Ghosts, Ghouls and Styrofoam Spiders!

Not much to report today - I think I'm almost well and am going back to work tomorrow. I've been coughing too much for the last couple of days to take care of sick people, but tomorrow is another class and I think I'm almost germ free!

Today I did a little Halloween decorating outside while I was home sick and here are a few pictures. I think I bought WAY too much candy this year (seems like we ran out early last year) so I think I'll we'll all be eating it up for a while.

You can see the pumpkins I've carved over the last few days - my favorite is the Bailey Middle School one. We displayed it at the football game concession stand last night. Justin tried to sell it to some kid for $20 but I caught him in time! My fingers are tired from all that carving and we've received quite a few comments on it tonight - my Martha moment! The smiley face one is leaning backward because the back completely rotted out while sitting on my kitchen counter for the past 2 weeks! When I get sick not much gets done. Hopefully since I've had my flu shot, this cold is it for the season!

Last year I painted a bunch of wooden Halloween figures with the intention of wiring them together as a garland of sorts. Since that never happened, this year I just taped them around my front door - a little too symetrical maybe, but I think they look cute! Underneath the picture of my Halloween porch is a picture of my "descending arachnids" from the Martha Stewart website. They are my handmade Styrofoam spiders that actually lower when the door is opened. One little girl almost had a heart attack when 2 of the spiders fell from their string! I also have some scary music playing from the computer speakers that are sitting in the window which didn't help that situation. The boys love the theme from Halloween, so we've played it more than a few times!

Progress reports came home yesterday and the boys have all A's. Their geometry grades are up significantly and I think that the semester average should be an A for each of them. The problem now seems to be Language Arts - we will all be glad when the class is finished with "Great Expectations."

Until November ...

I hope Cheez-Its are a cure for the common cold ...

I don’t usually complain in my blog, but now I will just a little. Today is my day off this week and I woke up with a cold. My throat is sore, my head hurts and I’m stuffy!! I guess I need to list a few thank-you’s to make me feel better.

1. Although my house is a BIG mess right now, I’m happy to have a house and all of the junk piled all around it.
2. I’m blessed to have beautiful flute accompaniment to my mundane household chores on an almost daily basis.
3. I’m glad my dog, Angel, likes Cheez-Its as much as I do so that I always have someone to share with (the boys don’t like the cheddar-jack flavor). We are full now.

I got up with the boys today and took them to school early so they could help set up for the Bailey pep rally that the band is playing in today. I had planned to go to the pep rally, but since I dropped them off wearing my red pajamas and pink jacket I decided to come back home and lay down for a while. Right now I should be at the store buying groceries and I’m also supposed to be baking something for the All Region auditions being hosted at their school tomorrow (brass and percussion). At this point my big goal is to get into the shower soon! I think the baked goods will come from the store (Wal-Mart has a fine selection).

I have to pick the boys up in the band hall after school, drop off my Crock Pots there for tomorrow’s event, bring them home for a wardrobe change (into their costumes – minus hair and make-up), and take them to Rachel’s house for her “Saw Movie Marathon” party. In the past I have not let them watch horror movies because of the obvious mom reasons, but they declare that they are old now and can handle it. I bet they don’t go into the bathroom alone for at least a week! After I drop them off I need to head back to the school and set up some tables and Crock Pots for tomorrow. I have to work at my paying job tomorrow so am trying to help as much as possible on my off time. I accompanied the Booster Club Treasurer twice this week to haul loads of food from Sam’s Club. I don’t ever want to see another can of Nacho Cheese as long as I live! The boys will work at the school all day tomorrow along with most of their friends.

The boys have started practicing their duet that will be used in a couple of competitions later in the year. It sounds so pretty and to me they sound so good!

Okay, I think I’ve taken all the Zicam and Vitamin C my stomach can handle (the Cheeze-Its helped) so it’s time for my shower and re-entry into the real world. I’ll worry about cleaning some other time!

Thing 1 & Thing 2 make Chair 1 & Chair 2!!

