Random Tid Bits

1. Today is Graduation Day, for the college I work at. I'm kind of sad about it it. Usually there's a rented place, gowns, top portfolio awards, funny awards that a goofball instructor says, and a ceremony.
   
   This year it will be a Zoom video that will literally be just the Director talking, and a bunch of names read off. No speeches, no special awards, and no funny awards. Usually inside I roll my eyes at the funny awards, but this year I'll miss them. I am goofy, but I always felt like a graduation wasn't really the time, or the place for it.


2. I was invited to a past friends daughter's graduation. She babysat, for us once. Her siblings are in Mica and Isaak's classes. We've kind of parted ways. Not because we don't like each other. It's just that we all got busy, and their kids went to a different middle school, than our boys. Do I A. Send a card and money, or do I B. Just not do anything?
   
   Then our neighbor graduated high school. We literally only say, "Hi" and maybe a 5 minute conversation. We've invited them over early on when we moved to our house. The people across the street have had many neighbors over, invited them, and they never show up. We don't ever get a Christmas card. We weren't invited to anything. I only know their son is graduating because they have a banner in front of their house. Do I A. Send a card and money, or do I B. Just not do anything?
   
   I'm not saying I need to get something to give something. It's not like that! I just don't know what's expected, or is there a right thing to do? I don't really feel like I know these kids. If they had a party I'd show up. Then I'd justify giving because we went to the party. I'm leaning more towards giving anyhow. How much do you give to this kid you don't know? I think too much! Maybe I'm overthinking this because of the talk about us possibly going into another Great Depression. I have no idea what will happen with my job, when the fall rolls around.


3. Every year I look at my disgusting windows and think, "Man they need to be cleaned!" Travis is like, "Who cares!". Well apparently I do care. It really doesn't take that long, it looks better, and I feel better after doing it. He grinds metal below our 3 main windows. Boy do they get dirty!
   
   This year Mica helped. He helped reach where I couldn't. It was wonderful!
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. Mr. Mica has been acting like a third parent. Has anyone else's kid done this? I know Isaak's 12, a punk-a-monk age. Travis is back at work, and I'm supposed to be working here. He's like, "Mom you should be more strict with Isaak. He's getting away with this _______." The blank changes with the day. What he's getting away with, is the same stuff Mica did when he was Isaak's age.


5. I have about 3 doctor appointments coming up: Both boys have a check-up + Allergy Doctor for me. I'm not going to lie, I'm kind of not wanting to go considering how lackadaisical people have been in Omaha. Many don't wear masks at all. Do you feel this way, when you leave the house?

Random Tid Bits

1. This little bug was inside my work. I just couldn't kill it, and didn't want to deal with getting something to put it on to put it back outside. I just took a photo of it instead.
   
   
   
   
   
2. One of my best students is so nosey. She asked me about another student. Did so and so graduate? Did she just walk, for graduation? Did she have to take a summer class? Is she really joining us to get her BFA? Just reading what I just wrote makes me tired. I responded back with, So and so did graduate. If you have other questions talk with so and so. I also mentioned that people do in fact change, and to give this girl another chance. Hopefully I handled that well. 


3. I have this horrible habit of freezing when I'm unable to do what I set out to do. Facebook and Instagram wouldn't upload my pictures for a review. Most people would move on. I told myself to move on. Instead I kept trying, and practically froze up with getting anything else done. It would be horrible, for me if the whole internet crashed. Not that I wouldn't find something else to do, it's just that I'd keep trying to see if I could hop on the internet over and over again knowing full well it doesn't work. 






4. Fresh Farms - formally The Fruit Truck was in town delivering peaches and cherries. I told my family about it (mistake number 1).
   
   My younger sister went out of town. She said, "Can you pick up a small box of cherries and peaches for me?" I didn't mind, and did. I said to Travis, "Since she was out of town, she'll probably want me to deliver the fruit to her house. Heck she may even want me to process it for her. I didn't think this through. I already hauled my ass out of bed, stood in line, paid for them, and hauled the heavy boxes around for her."
   
   He said, "She wouldn't want you to do all that." I texted her how much it was, and asked, "When are you going to come get them?" She responded with, "Saturday. If they ripen before then can you wash them, and put them in my freezer?" I didn't respond back. Usually I'm a Yes Yes person, and I'm trying to change that. My husband thinks I say, Yes too much! It's not a big deal in one sense, but in another it happens all the time. If her kid left something at my house - she wants me to drop it off. If my kid left something at her house - I have to go get it, or it will be lost for forever.
   
