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.