Rainy Day Fun For The Whole Family

Nothing can dampen spirits like a rainy day. Kids aren’t the only ones who get cranky when they’re cooped up inside. So to stop those rainy day doldrums before they happen, take a look at these 9 Great Rainy Day Ideas.

1. Pull Out The Board Games. In an era where X-Box and PlayStation rule, the joy of playing board games has fallen by the wayside. Rainy days are perfect for pulling out the Scrabble board or Bingo cards or even the Candyland game for the little ones. Crazy Eights anyone? Everyone will get so caught up in the games that they won’t even notice the gray skies outside.

2. Have A Rainy Day Party. Let everyone dress up in their best clothes, and serve lunch or dinner on that good china you never use. Someone can play DJ and you can all dance away your discontent. Celebrate the rain. You’ll find that you dread future rainy days less, and so will your family.

3. Walk. Yes, outside in the rain. Everyone gets dressed in their rainy day gear and then it’s outside for a tour of the neighborhood. Puddle splashing is allowed! Getting wet won’t hurt anyoneunless they’re that witch from the Wizard of Ozand it will be a great stress reliever. Actually, your kids will be so shocked, they’ll probably look at you with awe for the rest of the dayand even better, forget to whine about being bored.

4. Create A Family Time Capsule. Putting together a time capsule is always a big hit with family members of all ages. Even teenagers will put their iPods down and get into the fun of making a time capsule. Set the time for pulling it out to be same time, next yearor even a rainy day a month from now. You’ll have to help younger children, of course, but imagine their excitement when they see the time capsule in a year!

5. Start A Rainy Day Scrapbook. Let everyone design and create their own pages. Drawings, magazine cut-outs and photos will fill the pages. It can be an ongoing scrapbook or simply one for this particular rainy day. An ongoing rainy day scrapbook has the advantage of being a rainy day activity you won’t have to plan for again and will give everyone in the family something to look forward to doing the next time it rains.

6. Visit A Museum. Museums offer a wide variety of activities for people of all ages. They’re generally reasonable in cost to begin with, and charge less for weekdays. They’re also great learning experiences and something your family doesn’t do every day, so they’re something special.

7. Give Each Family Member An Hour To Be In Charge. For one hour, they get to be king or queen of the rainy day and chose an activity for everyone else. This lets everyone in the family feel important and get to do what they enjoy most. You’ll have to lay down some ground rules, of course, but letting everyone have an hour to be in charge will keep them busy not just for the hour, but for a lot longer as they make their plans.

8. Write Letters And Make Cards. To take everyone’s mind off their disappointment with the rainy day, have them think of others who aren’t as fortunate. A good way to do this is to have everyone in the family, including Mom and Dad, make cards for people in the hospital or write letters to soldiers or people in a foreign country. You can find sources online that will ensure your cards and letters are delivered anywhere in the world. This is also a good chance to teach children and teens about what living is really like in some countries.

9. If All Else Fails, Load Up The Car or Mini-Van and Head To Grandma’s. She’s probably suffering from some rainy day doldrums herself and will be thrilled to see you. It’s also a free place to go where everyone feels comfortable just as they are. Just a note, though - you might want to call first. Grandma might be out and about taking a rainy day tour around her own neighborhood, and you wouldn’t want to miss her.

Copyright 2006 Karen Fusco

Karen Fusco is co-founder of http://www.SilkBow.com which supports Busy Moms with free gift ideas and helpful tips to meet the challenges of motherhood. SilkBow is the perfect place for the perfect gift. Karen can be reached directly at: karen@SilkBow.com

Lose Weight and Burn Fat with One Simple Eating Principle

Fifteen years ago the doctor’s suggested that we eat pasta as a good healthy food. They also thought we would possibly lose some weight by doing so. Now we are eighteen percent fatter. Why?

While pasta is not a bad food, we have altered our eating habits slightly. If you completed a food log for a week, you would see that your plate would consist of at least half being in one food group. Most of our diets are lopsided. This eventually slows down the digestive process. When people like me ask you to eat a balanced diet what does it mean? It could mean different things. I call balancing your foods, synergizing your food groups. Synergize means; the action of two or more forces.

