#QUINNING

so a little bit ago, i blogged about the awesome opportunity i had last year to serve as a resident minister. i was so lucky to be placed in the best community, in the best building, but most importantly, with the best best best residents. (i swear, i'm not biased, it's fact).

last year i was so lucky to grow close with these #quinncredible 70 girls through coming to their doors with low-cal cupcakes…then high cal cupcakes because come on, through night prayer, renew, and quintessential questions. the 70 sophomores in quinn house last year are no joke, some of the best you will ever ever ever ever ever meet. once again fact.

to all the quinnions, you guys still make my day oh so very bright whenever i see you and we can catch up. even if you just waved hello, it makes my days oodles and poodles better. so thanks for an awesome year last year, you guys were da bomb-dot-com.

also, bulletins were, are and always will be my love language. sorry, i'm not sorry.

oh, and puns

and cupcakes.

my dad

sometimes, after a rough day, it helps to remember just how lucky i am.

one way in which i am oh so very lucky is obviously in my amazingly wonderful family. but, i call myself especially lucky to have the father i have.

first of all, he raised my brothers and i as a single parent from '97 on and if i do say so myself, he did a wonderful job.

but mostly, i am lucky to have such a supportive parent in my life. growing up, i was taught that i could do anything but i had to work for it. i was always told that i could do and be anything i wanted because i was a girl. mostly that meant i didn't get a pass on shoveling the driveway, but the point was, i can and need to do things for myself.

it has always been clear that i get to make the important decisions. there were no ultimatums about college majors (even when i was convinced i was going to major in musical theatre), or bribes to go to different schools (that were significantly less costly), or what i need to do after college. it was clear i would need to make a lot of things happen on my own, but it was also clear that the choice was mine. my dad has always offered his advice, but has never influenced.  i always laugh because whenever my dad provides future helpful hints about marriage, family, home owning, children, cars, etc. the "when you have (insert life choice here)" statement is always quickly followed by an "if that's what you decide" statement.

also, when i call my dad and tell him i have accepted a substitute teacher position in DC startin the week after my graduation, he doesn't skip a beat. even though it means he will be driving in a minivan full of all my college stuff back to massachusetts all by himself for 8 hours, he tells me that it is wonderful and talks me through where i am going to live.

so basically, i have the best, most supportive, and wonderful dad in the world. and i am a really, really lucky girl.

what sound does a cardinal make?

in about thirty minutes, i will be heading off to my last class ever as an undergraduate at the catholic university of america. its hard to believe that this long tumultuous journey is almost over. i have honestly loved every single minute of it, even the minutes i hated (haha)

what makes being a student at cua so incredible is the community, the family of catholic university students, faculty and staff that make sure this place is a home for four years. i have met some of he greatest people in the world while a student at cua, from my favorite professors, to my community, my staff, my friends and my supervisors. each and everyone of them is what has made cua so much more tun a college but a total formative experience, shaping me into the person i am supposed to be. so, as i roll on out to my last class and my last luau, heres to the last four years, the home that campus has become, and the people who have made it like a family for me!

you know, just off to the hawk n dove #rip

vom-laugh

yougottaregatta

#fouryearfriendship

first bats game

nicolettes birthday freshman year

freshman retreatt

those classic metro pics

whats freshman year without trailers?

gingerbread

christmas cookies of '010

engy chillen'

those crew days

fourth on 4th

cookies in bed

family meals

summer in dc

friends and bowls

#policeweek

 happy luaupalooza everybody!

the church.

(buckle up internet, because it is about to get all kinds of catholic up in here.)

as i have mentioned before on this here bliggity blog, my nana is one of my favorite people in the whole wide world. so i was super fortunate to be able to go home for triduum and easter sunday to spend time with my family.

because most people have jobs, i ended up going to holy thursday and good friday liturgies with my nana at mount saint mary's cistersian abbey in wrentham and to the easter vigil with her at her parish.

so holy thursday. it was so entirely beautiful to see the sisters, who range widely in age, so devoted to putting on a perfect holy thursday mass for all the people who come. i will be honest, it was mostly older people (it was at 4 pm for those who don't enjoy driving at night), but the nuns were amazing, one of them even tried to correct the presiding priest at one pint and i had to giggle to myself. what shocked me the most was that these sisters make there own liturgical wine. pretty cool. i was also so touched to see the nuns wash each of their sisters feet, as well as some of the mass participants.

