WW: Isaak Got an Award {Linky}

Isaak worked so hard last year; trying to earn a principle award medal. It stands for being respectful, and responsible.

All he got was certificates:

He was happy about the certificates, but he also wanted a principle award medal. It didn't help that his brother got a few of them. A medal is much more cool than a certificate. When they get a medal they get to have lunch with the principle. The principle shows them a magic trick.

This year he got a medal a month into school starting. He's had nothing, but green (good) dots. I put the medal in a safe spot, and he got mad at me. He wanted to wear it every evening last week.

If you have a moment please enter the Cooking with Beans eBook Giveaway.

An Itty Bitty Note

This little boy lost yet another tooth this weekend. It's one that isn't too obvious.

He said to Mica, "I'm going to write a letter to the Tooth Fairy, I'm going to make her a picture, and leave her a feather. She'll like the feather Mom!"

I helped him spell out what he wanted to say. He wrote with yellow on a white piece of paper. Oh so hard to read. ;) His note thanked her for coming to his house every time he looses a tooth. His picture was a paper collage. He likes gluing and taping all different papers together.

He said, "I'm going to stay up really late, and catch her."

The Tooth Fairy wrote a note back to Isaak on shimmery shiny paper. She wrote the note in tiny handwriting.

It said:

Dear Isaak,

Thank you for the lovly note. It was really kind of you. I'm glad you didn't wait up for me. I simply can not be seen. Little kids like you need your sleep in order to grow. 

Have a good day tomorrow. Don't forget to tell your teacher about losing a tooth.

Love,

The Tooth Fairy

Techno Gears Marble Mania Dual Speedway 2.0 Review

My boys really loved reviewing: Techno Gears Marble Mania Dual Speedway 2.0. It isn't every day that they get things in the mail just for them. 

Dual Speedway 2.0 is the child s creation of twisting and turning racing tracks. With dual launchers your kids can race against each other and see who crosses the finish line first. I do love that they have more than one track. It makes it fun for the kids to race.

There are more than 300 pieces that will create an exciting marble speedway. If your child likes to set things up like Legos or K'NEX building sets, they will love this toy. Part of the fun, and challenge in Mica's case was setting it up. 

The toy is for ages 8 and up. Mica just turned 9. He's usually really good about setting Lego sets up, but something went wrong with this. It had to be disassembled, and reassembled with Daddy's help. In Mica's defense Isaak was pestering him the whole time he was setting it up. Isaak wanted to play with the track. Mica's concentration was lacking.

When Daddy helped, they had no trouble at all.

At this stage I asked Mica, "What size of batteries do you need?" Mica replied back saying, "Energizer will do." Not the reply I was needing. On the box it told me what size of batteries I needed. It requires two AA batteries and two button cell batteries.

The boys showing you how it works.

Mica insisted at the end of the video that they would shake hands. They shake hands in jiu-jitsu after any meet.

The bottom line:

The boys love this toy. I think they'll play with it for a long time. The racing factor is what makes it fun for them.

An older kid does need to set it up, but may loose interest in playing with it. Isaak who is 6 loved playing with it once it was together. Do not let kids that are really young play with this. They say under 3, but Isaak still put stuff in his mouth when he was 4.

You can get Techno Gears Marble Mania Dual Speedway 2.0 on Amazon for $59.99 and it's on sale for $46.18. This toy is compatible with all Techno Gears sets. Like always I'd like to get more of their sets to make this one more fun. They can work together, and be configured different ways.

 I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Eric Carle Inspired

Isaak is going on a field trip this week to The Rose Theater. He's going to see The Very Hungry Caterpillar & Other Eric Carle Favorites. He is so excited! This summer when he went to the Omaha Community Playhouse for camp he and his camp buddies acted out The Very Hungry Caterpillar. 

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I saw that Gymboree has a whole line of Eric Carle shirts, and pjs right now. I knew Isaak would love to wear one of Eric Carle's designs on his trip to the theater. The trouble is, is that the shirts go up to a size 6. Isaak's 6, but he wears size 7 shirts. Mica's just turned 9, but he wears a size 10, and I'm buying a size 14 for him for next year. Our boys are tall. Every time I look at them it seems as though they grew a little more overnight.

I had some plain t-shirts I bought for a rainy day, and decided to make Isaak a caterpillar shirt myself. I would never sell this due to copyright issues. It's not exactly like Eric Carle's work - I made sure of that. Isaak wanted to wear it today, but his field trip is later this week. I'm having him hold out. He did try it on for a few pictures.

