Friday, November 19, 2010

seriously?

First grader: "Ms. Taylor!  He called me a white American!"

Me: ?!?  "Um... I'm a white American.  We're all Americans..."

My job cracks me up.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Friendsgiving

One of my very favorite holiday traditions is Friendsgiving.  My roommate Laura started this a few years ago, and now that she lives with Kim and I, it's been such a joy to host it at our house!  We open up the invitation to all our friends and any of their friends, and simply ask that everyone bring a dish to share.  It is always a delicious meal, and this year was no exception!  We had baked macoroni and cheese (my contribution), green beans wrapped in bacon, shrimp casserole (a recipe from Laura's grandmother that she beautifully recreates every year), a smoked turkey (thanks, Michael and Rae Wong!), a yummy chocolate pudding creation (yup, my boyfriend can cook!) and so much more.

As much as I loved the food, what I loved the most was the fellowship.  We call it Friendsgiving because it's Thanksgiving shared with friends, and I'm so thankful the opportunity to celebrate with the friends who are my family while I'm in New Orleans.  We had old friends, new friends, friends we see every day, and friends we see once a month.  Our upstairs neighbors came (we live in a duplex) and getting to know them and their almost 2 year old daughter was a special treat.  This was her first time having turkey (her mom is a vegetarian) and when her dad originally offered her some, she said, "No bird!"  Such a beautiful little girl!

It was also neat to reflect on how much things have changed since our last Friendsgiving.  Last year I was miserable with my job and despite how great I thought Cori was, I was convinced he only saw me as a friend.  This year I'm in a totally different place: I love my students and I'm absolutely crazy about this Cori kid.  Like I've said before, I'm in a different season of life, and I'm loving it!

I loved every minute of my first Thanksgiving celebration of the year- next up, celebrating with my Richmond girls.  I can't wait!  :)

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Chicago, really?

The truth is, first graders have a very small grasp on time.  As soon as you tell them that something is going to eventually happen, they will ask you every day, 4 times a day, until the event occurs.  Example: last week, we passed out field trip forms for a trip we're taking to the Lousiana Children's Museum after Thanksgiving.  My students ask me constantly, "Is the field trip today?"

First graders also have a very small grasp on distance.  One of my students asked me this morning when we were going to take a field trip to Chicago to see the snow.  Please note: we live in LOUISIANA.  Well, his question spread like wildfire, and in the successive moments as I attempted to quiet my students and usher them into class, I was asked by 5 other students, "Yeah, when are we going to Chicago?"  I'm betting most of those kids don't even know if Chicago is a city or a restaurant.

Oh, 6 year olds... :)

Sunday, November 7, 2010

cute kids, hot date, and Halloween

Just wanted to share some highlights from the past month or so of my life...

3 of my precious first graders this year- Tatiana, Kiya, and Kenshawn.  This is at a sock hop- aka, an hour on a random Friday where the pre-K to 3rd graders pack into the cafetorium (cafeteria + auditorium), blast music, and either bust out dance moves you know they learned from watching their mamas or just race around the room.  Very fun, very hectic.  Cori came to this one, and my kids loved meeting 'Mr. Cori.'  Their assessment?  "He's really tall!"


Speaking of Cori- we celebrated 9 months on October 1.  I know, I know, since then we've celebrated 10 months, but 9 months felt like more of a mile marker.  The beginning of the month was hectic for us, but a few weeks later, we were able to spend the whole day enjoying each other.  Cori planned a day of surprises for me with little clues- the farmers market, lunch at a yummy deli, the zoo, and finally, dinner at Tommy's.  My parents had kindly given me a gift card months back so that Cori and I could have a fancy dinner out (teacher's salary and grad school loans only stretch so far!) and we finally took advantage of it.  Tommy's was absolutely delicious, and we went all out- wine, appetizers, and amazing entrees.  It was wonderful to get dressed up and go out in style with my favorite!



And lastly, Halloween.  Our friend Craig had a cd release show at Carollton Station on October 30th, so our crowd donned costumes and went to his show.  For those of you non-New Orleanians, these are my precious roommates- Laura (Carmen San Diego), Kim (a flapper), and me (a princess- yes, I wore the crown that my girls wear on their birthdays and used it as an excuse to wear a pretty dress.)

And now?  Counting down the days until Thanksgiving break!  I absolutely adore my students this year, but Miss Taylor needs a vacation!