Saturday, January 11, 2014

Sing, Sing a Song Saturday

Sing, Sing a Song Saturday is all about me discovering something that is different to post. I don't want to post things that you and I have more than likely heard before. I want to find something different. It could be from another country, someone singing from the streets of NY, and more.

This week I'm posting a video I have seen before. I haven't listened to the band, except for the song I'm going to show you. It's a very cool animation! The animation artist is Ryan Woodward. The music is by The Weepies.


The Weepies is an indie pop-folk duo of married singer-songwriters Steve Tannen and Deb Talan. Some of their albums include Happiness, Say I Am You, they collaborated and wrote songs for Mandy Moore's album Wild Hope, their third album is Hideaway, and Be My Thrill.

The Weepies have created songs for PBS Kids, Grey's Anatomy, Scrubs, One Tree Hill, the movie Epic and more. They've sang on commercials for Old Navy and J. C. Penny. They've also sang songs at an Indigo Girls concert.

Animation Title: Thought of You Song Title: World Spins Madly On



Can't Go Back Now


Be My Thrill

16 year old David Thibault of Quebec, Canada
16 year old David Thibault of Quebec, Canada
16 year old David Thibault of Quebec, Canada
16 year old David Thibault of Quebec, Canada.
16 year old David Thibault of Quebec, Canada.
16 year old David Thibault of Quebec, Canada.


Check out The Weepies Website
Connect with The Weepies on Facebook.
Like The Weepies on Twitter.
Check out more of Ryan Woodward's animation go here.

Friday, January 10, 2014

Random Tid Bits

  1. On the coldest day for years we had our car scheduled to get looked at. Isaak's car door wasn't locking. We were actually lucky we found this out. The car was beeping like it was locking, but he opened his door to get in like it was no big deal. All I could think of was a stranger entering our car, and hiding in the back seat. $300 later it locked. Daddy tested it out in the parking lot. The next time Isaak was back there he couldn't get out of his door. Daddy tried, and he couldn't get out either. Now we have to take it back in on Monday. Don't you just love that they don't apologize for not getting it fix right the first time? A simple, "I'm sorry for the inconvenience." Then they want a great review.

    In my field if I messed up a design job, I might loose a client. Then word would get out that I'm not reliable. Doctors and nurses could loose their licenses for messing up their jobs.

  2. We had a pot luck at work. I made lemonade tic tack toe cupcakes. I figured we needed a taste of summer time. They look more Valentines like.


    I also made a sweet potato dish. I mentioned to the guy behind me that they were sweet potatoes. He said, "Yuck!" Remember how I said last week that the boys have trouble with filtering out their opinions on food? I guess some adults do to.

  3. Omaha, Nebraska is getting national attention. It's not good attention. Some idiot filmed themselves cussing as bad as a rated R movie. A toddler in a diaper was there. The parent was encouraging their 2 year old to cuss and degrade woman! We're talking the f bomb, sexual discussion, gang discussion, and talks of violence. The cops didn't have enough to arrest them, but they checked out their home and found their home unfit to have the kids (4 of them) living there. They have been removed from their home.

    If that wasn't bad enough the Omaha Police Officers Association posted it online. They won't take it down. They said it's already viral, and it's up to show how violence starts. They did blur out the kid's face. No names are released. The question is, should they remove it? You can watch the video here. *Warning it's disturbing! I can't believe anyone would talk that way to the kid, or around their kid! I know it happens; it's so sad!

  4. Ever since Tuesday night this week the boys have been tired. Welcome back to school boys.

  5. The boys had fun with bead wax melt things that Great Aunt Becky got them. I don't have pictures of their finished ones. Mica made a tree, scrapped that and made a turtle. Isaak made a cool sky with a building. It kept them occupied, happy and not fighting for an hour (because they reworked them). They put small beads on plastic boards with tweezers, or small fingers, I laid iron sheets on top of the designs and iron it. The wax melts to hold the designs together. Have you tried this before?

Thursday, January 9, 2014

Why is This Band Calling My Name This Week?

