Anything Can Happen: Bugs and Spiders

Speaking yesterday of worries.... It is all over the news that due to our warmer than usual winter we are in for a record bug-season.  Oh goodie.  Stop my feet from dancing.  Arrrggghhh.

Now, I am not afraid of spiders. They don't intimidate me [at least not like miller moths do]. But neither am I excited about finding them everywhere and in more frequency or numbers than usual.  I am not by nature a violent person.  If I see a spider outside, I figure I am in their world and I go my merry way.  BUT, inside is MY world and I tend to take a different tact.

That is why I found the poster below amusing. . . .
Spiders... consider yourself warned!

Image credit and thanks to: dedbugs.com, vi.sualize.us [via Ruxandra Soare]

Anything Can Happen: Quick Laugh

Just a quick shameful* chuckle for this Friday:

*After I laughed I felt a little guilty!

Image credit and thanks to: www.jokeroo.com

Anything Can Happen.... Mother's Day Reality

I think this kind of says it all....

Keep your feet firmly planted in reality when you measure your life against Hallmark!
Hope your Mother's Day was happy!


Image from my Pinterest "Gotta Laugh" board.

Anything Can Happen: Fridge Locks

Ok, admit it. How many of you have wished for an easily lockable refrigerator?  I can think of two reasons that have echoed through my experiences:

1- When my munchkins were younger I was often especially desperate.  Children in foster care often have food issues and will graze at any time of night or day.  Even when they know that fresh raspberries have a season roughly two nanoseconds long and that I will knock down old ladies that get between me and a box of freshly picked raspberries.... they still will reach in, snitch all but three berries [left to taunt me I am convinced!] and then profess no knowledge of whoooo could posssssibly have done it!

2- When the numbers on the scales become rude and obnoxious, I sometimes think that having to open a combination lock might help me resist that temptation to snack on something evil.  Research says that if you can delay acting on a food impulse/temptation for 60 seconds, the impulse passes.  [I am not at all sure that I believe it, but someone no doubt spent thousands of dollars researching it.]

Soooo ... the idea below caught my eye online. It is from an interesting website that often has funny, also often vaguely rude, ideas.  So I am not going to link to it but will credit it below if you want to see it for yourself.  But here is their idea.... ready for some inventor out there to make money creating and marketing!  If you can't read it click here for a larger more text readable view.

Better yet..... make a real one and let me know... I will be your first customer!!

Image credit and thanks to: stealourideas.tumblr.com,
                        [light bulb image from newscientist.com]

Anything Can Happen: Super Moon & Moon Games

The local news ran a story about this weekend's "Super Moon" caused when the moon is closest to the earth.  It made me remember some amazing, creative photos that I had seen a long time ago by a French photographer.  It took me quite a while [and made this post a bit late] but with the help of today's internettechnology, I finally found them. Photos of stars, of eclipses, of new moons, harvest moons, and more.

I love when someone's creativity and skill creates something wonderful as in full of wonder. Here are just a few of Laurent Laveder's stunning efforts.  When you can, visit the website with several photo galleries of his work.  Bookmark it.  Go back and visit it again and again.  Show your children.  Celebrate the creativity and imagination on Anything Can Happen Day of someone who thought "What would happen if...." and created such images! Maybe you too can learn to play with the stars and, this weekend, with a Super Moon!

Maybe a game of catch




Or  hula hoop?


Or perhaps you can catch the moon and balance it on your finger...

Or move it around for a better view.


Be inspired!  Anything Can Happen! !


Image credit, thanks and awe to Laurent Laveder

Anything Can Happen: Crazy Vegetables!

Often on Friday I find some crazy photo or silly caper to post.  This Friday I chose something that some might consider crazy, but others might think brilliant.

