Cleaning, Cooking and Computing

Well, I didn't get much accomplished on my last day off but am making up for it today! I've got a couple of loads of laundry done, lots of stuff put away that was covering every surface and lots of nooks and crannys are now free of piles of dust. My Kirby has had a good workout and has become my new BFF. Now on to my bedroom and bathroom - always a challenge as they are the last thing I ever clean. Wish me luck!

Not much else to report this week. The boys are having a nice weekend - no extra curricular activities for a change and probably too much computer time but it's nice to be home together regardless. Their friend Josh spent the night last night and although I know they were up late making noise but I was so tired I slept right through it.

If anyone has new ideas of simple dinner recipes please feel free to share. I'm in a cooking rut and need to spice up my life with some tasty recipes that I can manage with my limited culinary abilities.

Should I be completely petrified that the boys can take driving classes this summer? Are there therapy/support groups for this? I think I'm supposed to be happy that I won't have to chauffeur them around anymore but I'm not - I like to be where they are and KNOW that they are where they are supposed to be. Comments, suggestions, insight?

Belated blogging

This is from the other day - never finished it but here it is!

Three things I'm thankful for today:

1. Very happy that I work with people that I really like and that they make me laugh!

2. As always, thankful for my children - they fill my life with more than I can describe with simple words.

3. A belated Christmas present I received from a good friend - very thoughtful and very pretty. Thank you my friend!

Tomorrow I hope to report that I've accomplished a few things - I'm off of work and besides watching the Presidential Inauguration I plan to cross off at least a couple of things off my growing list!

The healing effect of melted cheese...

Today I've not been in the best mood so I thought it important to list the 3 things I'm most grateful for:

1. Happy that my friends still talk to me and try and make me feel better when I'm more than a little cranky.

2. Really glad that some chips and queso have a hugely elevating effect on my mood! Thank goodness for local Mexican cuisine.

3. Thrilled that after taking a poll at work that I'm not the only one having difficulty getting all of the Christmas stuff put away. Go fellow slackers!

How was everyone else's day?

Sleeping, Shopping and Sharing my thoughts...

Not too much going on right not but I'm trying to get in the habit of blogging regularly.

Here are a couple of pictures of my kids and most of Debi's kids from Thanksgiving. Sean didn't want to be in the picture! We spent the day with them at Mary & Les's house and had a good time. Good food (homemade pies - apparently Ryan's first!) and great company. We need to get together more often!

Justin, Rebeckah, Hannah holding Preston, Matthew, Austin & Ryan

Today is my day off this week and after I got up with the boys @ 5:00 this morning I went back to bed and somehow slept straight through until 11:00!!! I thought it was probably around 9 or so and as usual I have a million things I should do on my day off. I guess I was really tired - I worked 5 days in a row (I usually do 3 or 4) with a couple of 12 hour shifts in that mix. So all I've really accomplished today is a couple of loads of laundry, grocery shopping and putting away about 1/2 of the Christmas stuff. I cooked dinner too and now the kitchen waits to be cleaned. If the boys finish with their homework soon I'll let them do that chore!

Here are 3 things that I am thankful for today:

1. Glad that I have a High Efficiency washer & dryer that let me get lots of clothes into each load!

2. Grateful for having good kids that don't give me any trouble (not like I did at their age!)

3. Happy that I really love my job 99% of the time. It can be very exhausting and trying at times but mostly my heart is happy when I'm there.

So I guess on my next day off I can worry about getting my car inspected (VERY overdue), my oil changed (also overdue) and a new windshield for my van (has had a long crack for quite a while). I also need to get my eyes checked (can't see) and finally finish painting my bathroom. Maybe if I post my "to do" list here it will pressure me to actually get some of the things done!

Can anyone help me put music on my blog that will play while you read my exciting dialogue? I've read some of the help features on Blogger but haven't been able to make it work.

Any fans of The Biggest Loser? The new season starts tonight and I am excited. That show really inspires me to work hard to change my life for the better. Also to find a new gym that I actually enjoy going to. One of my New Years resolutions. I feel better and sleep better when I go a couple of times each week and the boys are interested in going with me after their final exams next week now that band has slowed down. In the meantime I'm still trying to climb the stairs at work instead of taking the elevator. This means I have to be a little early to work which doesn't always happen.