Front of the Shirt:

 Close-Up

Here's Eric Carle's illustration:

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Isaak's shirt has yellow going all the way around. The caterpillar sections are different to. Eric Carle draws with colored pencil different colored lines on the top of his caterpillar. Isaak wanted red lines. 

The part I was unhappy with are the caterpillar's feet. I decided to use fabric markers. Man, they bleed! It was the first time I used them. 

The back of the shirt:

Close-Up

It goes around more than what I captured on camera. There's an ice cream cone, pickle, Swiss cheese sausage, lollypop, pie, more sausage, a muffin, and a slice of watermelon.

This to is different from Eric Carle's work. He has a piece of cake in there somewhere. Isaak doesn't like cake, so I left that out. The lollypop was originally blue and yellow in Eric Carle's image. I didn't have blue, so I made it green and yellow. The pie had blue berries in the original, and I made it a cherry pie.

I'm debating on painting the sliver of fabric up by his neck a color. Like maybe a darker green. What do you think? Should I, or should I leave it be?  

Do you like Eric Carle's work?

The best part of doing the t-shirt is hearing Mica say, "Wow Mom this is cool!" and Isaak saying, "Thank you Mom! I just don't know how you did this."

Just a secondary thing: My post about the Faux Terrarium was featured on Clairejustine's Creative Monday post. YAY!

Kidecals | Labels Review

When back to school time came, and went the boys asked for labels. Mica had some I got awhile ago, but needed new ones.

Kidecals asked me to review some labels. I've heard nothing, but good about their products. They sell labels, keyboard stickers, mural stickers, and sticker frames.

I had trouble deciding which labels to get:

Mica likes Batman, so these were one option:

Mica has Superman on his backpack. Knowing Mica, he wouldn't want to mix superheros with his school stuff. I decided to get him labels that could stand for any superhero.

I love how Kidecals has a preview option. Some labels have color choices, while others do not. They have labels for girls, and boys.

There are 3 sets for the label design I chose:

• Mega Set ($28) Includes: 24 two inch labels and 48 one inch labels = 72 labels
• Everyday Set ($21) Includes: 12 two inch labels and 24 one inch labels = 36 labels
• Mini Set ($21) Includes: 66 one inch labels

I went with the Mega Set. Kidecals shipped the labels out right away.

The printing turned out great!

I'm saving them for Mica's stocking at Christmas time.

What do we use labels for? 

You can use labels for so many things. Much of the kid's supplies go to the class. It's like a community supply stash. If they have too many things, they'll send stuff home to the parents. Things that are not community used are crayons, notebooks, pencil boxes, folders, lunchboxes, and Thermos'.

Like Kidecals on Facebook and Twitter.

Do you use labels? What do you use them for?

Disclosure: I am compensated for writing this post by receiving a GC to Kidecals. All opinions stated are my own. 

Sing, Sing a Song Saturday

Sing, Sing a Song Saturday is all about me discovering something that is different. 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.

The person I'm featuring this week is Madiha Bhatti. She doesn't have a website, she doesn't have a facebook fan page. You just have to trust me that she's someone to listen to. She questions why women and music is the way it is today. One might say, "If you don't like the what music is like, turn it off." It isn't so simple. Music plays everywhere.

This isn't truly music, but it's music inspired. I posted a long time ago about Ani Difranco. She sings, is a musician, writes her own music, and delivers poetry in a sing, songy way. I feel like Madiha Bhatti does the same.

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Mu(sick)

Stage Might

Argan Oil Hair Mask Review

I love Insta Naturals Superior Hydration Argan Oil Hair Mask.

It makes my hair so soft, without feeling oily.

As I age my hair gets frizzier - thanks to genetics, and having kids. I really want to protect my hair. I don't use anything on it that has sulphates in it. Being sulphate free was an adjustment at first, but now I love it. It can be difficult to find products that dislike sulphates as much as I do. The more natural the products are, the better my hair feels.
 
About:

You can use it daily as a conditioner, or once a week as a hair mask. If it's used as a mask, it should stay in your clean hair for 5 to 15 minutes. It turns dry damaged hair into luxurious, silky strands that makes your hair soft and shinny.

Argan Oil is thick, and smells wonderful.

The 8 oz container is originally $49.95 and on sale for $30.00. A little bit goes a long way.

Organic Ingredients:

• There are many types of oils included in this hair mask: Argan Oil, Coconut Oil, Jojoba Seed Oil, Sesame Seed Oil, Avocado Oil, Olive Oil, Starflower Oil, Linseed Oil
• Shea Butter
• Aloe
• Japanese Green Tea

Insta Natural also sent along a bonus product for me to try out called Premium Hydration Hyaluronic Acid Serum.

