Our 4 Week Summer Fun Challenge

In exactly 4 weeks, we go back to school in Michigan.  When I see so many schools going  back already,  I am grateful we still have a little more time.    In the beginning of the summer, I made a summer to do list to try and keep my kids busy.  I didn't want them to look back at the end of the summer, and wish they had done more.    Looking over the list today, we have not done as much as I would have liked.  I have to admit, sometimes it is very easy to just lay around in front of the TV and  have a lazy day.  I decided to make turn these last few weeks into a challenge.  Everyday until school starts, we are going to do something FUN.  It might be something big like go back to Cedar Point or the zoo for a day, or it could be something small like play water games in the backyard.

Today for day 1 of the challenge,  we went to the Humane Society. We have been volunteers at our local shelter for about 2 years when  we adopted our third cat from them.  We were so blessed with the 3 wonderful kitties we have adopted from the shelter, we wanted to give back. Many shelters love to have older kids as volunteers to help socialize the animals.   Volunteering  also helps Kara get a kitten fix without begging for yet another animal to add to  our zoo.  We had not been there in quite awhile because of Kara's bout with mono and then her hurt foot, so it was nice to go back.     We used to have a Siamese that we loved dearly, so we have a big soft spot when we see one.  This little girl looks a lot our beloved Rugrat, so Kara had to play with her. 

Kara was in heaven in the new multicat rooms.   Our shelter recently raised $100,000 at add more room for the animals.  The cats that get along well with others  are able to roam free in a multicat room, instead of being in  a cage all day. There were 8 cats in the blue room, and all of them wanted to play.  In the second picture she is entertaining 6 of them  at once.  

She also found a few  who wanted some loving in the orange room.  She didn't even realize there was a big orange cat over her head.  

A few more senior kitties in the green room, enjoying some love.  These two are good buddies that are at the  Humane Society because their owner died.  They were as sweet as can be, and need to be adopted together.  They enjoyed Kara's visit. 

The only downside to visiting the Humane Society is there is never enough time to play with all the animals.  She told meowing kittens in the kitten room that she wished she had 30 arms to pet them all.  I told her we would go back again very soon and play with some of the cats we were unable to get to this time. 

Tomorrow is free popcorn day at our local theater.. So hopefully, tomorrow we will finally watch Brave. 

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Taking the Plunge

I finally did it!  I am taking the plunge, and  I am finally trying out twitter.  I guess you can say I am not really a person on the cutting edge of technology.  Sometimes it takes me awhile to try out something new. While I don't consider myself old, I didn't grow up using the computer either. I graduated in the 80s  when  typing classes were still  on an actual  typewriter! I am in the group of people,  where my kids know more about the computer than I do.  If  you like to follow me on twitter, you can find me here https://twitter.com/PamsPartyPlann1

I also just added social media buttons on the upper right hand corner of my page.   I added them BEFORE I joined twitter, so I will need to make a small change..  but for now you can follow my Facebook and Pinterest account on the existing buttons.  

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Finally.. Dare to Share Features..

I am so sorry that I dropped the ball on sharing features for a few weeks. With Kara's Woodland Party and my mom's summer visit, I just didn't get it done. Now things are settling down a bit, and I can get back to my normal routine.



From Dare to Share #15 check out these delicious looking Peanut Butter and Chocolate Layer Bars from Heather's French Press. Wow, do these look yummy!  I also loved her Strawberry Doughnuts and Ice Cream Sandwich Cake from Dare to Share #16.


I really liked Emma's  idea  from Intentional Hospitality  to take lunch to a shut in. It reminds us that there are people who might not be able to get up and go, and would love a friendly visit.  She also included her special egg salad recipe.



Can you tell that all these great recipes are making me hungry.. LOL!   I could dive right in to Pamelas Almond Joy Mini Cake from Pamela's Heavenly Treats that was shared on Dare to Share #17.  Seriously this looks so good, and I know she uses whole wheat flour to make it a bit healthier.   What is not to like about that?!



I love this colorful Happy Salad from Meremade.  I really does make me happy just to look at it.  I now need to try and make it.



Another colorful  fun summer recipe is Rosies Chunky Guacamole Salsa from A Rosies Sweet Home. I love avacodo, and I am always looking for new ways to eat it.



Now for a non food feature.. How sweet is this Hello Kitty pillow from Dona of Sewing Miles of Smiles.  She makes the cutest things for the children's hospital, and for her lucky grandchildren.   My daughter loved Hello Kitty when she was  younger.  Makes me a bit bummed that she is growing up so fast and outgrowing all of her little girl things.

Thank you to everyone who has linked up to Dare to Share the last few weeks. It never ceases to amaze me the amount of talented bloggers we have out there.  I look forward to seeing more of your amazing posts.

