#gameweek With Rummikub

Memories:

One of my favorite games is Rummikub. I played it a lot growing up at family gatherings. It most certainly brings back memories. My Aunt Becky introduced it to us, and My Grandma that is no longer with us loved to play!

Everyone would sort of get annoyed with me because when I was around 10 (Isaak's age) I'd dismantle the whole game just to try and figure out how to get my tiles played.

I tried to get my kids to enjoy Rummikub like I did. They didn't seem to take to it. Possibly it's because I played so much growing up that I won every single time!

That's until lately! Even though I won most of the time, I taught the kids how to play too. I just played the boys and came in last place! Yep my ego is heartbroken. Ha! I'm just glad they finally learned how to play well enough to kick my butt!

Game Contents:

• Four Wooden Racks
• 106 High Quality, Durable Tiles, Including Two Jokers
• Instructions
• A Wooden Case 

How to Play:

This is for two to four players. Ages 8 and up.

Scramble the tiles up, pick 14 tiles.

Organize the tiles by runs (same color in number order) and three of a kind (same number, different colors). You have to have 3 tiles in both sets and three of a kind to put them on the board. You can have more than three, but not less than three. Don't let your opponent(s) see your tiles.

We play youngest to oldest, but you can draw a tile to see who goes first. Whoever has the highest tile starts the game off.

You can play if your tiles = 30 points. If you have a joker, it can equal any tile, and equals 30 points right away. If not you can not play, draw, and it's the next player's turn. You can not go after you've drawn.

Once you've laid out, and it passes one more round you can lay tiles on other people's runs or three of a kind to equal a four of a kind, You can steel a fourth tile to add to two of your tiles to make another three of a kind, or run. You can split in a run up to play more tiles within it.

Anything goes!

Three or four of a kinds have different colors, and more than three tiles. Runs have to have the same color, and at least three tiles.

Objective:

The objective is to get rid of all your tiles.

Encourages STEM or STEAM:

• Science
• Technology
• Engineering
• Art
• Math

Rummikub is about pattern recognition, and planning skills.

I love this game because it makes the players think!

What's your favorite board game that includes numbers?

Disclaimer: I got this product for free from  Goliath Games | Pressman Toy Company in exchange for an honest review. Pressman did not tell me what to say for this review. All opinions are my own. 

#ad Sandals

These sandals come in 3 colors: 

1. khaki
2. brown
3. black

They are super stylish.

They fit Mica really well. He loves the style of them!

They do have great treads, I love how they can be tightened up with their toggle laces.

You can get them on Amazon for $29.90. Cost does vary base on color and style. 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07C9MS2Z2

Disclaimer: I got this product for a discounted price in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Travel Make-Up Case Review

I love having suitcase and cosmetic bag options when I travel, or go camping!

This one is really compact! There's two velcro bars that come with it, so it can be split up however it works best with the user. I fit a lot in the main part of the bag.

The pocket up at the top has a velcro as well. It splits apart in two different ways, to reveal 3 different compartments.

One: A Big Mesh Pocket

I just put a few make-up brushes in there. I do kind of wish I had velcro or a zipper to help hold those things in place. They slipped out every time I'd try to get to another pocket behind it.

Two: Another Big Mesh Pocket

I put a wooden comb in there. I don't really use a comb, but it's just for this review. I mainly have a comb for combing out hair out of a bigger brush I do use. I think Isaak uses it on his hair as well. This pocket is tighter than the first one featured, so nothing would slip out.

Three: Small Mini Pockets

Lipsticks, lip glosses, chapstick, fingernail polish, or even small pill bottles could go in these. I have lipsticks in them right now.

Uses:

I don't know exactly what I'll use it for to be honest.

• More than likely it will get used for make-up. I don't use a lot of makeup. Certainly some for sure. 

• I could use it for medicine. My nasal wash salt, neti pot, and meds eat up space when I travel. I'd love to have a bag just for that stuff. 

• I go through times where I wear a lot of hair things. 

• A man case. Mica is getting older. They may want a case to carry a razor, soap, shaving cream, and more.

What would you use it for?

You can get this travel make-up case on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07FDW35XM for $20.59

Disclaimer: I got this product for a discount in exchange for an honest review. The company didn't tell me what to say. All the words in this post are my opinion. 

Random Tid Bits

1. We've been busy! We had family over for August and September birthdays on Saturday. Including us that's 11 adults and 6 kids. 


2. My youngest nephew Edison (4) had a flower that he handed off to my sister Terra.
   
   Edison said, "Here Mommy is a flower I picked for you."
   
   Terra asked, "Where did you get this?"
   
   Edison said, "In Travis' backyard."
   
