Friday, April 22, 2016

Random Tid Bits

  1. Mica informed us this morning that he needs Isaak's fake knife, and zombie mask for school next week.

    I said, "Um...I don't think that's a good idea!" Then Travis chimed in, "You can't take a fake, or real weapon to school!" Mica was very adamant that it's ok. His teacher even said so. ~According to Mica We said, "Judgment wise we do not ok for you, your partner, and your teacher."

    Thankfully he doesn't need this fake knife, and zombie mask until next Friday. We have time to call the teacher, and help him rewrite his poem. It's about a doctor that injures his patients. A mad doctor.

    Even the film Saw is mentioned in it. I said, "You've never seen Saw." He said, "I know, but someone else in my class has, and told me about it." I said, "That movie is rated R for a reason. It's a movie that some adults can't handle. I don't want you talking about it, and referring to it at school!" It was all a mess! I'm pretty sure this was all very innocent boy play/poem, but it could be interpreted very badly.



  2. We had a Parent | Teacher Open House at work today. It's not like Parent | Teacher conferences in lower grades. It's a time where the parents and students can meet the teachers, fill out the FASFA form with Financial Aid, and learn about the BFA program. They have a choice to get their associates here, or their BFA.

    I get nervous talking to parents. I just feel odd. It's that introverted part of me. 

  3. At the Open House I spent much of my time hiding talking to one of my students that's from Russia. I learned a lot. Her husband decided after having 2 kids that he didn't want them anymore. He told her to give them up for adoption. That's when she moved to the US with her sons. He used to make fun of the way their oldest talked like a girl. Isaak to has a very high pitched boy voice, that will change when he hits puberty. Her husband also slammed her for having their other son that has an eye problem. I'm glad she moved here. Hearing stories like that make me happy to live here. That's not to say that all countries, and all men are like that. It's just that her experience sounded horrible. 

  4. We have a pretty full weekend lined up. A weekend where there isn't much time to do any laying around. What are you doing this weekend? 

  5. I think we finally got Mica's elementary/middle school problem fixed. On the form to transfer him back to his current school it said that he has to serve at least 1 year at the school he was transferred to. We were panicking. The principle made a call, and it was solved like a snap of a finger. Thank you Mr. Principle! 

Wednesday, April 20, 2016

I Scream for Ice Cream

I took the boys out for ice cream. Do you ever look at their photos on the menu and think, "A single scoop in a dish would be fine, but damn that waffle cone looks wonderful!"?

I splurged. We never get ice cream. 

We all got different flavors. 

Isaak was telling me to stop being goofy.


Mica enjoyed himself so much that he spilled ice cream all down his new jacket that he loved so much - he refused to take it off. There was also puddles of brown below his seat. I made him wipe up the puddles with napkins.


I got a pecan flavor. cookies and cream, or anything chocolate with peanut butter are my favorites.

What's your favorite flavor of ice cream?

Best and Brightest Headlamp Flashlight Review

One thing we use a lot at our house are headlamps. We all took them cave exploring last summer on vacation, we used them when our power went out with a wind storm, Mica uses his to read, and we've used them when we've gone hiking.

Recently I got the Leibnitz Best and Brightest Headlamp Flashlight to review. 



Headlamp Uses:
  • Reading
  • Biking
  • Jogging
  • Camping
  • Cave Exploring
  • Hiking
  • When the Power Goes Out
  • Emergency Purposes 
  • Home Improvement
  • Walking the Dog
  • Waiting for Public Transportation
  • Hunting
  • BBQ
This headlamp has a lifetime warranty! If anything breaks you just contact the company to replace it.

Package:

It came in a tiny box. I was thinking that it wouldn't hold up. Boy was I wrong. It just gets condensed down in that box.



Really the thing that takes up the most space is the light unit. The strap doesn't take up a lot of room.


Strap:

I found the strap to be more comfortable than other headlamps we've owned. It's easy to adjust to.



Batteries:

Other headlamps we've owned came with batteries. I did have to use 3 AAA batteries. That was kind of the downfall with this headlamp.


The batteries were easy to put in. I had another one that I could not get the door to put batteries in off, and was afraid I'd break it. Not this headlamp.

This has a super long battery life! The batteries should last up to 120 hrs with the CREE LED technology. I haven't left them on that long to know if it will last that long.


Modes:
  • Ultra Bright Cree White LED 
  • Low Beam
  • Red Beam 
  • Red Flashing lights
Modes can be switched just by hitting 1 single button. The lightweight lamp swivels down 45 degrees. I just love that you can use a headlamp hands free. If I'm doing something in the dark I need my hands to be free to do whatever I need to do.

Ultra Bright Cree White LED

Low Beam

Red Beam

Cost:
  • $43.95, but on sale for $15.25
  • 100% satisfaction, or you get your money back guarantee
It's reliable, durable, weather resistant and impact resistant!

Kids love headlamps, so this would make an excellent gift!

Disclaimer: I received this headlamp for free for the purpose of this review. The opinions are 100% mine.

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

WW: Stuck {Linky}

This last weekend my oldest sister invited us over for lunch. We all brought something, and spent a few hours together.

The boys love spending time with their cousins. 

They played foosball. Mica knocked the bar out of place. He put his hand and arm inside the table to fix the bar, and his hand got stuck. 

Three different kids came up the steps saying, "Mica's arm is stuck!" Three adults went downstairs, and I said, "Hey wait here's my camera to take a picture." I'm such a punk of a mom! I would have so been the type to tickle him, while he was stuck to. 