   Are you a Yes Yes person?


5. We had a Lemonade Sale last weekend. The boys made $30 each, totally $60! Not bad! Travis had a bunch of frozen strawberries in a cooler, to make more Strawberry Lemonade. He forgot about them. Many bags busted open, so they were all sticky. We ended up making Strawberry Jam, so we didn't have to throw them out. It took most of the evening, but we now have 25 jars of Strawberry Jam.
   
   
   
   
   

WW: Last Day of Elementary {Linky}

Mica had his last day of Elementary School a week and a half ago. I think it's so odd that we make such a big deal out of kids ending preschool, which is only a year or two, but we don't for elementary that's five or six years. I'm not saying that Elementary School should have caps and gowns, but why do many of our preschools?

Anyhow Mica will be moving on up to middle school next year. He'll be bussed for the first time. Many of his fellow classmates are going to different middle schools. An old chapter ended, and a new chapter is soon to begin.

Mica and his teacher Mrs. Hume:

I admit that I did tear up when they kept calling Mica's name off for different things:

• 1st in the Science Fair that he did with his friend Aiden. They did theirs on germs in the house.

• Safety Patrol all year long, before and after school.

• Student Council where this year they mentored younger children. Mica felt super proud of that!

• Gold for academics. 

• He was mentioned for being the top of the school for the Spelling Bee, and in a group for the Golden Sower Reading Competition. 

I was holding my composer just fine, until Mr. Miller asked for the box of tissues because he just couldn't hold his tears back any longer.

I handed Mica his book that I had all his teacher's sign. I only wish that I would have thought to have his PE, art, music, councilor and technology teachers sign it. Oh well. All his main teacher's signed it.

My little boy started out at this school as a shy Kindergartener: 

Now he's a confident 6th grader:

I know awards are just pieces of paper, but they do make me proud:

UncommonGoods Review

I generally find myself hooked into artsy stores. One store I just can't get enough of is UncommonGoods! They just have so many unique gifts. I've bought and have had presents bought for me since around 2000. For you long time readers, you know I seek out different types of music. I do the same with stores, art, clothing, and more.

About UncommonGoods:

UncommonGoods was founded in 1999 and headquartered in Brooklyn, New York. It is a privately-owned retailer that endeavors to feature unique jewelry, designer décor, tabletop items, and handcrafted gifts created in harmony with the environment without harm to animals or people.

• They run all their operations out of the historic Brooklyn Army Terminal. I'd love to see their headquarters. It totally sounds like a unique business! 

• The lowest-paid seasonal worker starts at 50% above the minimum wage. That is so important considering the rough economy we have right now. 

• They make it their mission to support and provide a platform for artists and designers. I teach design, make art, and my husband and dad are artists. I can't stress how much we need art more in our culture.  

• Half of what they sell is made by hand. There are unique items all throughout their site. Most of the jewelry products, home décor and table top items they carry are created in the USA, and about one-third of their entire collection incorporates recycled and/or upcycled materials.

Since graduation is coming up I thought I could get some inspiring presents for some great people - myself included!

Mica just finished elementary school. Now I know it's not a graduation per say. To me it's more of an accomplishment than graduating preschool was. Mica spent 6 years at his elementary school. It is a time in his life where one chapter ends and another one begins. In his case most of his friends will be going to a different middle school. Sigh!

Every teacher should have Inspiring things!

I got his teacher this Inspirational Pencil Set! Teacher's need more support than they get!

We all need a set of Inspirational Pencils! They each say something a little different: Hustle Hard, Be Awesome Today, Good Vibes Only, Do Your Best, and I Can and I will.

Since my own students graduate I got a few gifts for me. I'm a teacher too! College instructor's rarely get anything.

I thought the book, F in Exams would be wonderful to read when I'm recovering from my sinus surgery coming up. It's a book full of wrong answers, or different answers than what the teacher expected.

Apparently someone else thought this book would be great to read as well! Mica was laughing his geeky self off when he was reading it!

Here are some inside pages:

I also got the Alice in Wonderland Literary Scarf. 

This scarf has 4 options: 1. Alice in Wonderland (the one I got) 2. Jane Eyre 3. Wuthering Heights (sold out for now) 4. Pride and Prejudice (I almost got that one)

They have other neat-o scarves on their site. Be sure to check them out!