When is a car easier to turn the wheel? When you are sitting still or when you are going down the road? Yes, moving down the road. When you eat different types of food they feed off the others. This means the digestive system works more efficiently, thus steering the car much easier.

Here are some eating suggestions to allow your body to synergize your food into fuel instead of fat:

1. Try not to eat breads with pastas.

2. Put carbohydrates, good fats, veggies, and proteins on your plate each time.

3. Wine and pastas are killers.

4. Never eat more than half your plate in complex carbohydrates or sugars.

5. Fish and veggies are good combinations.

6. One glass of wine at a time

The general rule is to mix it up on your plate. If the plate is lopsided the tires on your fat burning machine will go flat. Foods work well together, not by themselves.

START LOSING WEIGHT THE RIGHT WAY FOR GOOD TODAY! FREE MINI COURSE click here http://www.resolutions.bz. Discover the common sense way to lose weight with out dieting that the doctor’s DON’T want you to know. Greg Ryan is a best selling author, former employee of Kathy Smith, and high profile fitness expert.

10th Anniversary Celebration

A 10th wedding anniversary is a milestone to be celebrated. Theme parties of any topic can be used such as a costume party, a casino night or a pig roast. Traditionally 10 years is marked by paper, but there are more fun things to use to celebrate.

For invitations, make copies of the bridal pictures and include it when mailing. See who has changed the most in the wedding party or who has moved the farthest away. Some people don’t change much in ten years, but others you can’t even recognize. Invitations can be wedding bell shaped, in hearts or any picture to match your chosen theme.

A party supply store will have balloons, streamers, confetti and wall hangings to match any and every theme. If you are having dinner or serving snacks, plates, cups, napkins and tablecloths can also be found to coordinate. Blow up a giant picture of the bride and groom, either from when they were dating or when they were children and hang on the walls. Have the guests use it as a guestbook to sign their best wishes or to relive their favorite wedding memory.

Game playing may be limited if you are having a formal dinner. If it is a fun theme party event, play memory games like who can remember the exact vows and recite them. Have a competition as to who can write the most memories down in five minutes - such as what color the dresses were, who was the DJ, who caught the bouquet and so on.

For entertainment, have the same DJ provide dinner and or dancing music. Get the wedding movie onto a DVD and show it from a laptop screen.

Set up a picture taking area and get each guest with the anniversary couple. Send it with a card after the party to thank them for their gift or to express your gratefulness that they shared in your day. Takes lots of pictures and make a scrapbook. Save it all to use for the 25th anniversary party!

Mrs. Party… Gail Leino is the internet’s leading authority on selecting the best possible party supplies, using proper etiquette and manners while also teaching organizational skills and fun facts. More ideas, games, favors, decorations and Anniversary Party Supplies at the Party Supplies Hut for a roaring good time.

A Grand Slam MLB Baseball Party

You’re planning on pulling off one of the best MLB baseball party ever. Your first goal to make some homerun invites. If you can’t find some white card stock and cut your invites into a circle, make sure you cut on a fold; this will give you an inside. On the front you can easily draw the lacing of a baseball with red ink.

Considering you’re having a MLB baseball party, you can have a game. You can contact your local recreation center and have you’re party there. You’ll have to make sure you invite enough people to be divided up into groups. Now you need to get a your invites out a two to three weeks in advance. If you plan on having a game, make sure you mention to bring gloves, bats and that your guests wear comfortable clothing.

Now it’s time to decorate for the MLB baseball party, you can go with the colors of a favorite baseball team. If not that the colors of a local or school team will work just as well. If you have your party at a recreation center, they should have picnic tables you can set up at. If not, it won’t be hard to move some tables over for the party. You can get balloons in the colors you’ve picked, along with streamers etc. looking at you’re local craft store, you might find some baseball themed items also!

If you want to give out favors for your MLB baseball party you could have drawings for a new glove, baseballs and more. If you decided to play a baseball game, make sure that you have a civil game. You can either have the party before or after you play. Now make sure that everyone has fun, and make sure that you clean up the area you’ve used.

