Handmade Gifts for Teachers

I have typically not been as diligent gift-giver for the kids' teachers as I would like to be.  I was seeking to rectify this oversight the day "It Came to Pass."  Between the four kids in school, they have eight main teachers.  In a family of eight with one on the way, times are never short on wants/need and are rarely long on moolah.  So what to do?  Donate to their Scrips account?  Well, it is not a bad idea and I can sneak in for $5-10 a teacher without much fuss or embarrassment, but it isn't very personal and this school does not participate.

So what to do?  A friend suggested bath bombs.  She and I made soap a few weeks ago and I had considered that, but then I ran across this bloggie suggestion:  Candy Cane Sugar Scrub!  Why, it's festive, pretty, and seasonally scented!  

So on that fateful day of Ankledoom, I ran out and bought a big bag of sugar and 4 boxes of candy canes and some peppermint essential oil.  Having recently made a castile-style soap, I have plenty of light olive oil and cocoa butter on hand.  Pint and half pint jars can cost as little or as much as you want to spend, but they aren't hard to find.  If you don't want to use olive oil, you can substitute it for Almond oil or Sunflower oil.  Any of them would be very healing to dry, winter skin.  

Finally, this project is simple enough to do with the kids.  It makes very little mess and takes approximately 10 minutes to put together.  Sadly, there are no pretty labels or ribbons for ours as I am limited on my travel capabilities, but I still think the jars of sparkly, pink fluffy sugar are pretty as can be all the same.

Candy Cane Sugar Scrub
(makes 8 pints)

4 boxes of candy canes (48 canes total)

8 cups of white sugar

4 cups of light olive, almond, or sunflower oil

4 tsp. Vitamin E oil for a preservative (optional, I didn't use it)

8 tsp. cocoa butter (optional, I did use it)

½ tsp peppermint essential oil

• Unwrap all the canes and put into the food processor.  
• Grind to a powder.  
• Place sugar and candy cane powder in a bowl and whisk together.
• Place oil and cocoa butter together in a small sauce pan and heat over medium low until the cocoa butter melts.  Let cool slightly.
• Add essential oil.
• Pour oil mix over sugar and mix thoroughly until it all looks like wet sand. 
• Spoon into widemouth jars and decorate with festive ribbon or fabric of your choosing.

Ta-daa!

Reason #19: Why We Askew Industrially Extruded Breakfast Cereal.

Amazing and gross all at the same time.

Our oldest N. is a budding scientist and has had a stellar run of helpfulness and good behavior as of late.  So we thought we would reward him with a little happy book of science experiments and a promise of Science Fridays around the Motherworks-Flavius household.  The above experiment in all it's metallic glory is in the book.  Check it out here (Scribd) and here (Amazon).

Back to School and Blogging

Tomorrow is the first day of school and we are ready!  Supplies, check!  First day of school outfits, check! School lunch, check!

On the subject of school lunch and breakfast:  in the past I have relied heavily on the availability of cheap food from our local elementary program.  I can now confirm what everyone already knows:  the food is cheap, because the calories are cheap (read worthless) fat, starch, sugar, and salt incarnations that the kids don't really like anyway.  Also, with four little ones in school I was horrified to calculate that it would cost me at least $100 a week for these kids to eat what the State provides.  That is half of our grocery budget and totally ridiculous.

So this is what we devised:  I asked the four going to school to name me two fasting and two non-fasting lunches they would be willing to eat.  This is what they came up with:

N.
Non-fasting:
Teriyaki chicken bowl with rice and veggies
(this is as far as he got before getting distracted and wandering off)

M.
Fasting:
Ramen Noodles with veggies (no broth)
Inari Sushi with fruit
Non-fasting:
Gyoza with sticky rice and veggies
Tuna Fish salad with grapes and pretzels

D. (d is for difficult eater)
Fasting:
PB&J with fruit and pretzels
Dip Lunch (fruit, pb, cheese, crackers)
Non-fasting:
Mini pizza with fruit
Ham and Cheese roll ups (chips n' fruit)

A.
Fasting:

Pb&J (popcorn and fruit)
Tostados with beans and mild salsa
Non-fasting:
DIY 'Lunchable'
Pizza Sandwich with fruit and pretzels

To this I plan to add reinvented leftovers and some new ideas.  I am happy so far with our choices.  A can of Inari sushi wrappers is $6.  A package of 25 chicken and vegetable gyoza is also about $6.  Rice is cheap, fruit can be stretched (cut it up, and giant bags of pretzels can be had for a couple of dollars.  Which means:  I can feed all the kids for less than a dollar each, half of what a hot lunch costs at school and way more healthy.

Day one maybe overkill, but they won't have a reason to be hungry.  I am packing bento-style.  I got these little containers at Albertson's for $3.99 each.  Not Cheap, but certainly cheaper than the $24.99 (plus shipping) Laptop Lunchboxes that are all the rage now.  Have a great week, and God bless!