Fab Five

Claudia here.  Take five on five five.  That's what I'm going to try to do.  Posting a five minute blog on the fifth day of the fifth month seems about as good a way to celebrate Cinco de Mayo as any (especially in light of the fact that I won't be traveling to Mexico any time soon).

4:32 a.m.  On your mark, get set, go.

I'm a working mom now and yesterday was the perfect storm.  Walk into day care and find out through casual conversation that this week is Teacher Appreciation Week.  I had NO IDEA and so, of course, show up empty handed on the first day.  Not good.

No time to dwell.  I have a full day of work ahead of me.

Driving home from work and remember that tomorrow (today) I get to craft the post for our blog.  What to do?  What to do?  Last week Heather suggested I do something for Cinco de Mayo.  Sounded great then.  But today I'm a working mom and I don't have time to do fun research about homemade maracas, fun Mexican dinner recipes, and interesting facts to share with kids, family, and friends. 

Tacos; red, white, and green place mats, and a pinata for dessert.  That's all I got.

4:34 a.m.  Three minutes left.

5:30 p.m. yesterday and I still have nothing for my son's pre-school teachers.  Stopped at party store for a sombrero so Richard could take a festive picture of me to post on the blog.  

Blog, teacher gifts, Family Fun for Cinco de Mayo.  My cup runneth over.

Zip through store and pick up sombrero.  See festive chili pepper necklaces hanging in my periphery.  IDEA!

A Red Hot Idea

You're a Red Hot Teacher 

and (Happy Cinco de Mayo)!

Who doesn't love a new accessory now and again?

4:36 a.m.

Teacher Appreciation.  Done.  Today's post.  Done.  Family Celebration? Hmmmm...  Help me out.  Five festive things we can do/eat at dinner...

P.S.  Winning cookie cutter...  Cristine's Big Mouth Bass.  If not in stock then Stacie's stork.  Still don't have?  Cheryl's soaring heart.

Signing off until tomorrow...  4:37 and 16 seconds.  Done.

Surprise Treats

Surprise Treat #1

One thing I’ve quickly learned since becoming a parent is that certain holidays (Christmas, Valentine’s Day and Teacher Appreciation Day) are virtual days of obligation when it comes to getting a gift for the teacher. I learned the ropes rather quickly when I was ill prepared for Lily’s first Valentine’s Day and showed up empty handed while other parents (children) brought in elaborate gifts for each of the classroom’s teachers. The same is true for many other areas of life. Administrative assistants expect some type of recognition on that national holiday, grandparents on Grandparents Day, Mothers on Mother’s Day and so on and so forth. While I’ve known this for a while it has never been more clear for me.

So…armed with this information I set out to impress for subsequent holidays. You may recall my “You’re Dynamite” gift for Teacher’s Appreciation Day last year. Unfortunately on those “days of obligation” the person you are recognizing expects the gift and thus the power of your true appreciation is diminished. For all those who have children you know that the counters are lined with presents on those special days but rarely does a parent take the time to recognize and thank the teachers on any other day.

Out of this comes today’s creative idea. The thought behind it don’t wait until one of those special days to recognize someone. Okay, okay...I know this doesn’t sound terribly new or terribly creative but…consider this. St. Patrick’s Day has a special place in my heart and luckily lends itself to fun treats. So…in addition to those obligatory gift days I’ve decided to recognize Lily’s teachers on St. Patrick’s Day.

On March 17^th I’ll present Rachel, Psasha and Miss "RoRo" with their very own St. Patty’s Day treat that exclaims, “I’m so lucky to have such a sham’ROCKIN’ teacher!” Not only do I get the privilege of recognizing them 1:1 instead of being one gift of many but for a few bucks (3 $1 buckets from Target, $2.99 cellophane at World Market, and $3 bag of candy means I spent about $3 per teacher) I can let my daughter’s teachers know that I REALLY appreciate them and not that I just felt obligated to give them a gift on one of the typical holidays.

So…my challenge today to each of you is to select a day…maybe it is Earth Day, National Dill Pickle Day, Crème Filled Donut Day, or just the 18^th of every month to recognize someone in your life. You’ll see that this Random Act of Kindness goes a long way towards making someone feel truly special. So, what’s your day…let us know today what day you have selected and if you already have an idea for a fun slogan for your treat. Everyone who posts will be entered to win a seriously “shamrockin” treat of your very own.

Surprise Treat #2

For those of you who are new to the blog you might not know that one of our most loyal and enthusiastic readers is Julie Schnepp who happens to be a traveling physical therapist. Julie's latest adventure has landed her in Surprise, AZ and of course the HLA community couldn't ignore the fun name. So...we brainstormed fun stunts we could have Julie engage in during the time that she lives in Surprise. Today, I have the pleasure of sharing the first stunt with you and it is important because you each play a vital role.

We'd like Julie's first surprise for Surprise to play out on St. Patrick's Day. Based upon feedback from readers the first day we brainstormed we'd like for Julie to leave HLA rainbows around the town of Surprise with a note that says Follow the Rainbow to www.highlowaha.com. That is where you come in. We are asking each of our readers to make a HLA Rainbow in some way (paint, decoupage, paper mache, draw or come up with your own creative way) and write on it "Follow "your name's" Rainbow to www.highlowaha.com". Julie will place these rainbows around Surprise with instructions about logging onto the website to make a post. Not only will you earn a patch for sending a rainbow but any reader whose rainbow is followed and a post is made from Surprise on the blog will have a chance at a fun prize. Got it? Good. When you have your rainbow finished drop it in the mail to:

Julie Schnepp 16630 N. Reems Rd. #1064 Surprise, AZ 85374

And Julie, if you are out there let us know you are ready to have a Rainbow of fun sent your way.

Announcements

Gift of 218: Thanks to Robin and Ashley our first Gift of 218 has been successfully delivered. Robin and Ashley put in a huge amount of work to help make this first Gift of 218 successful and we are so happy that we were able to give the first gift to our very own Stacie, husband Chris and her beautiful son Lucian! Please visit the Gift of 218 link to see pictures of the "Gift Gang" delivering the news and to read more about Stacie's plans.

RAK Box: I've been informed that Claudia has received 14 postcards for her new RAK box. Don't forget that you can be the lucky winner of a $25 Target gift card if your postcard is the 18th one that arrives in her mailbox. Also, for everyone whose postcard arrives by Friday evening you will have a chance to win a $25 Target gift card through a random draw. Send your postcard by Wednesday the 4th to be sure it arrives in time!

Party/Theme Ideas: Just a quick note that we have now added a gallery full of ideas to the main page of the site. One of the best parts of highlowaha is the collective creativity so we invite you to submit your own pictures to be added to the gallery. Any cookie/cupcake/cake, theme parties, fun packaging ideas, Random Acts pictures, or anything else that you feel is up our creative alley send our way to highlowaha218@gmail.com.