAnn, Lilly, Adia and JennyKate. Check out our newest backyard toy--a super bounce! Tons of neighbors joined us over vacation to bounce along with us. THANK YOU Auntie and Uncle!!! :)



Alec makes a move on a local hottie, Emma, who also does karate with him. I think he thinks that since he has a car and all, she'll date him.... :)

We enjoyed our friends, had sleepovers, went to several parks.....

 



Queen Wendy  made everyone's favorite: Mickey Mouse pancakes!












Our months of karate are also paying off in that all three of the royal kidlets have earned their colored belts! Ceremony was followed by a trip to Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt--a favorite!





Alec earns his colored belt....

Abby jumps high to clear an obstacle during training. She's amazing!! :)







Alec awaits his turn for yellow belt ceremony





The royal kidlets in action at krate. Sensei has set up an obstacle course...and they are getting ready to pounce!



Aramis fist bumps Sensei Louie after earning his yellow belt. Sweet. :)

At the end of the week, the kids were absolutely bone tired from too much activity. The weather cooperated, we were the recipients of an absolutely super-special gift, and enjoyed the company of some really lovely friends. Whew! A nice preview of the summer fun to come!

Fourth Child Earns National Ranking...!

We interrupt our regularly scheduled family-focused blog to bring you very impressive news. Our soon-to-be fourth child (so to speak) was just ranked among the nation's Top 200 Mom-Owned Businesses. We couldn't be more proud of this accomplishment and had to share. :)  Our regularly scheduled programming filled with Agudelo children and the like, will continue after we've celebrated for a few hours. :)

Thank you so much to everyone who has given us support, encouragement and love along the way.  We couldn't have done it without you!

Press mentions coming in! :)

http://northandover.patch.com/articles/local-business-honored-in-mom-contest

PERIOD PACKS™ EARNS PRESTIGIOUS POSITION AS

A LEADING MOM-OWNED BUSINESS

North Andover Gift Box Company Ranks Amid Top 200 of StartupNation.com’s Entrepreneur Competition

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. (5.3.2012) – Period Packs, Inc., a Massachusetts-based theme gift box company which aims to bring a sense of celebration and understanding about the onset of menses to young ladies around the world and pamper postnatal mothers, has been ranked among a prestigious list of the nation’s top mom-owned businesses. Announced this week,  Period Packs was selected from thousands of contestants entered in StartupNation.com’s 2012 Leading Moms in Business competition -- sponsored by Web.com and Sam's Club.

More than 350,000 votes were cast in support of the 2012 contestants, reflecting immense interest in moms building businesses at the same time they tend to their families. “There has been a sea of change among moms who come to realize that adding entrepreneurship to their lives brings exhilaration and immense gratification, not to mention supplemental—sometimes primary—income to their families in these dicey economic times,” said Rich Sloan, chief startupologist and co-founder of StartupNation.

The 2012 Leading Moms in Business ranking highlights some of the dominant trends, motivations and attributes among moms in business including:

·         A great eye for providing attractive discounts, coupons, savings and value, all especially important to consumer moms of the recession era.

·         A likelihood to come up with innovative products and solutions to address the challenging maze of motherhood. It’s an environment that demands resourcefulness.

·         Conscience-driven business, where “doing well” is just fine, but the real rush comes from doing good.

·         The attraction of being your own boss looms large for moms wanting to take control they just can’t find in a day job.

·         Sustainable solutions and responsible business practices are increasingly paramount.

·         Making the most of social media for business benefit is seemingly a birthright for the socially adept moms.

“We are absolutely thrilled to be ranked among so many superior mom-owned businesses across the nation, but even more proud to learn that we have such a supportive demographic of clients and fans who recognize the value in what we do,” said Wendy Bulawa Agudelo, chief maxi of Period Packs, Inc.  “Our hearts are filled with appreciation--which will fuel us to further build upon what we’ve already accomplished to date.”

The full results of the 2012 Leading Moms in Business ranking are available on StartupNation’s website at http://www.startupnation.com/leading-moms-in-business, and Period Pack’s winning profile (#175) can be found at: http://www.startupnation.com/leading-moms-in-business/contestant/11721/index.php.

About StartupNation
StartupNation provides over 175,000 pages of business advice and networking for entrepreneurs and serves millions of entrepreneurs annually. StartupNation is a free service founded by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs with the intention of providing a one-stop shop for entrepreneurial success, including blogs from a host of experts, podcasts, webcasts, eBooks such as 23 Hot Businesses to Start Right Now award-winning step-by-step advice, and more. StartupNation co-founders, Rich Sloan and Jeff Sloan, are two of the country’s leading small business experts. The Sloan brothers speak frequently at entrepreneurial forums and recently hosted a Public Television special helping people transform their passions into business opportunities. They are authors of StartupNation: Open for Business, published by Doubleday. The Sloan brothers are regularly quoted and featured in media such as The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Fortune Small Business, Entrepreneur Magazine, CNN, CNBC, MSNBC, FOX News and many others.

About Period Packs, Inc.

Period Packs™ specializes in theme gifts for young ladies entering menses and postnatal mothers. Based in Massachusetts, the company was founded by a mom with a pure mission to ‘welcome young ladies to womanhood.’ Through a series of uniquely designed gift boxes and similarly themed items, Period Packs aims to bring a sense of celebration and understanding about the onset of menses to young ladies around the world, and pamper postnatal mothers. The company strives to educate woman about global female-focused news through its blog, Pack Talk, and also offers gifts for girls in need via its Pink Packs program. For more information about Period Packs, or to order Period Packs merchandise, please visit www.periodpacks.com.

Weekend warriors....

Every day is an opportunity for us, as parents, to educate our children in some way. Now, there are days when neither Tony or Wendy have the energy or creativity to do ANY instruction at all, yet on others, we're bursting with ideas.  Recently, we started off our weekend warrior homeschool adventures with education about the 5 senses.  What a fun thing to share with children.  We used all of our senses within a variety of ways--including several blindfolded challenges to teach smell, taste and touch. Below was a tray of 'ingredients' we used for one of the segments. Needless to say, chocolate is the favored ingredient, and 'red hots' are the least....

After working with ingredients we knew/understood, we had the kids work with our Yonanas frozen 'ice cream' maker. For those of you who love ice cream, but haven't yet found this superior product, check it out. We (the adults) love using it to create some super-tasty delights, and more importantly, we can stop making so much banana bread from older bananas! This frozen treat has significantly fewer calories, fat and sugar than ice cream, and the kids can make it themselves!

STEP 1: Peel super ripe bananas and place them in either a tupperware container or plastic bag.

STEP 2: Freeze them for several hours.  When ready to use, pull from freezer and thaw for approximately 15-20 minutes so they are still frozen, but workable.

STEP 3: Place into Yonanas' unique 'ice cream' maker and turn it on. You get fresh banana ice cream and can add in anything from other tasty frozen fruit, caramel, chocolate, chocolate chips, sprinkles, coconut, etc. to flavor it--and it is a super delicious treat to eat from a bowl or on a cone! Here's Aramis giving it a whirl--although we admit up front that the extreme loudness of the machine does bother our little ones' ears somewhat.