The Weepies of Gratitude

Apparently this pregnancy has given me some sort of seasonal affective disorder because my moods are clearly being swayed by the weather each and every day. Today happens to be a rainy spring day in Nebraska; thankfully it is not accompanied by gale force winds or the threat of snow. It is just soft, gentle rain. But, for whatever reason, my waterworks seem to be going today, too.

Even though I've known it was coming, it just sank in that one week from today is the end of Harrison's first year of preschool and ever since that occurred to me, pretty much everything I see or do or read is making me weepy. Oh, Dear Lord...is what some of you are thinking...She's losing it because her three-year-old finished a year of preK. What is she going to do when he goes to Kindergarten or learns to wipe his own behind? (for the record: a happy dance for the latter!)

Seriously, though, it is not just that the school year is ending or that the school year has flown by. I guess I'm just amazed that there has been an entire school year already for Little Man, and with the transition from winter to spring (finally!!!!) and soon enough from spring to summer, I'm just very much struck by all of the growth and change we are about to face once again as a family. Amazing things, these changes, but weepy-making ones, too, I suppose. And while I love to blame my weepies on pregnancy hormones or the rain, the simple truth is that I'm a crier, when happy or sad, and I am more than likely going to be a wee bit of a mess when I attend Harrison's end-of-year program next week. I'm just so stinkin' proud of him and so delighted with the wonderful introduction to school that his preK has given him this year.

That's why we got little presents for his teachers for Teacher Appreciation Week and took them to school this morning (insert first weepies of the day watching him hand them to his teachers). Normally my blog is nothing to Pin about, so please don't think I'm trying to go that route here, but I wanted to share what we did as Thank You gifts because it came from my very own brain. Can you believe it?! I had a clever and crafty little notion and it turned out to be something HD not only liked but also helped prepare and enjoyed giving! Score!!!

Here is what they looked like:

Yep. Your eyes are not playing tricks on you. We gave Harrison's teachers packages of AA batteries. WHY? you might ask? Because I read on a blog somewhere that teachers like practical gifts and I thought, "Huh, that makes a lot of sense. What do I always need more of in the house?" And with small children and all of their little noise-making-battery-sucking toys, the answer was pretty clear. So rather than spend money on a trinket or whatever for his teachers, we used our gift fund to buy something that I hope they can use. OK. I realize this means that the gift idea didn't come completely from my own brain since I got the inspiration online, but I can say the packaging was all my own (scribbles by HD; words by Mama). Here is the back:

See what we did there? All clever and stuff? Yep...I'm going to puff out  my weepy chest on this one because it is cute and punny and I'm OK with having both of those things in my life. Considering some of the Pinterest fails I've had, I'm glad my own foray into creating something Pinterest-esq went so well. Of course, I have no way of knowing what his teachers actually think of this rather odd little gift, but if nothing else, maybe it will stand out for originality?

What a year it has been. From secret songs and Letter of the Week drama (a big shout out to those of you who helped me on the weeks when I couldn't think of a blasted thing to take for various lettters!) to sweet crafty surprises, I am so awed by Harrison's growth and enjoyment from school. Now, if you'll excuse me, my nostalgia and I need to go find some tissues.