Holidays for Everyday: May 17 - 23, 2011

Tuesday, May 17th, 2011 ~ Pack Rat Day

Pack Rats unite, Brandon my son, this means YOU! Perhaps this would be a good day to do a little decluttering, or on the other hand give yourself a day of from decluttering. Maybe I will walk past Brandon's room and not sigh all day. If on the other hand you aren't wishing to embrace your pack rat self any longer you could always visit, www.flylady.org 

On the other hand you could go to Nick Jr. and play a little game of PakRat. Its fun....don't ask me how I know.

Wednesday, May 18th, 2011 ~ Mt. St. Helens Errupted 

This is probably most relevant for those of us living in the Northwest, because this was a pretty signifiant even that happened around here. This appears to be a great resource for kids (and adults alike). http://www.kidscosmos.org/kid-stuff/kids-volcanoes-st-helens.html

Thursday, May 19th, 2011 ~ Circus Day

Personally, I think this clown craft is pretty stinkin' cute. It doesn't hurt that after they make this craft they can use it as a interactive toy. 

Go Here for the template and instructions! 

Friday, May 20th, 2011 ~ Pick Strawberries Day

Strawberries aren't even close to ready to be picked around here but I thought I would include it anyways. Just so I could share this link from one of my favorite new blogs, (new as in, new to me) 

Alicia's Homemaking - 10 Fabulous Ways to Eat A Strawberry (or Two) 

Saturday, May 21st, 2011 ~ Armed Forces Day

This is simply a day to salute sharply to all of the men and women in all branches of the service who protect our country and you. They can be called upon at a moment's notice to perform a risky and perilous mission for freedom and country. They train diligently both physically and mentally so they will be prepared to prevail in any mission they face.
Just how did it all begin? Well, each branch of the military had their own day of celebration. But, on August 31, 1949 then Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson announced the creation of Armed Forces Day. President Harry Truman also announced the holiday in a presidential proclamation on February 20, 1950. All branches of the military were asked to celebrate on this day and they complied on the first Armed Forces Day which was held the following year on May 20, 1950.  ~ Information from HolidayInsights.com

Sunday, May 22nd, 2011 ~ Buy-Musical-Instrument Day

Personally I am not planning on buying any musical instruments anytime soon but.........remember these guys Maracas for Cinco de Mayo ? Now would be a good time to make them if you didn't on Cinco de Mayo! 

Monday, May 23rd, 2011 - Lucky Penny Day

Holy Moly ~ anyone up for making a necklace? Actually I see potential in this idea!

Cute idea for a card.....especially if your Dad happens to be a penny pincher! LOL 

