Fun & Easy End-of-the-Year Teacher Gifts!!!

It's that time of year again ~ we are entering our last week of school! So I've been busy putting together teacher gifts!

This is what we gave David's Speech Teacher.  She always gives the kids treats from a bowl, and we thought a treat bucket would be a lot of fun for her room!

You can't really see how bright the ribbons were because of the sunshine coming in the window behind - but they were actually deep, bright colors!!  I used pink, white and green sheer ribbons. The plastic bucket came from Michaels.  I used a scrapbooking tag that had lots of pink & green to coordinate. Finally, I had a fun dotty gift bag that I filled with some tulle and then added the bucket for easy transportation to the school!

The two cards/presents in the picture above are for David's FOCUS (our school's gifted program) teachers.  He loves them - they have really challenged him the last few months and he loves spending his Thursdays with them!!

He drew them the SWEETEST cards and wrote them a note inside each, and we got them each a Starbucks gift card, which I wrapped in ivory tulle and tied with a sheer pink ribbon.  I used my heart-shaped punch to put a hole in the card, then tied a ribbon around the card package, so they wouldn't get separated.

My most-favorite gift this year has to be the one we put together for his amazing 1st grade teacher. David has gone from reading at his grade level to reading at a fourth/fifth grade level just since September.  He is the biggest bookworm you've ever seen!! He's doing great in all of his subjects, has been on the principal's list every quarter. She inspires him on a daily basis, and I can't thank her enough!! LOVE her!!

I found the inspiration for this album here.  Natalie used the cutest flower-shaped chipboard album from Michaels for hers! However, I was so bummed to find that (at least at my store) they no longer carry them at all - not in any size, shape, or price!  Darn it!  Luckily, I had a couple of small albums at home to choose from, though it's no where near as cute as the original idea I had in mind!  I used a brightly-patterned album that had clear sleeves inside.

I bought four gift cards to places we think she will enjoy. First, I played around with the the pages to figure out the layout I liked for all of them, then cut matching "tags" for the facing pages.  David wrote out the messages on each one in red marker. Then I gathered the die cuts and embellishments together, glued everything on, then slipped the completed pages into the page sleeves and it was done! Super easy, and it REALLY looks adorable! (well, maybe a little busy - I went crazy with the ribbon!!)




We have a scrapbook clearance store that ROCKS, and I got 4 rolls of adorable ribbon for 49 cents each.  This one was my favorite - "enjoy" in all different colors!!  You can see the scrapbook's cover pattern on the binding here, too ~ it's very fun & tropical!



It was hard to find any appropriate embellishments for a fiesta, so I went with a lemonade and a lime slice!

Yeah, maybe a little too busy on this page? I still love it! Isn't the polka dot ribbon fun?

Loved this pizza box die-cut!!

There wasn't much I could do to disguise this card cover! Oh well!!

Another favorite - just love these printed ribbons!

Love this one too - the stickers and ribbon looked really cute together!

This just might be my most favorite page - D wrote - Thanks for a supercalifragilisticexpialidocious year! That is his favorite word! lol

 

I really, really hope she loves this as much as we do!  It's filled with a whole lot of love from my little boy, that's for sure!!

Cheap movies for Atlanta kids this summer....

Well, last year appears to have been the last summer of free movies for kids, darn it!! (At least in Atlanta)
But after searching the internet, here are some of the best deals in the Atlanta area for keeping the kiddos entertained on a budget this summer...

Regal Cinemas  $1 admission Tuesdays & Wednesdays  10 am

Great Escape Theaters  $1.50 admission, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays  9:30 am

Georgia Theatre Company  $1 admission, $1.50 concessions  Tuesdays & Thursdays, 10 am

All of these theaters are showing recent releases, either rated G & PG.  I know we'll hit them up a few times for some cheap entertainment & someone else's air conditioning, lol!