It started off a few days ago. I was sitting there eating breakfast. All the sudden Daddy belts out, "Bawk with me like chickens do..." to the Eurythmics Here Comes the Rain Again.

Usually it's me that changes words up. The song Aquarius got changed to Asparagus one day by me. Now whenever I hear the song Aquarius I sing, "It is the dawning of the age of asparagus."


After Daddy sang, "Bawk with me like chickens do", I could NOT get it out of my head. Something he usually complains about with my little made up songs. It was a role reversal kind of a day. All day two days ago I sang Here Comes the Rain Again chicken style.

Then on facebook someone posted this picture:

I'm pretty sure everyone knows the song Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This).


At least it's a band I like that's in my head.

Do you like the Eurythmics?

He Likes Them Real


Daddy and Grandpa Apel were talking about woman. Grandpa said something to the effect that you just don't know what's real anymore. Some women are so fake, and have a lot of silicone added to them.

Mica piped in and said, "Ya I like real women." Everyone busted out laughing. It just sounded so funny coming from an 8 year old.

Speaking of fake, have you seen the documentary about the secret lives of living dolls? Men get dressed up to look like dolls. I see a lot of odd things because I work at an art school, but this is way up high on the list of odd! If you want to see it, it's here.

My Misconception of Music

When I was little I went to church two times a week: On Sunday I had church and Sunday School, on Wednesday I had Choir Practice. Later on there was communion class, and Confirmation.

It was a very traditional church. The hymns sang in church were typical; unlike the contemporary churches, and services.

I remember singing How Great Thou Art. As a kid I loved that song! Why? Because it had art in it. It was talking about how great art is. How could I not like it? LOL I didn't really understand the, "Then sings my soul, my savoir God to thee..."

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The adults I went to church with loved Go Tell it on a Mountain. It was pretty catchy, and a strong song. As a kid I pictured Julie Andrews in Sound of Music. She escaped the Nazi regime by hiking through the mountains.

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Another song I loved was Onward, Christian Soldiers. It to was a strong song. Heavy voices from the church bellowed, and echoed in the church. Men sang this song stronger than most. The low notes were more accommodating to them; compared to the other songs. I loved it because the song to me was about the green plastic toy soldiers I saw some of the boys in my class play with. They were marching to war.

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This post is in no way bashing church, or religion. It's truly my thoughts as a child.

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

He Thinks I'm a Vampire

Isaak came in to see me and said, "Mom I have a mouth guard just like you."



He was wearing his vampire teeth upside down.

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

WW: Catapult Wars {linky}

We got the boys put it together yourself catapults, to keep them occupied at Grandma and Grandpa Apel's house.

Mica was inspired during a William Gurstelle's talk on The Art of the Catapult.


The boys have continued their catapult wars at home.


Isaak at war.

Mica at war.





The Apel's The Apel's The Apel's The Apel's The Apel'sThe Apel'sThe Apel's

Monday, January 6, 2014

PBS Computer Games

Grandma and Grandpa Apel are getting rid of stuff. They bought a 1992 home on wheels and are moving to Southern California in the fall. We came home with an old laptop for the boys to type on, and play learning games online, an ironing board, which is better than the one I had, a blender, a small end table, some stuff Daddy picked out of their garage and he collected his old artwork that was hanging in their hallway.

Playing PBS games on Grandpa Apel's computer.


Isaak and Mica got a tour of their "new" 1992 home. Grandma Apel said to Mica, "What did you think? Was it as sparkly as you thought it would be?"

Mica said, "Well not really. It really looked out of date to me."

We all laughed. It's a good thing that they understand the kid's - no filter in their talk. If you ask them something, they'll give you the answer they are thinking.

Now if I could just get them to shut up about the foods that they don't prefer. Isaak in particular said, "This is gross! I don't want to eat this!" I had to shhhhh!!! him a few times. The odd thing about our kids is that they prefer salads and raw veggies over cooked ones. They look suspiciously at casseroles. They like fresh fruits. The canned pineapple didn't go over well. They aren't picky eaters to me. I'm used to what they eat though. I've heard that some kids won't eat a single veggie.

