Valentine's Day 2011

This year, Max and I decided to have a quiet Valentine's at home. I have been SUPER busy with school recently, and the last thing I want to do after working 12+ hours at school is come and get ready to go out. We decided we would grill steaks (since it has been SO nice out recently), baked potatoes and vegetables. However, before I could enjoy Valentine's night at home, I had to make it through Monday, and boy did we have a busy Monday at school.

Michelle and I talked the week before Valentine's about doing a big breakfast for our kids Monday morning. Well, when you take 2 teachers who like to do things above and beyond, our breakfast for our kids turned out to be them cooking and hosting a big breakfast for our administration, counselors, connections teachers, nurses, and special education department. But we had a BLAST!!

Before hosting any kind of party, you have to make invitations!! We decided to take a picture of our kids and make, address, and pass out our invitations.

It was then time to get cooking. Michelle and I made many trips to the grocery store over the weekend and came loaded with stuff on Monday morning. The kids couldn't wait to get started.

We had quite a large menu, and with that comes chaos, but surprisingly, it went EXTREMELY well. The best way to conquer this task was to break into small groups and assign everyone a job

Before mealtime, I have to show off their awesome decorations!! The kids did it all themselves!!

The backdrop behind our buffet table.

We have a great eating area outside of our classrooms. On our hall is my classroom, Michelle's classroom, a kitchen, laundry room, and these booths. This setup allows us to teach so many functional skills.

We decorated the booths with butcher paper and let the kids stamp and BINGO dot all over them.

Our Valentine buffet.

Now, it is time to eat. And the kids are ready....food service gloves and all.

We had an AWESOME time and the kids loved it!!

I also got a surprise from Max at work! So sweet!!!

After school, I had to make a few stops on the way home (I admit, I had to get Max's gift on the way home).

I think our Valentine's dinner tasted awesome.

And we got to enjoy my beautiful flowers.

Max also bought me this large red, floor vase. Right now it is sitting in the corner if our living room until I figure out where I want to put it. I'm think some tall sticks or bamboo, but it hasn't hit me yet. But I LOVE it!! I saw this a few months ago, and he remembered I wanted it.

We had an awesome Valentine's day and hope you did as well!!

A Murder at the McKay's

Ok, so there really wasn't a murder. But, if the police would have shown up at our house on Thursday, I probably would have gone to jail.

Backstory:

During the week of pre-planning in August, Michelle (my "partner in crime" at work; she is the other special education teacher at my school in addition to me) and I were coming back from a meeting and found a cat with a very tiny kitten. Since it is 1,000,000 degrees in the South during summer, we were very concerned about the cats. Michelle and I agreed that she would take the kitten and I would take the mommy cat. Michelle, unfortunately, wasn't able to take the cat, so 6 months later, Max and I have a dog, the mommy cat, Smokey, and her kitten Gizmo.

When we took the cats for their shots, we were told that Gizmo was a boy. He is VERY wild, very feral. Does not like to be touched or anything, but he has given us very little trouble. Now that he is 6 months old, it is time for him to be fixed.

So, I called the vet on Wednesday, and they had an availability on Thursday morning. Perfect. Max and I discussed how we were going to capture Gizmo on Thursday morning and he said that he could manage. I told him if he needed help in the morning, I would be more than happy to help (Max deals with the cats, and I take care of the dog). He said he could handle it, no worries.

At 6:00 on Thursday morning, I woke up and Gizmo had yet to be caught (Max leaves for work at 6:15). I got up and asked if he needed help. He said no, he had it, so I got in the shower. While in the shower, I hear Max running around upstairs trying to catch the cat. By the time I got out, Max and Gizmo were in our room. With 6:15 quickly approaching, I decide to help. At this point, Gizmo is very freaked out, so we had our work cut out for us. Gizmo then began climbing up our curtains (yes, all the way to the top). As he starts climbing/falling down, Max grabs him. Needless to say, Gizmo was not happy. He bit and clawed Max to pieces as I'm getting the kennel. Max then runs out of the room and leaves a bloody handprint on our door (imagine the scene in Titanic in the car, but blood on the door). It is now 6:35, so Max bandaged himself up and headed to work and left me to deal with the crazy cat.

Gizmo has now made his way under our bed, so I rearrange furniture in our room to block his side of the bed and mine so the only way out is at the foot of the bed. Of course, he makes it out and runs into our bathroom, which is great because now it is a much smaller space and no where to hide!! After he runs frantically around for about 5 minutes, I end up cornering him on our counter. While he is in the sink, I put the kennel on the counter and use a towel to hold the door and use a squirt bottle to get him in the kennel. It is now 7:30, so I'm late.

I cried the entire way to the vet. Gizmo was so traumatized, and when he didn't move or make any noise in the car, I was so afraid he had a heart attack or stroke. I got him checked in and made my way to work (30 minutes late). I called Max and told him to expect a disaster at home when he got off. It was quite the crazy morning.

The vet called when his surgery was done and said everything went great. They also said that Gizmo was not a boy, but a girl!! So now it's Max, and 4 females, bless his heart.

Little Gizmo recovering

We are #1!!

On Friday, while I was at an Autism assessment training, my class and Michelle's class were at a basketball competition. Every week, Coach Bob comes to our schools to do various recreational activities. This month, he organized a basketball and volleyball competition for the middle schools in our county. Now, last year, our classes came in second place to Booth Middle. I am good friends with the teacher from Booth, so when we lost, I took it personally. So all year, we have been preparing for a rematch, and Friday was the day (I was just bummed I couldn't be there).

Because I wasn't there, I can't provide too much insight, but I did want to say that our kids are AWESOME and they beat Booth!!

My first blog

Well, I have tried to put off blogging as long as possible because I felt I didn't have much to blog about. But, after much persuasion, I have decided to succumb to the powers that be....blogging.

I am hoping that blogging will allow me to take time to reflect as well as document events that happen. I used to love taking pictures, but as I try to change out our pictures, I realize I don't have many to replace the older pictures. Hopefully, blogging will allow me to capture the moments that pass by too quickly.

So here's to blogging.