How to make Pasticcio (Greek Lasagna)

There is the greatest Greek diner down near my husband's office that we eat at once every couple years.  (It's 40 miles away, the kids and I aren't near his office often!)  They have some of the most delicious food, and about 5 years ago I tried their Pasticcio, which is a Greek Lasagna.  OMG ~ it is divine.  They use macaroni, a little tomato sauce, cheese, and a heavenly Bechemel sauce.  It's to die for!!  This dish always reminds me of my college roommate and dear friend Yvette.  After college, she married a Lebanese man and moved to Greece - we used to talk about visiting Greece in college, and then she was lucky enough to live there!

Last month, when we went to The Georgia Renaissance Festival, we stopped at the diner on the way back home.  The Pasticcio called my name again (as did the Baklava, for dessert -mmmmmm!).  It was as good as always, and I've been craving it ever since!!

Yesterday, I started looking online at recipes, and this is the one I found.  It's very close to what we have at the diner.  I discovered that this is a PERFECT stockpile recipe for me!  Why? Because my stockpile has diced tomatoes (from the big Italian sale at Publix earlier this year), frozen ground turkey (Kroger), and parmesan-reggiano cheese (Publix).  Oh, and don't forget the pasta!! I have so much pasta in my stockpile right now!! (Publix).  So here's the recipe, and you'll see my notes in italics beside each ingredient that I tweaked....

Ingredients:

1 lb penne (I used tri-color whole grain Penne pasta)
2 c finely grated parmesan
1 cup whole milk (I used skim)
2 large eggs

Sauce:

1 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs  unsalted butter  (left out)
1 medium yellow onion (left out - used onion powder)
3 medium garlic cloves, thinly sliced (didn't have on hand, used garlic powder instead)
salt and pepper
1 lb lean ground turkey
1/2 lb ground pork  (used turkey instead)
28 oz can crushed tomatoes with juices (used petite diced tomatoes)
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Directions:

Heat oven to 375, place rack in middle
Boil pasta according to directions.  Run drained pasta under cold water to cease cooking
For the sauce:
Heat the oil and butter in large frying pan over medium high heat.  When butter foams,  add the onion, garlic, salt and pepper to taste.  Cook, stirring occasionally until onions are soft and golden, about 5 minutes.   Add meat, break it up with a spoon.  Cook until browned, stir in tomatoes and cinnamon.  Season to taste again with salt and pepper.  Cook until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes more.  Remove from heat.

Butter a 2 1/2 - 3 quart baking dish.  Sprinkle 1/3 of cheese in bottom of pan, then 1/2 of the pasta.  Add all of the meat sauce, 1/3 cheese, remaining pasta, remaining cheese. 

In a small bowl, whisk milk and eggs together til combined.  Slowly pour over entire dish (Completely cover  noodles).   (This is kinda-sorta like the fancy bechamel sauce - not as wonderful as homemade, but still really good!)

Cover, bake until bubbly, about 45 minutes.  Uncover and bake until bubbling and browned, about 10 -15 minutes more.  Let sit for 10 minutes before serving. 

Delicious with bread and a tossed green salad!

The casserole before we cut into it...

and after we cut it!

 My pictures do not do this justice, it looks better than this and tastes incredible! : )

How to make a Patriotic Wreath from Dollar Tree

After I took down the Easter Egg Wreath, I realized I didn't have anything cute to put on the door for summer!  So when I went to Dollar Tree yesterday, I kept an eye out for anything that would be good for summer ~ Memorial Day and July 4, especially!

So these are the three things I bought:

one wreath form, and two (different) 9 foot tinsel garlands.

This was the easiest wreath ever.  I just wrapped the larger (red, white and blue tinsel) garland tightly around the wreath.  Then I wrapped the blue garland with stars over that so the stars are standing up.  Super cute, super easy and super cheap! Only $3!  I just tucked the ends in when I started, and when I finished - no glue needed! 

Here it is on the door.  LoVe it!  (PS ~ took about 3 minutes to make, too ~ easiest wreath ever!)

