she and whim

This time it’s John 3:30 – He must become greater; I must become less.

Hope the graphics make it super easy for you and yours to memorize. I try to make them gender neutral and not juvenile – good for any age! And this one is the easiest to trim so far – who’s your BFF now? :) We did have some good discussion out of this verse too (evident by the fruits of the spirit, etc.). And no, you don’t actually become shorter :) hehe!

And sorry the pic is so blurry – I think I’ve finally dropped my camera one too many times. :( *sniffle*

{design © claire sneau : for personal use only}

We love shaving cream here. You probably have playtime with it too. A few months ago we changed it up and added food coloring!

We experimented with different color combinations and made an overall mess :)

Their hands were dark blue when we finished! I wasn’t sure it would wash off (maybe wear off after a week?), but after a LONG playtime bath they didn’t look like smurfs anymore. :) It also reaffirmed the choice of stainless steel tables – no stains and squeaky clean from the shaving cream!

Then the other day we gathered snow loving animals (and dinosaurs because they’re extinct and anything goes), and the boys had fun pretending their plastic friends were in a winter wonderland.

And shortly after the icebergs were squirted from the can, big bro made “real snow” :)

We also looked up pictures of snowflakes and talked about how each one is uniquely made – and who else is an original? These guys sure are! And yep, you too! :)

It has been a fantastic school year for all the shorts. How is it almost over already?! We’re so thankful for their amazing teachers. I volunteered to organize my youngest’s Teacher Appreciation gifts from his class, and we surprised them yesterday with all their goodies!

I came up with a “You’re sweet” theme because boy, it’s the truth! :) Money was collected from the parents for gift cards that I wrapped in cellophane like candy. Each parent filled out recipe cards of their favorite sweet, yummy dessert that were given in the handmade envelope that says, “Mrs. Brown is the sweetest!”. And each parent helped fill in a card for their munchkin that said, “I think Mrs. Mason is the sweetest because…”. I took a class pic for the cover and bound all the cards with a post screw. (You can too – click here for recipe, candy and kid cards.) One set is shown here, but both teachers received their own. They also got the morning off to get a start on their gift card spending and grab lunch while another mom and I watched the class – and they deserved every penny of that gift money after our whirlwind of kid corralling ;) They’re so amazing!!!

And we all know who else is just as terrific – your mama!

Since I was making these gift cards, I made some for the moms we’re honoring Sunday, too – and here’s how it was done:

You’ll need decorative paper, roll of cellophane, 2 clear hair rubberbands, and your gift card. Optional supplies that make life easier: x-acto, ruler, and cutting mat.

I trimmed my decorative paper to 8 1/2 x 11 and ran through my printer with the “Happy Mother’s day! You’re the sweetest! xoxo” message. You can too – click here. Then I trimmed and folded it to look like this:

I sealed with a little double stick tape. Then I cut a piece of 10″ x 8″ cellophane and wrapped around the card (be sure your seam is on the back). I twisted each end and rubber-banded to close. And presto, you’ve got a cute gift card!

Yay for all the teachers and moms! :D

P.S. The link for teacher gifts at the top of this post has a page with the candy gift card wrapping template using the all-occasion phrase, “You’re the sweetest! xoxo”.

{design © claire sneau : for personal use only}

Guess who’s not allergic to corn and peanuts anymore!! I was completely ecstatic when I got the results in the mail! AND, his remaining allergies to milk, wheat, oats, rye and eggs have gone down some too – it was severe and now it’s just bad. Boy, was results day a happy day!! So, to celebrate the great news I’ve attached a recipe card for these allergy-free muffins. I make up his recipes since he’s allergic to so many things. This muffin recipe has been baked and tweaked loads of times and is the best version to date. :)

The recipe is wheat-free, and free of flours that have similar proteins to wheat. Spark isn’t gluten intolerant, but allergic to the wheat protein. But if you are gluten intolerant, this recipe is gluten-free too! It’s also dairy-free, soy-free, egg-free, and peanut-free. And I like it because it has a veggie (pumpkin) and fruit (applesauce – which was added recently, when he out grew his apple allergy.) Also, please note that the brand of “butter” spread is not Smart Balance, but Earth Balance.

The PDF has 2 copies of the recipe, just because there was space – maybe you could pass one along to a friend? Print one page, flip the paper and print again, and trim – so the recipe card is printed front and back. (See this post for specific paper used and trimming instructions.)

If you or someone you love has food allergies, I truly hope this recipe helps! :)

{design © claire sneau : for personal use only}