Random Tid Bits

1. A coworker I've worked with for more than 15 years is cursed to have things happen to him. When the flooding happened, his Mom's house got hit. He got sick when he was trying to clear her house out. He's had rare teeth infections. He had someone try to swindle him by telling him his air conditioner was a goner, when really it just needed a part fixed.
   
   His latest thing that happened: He left his Hummer unlocked somewhere in Colorado where they didn't even have 911 access. A bear opens his Hummer door, gets in and the door shuts behind him or her. It couldn't get out. My coworker was woken up by his Hummer horn going off again and again. When he got out to see what was up, he saw a bear in there. He opened the door, only to have it close on him once again. It was on a hill. He opened a different door, and the bear ran out. Inside was all kinds of claw marks, bear saliva, and bear poop. The bear pooped in his little girl's carseat. Could you imagine what the insurance company was thinking when they called?
   
   
   


2. Mica went out to pick raspberries. He was outside for 45 minutes. He came back inside with 11 berries in the bowl.
   
   
   
   
   I said, "This is all you picked? He said, "I did pick more." I said, "Where are they?" He said, "Bugs started flying in my face. When butterflies started flying near me, the I flung up the bowl, and many of the berries flung all over the place." Mica's afraid of butterflies. Do you know anyone afraid of butterflies?
   
   
   
   
   
3. I'm still trying to figure this one out, maybe you can help me. Isaak has 2 "friends" that have been hanging out together a lot. There's nothing wrong with that. Back when Isaak had a birthday party late May the two tried to leave before presents were opened, dessert was pulled out, and games were played. They had their own overnight. I stopped them in their tracks, and told them they had to stay for those things to happen before they went to have an overnight with each other at 2 PM. Odd!
   
   Last Friday I said, "Isaak I'm off work. How about you ask a friend to come over." He called one of those boys to come to hang out. Guess what? They were together. Automatically both boys came over. From experience when 3 get together, 1 always gets left out. I did my best to have things for them to do to have a good time. There was laughter.
   
   Dinner time rolled around. I said, "Do you boys want a brat?" They did. I asked, "Do you want to watch a show, while we eat. They agreed on Stranger Things. They both had watched it before. As soon as they were done eating they stood up and said, "We're ready to leave now. We'll wait outside." No mention of asking if Isaak could go with them. Not that he always needs to. I asked, "Why the sudden urgency to leave? Did something happen? Did someone say something?" Nothing was said back, except, "That was awkward." I told them suddenly leaving in the middle of something is awkward. I also said that it's not nice to always leave Isaak uninvited.
   
   When we were ready, we took them to the one boy's house. No parents were there, so I called the one kid's Grandma (his caregiver). She didn't even know they were going to my house to begin with, if I hadn't texted her. His sister was there, so apparently it was ok. She was going to talk with her grandson the following day about it all. I never got a follow up. Not that I should, but again odd. I didn't talk with the other kid's parents. His mom is from Myanmar, so it's hard to have a deep conversation with her.
   
   I'd drop it all. Thinking...Isaak will get better friends at his new school. BUT one of those kids is going to his new school. Isaak's been friends with these boys, since Kindergarten. Never has he ever had problems with them until recently. I don't know this because they wouldn't tell me, but part of me thinks Isaak would be more popular if he had a video game console. We live in the Dark Ages, and they only have Kindles, and a Nintendo DS. What would you do? Did I handle the situation right? My kids are really good kids. I so want them to have good friends.


4. Bossman has never been to excited about me recycling. It eats up company time. This summer he didn't pay, for the dumpster to be cleared out. He's been all about recycling. I've taken his boxes, his daily newspaper and more. When I walked into work on Monday he had 4 big trash bags filled to the rim with paper shreds. He said I could take them. It was too much for me, and my little Civic. When he left my coworker helped me shove them in the locked dumpster.


5. When I took a day off I knew an Amazon package was going to be delivered. I saw the truck. It popped up as "Delivered". No package. I messaged them after the 35 recommended hours. Talking to them is like talking to no one. You have 3 things to choose from every time you talk to them. They said it would be delivered by Monday. Nope! They sent a new package out. Let's hope I get it this time!

The Ever Famous Eye Roll

via GIPHY

I just want to give the ever famous eye roll all the time lately.