If you have stopped by from one of the blog hops I'm participating in, please feel free to sign up for my email newsletter, or to follow me via Google Friend Connect, or on Facebook & Twitter! (All are linked in the right sidebar!) Just leave me a comment so I can follow you too! Hope you enjoy my blog!

http://www.ahelicoptermom.com ~ Alexa Hop

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Mid-week Blog Hop time again!

Welcome, and thanks for stopping by! If you follow me via GFC, FB, Twitter, or email, just leave me a comment so I can return the favor! Have a wonderful week! : )

Announcing the winners of the I love my mommy blog hop giveaway!

So without further ado, here we go!!!!!

Winners of a coupon for a free bottle of Purex with Zout ~

#16 Dawn S.

#89 Teressa M.
# 60 Ericka T.

#49 Janet F.

#72 Christine N.

Winners of a bar of my homemade soap & a sachet:
#100 Veronica L.
#20 Renee (with the adorable Yorkie!)

I'm emailing you all now, and you have 48 hours to reply back with your mailing address! If I don't hear from you, I'll draw another winner. 

Thank you to every one of you who took the time to enter - I appreciate you all!  Please keep checking back on the blog, I have more giveaways to come, plus lots more reviews, crafts, recipes, deals and MORE! 

How I find coupons & deals on produce & organic items...

When I teach classes, one thing that comes up time and again is this: "We don't eat a lot of the items that have coupons." or  "We eat a lot of produce/organic items - how do we find deals for those?" or "There aren't any coupons for good, healthy food."

Well, here's how I do it...

Whole Foods has coupon books, and you can sign up online at mambosprouts.com to get coupons by mail. For example, I emailed Blue Diamond and complimented their almond milk, and they sent me coupons! Most organics companies will have a website or public phone #, so write/call and ask to be put on their mailing list.  And don't forget Facebook! Like your favorite products and then watch for coupons, deals, samples and more!

Another tip: If you have a Kroger store, prowl the produce department in the early morning or evening and look for discounted produce. They have yellow and orange manager's special tags on the products. As long as we eat it within a couple days, it is a great way to get super prices on healthy veggies and fruits! Always take your coupons - salads, fruits, veggies, dips and more may be marked down, and you can still use your coupons with them!

Recently, my Kroger had Chiquita Apple Slices marked down from $4.99 for 5 individual bags, to 1.99. I had $1 dollar off coupon, so I got the 5 bags of apple slices for 99 cents! This past weekend I bought 10 Fage Greek yogurts marked down to 50 cents each, and 10 Coconut milk yogurts (regularly $2.99 each!) for 50 cents each this way!

I haven't seen other local stores that mark down products like this, but Kroger does offer these manager specials regularly. Just go later in the evening, or early in the morning! Check the bakery and meat departments too for these deals. Remember you can freeze breads and meats that are close to their expiration dates!

Here are a few other places to get coupons:

http://www.barbarasbakery.com/

http://www.fageusa.com/products/offers/

http://www.organicvalley.coop/coupons/

https://horizonregistration.icmodus.com/default.aspx?bhcp=1

http://www.rudisbakery.com/

HealthyLifeDeals offers some great coupon matchups, too!

Do you have a favorite source for deals on organics or healthy foods? Leave a comment to share with the rest of us!!

Monday Blog Hoppin'!

I'm so excited to be the Spotlight/Guest Host of the Week for the Making Friends Monday Blog Hop! If you are new here, please enter for one of seven prizes in the I love my mommy blog hop here on my site, then you can enter over 70 other giveaways in the hop!  You can find recipes here, like my Easy-Peasy BBQ Chicken Pizza , and crafts, too,  like this Dollar Store Dessert Stand!  Hope you will come back and check out what's new here in Atlanta! Thanks for stopping by!

Publix Stock Up Trip - spent 60 cents, saved $65!!

Spent 60 cents, saved $65!