The Amish Community

One of my favorite things I did with Grandma and Grandpa Apel was when we visited the Amish community.

I explained that we just need to get out of the house once during the day. It's not to get away from them. They have two cats. I'm really allergic. The boys need time to run, or just get away. In school they have recess. They live in a small town, so there's not a lot to do.

The first day we went to the exciting Walmart. The second day we planned on going to the Y. I had forgotten that I've always wanted to go to an Amish Community that was near by. I remember Grandma Apel talking about going there before.

So we went. Out of respect for them I did not take pictures, but I so wanted to.

I prepped our boys for the adventure we were about to take.

On our way we saw one man riding a buggy. Isaak kept insisting he was on the Little House on the Prairie, and it was Doc Baker riding that buggy.

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We saw live stalk everywhere. I said the cows looked fluffy, and healthy. They probably aren't pumped full of antibiotics and growth hormones.

We passed this same school.

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We also passed many of these structures that held dried corn.

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Mica kept pretending that we were going back in time. Like we were in Back to the Future.

One store had a hand written sign outside that, "Please dress modestly."

We wanted to go in a cheese store, but it was closed. Into the general store we went.

I bought all this stuff:


Milk Strike

Isaak's in the midst of a milk strike.


I'm not really worried about it. A lot of what I read about milk these days isn't positive. I question the, "Helps your bones, so you can grow." bit.

We're one of the only species out there that drinks from another source. The process is pretty gross: Over squeezed utters. Not to mention the antibiotics, and hormones that are put into the milk. If you buy organic, is it really organic? I question that to. I bought local milk in a glass container, and Isaak thought the milk was gross. What's a Mom to do?

Mica will drink almond milk, but only the original, or sweetened kind. I'd love to buy unsweetened almond milk. I just can't convince the little ones to drink it.

I think all milks on the market are heavily processed; no matter what kind you choose to drink. The milk that isn't cow's milk is said to have dangerous levels of carrageenan in them. To be honest I didn't even know what carrageenan was. It's a processed thickener. Apparently it's bad. It's in rice milk, almond milk, and soy milk.

Here we were on a trip, and Isaak would not drink his milk in his thermos. I'm not the type that likes to throw stuff away. So I got something fun on our trip.

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When one drinks with these straws it turns the milk into a subtle chocolate flavor. It's not as strong as putting chocolate syrup in the milk. I don't like the idea of adding chocolate, or sugar to milk, but these are less sugar that adding old fashioned chocolate syrup. I told the boys that this was just fun for the trip. It's not a regular thing I'm going to buy.

They drank their milk up.

Now that we're home I'm going to give milk a break. I'll push water instead.

About their bones growth, they eat a lot of foods with calcium in them. Here are 12 foods that are loaded with calcium:


1. Soybeans 

Cooked, a cup of soybeans can offer a whopping 175 mg of calcium to your diet. These veggies can be used in a wide variety of dishes.

2. Okra 

A cup of cooked Okra delivers 172 mg and is great fried, boiled, or served alongside pretty much any meat.

3. Almonds 

One ounce of almonds (23 nuts) has 75 mg. Enjoy by the handful or in your favorite salads. You can even sprinkle them on chicken while it’s being cooked to infuse your whole dish with almond-y goodness!

4. Collard Greens 

A cup of boiled collard greens has 266 mg, and have much the same function in cooking as lettuce. Try substituting collard greens for lettuce the next time you can, and you’ll be getting your calcium!

5. Oranges 

A half-cup of oranges contains 52 mg and is, as you'd expect, delicious in almost anything from salads to fruit bowls.

6. Spinach 

A cup of boiled spinach has 245 mg. It makes a great side dish for many meals, and in its raw form can be substituted for lettuce on sandwiches and in salads.

7. Kelp 

One cup of raw kelp has 136 mg. While eating seaweed doesn’t immediately present itself as a normal thing to do, those in the know have discovered that this surprisingly flavorful vegetable is high in a variety of nutrients, including calcium.

