Recent Posts

Father’s Day!

Today is the day to celebrate the male factor in the propagation of our species — fathers, dads, papas, grandfathers and uncles! This year, we used this card template from Disney and I have to say that this craft is a keeper. It is so 

A Whirlwind Week

Pardon me while I catch up on last week. It was a blur of activity. A list of some of the fun we have been having: Completed replacing the flooring in the family room Began daily swimming lessons Completed last day of preschool activities and 

Teacher Gift Ideas

Our teacher gifts this year.
Our teacher gifts this year.

If you have a child in school, it will soon be the end of the school year and time to think about end-of-year teacher gifts.

I have shared some of my teacher gifts in the past, including:

Recently, a poster to the D.C. Urban Moms mailing list gave some excellent suggestions to add to this list of ideas.

Personalized pencils. This is so clever I wish I thought of it. Pencils or pens are used all the time by teachers. Giving them a set with their name or a complimentary phrase like “Mrs. Jones Rocks!” would be an awesome and simple, clutter-free gift. Oriental Trading Company has many cute choices. Pencils Etc at amazon.com also has come great pencil options.

A Note to the Principal. If you have a great teacher, write a letter to the principal/school director praising the teacher that can be included in the teacher’s employment file. Who wouldn’t like looking good in front of the boss?

This year, I took a big risk and also bought clothes for my daughter’s teachers. Clothes are seriously risky. You never know if you are going to match someone’s style or color preferences, not to mention figuring out the right size to buy. But I felt pulled to take the risk after attending my daughter’s spring concert where the teachers were dressed in summery outfits and looked gorgeous and relaxed and refreshed. The vibe was terrific. When I was thinking about how to reward our hard-working teachers, I just kept thinking about that concert and thought that having a fun outfit to wear might be the best way to go. I found inexpensive but stylish outfits that seemed like classic choices to me. If the teachers don’t like them or they don’t fit, hopefully they can re-gift them to someone else.

The outfits we came up with to add something fun to our teacher gifts.
The gift outfits we came up with to add something fun to our teacher gifts.

What are you giving for teacher gifts this year? Please share in the comments.

Diet and Exercise Progress in May

Since it is the end of May, it is time for me to check in on my diet and exercise progress this month. I continued the basic routine from last month. So far, I am generally holding my weight with this eating pattern which is 

May Recap

It’s the end of May! Time to recap this month’s posts and share some signs of spring. Guest blogger Christie Maruka provided style tips for wearing white this summer. I have bookmarked this list to use during my closet editing next month. The weather has