last day of school was on thursday. and my princess had an amazing teacher (well both K teachers were good, so they both got treats) we did something for each day of the week for teacher appreciation, but i didn't take any pics. here is what we did for the end of the year, with a sugar scrub and a good little poem i found

here is the poem. we did the brown sugar scrub instead of lotion. teachers loved loved it!!!

A teacher has such special hands,

So many things they do,

They teach the tiny children

And yes, the big ones too!

They watch over precious lives

while parents can’t be there.

They reach and teach so lovingly

To those for whom they care.

They work on crafts, they clean the mess

They know each book that’s read

They lift, inspire and touch a heart

With each kind word that’s said.

A teacher has such special hands,

So many things they do.

May this little bit of lotion

Help preserve those hands for you!

i'll link up the recipe for the sugar scrub. i love it. this link has honey in it, and i haven't used honey, but it sure does sound good.  i use it in the shower all the time. and it is so simple and good for your skin!!!

enjoy

GIVEAWAY TIME
check out this giveaway. it's a chance (and a pretty good one too) to get a set of handmade cutesy blocks, she'll even personalize them if you don't see what you like in her etsy shop. pretty cool. go to her site and start following. easy peasy! oh... and i'd like to have more followers too at some point, so i may have a giveaway later down the line.

i have been a slacker. or just super busy. i really haven't forgotten about my fledgling little blog. however, life (that crazy thing) has taken over. thankfully, in a few weeks, i will have approximately 20 hours a week back of my life. 

allora

easter is this week and what a fabulous week it is. tomorrow is palm sunday and then this week we are going to celebrate passover and easter. my friend (who i have celebrated passover with many many many times) posted this amazing idea. seriously, you should check it out!
i typed up the scriptures to go along with this, so if you want it, just comment and i'll email it to you. i'm working on my set right now. my goal is to keep it every year.

i am all for teaching my kids about the real reason for holidays. when the little ones were little-er, i thought i would not do santa and the easter bunny and all that. then, i had some church activity and basically rethought it all. i realized that all of the traditions have history to them. so i like to have a couple different celebrations. like today and tomorrow is our "easter bunny" type celebrations. they did the easter egg hunt at church. tomorrow morning, the easter bunny comes (with just a few things in their baskets like bubbles and socks and books). this week will be passover. there are some good recipes and history on PBS Kids for matzo soup and lots of other things i'm going to try. 

passover will be during the week, then on friday, saturday and sunday, we will be learning about easter, the crucifixion and the resurrection. here is one of the BEST ideas ever i have ever seen. i did it last year and i can't wait to do it this year. i remember last year, the princess was so upset when we sealed the cookies in the oven overnight. she wanted to know what was going to happen and why did Jesus' friends leave him. it is such a testimony builder! i can't wait for the thoughts this year.

this is the final product... a hollow cookie

today is hubz birthday ... and thanks to inside brucrew life

i made some super yummy cupcakes for him to take to work and school 

but hubz doesn't especially like cake at all (though he said he might like these), i made him another favorite dessert to have here at home all the time. the recipe is crack crackers (we named them, because yes, they are as addictive or more than crack)

1 sleeve saltines

1 package of milk chocolate chips (however you can use other kinds of chips -- wouldn't recommend mint choco though)

2 sticks of softened butter

2/3 c. brown sugar

heat oven to 450*. mix together the butter and brown sugar. lay saltines on a cookie sheet so they are touching completely. you can put down some coconut oil or butter on the sheet beforehand if you remember. so after the saltines are all laid out flat, dollop on the butter mixture. do not try and spread it out. put cookie sheet in oven for no more than 6 minutes. take the tray out of the oven and you will notice that the crackers are all messed up and they floated on top of each other. no fear... take a spoon and slowly move them back to where they belong. once they are back to their homes, sprinkle the back of choco chips all over the crackers. then, using the back of your spoon, start to spread the chips over all of the crackers. as you do this, the chips will start to melt. takes about 3-5 minutes. once it is all melted, put the tray in the refrigerator for a bit so it will cool down. then cut into crackers squares and enjoy. you might want to share so you don't get sick eating all of these yourself. just saying. enjoy!!!

what busy busy busy times. but even in busy-ness, i have found many ways to save money. 

laundry soap is made by hand. i first saw this at a church activity and have used it ever since!

5gallon bucket

4 c. hot tap water

1 fels-naptha bar (or ivory i've heard, but not tried)

1 c. arm&hammer washing soda (NOT baking soda)

1/2 c. borax

8-10 drops of essential oil (if ya want)

grate bar of soap (or put in food processor) and put into hot tap water into a saucepan over medium heat. stir stir stir until the soap is dissolved.

fill 5 gallon bucket with hot water, add the soapy water, soda and borax (and essential oil). 

stir and then cover. let sit over night. 

stir again and then put into a clean laundry container (use a funnel, otherwise it gets messy)

i made one batch last august. yes, 6 months ago. i have given some away too. and i still have half left. i didn't use essential oil, but i think i will next time. i always think about it, but never do it. 

i use about a lid full of soap for an extra dirty load, but this is a concentrated formula, so you don't have to use tons. and it won't be foamy. the hubz does manual labor and gets dirty and sweaty. and all the clothes come out clean and smell free (shocking!) and this is totally hypo-allergenic and great for babies and kids. 

and add vinegar to all loads. works wonders!

dishwasher soap is made by hand, thanks to this recipe.

1 cup baking soda

1 cup borax

1/2 cup table salt

mix together

i put it in a recycled applesauce container and doubled the recipe (after i tried it first, of course, to see if it would work---which it did and i love it). i just sprinkle it into the dishwasher holder thing and make sure the jet-dry thing is full of vinegar and my dishes come out so pretty! plastic and glass alike! let me know if you try it!

later, i'll talk more about soap and how to save a lot of money with it. thanks to blogland, i have learned a lot, but i'm still learning, so you'll have to wait a bit longer. 

how do you save money?

really (really really) quick, i just saw that you can download 14 songs from amazon. i always love free music! here is the link for it! they actually have a lot of free songs, to expand past what was heard at halftime last night. (which i actually liked, but i like a lot of music)

here are the instructions for 2$ credit so you can give your sweetheart (or yourself) some more music!

Instructions

1. Browse for music at Amazon MP3. All Amazon MP3 downloads play on virtually any MP3 device, including the iPod®. 

2. Find the MP3 album or song you want to give. Click the "Give album or song as a gift" button (or the "Give song as a gift" button). 

3. Follow the instructions to personalize your MP3 gift and click the "Proceed to Checkout" button. (If you do not currently have a credit card and billing address associated with your account, you will need to add them.) 

4. On the checkout page, enter code VDAYMP3S in the box labeled "Have any gift cards, gift certificates, or promotional claim codes?" and click the "Apply" button. Your $2 credit will be added. If you receive an error, make sure you've entered the code correctly and that the promotion is still valid and has not expired. 

5. After you've entered the code, click on the "Give song as a gift" button. On the Thank You page, if you like, you can click the Facebook or Twitter buttons to tell your friends about the MP3 you chose and pass the word along about this offer. See how. 

Need help? Contact Customer Service via Amazon MP3 Support.




and talking about saving money, i just saw a new website, CouponSuzy where there are tons of what i think are good coupons. let me know if you like the site as much as i do!