Time to go hang up more clothes and start the kitchen clean-up!!

Marching Band, Concert Band and now Region Band!

It's been so long since I posted that I bet everyone's given up on me and nobody reads this!

Since the boys started high school in August life has been beyond crazy for all of us! Their marching band did very well and made it to the state competition in San Antonio in November. They placed 12th overall out of 53 schools - very good! I volunteered as the "band nurse" for some of the Friday football games and on the road trips with the marching band. Quite a few injuries and stomach aches but nothing too serious!

Of course we had several hurricanes in between everything else and I was on the hospital "ride out" team twice. For Ike I worked for 4 days straight and spent 3 nights at the hospital. I didn't know how good I had it until I drove home, realized all of the devastation and entered a house run by teenage boys (and several of their friends) with no electricity for several days! They were very resourceful (cooking in our gas fireplace with my good pots!) but also VERY messy. I can't even begin to describe the smell coming from the freezer or the goo dripping from it. My house was not damaged and only a small part of our fence came down so I really had nothing to complain about. But for a week I was showering by candlelight in the morning and getting ready at work. I spent (like many people) the evenings looking for gas, ice and hot food to feed the boys. My most memorable time was the Friday night I spent in a laundromat on South Main St. in Houston with all kinds of "characters" trying to get some of the laundry caught up! It took so long before I could drive through my neighborhood to get to the freeway without crying most of the way. Some of my neighbors still have blue tarps on their roofs and I don't think we've all completely recovered. Every time the lights flicker or go out for a few minutes I get panicky. Hope to NEVER do any of that ever again.

The boys and I returned from the Wind Ensemble trip to Chicago a couple of weeks ago. All of the kids had such a good time and I only had to handle few medical issues and only 1 true emergency. There was a big snowstorm while we were there and everything was just beautiful - their Christmas decorations are amazing! We stayed at the Omni hotel downtown and were able to walk around shopping one day while it snowed. We saw "Wicked" which was absolutely wonderful, the Chicago Symphony and the "Blue Man Group" which was so much fun! Of course the performance by our kids brought me to tears and inspired so many compliments from so many music directors around the country. It was worth all of the time and endless hours of preparation. Here's the link for the Youtube video that shows Justin and Ryan on their flute/piccolo duet:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJCOqennu3I

The morning after we returned the boys performed with their flute teacher's Christmas Flute Choir which was also very beautiful. Video on Youtube also here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Q5ejFldCeQ

The boys auditioned for the All Region Band a week or so before we left for Chicago and Justin placed 1st on the first night of auditions. These are the high school auditions which has hime competing against 11th and 12th graders so that was very impressive. On the second day when they tried out again to be placed in chairs he placed 4th overall. Still very, very good. This placement makes him eligible to audition for the Area Band (they take the 1st 6 to Area) which is in Waco on January 10th. He is the only freshman from our Region to make it to Area and hopefully will do just as well there!

Time to catch up on a couple of chores - more updates soon.

Thankful this morning

I haven't posted in a while and want to go back to listing 3 things each day that I am thankful for. So today I am thankful for:

1. My boys. Justin and Ryan make me happy everyday and I am very thankful that they were given to me.

2. Sunshine - I woke up to a room filled with light from outside and that made me smile.

3. Flavored tea - right now I'm sipping some hot raspberry tea and it is really yummy!

I'm going to try again to list these daily - we'll see how I do!

Noah James

Here are a couple of pictures of Noah, the new baby of my friends, Eric and Michelle. We've all waited for him for a very long time and are so happy he's finally here!

This one was dubbed, "Noah on full fall precautions" by one of our coworkers! A little nursing humor...

He looks like a green kolache stuffed between two fluffy biscuits ...

We love you baby Noah!

A Few Random Pictures

Here are a few random pictures.

This is one of me with the Bailey Middle School Band director and some of the Booster Board members. This was taken before the band performed at the University of Houston Moore's School of Music.

This is Justin, me and Ryan after the induction ceremony for the National Junior Honor Society in May. The boys each read a definition for a desirable character trait.

Here's Ryan during the Red, White & Blue swimming invitation at Cy-Springs High in June.

Here's Justin wearing his First Place Medal for IM.

Justin, their friend Rachel and Ryan goofing around today.

