Celebrate EVERY day - September

There are some GREAT month long celebrations you can celebrate this month

Better Breakfast Month

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Many people skip breakfast. Not only do you need the energy for a full day, but your body needs to get its metabolism going for the day. Teach your children about breakfast. Have them make a placemat with their favorite breakfast foods on it (covering it with clear contact paper keeps it from getting ruined)...or have them make a placemat with pictures of family, friends, and fun things they like to do, so it makes them think of all the wonderful stuff in their life while eating.

Children's Eye Health and Safety Month

According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, more than 100,000 people incur eye injuries each year and more than half of the victims of those injuries are children. September is Children's Eye and Health Safety Month, the perfect time to begin teaching your kids about the importance of taking care of their eyes. Make sure everyone gets a yearly eye examination.

Do you talk to your kids at dinner?? It is proven that this helps your kids' self esteem. Try talking about the following "sight" related questions one night with the family:
If you couldn't see, how different would such a world be? What sights would you miss the most? What activities would be more difficult? Which would be impossible? Just how does the eye help us see anyway?

The impetus for a National Grandparents Day originated with Marian McQuade (now age 91), a housewife in Fayette County, West Virginia. Her primary motivation was to champion the cause of lonely elderly in nursing homes. She also hoped to persuade grandchildren to tap the wisdom and heritage their grandparents could provide. President Jimmy Carter, in 1978, proclaimed that National Grandparents Day would be celebrated every year on the first Sunday after Labor Day.

International Literacy day was started by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in 1965. Today, communities and countries throughout the world observe International Literacy Day in a variety of ways.

Some 774 million adults lack minimum literacy skills; one in five adults is still not literate and two-thirds of them are women; 72.1 million children are out-of-school and many more attend irregularly or drop out.

In particular, International Literacy Day 2008 has a strong emphasis on Literacy and Epidemics with a focus on communicable diseases such as HIV, Tuberculosis and Malaria, some of the world's most important public health concerns.

A poem for your Teddy Bear

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, turn around.
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, touch the ground.

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, show your shoe.

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, that will do.

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, go upstairs.
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, say your prayers.

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, turn out the light.

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, say "Good night."

Hug your teddy bear today - he misses you

Gerry Thomas is the man who invented both the product and the name of the Swanson TV Dinner. In 1954, Swanson TV Dinners fufilled two post-war trends: the lure of time-saving modern appliances and the fascination with a growing innovation, the television. More than 10 million TV dinners were sold during the first year of Swanson's national distribution. For $.98 per dinner, customers were able to choose among Salisbury steak, meatloaf, fried chicken, or turkey, served with potatoes and bright green peas; special desserts were added later.
The food groups in a TV dinner were displayed neatly in a divided metal tray. A representative tray was placed in the Smithsonian Institution in 1987 to commemorate the trays impact on American culture. Celebrity figures from Howdy Doody to President Eisenhower touted the dinners.

Swanson removed the name "TV Dinner," from the packaging in the 1960s. The Campbell Soup Company replaced the aluminum trays of Swanson frozen TV dinners with plastic, microwave-safe trays in 1986. That same year, the orginal aluminum Swanson TV Dinner tray was inducted into the Smithsonian Institute, sealing TV Dinners' place in American cultural history. In 1999, Swanson received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Tonight, have a tv dinner while watching a movie with the family.

In the United States, Patriot Day occurs on September 11 of each year, designated in memory of the nearly three thousand who died in the September 11, 2001 attacks. Yet most Americans refer to the day as "Nine-Eleven (9/11)," "September 11th," "Nine-one-one,"(to a lesser extent) or some variation thereof.

I know my kids are going to LOVE this day.

Chocolate Milkshake Day is an opportunity for chocoholoics to savor. The weather may have cooled off. But, our appetite for chocolate, specifically chocolate milkshakes, hasn't cooled off one iota.

What a great day this will be! Simply combine a little milk with some chocolate ice cream, add some extra chocolate syrup, and mix it well in a blender. That's the fixins for mixin up a big, tall glass of chocolate milkshake.

