One time for kids day, we did a "Just Because" birthday party!
It wasn't anyone's birthday, we just had a party "just because."
I have three beautiful girls who love pink and lots of girly things...and I kinda like Spiderman! Do you think any of my girls like Spiderman? Or picked a Spiderman theme for their party? Nope!
So, when we did our "just because" party, I choose Spiderman!!
So, we made a cake and decorated it like a web. We made a Pin the Spider on the Web, we colored Spiderman Shrinky Dinks, we invited the neighbors over and I got gifts for everyone (instead of bringing gifts, they went home with one!)
When my kids asked why we were doing this, I answered "just because!"
What fun thing can you do with your kids...just because?
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Monday, May 30, 2011
Monday's Effort
Have you ever been super excited about an event-a birthday party, a school event, a kids meeting, date night, any kind of get-together! These can be very fun and the excitement building up days before the event can be part of the whole experience.
Talking about the event, getting excited, imagining how much fun it will be makes the event even more exciting! Until...
Have you ever made a mistake on a date or time of an event?
Have you ever lost an invitation?
Have you ever forgotten?
And the excitment of the event is crushed...
It happens...you won't let it happen again...it was a mistake-you feel horrible, but it was a mistake...ask for forgiveness and move on-don't dwell on it-it happens...to everyone!
Talking about the event, getting excited, imagining how much fun it will be makes the event even more exciting! Until...
Have you ever made a mistake on a date or time of an event?
Have you ever lost an invitation?
Have you ever forgotten?
And the excitment of the event is crushed...
It happens...you won't let it happen again...it was a mistake-you feel horrible, but it was a mistake...ask for forgiveness and move on-don't dwell on it-it happens...to everyone!
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Friday--a day late--what's on sale?
When we do try something new, we like to be practical! We've had try a new cheese on our list for a long time...but it is so darn expensive that we just have not done it!
So we have had a try something new that is "what's on sale this week?"
My girls were having some friends over and they wanted to do Try something new but we didn't have any specific ideas so I ran to the grocery store and looked around. Keebler cookies were on sale for $1 so I bought several different kinds-Mint, filled, sticks, etc.
We had the neighbors over again-since, it would be a real shame to try to finish several bags of cookies by ourselves-and we each tried the individual cookies. It was a sugar filled snack and I think we went through almost a gallon of milk but their friends what try something new was all about and I think each person went home with a bag of their favorite cookies-or at least a small bag with a variety!
Keep an eye out while you are out and about--have you ever tried that before? Would you like to? It might be the perfect thing to do for Try Something New--I will talk about our try something new dinner next week--super fun!!
So we have had a try something new that is "what's on sale this week?"
My girls were having some friends over and they wanted to do Try something new but we didn't have any specific ideas so I ran to the grocery store and looked around. Keebler cookies were on sale for $1 so I bought several different kinds-Mint, filled, sticks, etc.
We had the neighbors over again-since, it would be a real shame to try to finish several bags of cookies by ourselves-and we each tried the individual cookies. It was a sugar filled snack and I think we went through almost a gallon of milk but their friends what try something new was all about and I think each person went home with a bag of their favorite cookies-or at least a small bag with a variety!
Keep an eye out while you are out and about--have you ever tried that before? Would you like to? It might be the perfect thing to do for Try Something New--I will talk about our try something new dinner next week--super fun!!
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Blessing Others
One of my favorite ways to bless others is to make cookies and drop them off at the Fire Station.
We have been blessed to have a quick response from the Fire Dept for a small house fire and they have held a special spot in my heart ever since.
The electrical fire happened around dinner time and even though it wasn't a big fire, the firemen were there for about 3 hours and our neighbors brought out bowls of chili for the firemen to have while they took a break. What a blessing for them while they worked!
I like to bring the cookies to the fire department--just because--they don't expect it and sometimes they are surprised "Really-for us? Thanks!"
Who has blessed you? Who can you bless by baking some cookies? It won't take long...the hardest part is getting out of the house and going up to the door and delivering it...sometimes that is scary but the reward will outway the risk!
We have been blessed to have a quick response from the Fire Dept for a small house fire and they have held a special spot in my heart ever since.
