Back to Reality

This past week was a blur at work.  I had a surprise IEP meeting due to a date mix up, duty, a counseling lesson, Battle of the Books, a staff meeting, report cards, and teaching.  I rushed to get everything done by Thursday because my mom was coming in for the weekend!

Let's recap:

Thursday

 She had a late flight (after nine pm), so I took a nap after work.  We picked her up, chatted for a few once we got home, and crashed.  I had work the next day and need a full night's rest when dealing with teaching three dozen ten year olds long division with decimals, without the algorithm.  

Friday

Friday morning we walked Waffles, I put dinner in the crockpot, and we headed to work.  A colleague was super chatty that morning, so I wasn't as productive as I would have liked.  It was also my off prep day, but that made for a quick afternoon.  We were able to Skype with my bestie at Yale.  We'd just learned about Connecticut, so it was academically appropriate.  She gave the students a walking tour of Yale and answered their inquisitive questions.  I also gave my students question time to ask my mom what they wanted (I was sure to set a timer!).  We had a pretty standard day with no ridiculous student behavior.  

We headed home and B brought home Redbox movies.  We enjoyed dinner, watching Minions and the newest Mission Impossible movie, looked at bridal magazines, wedding planned, and enjoyed bonding time.

Saturday

Once again, our day started with a walk with Waffles.  Isn't she precious?  (She's 10 months, so she may get a little bigger.  She's from ARP (Adopt a Rescue Pet), so we aren't entirely sure of her breed.  We think collie-shepherd mix, but who knows.  More importantly, who cares?)

She still isn't aware that dogs go to the bathroom while on walks, but wasn't scared by passing vehicles, so progress!

From there, we headed to {Babystacks} and it was amazing.  If you're ever in Vegas, go here.  Plain and simple.  Since it was a cheat day, I devoured an omelet, seasoned potatoes, and two of the most wonderful pancakes I've ever encountered.  They were German chocolate with peppermint and white chocolate chips.  I could have died happy on the spot.  As a silly twist of fate, we were right next to my coworker Mrs. O, her hubby, and their precious two year old, so that was fun to chat over pancakes.  

We headed to Alfred Angelo for our noon dress appointment.  I went in with eight styles picked out from their website, but ended up falling for a brand new one on the mannequin.  

(Read the full dress shopping saga {here}).

We were 99% sure that was the one, but had a 4 pm appointment at another store just to be sure.  The consultants totally understood and wished us luck!

From there, my mom and I parted ways with my future MIL and one of our maids until later.  We picked up some items at Target, hit up a local craft store for ideas, then stopped by the Cannery and Sam's Town so she could get a feel for the locations and report back to my aunts.  We had a little bit of time to kill, so I showed her the super awesome dog park where we take Waffles and she got to admire little dogs in sweaters for a few.

We went to the second appointment and it was simply alright.  I really only liked one dress out of six and it was quite similar to the other one at Alfred Angelo, except more expensive and with a super awkward seam in the middle of the dress.  The store was also filled with lots of teenagers buying their prom dresses and if I have a group with me, sitting in chairs, because I have an appointment, I kind of get first dibs at the podium and the big mirrors.  I shouldn't have to stand to the side, in a wedding dress, waiting for hopeful prom queens to move from my spot.

 
(Seriously girls, move. Wedding trumps prom.)

It also irked me that another bridal party was offered champagne and we weren't.  The sales woman did her best and I left my contact information, but I won't be back.  Going to the second store that day really solidified that the other dress was it.

As soon as we left that appointment, I said the other dress was it.  All of my bridesmaids agreed and well, it's quite the feat if ten women all agree on something!

We headed to my favorite {pizza and pasta joint} for dinner where we met up with B and a few more friends.  Dinner was delicious and afterward, my mom and I headed back to Alfred Angelo to officially say yes to the dress.

I posted on social media that I'd said yes to the dress and I'm floored by how many people are genuinely excited about it.  I have such an amazing tribe. Thanks friends! 

Of course, we also watched the Cardinals defeat the Packers and I had a lot of loud words about that amazing ending.  


Sunday  

Because it's Vegas, we started our day with brunch at {Crepe Expectations}, which is another family owned shop and is amazing. My mom, B, and I each got our own savory crepe and shared a sweet one for dessert.  Because it's brunch, a white peach mimosa was also involved:

We then went to {Popped}, a gourmet specialty popcorn store that's conveniently right next to breakfast.  I've gone there for popcorn for baby showers and other events.  Thank goodness for their loyalty program!

