I believe National Donut Day is always the first Friday in June. This is one we will probably never miss celebrating. It was a family tradition of mine, getting donuts on Saturday mornings, and who doesn’t love a good excuse to get donuts?!
I love comparing how we’ve changed each year…check it!
2012
2011
2010
No Allie even! =) hehe THRILLED she’s with us to celebrate donut day. =)
Thankfully, Cooper was pretty excited about this idea!
Reason being…it didn’t go quite as smoothly as planned.
I had pinned the idea on Pinterest and had seen 2 different version:
1. Using a shower curtain and hooks
2. Pinning a sheet around the hula hoop
Easy peasy, right?
Haha….well…I figured we had the shower curtain, why not give that a go. Well, try hanging that, and actually keeping a “fort” shape in tact. Imagine each time you climb up the ladder, the hooks all slide to one side of the hula hoop. Go ahead and laugh. I would’ve too if I’d been watching myself.
Also, if the hula hoop is not perfectly level, again, all the hooks sliding to one side kinda problem.
So, here’s the best way I found to create a successful hula hoop fort:
materials:
sheets
safety pins
hula hoop
twine
ladder
step 1: Tie a piece of twine from one side of the hula hoop to the other, keeping it somewhat loose. Repeat on a perpendicular so you create an x, keeping them as close to the same length as possible (remember, must be level!) Gather the X at the top and tie together creating a loop.
step 2: Pin the sides of the sheet around the top of the hula hoop.
step 3: Roughly measure the length of your sheet, and how far down you want your hula hoop to hang from wherever you plan to hang it. Reason being, is for measuring how long you need to cut your twine to hang it. It helps to do this BEFORE climbing the ladder with the cumbersome hula hoop and sheet. 
step 4: Cut twine accordingly and hang. We hung ours on our back patio cover. The kids LOVED it and I would imagine it was that much easier seeing as you didn’t have un-level tree branches to deal with.
step 5: Put blanket and/or pillows on the ground and read some books! or let the kids go crazy pulling them all over the place.
I hope this was a helpful explanation. Here are some more pictures to give you an idea of what we did, and how fun it can be! Note – I used both shower curtains and sheets, but sheets will be used if we ever do it again, MUCH easier!
Here you can see the combo of shower curtain and sheet. I had nearly given up when the sheet came out, otherwise I would’ve pinned it more thoroughly. The curtain worked better when I hung it on either side of the twine, kept it from falling altogether at least. =) We hung two and they wanted them to connect! hehe
Peeky!
AFTER they went all berserk in there (this truly was what went on, look up the definition, it will make you giggle), we did finally sit down and relax inside the little “fort”. =)
A teacher at heart, I’m sometimes a sucker for a fun history lesson. And I know we’re a day late, I thought we had Up and didn’t, so I switched 2 of the days. =)
June 4th, 1783, brothers Joseph and Jacques Montgolfier made a public demonstration of experiments they had been attempting with success. They were prosperous paper manufacturers and had discovered paper bags rising when heated air had flowed directly into the bag. This first flight lasting 10 minutes had no passengers.
It was on Sept. 19th, 1783 that the brothers demonstrated for King Louis XVI. The king suggested using prisoners to see if high altitudes were compatible with life, however, the Montgolfier brothers had a much more clever idea in mind.
3 animals:
A sheep – because their physiology is similar to our own
A duck – the control, seeing as they fly without harm
A rooster – a second control, also a bird, but does not fly at high altitudes
The balloon was decorated with golden flourishes, zodiac signs, and suns (symbolizing the King).
In honor of the 230 year mark since the first hot air balloon flight, we watched the movie Up, then released a balloon with the following attached:
Hopefully we’ll pass on a little historical tidbit.
My kids loved watching Up while I made frequent trips to the kitchen pretending to get them milk or a snack while fighting back tears.
See our celebration from 2 years ago here…wow has a lot changed!
In planning out my summer calendar ideas, I came across this idea here on Pinterest. Again, I was a bit concerned Cooper might not be totally excited to do this one, but…you’ve just gotta be flexible.
Thankfully, he was totally into it and completed it well! I definitely had to help, but there were MANY that he came up with all on his own. I simply wrote out all the letters in chalk (it helped that the chalk we used had a surprise toy hidden inside – thank you clearance at Target) and we got to work finding objects that started with each letter.
Check out some fun pictures from our “adventure” today…and don’t forget to read the reality check at the end. 
Just keepin’ it real folks!
To help with clean up, while the kids put everything away, I drew the items in front of each letter so we could remember what we’d had there AND get closer to getting the toy in the chalk.
**REALITY CHECK**
I was so proud of Cooper that I told the kids we’d walk down to Starbuck’s and get them a treat and mommy round 2 of coffee for the morning. We hopped in the BOB and started walking. The kids were crazy i.e. spitting, hitting, etc. And I said it, I said,
“If you spit one more time, we’re going right back home.”
