Why Not Turn Dreary into Fun?

Make memories you'll talk about for years to come.

Living in the northwest, we learn early on, we can’t let the rain dowse our fun outdoors. Just make sure you all have play clothes, so you don’t have to worry about messing up your good ones.

Yesterday I was waiting for Terry, standing outside JoAnn's Fabric (he hates to go into fabric stores as it reminds him of when he was little and getting in trouble while his mom was looking through Simplicity pattern books). It had been raining hard and the parking lot had many shallow puddles. I watched a young, harried mom with a sleeping infant in her arms and a two-year-old by the hand, heading into JoAnn's. She was hell bent for fabric. The two-year-old was thrilled with the puddles he managed to stomp in from the car to the store. It made me think, 'we're always going somewhere and what would it be like if we weren't?' What if we set out to have fun? Just think how inexpensive it would be to take your kids to a parking lot after a heavy rain and let them play! I wish you could have seen the joy in that child's face with that quick to the store!

Whether it's just misting or pouring cats and dogs make the most of the wet weather and play with your kids in the rain with these family-tested outdoor activities. 

1. Puddle Play

Mom, you usually discourage your kids from jumping in puddles, so they’ll be shocked and excited when you suggest a splashing contest. Get your play clothes and rain boots on and head out looking for the biggest puddles you can find. Let your kids get soaking wet! Let the child who makes the biggest spray, get to pick the movie the family will watch or be freed from some chore. Give points for the one who gets the wettest. If you’ve got dancers in the family, have them practice some steps they’ve learned.

COME ON Mom, get in the puddles with them! Motherhood is not a spectator sport. Let your kids splash you. All it takes is saying, “Don’t you splash me,” in a way they know you’re daring them to do it. Oh and just think how good a hot shower will feel after the fun!

The holiday season is notorious for inciting panic in women and if they don’t know how to deal with that shoulder-burdening aspect of this time of year, they’re destined to miss what the holidays are really all about…PEACE, JOY, HARMONY. We need free time to re-charge.

Last year at this time I appeared on a local television talk show in Portland, Oregon, to talk about the free day I have in my weekly plan. To bring up this topic, this time of year when most women who work outside their homes can barely find a free hour let alone a free day each week, seemed absurd!

If you'd like to watch that segment, just click on my little Christmas girl. She's my granddaughter Brooklyn who is now a freshman at Berkeley.

Meet Kathy Roberts, The Tidy Tutor. You've probably seen some of my emails mentioning her because we created a webinar together a few months ago, which sold out.

We're doing another live webinar on October 26 at 9:00 EST (NY time) with the sole purpose of helping SHEs get organized just enough to enjoy the holiday season like a child; from the festivities to the underlying spiritual nature of this holy time (as if all time isn't holy).

Here's an email Kathy sent out to her readers yesterday and her video will help you dejunk your dresser and closet. I watched the whole video (28 minutes) and she touches on every aspect of dejunking in a way that will resonate with you. (I did want her to decide on that scarf she mulls over through the entire video, but remember, she's a SHE.) Kathy also offers an opportunity to sign up for her free video series on dejunking other areas of a home. She's a wonderful teacher!

If she inspires you to action, I'd love to hear from you! Just click on her photo and enjoy this dejunking video!

If you are a chocolate lover, you love the smell of chocolate! 

This DIY video shows you how to make your own, inexpensive cocoa scrub, that'll leave you refreshed as it makes your skin smooth as a baby's butt. 

You can make it yourself with ingredients you have in your cupboard. What's fun is this healthy scrub is loaded with carbs, but they're for the outside of your body, not the inside and while you use it in the shower, you'll feel like you're at the bakery!

Watch Karen (my bonus daughter's neighbor) show me how to make this fabulous scrub. As they say in restaurants...."Enjoy!"

1. See the sights

October in our state of Washington and its neighbor Oregon is stunningly beautiful now. Take a drive through the countryside and remember, it’s not too late to get one more picnic in.

What are some famous sights in your area? Go check them out. If you have already been to them, try to discover something new about them. If there aren’t any famous sights in your area, then go discover ones that aren’t famous.

I received an email one day from a woman who challenged my motto “Make it fun and it will get done,” and it caused me to think about what I mean by that. She said something about fun not leading to happiness and since I think happiness is the most important goal we can ever have, (I think it’s more important than being organized) I had to think seriously about my definition of fun.

The word fun can conger up vacations, yachts, fast cars, parties and any of the stuff of brochures luring us to spend money. The brochure brand of fun doesn’t make us happy unless we already are. Don't you know that from experience? This pic was taken at Senior Frogs in Cancun. The Frog definitely knows how to play and get not only children, but adults to have fun if they want to. I remember on that outing one of our grandchildren was upset about it all. It was too loud for her and she wanted no part of it. She was an example that joy has to come from within in order to have fun.

Clooney's Refrigerator

In this video on getting to know your inner child, you'll learn how to talk to her when she's about to put cookies in the cart at the grocery store and how to remind her who's in charge before you even go in the store.

If you're just starting to wrap your mind around this concept of having an inner child, this video will really help!

Here are some questions and some presumptuous answers.

1. Question: Why do you want to be organized? Answer: You know you’ll feel better.

2. Question: What is that you look forward to during the holidays? Answer: Sharing fun, food, celebration and love of God with family and friends.

3. Question: How have those past holidays measured up to your desires? Answer: I wish I’d been more organized.

The answer to question #1 is correct for everyone; we know that getting organized will make us feel better.

When I got organized in 1977 (yes 40 years ago) I knew I’d feel better if I got organized, because I came from a home that was run by a loving BO whose main goal in life was to create a cozy, clean, happy home. My mom accomplished her goal and I was witness to and recipient of the results of what order does for a family.

The holidays can be a really stressful time of year when they really should be so much fun! If we could enjoy the holidays the way children do, every holiday season would be what it's supposed to be...FUN!

Kathy Roberts (The Tidy Tudor) and I are going to help you make the preparations as much fun as the celebration itself. After all if the journey isn’t fun, usually the destination won’t be either!

When you think about it...the events we spend weeks and even months preparing for are over in a flash so why not make all that leads up to them all a part of the celebration so that your efforts will feel well worth it.

I've actually been crowned "Zucchini Queen" in Woodland, WA. Just look at this giant zucchini I took on television yesterday!