Mica's going through the, "I feel threatened when you say that" phase. I don't know where he's getting this feeling threatened bit. I mean we've only hit him like once in his whole life. That was when he tried to run across the street when a car was heading towards him. He is 12. He is around other kids that have attitude. He reads a lot of books, which characters could have attitude. It's fairly new to us. Sure he's gone through phases, but usually it's short lived. I hope this one is too. I don't care that he shuts himself in his room so much. It's part of growing up to have privacy. The attitude bit needs to go! I think he felt threatened from me telling him to work faster, and pay attention to what he was doing.

Walk Out | Walk Up | Why Not Both?

Mica's school had a walk out a few weeks ago. Right now they are on Spring Break. Ok...I'm glad young people are standing up for what they believe in, BUT most middle schoolers don't understand what's going on.

Teachers have been pushed down because they don't want kids to walk out. It's a safety thing. They are responsible for those kids.

Those in Middle School are usually in tune with their own life changes (acne, hair that's growing in places it didn't grow before, and feelings) at this point. Travis had about an hour talk with the boys about what the walk out is about, and what stepping up is all about. Neither child had a clue prior to the talk.

Heck I think some adults don't get it. People sure do have opinions on if kids should walk out or step up. It's like it's one or the other type thing. Why not do both if that's what they believe? Gun Control isn't just about guns being taken away. It's about monitoring who has guns, allowing those who buy guns to buy them, but have background checks first, and giving people that have mental conditions the help they need. Those things are more what the walk out is about  to me.

The people that are against walking out want kids to walk up. Go to a person that needs help, and help them. Pick that kid that always gets picked last. Be kind! Isaak in particular does that anyhow. If he was older - I don't know why he couldn't walk up and walk out.

We get on this younger generation for not being excited about things. Here they push to fight for some rights, and we're pushing them down for it. I do get that teachers can't have the students walking out to God only knows where. Maybe the staff should be allowed to go with them. A walk would do a lot of people good.

God in Schools

So one of my family member's posted this:

For one whoever originally posted that needs to learn to get better lighting when they take photos! For two the font choices are awful! Ha!

I've stayed quiet for why too long in my life! I commented: God was allowed in the church where the Dylann Roof shot and killed 9 people. He was also present in the church where Devin Patrick Kelley killed more than 2 dozen people.

Guess what? Not everyone believes in God. Guess what? In Denmark they have the highest percent of atheists. Denmark one of the happiest places to live. I'm not saying everyone should be an atheist. Be what you want to be. The problems we have are bigger than God not being talked about in public schools. If you do believe in God, God is everywhere right? That's what I was taught in confirmation class.

Recycle

My boss was on vacay for this week. That is up until today. He said all frantic like, "Alissa do you know where those recycle boxes came from in our break room?" They've been here for 2 yrs now! I recycle the freaking school papers.

I said, "Well technically they belong to the city, but I brought them here. I just put them there to get them out of the classrooms."

He said, "Well they can't be there. We need to hide them for the Open House. Tell me where you put them." All with a concerned look on his face.

Then he said as he walked away, "I may be using you to get things done for the Open House today and tomorrow."

I took them to a storage bay. He stopped me and said, "Where are you going with those? Don't go towards the classroom with them."

I said, "To the storage bay."

He said, "No that room is locked. It will be harder to get them in and out of there."

He directed me to the storage room.

Yep a day of eye rolling!

Recycling and Reuse

Recycling:

At home we recycling everything that can be. They don't take the glass because too many garbage men were getting hurt from the broken stuff. The city does have a spot where they have dumpsters to collect glass. We have one of those spots that's walking distance, so when we get a small bag full we walk it over to recycle it.

Collecting:

For awhile we were collecting caps. The city didn't want them because they were so small. An artist friend collects them for art, so we gave him our collection every so often. I was surprised at how fast we collect those things! We don't even drink bottled water, or soda at our house.

I also hang onto yogurt and cottage cheese containers for students to use for paint water.

Compost: 

We keep a compost pile year round. I have since I was little. It's good for when you need to grow things, it doesn't take up too much room, and I love that my garbage rarely stinks because all our peelings and extra food scraps go into the compost bin outside. Along with that we hang on to all our leaves too.

I once had a grocery cart I got for a Halloween. I was a bum. I may be a bum again for Halloween because it was so easy! Anyhow we thought about getting rid of the cart, but then saw this:

Source

We're going to line it with burlap, keep compost scraps and leaves in there, and plant stuff on top. 

School:

I had a student that recycled paper for the last few years. She just graduated. There is no recycle program here at all. 

Personally I feel like city businesses should be forced to recycle. They go through things way more than a family would. I know that carpet and furniture stores have to crush their boxes, and recycling should be the next logical step. 