I’m not sure who was more disappointed. Cooper or me.
But, I knew I had to follow through. The good news is, after 20 minutes of throwing a temper tantrum in his room, he totally turned around and even prayed at lunch that God would help him to “not do bad things”. This child melts my heart I tell ya.
Tune in tomorrow as we celebrate the first hot air balloon flight!
Quick recap…yesterday was National Rocky Road day. We hosted a BBQ and I was surprised at how much the kids liked the rocky road ice cream for dessert! I figured the almonds might’ve thrown them off. But they ate every last bite!
I also attempted to make rocky road oatmeal fore breakfast. Turned out quite tasty, even the hubs finished his!
Onto today…I must admit, we’ve had 2 successful days with my son waking up excited to complete his morning routine, so I was worried he might be “let down” by egg day. He was a teeny bit close to whining, until I said the following magic words…
“Do you want to crack the eggs all by yourself?”
He perked right up and by golly if he didn’t crack 6 eggs all by himself without getting shell in the bowl! Ahhh…he’s growing up. Look at the progression of pictures while he cracked his first one:
Success! And the bonus? All of us ate a delicious, healthy breakfast!
What is Cool Summer Days?
Pre-Pinterest days I stumbled upon this adorable idea on a blog. I hosted a little craft party and a few girlfriends and myself made them…no sewing people! Iron on is your friend.
The idea is during the summer months you tuck a paper into each cone with something fun to do that day. I’ve done it for two summers and overall, it has been a wonderful experience! Our excitement for it comes and goes throughout the summer, but overall, it has been a tremendous help! Read on to find out why…
5 reasons why I bother
#1. It helps cut down on TV time, because something else has already been planned.
#2. It gives the kiddos something to look forward to! Check out Cooper this year, he woke up like it was Christmas morning!
#3. Cuts down on how often the orange rhino rears it’s ugly head. It’s true! When I have something planned, we’re ALL more distracted and excited. BUT…you have to plan ahead for failure, bad attitudes, or change of plans. Just keep plugging along.
If you’ve never heard of the “orange rhino”, check out the following two blog entries:
Hands Free Mama – The Important Thing About Yelling
#4. It provides motivation.
The fact of the matter is…my son likes to dawdle.
It drives me bonkers. So…we are FINALLY starting a morning routine that he won’t gripe about. Why won’t he gripe you ask? Because until his morning routine has been accomplished, he doesn’t get to see what today’s cool summer days calendar has in store for him. Here’s what I designed to hang in his room as a reminder:
So the rule is…no TV or calendar fun until this is done.
Check out his bed from this morning, so precious!
AND finally….reason #5…
#5. It creates lifelong memories! When I first started this, I had no idea what would become of it. But now that we’ve done it for about 2 1/2 summers, many of the silly “holidays” we’ve celebrated are becoming family favorites. Donut Day will always be one we will celebrate, calendar or not.
What should I do?
I will do my darndest to post what we do each day this summer to provide you with some ideas. Feel free to check out my labels on the sidebar of my blog – Cool Summer Days June, July and August, they’ll provide some ideas to start with.
So…day #1 for 2013…
MAKE YOUR OWN FLUBBER!
Click the picture for the link and instructions on how to. Quite easy! Here are some pictures of my kids after we made our own. **Note: Right after we drained the water, it did NOT appear to be “flubber” and I nearly dubbed it a fail. But, after the mixture sat in the bowl for about an hour, it was ready to be played with! For the next hour! Yay!
The near fail…but then…success!
And then, in Allie’s sweet little investigation of this new found Flubber…
She looks up…
to find daddy getting in on the Flubber fun! In the way that only a dad can. Faking it as snot! =)
Have fun making your own Flubber!
Next time I think we’ll make it blue so it looks like BOB from Monsters vs. Aliens.
It was so well organized and we felt like we received the red carpet treatment! We arrived to an orderly line in which our names were checked off and each child received an adorable Cars 2 shirt as well as a little goody bag with pencils, a decoder, etc. My in-laws joined us. Here we are below checking in, can you see little Allie’s car seat?
This was definitely a fun memory for our Cool Summer June activity.
Oh yes, our yummy lunch following the hilarious and fun movie! The picture is from foodnetwork.com, it’s a Rachael Ray recipe (we were busy chasing all our kidlets after the movie, no time to take pictures of food). Here’s the recipe, I was able to do most of the prep ahead of time, so we just stood around the stove frying up the chicken.
Pecan Crusted Chicken Tenders
and Salad with Tangy Maple Dressing
Vegetable oil, for frying
1 ½ to 2 lbs. chicken tenders
Salt and Pepper
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 eggs, beaten with a splash of milk
1 cup plain bread crumbs
1 cup pecans, processed in food processor to finely chop
½ tsp. nutmeg
1 orange, zested
Dressing:
¼ cup maple syrup 6 radishes, thinly sliced
¼ cup tangy barbecue sauce 6 scallions, trimmed and chopped
1 navel orange, juiced
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 hearts romaine lettuce, chopped
Directions: Heat 1 1/2 to 2 inches of oil over medium high heat. Season chicken tenders with salt and pepper.
