Happy Easter

First, an old school photo of 2 of the cousins that just happened to be on my camera. It is pretty cute so I couldn't resist putting it up.













Tayler's cute Easter Dress. It may not look real fancy. But she was so PROUD to wear it today...



















Close up of the cute girl and the cute bow.



















The Easter Bunny delivered this morning. It was decided that our Easter Bunny must have some major hops because the eggs were hidden so high in our trees. Thankyouverymuch.



















And, the reason, T was so proud of her dress today.
Hand made by the little Miss herself.
On Grandma Jane's sewing machine.
The Old Woman is smiling down from Heaven every time we use it. I just know it. And if you hung out with me and my Grandma much you will know that, yes, I called her the Old Woman to her face. And she would pretend to get mad. And then we both would bust up laughing..

The Dog Ate My Mom's Birthday Cake...and other reasons why we are THAT family.

Well, techinically, the dog didn't eat the cake until after my Mom's party was over, phew. And, I honestly, think we forgot to tell her that the mutt ate the cake (conveniently). However, the reason the dog at the cake is more proof as to why we are THAT family. 

The moral of the story is:  Don't leave the leftover birthday cake on top of the chest freezer in the garage.  Even if the garage is as cold as the chest freezer would be...

Although, my family has been leaving food on top of that chest freezer since before I was born, I'm sure.  So, maybe the moral should be:  Don't let the dog's out when there is leftover birthday cake on top of the chest freezer.  But, that would take an act of God.  Because, let me tell you, keeping 5 dogs inside is not always the least chaotic choice...

So, I guess the REAL moral of the story is:  Make sure you eat all the birthday cake so there aren't any leftovers!  

THAT is a moral I can support. 

How I get through the morning, afternoon, evening...

I am a coffee girl. I love a good cup of coffee. I have two (okay three) favorite drinks, depending on my mood.
1. Americano w/ room
2. Soy Latte
3. Chai Tea Latte

On the weekend my favorite activity is making coffee for me, T and Shane and then sitting down with a big fat newspaper. a

Side Note: nobody freak out, T doesn't get caffeine... just a fancy little cup of steamed milk or tea. 

I am ALSO a tea girl. My other favorite thing is sitting down on the weekend with a giant cup of steamy tea and reading the big, fat, newspaper. Ahhhh... Being a teacher is especially good for this because the entire summer consists of a lovely caffeinated beverage and reading the newspaper. Only, in summer, my morning drink is usually iced. Ahhhh...summer.

As much as I love me a good cup of coffee/tea. I try to only drink 1 cup of caffeine filled beverage a day. Then I switch to herbal tea or decaf or water. Whatever. 

But, round about 4:30...

Or, as I like say, the time when my roof could collapse, boat could sink, car could fly off the road and I wouldn't notice because the 7th graders have SUCKED THE LIFE OUT OF ME.

As I was saying, round about 4:30...I need a little pick-me-up. And, as much as I love caffeine, I would prefer a non-caffeinated pick-me-up. Well, somebody suggested a nice tall glass of COLD water. Cold water is supposed to have the same invigorating effects as a cup of coffee. 

Are you kidding me? 

Not, so much. 

So, I was settling for a nice cup of hot herbal tea. But nothing had struck my fancy. Made my taste buds sing. Woke me up. Until I discovered this (cue: choir of angels):

Oh. My. Gosh. 

This tea is Delicious!  

And even though there is no caffeine it totally wakes me up.  T likes it too.  

At first I felt bad buying this tea as I prefer organic teas.  Because, I'm a snob like that.  

But even though this isn't organic it is ethically traded (see the logo...). 

I try to buy ethically traded, shade grown coffee and tea.  Because, I'm a snob like that.   

And it is also blended in Colorado.  Which, I feel semi-okay about because that isn't too far of a trip for the box to be shipped to Washington.  It's not like it's being packages in Bangladesh or something.  Okay, it's pretty far...I try (key word: try) to buy food from local vender's as much as possible.  Because, I'm a snob like that.  

Anyway, Bengal Spice...THE TEA OF CHAMPIONS!  

Try it.  

You'll love it.  

Happy Birthday, Shane!

It's Shane's birthday! 
We went out for coffee this morning (any excuse to go out for coffee!  Yeah!).   And we'll celebrate after school tonight. T is so excited about what she got for him. We spent A LONG time looking for it. But, I can't say what it is, in case Shane decides to read this blog! :) 

This is one of my favorite pictures of Shane.  It just happens to be from our wedding which, is a bit ridiculous.  But, whatever.  I just like it because he looks so relaxed and happy w/ a drink in hand!  It would just be a little more perfect if that was an Elysian.  Oh, well. 