good friday at the abbey was also phenom-dot-com. it was a full communion service at 3:00 pm and once again it was so wonderful to be a there. it was so overwhelming, not only commemorating the Lord's Passion, but also, realizing that there were people across the world doing the same thing at the same exact time. how wonderful is it to be a part of that. mind and heart totally overwhelmed for sure.

though my family usually opts for a 9:00 am easter sunday mass complete with the children's choir, my nana was going to the vigil with her sister and my aunt so i figured i would join them. though it was totally new england style (3 readings were skipped. so were 3 verses of the litany #prayforus) it was once again super overwhelming to see adults willingly take receive the sacraments that i received when i barely understood them. how powerful to make that choice as an adult and say yes to living a life with Christ! as my nana said, "now those are the hardcore catholics." so finally by 10:00 pm we were ringing in the alleluias and celebrating the risen lord as a church and as a family.

the next day was pretty awesome cause we had our annual mccarthy family easter party (no parades in this one, don't worry) and egg hunt. it was super wonderful to spend time with everybody to celebrate easter. till next time, internet.

hey there, teacher girls.

at the education reception last week

when going to a small university, you get to know a lot of your classmates by name. when you are in a program consisting of 22 people, you get to know those people very (emphasis on very) well.

post class happy hours were known to have happened

that one time we made ice cream in our science methods class

welcome to teacher education at the catholic university of america. the class of 2014 is one of the few that has absolutely no men. as in zero. and since all our classes junior and senior  year were in the evening to allow for daytime classroom experiences. this lead to an affectionate feeling of going to an all girls night school instead of a co-educational 4 year institution. but honestly, in those two and a half hour classes, in that same room in o'boyle, we grew to love each other so much. we were there to help each other figure out assignments, share practicum and student teaching stories, (some of them horror) and to complain or praise our professors together.

science & engineering convention this weekend

these ladies have been such a wonderful and beautiful blessing in my life the past four years, and i am so fortunate to call them one of my very many wonderful families. i know that wherever they end up, they will be amazing educators, inspiring generations to become lifelong learners. much love to education class of 2014. xoxox!

the early childhood squad

also, i'm awful at taking pics, photo creds go out the the one and only nicolette. huzzah.

#blessed

forewarning: this blogpost will completely lack visual stimulation due to the death of my phone in the downpours the other day which equals the loss of a plethora of pics. mhmm. however, the replacement arrived so expect overload soon.

so, last tuesday, i entered into the land of "miserable and magical, in the best way." yupp, i turned twenty-twooo. so, even though the utilization of the hashtag blessed has become extremely corny, i think it speaks perfectly to how my family and friends made me feel.

from the ry's coming over to ring in my new year with me, (an feasting on some ben and jerrys as we do), to the countless texts, phone calls, wall posts and embarrassing instas (here's looking at you ines, and beth), to the suitemates surprising me with an ice cream cake and singing before my staff meeting.

needless to say, the day had me feeling very lucky, very loved, and very #blessed. here's to another wonderful year!

my kids.

don't worry, i haven't secretly been a teen mom this whole time, but what i am is a teacher which means, i currently have 23 kiddos who i do care very deeply about.

each one of the 8/9 year olds is completely unique and completely hilarious in their own way. from the little girl who wrote me a letter saying i was sweet and "p.s. i like the way your hair looks and smells" to the little boy whose bus leaves early everyday and he walks out telling everybody to "have an awesome weekend."

so, because i am not full-time with these kiddos as i was last semester, i miss them lots. i have an arrangement with my cooperating teacher that i go back and volunteer in the afternoon on fridays. but, this past week, i was fortunate enough to accompany those wonderful cherubs on not just one, but TWO field trips. i know, crazy town. (excuse me for the lack of pictures, but you know, other peoples children and all.)

so, on wednesday, i ventured to the lincoln memorial with my third graders to watch them perform in a 75 anniversary celebration of marian anderson's performance on the lincoln. it was too adorable for words. my kiddos sang along with an opera singer to "he's got the hole world in his hands" with an opera singer. i one hundo percent teared up. like a lot. after that, we walked around the mall and saw some monuments and some cherry blossoms and it was absolutely lovely. we all picked out our favorite mll quote at his memorial and this was mine.

then, on friday, we ventured down the street to the national geographic museum to learn about carsten peter's adventures, view the peruvian gold exhibit, the cosmos exhibit and watch a 3d movie on galactic weather. pretttty cool. it was super awesome to hang out with the kids and see them be able to play and have fun after they spent the whole first week of april testing.

those crazy third graders of mine are in a way like my kids. in moments, they can be really frustrating, or really funny, but mostly, they are just really fantastic.