The electrical fire happened around dinner time and even though it wasn't a big fire, the firemen were there for about 3 hours and our neighbors brought out bowls of chili for the firemen to have while they took a break. What a blessing for them while they worked!
I like to bring the cookies to the fire department--just because--they don't expect it and sometimes they are surprised "Really-for us? Thanks!"
Who has blessed you? Who can you bless by baking some cookies? It won't take long...the hardest part is getting out of the house and going up to the door and delivering it...sometimes that is scary but the reward will outway the risk!
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Wednesday Words of Wisdom
My very favorite book of the Bible is Proverbs because there is so much wisdom and I like to read the proverb of the day--today is May 25 so I read Prov. 25. Here's the small bit of wisdom I pulled out:
Proverbs 25:8 "Don't jump to conclusions--there may be a perfectly good explination for what you just saw." (Msg)
How often we jump to conclusion based on our small minded knowledge when we really should take a step back and look at the bigger picture before we react. I know I do it a lot and this is a reminder to take a breath before I react to something I see.
Have you ever heard an argument and assumed one of your children started it because 99% of the time they are the one who usually starts it? Don't jump to conclusions-ask questions and find out what happened...you might be surprised...
Proverbs 25:8 "Don't jump to conclusions--there may be a perfectly good explination for what you just saw." (Msg)
How often we jump to conclusion based on our small minded knowledge when we really should take a step back and look at the bigger picture before we react. I know I do it a lot and this is a reminder to take a breath before I react to something I see.
Have you ever heard an argument and assumed one of your children started it because 99% of the time they are the one who usually starts it? Don't jump to conclusions-ask questions and find out what happened...you might be surprised...
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Kid's Day--Color day
So, one summer, we had Kid's Day.
I had heard a speaker say a great thing to do in summer is to make a Kid's Day. You get all your cleaning done, errands ran, outside work done and have the kids help with all of this by telling them, "If we can get this all done now, we can have an entire day that is Kid's Day later in the week!"
So, I decided to try that!
I didn't do a great job getting everything done before our actual Kid's day but I tried and when it came to kids day, everyone was ready for a day of fun!!
One day, we had color day! We picked yellow. I think we even tried to dress in something yellow...or have something yellow on our shirts.
We went to the farm market and bought yellow snacks...Yellow apples, yellow rasberries, yellow candy (even popcorn can be considered yellow!)
Then, we went to Michael's and bought some terra cotta pots and some yellow (and a few other colors) paint. Then we swung over to Lowe's to pick out some yellow flowers.
We came home, painted our pots and planted our yellow flowers and ate our yellow snacks.
We had a fun yellow day!
What color will you choose?
I had heard a speaker say a great thing to do in summer is to make a Kid's Day. You get all your cleaning done, errands ran, outside work done and have the kids help with all of this by telling them, "If we can get this all done now, we can have an entire day that is Kid's Day later in the week!"
So, I decided to try that!
I didn't do a great job getting everything done before our actual Kid's day but I tried and when it came to kids day, everyone was ready for a day of fun!!
One day, we had color day! We picked yellow. I think we even tried to dress in something yellow...or have something yellow on our shirts.
We went to the farm market and bought yellow snacks...Yellow apples, yellow rasberries, yellow candy (even popcorn can be considered yellow!)
Then, we went to Michael's and bought some terra cotta pots and some yellow (and a few other colors) paint. Then we swung over to Lowe's to pick out some yellow flowers.
We came home, painted our pots and planted our yellow flowers and ate our yellow snacks.
We had a fun yellow day!
What color will you choose?
Oooppsss...Monday's Post
Sorry, forgot to do Monday's post so you get two today!
Monday is Made (a Mistake) an effort Monday....
Ever made a mistake? I've made plenty! But, it was all part of an effort being made to try to be a good friend, a good neighbor, a good wife, a good parent, a good sister, a good daughter. I tried-I made an effort, but sometimes it doesn't go as planned.
For example, I was going to teach my girls to plan dinners and help make them so I gave them a kids cook-book and they could pick out anything they wanted and we would shop together and we would make the meal together.
Sounds like an awesome plan, right?