Mrs. Party… Gail Leino is the internet’s leading authority on selecting the best possibleparty supplies (http://partysupplieshut.com), using proper etiquette, and living a healthy life while also teaching organizational skills and fun facts. The Party Supplies Hut has lots of party ideas with hundreds of free coloring sheets, printable games, and free birthday party activities. Over 100 adorable Party Themes (http://partythemeshop.com) to fit your birthday celebration, holiday event, or “just because” parties is at the Party Theme Shop. Party themes include cartoon characters, sports, movie, TV shows, luau, western, holidays, and unique crazy fun theme ideas.

MORAL ARMOR’S Irrational Parenting, Part IV

Imposing Their Future.

In contradiction to parents who try to force children down a certain path, individual purpose must be a product of cognition, if it is to sustain the spiritual health of the entity to choose it. Even if the choice is wrong, the individual learns the process of selecting self-generated interests, which has countless daily and lifelong applications. It shows him how to value. When a rational man is wrong, his thought process retains the format for discovering the correct answer. Wired to never being wrong, it is the Fear-driven’s skewed, incomplete perception which has buried the format for this discovery, and destruction becomes the product of their cognition.

No two human beings will agree on the course each other’s lives should take in regard to private interests, nor need they agree. In tolerating another’s opinion on this subject, we end up with the sense that they entered our inner sanctuary and never wiped their feet, or that our sanctuary is where they chose to wipe them. The feeling is inevitable in any field of specialization when we attempt to make consultation a cognitive element, or when it is forced on us. There is no sincerity in violating cognition to make this choice for another, be they friends, children or spouse.

Individual purpose is a key variable in the equation of lifedifferent for everyone. It cannot be chosen by another. Only we know our location on an epistemological map. No matter what others think is good for us, they are in a different place, and no override of our consciousness can bring us to their location. Our central purpose and life structure must be our own unforced conclusion.

False Encouragement.

Often people believe a child’s esteem must be reinforcedone reason why kids prefer to watch dad do something productive versus suffering as the fishbowl between fawning Aunts. Children must learn that a joyful state is a natural reward, and that it does not stop with adolescence, but is theirs to earn and deserve for all time. What they often learn instead, is that enjoyment is causeless and that their elders are phonies. Children don’t want to remain children; they want to be adults. It is the purposeful action of adults that piques their curiositya mystery outside their present range. The true intention of Spirit Murdering adults can be confirmed in that future success is considered a betrayal, as their shallow malice follows this mindless demeanor.

I’ve been badgered all my life by the second-guessing of the Fear-driven, which such losers consider “encouragement.” What was their contribution? They blurt out, “What happens if you fail?” I’ll try again. Or, “You know, not everything works out as you’d like.” Which is why I stay limber in my approach. Or “If you fail, we will still love you.” But if I succeed? Don’t worry, securing your charity is no concern of mine. This is what they call wisdom. Their theme in life and their God, is failure. That last statement is most alarming. What spurs contemplation of withdrawing their love in the first place? The answer is the threat of accomplishment. No book on success talks like that. “Why don’t you scale back?” Why should I? “Why don’t you quit while you’re ahead?” Because I’m not a coward. “Now is not the time to be taking chances.” When is? Why don’t you consider what a risk you’re taking?” My risk is calculated. Why do you want it so bad?” Because I’m still alive. “How can you be thinking of this when the world is falling apart?” Because it isn’t. “It’s too soon!”, “It’s too late!”, “You’re too old!”, “You’re too young!” Nonsense, but so what? “No one has ever done it before!” Why do you think I’m doing it? “Pioneers are the ones with all the arrows in their backs.” So stop shooting them. To interpose the idea of failure at such a critical point of dreams is so monstrously destructive, I almost can’t fathom the motive, for the same reason I don’t go around tipping garbage can lids. They are foolsall of them, prepared only to break you down and salt your wounds, which is all that popular morality has taught them to do. If you make it, you’ll hear the snide remarks from the same people, “When is enough, enough?” When I’m dead. “Why can’t you leave good enough alone?” Because it can be better. “Have you thought of what others need?” No. “You don’t care about anyone but yourself, do you?” I’m considerate to those who are considerate of me. “You think you’re so good, don’t you?” I have nothing but life-furthering attributes; why shouldn’t I? If you ask what they would change about you, it always amounts to removing the same key virtues: strength, clarity and discipline. Permit their counsel and they’d say, “That’s not the way to run a human being!” Then they’d knock a few holes in you to release all the energyto waste it, saying “Loosen up! Slouch! Get comfortable! Talk about meaningless nonsense! Now you’re one of us! Now we approve! Sit around with us and we’ll teach you all about The Welfare!”

