Saturday, October 1, 2011

October Teacher Treats for Noah's School

HAPPY FALL Y'ALL!!!  :)   

Goodbye long 110 degree days, hello beautiful Autumn weather! I know it has been a while since I have posted, but things have been crazy around here!!!

I thought I would post these cute little treats I made for all of the teachers at Noah's school. At Back to School night we got the opportunity to sign up to bring little treats for the teachers. They do this once a month to show appreciation and I think it is a great concept! I signed up for October since it is my favorite month. His school only has 8 teachers (and 2 daycare teachers) so it isn't hard to come up with something special. I plan on taking some cupcakes and chocolate mice later in the month for all of the teachers and administrators, but for my October Teacher Gift, I decided to make some homemade Candy Corn Bath Salts. They turned out really cute and were fun to make!


I could have had the labels printed and they would have looked better, but who has time for that?! Also, I kind of like the fact that they are hand-written. Things that are homemade deserve a little personal touch!

I bought the mason jars at the grocery store ($6.78 for 12- cheap!) and I bought everything else at Hobby Lobby and Walmart.

One of the things I am terrible at is tying bows. Ribbon is not my friend. I need lessons in this area please! 

I plan on making more gifts in a jar this season so don't be surprised if you get a gift from me and it's in a mason jar. I love them! I am officially a mason jar addict. There are so many cool things you can do with them and they are so inexpensive.


Candy Corn Bath Salts Recipe:
  • Epsom Salts
  • Sea Salts
  • Whatever Scent you like (I used Honey Almond for these)
  • Vitamin E Oil
  • Dye (I used yellow and orange of course)
If you are doing multiple colors, divide salt mixture (equal parts) equally and add 3-4 drops of vitamin E oil to each bowl. Then add the dye and scent a couple drops at a time until you have desired color and smell. Go easy until you see how it will take to the salt. I went to Hobby Lobby and found all of the supplies (dye and scent and they even had sea salt) in the soap making aisle. There were lots of colors and smells to choose from. If you can't find either sea salt or epsom salts, just use one of them. Even if you use all of one type of salt, you will still get great results. 
Here's a money saving tip- pull up Hobbylobby.com on your phone and click on coupon for a 40% off coupon. You can use this on the most expensive thing in your cart and all they need is the coupon code on the bottom. No need to even print it ahead of time!

Good luck and happy crafting!  :)


Monday, August 22, 2011

School Daze- Noah's First Day of Preschool

Noah's First Day of School

The Support Team
Noah was looking at the playground. Where would rather be than there taking thousands of pictures with his mom.

This is my favorite picture of my sweet baby boy. He looks so grown up!
Noah is so proud of his cubby!
Mrs. Badman showing Noah his new seat and crayons.
He told her that he doesn't know how to draw and she said, "That's ok as long as you try!" Good answer.
This is right before the melt down. So we will stop here and pretend that is how it ended.
Well, on second thought- I am a terrible liar and that is not how it ended. I said goodbye, he cried and latched on to me like a koala bear. The teacher ripped him outta my arms and I left crying. That is the real ending.

But, I made it.
Barely.
But, as Noah would say...      HALLELLOOLA! I made it.
Day one of Preschool is officially over.
So since I survived this milestone, I am doing what any self-respecting American citizen would do in my situation- I am assuming that I am now an expert in this field and making an "Emergency First Day of School Survival" Checklist. These are the things that I learned from going through this experience for the first time. Hopefully over the years I will be able to add to this list. And hopefully this will be of help to someone that goes through this in the future.

1.) With the help of your new little student, make something for the teacher. Noah and I made Apple Cakepop bouquets for his new PreK teacher, principal, and school secretary. Looking back, this was waaayyyy too ambitious of a project to take on at this stressful time in my life. I am glad that we did it, but in the future I think I will just help him make her a sweet card or bake her some easy cookies. We gave them their gifts at Open House but you could also take the gifts on the first day of school, or really any day thereafter. I think this is a good way to get your child excited about meeting/seeing the teacher and gives them something positive to focus on. If your child is still struggling after the first day, it's not too late to try this technique. Noah loved it.
2.) Do as much as you can think of to get prepared BEFORE the morning of the first day of school. AND, let your child be a part of this process. Noah and I spent a couple of hours on Sunday afternoon getting him ready for the week. We shopped for school lunch items, gathered and ironed his uniforms, and got his backpack organized.
3.) Make your child a checklist of things that they have to do every morning.
Last night I made Noah a checklist of things to do when he wakes up in the morning. Now I know what you are thinking- "this poor child can't even read yet and she's already forcing her frantic, compulsive list-making obsession on his impressionable little mind," but it did help to keep him on track. Anytime he would get distracted (which was approximately every 67 seconds- "Hey Mom, look at what I found under the fridge!",) I would lead him to the checklist and tell him what to do next. It worked. Plus I put cupcake stickers on it and that made him smile. Cause who doesn't love cupcake stickers?
4.) Lunch! Let them help you make their lunch for the next day! They can pick out their snacks, make their sandwich, and even make their little sister's lunch.
5.) Take lots of pictures at open house! I couldn't wait to take millions of pictures of Noah's first day of school, but the truth is that it went by at lightning speed, was incredibly emotional, and basically just chaotic. I am so glad that I took lots of pictures at Open House the other day because I was waaayyyy too emotional and scatterbrained to get any good ones today.
6.) Make a breakfast station where your child can go and grab what they want for breakfast without getting distracted by all of the other items in the pantry (in our house this would consist of thousands of boxes of baked goods and 157 bags of chocolate.) Breakfast is a new thing on our list because I am used to packing his breakfast to eat at TT's house after I drop him off every morning. Now breakfast is important because Noah won't get to eat anything except a small snack until lunch time. I let him pick out a couple of different cereals and granola bars to keep together on the counter during the week so that he can quickly grab something to eat either on the way to school or while I am getting Annabella dressed.

