Bowling with a friend!

Isabel had given her friend Beth a coupon good for a day of bowling for her birthday (back in July!). I took them on Sunday and what a blast. Isabel won the first two games and Beth came back strong and won the second two.

With kids (mine especially) having so much stuff it's nice to give a gift that allows you to spend time with a friend! Bowling, mini golf, skating, a trip to the zoo - all make great gift ideas for a friend.

2nd Grade!

Isabel just called me at work, thrilled, because she got Miss Ridgley for second grade and that's who she wanted. I believe she is a relatively new teacher - this being her second year on the job - so I'm holding hope that her energy level will be high. Teaching is a tough job, especially if done well.

I'm chairing the Staff Appreciation committee for the PTA again this year and am armed with ideas for how to express our thanks to the staff who work with our kids every day. In the process of finding new ideas I came across this idea which I am totally going to steal...

TEACHER GIFT FOR THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

Purchase a nice bottle of hand lotion or hand soap (Bath & Body Works has a fabulous selection), put it in a lovely gift bag with a note card that says: If I can give you a hand this year, please don’t hesitate to call me and then include my home and cell numbers. I'm thinking with some cute paper from Michaels, my Cuttlebug & dies, glitter, etc. and Isabel & I can come up with a fabulous note card and gift bag. I'll post a pic when it's finished.

Daddy's Gift

Homemade gifts are always the best and so for Daddy's birthday the kids decided to make him a favorite treat: trail mix. He's always starving when he gets home from work so they came up with the idea of making a snack he could keep at work. We hit Michaels for some glass jars they could decorate. Here are the finished jars:

We then filled them with a mix of assorted nuts, dried fruits, seeds and, of course, chocolate chips! Daddy started snacking right away.



They also duplicated T-shirts I had made for them for our trip to Disneyworld on the birthdays: