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Thursday, January 31, 2013

Valentine Treat Cup for Teacher

Here we go again!
I wonder if that's what my kids teacher's think when they get ANOTHER holiday themed insulated cup?!?  I'm not too worried...they can always regift it!
 
Pink and black look so great together, though a little unexpected for Valentine's Day.
That wide, black satin ribbon has come in handy for so many crafts and presents...definitely going to pick up more.
 
 
To write on the tag, I had the boys use a white out/correction pen.
It worked great and is very opaque.
 
 
As with the other treat cups, they were filled with some of the teachers' favorite candies.
 
Happy Valentine's Day!
 
Smiles!
 
Will share these Valentine Teacher Gifts with some of the fun parties found in my sidebar.
 
 


Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Teacher Birthday Kit for Room Moms



If you're an old hat at the room mom business, then this post is not for you...
skip on over to my awesome homemade cinnamon roll recipe or the like.
If you're a new room mom, then this might be right up your alley.
Room momming is a lot like parenting.  Ideas are passed down by those that have been there.  You may have to adapt them to your current situation, but at least you have a place to start.
 
In our school, room moms are responsible for the 3 class room parties, a hospitality event per grade level for the teachers, and the random signs that need to made, etc.  Celebrating the teacher's birthday is an "extra" event.  My first year as a room mom in Kindergarten our teacher's birthday was in the summer.  Off the hook, right?  Not so fast.  My wiser and more experienced room mom friends shared with me the "Half Birthday."  Aaahhh.  I see now, grasshopper.
 
So in the last few weeks, both of our classes have celebrated HALF BIRTHDAYS for our teachers.
 
We begin by sending out an email that looks something like this....
(CLICK HERE FOR PRINTABLE VERSION)
 Oh!  Be sure to include the teacher's "favorites" at the end of the email.  It's so helpful for the parents!

 
Dear Parents,
Mrs. Monkey’s birthday is June 37th. Since we will not be in school then we will celebrate her half birthday on Tuesday, January 29th. We would like to encourage each child to bring a fresh flower and a homemade card to school the morning of the 29th (I will send out a reminder on Sunday the 27th). We will assemble the flowers into a beautiful and colorful bouquet to give to Mrs. Monkey at the beginning of the day. The class will then enjoy an afternoon treat and sing “Happy Birthday”. As always, you are welcome to send gifts in addition to the flowers and cards. I have included Mrs. Monkey’s favorite things.
Thank you so much,
Jennifer Jeniffer (Glen’s Mom) email address
Jami Clifford (Jack’s Mom) jamianntexas@gmail.com
Mrs. Monkey’s favorites list –
Hobbies: cooking, scrap booking, playing/watching sports
Music: Christian and Country
Books: children’s books
Collections: crosses
Places to shop: Target, Charming Charlie’s, Hobby Lobby, Frisco Mercantile
Colors: classroom/ or for her: pink and zebra print, For the home: deep red and browns, aqua blues and browns, lime green and brown
Scents: vanilla, Christmas cookie, or anything not floral related
Restaurants: Maggiano’s, Olive Garden, Palio’s Pizza
 
Then we get our kit together:
 
Extra flowers
 (Someone will have not have received the email or they will have simply forgotten.  I won't have a kid's day ruined just because he's the only one without a flower.)
 
 
Extra cards
 (See Above)
Bag of markers, pencils and crayons for personalizing extra cards
 
 
Enough treats for the class
(My go to is cookies...they're easy for the kids to eat and much less messy than cupcakes.  We can only bring store bought items from approved vendors to our school for student consumption.)
Napkins
 
Scissors
(To trim flowers before adding to vase)
Large Vase
(This is a great use for all of those vases you've been hanging on to.)
 
The day or two before, send out a reminder email to the parents.
 
The morning of the half birthday, just get to the school early and help coordinate the kids.  Pass out extra flowers and cards as needed.  If allowed, walk with the kids to the classroom.  Help them arrange the bouquet for their teacher, sing "Happy Birthday," then make a quick exit. 
 
The picture below is from one of our teacher's blogs.  She was pretty excited about her special day.  I'm so glad because we're all pretty excited to have her as our teacher!
 
 
Hope these little pointers help you out in your room mom adventures!
Feel free to share any of your room mom ideas or pointers in the comment section.
I'd LOVE to hear them!!
 
Smiles!!!

Will share this post with some of the parties found in my sidebar!


Monday, January 28, 2013

Tuesday To Do #97 and #96 List Makers

Here we are at the end of the first month of the year...
seems like I just got finished decorating the tree!
Let's not waste another minute and get right to the party!
Check out last week's List Makers:
 
 If you were on this week's To Do List, then please feel free to grab a  LIST MAKER button:
TUESDAY TO DO
FEATURED BUTTON

Tuesday To Do FEatured 
 

Now on the the party...

