Don't Be Jealous... :)

Have you ever walked down the cake decorating aisles at Hobby Lobby or Michael's and been amazed at all the cool stuff? Well, I do that every time I go there! One fantastic time, I found a little ad for cake decorating classes! Four weeks later, I am doing this. Not that this is amazing, but I'm very proud of the fact that I can actually do something on a cake and not just put sprinkles.

Sean decided he wanted a football cake for his birthday so I thought I would practice at my class a few weeks ago.

Of course he changed his mind because he wants to challenge me. He said the football cake was too easy for me and now he wants fondunt and all this other crap. Luckily I am taking a fondunt course in July! Call me crazy, because I totally am. Poor Sean has to put up with me...

Welcome Home Elder Whitmer!

Elder Whitmer returned home on Wednesday from a 2 year mission to the Denver Colorado North mission. We are so happy for him to have made this accomplishment! Here are some pics!This is the first view we got of him coming through the security gates!This is me hugging him.Hugging Grandma!

Do you think he grew?? He is SOOO tall! It's crazy! I swear he wasn't that tall when he left.

Other peeps at the airport:

Chelsea and Steve-O (boyfriend)Stubborn girls! Wadsworth Clan

Aunt Sylvia, Brighton, and Becca (Sorry the pic is slanted)

Sean and I with Aiga and Maris

Dinner at Macayo's(mmmm!) Aubrey and Sierra came home from girl's camp to see Nathan. What a sacrifice! (Yeah...right!)
Maris girl!

Trisha and James

Aunt Shauna, Grandma, and Briana

Charlie and Lauren (Charlie's Fiance)

We totally didn't get pictures of everybody there, but it was fun!

In Less Than 3 Days...

DRUM ROLL PLEASE...

This little cutie batootie will returning home from serving a 2 year mission. Wow! It's gone by fast!

Sad Day in Room 13!

I will always remember my first day/week of teaching in room 13. There were much tears, anxiety, curiousity, and enjoyment... much like my last day/week of teaching in room 13. Did I shed tears? Very much so. Was I anxious and curious about what will happen next in my life? Um...definitely. There was much enjoyment as well when I realized I had a whole week off to finish unpacking things in our new house.

Sad to say, I was "pink slipped" from the school district. When I received this so called pink slip, they kept telling us they could be calling us back. Considering the fact that Sean and I had just put an offer on a house, I couldn't sit around and wait to hear from the district. On top of that, other districts were letting people go at the same time. Did I want to compete with 500 other teachers who were in search for a teaching job? Hmm...let me think...NO!

Luckily, my really cool husband and I had a backup plan ready to go. For some reason, I had a feeling I was going to get let go. I am going to work with the hubby. Of course not the same position, but the same company and building.

My principal came to talk to me when he heard wind of this new job. I was advised to write a letter of resignation. I felt really good about taking this other job...don't know why, but I did. Long story short...

Wrote the letter,

turned it in,

teachers started to get called back,

found out I would have been one of them,

went through a few seconds of regret,

decided everything happens for a reason,

turned my head and didn't look back

This last week was a LONG week. Besides the fact that we moved from our apartment into a house, I had to pack up my classroom at the same time. You don't realize how much stuff you collect until you have to go through everything!

I was done packing everything and had to go meet with the principal to "check out". Then he asked me, "When you look back to your first year of teaching, what will you think about?" That's when the tears started going. Wow! I did not think I would cry that much. I didn't even cry when I found out I was losing my job. The next day was our staff breakfast/goodbye. I cried and cried.

I took my last few things out of my room, took a good look around, turned off the light, and went on my way.

University of Phoenix, get ready, cause I am coming on board.

One thing I have learned is that things really do happen for a reason. There is a reason why I was able to get another job so quickly and why that opportunity came. While I am still searching for the reasons, I know I'll look back years from know and realize how and why everything worked out.

Hopefully I can come back to teaching. I LOVE it and wouldn't trade it for anything. I will never forget the little stinkers that I got to teach everyday.

What's next on my list?