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Dare to Share #19

Summer is flying by!  School will be starting for us in exactly 1 month.   I will miss the sleeping in and lazy days without homework.  We are going to try and pack in as much fun in these last final weeks that we can.

This week we have watched the Olympics pretty much every single day.  We saw the Fab Five win their team gold and then Gabby win her all around gold.  We also loved watching Michael Phelps win several more medals.   We are going to have a Homemade Olympics with a few friends so we made our own Olympic medals.  

We also had a ton of fun with our water blob experiment, and we will definitely be making one again!  The weather is still in the 80s and 90s, so we want to spend more time playing in the water.

I also just have to share this adorable picture of Silver.  It is sometimes hard to take his picture because he likes to curl up into a ball.

In not so crafty news, we are saying goodbye to an old friend today.   On Tuesday we had a repairman come to fix our washing machine and to check the dishwasher.  The washing machine need a new lid switch and was cheaper to fix than to  replace.  Our dishwasher, not so much.  The motor is on the verge of going out. It has washed A LOT of dishes in it's 9 years.  A new motor was going to cost over $300, so we decided to upgrade to a newer version that was on sale.  It is same brand and very similar, but should be a little more eco friendly. The new one arrives in the morning.


So how was your week?  I would love to see what you have to share.

I don't have a lot of rules.     There is no limit of links you can post, and you can link anything that you would like to share.

The only thing that I do ask is that you become a follower and post my button somewhere on your blog.  



<center><a href="http://pamspartyplanning.blogspot.com"><img border="0" src=" http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v296/Kristisma3/button2.png " style="border: none;"/></a></center>

Please share with your friends, so more people know about the party!

Now link up, and have FUN!

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A Crafters Dream Giveaway Celebration

Today is a day for giveaways. In addition to the coupons.com IPad a Day Giveaway, I am joining in on  A Crafter's Dream Giveaway Celebration that will run the last week of August.  Many bloggers will be participating in this group craft giveaway, so there will be several  chances to win.  If you are a blogger and would like to join in on the giveaway fun, be sure to click on the banner.  I will be announcing my giveaway prize soon!

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Exciting New Giveaway

I am very excited about this new giveaway from Coupons.com.  As you know I love to use coupons when I shop and Coupons.com is one of my favorite sites to print from.  They are giving away an IPad a day for the next week. The giveaway starts today August 3, and ends August 9 at 11:59 EST. You can enter once a day, which means you have 7 chances to win! Click the banner or use this link here for your chance to win.  

You just need your email address to enter. If you click on Get Coupons, some coupons may automatically print for you. I was excited to see which ones printed for me. I know I will be using them on my next grocery shopping trip. If you don't want to print the coupons, just click on the X in the upper right hand corner.

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The Water Blob Experiment

Kara had a friend over today, and we wanted to do something fun.   A couple of weeks ago, I read about making a water blob on Ginger Snap Crafts.   The kids in her post looked so happy, that I knew it was something I wanted to try and make one  too.

I found a plastic paint cloth and some duct tape at the dollar store.  I knew it was not going to be as sturdy as Ginger's blob made from  higher quality plastic sheeting, but we thought we would give it a try.  We called it our water blob experiment.

The girls helped me unroll the plastic cloth and then we doubled it, and doubled it again, so there were 2 layers on both sides of the water.    Also since this was just an experiment, we didn't make the blob really big.

I taped around the edges, leaving a small hole for the hose.  I was glad I had a 2nd role of duct tape on hand, because the first one rolled off the deck into the rose bushes.  Ooops!

The girls helped me move the blob to the yard, and then we began to fill it with water.

 

We were careful not to overfill it, because we were not sure how much water it would hold.  Kara tentatively was the first one on the blob. 

Once we saw that it was not going to pop right away, both started to dance on the blob.  Because of its size and the  thickness of the plastic, it didn't really stay in place. 

Kara's friend then  had to go home, but Kara still wanted to play on the blob some more.  

After a little while, it finally happened.... 

It sprung a leak! 

How long does a $1 tarp from the dollar store last.. about 30 minutes.  Was 30 minutes of fun for only $2 worth it.  A REALLY BIG YES!    

Does Kara want to make another water blob using a higher quality tarp..  OH YEAH!!  

The girls had a blast,  and we will definitely be making another water blob soon! 

I will be linking up to these wonderful linky parties HERE!

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Make Your Own Olympic Medals

We are planning on having a Homemade Olympics with some friends this week..  One of our first crafts for this event  was to make our own medals.

At the dollar store, I found a 24 pack of pre-cut  foam circles and packages of  metallic glitter.