   Terra said, "You can't pick other people's flowers honey."
   
   Edison said, "I go put it back!" He started to leave to go put the flower back in the yard. We were all laughing.
   
   Terra said, "Edison you can't put flowers back. Just don't pick them ok..."
   
   Edison said, "Ok." Then we found out Isaak picked it for Edison to give to Terra.





3. Isaak took a small bowl full of my Grandma's rings out of my Grandpa's house. At the party my Aunt Becky went through the rings, and had Isaak pick 2 out to keep. He'll get more if no one wants them. 

The Costume Jewelry Saga: Who knew costume jewelry would mean so much to my 10 yr old Isaak. I said, “Put the two rings somewhere special.”

He put them on his desk, and a cousin picked Isaak’s favorite ring up.

Later on Isaak was crying over a missing ring. He was sad he didn’t put it somewhere more special. I suggested he call his cousins to find out if one of them also has a love for bling. One did. Travis drove Isaak to get his ring back, so all is well in his world again.





4. I found out one of my student's is my third cousins, once removed. My Mom kept insisting that I was related to one of my students. Both my parents kept asking, "Did you find out who you're related to?" I didn't much care, as the relation is so far out. Once I told him, I asked him his Mom's name. I facebook stocked her. She had an adoption frame on an older profile. In the books I'm related to him, but blood wise she's adopted. I'm not related to him at all. I find close relatives if they are adopted - they are family. My oldest sister is adopted. Far off relatives - if they are adopted are they really considered family anymore? On the books they are, but they aren't blood wise.


5. We got together with some friends. One was the little boy Mica's age that had a tumor removed out of his brain two days ago. We brought them a bag of homemade cookies, and 2 lasagnas they could put in the freezer. He's been transferred out of the PICU. He's in a lot of pain understandably. The tumor was sent in for tests. His doctor gave him a photo of his brain with the mass. He didn't want it, but his mom kept it. As would I. I'm hoping he recovers fully! That has to hurt so bad!

A Game on the Fridge #kidcraft #tictactoegame

Games are fun! Isaak in particular loves to play them. We set out to make our own Tic Tac Toe Board Magnet Style.

Here's Isaak's latest post on ParentSavvy.com.

Tiles:

I priced out tiles at Home Depot, and found they didn't sell very many small tiles. In particular they didn't have any individual. 

I bought a mat of them for $3. That was cheaper than buying single tiles! Isaak plans on using the rest for something else. 

They were easy to rip off! I already used the mesh that held them all together for another project. Not very much goes to waste in the Apel house.

Here's what the tiles look like off their mesh:

We had 10 tiles. Enough for 5 X's and 5 O's.

Magnets:

The standard circle magnets fit these tiles perfectly. We had just the right amount, which is 10.

Glass Paint:

I got Glass Paint to review on facebook. I'm not so sure I'm in love with it. I do want to try to paint something on a hard canvas, put glass on it, and paint lines on the glass. I find that this paint is goopy, somewhat transparent, and dries fast! Maybe there's another brand that's better?

Otherwise for this project if I had to do it again I'd go with enamel paints. They can be found at craft stores in the model section. You would just need 2 colors + a black.

Colors:

The good thing about a set over individual enamel paints is that there is a variety of colors!

Isaak choose to mix a blue and green together for the O's, and a yellow and orange together for the X's. I like the colors we got, but the X's are way easier to see than the O's. Try and pick light colors.

 Remember the X's and O's will be black.

The X tiles painted:

X's and O's:

Glue Time:

Isaak loves hot gluing anything! He took charge and glued the magnets on the backs of the tiles. Check to make sure you have them all on the right side. Two didn't stick to the fridge, so he had to reglue them.

Magnet Completion: 

Time to Play!

Make a Tic Tac Toe Paper, stick to the fridge and play!

It was fun! What game would you like to make?

Random Tid Bits

1. I had a first year college student that came up to me to say, "I ran out of red acrylic paint." I said, "That's too bad. You can go get some." She said, "I don't have money to go get any." I said, "Ok. Well maybe you could trade paint with someone. You could give them yellow for red, or something like that." I knew she wouldn't do that. She's too shy, and has barely talked to anyone in the 4 weeks she's been here. I then said, "We try to get what we can in your supply kits, but we have a budget that hasn't changed in years. Everyone uses different amounts of things." She went off to meet her mom at an art supply store to have her buy her red acrylic paint.
   
   One of their questions on a test, for my other class was, "An artist should be..."
   
   A) a problem solver
   
   B) a liberal
   
   C) only a rule breaker
   
   D) only a rule follower.
   
   I could careless what political branch they want to follow. They should learn the rules, then learn when it's ok to break them. The answer was A) a problem solver. 


