The End Of The School Year (Also, Our Homemade Teachers Gifts)

I cannot believe that yesterday I dropped my kids off for the last day of their first year of school.

It really seems like just yesterday I was stressing over getting them dressed and ready for their first day.  Worried about how they will get on with their new class mates and teacher, pondering how they would spend every minute of their day and just generally fretting over it all.  The good news is that as the year went on, I was reassured that we made the right choice for them – they were having a ball each and every day (I gathered this after persistently asking them the same questions like a bajillion times a day until they finally answer me).  Although, even though it’s been a whole entire year, I still can’t get the lunch thing right – we hardly ever have all the necessary things that we need to pack their snack, I’m always scrounging around the cupboard to see what loose bits I can find.  On another note, I need to learn to shop smarter.

Anyway, I wanted to treat those lovely ladies that dedicate every day to teaching my kids new things about life and so I hauled out my empty mason jars (tips on how to remove labels here) and got started on a cute little “brownie in a jar” present for each of them.

In each jar I put:

• 1 Cup of sugar (I used brown because that’s what we use at home)
• 1/2 Cup of all purpose flour
• 1/3 Cup cocoa
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp baking powder

At this point I realised that I must be the one the my kids have genetically received the “messy” gene – if Seth was doing this, I guarantee you that it would look nothing like this!

I was going to shake it all up and make it all look the same, but I quite liked the layers so I just left it.

I used the gift tags that Riya and I made at Mamma’s and Munchkins in November to write a thank you note and also the rest of the recipe.

Add:

• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1 tsp vanilla essence

Then bake at 200 degrees for 20 – 25 minutes and voila!  Enjoy!

Super tip that I learned from all the Ina Paarman boxes of brownies that I have used in the past – when you take your awesome brownies out of the oven, take your favourite slab of chocolate (I like to use 70% Lindt choc) and break it into pieces and place on top of the hot brownies.  It will melt and make them extra delicious – just remember to cut them before the chocolate gets hard again.

I think they looked pretty awesome and the girls couldn’t wait to take them to their teachers in the morning.

While the girls were getting ready I looked through our stash of gift bags for 3 different ones to use, carefully placed each one in and then got ready to leave.  As we got to the car to get in, Kyla noticed the bags and started pointing and pulling on the one with the pink hearts – demanding that her teacher have that one.  Just as the words finished coming out of her mouth, the bottom of the bag ceased to function and it dropped to the floor.  I was so sure that the smashing sound that followed would be disasterous, but thankfully it remained in tact even thought the layers didn’t.

Either way, I think the teachers loved it!