A Self-made Man’s ambition for knowledge, his pioneering spirit and his desire to live well is limitless and he will continue to expand it, never giving credence to the idea that enough is enough, as so many lethargic souls attempt to convince him of. They hem and haw about impossibilities and back projects only after they are a proven success, still looking with the stupefied awe of witnessing a miracle, no step closer and no more willing to adhere to a disciplined rationale. As the living product of their own advice, they chase their tails so much it’s surprising they’re not in better shape. Far be it for them to ask the successful how to be successful, but when their approach contradicts a means you know to be more efficient, you can expect to hear, “Can’t you be supportive? I’m trying.” I’ve seen trying. Trying looks more like a salad. At a certain level, you can relax and have fun with the banter. They have no chance of luring us into passivity any longer, so why not?

In our final installment, we’ll discuss the most frightening topic for irrational parents: setting a bad example.

Copyright 2005 Ronald E Springer

Ronald E. Springer is the Author/Philosopher of Moral Armor, the world’s first fully-integrated moral philosophy based on the nature of Man. Featured on The Mitch Albom Show, NBC and FOX News radio affiliates, Mr. Springer is currently developing a morally-consonant life system for our youth. Please contact RonaldESpringer@MoralArmor.com or visit http://www.MoralArmor.com for details.

Birthday Invitations Tips And Ideas

Have a birthday coming up in the family, now is the time to make your birthday invitations. Have you already decided what kind of party you want to have? Make sure you start planning a few months in advance. You want to send out your birthday invitations two weeks before hand, this way everyone can plan on showing up. What you want on your card is easy, name of the person who’s birthday it is, where to show up, what time and if they need to bring anything or dress up.

Will now it’s time to make your birthday invitations to match your theme. Having a pi

Party Invitations Three Options For Your Next Get-Together

When you are planning a party and want it to be well attended, the first thing you need to do is make sure you have eye-catching invitations! Your party invitations are the first thing your guests will see and will either motivate them to RSVP right away or to pin it on a cork board for later, where it will promptly be forgotten. Don’t let your party invitations be forgotten!

Some ideas for the printing of your party invitations are:

1. Do Them Yourself: with card making software on a home computer, you can create professional looking party invitations without the high cost. Using specialty paper and matching envelopes, it is easy to make your party invitations with that personal touch and flair. Many will RSVP right away when they see so much effort went into their making.

2. Hire A Printer: many copy shops all over the globe offer services for party invitations. You can go and meet with their designer and show them exactly what you want. Although the cost of hiring a printer to create and print your party invitations can be expensive, you will have exactly what you want with little effort on your part. Many will RSVP right away when the see such a fancy party invitation in their mailbox.

3. Purchase Prepackaged, Thematic Invitations: party shops everywhere offer packages of party invitations in a wide variety of themes. If you can find the theme of your party, you can buy these invitations at relatively low cost. The envelopes are included in the package, so very little effort will be needed to prepare your party invitations for mailing. Whether invitees will RSVP will depend on whether they are interested in the theme.

With any party invitations, be sure to include a phone number to RSVP to or a postage paid envelope and reply card.

Mrs. Party… Gail Leino is the internet’s leading authority on selecting the best possible party supplies, using proper etiquette and manners while also teaching organizational skills and fun facts. Party Invitations, free party activities, theme party tips to help complete your event.

What is Piano GHD Syndrome

Do you remember the movie, Groundhog Day? In this wonderful movie, TV weatherman Phil Connors (Bill Murray) relives the same day - Groundhog Day, over and over and over again. No matter what he does, he wakes up the next morning and it is once again Groundhog Day. This continues until he decides to learn and grow. Only after he begins focusing his efforts on helping others instead of concentrating on himself does he move forward and awaken to a new day.

