Saturday, July 25, 2015

Out of the Box Saturday

Sing, Sing a Song Saturday is now Out of the Box Saturday. It's 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. I'll cover something sing | songy one week, and artsy | fartsy the next.

This week I'm covering something called Playing For Change

Playing for Change is a multimedia music project, created by the American producer and sound engineer Mark Johnson with his Timeless Media Group, that seeks to inspire, connect, and bring peace to the world through music. Playing For Change also created a separate non-profit organization called the Playing For Change Foundation, which builds music schools for children around the world. 

Source
People from around the world play famous songs. 

Gimme Shelter


War


Stand By Me


Like Playing for Change's Website.
Like their facebook page.
Follow their twitter page.
Subscribe to their YouTube page.

Railroad Days

Source
Right before our trip to Missouri we decided to go to Railroad Days here in Omaha. Railroad Days is every year around July 11 and 12. As a family we paid $15, and that gets you in to 5 big museums, and a few smaller museums. A bus transports to all the major museums, and a trolly transports to all the small museums.
 
The Perks: 
  • Cost - It's inexpensive! 
  • The wealth of information you take in because you can see so much!
  • The added displays. They set up more displays during this time. My boys loved the remote control trains!
  • Transportation - You really don't have to wait long for the bus to take you to the next spot.
The Downfalls:
  • Heat - It's just hot here this time of year. That day felt like 108 degrees with the humidity. 
  • Food - There isn't a lot of places to eat. Museum food isn't the best, and it's expensive. I would have brought more, but it's a pain to carry around. Bring water!     
  • Come early to enjoy the children's train that drives around. It's free, but there is a line. It's more for little kids. They just drive in circles.
My boys have always enjoyed trains! They still play with Thomas because we have so much of it, and it's fun. Planning a track out is the most fun. They liked Team GeoTrax from Fisher Price, The Little Engine That Could, and Chuggington. A long time ago I won that toddler Chuggington laptop, Mica and Isaak still play with it!

 
I knew I wanted to go to Railroad Days with the kids at some point in time. It's just that Travis used to work weekends, so it was never something I wanted to tackle alone. Now he doesn't work weekends, so we went.
 
We started out at Lauitzen Gardens. They have special model trains set up off their entry for the event. The boys go crazy over the model trains. It was probably their favorite part. If I had the money, and the space I'd buy stuff to make one for them.
 

There were buttons to push to load coal, and make things light up on the table. Naturally they had to push all of them more than 1 time.

 
We did ride their train. The boys weren't impressed that it just went in circles. They are getting older. It's more for little kids. Tip: Get in line for this ASAP! There is loads of kids that want to get on it.
 

 
Most of Lauitzen Gardens is known for their gardens. Imagine that. I love the place! It's peaceful, big, and they have hidden gems all over the place to see. 


A Kaneko Sculpture Garden -
 

We didn't go all over because we knew the day would be packed. We just walked down to see their train that's set up all the time, and walked back.



Rest Stop - 


 We did go into their newish Greenhouse -

 
A plant that looked like it was growing pipe cleaners.

The had a spot for kids to make a train hat and whistle. Isaak made both. I opted for the louder whistle, and Travis hated me for that.


Then it was time to go on the bus.
 
I guess this is called an, "Usie" instead of a "Selfie".
 
The bus looked odd it's it rear view mirrors.

 
Off we went to the Durham Western Heritage Museum. This is a great place to go around Christmas time! They have a cool Christmas tree, and Santa is legit.
 
They had a guy in the front playing rockabilly music. 

This is where the boys tried to kiss this girl.
 

 
You can go inside trains.



Then we headed on over to the Union Pacific Railroad Museum in Council Bluffs. 
 
 
 The boys met Buffalo Bill. Mica said, "Mom he's dead." I said, "Mica that's his ghost."
 
They got to pretend to drive trains to.
 


That point in time we were feeling a little done, but made 1 more stop with the Trolley to Railwest Railroad Museum. We forwent the last stop, and headed home. 
 
There they have more trains you can go in, and they are pretty neat!
  
Around July 11 and 12 is a great time to visit Omaha for Railroad Days!

Friday, July 24, 2015

Ezy Garden Knife - Hori Hori Knife - Best Gardenin Review

Finally - An all-in-one knife by Ezy Garden Knife - Hori Hori Knife that you can easily take with you to tackle any of those tricky gardening tasks. This knife is usually $39.99, but it's marked down to $27.

This garden knife comes with a case that covers up it's sharp blade.


You can see just how sharp it is:


After being gone for awhile, and it rained right before we left there was a lot of weeds in our yard. I'm so glad I have this garden knife to help pry them out!


It worked! Weed be gone. Without any harmful chemicals.


I can see taking this with us to go camping, mushroom hunting, or hiking (just in case you run into something cool you want to dig up). 

Mostly this is for our own yard.

It's helpful with weeds, scraping bark off dead wood, or breaking the dirt away from the roots of a plant. 

I like that it also has measuring marks on the knife. If there's a certain distance you know you need to go in the ground, you can tell on the knife.

Whether you're digging, transplanting, getting rid of weeds or roots, your Ezy Garden Hori Hori Knife has your back. It's sharp serrated edge will help you slice open bags of mulch and help you clear your garden of unwanted clutter. It's extremely durable, rust resistant and easy to hold for long periods. Comes with a sturdy leather sheath for your convenience. 

This would make a great gift for any gardener. Often times I can't think of what to get men for birthdays, Christmas or Father's Day. This is a perfect thing to get! The men in my life are way more into gardening than they are golfing, or fishing. 



Do you keep a garden? Are you more of an indoor person?

The Apel's The Apel's The Apel's The Apel's The Apel'sThe Apel'sThe Apel's
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.

Cottonmouth and the River

I won the Cottonmouth series from Go Grow Go! awhile back. The author is C.S. Fritz. You can get the series on Amazon. These paperback books can be purchased for about $7-$8.  

I plan on giving the series to my nephew Elijah for Christmas. Mica read them first. 


They look scary, but they are not. The illustrations are pretty neat!

"Tug loves taking Freddie on wild adventures—trips to the moon, building castles, or catching fireflies with Freddie riding on his wide furry back. When Freddie finds a mysterious egg, Tug makes him promise never to eat it. But Freddie is about to discover that broken promises come at a great price.
 
This is the rare children’s story—both bold and tender and brimming with moments of great risk, adventure, and heart. Combining the artistic wonder of Where the Wild Things Are with the timeless storytelling of The Polar Express, this story will capture both the imagination and the intelligence of children and their parents as it sheds light on the power of sin, sacrifice, and redemption." -Amazon



It's a 3 part series. I like that it does in fact finish up. So many books and movie series leave the reader hanging...is there going to be another one in the making?


C.S. Fritz also sent me hand drawn art:


I don't usually blog about my winnings, but I thought this one was worth it. 

Disclaimer: I was not asked to write this review. I won these items, and wanted to share them with you.

Disclaimer

The opinions on this blog are my personal take on products and topics relating to motherhood. This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me.

I am not compensated to provide opinions on a variety of topics. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are my own. If I claim to show knowledge of certain topic or product I will only endorse products or services that I feel, based on my expertise, are worthy of such endorsement.

If you have any questions about this blog, or want to get in contact with me please email me at: anapeladay@gmail.com