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.

Random Tid Bits

1. The sunflowers that were planted at the end of my neighbor's a few houses down are no longer a visual problem. It rained all day one day. I can see cars again!





2. Travis said that Mica HAD to sign up for something active, so he signed up for Cross Country.
   
   We made the mistake of doing what we were supposed to by getting his school paper work in. Then we got a letter afterwards saying that he had to have a school activity card, and be a member of their after school program. We didn't think he needed an activity card because he could careless about going to football or basketball games. The only time he'll be staying after school is for Cross Country, so we didn't sign him up for the after school club. We had to do some back peddling to get that new stuff done. The after school club is a 3 day a week thing (mandatory). He had to stay after school this week twice for the club, and the sport hasn't started yet.
   
   I hope all this is worth it. Travis gets on me because I have a sour attitude about things the boys don't have to do. I always wonder if it's all worth it? What if we've been through a Sport's Physical, extra paper work, an after school club and he hates Cross Country? Life experiences are important.  


3. I have to figure out how to get my 1st year students to talk. They just are workers, which is good, but they don't look outside their own brains to see what others are doing. It's important to do that too.
   
   The new Education Director came to observe me. I was in lecture trying to get my students to talk about things they learned the week before. It was like talking to empty brains. 


4. Isaak had to have this gold sequence journal at Target. I quickly said, "No! Put it back!" Then I went back and bought it for him for Christmas. He never asks for things. Ha! 






5. My Mom texted me yesterday that she has Shingles. She got the old shot, that's 50% effective. She was on the list for the new shot, but she wasn't called to get it yet. This is the 2nd living virus she's gotten. She had Polio a year or 2 before before the vaccine came out. It lives inside you like Chicken Pox does - Shingles. Polio is just called Post Polio Syndrome. Post Polio Syndrome did a number on her leg! I'm hoping Shingles aren't too bad for her!
   
   What are your thoughts on vaccines? I'm pro them, but think they are given too close together in the US. I go with it because I'm afraid I'll mess something up where the boys skip something they shouldn't skip. I used to be more against illegals coming here because of vaccines they don't get that we get here in the US. Then I read a whole article about how Colorado (in general) is really bad about vaccinating their kids. It's the highest place in the US where they don't vaccinate. Yes it's a free country, but when one's freedom is infringing on another's freedom then that's a problem. Isaak got Meningitis before he had all his shots for it, my Mom got Polio and Shingles before she could get her shots. My nephew Emerson has a compromised immune system, so he can't get all his shots on time. Anyhow I'm up for a healthy debate, so what are your thoughts on vaccinations? 

#truckerhat #Alaskastyle Hat Review

I've reviewed hats before from CacheAlaska, and we have not been disappointed with any of them. That includes the one I'm about to show you.

Ok so we did run into one hiccup: 

Mica and Travis fought over the hat. I gave Mica the hat first, and he said, "What are these odd things sticking out of the hat?" It was his hair coming out of the mesh. LOL! That's how little he wears hats. He used to be into them, but considering that kids can't wear hats to school he just got away from wearing them all together. Travis said, "That's a pretty cool hat. I like it better than the one I already have by them." Wink Wink! Travis' birthday is coming up, so I yanked it from Mica to give to Travis.

It's a loved hat! Travis likes charcoal grey + black, which are the hats colors.

Snapback:

We do have a problem of having too small of heads in our family. It's like the opposite problem than my sister Terra's family has had. They've had to go measure all their heads when their boy's were babies to make sure there was nothing wrong with their melon heads. Ha! It was crazy getting shirts off her boy's heads too! Then there's us...tiny head people. Hats rarely fit my head.

It's ok because this hat is adjustable like every ball cap should be!

Outdoor Activity:

It's great to wear this hat while camping, hiking, watching ball games, doing yard work and more. This kind of hat doesn't cover your ears, but it has a wide brim that shades the face!

Where to Get This Hat:

Amazon has it for $12.97. If you don't like this one, they have a camo option as well. Shipping was super quick! https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=trucker+hat+cachealaska&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Atrucker+hat+cachealaska

Are you a hat person?

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

WW: SOFT Picnic {Linky}

In July I went to a picnic in support of SOFT, which is a nonprofit organization. They push research for children born with Trisomy 13 and 18. My nephew Emerson has Trisomy 18.

First off I designed their logo. Oh my goodness it was a designer's nightmare. They wanted blue, yellow, and red to be a part of the logo. Many logos are just 1 or 2 colors. They wanted a rainbow and balloons in the logo as well.

After that my sister wanted me to design t-shirts for the event. It was to be in Omaha, so she wanted the SOFT logo to be a part of it, but it to also say Omaha. I worked with the "O" in SOFT, incorporated the Omaha skyline, and a few animals because we have the best zoo in the world right here along with a kid in a wheelchair. I think with all the stuff they kept adding it turned out pretty good.

I just wish I would have gotten photos of some people wearing the shirts. 

Instead here's my nephew Edison who got his arm painted. My sister was so busy with the conference, I did odd things like wait in the face painting line with Edison, help serve cake, and did a lot of cleaning up in the end. 

My Mom had a 2 month old baby before me that passed away from Trisomy 18. My sister and Mom are rare carriers of Trisomy 18. They handed ornaments out to those that lost a child. 

Here's my nephew Emerson that couldn't stay for the fun. He had/has hand, foot and mouth disease. He was in long enough for my brother-in-law to eat, and left.

A few older ones with Trisomy 18. I love with all her problems, she was persistent in pushing the wheel chair around. *Note you can see one of my t-shirts back there.

Part of their ceremony, balloons are let go when their son or daughter's name is called off. I only knew 2 names, but felt like crying with every name.

My nephews:

 My sister Terra:

Balloons that represent people that have passed away.

If you want to read more about Trisomy 18, please read here: https://www.omaha.com/livewellnebraska/health/their-kids-rare-condition-was-long-seen-as-fatal-but/article_418762d4-4528-560b-8528-cfeeca7fd47d.html.