Groundhog Day Syndrome (or GDS) is the term I use for students who want to continue to play the same song or the same few songs over and over instead of moving forward and learning new skills and songs.

While all students develop favorite songs that they love to play, others get stuck. For most students, this is a temporary thing, and just represents a beautiful song that they have learned from memory. When these students sit down at a piano in a friend’s house or at their grandparents, they play their favorite piece to impress their friends and relatives. A lot of students, for example, learn to play Beethoven’s Fur Elise, which is a wonderful song. They play it over and over, but they are also willing to move forward and play and enjoy new pieces of music. A student who truly has GDS, however, will want to only continue to play their most favorite piece in the whole world, which they have worked very hard to learn to play! They will want to only keep playing it no matter how much other music is presented to them.

There are three stages of GDS, which varies from mild to severe.

Mild: A parent brings a music book to their child’s piano teacher that contains the parent’s or the child’s favorite kind of music. They ask the teacher to use this book, which the parent also wants to learn to play. The parent then supports the teacher in their child’s lessons and encourages their child to let the teacher use their experience and expertise to guide them on their musical journey. Here the parent is just being human. They are excited about piano and want to share this with their child as well as their favorite style of music. Most of us have a mild case GDS. Therefore this stage is actually pretty close to normal.

Moderate: A parent brings a stack of music books to their child’s piano teacher and insists that the teacher use these and only these materials. Sometimes this happens because the parent doesn’t want to purchase new books. However, the books often aren’t appropriate to the child’s skills and abilities. This practice puts a huge limitation on what the teacher can accomplish. It is like insisting that a child only check out the same three books from the public library each week. Like using the full library, allowing piano teachers to choose the full range of materials appropriate to a student that are available avoids GDS and helps them progress much faster.

Severe: A parent brings an older child to a new studio for lessons because they are not happy with their previous teacher. The parent insists that the new teacher use a specific music book that often isn’t appropriate for the child’s skill level. At times, this happens because the parent really likes this music book and is learning to play these pieces themselves; other times it happens because the child has managed, with great difficulty, to learn one of the songs in the book. The song is impressive and the student played it in their last recital, and they want to play it again in this year’s recital. However, the student hasn’t mastered more basic techniques and resists learning newer material. This GDS can be a huge impediment to learning, as the child (and parent) can miss key skills and concepts needed to make true progress.

“I would never do anything that stupid!”

Now you’re probably thinking, “Well, I wouldn’t do anything like that!” Well the truth is, we all get stuck from time to time. We just can’t see it ourselves because GDS comes with myopia. Like the little groundhog tunneling its way through the ground but running into a rock, we can focus so intently on a false goal that we really don’t get anywhere, but instead only end up getting stuck and having the illusion of accomplishment. Sometimes we can imagine a finish line that really isn’t there and end up wasting a lot of time we could have used wisely. This is where piano teachers can help, by focusing students on a daily, step-by-step learning process that achieves consistent long-term learning growth. In this way, children can make true music progress that will last them a lifetime and enable them to share their gifts with their children and grandchildren!

It is important for parents to remember that the real goal in piano (and life) is to learn something new every day! All you need to do is to help and support your child build a strong foundation upon which to grow and move ahead independently. The goal of the piano teacher is to help children grow into a confident, independent learner.

For great home piano activities parents can use to help children ages 5 to 11 develop their musical talent, visit Piano Adventure Bears Music Education Resources You’ll find a treasure box filled with piano resources to create an exciting musical adventure for your child - right in your own home! Visit their website and subscribe to their f’ree internet newsletter so you can download f’ree piano sheet music and mp3s of original piano compositions.

These exciting stories, games, piano lessons, and inspirational gifts feature the Piano Adventure Bears, Mrs. Treble Beary and her new piano student, Albeart Littlebud. Young students follow along with Albeart to learn what piano lessons are all about in a fun way that kids readily understand appreciate. Click here to visit PianoAdventureBears.com For a wealth of information about piano lessons, visit tallypiano.com

Picking Party Favors For Your Event

Many hosts find that they have a hard time deciding on the right party favor to give out at their party. Sometimes they just can’t decide on the party favor they like best, sometimes the ideas just fly out of their heads when it comes time. There are also a lot of in-between problems that can cause small annoying difficulties with picking out party favors.

