I wonder...

A fantastic 13 year old follower of my blog from Oklahoma had a inspiring moment after reading my post:
"This one is for you Aubrey".  A very vivid, beautifully crafted, tablet drawing!  

Thank you Caitlin Suarez!  You are an artist!   I thank you so much for letting me post this on my blog.

You really can win GIVEAWAYS

You really can win by commenting on GIVEAWAYS! I did!

I won a book called Santa Story Revisited - How to Give your Children a Santa they Will Never Outgrow by Arita Trahan with Norma Eckroate

Not only did I receive a brand spanking new copy I have a personally autographed copy "Pati - Here's to having a jolly old time our ho-ho-whole lives long!
- Anita"

I am really looking forward to reading this book because Christmas is very important to me; and being able to give my children a Santa they will NEVER forget sounds like THE most fantastic thing I can give them!

Giveaway: Wet or Dry Floor Cleaning System

Doesn't everyone like FREE STUFF!?

I know I do! That's why I entered the Giveaway contest found at Diaries of a Domestic Goddess


Leah is offering a giveaway for a Wet or Dry Cleaning System by ProMist. This may just be the next best thing since sliced bread. Okay, maybe not, but the next best thing besides a Swiffer!

Please visit this link to enter the contest. I did! Tell her that Pati sent you!

Tag! You're IT

There must be some kind of natural instinct we gain as children to instantly know how to play games that I/we played as a child. Like Tag! You're IT, nope you're IT, nope you, you, you. It's a never-ending game of tiresome running fun!

Let's take these games for example I certainly didn't 'teach' my kids how to play they just Play. Imagine yourself as a 6-8 year old child. Here is what comes to my mind...

There are the 'tents made out of blankets'. Easy enough to explain, tents...made out of blankets stretched far across any room in the house. I've seen my kids drape blankets over kitchen chairs lined up in a row; I've seen them drape blankets over the actual kitchen table to make a clubhouse, I've seen the normal draping over the side of the couch and make sure you pull every pillow in the house inside said tent too. It's always fun to put the house back together after that.

Next, we have 'hot lava'. The game of 'don't touch the hot lava (aka the carpet) and throw all the couch cushions to the floor as stepping stones. Now you must jump on the couch cushions to make it back to safe (aka the couch). Careful! Don't fall in the lava!

A spinoff of the 'hot lava' game called 'lava monster'. This takes place when you make an unfortunate fall into the lava, and become the lava monster. Now the monster must try to pull everyone else in.

Then, there's always the 'dirty clothes monster'. Stuff yourself in your hamper or under the pile of dirty clothes. You must rise from the dirty clothes and moan like a zombie. Then walk around with dangling pajamas, towels, and socks on your arms as you Zombie-limp your way to the other unsuspecting victims in the house. True, I'd really like to see this done out of CLEAN clothes, but just think of the mess folding the drawers when you are done. Just let them use dirty clothes.

A nice spin off of this game is 'Leaf Monster' in which you do the same thing with dead leafs attached to your hair as you stumble around outside of the graveyard of leaves you bury yourself in. (Let's not think about how long it will take to get all those leaves out of their hair.)

Also, there is a good old fashioned game of 'hide and seek'. It's always more fun to play at someone else's house because you already found all the good places to hide at your own house. (p.s., No. The dryer is not a good hiding spot) <---be careful not to teach that dangerous spot to your kids no matter how funny it may seem!!

Making snow angels is another hot topic in the snow. I can't say I showed them how to do it; they always just 'did'. The making of snowmen does require some adult help in getting those really heavy middle and head sections on there.

I think last but not least is 'tea party'. My son may admit someday that he even liked to play tea party once in a while when he was around 3 or 4. I never taught him how to line up his stuffed animals, talk to them, and while he fed them pretend plastic food with cups and bowls. It's not just a "girl" thing ya' know. My girls learned how to play too around that age and they still play at age 6.

Lastly, there is nothing like a good game of 'who can scream the loudest!'
Need I say more?

These are my most favorite games I played as a kid, and then I see my children play. I didn't teach them how to play, it must have been their eerie sixth sense. Children gain this natural instinct at birth, I think, how else would they 'know' how to play these games automatically?

