Five For Funday?

I know, I know.  I'm late to the party.  I'd like to think that I am fashionably late, nonetheless.  :)  Let's look at my week in review, shall we?

1.  Last week was my birthday week, and my students spoiled me.  On Monday, one of my sweet kiddos brought cookies in for the whole class to celebrate a little early.  ;)  I even got a monogrammed cookie with my initial on it.  She brought in cookies for my partner's class too... complete with another monogrammed cookie for my work wife!  {Her birthday was the 7th, and mine was the 8th!}  How sweet is that?  {No pun intended.}

On Tuesday, another student brought in another class set of cookies to celebrate.  After passing them out, he handed a cookie to me and said, "I woke up early to bake these cookies myself, and I saved the biggest one for you."  Precious!!!

That same day was Teacher Appreciation Day, so I also received pretty flowers, a cute little apple locket from an old student, and McDonald's sweet tea from a sweet mom who knows me very well.  I couldn't resist snapping a picture of course.  What kind of a blogger would I be otherwise?! Ha!

A doughnut showed up on Wednesday! Who doesn't love a hot pink doughnut with sprinkles?

I wasn't at school on Thursday, but Friday one of my kiddos celebrated his birthday with more cookies.  We also had a special Jimmy Johns lunch to celebrate!  SO delish! :)

2.  I know this is kind of old news, but I wanted to share more about Tuesday's big surprise!  Mid-lesson, I was SHOCKED to find out that I won an award from NEA for my Pinterest boards.  That is the LAST thing I ever expected!   I am so grateful for the recognition from NEA, and I am also so blessed to be a part of such a supportive school district.  Literally, EVERYONE from central office packed into my room to show their support... with my principal, some building reps, and my sweet hubs.  Mr. Wonderful even picked up flowers and cake for the kiddos on the way there!  I was speechless... and if you know me in real life... you know that doesn't happen too often!  Ha!   If you want to read my initial post from earlier in the week, you can check it out HERE.  Otherwise, here's a peek at what was inside THE BOX.  The silly string will make our last day pretty unforgettable, if I do say so myself!

 

3.  In other super old news, I also got my braces off!  I swear I am wearing my retainer!  It's not my favorite, but at least I can take it out for pictures now, and I won't have to wear it to an upcoming wedding!  I was super excited to cash in all of these "WAHOOS" for a giftcard... and obviously I am still pretty excited about everything as evidenced by the second selfie of the week!  Ha!

3.  General Ization came to visit this week!  In fact, he was "visiting" when my visitors came!  This is part of my Generalization Gurus pack. 

4.  We also made cute little portraits for Mother's Day!  I purchased the file from Lesson Plan S.O.S. three years ago, and I have used it ever since!  I just love it!

5.  We have been finishing our basement a little at a time over the course of the past year. We still have a lot of work to do, but I finally have a few pictures worth sharing!  We're making progress!  My hubs is currently coating the bathroom floor with polyurethane, but I am LOVING it!  The chalkboard was a Craigslist find!  It's hanging next to where we usually keep the ping pong table that was gifted to us by my in-laws after they decided they no longer wanted it in their own basement.  :)  It will be such a fun way to keep score... and I am in love with its vintage charm... and its understated significance in the home of a teacher.  The last picture is our tiny little future dry bar.  As you can see, this is going to be our casual, home entertainment area!  We are looking forward to entertaining and lounging around in our new space... eventually!  Whenever that is!  I'm also really looking forward to decorating the space!  Yay!   Happy Mother's Day, friends! :)