All of our feelings, beliefs and knowledge are based on our internal thoughts, both conscious and subconscious. We are in control, whether we know it or not.
Aim high and do your best
We can be positive or negative, enthusiastic or dull, active or passive.

The biggest difference between people is their attitudes. For some, learning is enjoyable and exciting. For others, learning is a drudgery. For many, learning is just okay, something required on the road to a job.

Star Spangled Banner was written by Francis Scott Key, 1814

(due to Fort McHenry being successfully defended against a bombing by English ships).

Sing the Star Spangled Banner today...the words are below.

O! say can you see by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the Rockets' red glare, the Bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our Flag was still there;

O! say does that star-spangled Banner yet wave,
O'er the Land of the free, and the home of the brave?

On the shore dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream,

Tis the star-spangled banner, O! long may it wave,
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country, shall leave us no more?
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave,
From the terror of fight or the gloom of the grave,

And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave,
O'er the Land of the Free, and the home of the Brave.

O! thus be it ever when freemen shall stand,
Between their loved home, and the war's desolation,
blest with victory and peace, may the Heav'n rescued land,
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto - "In God is our Trust;"

And the star-spangled Banner in triumph shall wave,
O'er the Land of the Free, and the Home of the Brave.

Make a hat day
Make a Hat Day is is a day for fun. Design, make, and wear your a hat for yourself today. Put your personality into it. Or, make a hat from a character you would like to imitate for a day.

Alexander Fleming discovers Penicillin, 1928
In 1928, bacteriologist Alexander Fleming made a chance discovery from an already discarded, contaminated Petri dish. The mold that had contaminated the experiment turned out to contain a powerful antibiotic, penicillin. However, though Fleming was credited with the discovery, it was over a decade before someone else turned penicillin into the miracle drug for the 20th century

"Lone Ranger" premiers, 1949

The Lone Ranger appeared on the ABC network on September 15, 1949 in the first of a three part episode that told the history of the famous masked man of the West. The first three episodes told the the familiar story of how the Lone Ranger came to be, his connection to Tonto, and the origins of his prize horse Silver. Glenn Strange played the villain Butch Cavandish in these episodes.

The Lone Ranger was also one of the earliest shows to film mostly outdoors. Starting in 1956, the Wrather Company began filming the program in color.

National Stepfamily Day

National Stepfamily Day is celebrated annually on September 16th and was founded by Christy Borgeld in 1997.

Stepfamilies are all around us. One in three Americans live in a stepfamily, and more than 50% of Americans will live in a stepfamily at some point in their lives. Thirty percent of children are growing up in stepfamilies. Some call these families, "blended" families.

According to Bray & Kelly in a 1998 study, it usually takes a minimum of four years or more for a stepparent to build a relationship with a stepchild.

It's been said that "parenting differences" is the #1 reason cited by remarried couples (encore marriages) who divorce for the failure of the marriage. Coming to agreements on parenting is crucial to a successful stepfamily.

Independencia de Mexico (Mexican Independence Day)
In the early hours of September 16th, 1810, Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, a priest in the small town of Dolores, Guanajuato, rang the church bell to gather the townspeople. He called for the people of Mexico to rise up against the Spanish Crown, thus initiating Mexico's War of Independence. The country did not achieve independence until 1821, but it is this event, known as the Grito de Dolores which is commemorated every year in town squares across Mexico.

Citizenship Day/Constitution Day

Observes the anniversary of the US Constitution being completed and signed and approved, 1787. "In 1940, Congress designated the third Sunday in May as "I am an American Day." Many cities continue to observe this holiday. On February 29, 1952, President Harry Truman signed a bill establishing September 17 as Citizenship Day replacing the May observance and moving the date to the one on which the U.S. Constitution was signed in 1787. The intent of the bill was to give recognition to those who had become American Citizens during the preceding year. The celebrations include pageantry and speeches to impress Americans with the privileges and responsibilities of U.S. citizenship."

