My Western Sky

"Mom! I've got some great news!" Landry bounded out of the car running toward me after school today.  I knew instantly what she was going to say. STAAR results came in last week, and I've been resisting the urge to email her teacher to find out the scores. I had to wait patiently for this moment just like all parents.  "I didn't just pass all 3 tests!! I got COMMENDED on both reading and math!!! I only missed 3 out of 56 questions on math!!" We hugged and did our dance of joy right there in the parking lot. The reading results were not surprising to me, but MY kid did well on math? She obviously gets that from her Daddy. Take THAT, test anxiety!!!  Since I blogged about Landry's pre-STAAR struggle , I think this follow-up post is necessary to share our happy ending. Of course, the Mom side of me wants to brag about my brilliant daughter and use my blog as a platform of pride. All of those prayers, deep breathing exercises , and the greasy

I started working on my Summer Reading List! Click here for a sneak peek on Goodreads. Lots of Chick Lit and YA (my two faves). I can't wait for the long, lazy days that I get to spend with one of these books...

The last two weeks have been the equivalent of the Librarian Olympics. Last week I survived my third book fair of the year, which was a buy-one-get-one-free event. Let's just say that the BOGO concept to Kinders is like quantum physics to me: no matter how many times you try to explain it, our minds will still be utterly blown. The power point presentation that I painstakingly put together to explain "equal or lesser value" (complete with word problems), the daily reminders about adding tax--nope. For some of them, it just couldn't penetrate. Bless their sweet hearts. And counting baggies of pennies--don't even get me started...it's the bane of my librarian existence. If you haven't heard the news, I will be leaving Shaw and moving on to Mesquite High School to join the librarian team, so the mantra for the week was, "Surely high school kids can count their own damn pennies...Surely..." I will not miss the wadded, sweaty bills, the origami dollar

Those who know me best know this: I love to play "This time last year..." or "This time four years ago..." and then unearth some random memory from the recesses of my mind about a significant moment in my life. Maybe it's the writer in me, but this knack for conjuring up the past has earned me the title of "Historian" from my BFFs in our trio of friendship. When we are together, I am often the tour guide down memory lane, in which I have to remind them that yes, they were both THERE in that moment, and no, I'm not making this $*#t up (but it might be fun to do that some time). Granted, there are days when I can't remember the names of my own daughters, but I can tell you exactly what happened on this night two years ago. Here's why May 9th stands out in my mind: It is when Barbie called at a moment of crisis in her life and asked to come live with us. Most of you know our story, and if you don't, then you can read about it here . Th