As far as homes go, I think it's a personal take. If I lived out in the sticks I'd just burn my trash. I wouldn't take steps to go into town to recycle. Gas would be burned just to go into the city to recycle. I suppose it could be collected, and taken into town when I went. I'd have to weigh out if it was worth it, or not. It just doesn't make sense. I would however keep a compost bin, or pile.

I decided to ask my work: There are many students that feel passionate about recycling here. The student that did this is no longer here. In order to sustain a positive student mindset I feel like it's important to keep this going. If I went to the library, got 3 recycle bins (1 for each classroom) could I recycle the paper here?

Source

The response pissed me off: Only if you use your own time to do it. You have to keep the bins from overflowing. You have to make sure the bins are no where in site for Open Houses. 

This had to go through 3 people before it came back to me. 

The bins are always under the tables where the printers are. I don't see how having a recycle bin out is any different than having a trash can sitting there. 

I understand about making sure they don't overflow. I wouldn't want that either. 

The message came from the Director, but it was actually my Boss that decided what to say back to me. The Director said, "If you need any help, let me know!" :) I know know my Boss. He's nice, but certainly not for change. It's odd because he runs an art school! My Boss just got done saying that he wants me to run things how I see fit, yet he's this way about me recycling. 

Would you start the recycling program, or would you just say screw it? 

I feel passionate about it, but their response makes me want to scream. Part of me wants to throw back at them that I was told in my review that I could run the classroom more... I'm not a difficult person. Actually I'm pretty easy going for the most part. They schedule guest speakers in our classes at random times, and I bend without a fuss. They change my assignments, and I make sure they are changed properly without complaining about it. They make me manage the classroom being cleaned by the students before breaks, and I do it well. I do know that if I don't say something than it all piles up, and one day I will want to blow up.  

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.

Envirosax Review

I just love having reusable sacks for shopping. Sometimes when I shop I've seen people ask the cashier to please put one item in each plastic bag. It seriously drives me batty watching them waist bags like that. It costs money to make plastic bags, and more money to recycle them.

I just won a Envirosax Rosa Bag from their Facebook page: Conserving Now.

The bag rolls up, so it's great for space! I could fit it in my purse.

 What's so great about this bag anyway?

• I love using Envirosax Rosa Bag because I know I can use over and over again. It's much better to use than the plastic bags, which often times get thrown out.
• It's water resistant. You can take it to the beach, or to the swimming pool with no worries about it getting wet.
• If you do want to get rid of it, which I don't know why anyone would, it's 100% recyclable. 
• It's fully washable, and won't fade in the process.
• It's so easy to carry in your handbag because it can be folded up.
• It's tested for safety and strength.
• It's both light weight and strong. It holds up to 44 pounds! 
• It comes in a selection of patterns and colors. I love the patter I got!
• They are not that expensive. The bag I got is on a close out sale, so it's $6.99!

Here's a close up of the pattern that is on my bag:

Many more patterns and colors are available on their site.

The boys and I went shopping to get stuff to dye Easter eggs. That's what we are doing tonight. Isaak is so excited. The bag held everything we got. Actually there was room in the bag for more.

We got 2 dozen white eggs, a dozen of brown eggs, and Easter egg dye.

I'm always trying to get my boys to carry groceries, and they seemed to like this bag.

I like that the handle is a little thicker to stay on their itty bitty shoulders. The bag looks big on them, but it's so light weight. I assure you they did not have problems holding it.

Isaak sporting the Envirosax Rosa Bag. He liked to wear it on the opposite shoulder.

Mica sporting the Envirosax Rosa Bag.

Check out Conserving Now's:

• Website
• Facebook page
• Twitter page

Disclaimer: The opinions on the post are my personal take on the product. This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review. I won a product from Conserving Now to help with the review.

Upcycled Snack Containers

Mica helped me make these snack containers today:

We just cut our milk containers in 1/2. Then cut each side into a semi circle. The sides that have Velcro I made a little bigger than the sides that do not. It was pretty easy to clean out.

I'm taking one to work tomorrow filled with grapes and celery.

Mica seemed pretty happy with the results. Isaak kept saying, "Mommy that's for milk! Not my snack!"

I like the cow on the back of the Smart Balance HeartRight Fat Free Milk. The other one is Blue Diamond Almond Breeze. Isaak will only drink cow's milk. Mica likes almond milk.

I only paid for the Velcro. I got the idea here.

I do plan on making the sandwich container on the site out of a gallon milk container. I tried to make it today and quickly realized that it doesn't work very well with the gallons that have the circle indents. I'll have to wait until I use up my purified water because they don't have circle indents.