Set out 3 shallow dishes. Place flour in 1 dish, eggs in a second and combine bread crumbs with ground pecans, nutmeg and orange zest in the third. Coat tenders in batches in flour, then egg, then bread crumb mixture. Fry tenders in small batches 6 to 7 minutes. Drain tenders on paper towels.
Combine maple syrup, barbecue sauce and orange juice in a bowl. Whisk in oil and season with salt and pepper.
Combine romaine, radishes and scallions in a large salad bowl or on a serving platter. Toss with 3/4 of the dressing. Season with salt and pepper, to your taste. Top salad with pecan crusted chicken tenders and drizzle remaining dressing over top.
My husband had the day off…thank goodness after his hellacious week! We were supposed to see Cars 2, but we have a fun opportunity to see it tomorrow…I’ll explain in tomorrow’s post. So, today we had a relaxing day at home including watching my husband remove his big toenail!! Ewww!, followed by a relaxing evening listening to music at the park.
Seriously, look how relaxing this looks! I snapped this adorable photo op of hubby and my daughter…
So on the calendar for today, we were supposed to go downtown to visit the zoo (after all, it is zoo month and it’s Twilight Thursdays). Well, after my husband’s 4th night in a row of getting home after 7:15, mom did NOT feel up to that! Plus, I had a boxing groupon I was hoping to use scheduled at 7:10pm (let’s face it ladies…this baby weight doesn’t just go away by itself! Okay you who fall into that group, I DON’T want to hear it from you!!). I was SO hoping to go that I resolved to have dinner on the table and both children bathed so hubby could just waltz in the door and enjoy the evening with them while I went to my boxing class. This is exactly what happened, fairytale kisses on my way out the door, boxing wraps in hand. I decided on pasta for dinner, easy peasy, right? Oh wait, no pasta sauce! Hooray, neighbor to the rescue! And trying to get the kids bathed? Yeah, my 2 year old decides he wants to scream and cry at every given turn throughout bath time. *sigh*
Well, when hubby still hadn’t called to say he was on his way home at 7 o’clock, I realized boxing was NOT happening (his commute is about 25 minutes).
At this point, I had 2 options. Pardon my french, but
Option #1: Get pissed and have a horrible evening, dwelling in self pity that my husband works such long hours and I never get to do ANYTHING I want to do!
OR
Option #2: Be thankful that my husband is committed to serving people in his line of work, and 90% of the time, LOVES what he does AND…turn the evening around so that I could enjoy what was left with my kids.
I’m proud to say that I chose Option #2. HOWEVER, allow me to preface that “pride” with 2 notes. First, I called the gym, and they said it was NO big deal and I could show up any day I wanted. (phew – what a relief).
Second, and for those of you that are not “spiritual”, feel free to disregard this, but I cannot deny it! I’m a Christian, and one of the fruits of the Spirit is peace. I’ve got to chalk it up to the Spirit on this one! It was Him that gave me peace! Particularly regarding this aspect of the evening…
So, I had decided to have a happy attitude for the evening. I finally called my husband at 7:10 to find out where he was. Guess what? He was about a block away, I probably could’ve made it to boxing! When he came strolling in the door and saw me bathing the kids, he cocked his head in a confused manner.
I patiently said, “I was trying to have them ready for you so I could go to boxing, but I realized tonight was not a good night.”
He said, “Oh. Thank you.” in the most sincere voice ever! I was so glad that I remained calm and didn’t chew him out, which was my first thought as the evening began to go awry, which wouldn’t have accomplished anything good, right?
So, my life lesson to you is…take a deep breath when things seem to be going…umm…to put it delicately, not your way, and make a CHOICE to turn things around. Yeah, things might not have gone as you’d hoped or planned, but they can still be pleasant, but it IS a choice. What are you going to choose next time?
Well…it may not be this week, but at least National Clay Week is in June. And really, honestly, does my 2 year old know this? No…all he knows is that he just got a new batch of play-doh (here’s the recipe I use)! We made it green (because green is his best!! Oh, and I added mint to make it smell yum-o!) and had a friend over to play. So sweet!
Today is the official first day of summer on the calendar! I found a slip and slide at Target for just $5 and knew this had to be our way to celebrate! It was so sweet, when we set it all up, we realized Cooper had no idea what to do! I tried to explain, and he ended up just sort of crawling on it. So mommy got to bust out her bathing suit and give it a go. I must admit, I was slightly nervous I was gonna hurt myself, but I had a blast! I think we’re gonna have to bust it out when daddy’s home sometime in the near future. So fun! Yay for summer!