Using some paint I already had on hand, I painted 12 of the circles.  I used yellow circles for the gold medals, and orange for the bronze.  I didn't really have an appropriate color for the silver medals, so I used green which I thought might be the easier to cover.  Once painted, I added the glitter while it the paint was still wet.   The craft foam is thin enough that we were able to use a hole punch.  Since we would need a lot of ribbon which would run up the cost, we decided to use yarn we had on hand.

Once dry, we took the medals outside.  I love how they shimmer in the sun.

Kara pretending to be Michael Phelps.  They funny thing is, she is  only  wearing 12 medals.  She would need 7 MORE medals to have as many as he does.  She would also need a lot more gold.

I will be linking up this craft at these great linky parties HERE.

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Party of the Week- Circus

I have been thinking about adding a series featuring a Party of the Week for awhile.  When I saw Lauren's  Circus party on Tutu and Tea Parties  for  her 3 yr old daughter, I knew it was time to get started.

The birthday girl looks adorable in her clown wig! 

                                         

Clown cupcakes that are perfect for a circus party 

                                       

                                      

                                They had several carnival games that were a big hit with the kids. 

                 There was even a photo booth with a lot of great circus props.  This picture is so much fun!

I asked Lauren what she would like to share about her party, and this is what she said:

For my daughter's 3rd birthday she chose to have a Circus party! I had so much fun planning this party and lots of ideas came from Pinterest. Everyone had a blast, even though it rained for the last half of the party. I think everyone's fave was the photo booth but all the kids loved the games too! You can check it all out on my blog Tutus & Tea Parties. {Don't mind the out of place basketball cupcake birthday girl's request}.

You will  definitely need to stop by her blog, and check out all of her  photos and see more of her great circus party ideas.  This one looks like too much fun to miss!!





If you would like to be a featured party of the week, I would love to hear from you.  The information for submissions is on the new Be Featured page.  

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Going for the Gold in Mom Sports

While I am sitting here watching the Olympics and admiring all of the athletic feats, I realized that us moms actually participate in many mom sports of our own.   As a mom of older kids, I found most of my sports  to be Track and Field in nature.  

HURDLES

I  pretty much do hurdles on a daily basis when I  jump over all the shoes, coats and backpacks that don't seem to make it farther than the hallway by the front door.   The hurdles are much more abundant  during the school year.

SPRINTS


Almost every day during the school year, I participate in sprints with one of my children.   This particular child tends to move in slow motion in the morning. (well,  actually all the time)   One of their siblings has to be dropped off at  school nearby about 15 minutes before this particular  child needs to catch the school bus.  While I do the drop off with their sibling, this child is supposed to finish their breakfast and put on their shoes.  Pretty much every single morning, I have to leave the car running rush them to the car and down the street to the bus stop just  as the bus is coming down the road.

THE 5 MILE RUN


I don't know about you, but several times during the school year it happens a least a handful of times.  Two of the kids will need to be at a different location  at the exact same time, several miles apart.  It has happened with school events, dance  lessons, Awanas,  and more.  It also often happens that one child will have more than one thing occurring on the same evening, back to back to back.  It is great when we can divide and concur, which is what we had to do every single Wednesday with our daughters this past year, but that is not always possible.  On the days when I have to do it all, I just do the best I can and go through the drive thru for dinner.  

WEIGHTLIFTING 


I don't know how it happens, but it always does.  When out with my kids, I somehow end up holding all of the backpacks, coats and other misc. items my kids may have.  I don't know how many times I have actually said.. "I am NOT a coat rack!"

MARATHON 


Pretty much all moms participate in the marathon.  How many times are there days when you do 3 loads of laundry, wash dishes, get the kids off to school, blog, attempt to do housework, volunteer at school, go to the grocery store, run to dance lessons, make dinner, help with homework, get the kids to bed and collapse in bed 18 hours after you started the day.  While what you do during the day might change slightly, but at then end of the day you feel like you have been on the go the entire day.  

While I am sure there are more sports I participate in, these were the first ones that came to mind.    What types of mom sports do you participate in?  

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End of the Month Offers

It's the end of another month again. Time is sure flying by! Because it is the end of the month, it means that it is also the last chance for many of great coupons and offers.    Here are some really good ones that you might not want to miss.
Have you printed your  July coupons yet?  Many coupons of the coupons available now will disappear and will no longer be available on the 1st of the month.   If you see some that you want, you will want to print them now.





Another  offer that is going on now is Nielsen Home Scan. They are accepting new members to become part of their panel.   This a great way panel to join to be heard and earn rewards.




Today is the last day to get your customized York photo bags for only $1.   Plus if you are new to York photo you get 40 free prints!  If you have not yet printed your 4th of July or other summer prints this is a great opportunity to do so for free!  Use the code YORKTOTEAD

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