My Brother-in-law is a firefighter that gets stuck calls sometimes. He told Mica how to move his arm to free it up. Minus a bruise he's ok.

After that the kids went to a park.

They came home and played a game on a phone.





 

Monday, April 18, 2016

Be a Kid for Just a Little Bit Longer!

Mica all the sudden thinks he's too big to be a kid.

For the most part he doesn't want to watch animations. That was a big discussion because Isaak wanted to watch Inside Out, and Mica didn't. We finally convinced him to give it a shot. Then he liked it.

One day a few weeks ago I made each of us a pancake face for breakfast:

Isaak was all excited to eat it. Mica on the other hand said, "Why? I don't want this. I'm too old for this! Dad would not approve." I don't know why Dad was brought up. I do know that he often times doesn't like my artsy food things.


I said, "Mica just roll with it. I'm an adult, and I love my pancake face."

Isaak happily ate his pancake face. Mica all grumpy like shoved the face parts off the pancake with his fork, and ate the pancake. 

I've always wanted my kids to be kids as long as possible.

Picasso Quotes:

It takes a long time to become young.

It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child.

Every child is an artist, the problem is staying a child when you grow up.

I do have to say that my kids dressed up in their Halloween costumes longer than most kids. They'd wear them outside. Mica wasn't Mica. He was Captain America, or Indiana Jones... Mica still loves Legos. He asks for toys when holidays come along. He's in 4th grade, but could be a 5th grader (he was 6 when he started school). We've made it this far, and there's still a little boy inside him. 

The Gnomist

I watched this short flick. I know it's 15 minutes, but it's a great 15 minutes! It captures that child within. 

Source


If you don't have time for The Gnoimist watch the intro to To Kill a Mockingbird:


If you don't like black and white any more watch the intro to Amélie:


These are all flicks I show during our Children's book illustration section of my Illustration class.

I gravitate towards children's books, I love food art, being silly is fun, board games are not boring, arts and crafts are wonderful.

What do you like to do that is childlike?

Gardening

We're so lucky that we have some great nurseries here in Omaha. We have Mulhalls that literally has almost everything. Their slogan is, Mulhalls has it all! My Dad is a huge garden person, and he always finds something they don't have. Earl May is great to. They grow a lot of their plants from seed. It's smaller than Mulhalls, but still great. We also have a place called Indian Creek.

What nurseries are popular in your area?

Travis planted a bunch of seeds before he left for his residency. He was back and forth. He said, "Don't worry about watering these. They should be fine. I just watered them." So I didn't worry about it. When he came home he was so annoyed that they weren't watered. Yep they dried up. If someone tells me not to do something I don't. He was ultra annoyed with me. I felt bad. I take things very literally with instructions. It would have been better to tell me to check the seeds in a few days.

This weekend we went to Mulhalls to get edible plants: Tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, and more. He'll plant sees for collard greens and kale.

I hauled edging, and dug up weeds in a weed patch.

Travis decided to plant things a new way this year. He basically made the garden area pop up off the ground by layering things like a lasagna. 

That was all weeds that I yanked up. He defined the shape.


These are all Amazon boxes from me. They are put down and watered.


Then things go on in layers: Mulch, compost, hay, crushed fall leaves, sticks, repeat, and repeat. We compost year round.






He even put crushed rock in there.


You can see compost here:


Broken down grass:



I'm pretty sure he'll be hurting this week. I was sore yesterday, but after I hauled, and weeded I did indoor chores like laundry and meals.

Isaak loves gardening, but he's not good at weeding just yet. Mica could careless about being outdoors at all. They still tried to help.

Isaak dropped a edging stone on his foot. I thought he'd never stop crying. Mica was kind of like me saying, "Enough Isaak. You're fine." He milks pain to the max. I checked him out. He was fine.

The start of our garden is in. We still have to plant the kale, collard greens, potatoes, and beans. One thing at a time.

Travis is going to a neighbor's house to collect sticks for the next garden area. If you dig holes to plant sticks, or sections of tree you don't have to water as much. It absorbs the water like a sponge.

My husband is a researcher/gardener/artist. He figures it out. I just do what I'm told. Ha!

It would be nice to add a Chiminea to the backyard. They'd totally fit my husband's ancestry background. He has one whole side from Mexico, and the Chiminea started there as well. Do you own a Chiminea? You can read about Best Chiminea: Get the Right Rustic Fireplace for Your Relaxation Space here. They are great for roasting marshmallows, or just having a nice fire when you're hanging out in the backyard.

Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/bluekdesign/3930236103/
I think the look of a Chiminea would be super cool! 

Did you plant anything this year?

Sunday, April 17, 2016

Cariloha - Luxury Organic Bamboo Sheets Review

I haven't had new sheets for a long time. Last week I got an amazing set! Cariloha - Luxury Organic best bamboo sheets are the softest sheets I've ever had!


I have bad allergies, and need as much sleep as I can get.

Colors:

  • Sage: The color I chose
  • Sandy Shore: Was my second choice
  • Bahama Blue
  • Ivory
  • White



I really like all their colors, but sage and sandy stone go with our bedroom more.


The Queen Set Comes With:
  • 2 pillow cases: We have larger bamboo pillows, and the cases fit our pillows really well.
  • A fitted sheet
  • A standard sheet



I think I'm in bedding heaven. The sheets aren't perfect with how smooth they are. All the pictures are after we've slept on them for a few nights. I'm just trying to keep it real.

Cost:

S199.99, but on sale for $179. It does work with Amazon Prime.


Disclaimer: I received these sheets for a discounted price for the purpose of this 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