We then headed to Green Valley Ranch for Bingo.  We'd never done it before, it was more expensive than I expected, and we won nothing.  I'd do it again, but not on a weekly basis.  We were the youngest in the room by decades and the woman next to us was loudly praying to the Holy Spirit that her husband would win.  That got old quite quickly.

Afterwards, we headed to Target to complete our wedding registry, then headed to {Cream}, a specialty ice cream parlor where you make your own ice cream sandwiches.  Or in B's case, ice cream taco!

Alas, after enjoying fine foods and wedding gowns, it was time to take my mom back to the airport.  I talk to her almost daily and we'll see her in March when we're down for a close friend's wedding, so the goodbyes aren't that hard when I know it's seven weeks until I see her again.

When we got home, I napped on the couch while B enjoyed his team (the Broncos) defeating the Steelers.  We both play next week and if both teams win, the Super Bowl will be incredibly awkward.  We already decided if it's a Broncos-Cardinals match up, we're watching separately, for the sake of our relationship.

The rest of Sunday was devoted to grading (I set a timer), laundry, and watching a movie.  Today we have off to celebrate Dr. King and my day will be spent grading and working on work stuff.  My bridal glow is dimming, thanks in part to reality.

Naturally, I have helpers for grading essays:

So I'll be heading to Panera soon since I'm clearly not going to be productive at home.  

The MOH asking

I'm still emotionally and academically processing DENSI 2015, so I will start with something easier to write about: my weekend with my best friend and maid of honor (MOH).

DENSI ended Friday at lunch time and her flight got into Reagan at 2:30 (which became almost four pm...thank you state of Connecticut for that one).  Since it's totally normal to chill at the airport with luggage, I met her at the gate, sign in hand.  

Unfortunately, there were no nice people who would take a picture to capture the moment, but that's okay.  I met her at the gate and showed her both sides of the sign.  It took her a minute to process before she responded with an enthusiastic NO.

Correct, a NO. 

I just looked at her and she laughed, then said of course she'd do it.  Hugs ensued. We made our way back to our airbnb (which was adorably first ladies themed) and unpacked.  She got us wedding planning guides (I love lists) as a silly engagement present.  B's is basically about not losing his mind during the ordeal.

 We then headed to a Top Chef restaurant (on her bucket list) and then to a ghost themed tour of the Capitol Building, Supreme Court, and surrounding blocks.  Spoiler alert...we captured absolutely no ghost activity on our phones and I earned some ridiculously large blisters from wearing the wrong shoes for our adventure.

I expressed my concern at becoming a bridezilla and asked her to keep me accountable.  There are many other exciting things in my life (and hers) that aren't related to this one wedding weekend.  

We did more planning the next night, over a bottle of wine on the rooftop of our apartment building.  

Things we decided: (and things I should probably fill B in on...)

1) I'll get a sitter for the reception.  There will be kids at the reception and parents will want a place to park them.  Perhaps a separate room at the reception hall, complete with video games, puzzles, coloring books, and board games.  This way parents can have fun, together, instead of one sitting out with the munchkins.  Since our officiant has worked with a nanny company on the Las Vegas strip, it shouldn't be too hard to get a recommendation from her.  We'll also include this information on our wedding website, which I'm in the process of making.

2) We talked about things that will be on the wedding registry.  She mentioned a friend had included some funny line about "the jig is up!" and how they'd been living together for a while, so they didn't need a lot of home goods.  I think I'll incorporate something like that into our wedding website.  We own two vacuums.  Our Keurig works great and we bought a Kitchen-aid mixer when it was on sale.  We're grown ups and for the most part, have our lives together.  So we'll be registering for some various household things and honeymoon experiences.  B is really wanting to register for a kegerator (a fridge that has a keg inside) so I must find a way to redirect his energy...because I fear all his friends will actually chip in for one and it will live in our garage.

3) Activity for the bridal shower.  It will take some work from the participants ahead of time, but she's going to ask each lady to bring a wedding picture of a couple they admire.  It could be themselves, grandparents, relatives, etc.  They'll also bring a piece of advice for a long and happy marriage.  We haven't decided if we'll incorporate this into table decorations at the reception or just make it into a scrapbook.