Its best to peruse the many different kinds of party gifts there are, so that you have the most information at your disposal when you make your choice. There are lots of party favors out there. You’ll find simple items like personalized pencils, pens, beads and glow sticks are cheaper, but they aren’t very big and won’t fill in a loot bag very much. Other gifts like wrap around sunglasses and fuzzy dice work well for a summer event while being of a good size for a party favor. Then there are the larger party favor items. These are the feather boas, and party hats of the party gift arena.

Guests just love the whole loot bag idea because they get lots of little items that kind of add up to one big item. You can also save money by putting together a loot bag, because it’s easy to fill with mostly candy or cookies. Mix up the loot bag selection a little by filling the loot bags with different kinds of items or with items in different numbers.

Also pick out party favors that match up with your party theme. If you are having a casino parties then get some decks of cards and dice to put in your guests bags. A Halloween party or Fourth of July party loot bag can benefit from the addition of glow sticks, bracelets, and necklaces. Even the bag that your favors go into can match up with the theme. Black or orange for Halloween, and Red, White or Blue for Independence Day.

Mrs. Party… Gail Leino is the internet’s leading authority on selecting the best possible party supplies (http://partysupplieshut.com), using proper etiquette, and living a healthy life while also teaching organizational skills and fun facts. The Party Supplies Hut has lots of party ideas with hundreds of free coloring sheets, printable games, and free birthday party activities. Over 100 adorable Party Themes (PartyThemeShop.com) to fit your birthday celebration, holiday event, or “just because” parties is at the Party Theme Shop. Party themes include cartoon characters, sports, movie, TV shows, luau, western, holidays, and unique crazy fun theme ideas.

Piano Students Lord the Keyboard With One Music Ring to Bind Them All in Perfect 5ths

Piano students can become Lords of the Keyboard by learning to command the Circle of Perfect 5ths. A perfect 5th is an interval of 7 half-steps. A half-step on the piano keyboard is from one key very next key. The Circle of 5ths begins on C. Ascending up the keyboard from Middle C in 5ths we find Major Key Signatures from 0 to 6 Sharps. Descending down the keyboard from Middle C we locate Major Key Signatures from 0 to 7 Flats. It is a circle because the consecutive order of perfect 5ths repeats itself. Each of the 12 Major (and Minor Keys) are built on a note that is in the Circle of 5ths.

In any Major or Minor Key Signature there is one Tonic note, one Dominant note, one Subdominant note and their corresponding chords. We call these primary chords I, V, and IV.

Take the simple melody, Deck the Halls, lots of kids enjoy playing this piece of the holidays, usually in the key of C. By the second year of piano many students are able to play in a number of hand positions and thus could probably transpose this melody others keys such as F Major and G Major. But the fun part of transposition is in creating a smooth transition from one key to the next without stopping the song and starting over.

Following the Circle of 5th students can learn to quickly identify the Dominant note in each key and the Dominant Chord. By walking the melody to the Dominant note of the new key and then to its Leading Tone and Tonic note, the melody quickly arrives in a new key that sounds like the same song, but in a new voice. This variation of the melody adds interest to compositions and gives students a fun and motivating reason to learn to play in new key signatures. The variation can return to the original key in the same way.

In this way piano students can Scale the heights of Piano Land fighting evil and seeking goodness in every key around the Circle of 5ths, and always find their way back home again!

For great home piano activities parents can use to help children ages 5 to 11 develop their musical talent, visit Piano Adventure Bears Music Education Resources You’ll find a treasure box filled with piano resources to create an exciting musical adventure for your child - right in your own home! Visit their website and subscribe to their f’ree internet newsletter so you can download f’ree piano sheet music and mp3s of original piano compositions.

These exciting stories, games, piano lessons, and inspirational gifts feature the Piano Adventure Bears, Mrs. Treble Beary and her new piano student, Albeart Littlebud. Young students follow along with Albeart to learn what piano lessons are all about in a fun way that kids readily understand appreciate. Click here to visit PianoAdventureBears.com For a wealth of information about piano lessons, visit tallypiano.com