Going to get my masters. Am I excited? Nope. Will it be worth it? Yep.

Oh, and maybe we'll work on starting a family with little Ortega's...we'll see what the Lord has in store for us.

La Casa de Ortega

It's official! We are home owners! We are so blessed to be able to own a home in this economy. Here is a picture of our humble abode.

The picture is kind of fuzzy, but we LOVE it! More pictures to come!

Mi casa es su casa. Hee hee!

Why were these little boogers ever created?

It actually gives me the heeby geebies to look at it! I am 100% terrified of grasshoppers and it really is ridiculous. Between these nasty creatures and cockroaches, I might end up dying of some type of heart failure because I think I freak out and panic when I come in contact with either of the two. For example, Sean and I decided to go play basketball one night at the apartment basketball courts. Well, after playing a game of one-on-one with him (which he totally beat me and I'm suprised he even enjoys playing with me), I decided I would run some laps around the basketball courts in order to do something while he shot around. Bad idea...there are parts of the court that are more lit than other parts. Well, as I'm running and not paying attention to where I'm running, I apparently interrupted a grasshopper party because they all start jumping around me! I was screaming and dancing around because for some reason, they jump TOWARD you, not away from you. Then of course, Sean decided to have a little fun with me and pick up a fat and short stick (that looked very much like a grasshopper) and was coming toward me with it.

Next experience...I was in my classroom and we were switching classes for our intervention groups. Well, the kids were all coming in and all of a sudden there was a grasshopper flying around frantically. It was a BIG one, might I add. The kids thought it was funny cause I was screaming and running around. Luckily, I have some "macho" boys that were able to get a hold of it and take it outside.

Now, are you ready for what happened tonight? Drum roll...my heart is still pounding due to the exessive screaming and panicing that took place.

Sean and I were walking to our car from a restaurant where we bought gift cards. We get in the car and we were talking about something (I'm sure it was something important, but I can't remember due to the traumatic experience that I had about one second later). I looked down at my leg and saw it! It was big and so ugly! I covered my face and screamed so loud that Sean started freaking out asking me what was wrong. I couldn't respond...I had no words in me. All that came out was a loud scream! (My throat still hurts by the way.) The problem was this: I couldn't take my hands off of my face to point at it because if I made too much movement, it would fly in my face which, at that point, would be uncovered. So, Sean finally saw what I was screaming about and luckily we were at a stop sign. He opened the door and threw it out.

Dear Grasshopper that landed on me,

I hate you. You stink. Next time I see you, I won't be able to do anything because I will be screaming so loud. So, please have some sympathy on me and understand that I might die of a heart attack if you land on me.

Not Love, Not Sincerely,

-Staci

Dear Family and Friends...

In case you were wondering why Sean and I haven't popped out any babies.

This is why...

Bless their hearts...

Not Quite Sure How to Explain That...

With AIMS over and nothing to do, I thought "Hey! Let's actually teach some science that we never have time to do!" So, I pull out a science kit on nature. We planted seeds on Day 1 and on Day 2, we were talking about the life cycle of plants. The second I started talking about the life cycle of plants, all of my students started shouting out, "Oh! We did the life cycle of butterflies last year! We had our own butterflies and we let them go!" Let me tell you, they were thrilled out of their minds to discuss the life cycle of plants. (To be honest, I didn't know what the heck I was talking about! Luckily, Mesa puts together these nifty little kits filled with everything you need to say and do!) After all the shouting and excitement was over, I had one little, cute girl (the kind of girl that you just want to squeeze her cheeks!) say, "Mrs. Ortega, my butterflies always stuck together." If any of you have seen such a sight, I am sure you understand what is going on.

Yeah...about that...not quite sure how to explain that to an 8 year old.
Can you tell I enjoy my job? :)

Mother's Day Promotion!

Place your order by the end of April and receive a free car candle!

Click on flyer for better picture! :)

www.scentsy.com/staciortega

Ahh...the joys of teaching...

AIMS testing started and if you are a teacher, you know the stress that it brings. Apparently my students can feel the stress in me. On Wednesday morning, one of my cute little girls gave me this...