Link up your creations!  Sewing, crafting, cooking, tips, photography, tablescapes, parties, scrapbooking, collectibles...it all works.  Please save your items for sell, your giveaways and your own parties for those specific blog parties.  You're the best!

BEFORE you link up, please make sure you've done the following:

1.  Become a follower of The Blackberry Vine.

2.  Like The Blackberry Vine on Facebook.

3. Grab the TUESDAY TO DO BUTTON from the sidebar, and link back to the Blackberry Vine.  (Yes, it can be a little time-consuming, but it's the sweet blogger thing to do!)

4.  Read the full disclosure policy at the bottom...when I delete your post, I'm not being mean, I'm just showing you some tough bloggy love.

WHEN you link up, link directly to your post, not just to your blog.
AFTER you link up:

 Please visit other participants and leave them some comment love.  Comment, comment, comment!!!
Invite someone to the party! The more the merrier!!! If I visit a blog post and see that YOU invited them to the party, your post may end up a feature on Facebook!  (I can't get to every post every week, but I really try!  The more you invite, the more likely your post will be a Facebook feature!)

I reserve the right to remove posts that are not in keeping with the spirit of Tuesday To-Do including but not limited to those that link to your shop, your giveaway or your linky party, and those that do not link back to the Blackberry Vine. Thanks for playing fair!!

Monday, January 21, 2013

Tuesday To Do #96 and #95 List Makers

Happy Monday my bloggy friends!!
Hope you enjoyed the day off with your family!
I was enjoying it so much I almost forgot about the party!
But never fear..it's here!!!
Check out last week's awesome List Makers:
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 If you were on this week's To Do List, then please feel free to grab a  LIST MAKER button:
TUESDAY TO DO
FEATURED BUTTON

Tuesday To Do FEatured 
 

Now on the the party...

Link up your creations!  Sewing, crafting, cooking, tips, photography, tablescapes, parties, scrapbooking, collectibles...it all works.  Please save your items for sell, your giveaways and your own parties for those specific blog parties.  You're the best!

BEFORE you link up, please make sure you've done the following:

1.  Become a follower of The Blackberry Vine.

2.  Like The Blackberry Vine on Facebook.

3. Grab the TUESDAY TO DO BUTTON from the sidebar, and link back to the Blackberry Vine.  (Yes, it can be a little time-consuming, but it's the sweet blogger thing to do!)

4.  Read the full disclosure policy at the bottom...when I delete your post, I'm not being mean, I'm just showing you some tough bloggy love.

WHEN you link up, link directly to your post, not just to your blog.
AFTER you link up:

 Please visit other participants and leave them some comment love.  Comment, comment, comment!!!
Invite someone to the party! The more the merrier!!! If I visit a blog post and see that YOU invited them to the party, your post may end up a feature on Facebook!  (I can't get to every post every week, but I really try!  The more you invite, the more likely your post will be a Facebook feature!)

I reserve the right to remove posts that are not in keeping with the spirit of Tuesday To-Do including but not limited to those that link to your shop, your giveaway or your linky party, and those that do not link back to the Blackberry Vine. Thanks for playing fair!!

Monday, January 14, 2013

Tuesday To Do #95 and #94 List Makers

Hey y'all!
Thanks for all the good wishes last week!
I'm doing SO much better!
Seriously, there was a time during all of that SICK that I was thinking about which picture my husband should send to the news when they reported another flu casualty...
I was REALLY sick.
Thankfully I have made a full recovery and am ready to get back to life.
Oh, and if you were wondering,
this is the picture I wanted him to use...
 

 
Now, that we're all well, let's get to the party!
Check out this week's LIST MAKERS: 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 If you were on this week's To Do List, then please feel free to grab a  LIST MAKER button:
TUESDAY TO DO
FEATURED BUTTON

Tuesday To Do FEatured 
 

Now on the the party...

Link up your creations!  Sewing, crafting, cooking, tips, photography, tablescapes, parties, scrapbooking, collectibles...it all works.  Please save your items for sell, your giveaways and your own parties for those specific blog parties.  You're the best!

BEFORE you link up, please make sure you've done the following:

1.  Become a follower of The Blackberry Vine.

2.  Like The Blackberry Vine on Facebook.

3. Grab the TUESDAY TO DO BUTTON from the sidebar, and link back to the Blackberry Vine.  (Yes, it can be a little time-consuming, but it's the sweet blogger thing to do!)

4.  Read the full disclosure policy at the bottom...when I delete your post, I'm not being mean, I'm just showing you some tough bloggy love.

WHEN you link up, link directly to your post, not just to your blog.
AFTER you link up:

 Please visit other participants and leave them some comment love.  Comment, comment, comment!!!
Invite someone to the party! The more the merrier!!! If I visit a blog post and see that YOU invited them to the party, your post may end up a feature on Facebook!  (I can't get to every post every week, but I really try!  The more you invite, the more likely your post will be a Facebook feature!)

I reserve the right to remove posts that are not in keeping with the spirit of Tuesday To-Do including but not limited to those that link to your shop, your giveaway or your linky party, and those that do not link back to the Blackberry Vine. Thanks for playing fair!!

