Happy Birthday Max!!!!

So, today is my wonderful husband's birthday!! I enjoy making birthdays special days for people. I genuinely LOVE doing and buying for others rather than getting for myself. Last year, I surprised Max with a trip to Orlando (he didn't know what we were doing until my sister picked us up for the airport and we checked in. Max had never been to Sea World, so that was on our list. I also wanted to go to Discovery Cove and swim with the dolphins, sting rays and other tropical fish. We had an awesome time, but Max made me swear I wouldn't plan anything that big for his birthday this year.....what a fun sucker ; )

So this year, I kept my word, and did a low key birthday for him, but I had to do something a little special. We have lived on a golf course for 3 years (the 14th hole is in our backyard), and Max finally decided to take up golf this summer......and I have become a golf widow. So, I decided to do a golf themed birthday for him.

Max also wanted to go to Red Lobster for his birthday (he and my sister LOVE Red Lobster), and then we did cake, ice cream, and gifts at our house. But I had to have some pre-birthday party treats for him.

I found this super cute cupcakes online, and decided I would order some and take them to work for his birthday (I'm so cheesy, I know).

The flags are made out of gum paste and the golf balls are made from chocolate. So, I went to Publix to see what they could do. They said they could do the cupcakes and the grass, but were unable to do the flags or golf balls, so that meant, I had a little project. I also had Publix make his golf cake for that night.

I decided to make the flags out of scrapbook paper and lollipop sticks from Hobby Lobby. While they were easy to make, they were kind of tedious.

I just cut the rectangles out of scrapbook paper, drew a black square, and punched little circles for the numbers and glued them all together. I left a little extra to wrap around the lollipop sticks.

While at Hobby Lobby buying the sticks, I looked for a hot glue gun. I have a million at school in all different sizes, but I don't have one at home. I found this super cool glue gun at Hobby Lobby and it is PERFECT for projects that require a thin bead/strip of hot glue.

It has a thin tip and is a FABULOUS invention. I glued a thin strip of hot glue onto the back of the flags and wrapped it around the lollipop sticks to make the flags.

And stacked them in my napkin holder to dry

Heidi realized that I wasn't eating at the kitchen table, so left me for a nap.

My next project was the golf balls. My plan was to make rice krispy treats, roll them into balls, and then dip them in white chocolate. I felt like I needed to have a plan B just in case, so I ordered a bag of chocolate balls that were wrapped in foil that looks like a golf ball.

So I made my rice krispy treats, rolled them, and put them on toothpicks so they could be dipped in white chocolate.

I then melted the white chocolate, and began dipping. Well, I didn't think that when I dipped the balls into the chocolate, then heat would cause the marshmellow to melt, which would then make the balls slide down the toothpicks. So I decided to dry the golf balls upside down on wax paper.

Well, I encountered another problem. I decided to put the golf balls in the refrigerator to harden up, but when I took them out, I couldn't get the toothpicks out of the balls. I decided to throw them away and use my plan B.

I took the flags and golf balls to Publix for them to arrange on the cupcakes, and then ran my last minute errands before his birthday. I bought his gift and decorations for the house.

The next day (his birthday), I picked up his cake and cupcakes, and they looked SO CUTE!!!! I was so excited to take them to work. He was surprised, and everyone loved them. I told him that he couldn't bring any of them home because we were going to have cake.

I came home from dropping off the cupcakes, wrapped his gift, and decorated the house. We went to dinner, came home, and opened gifts, and ate cake.

My parents gave Max a golf GPS which he LOVED!! He even made me walk out to the 14th hole at 10:00 at night so he could see on his GPS that we were getting closer. Apparently our sofa is 368 yards from the hole : ) I gave Max some golf pants and shirts to tie him over for the summer.

We had a lot of fun and got some great stuff. Happy birthday Max.....I love you so very much!!!

Happy 21st birthday Katie!!!

WOW!!! I have so much catching up to do. I know it is September, but let's rewind back to the beginning of summer, June specifically, so I can fill you in on what we have been up to for the past 3 months (has it really been that long since I've updated this thing?!?!

My sister Katie spent the month of June away at school completing a years worth of Spanish classes, but she did give us a weekend to celebrate her 21st birthday. Katie wanted to go eat at Red Lobster (their mashed potatoes are her favorites), and then wanted to come back to our house for cake, ice cream, and presents. I spent the afternoon before dinner decorating the house, wrapping presents and picking up her cake.

