What's on my Happy List today?

End of School Year Thank You's

Aren't these cute? I got this idea at one of my favorite scrapbook stores. They make great little thank you's. The fun part is that you can do the card in any color scheme and they have jars and jars of any kind of succor you can imagine to match your paper colors. You can also write a personalized note on the back. We plan on giving these to the school secretary and to the two crossing guards at the school. They are there day in and day out, quietly doing their job.... We love to wave at them when we pass in our car. We made a different one for the principal. He is turbo about M&M's. You should see his office filled with M&M memorabilia...So we obviously couldn't put anything in the bag but those for him! We used them to also put in two teacher's Barnes and Noble gift cards....more on that down below....

Barnes and Noble and Teacher Gifts- Can I tell you how much I love Barnes and Noble.....seriously, if I were to be accidentally locked in a store somewhere for the night...this is the place I would want to be. Not only would I have a plethora of books, magazines and music at my fingertips but yummy desserts as well. The B & N cafe has one of my favorite treats that can certainly be found on my happy list. They are the coffee-free blended cremes in different flavors that are so yummy that I can't help treat myself when I get a chance to go to this, my favorite bookstore. (Especially in the fall when they have Pumpkin flavor.)

They also carry delicious Cheesecake Factory goodies such as cheesecake (of course), cupcakes and other sinful treats. But the main reason I love B & N is that I enjoy reading and have an absolute love for children's books. It's borderline obsession really, as I get as excited as my kids do when the scholastic book order fliers come home with them from school. (Another item on my happy list for sure.) Collecting children's books is a serious hobby around here. Not only do I, of course, read adult books but I have found in the last few months to have found much enjoyment in reading some of these children's literature finds....

With the end of the school year approaching, I found myself at B & N today looking for a children's book to add to my daughter's first grade teacher's enormous book collection. In the past we have loved finding her books that have a coordinating stuffed animal or book character that goes with the book. She is THE queen of children's book and puppet collecting. Go to one of her infamous "Reading Hours" throughout the year and you'll see why.

This is the book I found to give Hannah's teacher for her end of the year teacher gift. It's called "PINKALICIOUS" and it's about a little girl who turned the color pink from eating too many PINK cupcakes. I obviously had to add a PINK Cheesecake Factory Cupcake to go with. As my older girls are in the upper grades I thought it would be safer to just give a B & N gift card to their teachers this year and hold off on the cutesy stuff. Sometimes gift cards are boring for me to give but if I can be creative with the packaging then I'm okay with it. Plus what teacher wouldn't like to be able to pick out any book she needed or wanted?!?! However, if I know the teacher well enough and know what makes them tick or know certain subjects that my child has studied throughout that year in their class; than we will pick out a book that the teacher can keep in their classroom and have for future students to utilize. For instance, last year in the fourth grade, Kyleigh played the role of Helen Keller during American Hero week as well as studied a unit on Native Americans, which is a subject her teacher is passionate about. So picking out books for her teacher was easy, we found a biography on Helen Keller to give to her so she would remember Kyleigh playing in that role and added another bio on a famous Indian. One year a teacher gave my daughter Emma, a book called "Only Emma". So to return that kind gesture, at the end of the year, we gave that teacher the classic "Emma" by Jane Austen. It really was sorta touching.....I love books, and they make great gifts!!!