We just finished Teacher Appreciation Week at Hudson's Mother's Day Out. We had a wonderful Chair this year - Laurie - who went above and beyond to make it a special week for our teachers. One of the other moms and I helped co-chair. This was my 4th year helping (2 yrs. chairing and 2 yrs. co-chairing) and I still get excited about the whole week! I don't think you can ever do too much to show appreciation to good teachers who help mold little ones day in and day out.
A lot of you have emailed me asking how we make the week work, who pays for what, etc. so here's the nitty gritty...Hudson goes to a small MDO program at our Catholic church. We have a total of 27 families in the program (one class of 1 year olds and two classes of 2 year olds). To make it work this year, we asked each family to contribute $20 if they were able to do so and from that amount we provided lunch every day Monday - Thursday, the banner, all the paper goods, and the daily gifts for five (4 teachers + 1 director). Breakfast each day was donated by one of the moms.
Monday: Spring on Your Door Day
I volunteered to bring breakfast and decided to go with a super simple Rise & Shine breakfast to go.
The mini buckets were filled with a banana, a yogurt, and a homemade banana nut muffin. The teachers loved them!
We gave them Spring door wreaths with this cute tag {Martha Stewart at Michaels}...
Lunch was catered from a local deli.
Tuesday: Red Carpet Day
HA! Our own cost-effective interpretation of course! We put together this fun basket of snacks, popcorn, soda, orange pellegrino, and of course, a movie gift card!
Breakfast included their favorite Starbucks beverage and these yummy treats...donuts and kolaches.
Lunch was catered from a local Chinese restaurant.
Wednesday: Pamper Yourself Day
They each received these super fun baskets which included a bottle of wine, bubble bath, bath salts, a loofah, and some other goodies. {speech bubble tags: Creativity Prompt; idea for saying: Sugardoodle}
I had to leave before breakfast got there so I didn't get a picture but it was yummy fruit skewers and Krispy Kreme donuts {like last year}. Lunch was catered from a local Mexican restaurant.
Thursday: Spring into Summer Day
Our MDO is closed on Fridays so Thursday was our last day. Thursday was all about Rest and Relaxation. They each received a beach bucket filled with a beach towel, sunscreen, some other goodies, and our big gift...a Spa gift certificate for a mani, pedi, facial or service of their choice. {girl in a swimsuit tags: Free Pretty Things for You}
Another day without a breakfast pic - boo! {this was our school admission decision day so I think my mind was elsewhere!} but breakfast consisted of assorted pastries and fresh fruit. Lunch was by one of our favorite local restaurants that has a deliciously eclectic cuisine.
I think the teachers really enjoyed the week and most importantly felt appreciated for what they do. We coordinated to have parent volunteers stay in each classroom for 30 minutes in the morning each day so that the teachers could come out to the main room to receive their gifts and enjoy breakfast. We were able to visit with them and chat and it was just a really nice time.
No matter what you do - big or small - the most important thing is for it to be heartfelt and sincere. A hand-written note of appreciation goes a long way.
THANK YOU Mrs. Cheryl, Mrs. Brooke, Mrs. Rebekah, Mrs. Maria and Mrs. Patti! I can't think of a nicer and more caring group of ladies to take care of our wee ones. The Christian atmosphere you provide, your love and patience...it just means the world to us parents. We love you! Thank you!
After waiting for 3 long months, today was FINALLY the day we found out what elementary school Grace would be attending next year. Placement at this school is ultra competitive and the process is nerve-wrecking to say the least, but I'm so happy to say she tested in the 99% percentile and was accepted at our #1 choice school!!!!! Praise God for an answered prayer!!
I ripped open the envelope the moment I got it out of our mailbox and even called Lance so Grace could tell him before we even made it into the garage, so no pictures there - Boo! But Noonie was at our house taking care of Hudson, so the moment we walked in the door Grace was able to share the good news with her...
It was such a sweet moment. Happy tears indeed!
