Is it the end of the school year already???  It’s time to think about thank you gifts for your child’s teacher.  I usually do something simple.  However, last week I had to go into my 1st grader’s class and do a thank you for their teacher for teacher appreciation week.  Parents watch the students and do a thank you for the teacher so that the teachers can all have lunch together.  I needed something that would keep the kids busy for a little while and something that would be fun for their teacher to receive.   I decided to use the flowers that we gave you for Mother’s Day to create a thank you flower pot for their teacher.

I bought a pot at Walmart for $2.50, some craft sticks (about $1.99), and some rocks to put in the bottom of the pot (these were the most expensive – you could probably get more creative and find something less expensive – they were about $3.00 a package and I needed 2).  I printed enough flowers for each child in the class to have one.  I also printed some extras that I put “Thanks a bunch” and “Thanks for helping us grow this year” on.  We have a small photo printer that will print passport size photos.  I took each child’s picture and then had them cut out their flower, tape it to a craft stick, and glue their picture on.  It only took about 15 minutes to make and it turned out really cute.  If you don’t have a photo printer, you can always just take the photos and print them at home.  That way it will be a surprise for your teacher on the last day of school.  If you want to make it less complicated, you can buy a small potted plant or flower and add a few sticks to it.  One with your child’s photo, one that says “Thanks a Bunch”, and one that says “Thanks for helping me grow this year”.  Get creative and add whatever you would like.  Your child’s teacher will love how thoughtful you were!   This is a great project for you and your child to do together.

Mother’s Day is just around the corner.  Did it sneak up on you like it did me?  In lieu of flowers for all our wonderful friends who visit our blog everyday, or at least every time we post, we are giving you some of our Mother’s Day ideas that you used to have to purchase from us.  HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!

The first one is our famous Mother’s Day Purse which is a great idea to do, especially for those Mom’s who just LOVE purses.  I did this with my Mom last year and she loved seeing more and more goodies inside the purse, instead of just the purse.  There is a cute little notecard to go along with the different items to put in the purse.

The second one is an idea I did for my grandmother, mother, mother-in-law, sisters, sisters-in-law, and aunts.  Yes, I WAS very ambitious in 2008.  They all loved it, so it was worth it.  I bought super various sizes of  clay pots, printed out my flowers, cut them out, and taped them on to shish kabob sticks.  In the center of each flower I put a round picture of each of the children, grandchildren, and great-grand children, depending on who I was giving it to.   (You’ll find the PDF file at the end of the post.)  We would love to see pictures of how your’s turned out.  Send it to us and we will add them to our blog.  support@myheartandhome.com

Look Whats Blooming

Since today is an organizing tip.  I wanted to share one of my favorites with you.  I LOVE our Holiday Organizer.  Not only does it come with fantastic pages to help you organize your holidays better, there is a place for everything you have related to your holidays.  Not including your decorations of course.  But there is a place to help you organize your decorations as well in our Holiday Organizer.  I am talking about all those Bingo games, Tom the Turkeys, Halloween Scavenger Hunts, Valentine’s Love Notes, St. Patrick’s day Neighborhood Lucky Leprechaun game, and the list goes on with our products.  Then if you have additional stuff besides that, you have a lot to keep track of.  I found a way to utilize our Holiday Organizer even better by keeping everything together.  Doesn’t that sound familiar?  After dividing my organizer into two binders, January through June and July through December, I have taken ordinary photo holders, page protectors and page pockets and turned them into my storage of holiday ideas and games.  I then placed each of my holiday games and ideas in front of the cooresponding month folder for that particular holiday.  It’s the perfect way to keep everything organized and keep it handy in one place.  I love being able to go to that month and see all my fun games and ideas without having to search endlessly for where I put them last.  Even they can get lost or even forgotten in a tote full of decorations.  To give you a better idea, I took some pictures of how I put mine together.  However, make it work for you and your personality.  Feel free to comment about what has worked for you or you are always welcome to ask questions in the comment section and we will answer them for you.

I don’t know what is about the warm weather that always makes me think of throwing something on the barbecue or making a salad for a family get together. I wanted to share a few of my favorites. I hope you enjoy them too!


Broccoli Salad
4 c. fresh broccoli – chopped into small pieces
1/2 c. red onion – chopped
1/2 c. cheddar cheese – grated
8 slices bacon – chopped
Dressing:
1 c. Miracle Whip
1/2 c. sugar
2 tsp. vinegar
Cook bacon until crisp and drain well. In a large bowl, combine the broccoli, onion, cheese and bacon. In a small bowl, whisk the dressing ingredients. Pour over salad and toss to coat well. Chill.


Perfect Potato Salad
6 medium potatoes
2 tsp. sugar
2 tsp. vinegar
1 c. celery – sliced
2/3 c. onion – finely chopped
1/2 c. sweet pickle – chopped
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. celery seed
1 1 /2 c. Miracle Whip
4 hard-boiled eggs, sliced
Cook whole potatoes in boiling salted water for 25-30 minutes. Peel warm potatoes. Quarter and slice potatoes and put in large bowl. Sprinkle with sugar and vinegar. Add celery, onion, sweet pickle, salt and celery seed. Stir well. Fold salad dressing into potatoes. Carefully fold in sliced eggs. Sprinkle top of salad with paprika. Cover and chill thoroughly.


Simple Jell-O Salad
1 (12oz.) Cool Whip, thawed
2 (8oz.) yogurt, use same flavor to match fruit
1 pkg (30z.) Jell-O, same flavor as fruit
1 (16oz.) frozen mixed berries, thawed
(may also use blackberries, strawberries, or peaches)
Combine Cool Whip, yogurt and Jell-O until mixed well and Jell-O has dissolved.  Fold in fruit.  Chill.

With Mother’s Day coming up, I searched the internet a few days ago for an idea that would make a great gift for the primary children in my ward to give to their mothers.  I came across this darling story that ended up putting tears in my eyes.  I have a toddler that is trying my patience right now and we had a very bad day together when I found this story.  It was the perfect way to make me laugh, cry, and remember how great it is to be a mother.  It’s my wish for all women to feel loved and appreciated this mother’s day.  We are simply amazing!

Mothers Day Story