Monday, January 7, 2013

Tuesday To Do #94 and #93 List Makers

I'm going to start this week's party off with a PSA.
GET YOUR FLU SHOT!
Just go get it.
Trust me.
Sick stinks.
Oh, and if you think that sharp pain on your lower right side is just gas and it is STILL there for days and days, go get it checked out.
Appendectomies are no fun either.
Especially with the flu.
 
 
It will be a while before I get to anything on my To Do list but a girl can dream, can't she?
Check out this week's List Makers!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 If you were on this week's To Do List, then please feel free to grab a  LIST MAKER button:
TUESDAY TO DO
FEATURED BUTTON

Tuesday To Do FEatured 
 

Now on the the party...

Link up your creations!  Sewing, crafting, cooking, tips, photography, tablescapes, parties, scrapbooking, collectibles...it all works.  Please save your items for sell, your giveaways and your own parties for those specific blog parties.  You're the best!

BEFORE you link up, please make sure you've done the following:

1.  Become a follower of The Blackberry Vine.

2.  Like The Blackberry Vine on Facebook.

3. Grab the TUESDAY TO DO BUTTON from the sidebar, and link back to the Blackberry Vine.  (Yes, it can be a little time-consuming, but it's the sweet blogger thing to do!)

4.  Read the full disclosure policy at the bottom...when I delete your post, I'm not being mean, I'm just showing you some tough bloggy love.

WHEN you link up, link directly to your post, not just to your blog.
AFTER you link up:

 Please visit other participants and leave them some comment love.  Comment, comment, comment!!!
Invite someone to the party! The more the merrier!!! If I visit a blog post and see that YOU invited them to the party, your post may end up a feature on Facebook!  (I can't get to every post every week, but I really try!  The more you invite, the more likely your post will be a Facebook feature!)

I reserve the right to remove posts that are not in keeping with the spirit of Tuesday To-Do including but not limited to those that link to your shop, your giveaway or your linky party, and those that do not link back to the Blackberry Vine. Thanks for playing fair!!

Sunday, January 6, 2013

Farro Salad with Cranberries

 
Farro is one of my favorite new grains.  It is a delicious and versatile!  For a quick week night side dish, I add a package of onion soup mix to the water.  20 minutes later we have a yummy accompaniment for chicken or pork tenderloin.
This salad recipe is another great way to serve farro.  It was especially delicious in my sack lunch!
If you haven't tried farro yet, you're missing out.
 
Farro Salad with Cranberries
 
1 1/2 cups farro
3 3/4 cup water
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/3 cup orange juice
1 teaspoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons honey
1 cup dried cranberries
1/2 medium red onion, chopped finely
3 large stalks celery
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon orange zest
1 cup roasted almonds (or walnuts,) roughly chopped
Handful fresh parsley (or cilantro,) finely chopped
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly-ground black pepper, to taste 
Put the farro in a medium saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then turn the heat down to low and cook for 25 – 30 minutes.  Farro will be soft but still chewy.
While waiting on the farro to cook, chop the onion, celery, parsley & nuts.  Put into a bowl with the cranberries and toss.  Then whisk together the rice vinegar, orange juice, soy sauce, orange zest and honey r in a small bowl. Season with salt & pepper to taste.
When farro is done, add to the bowl with the cranberry and onion mixture. Top with the dressing and mix thoroughly.
Let the salad stand at room temperature for at least one hour before serving. This allows the flavors mix and soak into the grain. Serve warm, cold or at room temperature.  Perfect lunch box salad.
 
Enjoy!
Smiles!!
 
Will share this yummy recipe with some of the fun parties in my side bar =>


Thursday, January 3, 2013

Harvest Salad with Apples & Blue Cheese

 
Yes, please.  I'll have another helping.
This salad is one with many variations.  Try one or try them all.
Amounts vary depending on your tastes/needs...I've only listed amounts as a guideline to get you started.
 
Several cups mixed greens or spinach or a combo of both
2 or 3 whole apples, cored and chopped (try it with pears, too)
1/2 - 1 cup walnuts (or pecans) (or pistachios) (or almonds)
6 ounces blue cheese crumbles (or goat cheese)
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced (or green onions)
1/2 cup dried cranberries (or cherries)
Raspberry Vinagrette (or Pomegranite Vinagrette) (or Cranberry Balsamic Vinagrette)
 
Combine all ingredients and toss.
Serve immediately.
 
Enjoy!
Smiles!!
 
Will share this yummy recipe with some of the parties in the side bar =>

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Polka Dot Birthday Cake

I'm a little behind getting this posted...par for the course as of late!
The birthday girl wanted a polka dot cake for her DJ party (what a fun party idea, right?)
To finish it off, mom topped this fun cake with an assortment of brightly colored pink & aqua daisies.
Happy belated Birthday, Lakin!
 
Smiles!