This is my first post on my new blog! i have no idea where this is going to go. i am probably going to amaze my self with how many spelling mistakes and grammatical errors i can make. After retiring from my job a few years ago to stay at home with my 2 kids, i have not really had an issue with keeping busy but i feel like the last 2 years has gone by so fast and i don't have much to show for it..except of course my 2 beautiful kids. well i guess the reality is i do miss having someone say "good job" for the work done and all of the other perks that come with working. Don't get me wrong i would not want to go back to work but i need something

M&M Teacher Appreciation Gifts

between my kids we have 7 teachers in our lives!  so for teacher appreciation week i wanted to come up with something which the kids could help with and was fairly easy to put together.  so in come pintrest.com.  after a short search for "teacher gifts" i found some amazing ideas.  i decided to go with the M&M Gift which i found on this blog:

http://www.domestically-speaking.com/2010/05/m-ms-teacher-appreciation-gift.html

i found 3 very large bags of M&Ms in various kinds.

then i took a few of my mason jars and filled them up!  very easy and kid friendly as long as you don't mind them eating abut half of what they put in the jars.

then you print up this cute little poem:

Green is for the inspiration you give me each day.

Blue is for your patience in showing me the way.

Orange is for your warmth and caring style.

Yellow is for the way you always make me smile.

Red is for my life that you have touched this year.

You’re a very special teacher just like this jar, that’s clear.

You place knowledge in our children’s hands

and melt into their hearts and lives forever.

You’re a "Magnificent" & "Marvelous" teacher

Thank you for being my M&M.

i put mine on colorful card stock paper and punched a few wholes and threaded red ribbon around the card.

the teachers loved it and loved the card.

if you are a teacher know that this week all of your hard work and sweat is appreciated.

THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Homemade Jam

i have been recently trying to make our own jam.  a few things i have learned which i am sure everyone else new but i didn't:

Jelly, jam and preserves are all made from fruit mixed with sugar and pectin. The difference between them comes in the form that the fruit takes.

• In jelly, the fruit comes in the form of fruit juice.
• In jam, the fruit comes in the form of fruit pulp or crushed fruit (and is less stiff than jelly as a result).
• In preserves, the fruit comes in the form of chunks in a syrup or a jam.

so i choose to make jam because it seemed easiest.  i also am NOT canning them right now.  i make a few jars with my leftover fruit and freeze what we will not use immediately.  maybe someday i can learn how to can and give these little babies away as gifts!  but for now my main goal is to use up leftover fruit and also try to have my family eat things that i feel are natural and make with zero chemicals (pesticides, preservatives, etc).

so my son and i started with a few leftover strawberries:

we added them to the pan and added about a cup of sugar and about 1/4 a cup of pectin.  the pectin jar will give you instructions on how much sugar, pectin, water, and lemon juice (if desired) but i usually wing it because the amount of fruit i have is never the same as the recipe on the jar.  so far things have worked out!

once i add these to the pan i turn on the heat and stir and mash the fruit!  my son loves this part.

then you let it boil and stir constantly.  i then add more sugar-- this day i added about 1 cup--i tasted it and it tasted plenty sweet so i then added the rest of the pectin.  i then boiled and stirred for about 5 minutes.

i got about 3 jars of this yummy stuff!  which go a long way to making a bunch of peanut butter sandwiches, which is my sons lunch about 5 days a week!