As you may have gathered, I like to do things with a little flare. I love to celebrate, I love themes and I love to go all out. So, why would I do anything differently on my birthday? Why would I hold back? Why wouldn't I try to top my most amazing birthday party from last year? (Mexican party). So I didn't. This year's theme was Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. I, of course, had to dress in costume and I chose to attend my own birthday as an Oompa Loompa. I got a sweet costume online and the effect was magical. I was also EXTREMELY lucky and owe my first born child to the post office employee Hazel because my party decor didn't come in on the first delivery truck on Friday. I was very depressed and she saw this deep depression I entered when I was told my stuff wasn't here and asked me for my phone number so she could call me if it came in on the later truck. Well, at 8pm I got a phone call from Hazel and IT DID COME IN!! She stayed so late to unpack the truck and looked for my huge box of decor, candy and my pinata and called me!! I could hardly believe it. I luv Hazel. My very good friends came over on Friday and helped me decorate which was extremely appreciated because as you can see, I had a lot of decorating to do - all hands on deck!
I encouraged others to dress up as well and I was so pleasantly surprised that a lot of my friends got creative and went in costume too!! There were two M&M's, two cotton candy's, two nerds, a Jolly Rancher and a Veruca Salt! Awesome. There was candy everywhere, candy decor and of course, a pinata. We danced the night away and it was a really great birthday. My actual birthday was AWESOME. I had a great day at school, the kids were really great and we shared my leftover cupcakes from the party. That night Monika held a dinner of delicious burritos with my closest friends and I was truly spoiled. They got me some AMAZING gifts and I was so touched at their thoughtfulness and generosity. I definitely won the friends lottery. My family sent me gifts in the mail ahead of time so I would have cards and presents to open on my birthday morning. In all, it was a great birthday and birthday weekend and I couldn't feel more lucky to have such amazing people in my life, here and abroad.
Otherwise the week leading up to my birthday was pretty uneventful. I have been putting in a lot of hours at work getting prepared and making centers to support learning. I'll never feel "caught up" but it is nice knowing I have the next few units planned out and ready to go. I have to really start pushing the kids now to try harder and get over their vulnerabilities so we can really begin the work of Grade 2. They are math superstars so that isn't where my concerns lie, but they lack confidence in their writing and I need to find ways to make them feel as confident in their writing skills as they are in their reading and math skills!! I'm working on fun and short reading response-type journaling at the moment and am going to start more independent activities now that I feel they are ready! Wish me luck!
Today was also a crazy day. I got a new student, there was a scheduled power-out which never ended up happening until after-school hours (if the power goes out during school hours we have to send the kids home) and it was Anecdotal Reports day at school. So, until 2pm (when the report interviews were supposed to start) we weren't sure if it was on because the power was scheduled to go off at 1:30. It was a waiting game. Since the interviews were kind of up in the air until last minute, not a lot of parents made it in, so while I did see some parents, I spent a lot of time just fixing up my classroom, prepping and planning. It was a good use of time and I am glad to have been able to talk to even a few parents.
The power did end up being turned off at 4:30 for almost 2 hours. When I got home I was chilly so I lit a fire and did all the things that did not require power such as putting away summer clothes, folding laundry, making my lunch, tidying my storage room and the bane of my existence, cutting out lamination. Now, having learned from my mistakes of the last power outage, I prepared for this one by making sure my laptop was fully charged and turned off before leaving for work and that my portable charger was fully charged. Luckily the power out didn't last long enough for me to lose much battery power on both but I was grateful that my laptop was there and I had tons of non-Netflix movies and TV to watch.
Anyways, now that the drama of the power outage is over, I can focus on this upcoming weekend which is Thanksgiving!! My favorite holiday because a) it falls right around my birthday, b) I love turkey dinner and c) it is like Christmas but without all the mass amounts of spending money. No pressure! This year Meredith is throwing a huge dinner and I am very excited to participate but only do minimal cooking. Hopefully it is a beautiful weekend and I promise I will only spend one day in the classroom!! Pinkie swear!!
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