The winter months are going to be here so soon. I know we have fall first, but that flies by so fast here. During the winter months my forehead gets so dry. I also have thinking wrinkle lines on my forehead. I'm hoping this acid serum helps with all the above!

About:

Hyaluronic Acid Serum is anti-aging serum for your face. It can be used for fine wrinkles, and lines in your face.

It leaves you with youthful, vibrant skin.

The 2 oz container is originally $49.95 and on sale for $16.97. A little bit goes a long way. It is not sticky. It glides on easily.

Organic Ingredients:

• Green Tea
• Vitamin C and E
• Aloe
• Witch Hazel 
• Jojoba Oil

Unlike the Argan Oil Hair Mask, the Hyaluronic Acid Serum takes a little time to see if it's going to work in the long run. I am glad I have a product to try out to help my forehead.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Random Tid Bits

1. I was a little disappointed once this week. I brought in ice cream to my students. I was going over a logo/packaging change for Gifford's Ice Cream.
   
   

   

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   We don't have Gifford's Ice Cream here, so I bought other crazy flavors (3 to be exact). It felt nice to do something like bring the student's ice cream for the AM lecture. It certainly wasn't for me. I didn't have any of it.
   

   

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   The students dove into the ice cream. In fact many had 2 servings. There were only 2 students that didn't eat any. Guess how many said, "Thank you."? Zero. Was I expecting a, "Thank you."? Not really. It's just that when you go out to do something nice - I bought everything with my own money - it's sad that no one said those magic words. There are 17 students in the class, and not 1 said anything. They just devoured it like a pack of wolves.
   
   When I came back and mentioned my morning to a co-worker, she said that happened to her last year when she brought in Halloween candy. Are kind words, and gratitude slipping through the cracks of future generations? Thankfully my thoughts towards future generations was restored when my 2 sons thanked me for a serving them ice cream after dinner. 


2. We have a wedding coming up. They are registered at a honeymoon place. I can't help but to think that my money is going towards alcohol. They are big drinkers.  I guess if that's what they want, that's what they get. I just worry about one of them. My husband's family has alcoholism on his side. 


3. I have 1 student in my first year class that likes to debate with me during lecture. While I love future thinkers of America, it really throws me off track. Honestly I can not remember what I was even talking about after he chimes in. I was going over the difference between transparent, semi transparent, and opaque. He was trying to tell me that transparent was the same as opaque, which it's not. I told the students that the definition of transparent and semi-transparent can be convoluted, just like many art terms can be. Opaque is where you can't see through an object at all. That one can't be argued. In this class the difference of the terms are:
   
   Transparent - You can see through it totally like glass, clear plastic wrap rolled out, or a bubble.:
   

   

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   Semi Transparent - You can see through it slightly. Such as a stain glass window, or
   old school camera film rolled out.
   
   

   

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   Opaque - Where you can't see through the object at all. Not transmitting of light. Such as a brick, or a wood door.
   
   

   

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4. I went down a pant size. Woo hoo! Actually many of my pants weren't fitting at all. I had to go buy new ones. Now I'm buying smaller shirts. I used to buy XL, and actually got a size medium the other day.


5. We're still on our track of watching classics. The boys recently watched The Absent Minded Professor otherwise known as Flubber. We have Old Yeller, and Bednobs and Broomsticks ready to watch. Freaky Friday is still on hold at the library. The boys seem to be enjoying them. Daddy rolled his eyes with The Shaggy Dog and The Absent Minded Professor though. I have to admit they are odd.  I like the memory trip though.

King Kong

On Friday the boys were watching a movie when I got home. Mica could have cared less about what he was watching. He was way more interested in the preview before the movie. All he talked about that evening was King Kong.

He wanted to watch it.

I looked it up at our local library, and all they had was the older one. He had to watch the new one.

Mica said, "Grandma and Grandpa will have it. They can get anything on their TV Mom." 

I said, "Go ahead and call them." 

He did just that, "Hello Grandma. Can you check for King Kong on your TV? I really want to watch it. Here's what you do...It's a little secret Grandpa, Isaak and I know...You just press Guide, Search Movies, and type in the letters of the movie. Like in this case type in 'King', and it will come up. Now when can we come over to watch it?" 

Mica handed me the phone saying, "Grandma wants to talk to you."

My mom was cracking up! She said she lost it when he said,  "It's a little secret Grandpa, Isaak and I know..." She said it would come on, on Monday. 

We went over on Monday to use them for their TV. No worries, they don't care. 

Both our sons were absorbed in King Kong. Especially Mica. He acted like he knew all about it because he saw the preview.

I think the ending took them both boys off guard.