Birthday Weekend

Yes I know it's crazy but Tommy and I share the same birthday. Always seems to surprise people and I get it because it surprised me too at first! If I have to share my birthday with anyone I'm glad it's with him! Anyway on to the weekend of celebrations. 

It first started out with a lunch and dessert with my team at school. My good friend, Sarah, also had a birthday this weekend so we had a combined birthday celebration with Mellow Mushroom pizza and GiGi's cupcakes! Yum! 

(Yes, my coworkers bought me a Spanish card because that's just how it goes at LF)

Friday night Tommy and I went to see American Sniper which was a great movie. The story is tough but it was so well done. Bradley Cooper deserves a win for his performance in this movie! 

Saturday we met friends at Fado Irish Pub for bottomless mimosas and lunch. It was a great time with wonderful friends!

After Fado, we headed home for a little cat nap before heading to East Cobb for our great friends', Caroline and Drew, engagement party. Drew is one of Tommy's oldest friends and was a groomsman in our wedding. Caroline is one of my great friends (and former roommate) from College. It was a great celebration and I unfortunately forgot to take any pictures! The Stellings and Whitemans put on a great party to celebrate the two of them! 

Sunday was our actual birthday and we had a great day! Tommy and I played a tennis match (our team was so great and brought us a birthday cake to celebrate!). We played eh and lost in the third set. We will just blame the festivities from the day before is why we lost. It was a beautiful day though to be outside and playing tennis. 

My parents stopped by during the day to bring our birthday presents from them and I'm so excited because they bought me an armchair for our living room! 

Later that night, we met my parents, Nana, Tommy's parents, Bonnie and Brett for dinner at South City Kitchen. It was a big hit for the whole fam! Wish that James and Claire could have joined us but it's too hard to come back from Athens just for dinner. I will see them soon I'm sure! 

Just YUM

It was a wonderful weekend surrounded by family and friends. We feel very loved. I have a feeling 26 (and 27 for Tommy) is going to be a great year. Lots to look forward to in 2015 with the people we love. 

Meeting Hylan Marie Coleman!

Today was a special day because I got to spend the day with some of my favorite people and their little humans! My good friend, Jessica, had a baby girl named, Hylan Marie, just two weeks ago. (the bows I bought her are just a tad too big ;) )

I was dying to make a trip to go meet this sweet girl so Lindsey, Catherine and I decided to take their three kiddos for a road trip to visit Jessica, Burke and Hylan. We loaded up Lindsey's car with the three kiddos and headed out on our trip to Sylacauga, Alabama. 

 Woody and Gracelyn

Gaines

We came bearing LOTS of Sonic for lunch! 

Jessica looks GREAT! I unfortunately didn't get a single picture of or with Jessica (so stupid!) 

We got to Jessica's around 10am her time and played with the kids and caught up on everyone's lives for hours. It was as though I had seen Jessica just last week. It's hard to believe the last time I saw her was my wedding and the last time I saw Burke was way before that. He has gotten so big! He is such a talker and growing up into such a big boy. 

The weather was beautiful and the kids enjoyed playing outside with each other. They all have such different personalities and it's so fun to watch their interactions. 

I am so lucky to have all these mommas in my life! I was petrified going into my first year of teaching and the best thing I have gained from my teaching experience thus far are these wonderful friendships. Lake Forest brought me some of the best people I know and it's been such a blessing to watch all their families grow over the years. It's crazy to think I have seen these littles ones since they were just days old. I love to see Jessica, Catherine and Lindsey with their children. Burke, Woody, Gracelyn, Gaines and Hylan are so lucky to have these strong women as their mothers. They have been mentors to me over the years in teaching and in life. God has blessed me by their friendships and I can only hope I'm as good of a mom as these three are when the time comes for me. Today was a great day! 

When you finally feel as though people may listen...

Oh teaching...education....what it's like to be a teacher...

This morning I woke up to my old administrator posting on Facebook an open letter written by my county's Superintendent, Robert Avossa. I can't explain how much I felt like screaming "FINALLY" to myself! This is my fourth year of teaching and I have seen SO many changes in my job description over these years. My first year was tough solely because I was on my own in a classroom for the first time, but the added stress wasn't quite there like it has been the past three years. My second year of teaching was when common core came into Georgia schools and we weren't quite sure if we were teaching everything correctly and how the testing was going to look at the end of the year. This same year was when the change of how we were evaluated as teachers came in. Last year was a continuation of figuring out common core and our evaluation system but this year has been a nightmare if you ask me. Georgia decided they were going to create our own new assessment for the end of the year. 

"Teaching" is a relative term these days. We are so bogged down with assessments that are mandated that the "fun" has been taken out of our days. We can't just enjoy our students and helping them reach their potential because we are on such a tight lease with no time to explore with our students. Testing now takes a significant role in every classroom from Kindergarten through Twelfth grade. I am in fifth grade and the type of testing my students are expected to be mastery at is similar to tests I took in my latter years of high school and in college. No longer do you "Show what you know" but you have to be an analytic thinker at the age of ten. The demographics at my school aren't ready for this type of assessment. My students are still trying to figure out the language never mind be able to analyze between two long pieces of text. 

