Friday, May 6, 2016

Random Tid Bits

  1. Awhile back my mom had a cousin that passed away. She had only 1 brother, and a dad. They didn't want anything much that she owned. We went through her things picking out this and that. One thing that we got was all of The Golden Girls on DVD. The boys asked to see it. At first I declined. Then I thought, That is something I watched when I was little. The sexual things went way over my head. She we've been watching it. The love it. No questions have been asked as of yet. I'm perfectly ok with answering anything if a question arises.

    Source
    Who is your favorite golden girl? I always liked Sophia.
     
  2. Mica had his first Growth and Development class last week. I asked if they covered anything he didn't know yet? He said, "No." He said, "We just talked about hair growing in special places, needing to wear deodorant, and girls going through changes before boys." I said, "Well if you have any questions we're happy to talk to you about them."

    The boys still think sex is naked people kissing. We're ok with that thought process until they ask us.

  3. I figured out that the boys actually help clean pretty well as long as they are doing separate tasks.

    Mica helped me clean out the microwave. We sprayed it down with vinegar, put a bowl of water in there for 5 minutes, it was steamed and ready to clean.

    Isaak helped me clean out the refrigerator. I kept telling him that his job was to take everything out in an organized fashion. My job was to clean it.

    What are some cleaning tips that you have? 

  4. I registered to have Isaak's friend party at Hummel Park this year. It is a park where I do have to pay. He got to pick 3 activities, and went with: Archery, S'mores, and a Scavenger Hunt. I filled out invitations for 20 kids to be there. I hope some show up! Birthday parties are so annoying because parents are so unpredictable these days. Hardly anyone RSVPs. There's all kinds of split families to. One kid I gave 2 invites - one for mom and one for dad. I don't know if that was right for me to do, but I tried to cover my basis.

    I told the boys that I'm stopping friend parties at age 10. Mica will no longer get a friend party.

  5. I stayed at work on Thursday night for a Portfolio Review Night. Pros are brought in to look at student's portfolios. It's always a success because some students get jobs through the event. YAY! 

Thursday, May 5, 2016

Yummi Pouch Brights Reusable Food Pouches Review

I'm a huge fan of things that can be reused | recycled. I use a cloth lunch box, have cloth baggies, and carry a thermos at work. I'm always on the look out for reuseable lunch box supplies for the boy's school lunches. 

Recently I got Yummi Pouch Brights (Set of 4) to review. 


What are Yummi Pouches?

They are reusable food pouches that are great for kids taking healthy snacks on the go. You can put so many different things in them. We put apple/pear sauce in ours.



They are perfect for lunches, picnics, and breakfast on the go. Mica just started being trained for Safety Patrol. The kids have to be dropped off to school early. They've been give a Yummi Pouch to have part of their breakfast on the go.

They are best for little kids, but we use them to. Costco sells apple sauce in pouches for any age. We'll use these reusable packages for any age as well.

You can combine style and convenience in an eco-friendly container.

Fill it Up With:


  • Smoothies
  • Blended Snacks
  • Apple Sauce


  • Easy to fill and clean through the top zipper opening and enjoyed by drinking from the side spout.


    Keep Your Kids Safe:


  • Freezer safe - Make a big batch of your child's favorite blended snacks or smoothies.
  • Dishwasher safe - Simply rinse with warm water, expand the pouch and stand upside down in the dishwasher.
  • Easy to fill - Pour or spoon in food though the wide top zipper opening. Holds up to 6 ounces.
  • BPA Free
  • PVC Free 
  • Phthalate Free
  • Reusable
  • Recyclable

  • Comes in 4 Fun Colors and Patterns:


    My favorite color | pattern has to be this one:


    Cost:

    $9.99 for 4 pouches. 

    Disclaimer: I received the products mentioned for free in exchange for an honest review. I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

    AdoramaPix Review

    You may remember that I posted about AdoramaPix before. I'm a big fan of photography. AdoramaPix helps people turn their digital photographs from abstract computer files into beautiful keepsakes designed to last a lifetime. 


    I was also wanting to get the perfect picture of my boys together, which never happened. Sickness, Travis being out of town, Isaak had a few fall mishaps, and rain got in the way. 

    Their website has a lot on it, so I was worried initially about ordering from it. My worries were for nothing. I did a step by step process of ordering from them. 


    Step one: Go to their website. Scroll down to Create Metal Prints.




    Step two: Pick the shape and size you want.


    They have a lot of sizes and shapes to choose from!


    The size and shape I chose:


    Step three: Choose your image. You can upload a new one, or find one you've uploaded already.



    I picked an image I took at Mesa Verde. A crow just happened to perch in one of their ancient windows.


    Here you can choose to leave it full color, black and white, or sepia tone. I went with full color.



    You can crop, rotate, and adjust the image different ways, and order it.


    It ended up being easy to order. I guess just a lot of steps made me nervous.

    Shipping wise it came really fast! 

    It did print greener on the right side than I prefer. There is just too much cyan that isn't in the print. It lost some print quality from the original. I've had this image printed on other printers. See the original below the print.



    I do love that it's printed on metal. How cool is that?!