4) There will be mimosas at the wedding shower.  I respect people's decision to not drink, but I do like drinking, so it will be included in wedding events.  There will be classy mimosas in champagne flutes, not keg stands and PBR in red solo cups.  

5) The timeline.  The wedding will be at least a year away and I plan to start dress shopping around Christmas time, so hopefully she can pop up and join for that!  

6) Her parents.  Basically, my second set of parents and they're invited to basically every aspect of wedding weekend.  I'd love for her mom to join us in the bridal suite for the primping.  She can join my mom in the crying portion of the day while they comment on how beautiful their babies look (because obviously we will be gorgeous).  I invited her dad to give a speech, which he's already planning and I think that's adorable.  They just wanted to make sure it was okay with me and B (and my mom) if they were there for things.  

7) I want to do a sleepover with her the night before the wedding in the bridal suite.  We will also be taking jumping on the bed pictures before the real wedding prep begins:

 (image from pinterest)

I looked through several wedding magazines over yesterday's epic day of travel (DC to Houston to Vegas, with four hours of layovers).  I got a few more cute ideas, but was overwhelmed by much of it.  One of the "simple, backyard weddings" was $181,000.  They "splurged a bit" on things, but spent no money on the venue.

Are you freaking kidding me?! That's close to the cost of our house.

So then I got frustrated by these "norms" because yes, my wedding will be expensive, but no, we won't be going into ridiculous debt to pay for it.  Looming wedding payments are not how I want to start a lifetime together.

I haven't finalized my decision on bridesmaids yet and I'm hoping my mom can come up for Labor Day so we can have an engagement party.  

Alas, the wedding planning must be put on hold for more practical matters of the day: cleaning, laundry, and processing DENSI.

First Week Treats

I'm finally sitting down to go through old blog drafts that I started, but didn't quite finish.  I found this one from August that I finally finished.  Since I'm starting to think about tweaks for next year, it seemed like the perfect time to reflect on what I did last year and what I will do again this year.

I'm not above bribery. Setting the year off right, with food, can make a HUGE difference. 

Day 1:

They'll be hungry before lunch time. Heck, I'll be hungry before lunch time.  So I bought a few boxes of Lucky Charms and put a few cups in sandwich bags for my students.  This dry cereal will let them munch while their bodies adjust back to a school schedule.

I attached this cute note:

I'll be keeping this, just using smaller snack sized bags!

Day Two:

Last year, I made these:

While I do last minute prep, B will assemble all my treats.  In this case, it's Starburst candies. It's so great to have a supportive man who is extra patient during the chaotic start of the year.

I'll be keeping this idea.  I may even turn this into some sort of fractions lesson by having them find patterns at their table teams. 

Day Three:

You're "mint" for greatness! (With mints).  I didn't really like the sign I made last year, so I'll be tweaking it for this year. 

I'll be keeping this idea for next year.

Day Four:

You're one smart cookie (with chips ahoy).  I feel like I gave too many sweets, so I think I'll tweak this for next year with smart water bottles instead.

Day Five:

I made this sign:

He'll be attaching the goldfish to the baggies.

I'm used to "meet the teacher" day being the Friday before school starts because that's what I've known for five years.  Mid panic, I asked my grade level about this and was pleasantly surprised to learn that's not at all how they operate.  Meet the teacher night is in September. Sigh!

What do you do the first week to build classroom culture?

Motivation

For the past few years, I've used the "kiss your brain" jar to reward students for thoughtful answers.

It works fairly well but I was ready to try something new.  While searching pinterest, I found this idea:
 

I think making a jar of treats to celebrate their growth and academic progress.  I just need a jar, a printer, and some markers!

Math and Food

Whenever possible and appropriate, I try to bring food into the classroom.  Students are automatically more engaged in the lesson and it's a great motivator (if you don't do your best, you don't get the treat).

One of my favorite things to do is use Hersey's kisses as a concentration game for math.  I use the white version of these:

I put the stickers on the bottom of the candies.  I use multiplication facts for my fifth graders, but you can use any operation depending on your students' ability level.  I put the product on one candy and the equation on another.

Students put the candies face down and play concentration.  It's a great center for holidays or special occasions.  

The prep work takes about twenty minutes and I'd recommend writing on the stickers prior to placing them on the candy.

(ELA connection: You could do Greek and Latin roots or affixes where students match the affix with the meaning)

I plan to do something like this around Halloween because the students will most likely expect candy so at least there is an academic purpose!