I am proud to say that I work with amazing people and I really think Fulton County has their heads (and hearts) in the right place when it comes to how they want us to be educators and how they feel about their students. You can read the open letter here. I can't explain the relief I felt that he actually has been listening to all of his employees and how they truly feel about their jobs today. It really is a shame that our government doesn't come to educators to ask us how we feel about what education is today. People in education (not just my school) are burning out at a rapid rate and if things keep progressing the way they are, then no one will want to come into the teaching profession. If a sophomore in college were to come to me and ask me if knowing everything I do now would I still have wanted to get my degree in teaching? I would most likely say "no." There are a lot of other jobs out there that you can help others, feel rewarded by your work, get paid more, and feel like you have a say in what your day to day life is like. This year I feel as though I have NO control over how I do my job and there is no way to change that. 

I sincerely hope (but highly doubt) that our legislature will take to heart what was so elegantly said in Dr. Avossa's letter or we are going to have a really long road ahead in our education system. 

End rant

New Years Beach Trip 2015

This year a group of our friends decided to plan a beach trip for New Years and it was the best decision! There were 11 of us that rented a house (dog-friendly I must add!) in Cape San Blas, Florida.

(I have never seen Cooper as happy as I did this weekend. He sure loves the beach!) 

It was such a relaxing trip because it's a pretty secluded beach with very few houses around. We were able to have the dogs off their leashes and build bonfires every night. You can't get much better than a house on the beach surrounded by great friends. We left Atlanta on the 31 in the morning and came home January 4th. Tommy took the 31st off so we headed out early morning so we could enjoy the afternoon on the beach. We couldn't get into the house before four but it worked out fine because we just sat on the beach in front of the house and played with Cooper. Everyone trickled in between 4-6. New Year's Eve we all did our own thing for dinner then celebrated by a fire on the beach. It was perfect! I celebrated in my sweats. I must say I enjoyed not having to dress up, spend a fortune to get in anywhere and not having to pay surcharges for an uber home. It was fantastic!! 

The rest of the trip involved daily walks on the beach with the girls and the dogs, delicious meals (we each paired up to take on dinner or lunch each day and did our own things for breakfast) cold beverages, snores, bonfires, frisbee, bocce ball, football and quality time catching up on life. 

Our last full day there we decided to go out for some seafood for lunch. We had been recommended Indian Raw Bar and it was exactly what we hoped it would be! Lots of seafood was consumed by all! They also had the honor system as far as beer went. You served yourself and just told them how many you took when you paid. Such an interesting concept! 

I couldn't have asked for a better way to end my break from school and starting the new year. Life in the Robinson household is about to get quite hectic. A new year means a new job for Tommy. His last day at Penske is tomorrow and he flies out to California on Sunday for the week for training. He is starting a new sales job for Yellow Pages selling digital advertising. I am nervous but excited for this new venture to come. Tommy has been wanting to go into sales for awhile now so I am hopeful this is the right fit for him and our family. On to new beginnings in 2015! 

End of 2014

I can't believe 2014 is coming to a close. It's been quite a year! I was making our 2014 photo book the other day and it was so fun reliving all we did over the past 12 months. 2014 was one of the busiest years of my life but the best one yet. I am lucky to be surrounded by such great people who I call family and friends. Started the year as a Williams and  now ending the year on my 7th month of being a Robinson. 2014 brought me a husband, an amazing honeymoon, many wedding celebrations of friends, even more engagements of my friends, the news I'll be an aunt, tennis city championship, tommy getting a new job, several trips to the beach and lake, football games, friends showers, and quality time spent with family and friends. I am so blessed. It's been a great year! Looking forward to all 2015 has in store for us! Baby nephew, 8 weddings, first anniversary, finishing up my leadership endorsement, and I'm sure many more wonderful surprises.

Happy New Year's Eve!! May 2015 bring you many blessings! 

Christmas 2014

As I sit here waiting for the doctor at the minute clinic (naturally Id be sick when I'm on break) I'm reflecting on the past two wonderful days spent with family. Christmas Eve was different for me this year as I didn't get to spend the evening with my family and South African clan because it was time for me to spend it with my in-laws. We started out the day at Peachtree Presbyterian with my sister and brother-in-law for the noon summit service.

It was perfect and really started the two days on the right foot. I love Christmas hymns and celebrating the birth of Jesus. We then ran home and picked up Cooper and the food I was making for Christmas Eve (along with our masses of presents bc we both have big families). We spent about an hour at my parents because I just couldn't imagine not seeing my parents on Christmas Eve. We dropped all our presents for my family there and then headed to Tommy's parents house. The whole family left from there to head to Mt. Bethel Methodist Church for the 5:00 service. It was a beautiful service ending in candlelight singing silent night. It was nice to experience what tommy grew up cherishing as his Christmas Eve. Tommy's family, me, his aunt and cousin all headed back to Tommy's parents to prepare dinner. 

(Tommy's sister, Beth, and her boyfriend, Danny) 

I made garlic mushrooms and we had twice baked potatoes, beef tenderloin, turkey, and bread followed by strawberry trifle for dessert. 

