My Niece's 1st Birthday

My sister-in-law had Ava's party at a park near their house. It was definitely a good idea. :)

Fine Arts Gallery Night 2012

     This evening Kyleigh's school held a Fine Arts Gallery Night. All the students had selected pieces of artwork displayed around the school along with pieces of pottery made in art class. In different places all around the school, other students were set up and playing instruments throughout the evening. One of the students playing a violin gave me chills. She was playing some serious classical pieces that made you stop where ever you were standing and your jaw drop in awe of this little kid playing such big music. Listening to another little boy playing the piano was also impressive. You can tell all of these kids work really hard at their instruments and have a lot of talent!

Kyleigh showed us around the school and proudly showed off her wonderful pieces of art. :)

Kyleigh's painting of Peanut. :)

Being Artsy

While Kyleigh was at school today, Abby and I did some painting.

Abby's first project was to paint her wooden letter 'A' to hang in her room.

Hard at work.

Festival Time!

This weekend was the Got To Be NC Festival. It was a lot like the State Fair, just scaled down. We had a good time. :)

At the petting zoo.

Library Time with Abby

     Today Abby and I went to storytime at the library and learned about dairy cows. They read a story about a day in the life of a dairy cow and then the kids got to make cow masks while they waited for their turn to milk the "cow". :)

My little cow saying "mooo". :)

Then she decided to add more colors to her cow.

Little Abby decorating her cow while I hold her place in line. :)

 

Teacher Appreciation Week!

In Kyleigh's Monday Folder, there was a sheet letting us parents know about next week's activities in honor of Teacher Appreciation.

Here is what the PTA is asking for:
Monday: Muffin Monday -- or substitute fruit or a special sweet for your teacher and their assistant.
Tuesday: Flowerful Tuesday -- send in a small plant or a lovely flower. It can be from your garden.
Wednesday: Thank You Card Wednesday -- have your child make a card for their teacher and assistant. Be sure and include your thanks as well. You may want to include a Coupon to volunteer that can be redeemed by the teacher such as Center Help, Reading Out Loud, Cleaning the Classroom, or Making a Bulletin Board. Be sure and put your contact information on the coupon.
Thursday: School Supplies Thursday -- some suggestions have been colorful expo markers, stickers, reams of colorful paper or bordered copy paper, prize pencils, books for the classroom library - ask your teacher what they need.
Friday: Parent's Choice Surprise Friday -- Suggestions - small gift cards for lunch out, books, coffee. The only limit is your imagination. Have fun with your child showing your teacher and their assistant how much you care.

So, with all that in mind, I got on Pinterest (where else?!?! :p ) and searched for Teacher Appreciation gifts....I know I had seen some before and thought they were super cute.

Here is a list of Teacher Appreciation Gifts I found via Pinterest. Enjoy!

Picture from Mom's Party Cafe

1) SODA-lighted! -- From the blog of Tammy Mitchell Design, a free printable to go along with a six-pack of soda bottles: "I'm SODA-lighted that you were my teacher this year!"

2) Tin Can Treats -- From the blog of Our Best Bites, a recipe for creating fun treats using pull-tab topped cans and filling with M&M's or any kind of treat with a super cute and silly (and free! :) ) printable label.

3) Teacher Flower Pot -- From a wordpress site that you can order from (or be like me and just do it yourself ;) ), a cutely painted flower pot with the quote "Teachers change the world one child at a time. -Anon".

4) Embellished Scissors -- From the blog of Chester County Moms, embellished scissors with a tag that reads "You're a cut above the rest!". This site also has other cute end-of-the-year/teacher appreciation gifts.

5) The "Write" Teacher -- From the blog of Making Memories...One Fun Thing After Another comes this cute idea of pair a pack of pens, expo markers, or other writing utensils with a fun (and free!) printable tag that reads: "You are the WRITE teacher for me".

6) You're My "M&M" -- From the blog of Domestically Speaking comes a treat for teachers using M&M's and mason jars with a sweet poem you can attach to the jar.

7) Helping Us Bloom -- From the blog of Skip To My Lou, giving a personal touch to a potted plant by printing out (for free!) a tag that reads "Thank you for helping [Your child's name] bloom!" and then gluing it to a craft stick to insert into the pot!

