On the road again!

We are headed down south for a few weeks, leaving tomorrow.  Woo hoo!!  I love road trips.  Love them.  The Terror's are excellent travellers, the scenery is gorgeous and visiting family is a blast.
The Terrors have always been great in the car.  Naturally, there have been a few times when things went very, very badly, but in general they keep themselves entertained with books and toys, and are pleasant company.  On this particular trip we will be going down a roller coaster road, so Girl Terror is already worried about the puking.....but I've stocked up on Gravol.
I'm sure we will see plenty of wildlife.  I'm always hoping for bears, but bison, mountain sheep and various smaller creatures are common. On the ferry we have seen whales and dolphins in the past, hopefully this trip will bring them out again!
We plan to see my MIL, some aunts, uncles and cousins along the way.  Aways fun, always full of love and laughter.  But like all good trips, I'm sure we will be ready and anxious to come home.  Once we come back, summer vacation will be in our blood, and the beach will be calling my name.

NOTE:  If you are one of those creepy internet stalker types, know this:  There will be a large, hairy, scary Viking-type man staying in my house while I'm gone.  His only tasks are to love Lucy the Dog, feed Scipio the Cat, and mangle idiots like you.  So stay away!

Girl Terror turns 9.

Girl Terror celebrated her ninth birthday this weekend.  She doesn't actually turn 9 for another week, but scheduling forced us to party early.
This past year, she has grown, and changed, and is becoming her own person in so many ways.  She is starting to show a bit of attitude (which I do NOT appreciate!).  Her parents are not nearly as funny as they think.  Her brother apparently needs a lot of correction.
The birthday party theme this year was "Rainbows".  Basically, she wanted all bright colours.  Grandma Beth sent her a dress that fit right in...

We planned her cake ages ago.  She drew a detailed plan, and I agreed to try a rainbow cake, no fondant.  It was SUPPOSED to be covered with wiggly rainbow stripes, in bright colors.  But when I was putting the layers together to decorate, I realized why I don't usually use basic cake mixes:

I doctor mixes, add to them, and basically use them as a base for my cakes.  This one, I simply followed the directions.  It did not go well.  When I picked them up, they fell apart.  The poker boys were thrilled, since it meant free cake.  I was less thrilled, since it was 9:00 pm on Friday night, and I needed this cake finished before I went to bed.
So I did something I am horrified to admit....I went to the store, bought premade sponge cakes, and slapped them together.  I decorated them, so they are "homemade", right?!

The girls loved them...everybody got their own miniature cake, and everyone blew out a candle and made a wish.
  I still can't believe this amazing child of mine is growing up so fast.  She's smart, beautiful, and full of life.  I love you Girl Terror!  Happy Birthday!

Haircut Rules

Most women know the basic rules of cutting hair.  Last night, for a variety of weak reasons, I broke them all...
-I cut my OWN bangs.
-while they were wet.
-I smooshed my hair down on my forehead, ensuring that they would sproong back up to the middle of my skull after the trim.
-PMS.  Not the appropriate hair-cutting time of the month.
-I was tired....next time, I will sleep during the night, and only cut hair during the day.
-I did NOT gently trim away bit by bit.  Nope.  I hacked it off with one big swipe of the scissors.

The good news is, most people either lie to me all the time, or it really doesn't look that bad.  I teach teens, and they tend to be merciless when it comes to critiquing.  Mind you, most of my students were more impressed by the fact that I not only OWN a straightening iron, I actually USED it this morning!

If you see me around town and I look different, don't worry.  It's just my glowy white forehead, out in the sun for the first time in decades.

My softer side makes an appearance

My students seem to believe I have no feelings.  That indeed, I am a cold heartless wench, with a chunk of ice instead of a heart.  Hmph.  True, I am not a hugger.  Nor do I gush over many things.  I like the practical, logical way of making choices.  Emotions are for weaker beings.  Anyway!  I happen to believe I DO have feelings, I just keep them buried and hidden away, not flaunting around like shameless exhibitionists. 
I thought I finally had proof of my kind-heartedness, so I told my students this story:
Last night when I went to let the cat inside, he was lounging on the lawn with a suspicious fluff ball in front of him.  He came in for a snack.  I went out to investigate, and found a sad little mouse with a broken spine.  She was desperately trying to get away, using only her tiny front paws. 
Now, I am not a vet.  I have no experience mending tiny mouse spines.  So I figured the best thing I could do for Minnie would be to put her out of her misery.  I knew Scipio (the cat) (my husband named him, why do you ask?) had no plans to use his catch for sustenance.  He would likely just go back out and play Bat the Mouse until he grew tired of it.  Nobody wants Minnie to suffer, right?  I asked Hubby to please do the right thing, and go put the creature out of it's misery.  Hmph.  Hubby would not.  He said "It's nature"  and "this is what animals do" and crap like that.  I said "Nature just came in and had a mid-game snack".  Finally Hubby agreed to go get me the hammer, so I could deal with this myself.  I figured I would just tap Minnie on the head, she wouldn't even see it coming, and her misery would be over.  Good deed for me.
In order to get a good image in your head, you need to know I was wearing my red Christmas nightshirt.  The one with the holiday penguins on it.  And Hubby could not find the hammer, which is why I had a crowbar.
I stomped out into the yard, annoyed at the cat for being cruel, at Hubby for being a softie, and Minnie for interrupting my evening with her broken spine.  One swift blow with the crowbar, and she was....well, not quite dead.  My aim isn't as good as it should be.  It actually took a few attempts, but then it was all over, and I flicked the fluffy body over the fence (the crowbar actually was handy!). 
I tried explaining to the students that I was doing a GOOD thing.  I didn't want pain and suffering!  I was practicing humane euthanasia!   They did not see it that way AT ALL.  In fact, they got the completely wrong idea!  They looked at me with huge eyes, horrified.
I guess I can hope that at the very least, they now are terrified of failing final exams....

Class of 2011

Last night was cap and gown at our school.  I was so proud of the grads!  I've taught almost the entire group at one point or another, and I can say, they are a special bunch.  I actually taught one of them in first grade!!  This graduating class has a positive, sunny and upbeat attitude.  Yes, of course, there are a few miserable ones, but overall they were a smart and funny collection of teens.
There was a moment, however, that I could have done without.  The speaker was describing how much the world has changed since our grads were born.  Google.  Ipods.  I-everything.  And then I realized....I have been out of high school longer than they have been alive.  I am ancient.

SPRING!!!

This time of year is tough on teachers.  Everybody wants to go outside....except me.  And to hear my students talk, I am the only teacher in the whole wide world who is mean enough to insist we stay inside.  I've explained to about my allergies.  I've said no.  No.  NO!!  I've said that the principal says "STAY INSIDE!" and that we know students learn better if they aren't distracted by sun, wind, birds, girls disobeying the dress code...

But still, they want to go outsiiiiide.  (You must whine when saying it.  Otherwise maybe I won't know what you mean.)

However, this morning when Lucy and I were walking, all I could think was "Man, I do NOT want to spend this day inside!"  Sigh.

Today is a great day!

I went to a retirement party for a fellow teacher last night, and it was great.  She taught for over 35 years!  We ate amazing food, visited friends from other schools, and listened to the speeches.  When you've been in the system for such a long time, people have plenty of stories to share. 
The most poignant statement, to me, was this:  "She woke up whistling every day.  She looked forward to going to work every day.  When I asked her after school how her day was, she said "It was GREAT!" every day." 
I want to be like that.  I want to love my life, my job, my world every day.  My new goal is to have a positive outlook, and make every day a great day.