The Prom!

Several weeks ago, I attended the prom. Nope, not the one my school was hosting. I chaperoned that prom once, my first or second year I was teaching. And NEVER. AGAIN. It totally weirds me out to see all these adolescent teens grinding on each other in tight, revealing outfits (boys too. I guess it’s normal to take off your shirt and only wear your hot pink vest that matches your date’s cocktail dress?). So, no no no, I did not attend that night of dirty dancing (and probably a few MIPs). I volunteered at the Down Syndrome Guild of Greater Kansas City’s “A Royal Affair: Prom 2013.” And it was amazing!

My dad has worked with the DSG for several years. He’s their “official” volunteer photographer. I’ve tagged along to several events with him, and I have to say, I am always so impressed. The staff and volunteers are so caring and kind, and the families who attend are always so excited to be a part of whatever they are celebrating and make connections with other families and individuals with Down Syndrome. The DSG Prom this year was awesome. I believe they had about 800 attendees, and man oh man, did they party it up!

Unbeknownst to me, there were several of my cheerleaders who (on their own) decided to attend as volunteers as well. After dealing with entitled, privileged kids who only care about themselves throughout the years (not all of them, but enough of them…), it made my heart happy to see these sweet girls out on the dance floor, having a great time. Especially now that I’m leaving the education world, I hope to be able to give more of my time to this worthy organization. For more pics (or more info about what the DSG is all about), check out the website here.



{They did such a great job with the decorations!}



{With my cute little helpers}

{Out on the dance floor}



{With my pal Molly. We took a break from the dance floor and chatted.}

{With Amy Allison, Executive Director of the KCDSG}

{My date for the evening, my handsome Daddy-o}

 

Signs of Spring

While it doesn’t really feel like it today (40’s?? What??), spring has been popping up all over the place around town. Here are a few (totally random) signs of spring around my ‘hood.


{Yes, my eyes are closed. Of course. But Nova's are open!}

Swingin’! A few weekends ago, Drewby brought Nova over to my parents' house for some Scanlon-time with the babe. It was nice enough to head out on the porch and get some quality swing action in. She is such a doll. Couldn’t get enough of her sweet smiles and laughs.


{I like your hair, Auntie M. I'm going to pull on it for a while.}

 

 

Do I look relaxed in these pics? I certainly felt like it—usually, Sundays are kind of my “ughhhhhh” day. I know I have to be thinking about work the next day, and what I’m doing in my classes, and the grading…oh, the grading…it just never stops.

 

BUT!

I was totally relaxed on this particular Sunday because I had taken the following Monday off for…Opening Day at Kauffman! Hooray!

 

I went with a super-duper fun group of girls (plus about 50 million others, packed on the party bus) out to the K and we had ourselves a very fun day. And the Royals pulled out a W! (Never mind that we were back on the bus, because they didn’t pull ahead until the very end of the game, and let’s be honest, they stop serving beer during the 8^th inning, and we had some tailgate priorities in mind. But hey—way to go, team!)



{With Megs}



{Check out our stellar seats. Ha! Yep, we were out in the fountains. We thought they were just fine seats, though, considering we had only bought "standing room only" tickets. Yes. This game was sold out. My ticket was a whopping $60 on Stubhub, for Pete's sake! But, totally worth it.}




{Cowboy boots. And SHORTS! It was a very good day.}

Okay, a few more signs of spring…here’s my token picture to prove that my yard is not always overgrown and unkempt.

 

I meant to take a few more pics of the lovely flowers that someone (definitely not me) had planted before I moved in, but the recent wave of thunderstorms has pretty much pounded my poor perennials into the dirt. And speaking of all of the rain, here’s a random shot:

 

{Please note the rust, decay, corrosion, and BROKEN-NESS of these specimens.}

This may not be a sign of spring, but I had to document this painful event somewhere. For about oh, I don’t know, the last two years or so, every six weeks, my toilet won’t flush. Apparently, tree roots had grown into the (originally-laid) pipes, and (AND!) they had cracked and filled with mud. Well duh, of course they weren't working! So finally, after several long days filled with visits to Starbucks and Target and Panera and Chipotle and maybe a different Target and wherever else I could loiter without suspicion, I finally have a working toilet. So thanks, guys who crawled under my house and replaced those rusty things. I really do appreciate you. And thanks, rental company who owns my house, for finally listening to my complaints and actually sending a plumbing company out to do something other than "clean the pipes." Much obliged.

 

And, so we’re not ending on talk of toilets—here’s a pic from my Mama's birthday celebration a couple nights ago, and just for kicks, one of Nova again, basking in the sunshine. Does it not bring a smile to your face? Oh spring, please stick around for good soon! I need some warm weather and sunshine in my soul!


{Love you, Mom!}

{Those toes!}

Happy Sunny Friday




{Hey, sunny elephant...thanks for being so bright and cheery}

Hello and happy Friday! First of all, happy, happy birthday to my dear Mama. You are truly the best mom and friend that anyone could ask for. Love you much!!

I had a shortened week at school (I took Monday and Tuesday off to head out to the Opening Day for the Royals. More details and pics to come!), and the time I’ve been back has been consumed with grading and literary “stuff” (Catcher in the Rye—my fav, so it’s okay). But! I have several things I want to share, soon—spring is in the air, folks! And while it’s currenly only 45 degrees outside, the sun is finally OUT, so I’m counting it as spring. Have a great weekend and check back next week for springy things!

Big News

{Ohh, Oprah. You're so wise.}

This week has been kind of crazy. We have cheerleading tryout clinics every night after school, and the actual tryout is Friday. Since the coaches teach the material to the cheerleader-hopefuls, I’m doing physical activity for the first time in, oh, I don’t know…I guess since I shoveled the driveway? Ugh. Maybe one of my New Year’s “Changes” should have been the cliché “I need to work out more.” Anyway, so I’ve been spending my afternoons and evenings with 50 high school girls. Super fun. Especially since…I’ve made a huge, life-changing decision.

 I have decided to pursue a career outside of education.

Yikes. Seeing it in black and white, I must say it’s definitely a bit daunting. But in all honesty, I feel very, very excited and hopeful about my future. I have been questioning my career for a long time—pretty much since I started teaching. Is this really what being a teacher is? Do I really want to do this for the rest of my life? Am I really a good teacher? And so, after much consideration, I made a decision.

 
To be honest, I think I feel less anxiety about leaving my job than I do about finding a new job. I think that’s a pretty good indicator that I made the right decision. It’s not that I’m unhappy all the time at work—I truly love where I am teaching and the people who I work with. And this year hasn’t been that bad at all. I really like my classes and (many of) my kiddos. It was a very hard letter to have to write to my principal. But, as a whole, I am ready for a change, and it was now or never. So, I chose now. And I’m pretty darn excited about it.