Would that not make your day? :)

Another joy of my job is listening to the extremely silly or inappropriate things that my students say. You know the phrase "kids say the darndest things"? Well, I can attest to that!

I was in the middle of reading a story to them and I couldn't stop yawning! I said to my students, "Wow, I am so sorry I keep yawning! Mrs. Ortega went to bed way too late last night." Of course their reply was, "What time did you go to bed?" After telling them that I went to bed at midnight, they wanted to know why I went to bed that late. (They like to ask a lot of questions if you couldn't tell.) I told them that I was watching my nieces and that my sister came over and then, of course, I had to watch TV with Mr. Ortega. Out of no where, and I really mean no where, a student yells out, "Were you guys making out?" COME AGAIN?!?!?! Can you believe that! I about wet myself when I heard him say that. This comment didn't come from a student who you would think could even possibly know what that meant. I had to tell the class, "Of course not! We don't talk about that in 3rd grade." (Don't you worry, it gets better!) I tried to continue reading when a little girl yells out, "Mrs. Ortega, you passed up a great opportunity!"

What do you say to that? I'm pretty sure my face turned red in embarassment because I can only imagine what the kids are going to say to their parents when they get home! "Mom, we talked about making out and Mrs. Ortega went to bed late cause she was making out with her husband!" CAN YOU IMAGINE!?? Anyways, that was the end of that. Kids really do say the darndest things, right?

Scentsy Promotion!

Happy Spring! I am excited to bring you the newest and safest way to burn candle wax...

**Scentsy!**

What's great about Scentsy is that it is flameless and harmless. With a stylish warmer and a 25-watt bulb, your home or office will be smelling great. It is even safe for classrooms!
No Soot + No Flame + No Wick = No Worries!

So, here is the deal! For everyone that would like to throw a party by the end of April will receive a FREE WARMER and a SCENT! (Of course this is on top of all the hostess benefits and rewards!) It's really easy! All you do is plan a party date, invite all your friends and family, and there you go! Or, you can even throw a basket party! This consists of you bringing all the little samples to work or some other social gathering and collecting orders. It's really quite fun!

We just got all the new spring/summer scents and warmers and they are so fun. Let me know if you are interested in taking up this great offer.

Questions? Email: stashu303@cox.net

(If anyone works at a business that would like a Scentsy set up/display, let me know and I can come set one up! It's free and you get to have the wonderful scent throughout!)

Ortega Update!

I know, I know! I haven't blogged in almost 3 months! Quite frankly, my life is so routine and monotonous, there really isn't anything to blog about. Although I did have my birthday on March 3rd and that was fantastic! Of course, my students were thrilled that teachers have birthdays and decided to bring me flowers, candy, cards, and all sorts of stuff they found at home. It was great! Ha ha! :) I told them the best gift they could give me was to pay attention and do their best that day. But of course, we still had a few students who took a trip to "La La Land". (That's what I call it when they aren't paying attention. I tell them they don't have an invitation to "La La Land" and shouldn't be expecting one anytime soon so they need to pay attention.) Then, unexpectedly in the middle of the day, I receive this...

This totally beats a bouquet of roses out of the water! It looks pretty and better yet, you can eat it! Plus, they don't die and you don't have to put them in water. Of course my students start with the "Oooh! Mrs. Ortega!" Some asked me if it is from my boyfriend (silly kids have met Sean and know that I am married)! They always ask me if I have kids too. I'm pretty sure that if I didn't have kids last month, I don't have kids this month. I know it is hard to comprehend that I have been married for almost 3 years and don't have kids. (Most of their parents have tons of kids and aren't married so imagine how hard it is for them to comprehend the fact that I don't have kids.)

Right now our life is pretty much the same! Life is good and we are staying busy. I am almost done with my first year of teaching! It seems like only yesterday I was crying during the first week of school because I was an emotional wreck. (Well, I am still an emotional wreck, but at least I am not crying over teaching. I just cry over different things like Extreme Makeover Home Edition and A Baby Story. ha ha!)