It went well for my oldest. She picked out Hot Dog boats and strawberry soup. O.K....I can do this. We bought hot dogs, made it into a boat by cutting cheese into a triangle mast and putting it on a toothpick--it didn't stand up like the picture but you could kind of get the idea. Then the strawberry soup was interesting but good--I've never made it before so it was fun to try something new (it must have been Friday).
Then it was my middle daughter's turn. She picked out fondue so we went to the store (or maybe two stores) and found all the weird cheeses you need and all the goodies to dip and we cut the cheese and the goodies and very slowly melted the cheese and got ready to eat.
She asked me "Are you sure this is right?" I said "Yes, this is exactly what the menu says". So we sit down to eat and she dips some bread in the cheese, takes it to her mouth and tastes a tiny bit and spits it out and says "Yuck!!" I asked her what was wrong and she said "It's not like the one we had before!"
Well, the one we had before was a dessert fondue with chocolate...
Did she really think I was going to make chocolate fondue for dinner?
I tried...I made an effort...but we stopped kids dinner after that...
Monday is Made (a Mistake) an effort Monday....
Ever made a mistake? I've made plenty! But, it was all part of an effort being made to try to be a good friend, a good neighbor, a good wife, a good parent, a good sister, a good daughter. I tried-I made an effort, but sometimes it doesn't go as planned.
For example, I was going to teach my girls to plan dinners and help make them so I gave them a kids cook-book and they could pick out anything they wanted and we would shop together and we would make the meal together.
Sounds like an awesome plan, right?
It went well for my oldest. She picked out Hot Dog boats and strawberry soup. O.K....I can do this. We bought hot dogs, made it into a boat by cutting cheese into a triangle mast and putting it on a toothpick--it didn't stand up like the picture but you could kind of get the idea. Then the strawberry soup was interesting but good--I've never made it before so it was fun to try something new (it must have been Friday).
Then it was my middle daughter's turn. She picked out fondue so we went to the store (or maybe two stores) and found all the weird cheeses you need and all the goodies to dip and we cut the cheese and the goodies and very slowly melted the cheese and got ready to eat.
She asked me "Are you sure this is right?" I said "Yes, this is exactly what the menu says". So we sit down to eat and she dips some bread in the cheese, takes it to her mouth and tastes a tiny bit and spits it out and says "Yuck!!" I asked her what was wrong and she said "It's not like the one we had before!"
Well, the one we had before was a dessert fondue with chocolate...
Did she really think I was going to make chocolate fondue for dinner?
I tried...I made an effort...but we stopped kids dinner after that...
Friday, May 20, 2011
Try Something New Friday
This is my favorite family fun idea I've had...Trying something new...ranging from going to your favorite ice cream place and getting something you've never gotten before-hence-trying something new!
My favorite one we've done (although there are several that are high up on my list) was Try Something New Apples. We bought one of each type apple at the grocery store, brought them home and washed them and then cut them into small slices. We invited the neighbors over and we all sat outside and tried the apples.
We made a graph that listed the names of everyone there down the side and the name of each of the apples on the top and we rated each of the apples. We listed what each apple tasted like-whether they were sweet or sour or juicy and we rated each one on a scale from one to five, one being our favorite and five being worst.
Each of the kids (and adults) were able to share what they liked best and it was suprising to see that we all have different tastes-some liking the sour, some hating the sour!
After trying all the apples, my girls became very opinionated on what kind of apples they would eat. My littlest one was at the neighbor's house and was asked if she wanted an apple for a snack. She asked my neighbor what kind of apple it was. She was told "Red Delicious" and she responded "No thank you, I only eat Golden Delicious". I was not to happy to hear that I had turned my young child into an apple snob!!
But, it was a small price to pay for some family fun...and neighborly fun!
So, buy some apples (or wait till fall when they are in season!!), invite some friends over and let everyone have a choice in what they like best!
By the way, I also like Golden Delicious!! (Maybe I'm the snob!!)
My favorite one we've done (although there are several that are high up on my list) was Try Something New Apples. We bought one of each type apple at the grocery store, brought them home and washed them and then cut them into small slices. We invited the neighbors over and we all sat outside and tried the apples.
We made a graph that listed the names of everyone there down the side and the name of each of the apples on the top and we rated each of the apples. We listed what each apple tasted like-whether they were sweet or sour or juicy and we rated each one on a scale from one to five, one being our favorite and five being worst.
