9 posts tagged “kids”

Last night as I was winding down from a long day at work, my daughter decided to take a nice leisurely bath to relax before going to bed.  I was sitting at the computer reading celebrity tweets when I heard a blood-curdling scream from upstairs! I sprang to my feet and yelled "What's wrong?" I heard yet another blood-curdling scream as I seemlingly glided across the room to the foot of the stairs (I believe I covered the entire footage in about 3 steps), as I took the stairs two at a time I heard, yet one last blood-curdling scream! Both of our cats bounded up the stairs with me to see what in the world was wrong! By the time I got to the bathroom my daughter was already out of the tub, wrapped in a towel! What caused this mini horror movie in my bathroom you ask? A BUG! Of course!

Women have very distinct screams and these were undeniably the screams of a woman seeing some sort of creepy, crawly thing! My logical mind knew this as I quickly locked-down into 'Mommy-mode' and rushed to save my 18 year daughter from some horrifying terror!

Apparently, one of those big, disgusting water bugs (also called 'Palmetto' bugs) had gotten into our bathtub and UNDER the bath mat. As my daughter filled the tub it was forced to try to escape, swam to the surface, brushed her body and even attempted to 'fly' out of the tub as her screams sent it into panic mode (hence the MULTIPLE screams)! By the time I looked in the tub, it was already drowned in the soapy water. Another bug bites the dust! HOORAH!

After we calmed down, laughed a bit and my cats eyes shrunk from saucer size back to normal we quickly decided to buy a new bath mat and burn the old one!

Summertime! Bugs! Yuck!

So Mothers, Fathers, Husbands and kids, the next time you hear a blood-curdling scream in your house....it's probably just a woman reacting to Mother Nature coming inside to say Hello and get out of the heat!

I guess I've just lost my desire to be witty and provoke thought and emotion, at least for the meantime....it's too damn hot to think too much LOL! So I haven't updated my blog....but to make a long story short...on May 22nd, 2009 my baby girl graduated from high school!

I remember her 5K graduation like it was a few yesterdays ago. I still have that little rolled up diploma and the cap she wore. You probably can't see it, but she had a gumball machine ring on her finger in this picture. Wow! Time flies and kids grow! Who knew?

Hailey's high school graduation was held at Samford University, a college across the street from Homewood High Schooll. We were all so excited because Hailey will be the first one in our immediate family, since our parents, that graduated from high school the traditional way: I dropped out (pregnant with my son) and took my GED. My sister dropped out (pregnant with her oldest daughter) who also dropped out (pregnant with her first son) and took her GED. My son dropped out because he was being harrassed by the administration at Clay-Chalkville High School over his appearance. I personally went up to that pos school and told the assistant principal he was driving my son to be a drop-out when he was trying desperately to finish his education. Well he did drop out but passed all of his GED tests in 2 tries. Not the way to do it, but we all did it...but we were all so excited to see Hailey walk across the stage in her cap and gown to receive her diploma! Doing it right!

First I would like to say that I am SO glad that I made the wise decision to move to Homewood when Hailey was in the 5th grade. My only regret is that I didn't do it sooner. Homewood has a stellar school system and I'm so grateful that my daughter can say she has a Homewood education. Had we stayed where we were, she would have wound up at Clay-Chalkville (I have much ill-will towards CCHS students and their families that stemmed from a 1st round playoff football game in 2006, but that is old news and I've already blogged about it so I won't go there - but I will say that we won and they didn't take the loss in a sportsman like way).

So before going to the ceremony I wanted to take some photos of Hailey in her cap and gown. We went down to Homewood Central park with my Mom. The wind was blowing like crazy and Hailey was not too happy that her hair was getting mussed!

I still got a couple of good pics though...

We were still way too early to go to the ceremony so we went back home so she could freshen up her hair and makeup. Afterwards she was a little happier and obliged me with a few silly poses.

So we were off to the auditorium to meet up with my son and my sis and her gang. More photos were taken.

Finally it was time for the graduates to go get lined up and for us to get inside and find seats. I started to feel that anticipation when Pomp and Circumstance started to play. The graduates filed into the auditorium, in alphabetical order from both sides of the the room. My VERY TALL brother-in-law was able to snap a pic of Hailey coming in.

Once all of the grads were seated they were a sight to behold! A sea of blue caps!

The ceremony was finally underway. It was LOOOOONG! Several honor grads spoke (some gave excellent and even funny speeches, some were a little boring, some a little too self-promoting). The principal and some other school administrators spoke. The principal honored the parents of the graduates and asked us to stand. I very proudly stood up and I'm sure Hailey's Dad did also (he was there but we never saw him). Finally it was time to hand out the diplomas. The principal took several minutes to stress to the crowd how important it was to keep quiet and to hold all applause and hooting/hollering/etc until all of the graduates had received their diplomas. They went up by rows as they had rehearsed that morning.