2. One of my student's assignments is to paint a color wheel. Exciting I know. It's one of those right to passage assignments that every art student has to do. I said in lecture, "I see that many student's orange and yellow-orange has too much red in them. Orange looks more like Red-Orange and Yellow-Orange looks too much like Orange. Remember acrylics dry darker than they look when they're wet. Add yellow."
   
   I walked around and a girl said, "How does my orange look?" I said, "Where's your commercial color wheel at?" She said, "Oh I don't know." I said, "You have to look at what you're painting to know what you need to achieve. If I'm painting a cow, I need a cow reference to look at." Another one that needs to problem solve. 







3. It's Sports Dress Up Day where I work. *Insert eye roll. I'd say most artists don't really get into sports. I'm already sick and tired of hearing about Huskers with their new coach that's supposed to be A.m.a.z.i.n.g. I'm not saying you shouldn't like sports. I just think it's odd an art school has a  Sports Dress Up Day. I sometimes look for Sumo Wrestler or Forest Gump playing Ping Pong shirts for this day. They really don't have anything much.
   
   I decided to wear my 80s sweat band/wrist band set. Mica came out from his room wearing his bear shirt that's also wearing an 80s headband. I said, "Please take that off, so I can wear it." He said, "Really Mom?!" I said, "Yes really." 





4. Mica joined Cross Country. The second day he texted Travis asking if he could pick him up from the bus stop that's right up the street. Little man Tall boy is sore!


5. Mica somehow missed the memo that Picture Day was on Thursday. We've never missed Picture Day. I'm thinking that they could have handed out the paper work on that when he was late due to a late bus, due to heavy rain.
   
   I told Travis, "Goodness I make sure all my students that miss class get paperwork, and handouts that they missed. I think that's nice for college. I'd think they'd do the same in middle school!"

WW: Great Grandma's Wedding Dress {linky}

We went through my Grandpa's house, and found out that my Grandma had my Great Grandma Britta's wedding dress in a cedar chess for years. She would be the boy's Great Great Grandma. She was an immigrant from Sweden. No one knew about the dress. It is 104 years old. It looks homemade. There are tiny hooks that go all the way down the front of it.

Do you like old things?

Milk Thistle By Superior Labs Review

I have to take a lot of Aspirin still. It really isn't great on my body. If someone is allergic to IBprofen (like I am), they are at high risk for getting polyps back again. A way to treat that is a few years of a lot of Aspirin. Oh joy! I'm trying to take all natural things that help my body out. One thing that helps with toxins is Milk Thistle.

Health Benefits:

• Supports Toxin Removal
• Supports Liver Function
• Powerful Extract

It also helps with allergies. Kind of like taking bee pollen in the area, Milk Thistle is a benefit too.

It has no harmful additives and no dyes. Personally I think many of the dyes we use in the US could be cut out. We use way too many!

It's Made in the USA!

San Diego, CA to be exact. Not a lot of things are made right here in the US, so when they are I take note of it.

One a Day!

Some of the pills I take are 2 a day, or 3 a day. I hate that. I feel like a walking pill popper. With Fish Oil it's 3 a day. Guess what I only take 1. Possibly that's bad, but it can't hurt. With this Milk Thistle it's just 1 a day. I like that so much!

Where to Get it:

https://superiorlabs.com/products/milk-thistle for $23.95.

Do you take any extra vitamins? 

Disclaimer: The opinions in this post are my own. I got the product mentioned to help assist with this review. 

An Emotional Kind of Weekend

When emotions run high I kind of wish I wasn't the only girl. I wouldn't say I'm a cry baby, but there are time where certain things just hit me hard.

We started going through my Grandpa's house. He's 92. There's a few things that lead to my Mom and Aunts putting him in a home. He kept falling. Thankfully he hasn't broken any bones, but he's bruised himself a lot. He keeps getting bladder infections. My Mom thinks that he has one constant bladder infection that never gets cured fully; it just keeps coming back. With older people bladder infections can be bad! He gets high fevers and with that comes visions of cats coming out of the ceiling. Scary stuff for sure.

I had a hard time going through his stuff. He knows we were doing it. Possibly that made it even harder?

I took photos of some of the things we took home.

Welcome Dala Horse

My Grandma (passed away when Isaak was 4, now he's 10) for the most was all Swedish. Mica spotted this horse in their China cabinet, and wondered if I wanted it. He said, "It's a Mexican horse Mom. It would go well in our kitchen."

He's right it does go well in our kitchen. He's not right about it being Mexican. People quickly told me that on social media channels. It's a Swedish Horse called, Dalecarlian Horse or "Dala Horse". It was one of the first toys Swedish children had made for them.