What kind of fun games did you play as a kid? No, I'm not talking Nintendo 64, or Atari, I did play those too. I'm talking actual games you played outside or inside. It didn't take much to make-up a game and I'm sure other familes have lots of other fun things they did. Please feel free to share!

Another way to use the coffee filter...

So I've given you one way to use a coffee filter here.

I have yet another helpful tidbit for using those fantastic paper circles!

Of course, you can use them to filter coffee. I know that, but they are so resourceful in your everyday deeds.

It's lunchtime...your stomach is growling and you mosey on over to the fridge. Yes, mosey is a word, the definition is located here at dictionary.com.
So anyway, you mosey on over to the fridge and see what's leftover from yesterday. Oh that scrumptious pasta. Huge stewed tomatoes bathed in garlic and onion marinara, with the Parmesan cheese that had once melted has now congealed over the last of the ziti pasta. I'm drooling already. It sure was good last night at dinner, and it will taste even better for lunch today! So you place your block of cold pasta on a plate and pop it in the microwave. STOP! WAIT! Did you forget about the whole coffee filter thing? Take a coffee filter, and place it on top of your pasta BEFORE you microwave it. OKAY GO! Now set the timer on the microwave for 2 minutes and walk away. You can go check your email really quick, grab a cup of milk and throw in a slice of bread in the toaster and when the chime rings, lunch is served.

So I'm sure you are guessing WHY, just WHY did I put a coffee filter on my plate of pasta? Open your microwave and see... the filter has grabbed every spit of hot pasta sauce that would usually be dangling like volcano ash inside your microwave. Throw said coffee filter in the compost (if it's an unbleached recycled filter) and you now have a stayed-clean microwave!

Feel free to be flexible with what you use the filters for, use it on pasta; spaghetti-ohs, soup, anything!

Enjoy your mess-free microwave today.

Days like these we remember...

"It's days like these we remember." The wise words of my 9 year old son.

It's around 8pm on a late July summer evening as we drive in the car heading West. As the sun begins to set on the clouded thunderous day, the large puffed clouds stand behind us as tall as they eye can see. The blue sky before us breaks apart into a peach-orange colored glow giving us a slightly eerie setting from the storms that had just passed. The low hanging clouds are whisping away as they stretch long across the summer evening sky. With their gray colored haze the outstanding sun streams into the clouds with its warming rays as the day closes.

He joins me in a quiet ride in the car and says "It's days like these we remember." I look at him with a curious smile and wonder why he just said that, so of course I ask. "Why would you say that?"

He smiled back and answered so honestly. "Because when was the last time I got to enjoy a quiet sunset with my mom? I wish we could pull over and watch the sun fall in the sky. We could spread out a blanket and just watch the cloud shaped animals pass us by. I don't remember the last time we got to do that."

With tears in my eyes I don't respond. It is days like these we remember, this particular day I will remember. When was the last time I remember watching the sunset with my son? I do remember, it was that night.

Thanks son, for having me remember those small things in life.

This one is for Aubrey...

As she pushes her tip toes with a strenuous reach, she can finally see over the railing. Her little blue eyes twinkle in the late evening sky. She reaches her chin up over the wrought iron fence and is just tall enough to see the cascade of flowers that dwindle down the embankment. The fence keeps her safe from falling down as she clenches the bars in her tight grasp still afraid that she might fall. The wind sweeps her hair up off her neck with thousands of stray hairs finding their way into a low tangle onto her shoulders again.

She looks to her left at her mom who is standing beside her as they exchange smiles. Her short haired sister is squeezing her cheeks between the bars as she tries to look down to the flowers below but she can't because she is not tall enough. She looks to her right as watches her big brother pull the few strands of spit back into his mouth as he let a big drop fall down over the bars. Her dad, sitting on the bench behind them all, just watches his family.

Another burst of air swirls around them and she feels the tingle. Then ... ACHOO. Her little face smacks right onto the wrought iron fence. At six years old the only song you long to sing around Christmas is "All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth".

Today, she is getting closer to singing that song this Christmas. Little Aubrey just knocked two of her front teeth loose with a single sneeze. They are only loose now, not out. But it is one step closer to singing that song this winter!