Do you have trouble getting your child to eat peas or some other vegetable?  In keeping with our Friday theme I offer you something different than the usual techniques. If you can let go for a little bit and be a little crazy, this trick is almost guaranteed to get your kids to try them once in a while. This idea comes from a fellow foster parent friend of mine who also has years of experience in early childhood schools and day care.  With thanks and kudos to "Mr. Bobby" here it is:

Some Friday "Anything Can Happen Night" prepare the green peas as a side vegetable for dinner.  Act really excited about it!  Tell them you remember hearing that  "x" [peas, Brussel sprouts, broccoli, whatever] is one of the really cool vegetables that you get to eat a special way. Explain that most vegetables kids have to start right out easting with a spoon or fork. But with "x" the first four [or five or six, you choose] times that you eat it you have to eat it a special way.  They will probably look at you like your are crazy, but when they ask "How?" go into demonstration mode [Remember it's Anything Can Happen night!]. Put just a few "X"s on your plate.

Make a show of putting down your fork and putting your hands behind your back.  Then...lean over your plate [with hands still behind your back] and eat yours off the plate using just your mouth, lips, and tongue to catch the veggies in your mouth!   Now they will REALLY look like you are crazy, but chances are as they see you do it, they won't be able to resist trying themselves.  Be sure you have only given them a few, as its really fun when you hear them ask for a few more so they can try again to "catch" them with no hands!

Usually once a child tries a new vegetable several times, nature takes over and they get to like the  vegetable.  Then you can explain that they are now old enough to eat them the grownup way and move on. 

I don't have any kiddos young enough for this trick right now, but dozens of parents have found this trick to work and swear by it as a "Never Fail" strategy.  Works great on peas, brussel sprouts, broccoli, etc. Give it a try and let me know how it works for you!

Image credits and thanks to:  mnn.com, fisher-pricestoreindia.blogspot.com, womansday.com, jeanninejersey.blogspot.com

Anything Can Happen: Crazy Views

Quick way to have some fun with your kids:

Visit a novelty store and try these to liven things up, start the giggles, and give your kids a fun and funky different "view" of the world...

1- Simulate the view a fly gets of the world by donning a pair of fly-eye glasses. 
Take turns wearing them while you eat dinner.  Almost as much fun for the person looking at someone wearing them as for the person who is actually wearing them. [under $10[

2. Reverse binoculars. Take an inexpensive pair of binoculars and try looking through them backwards. It makes everything seem VERY far away and makes walking, co-ordinating, much harder.  Try these while playing bowling on a Wii or PlayStation to watch your scores plummet.

3. 3-D or Snowflake glasses.  These glasses mimic special effect photo lens. They can turn a spot of light into a snowflake, a prism, a repeated pattern and more. Available places like Cracker Barrel restaurant gift stores or other novelty stores, these are usually cardboard glasses with insets that make the world seem filled with rainbows, snowflakes etc. depending on the insert.  [under $2]

Later:
Use this as a teaching moment after the giggling stops...
 ---Talk about how hard it is to imagine another person's viewpoint.
 ---Talk about how hard it is to describe something if you see it so differently from the other person.

Image credits and thanks to:  alibaba.com 

Anything Can Happen: Laundry Tip

Have you ever had a clothes washer repairman scold you about using too much soap in your wash?  While it looks funny on a sitcom I learned my lesson years ago after a costly repair.  It looks funny on a sitcom but I was taught some tips over the years since and have never had the problem again:

1- You should not see more than a few bubbles through the washer window of a front loader or on the top of a top loader. [Rich, bubbly suds like the picture at left may look impressive, but it is much too much soap for the rinse cycle to manage. It will eventually result in a picture more like Bobby Brady's above or the new version at right.]

2- Take whatever the manufacturer suggests, divide it by TWO and try it on an average load.  If it does well, stick with it.  If not, add a little more and try again.  Continue till you find what works in your washer. [Remember that it is to the manufacturer's sales totals advantage for you to use more than necessary! Rarely will half the suggested amount be enough.]