We also got another surprise in the mail today. Remember {this} painting???
"Tilley the Tiger" was entered into a city-wide art competition for students and it WON an award!! A preschool level juror's choice award!! She gets to accept the trophy at a ceremony next weekend and she is sooooooooooooooooo excited. In fact she told Noonie about the award before she told her about the school decision - HA! Grace loooves art!
We are so proud of you, Grace!!
{please ignore the crazy long bangs...the little pumpkin has decided she wants to grow them out and they're in that super-long-but-not-yet-long-enough-to-pin-back stage!}
Hudson wanted in on all the action too!
I always make such a big fuss over the artwork and projects they bring home that Hudson now runs to me saying, "I made this for YOOOOUUUUU, mama!" Oh, it makes my day!!
I LOVE that sweet butterfly and all the shapes you used, Hudson!!
We celebrated with dinner at Olive Garden...Grace's pick. What a great day! So relieved for this wait to finally be over and yet at the same time today was bittersweet. Several of our friends did not get in to the schools they applied to and that breaks my heart. I know God has a plan for every one of us, but I also know how hard these types of decisions can be on parents. So tonight while I'm thanking God for an answered prayer, I'm also praying comfort over our friends who feel let down by today's school decisions.
I'll be back tomorrow with a recap on Teacher Appreciation Week!
Good night!
This is a really busy week for us. Lots of comings and goings, awaiting some important news, and it's Teacher Appreciation Week at Hudson's MDO, followed next week by TAW at Grace's school.
In honor of this crazy busy week, here are a bunch of random things from the past couple of days...
I'll do a post at the end of the week to share more of the teacher appreciation ideas, but to start things off today I made these "Rise & Shine" breakfast-to-go mini buckets. They LOVED them!! Sometimes it's the simplest things that make the biggest difference, isn't it?
Lately I can't get enough of this combination... YUMMY!
190 cal + 8g fat...just the perfect on the go breakfast or mid-afternoon snack.
Speaking of food...last night I made Creamy Chicken Casserole for dinner and it was delish! EVERYONE in my family ate it and that's big around here!! I forgot to take a picture and I have no idea where the recipe came from...I found a copy in my recipe binder but no link or name on the paper, so if you sent this to me, let me know so I can link back to you!!
Ingredients:
3 cups cooked chicken, cut into cubes
2 cups chopped celery (I used just 1 cup)
1 can cream of chicken soup
8 oz. sour cream
onion powder
garlic
salt
pepper
2-3 cups crushed Ritz crackers
Instructions:
Mix together first four ingredients.
Season to taste with onion powder, gaqrlic, salt & pepper.
Spread mixture in greased casserole dish.
Cover completely with crushed Ritz crackers.
Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.
YUM!
Saturday morning, we almost missed dance recital pictures!! Just forgot about them the night before so I didn't get to plan ahead and lay everything out. All you dance moms out there know it takes some time to get hair & make-up done and in costume!! Luckily we pulled it off. This is her self-described "cool pose" while dancing to "I like to move it, move it" from Madagascar. Silly pumpkin!
The wind was bLoWiNG but I managed to snap this one too...Sweet little pumpkin!
Look what I stumbled upon last week!! If you've been following along for any length of time, then you know I have a soft spot for the 3 Little Pigs {here & here}. I love this style of vintage card...it comes with a little pull-out story, just like the Goldilocks one I found last year.
I think I may have a *mild* fabric obsession but I just can't help myself. I was so excited when I found more of one of my faves...South Hampton by Henry Glass. The blue is more of a true aqua than this swatch shows. LOVE!
Here's a better picture...it's the bodice fabric in this sweet dress by Nelle*s.
And last but certainly not least, this adorable dress by
Pretty Me. I love Angie's designs and I just can't get enough of vintage sheets!! Love, love, love it!
Tonight we're trying {this} recipe. I've been trying all kinds of new recipes for my picky eaters. If you have some winners, please send them my way!! Pretty please and Thank you!
Have a great week!
