Wonder What To Do Wednesday (Oops..did Thursday yesterday)! Rock, Paper, Scissors

Can you guys believe that I had the days mixed up and listed the "Things to Do Thursday" on a Wednesday?!!! I have never made that mistake before...oops!!

I guess I will just go backwards today and list my Living Day to Day...Wednesday Blog. I found this awesome list online:

101 Things to Do When There's Nothing to Do. The first item listed is:

Play "Rock, Paper, Scissors"

Believe it or not, there are many people out there who have never played this game, or even heard of it. Here are the game play rules:

Each of the three basic hand-signs (from left to right: rock, paper, and scissors) beats one of the other two, and loses to the other. The players count aloud to three, or speak the name of the game (e.g. "Rock! Paper! Scissors!"), each time raising one hand in a fist and swinging it down on the count. On the third count (saying, "Scissors!") the players change their hands into one of three gestures, which they then "throw" by extending it towards their opponent. Variations include a version where players use a fourth count — "Shoot!" — before throwing their gesture, or a version where they only shake their hands twice before "throwing." Others prefer a five count cadence by saying "Says Shoot!" or "And Shoot!" before throwing their gesture. The gestures are:

Rock, represented by a clenched fist.

Scissors, represented by two fingers extended and separated.

Paper, represented by an open hand, with the fingers connected (horizontal).

The objective is to select a gesture which defeats that of the opponent. Gestures are resolved as follows:

Rock blunts or breaks scissors: that is, rock defeats scissors

Scissors cut paper: scissors defeats paper

Paper covers, sands or captures rock: paper defeats rock

If both players choose the same gesture, the game is tied and the players throw again.

Things to Make Thursday! Recycled CD Snoman

I found this awesome recycled into a craft item at allfreecrafts.com.

Recycle a CD and a juice can lid ornament in this Christmas craft to make a snowman ornament.


CD Snowman

Supplies:


discarded CD
juice can lid
chenille stems - one brown, one red
two plastic eyes
small piece of orange craft foam or felt
three buttons
white spray paint
black permanent marker
small piece of fabric or yarn to use as a scarf
two small pom poms
glue gun
CD Snowman

Project Instructions:

1. Spray paint the CD and a juice can lid on both sides in white paint. Let dry.

2. Glue the eyes, and a small triangular piece of craft foam for the nose, to the juice can lid. Make a series of dots with black permanent pen to represent the snowman's mouth.

4. Cut a length of red chenille stem to fit around the top of the juice can lid, extending down a little less than halfway. This is top of the ear muffs. Glue a small pom pom on each end of the chenille stem to finish the ear muffs.

5. Glue the completed snowman head on top of the CD.

6. Tie yarn, cord or a small strip of fabric around the neck as a scarf.

7. Cut a brown chenille stem in quarters. Take two pieces and twist one around the other to form a stick arm, as shown on the photo. Repeat to make the other arm. Glue the arms in place on each shoulder area.

8. Glue three buttons down the front to finish. If desired, add a loop of cord to hang.

Tips Tuesday! The Kitchen

Well, I don't know about anyone else, but I have already started my Spring Cleaning. I came across some great tips for the kitchen!

Oven

To clean up spills, sprinkle immediately with salt. When the oven has cooled, brush away the burnt-on food with a damp sponge.

Or sprinkle with automatic dish washing powder, cover with wet paper towels, let stand for a few hours, then clean with a damp sponge.

Refrigerator

To eliminate smelly odors, keep an open box of baking soda, a small bowl of charcoal (from the plant store) or a piece of cotton dipped in vanilla extract in your refrigerator.

To prevent mildew, wipe down the inside occasionally with white vinegar.

To clean underneath the refrigerator, tie a sock around the end of a yardstick.

Dishwasher

Dip a damp rag in baking soda to clean up any inside spots.

For odors, sprinkle baking soda in the bottom and let stand overnight.

For film on dishes and the inside of the dishwasher, put a bowl with 1 cup bleach in the bottom of the washer. Run through the wash cycle but do not dry. Then fill the bowl with 1 cup white vinegar and run an entire cycle.


Polished Aluminum Appliances

Keep them clean with baking soda.

Must Have Monday!! Purex 3-in-1 Laundry Sheets

Everyone has something that they absolutely cannot live without. After receiving a sample of Purex 3-in-1 Laundry Sheets, I was hooked!!! This awesome invention has one load's worth of laundry detergent, softener and anti-static, all in one sheet!!! Drop it in and you are on your way. No worries about messy powdered detergents or sticky liquid detergents. The detergent is released during the wash cycle. Once the wash is complete, transfer the sheet along with your clothing to the dryer. The stripe on the sheet is heat activated by the dryer to soften and remove static. The scents available are:

Spring Oasis, Tropical Escape, and Pure & Clean.