Each of the kids (and adults) were able to share what they liked best and it was suprising to see that we all have different tastes-some liking the sour, some hating the sour!
After trying all the apples, my girls became very opinionated on what kind of apples they would eat. My littlest one was at the neighbor's house and was asked if she wanted an apple for a snack. She asked my neighbor what kind of apple it was. She was told "Red Delicious" and she responded "No thank you, I only eat Golden Delicious". I was not to happy to hear that I had turned my young child into an apple snob!!
But, it was a small price to pay for some family fun...and neighborly fun!
So, buy some apples (or wait till fall when they are in season!!), invite some friends over and let everyone have a choice in what they like best!
By the way, I also like Golden Delicious!! (Maybe I'm the snob!!)
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Smile, say hello and give a compliment
This is Thinking of Others Thursday. How many people do you run across everyday and never really look them in the eye, smile at them or say hello? And how can you be a blessing to them? Compliment their hair? Tell them you are happy to see them? Give them a hug?
When we start thinking of others, we think less about ourselves and the feelings of depression and down on ourselves seem to melt away...all because we are focusing on others.
Challenge yourself to touch the lives of 5 people today! Who can you bless?
The Bank Teller
The Bus driver
Your teacher
The receptionist
Your locker mate
Your co-worker
Your neighbor
Your friend
Your pastor
Your Mother
Your sibling
Your spouse
The cashier
Your enemy
Smile, say hello, compliment them...bless them...you'll feel better.
When we start thinking of others, we think less about ourselves and the feelings of depression and down on ourselves seem to melt away...all because we are focusing on others.
Challenge yourself to touch the lives of 5 people today! Who can you bless?
The Bank Teller
The Bus driver
Your teacher
The receptionist
Your locker mate
Your co-worker
Your neighbor
Your friend
Your pastor
Your Mother
Your sibling
Your spouse
The cashier
Your enemy
Smile, say hello, compliment them...bless them...you'll feel better.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Sharing our fun and adventures with you
Welcome to 5 days of fun for families!
I hope you are able to take some ideas from this blog to have fun with your own family and friends. Grandparents, this is a great place to look for fun ideas to do with your grandkids! Teachers, there are some fun ideas to do in your classroom! Church youth groups, there are some cool ideas to do with your youth groups! Anyone working with groups of people, this is a great resource for some fun activities to do with your group!
Most of the ideas will work for a family of four as well as a group of 20 or more! Read through the ideas and then adjust them to fit what you are working with. If you have any questions how to do that, ask me! I'll help!
I'm going to try to stick to a strict schedule of blogging everyday, M-F!
MONDAY will be Made (a Mistake) an effort to do something fun but it didn't turn out very fun...
TUESDAY will be Kid's Day or Just Because Day
WEDNESDAY will be Words of Widsom
THURSDAY will be Thinking of Others
FRIDAY will be Try Something New Friday
Ideas, confessions, things I've learned, being a blessing to others and stepping out of your comfort box and trying new things...if you would like to see these things, keep coming back to see what's going on in the 5 days of fun for families.
I hope you are able to take some ideas from this blog to have fun with your own family and friends. Grandparents, this is a great place to look for fun ideas to do with your grandkids! Teachers, there are some fun ideas to do in your classroom! Church youth groups, there are some cool ideas to do with your youth groups! Anyone working with groups of people, this is a great resource for some fun activities to do with your group!
Most of the ideas will work for a family of four as well as a group of 20 or more! Read through the ideas and then adjust them to fit what you are working with. If you have any questions how to do that, ask me! I'll help!
I'm going to try to stick to a strict schedule of blogging everyday, M-F!
MONDAY will be Made (a Mistake) an effort to do something fun but it didn't turn out very fun...
TUESDAY will be Kid's Day or Just Because Day
WEDNESDAY will be Words of Widsom
THURSDAY will be Thinking of Others
FRIDAY will be Try Something New Friday
Ideas, confessions, things I've learned, being a blessing to others and stepping out of your comfort box and trying new things...if you would like to see these things, keep coming back to see what's going on in the 5 days of fun for families.
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