On Friday we were supposed to drop Jason off at the football game, visit my mom, sis, and their church youth group at an event they had planned, and then pick Jason back up after the game. Connor and I were in no shape to go out, so we decided to snuggle on the couch instead, and Jason eventually decided he would do the same, instead of going to the game. Despite feeling bad, it was actually a nice night at home together. Connor watched The Rescuers (or at least most of it) for the first time, and we spent lots of time downstairs playing on his favorite racetrack.
Saturday was one of my favorite days of the year: Christmas decorating. Yes, we are that crazy family who decorates as soon as Halloween is over (inside only...no lights outside). As busy as we are, we like to enjoy our decorations as long as possible (We take them down right after the new year...too depressing to keep them up after that.), and Jason and I feel as though the decorations make our house a happier place. I love sitting in the living room, with the tree glowing nearby and stockings on the mantle. Connor cheers, "Ooh, pretty!" in delight every afternoon when I turn the trees on, and it is one of the first things he asks for when he wakes up in the morning.
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| library tree |
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| living room tree (still needs a topper) |
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| living room decorations |
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| My attempt to show what the trees look like at night was unsuccessful. |
Despite a few setbacks (a smoking, flaming cord to the big tree, which was a cheap $3 fix, thankfully, at the local hardware store; an angel tree-topper that no longer lights; a couple of broken ornaments), we finished decorating just in time to get ready for my mom's big 50th birthday bash, which we hosted.
We served chili, crackers, cheese, and drinks, and Aunt MB made the mouthwatering cake. We had lots of black decorations, an Over the Hill badge for the birthday girls, and lots of love. We had a great time, eating, talking, opening gifts, and spending time with family (and Mom's best pal Becky, too). I was so glad to be able to celebrate my mom's 50th, and am thankful for all of the help from Aunt MB and Linds.
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| Aunt MB's creation |
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| about to eat |
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| What can one really say about these three? |
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| giving Mimi a birthday flower |
Sunday was another day of celebrating with my mom (Sun. was her actual birthday.). Jason, Dad, and Linds headed out after church to attend the Bengals game in Nashville, so after attending my church's first service, Connor and I visited Mom's church to spend some birthday time with her. We had a delicious lunch, shared with Mom's cousin and friend Anne-Marie.
Mom graciously offered to take Connor Sun. afternoon so I could shake a bad sinus headache, and ended up taking him to church with her as well. He had a blast, and I attended small group by myself, where I got to hold a precious baby for most of the night, and then our grouped packed up and headed to our church's staff appreciation dinner, where I indulged in lots of good food, from fried chicken to corn pudding to hashbrown casserole.
Monday was the first of what will hopefully be many Family Christmas Movie Nights. Jason thought up the concept of inviting family over each Monday night until Christmas to watch a different holiday film. We started with Elf, one of our all-time favorites. Connor was even entertained. The theme was red candies, and Jason displayed Twizzlers, peppermints, candy canes, Big Red gum (taped strategically under the bar on the island in true Elf style), and lots of other goodies. Mom made two desserts, and we had popcorn as well. It was truly a magical time of family fun, and I look forward to next week's selection. When he takes the time, Jason can be an extremely thoughtful and creative person.
Tuesday was Election Day, which typically means a day off, and while it was for students, this year was a mandatory PD for teachers in our district. It was, however, a quite productive day. We were able to meet in content groups, and the English department is busy planning our second year of Poetry Out Loud, an amazing poetry grant that we plan to use as a platform to showcase the talents of our entire school. We are hoping to outdo last year's event by far.
Jason, Mom, and I left a bit early from our respective meetings to attend an event (which also counted as PD) at WKU that night. Rafe Esquith, a well known teacher, speaker, and author, gave a moving, motivational, and inspirational talk about his own experiences in the classroom (He has been teaching in LA for 29 years!), and I came away feeling as though I truly can make a difference in my little corner of the world. I think that we as teachers are so often inundated with negative messages, complaints, lack of funds, etc... that we lose the beauty of why we love what we do, and I was reminded of this after hearing Rafe speak, and especially after hearing from the students whose lives he has changed.
We also had a great dinner with my sis' best friend Lindsay, her husband, her momm and her precious baby boy Patterson. Connor loves babies, and Patterson was no exception. He wanted to touch, kiss, and love on him, and Lindsay was quite nice about it all, although I'm sure she didn't want a germy toddler all over her newborn. :)
I came back to school on Wed. with a renewed vigor, and I have had a wonderful week with my students. They managed to endure working on their memoirs and finshing up a mini-unit on persuasion and propaganda, and we actually had quite a fun time doing it.
Tonight, we are attending a wedding, so I'll hopefully have some pretty pictures to share for next week's Friday edition.
Random facts for the week:
- After our Gabba Live experience, Connor has fallen in love with Gabba all over again, particularly the "Boat" episode. He asks specifically to watch it every day.
- He loves to sing "Happy Birthday." It is the first song he actually knows all the words to, and since my mom's bday was the most recent, he goes around the house singing, "Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday, Mimi!" He is too cute sometimes.
- Connor has always loves baths and showers, but his current obsession is to take a bath in the "big tub" as he calls it, which is the whirlpool tub in our room. he plays with trucks, fish, and dumps cups of water everywhere, but his favorite thing to do is lie down on his belly, swishing back and forth, saying "I wimmin, I wimmin." (swimming)
Random photos for the week:
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| with Sydney, the best student aide EVER |
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| sharing treats with "Ninny" |
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| sisters |
Have a blessed weekend, friends!