These are just a few things that really helped me out this morning. I was on an emotional roller coaster and my brain was only working at half speed. Let's be honest, I have no idea what I am talking about since I am new at this whole "school mom" thing. But this is what I learned and I just thought I would share it.

Thursday, August 18, 2011

More pics and info about Noah's Open House! My baby is growing up!!

Open House at Redeemer was great! Noah met his teacher Mrs. Badman (above) and she was really nice. I am looking forward to getting to know her better this year. His classroom is super cute and all of the chairs are so tiny!
This is Noah showing Daddy his new chair and the apple with his name on it.
Needless to say, he was really excited to see his school and take his teacher her present! LOL I love this picture!

Nana came along to meet Mrs. Badman and capture some memories on her awesome camera.

This is Mrs. Nickel. She is the principal of Redeemer and also the First Grade Teacher. She was my first grade teacher and my favorite teacher ever. She always told me that I should be a teacher one day. She made a huge impression on my life. She is a wonderful person and I am so happy that she will be an influence in my son's life.

Noah was so happy that Daddy came to Open House.

Noah took donuts to his new friends. He looked so cute in his backpack. It looks so big on him!

I love my little boy so much. I can't believe that he is growing up so fast. I did so good today. I didn't even cry all day long. Until now that is... I can't help it. It feels like the end of an era. He will never be a baby again. It's just a matter of time before he will not let me hold him in public. He will wipe off my kisses in front of his friends. I will no longer be the coolest girl in his little life.  He will be out in the world and I will not be there to protect him from all of the evils that this world has to offer. But I know that no matter how old he is, he will always be my baby boy and the coolest little boy in my life.  I am so proud of him and so excited about this year. I know that it is going to be a whole new chapter in our lives. I look forward to seeing him grow into the amazing man that I know he will be one day.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Apple Cake Pops for Noah's teacher!!!

Well, tomorrow is open house at Redeemer and Noah is finally getting excited. I thought it would help him get excited if we made his teacher a present. Since tradition is to give your teacher an apple (but who wants an apple when you can have chocolate?!) we decided to make some apple shaped cake pops!

They were a huge pain in the butt and took waaaaayyy more time and effort than any of the cake pops I have ever made! But they are done and he is excited to give them to her. He was a big help. He helped me dip them and decorate their faces.
I think this one with the frowny face is my favorite. LOL

But this one is pretty cute too...

Anyway, like I said- they were a beat down to make and they didn't turn out all that great, but it was nice to finally bake something again! Not to mention that I have been promising to post something food related lately but haven't had the time. They are cherry chip and devils food on the inside. I picked up those little white buckets in the dollar spot at Target and then added some cute school themed stickers that I found at Hobby Lobby ($1.99!) We made one for his new teacher, the principal (who just so happens to be my favorite childhood teacher), and the school secretary.
The babies went to the doctor for their check-ups last week and they are doing great! They both had to get shots which was terrible especially for Noah since he is so big now. He was devastated. Kyle had to take them since I had to work. He is such a good dad. Annabella is in the 50th percentile for pretty much everything as far as weight, height, and everything else. Noah is tall and skinny as usual. They are both very healthy and developing perfectly.
Well, time to go get some things ready for this weekend's wine tasting party! Tonight I started the process for 6 different kinds of truffles (chocolate amaretto, white choc amaretto, choc mocha, white choc almond, dark choc almond, and choc creme de menthe) so I will post pictures and the recipe for those tomorrow if I have time before class!

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

There is nothing worse than poop in the bathtub


As any parent to a young child knows, there is absolutely nothing worse than poop in the bathtub. Even though that pretty much sums up my evening, allow me to elaborate.