Updated at last!!

I haven’t posted in a while, but I’ll try and remember everything we’ve all been up to!

The last few weeks of school the Bailey Symphonic Band competed in a couple of band competitions. One was the Splashtown Fest which included many bands from all over the area (as far as Lufkin) and their band received a trophy for Best in Class! They also played for UIL and received a perfect score as well as the highest score in the district. One of the pieces they performed at these events is a march written by their band director specifically for the kids in this band. It’s called March of the Buccaneers and includes a duet with Justin playing flute and Ryan playing piccolo. It is the happiest song I’ve ever heard and the boys sound just great! The song is now being published and will be played by the high school band at a music conference in Chicago in December. More about that in the next paragraph.

Traditionally the high school band director goes to each of the middle schools during May and listens to all of the kids play scales to start determining which of the 4 bands each student will be placed in. This year Spring High Band was chosen as 1 of only 4 high schools in the country (and the world) to perform at Midwest Conference in Chicago. They will play 12 pieces in front of a couple of thousand people. Since there are many summer rehearsals involved and lots of preparation, the director went around and hand picked who he wanted to audition for his top band, the Wind Ensemble. Justin and Ryan and their friend Brittany (on the clarinet) are the only freshman asked to audition and all three made it! The best part for the boys is that they will be playing their original parts in March of the Buccaneers for the performance in Chicago. Their middle school director will be going on the trip and you can imagine how thrilled he is that his composition will be played there!

Now, they also have marching band which is very time consuming and seems to breed a negative attitude among most of the incoming freshman! They had a week of “marching camp” in June and you would have thought they were working in the fields from dawn till dusk with all the whining they did each night! “Mom, you don’t understand – I thought I was going to faint and die of heat stroke!” It’s obvious to me that I haven’t made them work hard enough and you know I whipped out the stories of growing up in foster homes and orphanages where I slaved for hours doing chores with little food and hand-me-down clothes … Okay, so it wasn’t THAT bad, but don’t tell my whiney teenagers!! They have about 3 weeks to do in August in addition to a week this month of Wind Ensemble rehearsal and I’ve forbidden them to bring up any of it until it actually gets here!

I’m going to Chicago with the band group and am so excited – I don’t usually go anywhere and am not even sure of the rules attached to flying on a plane these days.

Otherwise, I am working extra to pay for the trip and all of the stuff required for the marching band – VERY expensive. The boys just finished up their swim team season and their team came in first in their division. The boys also qualified to swim in the Red, White & Blue invitational – Justin got first place in IM and third place in Freestyle and Ryan won many ribbons in all of the categories. Ryan actually qualified to swim in a higher category than Justin and made better time than Justin in a couple of the events but because it’s a higher group, only got ribbons. They both did very well and had a good time with their friends.

I’m nervous and excited about their transition to high school. I’m glad that they are already meeting a lot of kids through the band and seem to be the most popular blonde-headed, identical-twin, flute-playing freshman at the school! Ha, Ha!

I’ve been working so much (and was sick for a couple of months earlier in the year) and am behind on my many projects! My bathroom STILL isn’t finished but I’m getting closer and hope to post some pictures of the final result soon.

That’s all for now (and plenty) but I’m determined to update more frequently over the summer.

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!

Comer Duo Wins 1st Place for 2nd Year!!

Here is a more updated post!

The boys competed in the Area Competition for Science Olympiad last weekend and had a good time. Justin got 3rd place in Food Science and their school made it to the State Competition in April. I’m not sure that I’m fully excited about this because it means learning several new events in just a few weeks time! But I want my event (Disease Detectives) to do better so this gives us another chance!

Yesterday Justin & Ryan competed in the Houston Flute Fest competition and did very well. Their duet won 1st place, Justin’s solo won 1st place, Ryan’s solo received Honorable Mention (equivalent to 2nd place) and the quartet they did with Lea and Lindy also received Honorable Mention. First place winners get to play in an Honor’s Recital at University of St. Thomas on March 30th, so they will both be performing in that concert. I am so proud of them!! I will record the perfomance and hopefully figure out how to post it by then.

