Book Review: 'Sir Silly: The World Where Words Play'

I was thrilled to receive this book from KSB Promotions in exchange only for my honest review. The book is a thin 44 pages, but packed with fun poems for children.  

The English language is quite complicated.  There are so many exceptions that when teaching English to children, it can make their heads spin.  Sir Silly The World Where Words Play takes these language woes and has a lot of fun.

The author, David Dayan Fisher, is known for his bad-boy roles on television’s hit show, NCIS, as well as a role in the latest Batman movie.  But, in Sir Silly, he let’s loose with playing with words.

Since this blog is elephant-themed, I thought I would share one poem, in particular, that is about an elephant and an ant:

The ant was upset.

He sat, and he wept.

An elephant asked,

WHAT’S WRONG?

I’m small. I am small.

I want to be tall.

The world is so big and so long.

DON’T BE SAD,

WIPE UP YOUR TEARS.

I’VE GOT A LONG NOSE

AND BIG FLOPPY EARS.

But your’e big.

You’re tall.

I just feel like a fool.

It’s not easy being

An ant.

BUT I’M CLUMSY AND SLOW.

I CAN’T HIDE THIS I KNOW.

EVERYONE HEARS ME COMING.

I STEP ON TWIGS.

I CRUSH THE BRUSH.

IT’S NOT EASY BEING THE SIZE OF A BUS.

IF I WERE SMALL AND YOU WERE TALL,

THINK OF THE THINGS WE COULD DO.

The ant just sat. He had a think.

The elephant’s mind began to blink.

They imagined being each other.

My, oh my!

How much I would eat!

It’s heavy work being in an elephant’s feet.

AND WHAT A PACE, SO VERY BUSY.

BEING AN ANT WOULD MAKE ME VERY DIZZY.

The ant looked up.

He had a smile.

I think I will stay who I am for a while!

Page 12-13, reprinted with permission from Sir Silly: The World Where Words Play by David Dayan Fisher ©2013; http://www.sirsilly.com/.

Baby Gear Product Review: SnoozeShade Plus

A couple months ago, I received a SnoozeShade Plus stroller shade for review.  I was excited to put it to the test, but the weather decided to hang onto winter and early spring snowfall making it difficult to get out and go for a walk.

 

Last week, spring finally sprung in my town.  First on my order of business was to take a walk around the lake and try out the SnoozeShade Plus.

I had read the reviews and the product description, but I was extremely impressed as I pulled the SnoozeShade Plus out of the package to see first-hand what it was like.

It was neatly tucked away inside a pull-close mesh bag for storage.  I was really pleased to see that the Velcro closures were covered in the packaging to protect them from snagging the shade.  This immediately won me over with excitement, as I get so annoyed when this wonderful invention of Velcro snags an otherwise perfectly wonderful garment or item.

I pulled out the SnoozeShade Plus and opened it up to find that it has several loops to fit around just about any stroller, though will not fit on a double-width hood of a double stroller.  It will, however, fit on a single-hooded/kid in a row style of double stroller.  There are plenty of Velcro-looped straps to get the best fit.  If you don’t use all of the straps, just tuck them away..

It is designed with baby and mom in mind.

• It provides 50+ UPF sun protection
• Protects baby from wind and chill on colder days.
• Serves as a mosquito or insect net.
• It works great with newborns through approximately age 4
• It is a universal fit
• It is made out of breathable fabric
• Mom can catch a sneak-a-peek through the front zipper
• It has a 2-in-1 blackout blind and a full sunshade
• It provides black-out from the sun so baby can sleep or a zip-down window, on the dual layer fabric, for baby to look out while still being shaded from the sun.
• It works great while traveling.  It is portable inside the mesh drawstring storage bag, and it helps to keep baby’s sleep routine undisturbed.
• It has a top zipper (at stroller handles) to allow you to quickly check on baby.

The SnoozeShade is sold as:

SnoozeShade Original ($34.99)

SnoozeShade Plus ($49.99)

SnoozeShade for Infant Carriers ($29.99)

SnoozeShade for Playards ($99.99)

They are available online at www.snoozeshadeusa.com. You can also “like” them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.

Disclaimer:  I received a free copy of this product in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions I have expressed are my own or those of my family. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations.

Elephant Pictures 101

Since my daughter now owns upwards of 100 elephants, we have agreed that it's time to make the shift from rescuing and collecting all of the elephants in the world to instead begin taking pictures of all of the elephants we encounter.

Well....  There are many.

I was shocked to discover that there are elephants wherever we go.  And, no, I'm not seeing "pink elephants" from too much drinking.

Here's just a few from one day's outing:

Coolest Snow Globe Gift Cards Gift

I realize that Christmas has passed, and we have moved into a new year.  However, I received this coolest gift for Christmas from my niece and just had to share my haphazard tutorial of how to make one for yourself to make your own gift card snow globe.

Hint:  These would make adorable Teacher Gifts for any occasion, and a child could make them with adult supervision with the hot glue gun!

  Yes, they are decorated in Christmas ornaments, but you could just as easily make it any wintry scene to give throughout Valentine's Day, a child's birthday (add a princess theme and some pink tulle) or even a gift just to give during the winter.  You could probably even turn it into a sandy beach/ocean scene with some blue food coloring and a little creativity to give throughout the year.

 Keep in mind that I did not make this originally, I received it as a gift.  But, I pretty much figured out how it goes.

Start with a jar, and remove the label.

Buy a gift card (the ones without the magnetic strip probably work best, but I don't know if this would become damaged when wet or not).  Hot glue the gift card to the inside (bottom) top of the lid.

Note:  When I opened my snow globe to redeem the gift card, this was challenging to remove.  So, it might work best to wrap the gift card inside a clear plastic bag or plastic wrap and glue only the wrapping or outside bag to the lid instead.  Just a thought.  But, I did successfully get all the glue off so I can use the cards.

 Fill the jar with as much glitter as you desire (or other decorations, such as small water-proof Christmas ornaments, little heart glitter (for Valentine's Day) or sea shells and glitter that resembles sand for a beach scene.  Use your creativity and go wild.

Learning to Tie with Pink Elephants and Fleece

If learning to tie shoelaces seems like a lost art, learning to tie knots can be useful.  Well, at least the Boy Scouts still teach the art of knot tying.   And, if nothing else, it's a fun process when elephants are involved.

This is not a paid product review, though if I were to throw in my two cents worth I would highly recommend these kits.  My daughter received hers as a Christmas gift from my sister, but I believe you can find them at Joann's Fabrics and maybe even Hobby Lobby, Michaels or online.

 It began with two pieces of fleece fabric.  One was a solid lime green backing color.  The other was PINK ELEPHANTS!!!!!

 My elephant-loving daughter was thrilled when she got the chance to learn how to tie knots using a No-Sew Fleece blanket kit picturing PINK ELEPHANTS!

I cut the strips of fabric fleece fringe and showed her how to cross the strips to form an "X" and then tuck inside the newly formed circle and puuuuuullllllllll hard and tight.  She LOVED this part.

Soon, I began to tie every other fringe strip leaving the rest to her.

Before long, the blanket was complete with one happy elephant-loving knot-tying girl.