Although the Spring Oasis is the scent that came as the free sample, I absolutely love the scent of the Tropical Escape! The best part is that usually, there is a coupon somewhere that can be used, either in a package of the laundry sheets or in the Sunday newspaper!

Give these babies a try...they are a must!!

Special Time Sunday! Tea Party

Looking for something special to do with your kids on a weekend? How about having a real-life tea party!

Invitations
Cut out invitations in the shape of teacups and write on your information, such as:
Join Us for a Spot of Tea! Wear only your best hats and gloves.

Food
Bake mini cakes and cookies! To make mini cakes, bake a regular 9x13 cake as per the directions. Once cooled, take cookie cutters such as hearts, circles, etc...and press down into the cake...instant mini cake! Snickerdoodles are a great cookie for this occasion :)

Drink
Kids not big tea fans? Make a mix of ginger ale and white grape juice.

Decorations
Be sure to lay out the lace tablecloth and for this one occasion, finally dust off your wedding china! Your kids will get a real kick out of being important enough to eat off of it :)

Don't forget your camera!!

**To see our real life tea party, swing by my blog: My Life is a Reality Show...
http://www.dedeshortking.blogspot.com

Swap a Recipe Saturday! Snowman on a Stick

I found this adorable "winter" appetizer (or even breakfast item) on familyfun.com :)

These banana-based snowmen are decidedly more tropical than the frosty variety, and kids can assemble their own if you prepare the fruit for them.

Ingredients:

Bananas
Grapes
Carrot
Apple
Bamboo skewers
Mini chocolate chips
Pretzel sticks

Instructions:

For each snowman, you will need three thick slices of banana, a grape, a sliver of carrot, and a triangular piece of apple. (Tip: Poke a hole in the apple piece with a bamboo skewer first to make assembly easier.)

Have your kids slide the fruit onto the skewer, then use the carrot slivers for noses, mini chocolate chips for eyes and buttons, and pretzel sticks for arms.

Fun Idea Friday! Winter Games

There's no need to get cold feet about spending a winter day outdoors. Instead, bundle up and follow your kids to the nearest drift for a snow pile of fun. Here are seven winter games to get your family started.


JUMP SNOW HURDLES
Lightly pack a bunch of basketball-size snowballs and then use them to build a course of hurdles to jump over in a round of follow the leader.

ROPE TOW
Team up for a slip-sliding variation of tug-of-war. Tamp down a wide, shallow trench in the snow to serve as the mid line. Then, take up positions at the ends of a long, thick rope and let the tugging and towing begin. Whichever team pulls the entire opposing group over to its side of the trench wins.

FLAG IN A SNOW STACK
Tie a white cloth to the end of a short stick or around the bowl of a wooden spoon. Then, give each child a chance to hide it by staking it anywhere within a predetermined set of boundaries. Keep track of how long it takes for the rest of the group to find it. Whoever hid the flag that takes the longest time to spot wins the game.

STRIKE OUT
For this pitching contest, first mound up snow to create three bases and a pitcher's mound. They should each be about 2 feet high and 20 feet apart. Next, build a tin can pyramid on each base. The challenge is to knock down the stacks in order from first to third base by throwing snowballs from the pitcher's mound. The child who succeeds with the fewest pitches wins.

HAT TRICK
Once you've built a plump, frosty snowman to stand sentry in your front yard, make a game of topping him off in style. Take turns trying to land a hat on his head by throwing it Frisbee style from 10 or so feet away.

GET ON A ROLL
Pair up for a contest in which the object is to finish with the biggest snowball. The contest ends when the teams can no longer roll their entries or when you run out of snow.

POWDER-PUFF FOOTBALL
All you need are two teams of three or more people to play, along with a spray bottle filled with a mix of water and food coloring to mark the playing field (a large rectangle with a center line should suffice). The teams line up at opposite ends of the field (the North and South poles) for a kickoff. Once someone on the receiving team catches the ball, he tries to move it back across the defense's goal line by running with it or passing it to a teammate. Play stops if the person with the ball is tagged by an opponent or slides out of bounds. The teams then face off again on the spot. After four tries, or a touchdown, the ball goes to the other team. The game ends when either team gets cold.

I found these great ideas at familyfun.com