Teacher Appreciation Week

Teacher appreciation week always falls in April and this year it started on April 14. We love the kids' school and their teachers, so we didn't want to miss this chance to show them our appreciation for a great year.

Each year the PTA person sends home a note with recommended gifts for the kids' teachers, and it's the same each year.

Each day gets its own theme:
Monday--a flower or candle is the suggested gift (sometimes one parent brings a vase and each kid brings a flower to make a bouquet for the teacher)
Tuesday--note to the teacher on a cute notepad
Wednesday--movie tickets or rental (suggested to go with popcorn, sodas, candy, etc.)
Thursday--teacher's favorite soda or snack
Friday--smiley face day.
Now that I know what's what, we actually had a few things together for the first day. Carmen and Gabriel took these flower pens that we made to their teachers. One of the reasons we made something is that it's more cost effective--because they don't have just one teacher each; Carmen's class has an aide, and they both have music, art, and P.E. teachers plus our neighbor is the librarian. So to do something nice for 7 teachers for 5 days in a row, the cost can add up quickly.

After the first day, we got behind, so on Friday, Paloma, Eva & I ventured up to the school with our own 5-senses themed gifts. We made cupcakes and mixed CDs of happy songs for the last day and bought other things to fill in the 5 senses.
Paloma "helped" drive the stroller.

Have I blogged yet about the pink stroller? It goes with our new car seat. The one we had to get because ours EXPIRED?!? Well anyway we did not choose it for its color, but because it was a good deal and only a year old; we got it from someone on Craigslist. It also came with two carseat bases. But it is pink. Very pink.

When Carmen was born I would not have been caught dead with a pink stroller. Not that they made them back then anyway. But I barely let her wear pink. I have chilled out a lot, don't you think?
Gabe's teacher Mrs. R enjoyed getting to hold 2-week old Eva
and soon the whole Kindergarten class was at the door to see her too!
As we went down the hall to deliver the gift to Carmen's teacher, here came her whole class, also excited to see the baby, but not wanting to get in trouble with their teacher by getting out of line. Carmen took this picture (thus explaining the framing issue) of Paloma hugging her friend Avery (the smallest of her triplet friends with whom Paloma feels akin).