This was purely for stocking up - no other groceries purchased this trip, except for a large fountain drink ($1.39, not pictured).

7 Bic Razor packs, B1G1 price $2.75 e - used $3 coupons on each
7 Mahatma rice - $1.11 each, used 50 c (doubled to $1) coupons
4 Playtex - B1G1 price $2.15 e, used 2 $2.50 off 2 coupons
Also had a $5 off $50 Kroger coupon.
Rice will be donated and shared with family
Razors are for stockpile
Playtex is for stockpile

Enter the I love my mommy giveaway & hop away for more prizes!!

I am so very excited to be participating in a fun Mother's Day Blog Hop giveaway, I Love My Mommy,  starting May 5th!  There are so many blogs participating, and you can use the list at the bottom of this post to hop to and enter them all! 

Here are the prizes I'm offering.  There will be 7 winners in all!

5 winners will each win a coupon for a free bottle of Purex Complete Detergent with Zout - it's amazing! Busy moms can spend less time doing laundry and more time doing things they want! With Zout in the detergent, there is no need to pretreat stains! I've had great luck getting tough stains out using this detergent over the last few weeks!  (Winners 1 - 5 will each receive a coupon as their prize)  Each coupon is valued at $7.50.

2 winners will each receive a bar of my Heartstrings Homemade Moisturizing Glycerin Peppermint Soap plus a Relaxing Organic Lavender Sachet, both made by me!  (Winners 6 & 7 will each receive one soap/sachet combination).  Each of these prizes  is valued at $7.  (you can see a picture of these at my Etsy shop http://www.etsy.com/shop/HeartstringsHomemade.)

Mandatory Entries:
Must do both of these! I will verify after random.org pulls winning comments! (Please leave separate comments for each entry you complete, & please include your email address in each entry so I can easily contact you if you're one of my 7 winners!)

• Like Purex on Facebook and leave them a comment on their wall saying that Just Kidding Around Atlanta sent you, then leave me a comment saying you did so, with your FB id included for verification.
• Go to Heartstrings Homemade on Etsy & like my store using either the Facebook button or the Favorite Button for Etsy. (both found under Actions in left sidebar on that page). Then leave a comment below telling me you did so, and your FB or Etsy account name so I can verify!

Optional Entries for extra chances to win!

• Follow my blog via Google Friend Connect, leave a comment saying you did & your GFC ID.  (if you already follow, just leave the comment)
• Subscribe to my blog's emails (subscribe button on right sidebar), then confirm the email you receive.  Leave a comment below saying you did so, with your email address.
• Like Just Kidding Around Atlanta on Facebook, leave comment saying you did (or already do) with your FB ID.
• Follow Just Kidding Around Atlanta on Twitter, then leave a comment below saying you did (or already follow me) with your Twitter ID.

Optional Daily Entries: ( each counts as one entry, once per day)

• Vote for Just Kidding Around Atlanta on Picket Fence (just click their button on my right sidebar), then leave a comment below saying you did.  (You can do this one once every day, just leave a comment each day)
• Tweet about my contest, and include  #win4mom ~ then leave me a comment below with the url to your tweet, once per day!

 Contest ends on May 10. Contest open to US residents only. Winners will be drawn using random.org on May 11, verified & notified by May 12.  Winners will have 48 hours to respond to my email with their mailing address, or a new winner will be drawn.  Prizes will be mailed by May 21 using USPS.  **Once I drop the winners' packages off at the post office and into the care of the USPS, I can't be responsible for lost or stolen mail. **

Disclaimer:  I am donating the Heartstrings Homemade Prizes. Purex provided coupons for their product to give away, and I will be doing a review for the Purex Complete with Zout, giving my honest opinions about their product. (Look for that review coming after this contest ends!)

Thanks so much for entering my giveaway, and good luck!

Here's a list of ALL the other blogs participating - some of them have HUGE prize packages, so please check them all out too and enter as many as you want to!