This little doll could just as easily say~ I hope your day is Lucky! or Happy Lucky Penny Day! or I am so Lucky to have you! 

~~~~~As always have fun celebrating the fun and wacky, little known holidays~~~~~

Holidays for Everyday: May 3rd - May 16th

Tuesday May 3rd  -National Teacher Appreciation Day

How in the world can Teacher Appreciation Day be tomorrow and I have nothing prepared? Well anyways, I have looked on my list of go-to blogs for some cute and quick ideas and listed them below!

Click here to learn how to make this homemade hand scrub from Christy at Glitter to Gumdrops

Or this idea looks super simple and easy as well! LOVE IT! From Little Birdie Secrets!

And of course, every teacher my child has ever had tells me the gift they love the most has been a handwritten letter of appreciation! They deserve our words of appreciation!

Wednesday May 4th - National Weather Observers Day

What a fun holiday! Now I don't know any weather observers but I certainly know two little boys who would love to do some fun weather related projects!

Click here to go to learn how to make this handprint sun!

Thursday May 5th - National Day of Prayer and Cinco de Mayo

I am joining our other members of our community to pray for our town, our state and our nation on this day. I love the idea of a National Day of Prayer. As for a craft idea I am sure I will think of something.

As far as Cinco de Mayo, usually we go eat Mexican food but this year I think we will stay home and make our own feast. Maybe see if I can master my families enchilada recipe. I am the only one who can't make them successfully. I will post any tips that come up!

Friday May 6th - Space Day

Here's a link to a fun webpage made just for today!

Saturday May 7th - Join Hands Day and National Scrapbook Day

Join Hands Day is a day to make a difference in your community through helpful projects that connect youths and adults. It is an opportunity to reach out through volunteer organizations and to connect generations and develop new relationships.

National Scrapbook Day! What a great holiday to get together with your friends and scrapbook! Or at least take the time to put together a fun layout or two!

Sunday May 8th - Mothers Day and No Sock Day

Mothers Day is right aroung the corner. Have you gotten your gifts ready? Planned a special time to be with your Mom? Cards should be mailed soon to those people who you have to mail them to. These are questions that I need to answer early this week but I think we could all use the reminders.

On the other hand. Would your family be relieved if you actually TOLD them what you would like for Mothers Day? Would you be less dissapointed if you actually let them know you would prefer a Jo-Ann's gift card than a bouquet of flowers? My husband and I have struggled with this for years and every time he would ask me what I want I would say "oh anything" or "suprise me" or "if you had been paying attention you would know" and then he would be stressed out and I would be setting myself up for dissapointment. But I have found that being happy with a stress free husband is the BEST gift and not being suprised is NO BIG DEAL! Now I leave a few subtle or not so subtle hints and he and the boys love giving gifts to Momma that they know she loves! The boys still think they are suprising Mom though.

This same theory applies to what I want to do on special days, date nights and all sorts of other things. And yes my husband still suprises me but at least now he has a starting point! Some people may think my way of thinking is selfish but truely it is selfish to demand to be suprised and then not happy with what he picks out!

Monday May 9th - Lost Sock Memorial Day

Okay friends, you had to laugh a little when you read that right? I know I did, and I can think of a few things that would help those socks go out in style! Stay tuned for my Lost Sock Memorial Day post!

Holidays for Everyday: April 25th - May 2nd

Are you like me and take a big sigh of relief after every holiday? As a Mom the pressure is really on to make the holidays special for our kids. Wait! What am I talking about? What I meant to say is for our kids, our husbands, our families, our friends, our churches, our students our............fill in the blank. As woman we have expectations put on us to go all out and make sure everyone has a "perfect" holiday. Whether our families put those expectations on us or we do it to ourselves it sure can be hectic and stressful and lets face it sometimes after the holiday we are filled with let down and dissapointment. That is no fun! But guess what?

Pretty much every....... single......day is a holiday of some kind. And best of all, no one expects us to celebrate these holidays so they can remain simple and fun! I love the fact that each day we have a chance to do something special with our kids. Of course we can't have a celebration every single day but we can enjoy as many days as we can and if we are needing some inspiration these can be an excellent starting point. I hope to do this every week and I hope that someone is inpsired to celebrate a "simple" holiday with BIG fun for their families!

April 25- National Crayola Day

- This would be a great time to do melty crayons! Learn how at Bits of Everything.

- Recycling old broken crayons to make new ones in fun shapes would be fun too. I first saw this idea at a pretty cool life.

-And if you don't want to mess with that project I thought the blog Going Green had some great info.

April 26- National Pretzel day

-Have you ever made homemade pretzels with your kids? Sooo good! I will post the recipe later today.

-Dipping store bought pretzels in chooclate and sprinkles is also a fun thing to do.

April 27- Tell a story Day

- What a fun family activity during dinner. Have you ever tried doing a round robin story with your kids? One person starts the story with a sentence or two and then everyone takes turns adding a sentence or two.

April 28- Poetry Reading Day

-We have several poetry books and I will be asking each member of our family to pick their favorite short poem to share with our family!

April 29- National Shrimp Scampi Day

-Oh yummy this might be my new favorite day of the year!

April 30- National Oatmeal cookie day
April 30- Raisin Day

- Oh my yum! Do these two days go together or what! Oatmeal Raisin cookies please!

May 1- May Day

-I will be showing how to make simple May Day baskets on Wednesday. All you need is a sheet of cardstock! I always mean to do May Day baskets with my kids and then never do it. This year I am planning ahead and I will!

- If giving away real flowers won't work this year how about a cookie bouquet?

May 2- Brother/Sister Day
May 2- Sibling Appreciation Day

-These are pretty much the same holiday so I am including them both. I think the boys will make cards for each other. Maybe even small gifts if I can come up with something for them to make. Or let the kids come up with their own ideas for how they want to show love to their siblings! They might suprise us!