The egg nog was flowing (not for me) and Christmas cheer was around. It was a delicious dinner filled with family time. Tommy's family always opens all their presents Christmas Eve night so we spent the next hour or so watching everyone open their presents. We all came away very spoiled! Everyone was given th same pajamas so we all changed for a group shot. It was hysterical! Before we knew it and we were closing in on midnight. I was fading big time so we headed home so we could enjoy waking up at our house to celebrate our first Christmas morning as a married couple at our own house.

We got up early to open stockings and exchange our presents with each other. It was so nice getting to start the day just the three of us (can't forget about Cooper!). I heated up the breakfast casseroles and we scooped up Bonnie, Brett and their dog Henley on our way to my parents house. We looked like the Griswolds as we had 4 people, 2 dogs, 3 suitcases, a dog bed, dog bowls and dog food container because Henley was staying at my parents for the next few days while Bonnie and Brett go up to Ohio to visit Brett's family. Luckily it's just a 20 minute drive to my parents. We unloaded and started my favorite part of Christmas with my family! We opened our stockings before having breakfast. After breakfast we opened all of our presents. Again, we came away very spoiled by everyone! It was wonderful getting a few hours with my entire family in the same place before Bonnie and Brett needed to head to the airport to fly to Ohio. 

We left to spend a few hours with Tommy's family on Christmas Day too. We opened our stockings and had homemade tamales for lunch. Tommy had given his dad a droid for Christmas and on its second flight tommy flew it into the top of a tree. The next hour included tommy changing into random clothes and climbing a tree. He used some golfing pole to reach the copter and finally got it. Nothing like climbing a tree on Christmas! It was time to head back to my parents house. 

On Christmas each year my cousins, aunt and uncle come over for dinner. We also had another couple that are dear friends of my parents join us as well. My mom set a beautiful table for all 13 of us to sit around and we enjoyed a delicious dinner (pork tenderloin, rosemary potatoes, butternut squash and red pepper, cornbread dressing, and salad followed by lemon meringue pie and lemon/cranberry cake) and even better company. We opened our gifts from my cousins and enjoyed a great evening. There's nothing I love more than family on Christmas. We missed having Bonnie, Brett, my cousin Christopher and his wife Thali there for dinner. We skyped with Christopher and Thali in Brazil before everyone arrived that day. They looked nice and sun tanned!! I hadn't seen my uncle Clive or the Loebers since our wedding so it was great to catch up with them all. 

Christmas is a time for family and we had a wonderful two days. There's so much build up before Christmas and I'm sad it's over. This is my favorite time of the year by far. I love buying the gifts for my family each year and getting to see them open then. I love the Christmas services with the beautiful music and message. We are blessed that God sent his son for us. I am so grateful for the life I have and the loved ones I'm surrounded with. Sending love and joy from mine to yours. 

Time for a break

Every year the month of December brings many different feelings. At work: exhaustion and need for a break. The month of December at school is always hectic and reminds me we are halfway through the year which totally stresses me out!  At home: excitement for time with family and friends celebrating the joy of the season. Everyday I left work exhausted from another day but excited for what I was doing that night. This week was a crazy week like the rest of the month!

Favorite moments of the week: 

Tuesday- round robin with our tennis team. Was so great to get out and hit around with our mixed team. 

Thursday: my work holiday party at Taco Mac. We had a great time and so thankful for my wonderful coworker friends!

(My good friend Sarah who teaches 5th with me) 

Friday: winter celebration day at school. This was the most seamless day before a break I've had in my short career thus far. We did all kinds of fun activities and I think my students really enjoyed themselves! We read to a kindergarten class, had a pancake party while practicing our fractional measurements, made gingerbread houses for a class competition, bingo, and dancing to just dance on the Wii in the gym. It was a fun-filled day!! 

( a gift from the newest member on my team, Mrs. Powell. This was such a generous gift of my favorite pens. Only my teacher friends will understand how excited I was when I opened this!) 

Friday night Tommy and I went to "There" for dinner to celebrate him getting a new job YAY!!! We then came home, scooped up Cooper, and went driving around looking at Christmas lights. Was a wonderful end to the busy work week. 

Saturday: met four of my best friends for mimosas and brunch at Kaleidoscope. This is the first saturday I didn't feel the need to do household chores because I have two weeks to do it. Enjoyed my four hour lunch catching up with friends. It was perfect. 

Saturday night we joined my family at "Thirteen Pies" to celebrate my younger brother and sister's 20th birthday. I can't believe they are twenty. James and Claire are two of the best people I know. I'm so lucky to call them family. We had a wonderful dinner and went to see the blow up house on Peachtree Dunwoody after. My mom was absolutely amazed! There's nothing I love more than spending quality time with my wonderful family. It is so special when we can get everyone together. (Not easy to do when there are nine of you and two of which are in college) 

All in all its been a wonderful week and it's only gonna get better from today on. I can't wait to see friends that are in town for the holidays and spending time celebrating the birth of Jesus with both our families. 

(Some pictures from the birthday dinner) 

Enjoy this week celebrating the reason for the season. God bless and Merry Christmas!