Here is my favorite new product... especially helpful if you are smart enough to have your kids doing their own laundry...  Purex laundry sheets [soap and softener all together imbedded into sheets].  I cut each sheet in two so that I can be absolutely sure my wonderful kiddos aren't over-sudsing my machine and the clothes.


You don't want this Friday the 13th to live up to the image of its name!

Remember the lesson of Bobby Brady on The Brady Bunch!.....


Image thanks and credits to: mysweetsavings.com, webdiva305.wordpress.com,  ehow.com.uk, youtube.com

Anything Can Happen: House Painting

Quick Takes:  Paint the House!

If you have early elementary children try letting them paint the outside of the house the next sunny day! No, I’m not crazy…. Give them a couple of full size paint brushes and a bucket of plain water. The water will not hurt anything, but anything they “paint” will turn darker until the water dries. Best of all… other than some wet clothes, there is no mess to clean up afterwards! 

Anything Can Happen: YOYO dinner

All of us have had nights we didn't feel like cooking!
Whether you don't feel good, are sick, or the opposite... that it has been too beautiful a day to be in the kitchen, or that you are making huge headway on a project you are still knee deep in.... We all have times we don't feel like fixing the meal.

Turn it into fun!

In my house it was "Make Your Own Dinner" nights.  But at a recent parent training with other foster parents I heard of a MUCH more fun name for the night... one that sounds way more cool to your kids...

YOYO  night.

Not Yo-Yos as in the toys... YO YO as in:

You're On  Your  Own

Give it a try at your house... [make sure you have sandwich makings, salad stuff, or leftovers on hand for such an occasion, too!]

Anything Can Happen: Homemade Modeling Dough

Today a quick recipe for inexpensive, quick to make modeling clay.  Make it ahead yourself or let the kids join in the mixing and kneading. [Adults only adding the boiling water.] 

Mix together:

            3/4 cup flour

            1/2 cup salt

1  1/2 teaspons oil

1/3 cup boiling water

Stir until well blended. [May seem crumbly before kneading.]

Divide and add food coloring, then knead until smooth.


Dough can be used to create beads or little creatures or dollhouse furniture and dishes, decorations or art sculptures.

Younger children can experiment with simpler rolling and making different colored pinwheels, mixing colors, and make impressions with small "tools."

Dough can be stored in an airtight container for relatively short periods of time. To double the fun, join in the creating with your children!

Tomorrow: Hints for turning the dough into baked beads for further creativity.

Image credits and thanks to: robinsnest.hubpages.com, perpetuallynesting.com,sculptedlight.blogspot.com

Anything Can Happen: The Joy Team

In keeping with what I asked us to think about in my Wednesday Soapbox post... how exactly can one go about scattering joy?  Think about what makes YOU smile.
Is it a baby's throaty chuckle?
Is it a bunch of joyful dancers in an unexpected flash mob?

While in Oregon I heard about the JOY billboards that are designed to spread joy and sponsored by the Joy Team [see below].  Maine has a law that forbids billboards of any kind. But imagine signs like this scattered across the country!
Check out their website to see how it is done and to see other examples of their projects.

www.thejoyteam.org   a site devoted to spreading joy to millions through billboards, directories of love, joy, kindness, etc.
Note:  They also have a site geared for kids called the Junior Joy Team

If you need more ideas for happiness check out some of these websites!  [found by googling and exploring the results of searching "happiness"  

www.happynews.com     an antidote for all the sadness and tragedy in the regular news programs

www.happinesshints.com  "How to Create the Happy Life You Deserve

www.happiness-project.com   site by the author of the book about a year searching for happiness

www.happiness.com    daily happiness tips, funny photos, etc.

www.happiestmoment.org  People post photos and descriptions of their happiest moments

Anything Can Happen: Way Cool!