I bought a bunch of balloons from Party City, including these 2 balloons. It was quite the challenge getting almost 20 balloons in my tiny, 2 door Honda Civic, but I did it somehow.

I also decorated the living room and kitchen as well.

Katie with her sunflower cake (we decided she needed a grown up cake instead of a kiddie cake that she usually prefers : )

Even though it is September now, HAPPY BIRTHDAY KATIE!!!!!

My first DIY project

For my mom's birthday, Katie and I decided to makeover a room in her house that was on my mom's to-do list. She wanted a white, light pink, and gray color scheme. The walls are painted gray, so we decided to do pink and white accents.

Because the room is not huge, the pieces we used needed to be on the smaller side. When the bed is placed against the wall, there is very limited room for a night stand, so Katie and I bought a small round table and spray painted it white. We knew a lamp needed to be next to bed, so.....enter DIY project.

Katie and I found this lamp at Hobby Lobby. We LOVED the base and knew it would fit the shabby chic theme of the room, but the color was wrong and the beads had to go.

Let me say, I have never made a lamp shade before, but I was determined to figure it out. I started with the outermost seam, and began to gently tear it away.

It actually came off surprisingly easy, so I moved to the bottom

Now, this next part was kind of tricky. I needed to keep the inner white layer in order to help filter the light and keep it from being so bright. I started peeling it off the top in order to get to where the green was sealed, but that wasn't working

So I cut it...

and peeled it off.

Removing the green fabric was the easy part. As I sat there with an ugly shade, I was trying to figure out the best way to get the pink fabric on. I wasn't necessarily looking for the easiest way to do it, but the way that would look the best.

Katie suggested I cut the pink fabric into large triangles rather than wrapping the lamp shade in the fabric. I bought liquid stitch to adhere the fabric to the frame.

First, I attached all of the fabric triangles to the top of the frame wrapping it a little over the top

Then, I trimmed the triangles to fit within the triangles of the frame a little better. I put liquid stitch on the metal frame and between the 2 pieces of fabric. I went on the way around the lamp and the bottom

I also bought ribbon to cover the seams as well as the top and bottom of the lamp. First, I attached the ribbon to the vertical seams and used paper clips and tape to hold it while the liquid stitch dried

Then I attached the bottom. The ribbon came divided into 1/4. I adhered the ribbon just as it was packaged to the vertical seams. For the top and bottom, I unfolded it once and wrapped it around the bottom and over the top of the frame

This lampshade took me about 6 hours to complete, with a lot of that being drying time. Overall, I think for my first DIY project, it didn't turn out too bad.

I have learned that I really enjoy doing DIY crafty projects, almost to a point that it drives Max crazy. I keep looking for pieces that we have or shopping for things that we don't need just so I can change them.

I will post pictures of the completed room and the other little projects Katie and I did over the weekend.

Easter 2011

Hello blog...it has been a while since I have seen you. Things have been cRaZy due to the end of the school year, but I am very happy to say that it is officially SUMMER!!!!! One of the perks of being a school teacher is that I get 2 months off of work. As crazy as the school year is with IEPs, testing, planning, late, LATE nights, etc...I have learned that it is ALL worth it because I get off for 2 months. So, with all that, let's back up to April 24 and go from there.

Max and I decided that we would invite our families to our house this year for Easter for 3 reasons: 1) We didn't want to have to "do" 2 Easters, 2) our families are always looking for opportunities to see each other and 3) I bought Easter dishes last year from Pottery Barn that I wanted to use (this was the main reason). So, everyone came to our house, which meant.....I needed to get decorating!!!

This is what our dining room looks like during the year when it is not a holiday:

And the kitchen in the background....

Here are a few of the dishes that I bought from Pottery Barn last year. The salad plates and bowls came in sets of 4: pink, blue, green, and yellow.

And here is my finished table...

The plates and glasses also came from Pottery Barn. The flatware is the formal flatware we registered for that mostly stays in the chest

I bought these 3 rabbits last year after Easter

I bought the cherry blossom stems from Michael's, and the eggs came from...you guessed it, Pottery Barn

We also had to have a "kiddie table" for my sister, Max's brother David, Max, and I, so I used the kitchen table.

I used pink Jelly Beans in the centerpiece

And here is our mantle (sorry it's blurry)

I bought the EASTER sign from Home Goods (which is a new favorite store) and the 2 bunnies from Hobby Lobby

Hope you all had a wonderful Easter with your families and friends!!

HAPPY EASTER!!!!

Spring is in the air!!