One of the music faculty of The University of Houston (the competition is held there) told them yesterday that they already have music scholarships waiting for them. Their flute teacher said that she thinks he is serious and that will make it possible for them to be competitive in choosing what school they want to go to. I was just thinking I won't have to work so much when the time comes to pay for college!!! Go Comer Duo!!

A couple of weeks ago I donated 2 diaper cakes to the High School Band Extravaganza for their silent auction. I usually just do these as gifts at baby showers so I was nervous that nobody would bid on them. They each did pretty well – the girl one went for $42.00 and the boy one went for $50.00. The woman who won the boy cake was nervous that she wasn’t going to win, managed to find me in the crowd and wanted to pay me to make one for her sister’s shower that same week! Although I don’t really have time for any more extra stuff, I was definitely flattered!

It is now time for me to catch up on my laundry, declutter my entire house and get the boys to finish the dusting, vacuuming and to clean their very dirty bathroom! I feel very lazy today and need to find some motivation to prepare for the week ahead!

Old News

I wrote this a few weeks ago and never posted it, so it's a little old:

It’s been a while since I’ve posted and we’ve all been very busy!

In January the boys competed in the District Science Olympiad competition and did very well. Justin won a 1st place medal for Triple E and 1st place in Food Science. He and Ryan received 2nd place in Trajectory competing with a machine they built. Ryan won 1st place in Disease Detectives which is the event I coach. They go to Regionals next weekend and hopefully will do just as well!

A few weeks ago they had Solo & Ensemble at their school where they play for judges and get individual/group ratings. The scale runs 1-4 with “One” being the best. The quartet they did with Lindy and Lea received a “One – Outstanding” which is even better than a One rating! Each of their solos also received this Outstanding rating as did their duet. The judge had many nice things to say about them and said that Spring High is lucky to be getting them next year. She may be a little partial since she also has identical twin boys, but she seemed sincere! In a few more weeks they will compete at the Houston Flute Fest and hopefully will do just as well. Last year their duet won 1st place in their age group.

A couple of weekends ago we had a party to celebrate Justin’s and Ryan’s 14th birthday. I counted 20 fourteen-year-olds and it felt like fifty!!! They were jumping on the trampoline in the rain, played pool in the garage and ping-pong on the patio. I bought a new disco ball with a motor and they played Guitar Hero 3 on the Wii in the living room and Guitar Hero 1 in the playroom on the PS 2. Some of the girls did each other’s hair, the boys played strategy games on the computer and everyone ate lots of Mexican food. My house was full of dirt and mud from all the running in and out in the rain, but the all had a great time. The last couple of girls went home around 1:00 a.m. and when I left for work on Sunday at 5:30 a.m. 4 of the boys were still awake! I tripped over about 7 boys while trying to get out of the house and found that all of the leftover food was still on the tables and countertops. It looked like the remnants of a rowdy frat party!

As for me, I’m now working on a bridal shower for work, coordinating volunteers for the High School Band Extravaganza and trying to catch up on laundry and housework!

The Pain of Loss

I will post some good news in my next post, but want to talk about something that has me feeling very sad today.

A little over a year ago, the 21 year-old daughter of one of my nurse coworkers was diagnosed with Lymphoma (the specialty of the unit I work on). She has a 4 year-old son who the cutest, smartest little boy you'll ever meet. We've all been taking care of this girl (and her mom) off and on for the past year. Last week she was admitted to our unit more sick than ever before. I took care of her each day and held her mom's hand while we made plans for how to handle her end of life care. I have cried all day at work for 3 days straight. My other patients were worried about me while I fell apart caring for this family. This is the daughter of my friend and we have all grown so attached for the past year.

Friday was so hard. The patient was so weak but insisted on getting up to the commode when she needed to use the bathroom. During one of the times she was up, her mom asked her if she really understood what was happening. She stated very simply, "Yes, I'm going to die." Her mom hugged her from behind and while crying told her how much she loved her and would miss her. The patient responded, "I love you too, Mom." I cried so much I was having a hard time getting her cleaned up and back to bed. I won't put the details of her little boy laying in bed with her, but you can imagine. Listening to his grandmother explain to him that she will go live with Jesus, just like his dog Shadow did, hurts in ways I can't explain.

She was to go home with hospice care yesterday but died on our unit before she could be moved. I had dropped the boys of at 5:30 to ride the bus to the school science contest and was getting ready to head to the hospital to say my goodbye when her nurse called me. I have never been so attached to one of my patients and family and have never cried so much over the death of someone I've cared for as a nurse.