The Bailey Middle School Band attended the All Region Band tryouts today. The boys competed against about 150 other flute players. They go through the first round of auditions just to see if they made any band, then if they make that cut they audition again to be placed in bands and in chairs. There are 3 levels of bands: the top band is the Wind Ensemble, next is the Symphonic Band (actually broken into 2 bands itself) and then there is the Concert Band.

Last year Justin made Symphonic Band (I think 5th chair) and Ryan made Concert Band (I can't remember which chair). That was very good since they were 7th graders and it was their first time to audition. This year they both made WIND ENSEMBLE - JUSTIN MADE 1ST CHAIR AND RYAN MADE 2ND CHAIR!!!! They were absolutely overjoyed and I am so proud! I've attached a picture of most of the kids who also made it from their school, some flute players and some clarinet. There is one saxophone player who had left earlier. The top 4 flute chairs of the Wind Ensemble are also in the Symphony Orchestra (I have to learn more about this). They will all perform in a concert later in the year usually held in The Woodlands.

When we returned from that it was time for costumes, hair and makeup in preparation for the costume party they were invited to by one of their band friends. You can see from the picture that they have a lot of hair!! I put lots of mousse, teased it up and sprayed it with blue hair spray. They don't like the makeup very much, but I think they look cute! Hopefully they have fun at the party.

Time to catch up on cleaning and laundry before I pick them up in a couple of hours!

Some of my Halloween Crafts

Which one is which?

Here is a picture from the Cross Country meet yesterday. The boys were running side by side, which has never happened before. All the parents were screaming, "here come the Comers - which one is which?" I could tell just fine with them together, but later when Justin was ahead I had no idea until Ryan passed by! They look so similar when they run & I often yell the wrong name. Next year they are getting different shoes!

I have another weekend off (3 in a row this month!) and plan to use part of it to get myself better organized. I figured out that I really do have to learn to say "no" more often when asked to volunteer! The science teacher called yesterday to ask about coaching a team for the Science Olympiad (which I love) and you can all guess what I said! I coached the team last year for the Disease Detectives category and they won 3rd place at the regional competition - the only medal for their school. So I'll do that and maybe the Anatomy category. All I really have to do is print up some stuff for them to read and study along with sample questions for them to try. The boys are also entering some categories that requires them to build something. More on this as it develops!

I'm watching VH1's top 20 videos as I type this - does Jon Bon Jovi ever age? I have a crush on him that has been going on since I was in middle school! His backup guys look a little washed up, but never Jon.

Today I will really get the Halloween stuff up and then tonight we go on the band field trip to the Lonestar Preview marching band contest in Conroe. I'm excited - I love watching and listening to the bands and they take this stuff very seriously around here.

Report cards came out yesterday and the boys each got all A's and 1 B in Geometry. This has become a major controversy because the teacher gave them 1 test and counted it as 80% of their grade. Some of the kids had C's and even a couple of D's which has made the parents furious. Almost all of the kids in this class have made straight A's for many years and also this is a high school credit which will average in with their high school grades. I've talked with the teacher and will continue to follow up next week, but some of the parents have conferences set up with the counselor, principal and teacher. I just plan on e-mailing the principal - they've agreed that for the next six weeks to use quiz grades as part of the test grade but I want them to re average their grades they have using that system. We'll see what happens. I'm ready to just let it be one of those life lessons that proves that life isn't always fair and sometimes we just have to deal with it. Also, it's okay not to be perfect - B's are good, especially for an advanced class. If the boys ever saw any of my report cards from middle school, they'd have to ground me for a year!

The boys are going to a costume only Halloween party next week and have decided to be Thing 1 & Thing 2 from The Cat in The Hat. Not my favorite idea, but they insist (there is prize money involved) so I'm working on costumes. We'll see how they turn out. Tomorrow I'll post pictures of some of my crafty Halloween decor.

Nachos, Chili Dogs & Gatorade

First, let me share my Thank You list for today:

1. There were yummy blueberry muffins at the Nursing Practice Congress meeting this morning.
2. The meeting was finished early.
3. My Nurse Manager took everyone from our unit who attended the meeting to lunch at The Commons (an area in the medical center with a water wall and different restaurants).
4. The boys had free hot dogs and soda for dinner while working in the concession stand (not exactly nutritious, but free and they liked it!).