By the way, while Hailey was gone to rehearsal I went out to buy some balloons for her. While in CVS asking the lady to show me the balloons they had, I got choked up as I tried to explain to them that my daughter was graduating. It was quite funny that I couldn't even say the words without getting a lump in my throat. I set up the balloons and a couple other little gifts I had bought for her so she would see them when she got home.

So back to the ceremony....Hailey is a 'W' so we had quite a wait. Most people stayed quiet as we were told, but a few hollered and were given stern looks from the principal.  Finally, I heard the announcer call my daughter's name...I was frozen! I saw my beautiful, grown-up daughter walk across the stage, shake the principals hand and receive her diploma...just as I heard my son let out a ripping "YEAH!" At which point he was immediately approached by a Homewood police officer who I thought was going to remove him from the premises, but luckily he got off with a strong admonishment. Whew! I was secretly glad that he did it though because it was cool!

Finally all of the graduates had their diplomas and were back in their seats. They were told to stand and the principal presented the 2009 graduating class of Homewood High School and instructed them to move their tassles. Yeah! Now we could all holler and we did! The applause was deafening and I was SO, SO, SO, SO very proud!

Then the graduates exited the same way they entered to go back to the 'secret place' to turn in their caps and gowns and get their actual diploma (the leather case given to them on stage was actually empty because they wanted their caps and gowns turned back in - clever)! She got to keep her tassle though and she got a rope for 4 years in band and a little card, like an id card that says she's a high school graduate. How cool is that?

Afterwards we had planned to go to Cheesecake Factory for dinner. The whole motley crew! We had a blast and although we were ALL watching our money it was still so much fun! I don't think we have all EVER gone out to dinner together! Hailey was glowing!

It was a very fun night!

So high school is all over with and I'm feeling a little sad. It's so strange to think I'll never go to the school again. But what I'm going to miss most is band. The thought of no more band camp and football games and parades and trips makes me really, really sad but I have tons of great memories and they are all preserved in photos and videos. Being in band was such a huge part of Hailey's high school experience and mine. To have the honor and privilege to march in both the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade AND the Tournament of Roses parade in her 4 year tenure is something she will take with her throughout her life! And I'm so thrilled that I was able to be there for both parades! It's all a testament to the school system, the fine arts program and the extremely dedicated band directors!  I asked the band e-mail lady to keep me on the distribution list. In the fall, when I get the e-mails about picking up uniforms and shoes and practices and the first football games, I'm probably going to cry, cry, cry. But I still want to be a part of it. That is just something that never leaves you. It gets in your blood and in your heart and soul if you let it...and I did.

So now Hailey moves on to the next chapter in her life. It's going to be great! I know it will take some time for her to come to realize that she misses high school....kids live in the moment and right now they are ALL just glad it's over...but that reflection will come....in time...as they mature.

Well, it has been decided today that my Mom and I won't be accompanying Hailey and the band to Pasadena for the 2009 Tournament of Roses Parade. The trip just wasn't in the financial cards, so to speak.

It's down to the time where the tour company is going to start charging cancellation fees so we knew that we had to hurry up and decide. Since neither of us are in a position to borrow any money AND the trip is a mere 3 months away AND we have only paid $500.00 towards our $3400.00 combined trip costs we decided we had to give up the dream and not go.

We are going to transfer the $500.00 from our cancelled trip over to Hailey's trip which is in much better shape. Fund raising has helped tremendously with her trip and applying this $500.00 will only leave me owing around $300.00 on her total cost.

Although I'm very disappointed that I'm not going I'm even more torn about the decision I have to make as a parent. It's a toughie! The protective Mom in me wants to say "If I can't go, you can't go" but I CANNOT do that. This is a chance of a lifetime and this is a time when I have got to just suck it up as a Mom and let my baby go!

So I will put my baby on a plane (her very first time) and let her fly across the country without me. I know she will be OK. The band, band directors, boosters, chaperones and school officials will all fly together on 3 different charter planes. They will depart around the same time and arrive at the same time. These band directors have done this many times. They even took the whole band to Ireland once and London another time. They've been to New York 7 times with no incident. They've made the trip to Pasadena twice before since the band's beginning.

Once on the ground they have a loaded itinerary and I know that they are divided up into small groups and assigned a chaperone to make sure they don't stray away. Hailey is a sensible girl and has never been one to try to 'buck the system' or engage in risky or dangerous behavior. They will also be VERY busy getting ready for the parade and Bandfest. They will have many rehearsals. They will not get much sleep.

I probably wouldn't see her that much anyway. I went to New York with them in 06 for the Macy's Parade and for a whole week I only saw my daughter twice for a few minutes.

She doesn't need me there. She will be OK. So I guess I'll be watching the parade on TV like most everybody else.