I think I feel that as nurses we often feel immune to the illnesses suffered by our patients because we are the caregivers. This has burst my "immunity" bubble and scares me that if this could happen to my friend, a nurse herself, that it could happen to me or my boys as well.

This only reinforces my belief that we should spend every possible moment with our kids because you never know how long we have together. So to those people who make fun of me for going on every field trip, sitting with my kids and their friends at the movies and working a job that gets me up at 4:00 a.m. so that I can be home when my boys get home from school - I give you something to think about.

My next post will be upbeat ...

Christmas & Comcast

The holidays are over but I finally managed to get some video onto my computer - I've tried twice to upload it but it gets stuck, so I'll just post a couple of pictures until I figure out what the problem is. The first one is the boys playing with their new table tennis table.

The boys are back in school and busy with preparations for Science Olympiad. They have to build one project and study for 3 or 4 other categories. I'm coaching one team called Disease Detectives and am behind as usual! The competition is in about 2 weeks and hopefully we'll all be ready!

Today we took Angel to the vet for her shots and enjoyed a waiting room full of every variety of dog. Our favorite was a carrier full of 4 Yorkie puppies - they were so small and so cute. All the other dogs were friendly and well behaved except for Angel (she's 7 lbs. now) who growled at anyone who stood too close (while she shook so hard she almost fell off of my lap).

After the vet we went to the mall and the boys had haircuts. I absolutely love how they look and Ryan does too but Justin is mourning the loss of his locks. It didn't curb his appetite however and we ate at Sweet Tomatoes afterward. I love their soup and bread and am still full hours later!

The only other thing I can think of that's been going on lately is my battle with Comcast. Just after Christmas I bought a new TV for the living room. I got a really good deal on an open-box 52" Sony DPL HDTV at Circuit City. Of course to fully enjoy the HDTV you need to have HDTV cable. I called and ordered what they are calling "triple play" which includes cable tv, high speed internet and digital phone service. After I had calculated what I was spending on all of the services separately from different companies I actually end up saving around $60 per month and that is with the upgraded cable with the Comcast DVR. Long story short, this past week is the first week that all of the services have worked without issue (after 4 different people have been out to install/repair/whatever) and I hate their DVR. I miss my TIVO am on the list to have the TIVO upgrade to their machine. I can't wait!!! I love the TV and have spent too many hours staring at how beautiful the picture is, especially on the HD channels.

Time to get off of the couch and make a dent in my laundry pile!!

Shocked and Sad

I intended to post some pictures/video from Christmas this weekend, but that will wait until another time. Yesterday I received some very shocking and saddening news. My mom's sister Joyce, her husband Robert and his mother were all killed in a car accident late Friday night/early Saturday morning. I am very shocked and sad right now and can't yet explain the rest of my feelings with words.

Here is a link for a newspaper article explaining the accident:

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/5410297.html

Please pray for their children, grandchildren and everyone who will feel the void left by their absence.

Concerts, Choirs & Quartets

Again, it's been a while since I've updated my blog but I'll try to keep my update brief!!

The boys have had many performances lately. They performed with the All-Region Wind Ensemble and sounded great. They had another wonderful conductor and we really enjoyed the concert. They've also had quite a few performances with the Bailey Band. The boys and the two girls who made All-Region band did a flute quartet of Dance of the Sugarplum Fairies from The Nutcracker which sounded amazing. They performed at the Symphonic Band concert, the Beginning Band concert, at 4 elementary schools and then at the school assembly on Friday.

They also had a couple of performances with the Flute Choir at the church of their private instructor. It is made up of primarily high school students and some college flute players as well. It's held at The Woodlands United Methodist Church which is just beautiful and the songs they played were amazing.

As for me, although my tree looks great, not much more decorating really got accomplished. Tonight I will put some garland on the mantle and hang the stockings and put everything else back in the boxes in the garage!! I must get an earlier start next year! My Christmas cards are sent (except for a couple because I ran out) I have most of my shopping complete. I'm not sure if I will be brave enough to go out tomorrow or just forget the rest until after Christmas! I worked this weekend and have been completely booked with school activities on my days off, so I didn't get as much accomplished as I would have liked.