    It came with all the stuff to hang it, or place it on a table.



    It also came with a cleaning rag.



    I do like the idea of the shape, size and material that it prints on. I wish they sent a proof if the image turns out so different from the preview, which mine did.

    Their contemporary metal prints capture memories in rich color and vibrant detail. Because your images are infused right into the metal, and not painted on the surface, their metal prints are extremely durable. Not only will your metal image be water and weather proof, but scratch resistant as well. You can even clean it with glass cleaner.



    Your memories deserve to live in true, archival luxury with AdoramaPix metal prints.

    You can find all the fun gift ideas HERE: 

    http://www.adoramapix.com/app/home/ 

    My readers get to save! 25% off Hexagon #Metal Prints! 

    Use promo code: 

    PXHEXMTL25 Expires 06/ 15 /2016


    Disclaimer: I received the product mentioned for free in exchange for an honest review. There will be a follow up post once I receive the product. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

    Tuesday, May 3, 2016

    WW: Peek a Boo {Linky}

    I was busy taking photos of flowers. I happened to notice that my family was gone.






    They were hiding. Peek a Boo!



     

    Monday, May 2, 2016

    Question of the Month

    A Life Examined has the question up this month: What are three pieces of advice you'd give to people starting their own blog?

    That's a hard one. Every blogger has their own way of doing things.


    1. Comment back to those that comment on your blog. If you have time make a few comments. That's a big part of how you get people coming back.

      I have to admit that I sometimes struggle with blog relationships when I comment and comment, and that blogger doesn't comment back very often. It's especially hard if they once did. Did I write something that rubbed them the wrong way? Did I open my mouth up too much about something they wrote? are things that enter my mind. I am who I am. I guess if they are going to judge me over one comment I wrote on their blog, or one post that I wrote on mine that's silly. More than likely it's nothing about me. They are just busy in that thing called life. Don't take things too personally.
       
    2. Try and be as true as true can be. There are times where you are going to not see eye to eye with people. There are people that look at things the same way as you. Remember that our differences and likenesses are what makes up this large, yet small world we live in.
       
    3. Set schedules for yourself. I participate in Word Full or Wordless Wednesdays. I know a lot of bloggers do, so it's a great time to bounce around, make comments, and hope people come back to comment on my blog.

      Side Note: You can come link up on my blog on Tuesday nights even if it isn't a Wordless, or Word Full post. I'm not all about rules. If you're going to come comment on my blog, I'll make an effort to comment back on yours.

      With this tip comes some extra advise. Just like you need to set schedules for yourself, you also need to know when to let things go. I used to do a thing called Out of the Box Saturday. It was time where I'd post about a visual artist, band or musician that was out of the box. While I enjoyed it, I also knew that it took time that I was running out of. In order to keep my blog going I had to let go of something. I let go of the weekly post I loved. This helped me to not feel too pressured, and burnt out. I can always go back to my 
      Out of the Box Saturday weekly posts at a later time.

    Dauber Dawgs Dot Markers Review

    Isaak loves playing with different mediums, and materials. The trouble with him is that he gets bored, and distracted easily. We have a lot of different things around that he can work with.

    Recently I got Dauber Dawgs Dot Markers for Isaak to review. 


    Isaak new exactly how these markers are used. He has apparently used similar ones at school.

    It comes with 8 colors:
    1. Purple
    2. Red
    3. Pink
    4. Orange
    5. Yellow
    6. Brown
    7. Green
    8. Blue
    I like that the colors are the color name instead of funky names like Blueberry Blue, or Pea Green. They should be listed just their color name because kids are using them that are possibly just learning their colors. Isaak knows his, but these markers can be used by toddlers to.

    I also like that the lid and label match the color that they make. 



    Color Sheets:

    Dauber Dawgs has 100 color sheets that can be downloaded and printed off. I did see some negative comments where customers thought there was going to be some color sheets in with their package. Printing 100 sheets can get expensive. 

    Maybe they could have 10 coloring sheets come printed with the package, and the rest available on their website. 


    Isaak likes to just color out of his imagination, so this didn't really effect him. 

    Here's what Isaak came up with:

    It would be best to use thicker paper with them, so no warping occurs. 


    This is part of a book Isaak is working on.


    The Markers Before and After Use:

    This was before use. I only dabbed it down on paper once.


    This was after use.


    Washable?

    They are supposed to be washable. Isaak used them on a book, so that he wouldn't get marker on the table, or floor. The book had marker on it that wouldn't wash off. Isaak's hands had marker on them that wouldn't wash off. Overall he didn't make too much of a mess. It washes off to an extent. 

    Here's the box that Isaak colored on, but tried to wash off. There's still pink on the box.


    Overall this is a great addition to my creative boys art stuff.

    Best Ages:

    They are best for toddlers and preschoolers. Isaak's a little old for them (almost 8), but he still enjoys them. Any age can use them.

    Cost:

    They are $23.99, but are on sale for $15.97.

    What's your favorite thing to color with?

    Disclaimer: I received a discount for the markers that were discussed in the review. The opinions are 100% mine.

    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