Grandpa's Old Suitcase 

My Dad was cleaning out Grandpa Kent's attic. He pulled down this old suitcase that I quickly claimed. 

My Aunt Becky started telling me stories about things I took. I told my sister Terra, "I don't know if I should take that." She said, "Why?" I said, "I just feel like it belongs to someone more important than me. The story it pretty powerful." She said, "Take it. She wants you to know the story behind these things." 

Grandpa Kent made this wooden suit case and this is what he carried his belongings in, while in the Navy during WWII.

The suitcase is just as important to me as a thing I got from Grandpa years ago. I saw a card catalog table in his garage, and asked him what he does with it? He said, "I just store nuts and bolts in that old thing." I said, "I'll fix it up, and use it in my living room." So he let me have it. I use it!

Every Lady Needs a Button Tin

I don't know that I really need a button tin. But my Aunt Becky was saying I should take it to make things. I took it. All the buttons were on their original paper. I had the boys help me take them off. It saved about 1/2 the space! Now I have room to add buttons I already had of my own.

Time to Read Mica

Mica is a reader! I saw this old book and said, "Mica that's what you should take. You'll always have something to read!" It's a super thick book with a ton of information inside it!

Grandma's Costume Jewelry 

Isaak was in the back with my cousin Stacy's daughter Samantha for a long time. 

What were they doing? Going through Grandma's jewelry. I surprised it's still there. Grandma's been passed away for about 6 years now. Isaak was obsessed with the rings, and Samantha loved the necklaces. All costume jewelry, but treasured for sure. 

I walked into this:

Then I got a text message, while I was at home asking if Isaak took some rings he didn't get permission to take. He did. In his defense my Aunt Becky kept saying, "Take it." 

Car Ride Home

We took some other things. Isaak got a donation box (probably from a church), a pocket knife, and some different noise makers. Mica didn't take a lot. Travis got tools and a big drill press. 

Isaak said, "Wow that suit case is old Mom!" I said, "Yep your Great Grandpa Kent made it." He said, "Really? I didn't know he knew how to make things!" I said, "He made a lot of things Isaak. That big Grandfather Clock in his living room he made himself." Isaak's eyes got bigger than they already are and he said, "Really!?" I said, "Really." Then I cried. I didn't even know why I was crying exactly. 

Bain Tumor

I didn't want to start this post out with this. I guess that's why I called it, "An Emotional Kind of Weekend". 

I got a message from A friend. Mica was in the Spelling Bee a few years ago. The last two left was Mica and one of his good friends. 

It was always crazy because his friend was so much shorter than Mica. He had fine hair as well. His sister was always in Isaak's class. His Dad helped at the school as a para for a year. I use passed tense because this was elementary, and they've both moved on to middle school. Our whole family is friends. We get together for game nights, and have meals. They come to birthday parties.

There's a reason why the boy was always shorter than Mica. He got in a simple bike accident over the summer. He was complaining about not being able to see well. One appointment lead to another. It turns out he has a brain tumor. It's hitting against his pituitary gland. His growth and was stunted. He has to get surgery early September. I couldn't stop crying when I read all this!

I offered to cook for them, or take in the sister that's Isaak's age when he has surgery. I don't know what else I can do. I wish I was John Coffeey from The Green Mile that could take away the tumor, and make it all better!

What's an emotional thing that's been going on in your life? Do you ever have a wave of emotion hit you? 

#fishoil is Great to Take for #dailyessentials #wellness #spoonfulcorp #healthyliving #salmonfishoil

I am usually on some kind of fish oil. It's a natural way to lower cholesterol. Both my Mom and my Day have high cholesterol, and mine tends to be on the higher side as well.

Spoonful Omega-3 Fish Oil is a great brand! Not all fish oils have Omega-3, which is wonderful for the brain!

Where to Get It:

You can pick up a bottle at Amazon http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07FB31WGV. They have three different buying options. A Soft Gel 3 pack is $19.99, a Soft Gel 1 pack is $9.99, and a Enteric 1 pack is $14.99. I got the Soft Gel 1 pack to review.

There are 100 pills in a bottle, but each serving is 3 pills. I wish the serving was just 1 pill.

It's made right here in the US!

How It Came:

It had a foam piece on the top with a layer of foil. Plastic was coated on the lid to help keep the lid from coming off during shipment. It all sees to work. Everything was in tact.

There isn't a lot of waisted space in the bottle like some pills.

I do think it's hard to tell if pills work for a review. There just isn't time to tell if it's working before the review goes up. Fish Oil is great to take regardless.

Have you ever taken Fish Oil?

Disclaimer: All opinions are my own. I was given the product at a discounted price to help assist with this review.