Let me begin by saying that I like winter, I really do. Winter to me means holidays (Thanksgiving and Christmas), time with family, no school, possibility of snow, etc. However, after January, I am ready to winter to leave and for spring to arrive. I love spring, it is one of my favorite times of the year, mostly because you can still breathe outside in Georgia, but also because you can spend more time outside, and summer is right around the corner. To kick off the first day of spring, Max and I headed outside to conquer our flower beds.

Typically, we have flowers in our flower beds year round. After our zinnia died with the first frost in October (like the label said they would), we would have planted pansies. But, being that it was the middle of football season, and I was working long hours at work, we ran out of time, so our flower beds have been bare since October.

We went to church this morning, and then headed to Pike's nursery to see what looked good. Max's job when it comes to our flower beds is to research what flowers we will plant. Together, we clean out the flower beds, and he tills in the soil and manure. This year, he decided he wanted to plant snap dragons until we could plant zinnias in April, early May.

While Max was scoping out the snap dragons, I was looking at flowers to fill my antique wash bin I bought last year and patio furniture. I have been wanting patio furniture forever, but we don't have a large enough patio (if you can even call it that, it is more like a concrete slab) for a full dining set. But I am determined to buy some kind of furniture for our patio this summer even if it is only 2 chairs and a side table. Max loaded up on snap dragons, and I found flowers for my wash bin.

We headed home, unloaded the car, and Max went to Lowe's to buy soil, manure, and mulch, while I went to Publix for our weekly grocery shopping trip. When we got back, we put on our dirty clothes and headed outside. While Max was cleaning out the flower bed up against our house, I cleaned out the wash bin and planted my flowers.

I planted 2 snap dragons, 2 grass things, 2 yellow flowers, and 3 spillers (I forgot the official names of the grass, yellow, and green flowers). It looks kind of thin now, but I'm hoping it will fill out.

After Max cleaned out the bed against our house, I planted the snap dragons. We bought 4 of each color: red, yellow, white, light pink, and dark purple/pink.

And then we moved to the flower bed with the mailbox.

I'm not too thrilled with this flower bed. It looks very thin. When we finished the bed by the house, we only had 4 plants left. Max went back to Pike's for 6 more plants, but bought 8, and we still don't have enough. Max just tells me that we are experimenting with the snap dragons. I still don't love it, but it is much better than it was, which was totally empty.

Now our house looks a little happier.

This is the back of our house. We live on the golf course, so we have no neighbors behind us which I love.

Isn't our patio super small : (

We also have azaleas planted along the back of our house as well as a 2 clematis plants that grow up the trellis.

This trellis was also an antique find. I actually went out looking for a trellis, and came back with the trellis, wash bin, topiary (in the front yard) and an old ceiling tile from a building in New York City that hangs in our 1/2 bath downstairs.

I LOVE my wash bin.

And my topiary in the front.

We had a pretty good weekend. I didn't do much on Saturday because I wasn't feeling well (one negative thing about spring is that my allergies start to act up). But I made up for my lazy Saturday with a productive Sunday. Hope everyone had a great first day of Spring!!

Oh, and another great thing about spring is that it is time for spring break...only 2 more weeks. Next weekend, my friend Biz will be getting married on Saturday. On Sunday, we will be heading down to Max's parents house to borrow their truck to get our jet ski out of the storage unit!!! Can't wait for weekends at the lake house.

Hope everyone has a happy Monday.

Special Olympics

Today, was the much anticipated local Special Olympics in Fayette County at Starr's Mill High School. The kids LOVE and look forward to this day, while the teachers look forward to this day for much different reasons, when it will be over. Typically it is freezing, rainy, chaotic, long, etc, so it is often a day we dread. However, this year proved us wrong, at least me anyways. The weather was AWESOME, high of 80, and sunny.

Michelle and I had been planning on week on what we needed to bring. So this morning, we loaded 2 coolers full on gatorades and water, 2 rolling carts of blankets, towels, sunscreen, snacks, and about 7 folding chairs onto the bus.