8) Helping Them Grow -- From the blog of Miss Stitch A Wish, plant petite cacti in tea cups and then personalize the saucer with your child's teacher's name, then make an accordion flower with a center that reads "Thank you for helping [your child's name] grow up great!" and stick it into the tea cup as well!

9) Candy Gram Pail -- From the blog of Simply Savvy, this is a great way for my little kindergartner to give multiple candy grams (without the large awkward foam board) to her teachers. This uses a craft pail (that are fairly inexpensive at the craft store) and fills it up with candy bars then uses the name of the candies in a personalized message. Creative!

10) Need S'MORE Like You! -- From the blog of Women Living Well, put together all the ingredients needed to make s'mores in a little clear gift bag then top it off with a tag that reads "We need S'MORE teachers like you!". This site also has more Teacher Appreciation gift ideas with cute little sayings you can attach to the gifts -- great for the budget-minded Mommy!

11) Crayon Wreaths -- From the blog of Mom's Party Cafe comes a crafty idea of turning a box of crayons into a personalized wreath for teachers! This is definitely for the Mommys that have a little more time on their hands but definitely worth the effort!

12) Couldn't have PICKED a better one! -- From the blog of Dixie Delights comes a great concept of giving fresh strawberries to the teachers tied with a ribbon and a tag that reads "I couldn't have PICKED a better teacher!" -- what a great way to share the juiciness and sweetness of fresh picked strawberries with people who deserve a sweet treat!

13) Teacher-sized Pencils -- From the blog of Glue Sticks and Tape, turn an empty Pringles can into a giant pencil filled with little treats and since you're child's teacher is no No.2, have the pencil read "[Name of child's teacher] is No. 1". This would be another gift that would be easy enough for my little Kindergartner to bring in for both of her teachers!

14) Espresso Your Thanks -- Another one from the blog of Making Memories...One Fun Thing After Another, this is a super cute (and easy on the wallet) idea that hits the nail on the head! Get a giftcard to a local coffee shop with one of their to-go coffee cups (or just buy a reusable coffee mug) then fill it with some chocolate treats, and tie it off with a ribbon and tag that reads "Just wanted to ESPRESSO my thanks!".

15) The last site you will ever need. This one is full of so many ideas that I will be making some of these things for Father's Day, birthdays, maybe even Christmas! The end all be all site:  30 Homemade Gift Ideas for Teacher Appreciation Week from the blog of Tip Junkie.

Have fun y'all!!

Muddy Moments

     Most afternoons after the kids get off the bus, the girls play at the bus stop for awhile before heading home to do homework. We've recently had rain that left some puddles. Leave it to my kids to find the only puddle of mud. haha Kyleigh had been running and jumping over the mud puddle until she slipped and fell on her butt square in the mud. After that it wasn't about jumping over the puddle, no no no, it became time to jump in the puddle. haha

This is what Kyleigh looked like when we got home.

Those shorts she's wearing, those are supposed to be light khaki colored.

 And her shoes had become mud shoes. She had left her shoes on for this little adventure but when she pulled her feet out of the shoes, her socks looked like she had been running around with just socks. And those shoes oozed mud with each step she took. haha

Abby was less adventurous but still played in the mud. :)

My Birthday Surprises

I wasn't going to post any pictures from my birthday, but Nate and the girls put so much work into celebrating it this year that they deserve the pictures to be posted. :)

About to open my gifts from my wonderful family. :)

Getting some help from Kyleigh. :)

Mother's Day

After getting to sleep in, the girls gave me my presents. :)

And we all enjoyed the dancing squirrel card.

Abby testing out the blanket I'm making for her.

I think she likes it. :)

Kyleigh still playing with the dancing squirrel card. haha

After our celebrations, we went over to Nate's parents' house to celebrate with them.

The girls playing on the playset Nate, Alex, and I put together.

Gramma and Uncle Alex pushing the girls.

Nate and Uncle Alex pushing the girls.

The girls in their matching dresses. :)

Grampa relaxing in the hammock.

Grampa and his girls. :)

National Train Day

The Train Station

Watching the train go by.

The conductor's hat is a bit too big. :)

Daddy, the girls, and Gramma

Conductor Kyleigh

I had to try the hat on too. :)

Kyleigh and Gramma

From the train station, we walked over the hotel that travelers used to stay at.

The girls liked that they could fit in the fireplaces.

Checking out the traveling clothes of the day.

Nate reading about the history of the area.

Historic timeline of the area.