National Play-doh Day
Play-Doh - A soft-pliable compound made of flour, water and coloring that debuted in 1956. The original Play-Doh formula can be traced to Joseph McVicker of Kutol Chemicals in Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1955, McVicker's sister-in-law, a teacher in New Jersey, inquired about a safe and fun modeling clay substitute to give to her nursery school children. Joseph sent her a sample of a non-toxic compound used to clean wallpaper. The clay was an instant success and soon the Cincinnati Board of Education was using it in all their elementary schools. Formalizing his product as Play-doh, McVicker's founded Rainbow Crafts in 1956 and with sales to such retail establishments as Woodard & Lothrop department stores in Washington, D.C. his soft. malleable substance soon became a top selling product. In the 1970s Rainbow Crafts merged with Kenner Products and later Hasbro Toys took up the product line. Initially, Play-Doh was a grayish-white color, (sold in 1 ½ pound cans and later three and four packs) but colors such as yellow, red and blue purple, pink, orange and green. gold and silver were introduced to enhance sales and appearance., The original Play-Doh product mascot was a pixie called Play-Doh Pete. September 16th is national Play-doh Day.

Talk Like A Pirate Day
International Talk Like a Pirate Day (ITLAPD) is a parodic holiday invented in 1995 by John Baur ("Ol' Chumbucket") and Mark Summers ("Cap'n Slappy"), of Corvallis, Oregon, who proclaimed September 19 each year as the day when everyone in the world should talk like a pirate. For example, an observer of this holiday would greet friends not with "Hello," but with "Ahoy, me hearty!" The holiday, and its observance, springs from a romanticized view of the Golden Age of Piracy.

America's Day for Kids
Created as a day to foster relationships between adults and children, the mission of BGC Day for Kids is to establish a day to celebrate and honor American children through the gift of meaningful time. Research shows that when adults spend meaningful time with kids it helps them develop a positive self-image and a sense of belonging, usefulness and purpose. Now, more than ever, BGC Day for Kids provides adults and kids an opportunity to take a break from their busy lives and celebrate the wonder of life and the fulfillment of spending time together.

Responsible Dog Ownership Day
We hope you will join us in September 2008 as the AKC invites and encourages all dog and pet-related organizations to commemorate AKC Responsible Dog Ownership Day by holding a community event that publicly promotes responsible dog ownership anytime during the month.

International Day of Peace
In 1981 the United Nations General Assembly passed resolution 36/67 declaring an International Day of Peace. In 2001, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a new resolution 55/282 declaring 21 September of each year as the International Day of Peace.

World Gratitude Day
The United Nations Meditation Group created World Gratitude Day to express appreciation for the great things that individuals and groups do. This recognition is on a global basis. According to their website: "World Gratitude Day presents an award to someone who we feel has done something outstanding in the spirit of Globalism."

Band-Aid Invented
Band-Aid is the trademarked name for bandages sold by the Johnson & Johnson Company.

Earle Dickson Invented the Band-Aid to Save Wife's Fingers
Earle Dickson was employed as a cotton buyer for the Johnson & Johnson when he invented the band-aid in 1921. His wife Josephine Dickson was always cutting her fingers in the kitchen while preparing food.
At that time a bandage consisted of separate gauze and adhesive tape that you would cut to size and apply yourself. Earle Dickson noticed that gauze and adhesive tape she used would soon fall off her active fingers. He decided to invent something that would stay in place and protect small wounds better.

Earle Dickson took a piece of gauze and attached it to the center of a piece of tape, and then covered the product with crinoline to keep it sterile. His boss, James Johnson, saw Earle Dickson's invention and decided to manufacture band-aids to the public and make Earle Dickson vice-president of Johnson & Johnson.
Band-Aids & Boy Scouts
Sales of Band-Aids were slow until Johnson & Johnson decided to give Boy Scout troops free Band-Aids as a publicity stunt. By 1924, Band-Aids were machine made, sold sterilized in 1939, and made with vinyl tape in 1958.

