I know that most of our kids are probably already out on Summer break, but here in Northern Virginia we have the rest of the week before break starts.  Yep, that means that I'm working on my end of the year "thank you" gifts.  Here's how I made these adorable pencil vases for Michael's teachers last year.  Perfect for those Handmade Sunflowers or even real flowers.

Review guidelines:

1 Fork = I would rather eat dog food.
2 Forks = I would eat there if I was starving.
3 Forks = Not bad; someplace I would occasionally consider eating.
4 Forks = A good place to eat; I will put it into my rotation of places I dine frequently.
5 Forks = One of my all time favorites!

One caveat to note – I am allergic to fish and seafood, so if you are looking for those recommendations, you will have to consult someone else.

Because I have a daughter-in-law with Celiac and a really good friend who is Vegetarian, I will try to point out whether those options are present when I review a restaurant.

Before Jon and I ventured out to Disneyland last Fall, I looked at what all attractions and events they had.  This being our first time there, I wanted to be sure we were in the know.  Since I'm a big Disney addict and own a good bit of Disney movies, we were pretty well set on understanding things in the park.  I have created a list of all the Disney movies you'll want to watch in preparation to your magical Disneyland vacation.

I'm always looking for fun ways to make gifts for teachers or family members.  Last year we made these handmade sunflowers for Michael's teachers during Teacher's Appreciation week.  You could make these for pretty much anything and is such a great keepsake.  Here's how I made the flowers (look for a post about how to make the vases soon).

Every Easter I try to figure out what to put in Michael's basket.  Most of the time I just go to the store and see if something inspires me.  This year I knew that I wanted to try and go for a theme.  That then got me thinking about all the different types of themes one could do for a basket.

Never heard of a Bunny Hop?  Neither had I two years ago when it was first introduced to me at Michael's preschool.  Since I had no idea what to do for a Bunny Hop, the first year all I had was the filled eggs required.  At that first hop is when I learned that it's basically the Easter version of a trunk-or-treat.  So, last year I was ready.  Here's how I decorated for the Bunny Hop.

Last year I wanted to try and add a little more to our already special St. Patrick's Day activities.  I decided that since Michael liked rice crispy treats and liked Lucky Charms, I would combine the two and make a delicious treat for the family.

If you're like me, you're always looking for ways to help with cleaning or improving the way you clean, right?  I know that as a mom, I sometimes run across messes that are new to me and generally have to go to Google to find help.  I decided to ask some of my fellow blogging friends for their awesome cleaning tips and put them here to help you and I out.  Because they had so many great tips, I'll be breaking them up into two different posts  So, think of these posts as a cleaning reference guide.  Here we go!