Okay, any of you with kids who love fireworks or explosions, get your kids to the computer and check this out!  It was on the news on Tuesday and is visually amazingly precise!  The bridge at left is NOT lit by beautiful shining lights.... it is being imploded in a planned demolition.  The Ft. Steubenville Bridge was over 80 years old and had already been replaced in 1990 by a new bridge over the Ohio River and had been closed to traffic for safety reasons since 2009.  The controlled, nearly simultaneous explosions brought the bridge down in barely more than the blink of an eye... literally seconds!

Even as the bridge quickly disappeared, the demolition was so precise that for a moment it almost looked like a series of pillars and supports spanning the water....

Click here for a news video that shows it at normal speed two times [Sorry, there's an ad for a hospital before the bridge clip.]

You can see it on YouTube without commercials but the actual explosion/implosion doesn't happen until about 1 minute 37 seconds into the video.

Click HERE for the MSNBC clip to see it in slow motion and discover that the explosions were not simultaneous, just consecutive and timed so closely that it appeared nearly simultaneous.

Anything Can Happen: Winter?

Here in southern Maine this has been the year that winter overlooked.  Personally, I have relished the ability to walk without fear of falling on ice and snow, and the sweep snow dustings rather than hours of shoveling. [I have only had to shovel three times all winter!!]

 But.... to remind us of the other side:

According to the Guiness World Records  the largest snowflake recorded was

in  Fort Keough, Montana, in 1887

It measured 15 inches wide  by  8 inches thick ! !

At that size instead of shoveling you could pick them up and carrying them them a couple at a time!

Image credits: questgarden.com, its.caltech.edu

Anything Can Happen: Valentine Food Foolishness

A cautionary tale.....

Years ago I decided in one crazy moment to do something especially silly for Valentine's Day to surprise my kids.  I decided to make an all red meal.  Red Velvet Cake was the obvious dessert choice.  

 Red jello salad in a heart shaped molds for a salad was equally easy. Here are plain ones... you can get fancier as you wish.

The main course proved more challenging. I chose ham.

I arranged the slices in heart shapes on each plate.

For veggies I cooked beets [which I knew my children might not eat] and sliced tomatoes [which I knew they liked]. Being particularly inspired I also cut both the beets and the tomatoes with a heart-shaped cookie cutter and arranged them on a plate.. truly heart-ful!

Unfortunately I went one step farther... one step too many.  I added red food coloring to make the mashed potatoes fit the red theme.  Do not try that... it plays tricks with the mind that are transmitted to the taste buds with less than wonderful results.  More than 25 years later, I still am occasionally mocked and berated for that valentine's dinner run amok.  So cut the tomatoes, or beets, make heart shaped salads or red velvet cakes to your heart's content.  Just don't mess with the mashed potatoes!


Image credits: makecakeidea.net, pinehillschool.org, 4littlefergusons.wordpress.com

Anything Can Happen: Whatcha doin'???

Just kidding..... If none of you were at your computers, I would have fewer blog visitors.  Thank you for visiting my blog.  I hope you will share it with others!

Anything Can Happen: Edible Fun

This is one for younger folks.... but ONLY if no one in the family or who will be playing has a nut allergy!!

Get your critters together... clear a clean spot on the table, lay out a large bowl [or two], wash hands well, put on aprons, and get ready for some creative fun where kids can be sticky, then playful, and can eat any mistakes!   You only need three ingedients to get started.

Edible Play Dough

Mix together:
2 cups powdered milk
2 cups peanut butter

Blend in 3 Tablespoons of honey

Options:
Add more powdered milk a bit at a time if the dough is too sticky to use at first.

Add edible extras for texture, taste, fun or to decorate what you create with the basic dough!

Gather some cookie cutters, presses, decorating stencils or whatever you would like to use for decorating and shaping.  We found that even egg molds will work!

You can decorate your creations with anything edible. [Ideas: nuts, raisins, and chocolate chips mix in well.  Stick pretzels, MandMs, gum drops, string licorice, and even sprinkles can be added to make roads, trees, etc. in your play dough world.]