Elephant Appreciation Day
Show us how much you care about elephants. This is a big, elephant sized day. We feel it should be celebrated in a big way. Mission Media Inc .created in 1996, largely because elephants are ....large. (and a whole lot of other great things.) The founder, Wayne Hepburn, received a paperweight of elephants on parade from his daughter as a gift. He became fascinated by them. He amassed a huge collections of elephant books and paraphernalia. His fascination and love of elephants, led to the creation of this day so you and I can stop and enjoy this huge, lumbering beast.

First Day of Autumn

Checkers Day
Enjoy a nice relaxing day at home with the family, playing checkers.

Innergize Day
This is a day to do something for yourself. Call out, take a bath, read a book - INNERGIZE!!

National Punctuation Day
Why is punctuation important Jeff Rubin the Punctuation Man and founder of National Punctuation Day explains that without punctuation you would not be able to express your feelings in writing not to mention know when to pause or stop or ask a question or yell at someone and without punctuation you would not be able to separate independent clauses and show an example of how a business lost millions because of an errant comma .

National One-Hit Wonder Day
Play those one hit wonders for your kids...its time they listened to YOUR music.

My Mommy's Birthday
Happy Birthday to my Mom, Kate Keenan.

Johnny Appleseed's Birthday
John Chapman born in 1774.

Native American Day
Fourth Friday in September.
This day is set aside to honor and celebrate Native Americans, the first Americans to live in the U.S. Still commonly referred to as American Indians, the term "Native Americans" has been used in recent years as a sign of respect and recognition that they were indeed the first people to populate our wonderful nation. By the time the first explorers and settlers arrived from Europe, Native Americans had populated the entire North American Continent, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and from the Gulf of Mexico all the way to the northern reaches of Canada.

Family Health and Fitness Day
The 12th annual Family Health & Fitness Day USA is a national health and fitness event for families, set for Saturday, September 27, 2008. (always on the last Saturday in September.) The event's purpose is to promote family involvement in physical activity, one of the goals of the U.S. Surgeon General's Report on Physical Activity and Health.

World Tourism Day

Since 1980, September 27 is celebrated by the World Tourism Organization as World Tourism Day. The purpose of this day is to display awareness that tourism is vital to the international community and to show how it affects the social, cultural, political and economic values worldwide.

Good Neighbor Day
Always the fourth Sunday in September, "National Good Neighbor Day" enjoys quite a long history of enthusiastic support from school-children, their parents, their teachers, community leaders, education leaders, congressmen and even Presidents of the United States!
* Do something nice for a neighbor.
* Bake cookies and pass them out around the neighborhood.
* Have a block party or neighborhood picnic.

World Heart Day
World Heart Day 2008 - 'Know Your Risk' - is a call to action to help people better understand their personal risk for cardiovascular disease, including hypertension (high blood pressure). It will be held on Sunday, 28 September.

All Angels Day
Michaelmas (also the Feast of Ss. Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael or the Feast of Michael and All Angels) is a day in the Christian calendar which occurs on 29 September. Because it falls near the equinox, it is associated with the beginning of autumn and the shortening of days.

The Archangel Michael is one of the principal angelic warriors, seen as a protector against the dark of night, and the administrator of cosmic intelligence. Michaelmas has also delineated time and seasons for secular purposes as well, particularly in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Rosh Hashanah
Rosh Hashanah occurs on the first and second days of Tishri. In Hebrew, Rosh Hashanah means, literally, "head of the year" or "first of the year." Rosh Hashanah is commonly known as the Jewish New Year. A popular observance during this holiday is eating apples dipped in honey, a symbol of our wish for a sweet new year. This was the second Jewish religious practice I was ever exposed to (the first one: lighting Chanukkah candles), and I highly recommend it. It's yummy. We also dip bread in honey (instead of the usual practice of sprinkling salt on it) at this time of year for the same reason.

Ask a Stupid Question Day

A day that originated with teachers encouraging schoolkids to ask more questions, even stupid ones. What would be your stupid question to ask??

Today's Quote: "Stupid is as stupid does". Forrest Gump

Movie of the Day: "Dumb and Dumber"