I have a birthday June 21st, so this will be a Happy Birthday to Me gift.

I got my sister a necklace called Protection Necklace. 

She didn't graduate from anything, but my nephew Emerson did! He graduated from preschool! Since he has a genetic disorder it is a very big deal to graduate from preschool. His life expectancy isn't what most people's would be. I thought this necklace could help my sister through rough times ahead. He's in and out of the hospital a lot, so my sister needs all the support she can get.

It came in the best box:

Possibly my only thing to add would be a finger print on the back of the angel to match the rest of the artist's branding. I know the cost would go up. Then it would match the box, and the card. If the necklace got flipped around on accident, the finger print would show. Or if the person wearing it could flip it on purpose for whatever mood they are in. A different necklace every other day.

It's so sweet though! I love the design of it! The length of the chain is perfect!

Take 1:

Can you tell that Emerson is a punk with taking pictures. I'd say it's because his hearing aid wasn't on, but he's like that even when it is. We had quite a few photos like this actually.

Take 2:

Finally he looked up! :) He's lost some teeth, so he has a toothless grin.

The necklace was on back order, but I still got it fairly fast. Everything shipped quickly!

With every purchase you make to UncommonGoods, they’re proud to donate $1 to the non-profit of your choice. They started the Better to Give program 12 years ago, they’ve donated over $1 million to charities around the world!

Have you ever shopped at UncommonGoods? What is your favorite thing mentioned in this post? 

Disclaimer: I was received the items mentioned in this post from UncommonGoods. They certainly inspired me to write this post. I only review things that I think my family or readers will enjoy, or find useful. 

Graduation

My niece, the boy's only girl cousin graduated last week. She was born when I was in college, so it makes me feel old.

She's a good girl, great student and has done wonderful things already. In high school she started a cheerleading squad for disabled kids. She was on the news about that a handful of times. She even invited one, or two of them to her party.

This is kind a sweet story: My niece met two guys at the gym. They are twins. She got their attention. The one that was full of himself started walking over. She said, "I'm sorry I wanted to talk to your brother." He has alopecia, which is condition that makes him have no hair. He is used to the girls going after his brother, who does not have the condition. They've been dating for awhile now.


Here is my cousin and niece about the same age little and all grown up.

My niece is in the purple dress and in the black and white dress.

I have my graduation to go to today. I'm a teacher, so I have one every year to attend. I usually rattle off an artist's quote. This year I wrote something.

It's a parody off this book:

I teach Illustration, so it's fitting. I'm going to explain that I thought of the poem when a student's mom brought in cupcakes. I started to write If You Give a Grad a Cupcake, but it wasn't as funny as If You Give a Student a Cupcake.

If You Give a Student a Cupcake

If you give a student a cupcake,
They’ll want a cup of coffee to go with it.
They’ll make a McDonald’s run to get some.
They accidentally spill the coffee right by their laptop.
They’ll wipe it up.
Wiping the table reminds them of  laundry they have to do.
They make a trip to their parent’s house to do their laundry.
When they put the laundry in the washer,
They trip over their shoes and bump into the freezer.
Bumping into the freezer will remind them
They have to plan for supper.
They ask mom and dad for money.
The money is in Mom’s purse.
They will see a utility bill, which reminds them their rent is due tomorrow.
They will look for their own checkbook.
Their checkbook is no where to be found.
They realize that their checkbook is on their desk at school.
Dad pays for their rent.
At school they find their checkbook.
While reaching for their checkbook they see an art project that was due last week.
They start to work on their art project, but their cell phone rings.
They remember they wanted to text a friend, whom they often have coffee with.
Thinking of coffee will remind them
That they were going to have a cup.
And chances are...If they have a cup of coffee,
The person that sits next to them will have eaten the cupcake that went with it.

Preschool Graduation 2

If you missed Isaak's first preschool graduation, you can read about it here. He had two because he went to two preschools. The best picture I'm saving for my next WW. You'll need to come back to see that one.

When we got to the church Isaak said, "Why are we here?" I told him that we were there for his graduation.

He wasn't too happy about it. I'm not sure if he was sad he wasn't going to see his teachers any more, upset that he wouldn't go to school with his cousin Elijah any longer, or confused because we were at a different church than his preschool is held at {they have sister churches}.

It lasted most of the evening. There are multiple preschools put into one ceremony. I think Isaak was happy once he knew he didn't have to stand in front of a crowd.