My granddaughters tend to make fake cookies, cakes, flowers, etc.
My grandsons are more likely to make cars, roads, and villages.
What will your kiddos think of?

Think of it this way.... at least when your little one makes you play cookies of edible dough... you can eat them rather than fake-eating clay or play-doh creations.

Have fun.... after all it's Anything Can Happen Day!

Quick Takes: Yes Day PS

Yes Day  . . .  .
                       Important P.S.
So, I heard from a couple about the Yes Day idea and realized that I had omitted one key element in describing my family celebration of Yes Day.  When I have done Yes Day, I pose it as a day without "No"s.  That means not just from me, but from them.  The challenge is to get through the whole span of time without anyone saying the word "No." 

It's kind of like a team contest, with everybody pulling together to keep the word "No" away.  For example, that means that the kids "can't" say "No" to a parent request either!  [See how it can be a good thing?] You may find that kids will be helping you by discouraging a sibling from making a request that would require a "No" for safety reasons or other significant issue.

Not a single person [which is how to not ruin the day by saying "n_  one"] wants the Yes Day to end before the day is over.  It also helps children find more creative ways to word things than a flat "No".  "Would you like to do my chores next week dear brother?" one child might bait a sibling. "I would love to, but I am afraid that is impossible right now." might be the careful response. The game gets fun and while I wouldn't want it everyday.... for one Yes Day, it can be a lot of fun for everyone.


Image credit: mildlyrelevantthoughts.com, mysalestactics.com

Anything Can Happen: Yes Day?

A while back I got a book for my kids named Yes Day!  [by Amy Krouse Rosenthal,  pub:HarperCollins ].  It tells the whimsical story of a child who suddenly and unexpectedly is granted a day of Yes-es.  Imagine for a moment what we as adults would ask to do on a day when the answer to any question or request was automatically "Yes!" .....

Ok, stop imagining.... you are having way to much fun with the idea.  This book is about kids having that opportunity.  Now, I know that there are certain safety rules that must be followed. But, if you stop and think about it, and especially if you plan ahead, it is amazing how many of our "No"s can in fact be transformed into "Yes" es for a single day.  Thinks about creating a "Yes Day" for your child or children.

The first time I tried it, I didn't even tell the children what was happening.  I wanted to see how long it would be before they noticed that everything was getting a "Yes." It was great fun watching them be delightfully surprised, then when they started realizing what was happening, curiously testing their theory, then their unadulterated joy and exhuberance for the remainder of the day. [To be fair, the first time I tried I chose to start on a Friday afternoon to limit the time frame.] Thereafter  it has remained a rare delight, about once a year, never proclaimed in advance, but sprung on them on a day when the weather, the moods, and everything seems to give it the best shot at success.  Try it!  Let me know how it goes...  Anything can happen!

Anything Can Happen: Remember Hand Shadows?

Did you ever make hand shadows on the wall?  I did.  Winter's early evenings are a great opportunity to teach your children this old time fun. Who knows? You might even rediscover it yourself in the process!

Flying birds are the easiest, but there is a whole world of figures to explore: dogs [see the how-to diagram at right], boys, elephants, rabbits, and many many more.


Click here for a blog with pictures like the one above that will teach you how to help your kids make 5 different hand shadow shapes.

Click here for Henry Bursill's  Hand Shadows To Be Thrown Upon The Wall. Here you can choose from a variety of formats, even slideshow! The free text & illustration version is also available from the Guttenberg project and can be downloaded if you click here.

Google on YouTube for "hand shadows" and you will find a video of Louis Armstrong and friends singing "It's a Wonderful World" with a super sweet baby hand sequence, even a German car commercial based on multiple hands shadows.  And last, but far from least, even if you don't speak the language you can be amazed by the hand shadows in this clip from India's Got Talent tv show.

Go forth and shadow....

Image credits: earlychildcare.wordpress.com