I'd like to do the "34" things I love about Shane post.  But, let's be real, who has the time!? 

Happy Birthday to my favorite 34 year old. 

Not Tired

I should be in bed...but I'm not.

Shane's birthday is coming up and I can't decide what to get him. So, many good ideas are floating around in my head. By brain is having trouble focusing on just one. My life is SO difficult, I know.

We can't decide whether to go to California or Spokane for spring break. Decisions, decisions. I will tell you this. I want to see Ms. Hammond all pregnant so Spokane is looking mighty fine. Despite the fact that it is, well, Spokane. In March. Still snowing. Yuck. I did tell T we "might" be able to go skiing if we went to Spokane. I could regret that. I love skiing...but teaching the girl to ski on icy snow could be unfortunate. Maybe it will be nice spring skiing weather? Maybe.

Let's see, what do we have going this weekend? Birthday party (early) tomorrow. Nothing Sunday (Horray). Oh, except for, getting my rear in gear and getting organized for the week. Because, this week, did not go so smooth....

Speaking of, guess what time I woke up this morning? 5:55. Guess what time I have to leave the house in order to have any hope of catching the ferry? 6:00. AT. THE. LATEST.
I made it. AND I had the dog. Miracles do happen. It was the most amazing feat of team work I have ever seen. Shane was a beast getting the dog in the car and situated. And I have never picked out an outfit so quickly. Luckily, it was a teacher work day so I could wear comfy clothes and put myself semi-together on the boat.

Well, I should probably try sleeping now. G'night.

A Little 7th Grade Humor

There is no way I can give this moment justice. It was absolutely hilarious.

My last class of the day is the most random bunch of squirelly and completely innocent little 7th graders. The class is FULL of BOYS. Squirelly, innocent, small little 7th grade boys. Who sometimes call me "mom" on accident. We're talking innocent. The girls in the class are a little more mature. They are cultured, above the boys, elegant, if you will.

I'm greeting them at the door. As usual.
Nothing weird about that.

When the bell rings I walk into class and notice that the kids at one table are leaning way back in their seats and looking at something with a combination of horror, disgust, amusement and shock. I ignore them. Because, let's be real, they are seventh graders.

I start my spiel, about the agenda for the day, blah, blah, blah. Which, is probably what most of the class heard. Because it was the last period of the day and they are 7th graders. Anyway, one of the smallest, most innocent, 7th grade boys at the table in question suddenly pipes up, "uhhh, Ms. Westby??" I look his way, "There's a, BRA on our table?" It was a question. Like, he was wondering if I had put it there on purpose or something....ummm, no.

Time Stops

Not that I was all that shocked. They are 7TH GRADERS, after all. And this is a science class. Crazy things happen. The following statements ensued.

First, there was a moment of SILENCE.
Followed quickly by eyes darting around the room to see if everyone had heard that there was a BRA on their lab table.

Oh, the horror.

Then at the same time, exactly, everyone started talking, with eyes as big as saucers.
Keep in mind all of the conversations were happening at once so I heard snippets of dozens of conversations.

A rambunctious boy on the other side of the classroom, "Maybe it's Ms. Westby's?" Tittering. Nodding.

The boy who made the announcement about the bra to begin with totally serious when he responded, "No, this thing is HUGE." Complete with hand motions. Depicting, exactly how huge.

Kids nodding along. Because, suddenly the mystery of the bra had become serious. A girl at the back of the room with a puzzled expression, "I don't think Ms. Westby wears leopard prints...???" More kids nodding.

At this point they were totally serious about solving the mystery of the bra and I had to leave the room because I JUST ABOUT peed my pants trying not to fall on the floor laughing.

Somehow, I managed to tell the boy to throw the mystery bra in the garbage can.
Yes, YOU HEARD ME, the garbage can. What would YOU do with a random bra in the middle of your classroom?
- Hang it on the lost and found peg?
- Take it to the office?
- Hold it up for every class to ask if it is theirs?

Somehow, none of those sounded like good options.

So, if anyone is looking for a HUGE, leopard print bra. It is in the back garbage can in room 309.

HELP. YOUR. SELF.

The Scientist

What works super hard, is interested in space, asks her step-mama if she will teach her how to use excel to make a table and is just plain hilarious because she his so cute? Yes, that's right, you know the answer.

T's school had a science fair and T worked really, really, really hard on her entry. It was a long process (well, long for a 4th grader). That began with choosing a topic and then deciding if she wanted to do an investigation, research paper, diagram, etc. T chose to do a research project on the Planets (oooh, ahhh...cool!).

So, here it is, in it's Internet debut.

She worked HARD. And had FUN.