Ora simply smiled,"Baking is a good way to unwind, or get some pent up anger out." Or maybe she was simply the only one who angry baked verses baked out of the kindness of her heart. It was hard to tell with people some times, "Although I do say, I wish my anger motivated me to clean my house instead of baking." But alas, they couldn't all be winners in that department. The woman could certainly see why decorating for Beth may have fallen to the side though, that takes a lot of concentration and stillness - or so Ora thought given the many videos she had watched on cookie and cupcake decorating.

As for the crockpot, it was her lord as far as she was concerned, "Amen to that, sister." Ora said with a laugh, "So much easier - especially during the school year. I do appreciate how it doesn't heat up my house though in the summer either." Some people seemed to be a little odd about crockpots - how they're 'lazy', but hey, if it can make giant batches of food and still please her family, Ora was good with being lazy and still getting a good amount of explosive flavor in a dish.

As their gazes stared upon the ocean, it seemed to match their moods about their children - tranquil. She listened to Beth softly talk, and even without looking, Ora knew there was a soft smile on her friend's face. Ora couldn't help but to smile too, before saying, "Well, if it comes to that, and you feel the emotions coming on strong, you can always call me up. I'm not entirely an empty nest, but the more and more Izzy stays out longer, the more I start to feel it."

If people were rain, I was drizzle and she was a hurricane.

Brown eyes stared at Beth Bones while she delivered her choice insult to use, and it took a solid thirty seconds for the whole thing to dawn on Ora. The mischievous and deepening grin playing across the brunette's face helped Ora make the connection, "That is a good one," she said with a laugh, "Hell, even I had to think that one over and I like to think that not much gets past me." Although, clearly Beth was so academically inclined to pull that one off. That was the dangerous thing about teachers, they knew how to get away with an insult if they really wanted to, "I think mine might be 'that's an interesting perspective' or 'bless your soul' when dealing with the parents of my students." Because even nowadays, the pre-k teachers appear to be wrong about something.

There was a quiet that set over the two woman now, but not an awkward quiet that Ora tended to mind. It was the sort of quiet that signaled they both had a bond over motherhood to their respective children, and while she didn't know all of Beth's history, she still knew the woman was a strong mother to her nephew. Brown eyes cast back over to the ocean now, watching its crashing waves as it re-centered the two of them, and leaving Ora herself feel at peace.

She smiled at Beth now, mainly because the other woman's laugh could be rather infectious, "Ah pintrest. I'm not sure where any of us would be without it and it's endless creative possibilities. That's good that it helps him though. It's certainly a creative way to sort one's thoughts." Ora could certainly see how that would be handy for a teenage boy at a time in his life when everything sort of just feels jumbled together. At least, that was how Ora felt about being a teenager. It was a crazy, chaotic, yet amazing experience for herself, and while she wouldn't trade her experiences, she knew that there probably could have been better ways for her to have handled herself, "Ah, I understand. It's a big trip. I feel that way about Brazil, haven't been back in a long time." Maybe that would change though one day, "Anyways, that's a good way to see it. Hickstead isn't quite like my home country, but it's truly the people around me and their happiness that makes Hickstead feel like home."

If people were rain, I was drizzle and she was a hurricane.

Ora chuckled at her daughter's sarcasm, but she knew that Izzy knew that there was no pressure from her to well. Okay okay, maybe there was a little pressure to do her best, but she trusted Izzy to take care of herself school wise and to find help if she needed it. It was a little curious to hear that one of her final exams was swapped out from a standard test to a project, "Oh? How so? Is this for one of your class majors?" It sounded like it would be, given the young woman's major in interior design, but Ora could not help but to ask. College classes always felt so unique, so it was curious to to hear when a professor went a different route with their assignments - even if the assignments were way above budding brains of Ora's own students.

"No, no rabbits for us in Brazil. We have one native, but they are often in the rain forests that need protection," Ora said, although given the current political structure of her home country, the woman doubted that much protection would be given to to the rain forest unfortunately. She gave thought to what her neighbors might do after Izzy voiced her opinions, "Hmmm, you may be onto something there Izzy," Ora murmured to herself, "I suppose I can ask the Cadwalladers and St. Croix's..." Truth be told, the woman felt loathed to do it - mainly because their house, yard, and garden always looked so perfect and while Ora's herself was picturequse, it was a little more on the wild and vibrant side. The idea of chicken wire seemed like a better idea though, "Perhaps I will ask at work, I am certain a few of my fellow teachers have chickens themselves that need protecting from foxes. Carrots and rabbits can't be that much different."

The woman smiled a thank you when Izzy went to go grab a baking sheet and line it, "Great! You know where to find everything." After all, it was as much her daughter's kitchen as it was her - only Auggie really wasn't allowed in it unless it was to make his wonderful coffee or to spoil Ora with breakfast in bed and other special occasions. She peered into her mixing bowl, relived to see that her adventure outside and making the dough sit hadn't really compromised it and she quickly got to work with rolling the dough into little pao de queijo. Glancing over her shoulder, she made sure that Izzy was ready for her to transfer everything to her, "The Feijoada? Black bean stew with pork and beef." Thank goodness nobody in this family was a vegetarian or else it would seriously crimp her style.

"Ah, I'm glad to hear you got your ride in before the rain and a lesson," Ora said with a smile, "Did you give her a carrot for me?" She thought it over for a moment before following up, "Queenie. Not Stephanie. Speaking of - are you still happy with her?" The woman had no hard feelings against the coach, truth be told, she wasn't even certain if she followed what Izzy did or her coach did, she just showed up at the competitions to cheer and be an obnoxious parent. But Ora always felt the need to look out for her adoptive daughter, no matter the situation.