Just a typical Tuesday night.....
Decided to brave the Dollar Tree this evening with both children because there was a Clearance Emergency and I HAD to purchase some tiny martini glasses for me and Tammy's upcoming Wine Tasting Party Extraordinaire (details to come on this exciting event!) Noah was really cranky and was throwing a fit because he wanted to put quarters in those junk toy machines at the front of the store. Annabella was due for her medicine, tired, cranky, and insisted on screaming and demanding every single Mylar balloon in the store. I got what I needed and went to check out. As usual when your kids are embarrassing you in public, it was packed and the lines were miles long. By the time we finally got to the check-out counter, both kids were crying and right in the middle of an emotional breakdown. I kept dropping my money and found myself trying to shove Annabella's pacifier into Noah's mouth. The sad thing is, since they were both already crying I didn't even realize that I was doing it. It took me a whole 30 seconds to realize that they were crying and fighting because Noah was mad that I was repeatedly trying to force the thing in his mouth while Annabella was smacking him in the face because she wanted it. The clerk just stared on in amusement. To say that I felt like an idiot would be an understatement.
After that drama I decided that it would be best to get home and avoid the grocery store like the plague. We went through the Chick-fil-A drive through while Noah cried because he wanted to go down the slide. After what felt like hours, we got home. Then the kids fought over the last chicken nugget and I decided it was bath time. I put both kids in the tub (which has more toys in it than their toy boxes at this point) and stepped into my closet to change clothes. I heard Noah yelling and was horrified to find that Annabella had pooped in the bathtub. My initial reaction to this is always the same- What in the world do I do first? Every parent has had this moment when they realize that they are in way over their head. I did my best to scoop the poop, drained the water, and transferred the kids to the stand-up shower to hose them off and start over on washing their hair. Let me just say for the record that bathing 2 kids in a stand-up shower is basically impossible. There was water everywhere. To make matters worse, my hanging shelves in the shower broke and dumped all 200 of my toiletries on to the heads of me and the children. Ouch. Afterwards, I got both kids dressed and went to get the bleach for the bathtub. I came back into the bathroom to find Annabella sitting IN the toilet. Fully clothed. With one of her little legs dangling over the side. She was stuck and trying desperately to wiggle her way out. It was horrifying. The funniest part was Noah pointing at her yelling, "Mom! Come look at what Annabella is doing!!!" LOL After bathing and rinsing Annabella AGAIN, I finally gave up and put both kids to bed. I think the moral of this story is that Annabella is ready to potty train. Or that I need to throw away 100 of the 141 toys in the bathtub. Or maybe even that I should just skip bath time when Daddy's not home. I'm not sure which.

Monday, August 8, 2011

School Daze

I wonder what you’re doing right now,
And if everyone is treating you kind.
I hope there is a special person,
A nice friend that you can find.

I wonder if the teacher knows
Just how special you are to me.
And if the brightness of your heart
Is something she can see.

I wonder if you are thinking about me,
And if you need a hug.
I already miss the sound of your voice,
And how you give my leg a tug.
I wonder if you could possibly understand
How hard it is for me to let you grow.
On this day know that my heart breaks
For this is the first step in letting my
Baby go.


I found this poem on my new favorite website (thanks to Carly) which is pinterest.com
Everytime I read it I burst out in tears. I love it and I hate it at the same time. I can't believe that my babies are getting so big. I am so proud of them. I am not ready for this change but I know that it is the best thing for Noah. He will love it and he needs to be challenged. He is so smart. I have been buying his uniforms and school supplies this week. I thought I would enjoy this, but it is just a bittersweet reminder of how quickly time goes by.  Everyday I am one step closer to letting my baby go.   :(


Me and Noah's first picture together. Seems like just yesterday.

Ok, enough tears and sob stories. LOL Time for some cool things I've found on pinterest lately!!!

I love this soooooo much and it would be so easy. Can't wait to make this for Annabella!!!

 This is so cute! Can't wait to make one for my front door! With an F of course... Adorable, unique, and inexpensive!!!
This has Kyle written all over it! I can see him trying to squeeze Annabella into this. LOL
I have to remind myself of this ALL of the time! I have a terrible need to plan every detail of everything. Sometimes this is good but sometimes I need to just "let go and let God..."

Ok, one more thing- Heard this joke on the radio this morning and cracked up all day re-telling it:

Two olives are sitting together on the table. Olive number one rolls off of the table and falls on the floor. Olive number two rolls to the edge, looks down at him, and says, "Are you ok?!"
Olive number one looks up and says, "O-live."

LOLOL Get it?! "Olive" No? Ok, read it again and this time say it out loud to yourself (while people look at you from across the room like you've lost your mind.) Olive- like I'll live.  Ha ha, funny now isn't it. Go ahead, tell it to your friends.
Have a great night everyone!!!!  :)