So, needless to say I've been recruited to do concession stand duty after all. I've also taken over the coordination of volunteers for the Band Boosters (concession stand duty, chaperones, events held at the school, etc.). The boys and I did it today (they did several hours, I just did one) and it wasn't actually that bad. The other moms are really great and the boys did well with the money - no problem figuring change in their heads!! They have a field trip on Saturday evening with only 2 chaperones so far (including myself) so I have some phone work to do later in the week. Now that the boys have made a dent in their community service hours (actually just 12 for the whole year), I feel a little relieved.

My intention this past weekend was to decorate for Halloween with all of the stuff I've made over the past few years, but maybe tomorrow. I did finish some of my painting projects (shelf unit for bathroom, lamp, chair) and made a little bit of progress in my bathroom. Maybe I'll be done before the new year? Tomorrow I have an all day conference at work (I actually have to wear real dress-up clothes) and shouldn't be tired so maybe we can get some spider webs and pumpkins out when I get home! I'll post pictures when we're finished!

Adios.

Thank You Power

Today I read on the Internet about Deborah Norville's new book, Thank You Power, in which she discusses the positive power of being thankful for little things in life. I plan on reading the book, but in the meantime have decided to blog daily on the little things I am happy about on a daily basis. She keeps a little diary that she records a few things each day that she is happy about and thankful for.

Here's my list for today:

1. There was fresh coffee made when I arrived at work and it tasted good!
2. My friend Amy was in town from New York and came up to work to visit and hang out for a while (she's newly engaged and excitedly planning a wedding) - we went for Starbucks coffee and caught up on stuff
3. My wonderful coworker Mickey happily agreed to bring the cake tomorrow for a surprise party - I won't have to drive and pay for parking! She also decorated our locker room very festively for Halloween - complete with a coat stand sheet ghost!
4. I only had to wait for the Metro rail for a few moments and the Park & Ride bus for a couple of minutes & my seat on the bus reclined so I caught a nice nap all the way home.

The boys are at a Cross Country meet and Roland is off today will be bringing them home - something else to be thankful for. I usually have to rush from work, drive forever and then sweat like a pig in the heat while they wait to run. Today was the first time since school started that I haven't had to rush home or to some activity and it's so nice not to worry about dinner for a change. They plan on eating out after the meet and then home to finish Justin's atomic model of Iron. Since I probably won't get another break until next year, I am thoroughly relishing every moment!

Until tomorrow ...

Cross Country, Atomic Models & Community Service

We've all been up to the usual stuff this past week - school for the boys, work for me, homework, flute lessons, Cross Country practice, a Cross Country meet and a lock-in at Spring High for middle school band students. I worked this past weekend while the boys caught up on their reading of Great Expectations and some other homework that is due today. I worked about 12 extra hours last week and slept most of today! I don't regularly work extra, but we are very short on nurses lately due to retirement, illness, etc. I got my annual flu shot this week also and think it has made me a little tired.

Both boys worked hard on their Science project (with minimal help from me) and Ryan's is complete since it is due today. Justin's isn't due until Thursday so we have a couple of extra days to work on it. Here's what I learned from Ryan's project: his element is Manganese - chemical symbol Mn on the periodic table. From the picture you can see that the nucleus is composed of 25 protons (red) and 30 neutrons (blue). They boys hand painted the wooden beads with metallic craft paint. Surrounding the nucleus are 3 energy levels (you can have 4, but the teacher wants 3) with 2 electrons in the first level, 8 in the second and 15 in the third. Those beads were already that color - less work! We used craft wire used in jewelry making and lots of hot glue!

For their community service I think they will be able to work in the concession stand for the Bailey Band Boosters and also possibly do something for the Paper Houses Across the Border charity. The Bailey Band sponsored a collection at school last year and collected over $1,500.00 during their lunch periods. It takes about $1,200.00 to feed a table of kids in Mexico for an entire year. If your interested their website is: http://www.paperhouses.org/ I have some other ideas to follow-up on as well.

That's all for now - I should catch up on laundry and some housework before it's time to pick the boys up from practice!