If people were rain, I was drizzle and she was a hurricane.

Ora smiled warmly at her daughter, "Well, I am sure you will do amazing on your exams." In fact, the woman was certain of it. However, she didn't like to exert any pressure on Izzy, in fact, Ora never did it. She tended to believe that students flourished more by laid back expectations rather than a forcefulness that could ensure anxiety. While she doubted that Izzy suffered from such feelings, Ora felt better about taking a back burner on expecting straight A's from her daughter, and preferred her to just aim for the good grades she always gets.

She made a face when prompted about whether the rabbit would have ended up as their dinner or not, "I would never do that to you and Auggie," Ora retorted now. In fact, while she talked a tough game, she probably couldn't harm the rabbit at the end of the day. It had too cute of a face and she preferred to not know what her dinner looked like, "However, I may have to find myself a humane trap if it keeps this up." Perhaps come this summer when she became certain that baby bunny season was over. As for the carrots, a deep sigh escaped her, "Carrots and the lower half of my blueberry bush." In the back of her mind, Ora knew that her daughter was simply teasing her but the joke had been right on the nose of reality.

The woman could not help but to beam like a proud hen when Izzy appeared to approve of having the cheese bread as an appetizer for dinner, and even more so when she agreed to help, "We just have to roll them into the little dough balls and place them in the oven." It was simple enough, and just long enough to keep Izzy with her before setting her loose to her own thing within the house. She marched to the house now, with Izzy hot on her heels, "Oh, they were fine. I think even at four years old, they seem to know that their school year is coming to a close. No time outs today which I call a win," and soon offered her thanks as her daughter got the door.

Ora got rid of her rain boots, slipping back into her slipper Uggs and returned to the kitchen where her dough was. She rinsed her hands in the sink and quickly set up shop for Izzy to join her in the dough rolling. Powdering the counter with flour, Ora went on to talk, "I appreciate your help with this. I have Feijoada in the slow cooker so I hope you and your father have your appetites' tonight." There was a low rumble that could be heard outside now, and her dark brown eyes looked to the window, "Seems we went inside just in time. Were you able to see Queenie today or did the weather just have you working at Helping Hooves today?"

If people were rain, I was drizzle and she was a hurricane.

"The sea breeze is great for many things, especially like blowing away the stress of the day," the woman commented, as she settled down next to Ora. A grin played across her face, "That was a clever pun, Beth. You may just have to trademark that before all the dad's ruin it with their jokes." Still, it was a fitting one that matched each woman perfectly today given their teachers grievances. The company of Beth was well welcomed to Ora. While she could vent and bitch to Auggie, and he would happily listen as any husband would do, he couldn't fully understand the full frustrations of being a teacher. Beth, on the other hand, as another woman in the 'battle trenches' so to speak, could.

Sure, they taught different age groups, but each one came with their own issues, as Beth attested now to the idea that maybe she should have joined the primary school instead, citing children who actually wanted to learn. Laughter escaped Ora, "And deal with a nuclear tantrum while trying to get them to understand to use their words? You would be a brave woman for trading that off." However, the woman knew what Beth was wistful over, "I understand though. Teenagers can be...difficult." Understatement of the year. And while Izzy had, and has continued, to be a wonderful daughter, she had not been without her moods, "Although something tells me that you're more than capable of tricking a young mind into still wanting to learn, even if they are convinced they know everything." Brown eyes stared at the crashing waves for a moment before casting her glance over to Beth now, "Is there someone in particular who was sassing off today?"

If people were rain, I was drizzle and she was a hurricane.

Ora Oliveria Flores had all of the ingredients to make her beloved Pão de Queijo, otherwise known as 'Brazilian Cheese Bread' to a non-native speaker. It always reminded her of her home country and her mother's cooking when she made it - soon the smell of mozzarella and parmesan would be willing up the kitchen and warming up the house of a mildly cold March day. March was also a dreaded month for Ora since it meant that the rabbits would start popping out of the woodwork and eye her gardens when everything was attempting to sprout. The woman never thought she could have this much contempt for an adorable animal, but they clearly pushed her paitence now given the lack of marsupials in England.

She went to work though on her cheese bread though, dark brown eyes occasionally glancing out the window to be on the hunt. Boiling her milk, water, and oil together while throwing tapioca flour into her stand mixer, Ora waltzed around the kitchen like a pro. Soon she was pouring her hot mixuture into the flour and mixing it to death, watching the dough turn into that familiar sticky mixture before adding one egg at a time. Right when she was getting ready to add the cheese did the woman catch movement out of her eye. Her attention snapped up, looking out the window once more and saw the bane of her existence. A rabbit. And it was eyeing something important.

Cursing to herself in Portuguese, Ora quickly abandoned her kitchen and her dough, sprinting outside as fast as she could in her rain boots and screaming at the rabbit. It must have been quite the sight to behold as the rabbit quickly scampered and she chased after it - only being stopped when the animal managed to make it under the fence line and into the Cadwallader yard, "You stay over there!" She screamed at it, before her senses tingled off. Ora had an audience member. The woman turned now only to see her teenage daughter staring at her. And while Ora was certain that her daughter was quite used to her fiery, hot headed antics, this might have been the first time in all of her life did Izzy witness her actually going after a rabbit, "Izzy!" she said now, throwing her hands up in greeting before running over to hug her, "You're home early! I thought you'd be at work longer."

If people were rain, I was drizzle and she was a hurricane.