8. Broccoli 

Two cups of boiled broccoli have 124 mg. Fairly common vegetable, but rarely praised for its high concentration of useful nutrients like calcium, broccoli has recently come into vogue as a wonderful food with all kinds of health benefits.

9. Blackstrap Molasses 

One tablespoon has about 137 mg. By using blackstrap molasses to bake certain kinds of bittersweet foods, you can take advantage of its high concentration of calcium.

10. Sesame Seeds 

A quarter cup of sesame seeds has 351 mg calcium, and are delicious when sprinkled on chicken, fish, or just by the handful.

11. Brazil Nuts 

Two ounces of Brazil nuts (12 nuts) have 90 mg. In addition to the expected protein, Brazil nuts in particular are high in calcium and can be added to salads or main dishes, or just enjoyed by the handful.

12. Celery

Two cups of raw celery have 81 mg. By combining celery with peanut butter, you can indulge in a delicious, flavorful snack that helps fill your daily quota of calcium and protein. Vegetables rarely are seen in connection with nutrients like calcium, especially with the overwhelming popularity of milk in this regard. However, for those who don't like milk, are lactose intolerant, or are simply looking for a different way to get their daily nutrients, these vegetables and others are a good place to start.

The boys get spinach just about every morning for breakfast. They love oranges, broccoli, celery, and nuts of all kinds - almonds are consumed the most in our house.

What are your feelings on milk? Do you drink it? What kind do you drink?

Sunday, January 5, 2014

It's 2014

Now what?

I'm not the type that makes New Years Resolutions. I sometimes make small goals, and hope that I keep them, but I do this all the time, weather it's New Years, or not.

Here are my recent goals. You can call them New Years Resolutions if you want.

  1. I want to do more arts and crafts with my kids. They enjoy the Lowes Clinic, so I'm thinking we should do more project like they do there at home. Isaak in particular loves building, creating and crafting. I bought him some new clay for Christmas. We have scratch board kits. We bought DIY Catapult sets to keep the kids busy at Grandma and Grandpa Apel's house.

  2. Keeping things cleaner. It's sounds easy enough, but isn't. I work full time, so it's hard keeping things as clean as I'd like. Papers accumulate! It's easier with Daddy home on the weekends. Last weekend I washed all the bedding, and drapes. This weekend I rearranged the baking cupboard. One step at a time.

  3. I want to continue trying new foods. This is a goal I set awhile ago. I've tried a lot of new recipes, foods and restaurants in 2013. I want to keep it up. Sometimes I just need to try the foods cooked/served differently when I don't like them. Example: I'm not a fan of avocados plain, but I love them mixed into salads, and smoothies.

  4. I want to keep going to the Y. This to isn't anything new. I say this because many people start going, then stop. It's a good thing to keep up.

  5. I want to keep putting my school handouts into a different program. Once this is done it's done. There will be minor changes, but it will feel good to have the bulk done! I have a semester to go! 
What are some of you goals?

I Went Out of Town, Now I'm Back

We went to visit Grandma and Grandpa Apel. It's about a 5 hour drive. It took us 7 1/2 hours to get there. It was snowing. It wasn't slippery, but the powdery snow was blowing everywhere. That made it hard to see. Daddy decided to go a different way. Ideally it was a great decision because there was less traffic. It ended up being more difficult because there was a ton of no passing zones. We had a snow plow in front of us doing nothing, but blowing a white dust behind them, and in front of us.


We ended up having to call Grandma and Grandpa Apel to opt out of lunch, and ate at the crappy McDonald's that served no salads, and had the opposite service of fast food.

Mica kept asking, "When are we going to get there?" We of course couldn't answer that. He was unusually our more whiny kid on the trip there.

We did finally make it.

I'm behind in blogging, but will get caught up. I have some winners to pick for some giveaways that ended.

Disclaimer

The opinions on this blog are my personal take on products and topics relating to motherhood. This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me.

I am not compensated to provide opinions on a variety of topics. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are my own. If I claim to show knowledge of certain topic or product I will only endorse products or services that I feel, based on my expertise, are worthy of such endorsement.

If you have any questions about this blog, or want to get in contact with me please email me at: anapeladay@gmail.com