This is Water

In the mad rush of today's world we often take things, and people for granted. I'm just as guilty as the next person. 

 

No matter how high and mighty I'd love to appear, I'm not perfect. I'm far from it.

I step in line at a store, see that the cashier is taking what I feel as FOREVER, when really it's just longer than usual. I have no clue what they've been through that day, no clue what the person before me went through. They may have had a less quality of day than I have, or not. There's no way to know. 

I think we (anyone out there including me) have to learn not to take things for granted. This video is a great explanation of all this. It's a wonderful speech that was given to a graduation class. The speech was so good that they turned it into a short film. When you watch it, the title of this post will make sense.

WW: Graduation {Linky}

I got dressed up last weekend to go to a graduation for my students.

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The End of the School Year is Among Us

I've been wanting to blog more, but it's close to finals time. Lets just say that I've been busy grading, grading and more grading. My seniors have senioritis. They don't want to do anything I want them to do. They want to be out of school in the worst way. What they don't realize is that 5 years from now many of them will wish to be back in school; minus the student loans. Truly this senior class is the best students I've had. A few know they are good. It's gone to their heads. The rest, I'm kind of sad to see them leave.

Mica's Kindergarten teacher mentioned that she lost the kids' attention as soon as spring break happened. In some regards I lost the drive in my students as well.

I'm so happy that this semester I don't have to hand grade tests! I have a program that puts the test over the network, mixes up the order of the questions and gives me the results in the matter of seconds! Second semester my first year students have laptops; first semester they did not.

My Grading Consists of: 

A stack of stationery sets to grade. All the companies I picked out. Many I discovered through blogging. My goal was to pick companies the students have never heard of. Then they'd have to look them up. The students redesigned their logos in two ways. Then made stationery sets for them.

A stack of editorial illustrations to grade. I found about 10 really interesting, out there articles. Then the students did illustrations for them. My favorites are: The First Arab Sumo Wrestler and Squirrels Gone Wild.

A stack of Resume Packages for my seniors.

Preschool Graduation Number 2

Did I mention that we were busy last week! Yep, and I've been trying to get majorly caught up!

Mica's second graduation went well.

 Here's my handsome boy!

 Most of the pictures of Mica ended up looking like this that night:

I have to show this. This is when Mica was singing Zacchaeus. It was the part where he was climbing the Sycamore tree. Mica over exaggerates actions! He wanted little to do with the singing, but a lot to do with the actions.

First Graduation

Mica has a fun day at preschool! He goes to two preschools this year. We did that to A) Keep him busy. B) Each preschool had different things to offer.

He has two graduation type events. One for each school. This preschool's graduation is very low key and fun. The other one is a little more formal.

First the kid's got to throw water balloons against a brick wall.

They had an obstacle race.

They carried wooden beads with spoons all through the classroom. The objective was to not drop them.

Then we ate a sack lunch. We had PBJ, carrot, orange, chocolate milk and a Little Debbie Zebra Cake because it's Isaak's birthday. I'll probably make a real cake this weekend with Grandma and Grandpa Apel coming to town. For sure we'll have cake Memorial Day with his party!

They got certificates and hats to keep.

I wonder if he can use this diploma to get a job some day? ;)

Mica with his silly glasses on.

Wordless Wednesday - These are a Few of Their Favorite Things

Mica's favorite thing right now is his new hat! We found it at Target for $4. He told the cashier that he was going home to change clothes to look handsome. 

The next day I didn't even have to tell him to get dressed. He went and put the same outfit on {hat and all}. We went to Costco, and he was singing, Singin' in the Rain and dancing down the isles. He was taking his hat off and dipping it down. It was a little embarrassing, but at least he was happy!


Isaak's favorite thing right now is his big Melissa and Doug Boston Terrier dog!

He loves his dog like he's real. I'm so glad he likes it because I can't get him the real thing. I would seriously die with all my allergy problems! Even the fake thing I vacuum down every once in awhile. Isaak's our sensitive one. He loves babies, puppies and kitty's.

Other Notes:

• Mica graduates preschool this week. We have a end of the year relay race event to attend at one school and at the other is a big graduation hat and robe thing event to go to.
• Isaak turns 3 on the 19th! I can't believe it! Where does time go? 
• There's a giveaway going on here for Tropical Traditions Raw Honey. Enter here please! 
• Check out my guest post at Go Graham Go!