I also made 130 pasta angels for the staff at the school on the behalf of the Bailey Band. The initial idea was to have the students do it with assistance from a couple of the moms, but many things prevented this and I was on my own. Anyway, I think they turned out beautifully but I'll never do that again!

As soon as I figure out how to get video out of my camera and into my computer I hope to post a couple of the performances, especially the quartet.

Merry Christmas!!

From Orchestra to Karaoke

Since my last post we've all been very busy and had some nice time together over Thanksgiving week.

The boys performed in their All Region Orchestra Concert and it sounded so professional! They had a string section complete with cellos, basses and even a harp! When the video comes in, I'll post one of the songs. Justin had 3 small solos in one of the pieces and sounded very good. Both boys had a great time and really liked their conductor, a musician from California who also wrote 2 of the pieces they performed. It was a different world from what goes on in the average middle school band hall! I can't wait for the December concert - they are in the Wind Ensemble and are practicing their pieces in anticipation.

I made some progress in my bathroom over the Thanksgiving holiday - pictures to follow soon. I finished painting the toilet area including the baseboard trim, installed the new towel racks, toilet paper holder and cabinet hardware on all of the cabinets. I also sewed a pretty valance for above the little window. I'm almost finished sewing a new shower curtain and I'm repainting the frames on the mirrors to match the new decor. I was going to buy new mirrors because the old ones have 80's flowers painted on them but I decided to use a glass scraper to scrape off the paint and I think the finished product will be worth the extra work.

We spent Thanksgiving at Mary & Les's in Conroe and had a nice time. Mary was feeling pretty good and all 7 kids had a great time playing together. Debi's daughter Hannah had a High School Musical karaoke type game and they sang the songs, danced and acted generally like crazy kids. It was a good day. Oh, and so was the food!

Many pictures to follow in a couple of days ...

Dizzy, Bruised and Blind

I haven't blogged in quite a while - mainly because I've been sick and a little busy as usual. My "cold" lasted almost 2 full weeks and then, of course, I developed an ear/sinus infection. At work this past Sunday my ear infection made me dizzy (vertigo) and I fell in the street in front of the hospital. I was stepping off of the curb and next thing I know, a very pregnant nurse is helping me off of the pavement! I bruised my left knee pretty badly and scraped a good bit of skin from my right knee. I made it through the shift despite limping around with a hole in my pants trying not to walk into walls or fall on top of my patients. My knee is still swollen, but I only have one more day of antibiotics and should be somewhat back to normal! I am thankful that I work with doctors who will examine me on my lunch break and hand me a prescription to begin the healing process.

We made it through the last concession stand of the year and the band played at that last game. They sounded great and it was fun to watch/listen to them. The boys have started rehearsals for the Christmas Flute Choir and also have their All Region Orchestra concert on Saturday. They had a rehearsal on Tuesday night, have another one tomorrow night and then all day Saturday prior to the concert. Justin has a couple of solos since he is first chair. I spent several hours on my day off last week fitting the All Region band kids for their uniforms. They have to wear them for the upcoming concerts this week and then again next month. The boys were easy to fit, but the girls want their pants to fit like some brand of fashion low-rise jeans which just isn't happening! No designer labels on black polyester faux tuxedos!

I've finally decided to admit that I need glasses. I've been nearsighted for years but haven't seen an eye doctor since before the boys were born. I am really blind in the dark and have no depth perception while driving. The real epiphany occurred on Tuesday night when while driving the boys and one of their friends to the Orchestra practice, I drove into the drive marked, "Exit Only" and panicked when I saw a pair of headlights coming directly at me. I drove into what I thought was a parking lot only to hear 3 teenagers yell, "You're driving on the grass!!" Oh - THAT'S why there's a big tree in my path! I had to back up and go out the way I came in without hitting the bicycle rack or trash bin behind me. I had many people looking at me (one woman glaring) as I figured out we weren't even at the right school!! When we finally found our way to the correct place, the band director asked if we had any problems getting there(he had e-mailed me very long, detailed instructions). I said that it wasn't too bad but the boys started to tell the story of Mom driving on the grass and almost hitting a tree - in the middle of their tale, the flute instructor says, "Oh, that was you!!" Great ...

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!