When we got to Starr's Mill, they had a tunnel for the all of the athletes with their PALS, cheerleaders, and band. Because we had so much stuff, we sent every athlete with a chair to carry while Michelle, her son Josh, my para Pamela and I drove to the other side of the stadium to get out with the rest of our stuff and 2 of my students who use a wheelchair. We got unloaded and were met by my student's buddies. We got situated in our section and lined up for the opening ceremonies. Every school has a banner they carry (similar to the flags countries use for the opening ceremonies in the Olympics), but ours was missing. We tore up both of our classrooms this week looking for it, but it was nowhere to be found (I'm sure I will find it Monday morning). We lined up, sang the national anthem, recited the Special Olympics oath (which always brings a tear to my eyes), and then we were off. I sent Pamela with my 2 students who were not able to participate in the events to the field day area where they at cotton candy, snow cones, had their faces painted, balloon animals, and other fun things. I went with my other 2 students through their events. My students participated in the 50 meter dash and the softball throw. Needless to say, my student's kicked butt (we've been practicing FOREVER)!!

The events began probably around 10:15, and we didn't get finished until almost 1:45. We then ate Chick-fil-A for lunch, loaded all of our stuff back up on the bus, and got back to school around 2:30, just in time to pack up and go home. I wish I could post pictures of the fun day, but I don't have parental permission to do so.

After school, I signed my contract for next year, and then went to an "Around the Clock" shower for a teacher friend of mine, Elizabeth aka "Biz." Biz's mom works for the special education department and I met Biz this summer while she and I were working summer school together. Biz's wedding in on March 26, so we were running out of time to do something for her. Kristen, another school friend, planned an "Around the Clock" shower and I was given midnight!! YAY!!! Who wouldn't have fun planning a gift for someone to use at midnight. I won't bore you with all of the details, but I will say that I did go into my first adult store!! So awkward...... We all met at a pizza place and gave gifts and visited. There are not many self-contained special education teachers in our county and because there are only a few of us at each school, when we all get together, we have a blast. Congratulations Biz and Stephen. I hope you enjoy my gift.

Recently

So, I haven't been blogging too long, but I already feel like a slacker. For some reason I feel that we haven't had much going on and therefore, I don't have much to blog about, but we have been super busy recently. So I guess I'll just blog about what we have been up to in all areas.

My work: I am currently in the process of transferring to another school within my county. When I started applying for jobs, I knew I wanted to work in Fayette County. The school system is known for their great schools, especially the special education department, and I wanted to be associated with a great district. Also, because we do not live in Fayette County, when we have children, they would be able to go to Fayette County schools since I work there. When I had one semester left of my master's program, I applied and interviewed in Fayette County, and I was hired after one interview. Being a new teacher, you take whatever you are offered, especially the way things are with the economy and school. I was offered a severe/profound self-contained classroom with 3 students, all girls. While I was at Auburn, I knew I wanted to teach self-contained, so I was very happy to be getting my "dream" job.

Fast forward a year and a half, I am ready for a change. I have 4 students, 3 girls and 1 boy, and I love my kids. Last year, the other self-contained teacher at my school left so I requested to be placed in her room. Unfortunately, due to various reasons, I was unable to get the room, but looking back, it all worked out perfectly. I absolutely LOVE the teacher that took that room, my parter in crime, Michelle. She used to teach Kindergarten, and then went to special education, and then to middle school special education, and she is AWESOME!! She is one reason why requesting a transfer has been difficult. However, trying to get into a new school and program is something that means a lot to me. When I originally interviewed, I was asked what my "dream" job would be, and at that time it was an elementary autism classroom. Now, I just want to be in an elementary classroom.

I signed my contract on Friday for next year (so I have a job), and I'm hoping to hear something in the next few weeks about where I will be placed. I have heard of a few openings, so maybe I will have the opportunity to transfer.

Max's work: Everything is pretty much the same, which is good and bad. He is still working at Newnan Hospital as a pharmacist.

Extra curricular: Max has joined our church's basketball team. They play every Thursday night. When he was in high school, he used to play on a church team in Phenix City with a good friend of his, Christopher. When I saw in our bulletin they were looking for men who were interested in playing basketball, I knew this was right up his alley. It has been so much fun going to his basketball games on Thursday nights for the past 2 1/2 months. Thursday is their last game, so I will have to try and get a picture.

I have actually started coaching the track team at my school (crazy, I know). I know NOTHING about track, but have come to really enjoy it. I wasn't exposed to track until my sophomore year of high school, since none of my previous schools had track teams. At that point, it was too late to get involved in a brand new sport, so now I can live vicariously through the student athletes I coach. I coach track with Michelle, another special education teacher, Kristin, and an 8th grade social studies teacher, David. We have track practice Monday-Thursdays, and usually have 1 meet a week. Our first meet was scheduled for last Tuesday, but it was rained out. We have a meet this Wednesday, and I'll admit, I'm a little nervous, but it is so much fun.

Other than all of that, there isn't much going on.