Date Night {IN}--The Yogurt Edition

So this is gonna seem totally weird but we love yogurt.  So we did a yogurt date.  If you don't like yogurt feel free to substitute the yogurt with chocolate syrup, pudding, honey ---whatever floats your boat.

What you need:

• Some time sans kiddos
• yogurt
• paper scraps with one letter A-Z written on the scrap
• hat to put scraps in
• dice

What to do:

1. On scraps of paper, write one letter and then put the scraps of paper into a hat.
2. Set the scene--we made a comfy little pallet on the floor in front of the fire, turned on the Airborne Toxic Event station on Pandora, and lit candles.
3. Get into as little clothing as you are comfortable with.
4. So to play, take turns drawing a letter out of the hat.  Let's say you pull out "T".  You have to find a part on your spouse's body that starts with that letter (tummy, tongue, toes, tibia...), put some yogurt on it, and lick it off.  Here's the catch, you can use silly names or body parts (like funny bone for F) or secret names (I could give you an example but then I'd have to kill you).  You want to think of the most difficult name possible because your spouse has to guess why you chose that location (which is why I'd pick tibia over tummy for T).  If he guesses wrong, roll the dice and he owes you that many minutes worth of back rub, foot rub, hair plays, etc.  
5. Finish the date with a hot shower because you'll be sticky :)

Things I Love: Spicy

Yes.  I love spicy food.  But that's not what I'm talking about here.

What I love is the word SPICY. 

Remember the girl from Mean Girls who wants to make the word "fetch" popular?  Well, I've been on a mission to make spicy popular.  And it's catching on.

At first I started saying spicy in place of the word hot--which seems obvious.  For example, "It's spicy out today" or "My husband is so spicy!"

Then I decided that spicy could also substitute for sassiness, snarkiness, wit, etc.  "Wow, you are being spicy!" or "Love the spicy comment."

Of course, I use spicy to help tone down a contentious situation.  For example, in class two students were rigorously debating and to help bring calm back into the classroom, I said, "This is a spicy conversations."

Turns out lots of people love my word.  I've caught friends posting it in Facebook (my daughter is so spicy today!), students writing it in e-mails, Matt using it when he likes how I dress...  It's catching on!  YAY!

I love spicy!  It's so fetch!

Days of Play: Rainy Day Scavenger Hunt

We have a chance of rain every day this week.  Yes, I'm doing a happy dance.  Sorry, I'm that girl who prefers 60 and rain to 80s with sun. 

If you are stuck inside on a rainy day it can be hard to entertain little ones.  At our house, a scavenger hunt always goes a long way.  What I like is how quickly I can whip up a hunt.  No need for maps or lists--simply pick an attribute of an item, give kids a grocery sack, set a timer, and send them off into the house to gather anything that meets the criteria.

For example, have kids find things that are: blue (or any other color), round (or any other shape), small (or any other size), soft (or another texture), etc.  Feel free to give younger children an easier task (color) and older children a more difficult task (90' triangles) to make this activity work for all kids in the house.

When time is up, empty bags and go through what your kiddos found.  Then put everything back TOGETHER and have some special "treasure" as a reward for a hunt well done.

Some Monday Music

So my Mac is still an absolute mess.  One of Matt's co-workers loaned me his MacBook Pro so I can work on my competency exam questions.  I figure I might as well write a blog or two since I have it.

I have a pretty eclectic taste in music and people often want to know what I'm listening to. So I'm gonna do a few posts on music I love, some lesser-known artists, etc.

First up--The Airborne Toxic Event.  This band is really gaining in popularity. I've been in musical love with them for just over a year.  I went to one of their concerts a week ago and they actually sound better LIVE--which like, never happens.  Anyhoo, give this a listen. This video is of their most recent hit, Changing.