The Tournament of Roses Parade president (hereafter referred to as "The Pres") is here for a visit. Every year The Pres travels all around the country visiting all of the high school bands who have been chosen to march in the Rose Parade. He gets VIP treatment while he watches the band perform and then presents the band with the Tournament of Roses flag they will carry in the parade. He also attends some sort of fund raiser (ours is tomorrow night and is a sort of meet and greet with drinks (cash bar), finger sandwiches and a silent auction. He also gives the band director ideas on how to raise money for the trip (which for us, will cost well over $100,000).

Even though the kids have worked hard I know that this was a 'hurried up' version of what our show will be in a few weeks. It was necessary to leave out a lot of the bells and whistles and slick moves (which require a lot of practice to perfect) in order to give a clean performance for The Pres.

We had a good crowd on hand to watch this preview performance. The stadium was over 1/2 filled to capacity and there wasn't even a football game! This is just a testament to the great City of Homewood and how it supports the school programs. The band and auxillary were all on the field broken up into their sections practicing and warming up for the show when The Pres arrived (because the show was VERY GREEN I did not make any videos....they never get it good until about mid-September anyway. I did make some pictures but my camera was on the portrait setting and I didn't know it so they don't have a lot of clarity).

 

 

The Pres arrived straight from the airport and his enterage had plates of salmon and other delectable foods as they rushed up to the press box ahead of him. Mr. Pence brought him in and he spoke briefly with some folks before going up to eat his dinner (that's him in the red jacket).

Mr. Pence gave him about 5 minutes to eat before the band all got on the field in their positions (they had not rehearsed a field entrance or exit yet).

 

The show was great but I saw some mistakes and the Freshmen were visibly nervous but they pulled off an amazing percussion run and a big finish!

 

Afterwards The Pres came down to the mike to give a short speech and present us with the parade flag.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What an honor it was to be there to cheer these kids on!

You know, after my daughter's first year in band I thought that I could NEVER love another halftime show as much as that one. Then in her Sophomore year (after seeing it a few times) I fell in love again....then I felt the same way at the beginning of her Junior year...then I fell in love again....and I'm sure this year I will fall in love again....one final time.

Tomorrow morning the band has to arrive at school at 6am in full uniform to appear on our local Fox morning show called Good Day Alabama. I will be there....camera in hand.

I let Hailey take the car alone today for the first time. It was SUCH a strange feeling watching my car drive away from me knowing that my BABY was behind the wheel. She's had her license for 3 weeks but has yet to go solo. I knew I had to start somewhere, I couldn't put it off forever. She needed to return her summer reading library book and I thought that would be an excellent opportunity for us to EASE into her driving alone. Our library is less than a mile from our house and it's all pretty much neighborhood driving to get there, which complies with the parent-child driving contract that we have (that is highly recommended). If you're not familiar with this contract and have a newly licensed teen or a soon to be licensed teen I strongly suggest that you look into it. It could save your child's life!

So I picked her up from work and she drove home and she was planning to 'drop me off' and go to the library but she actually wanted to make a practice run with me in the car to make sure she knew the way (I love my baby but she is seriously directionally challenged LOL...seriously it scares me). So we came home and left again and she drove to the library and back and then she felt confident that she knew the way so when we came home again she 'dropped me off' and took a giant step towards being independently mobile. I think I stood outside the entire time. My mind was racing with adrenaline! I told her not to call me, to not even pick up her phone unless she had a problem. I mentally drove with her ticking off the minutes....OK now she's here...now she's turning...now she's at the red light.........the feeling I had was very strange...I was worried but not so much...I felt confident in her ability to make this short trip on her own. I waited to see her coming down the street on her return trip and I felt my entire body shaking. I was flooded with both relief and pure joy when I saw the car come into view. She made it! YOU GO GIRL!

Next weekend we might try a trip to the mall...we're gonna do this together and do it right! I'm ready but I think I might need some Xanax!

Before I begin I have little bit of talking I need to do. I had said yesterday that I was going to do the pictorial thing for Michael that I had done previously for Hailey and tell some stories from his life but when I pulled out the photo albums, first of all, I realized just how difficult it is to get a good photo of a photo with the shadows and all, and second of all, I got really emotional as I looked at some pictures of my kids growing up that I haven't seen in a while. I tell people with small kids this all the time but I mean SERIOUSLY, DON'T BLINK!  Don't miss anything, don't ever put your career ahead of your children because it is SO not worth it! They grow up in the blink of an eye and the older they get the faster time goes by. DON'T BLINK! The last thing I realized is that I seriously need a photo scanner and a photo printer. My photo albums abruptly stop at the beginning of the digital age. So I have half of their lives in hard-copy photo and the rest on the computer with no hard-copy. I seriously need to rectify this situation. So, I decided to skip the life story of Michael because there are some very, very sad moments in his life. Lots of good ones too but his life is a lot longer than Hailey's and I'm just not up to getting into all those old memories today. I will say, that through it all, he has turned out to be a wonderful, kind, caring and compassionate young man. He likes to curse and flip birds and smoke cigars, he still hasn't decided what he wants to be when he grows up (LOL), he is pitiful at taking care of himself sometimes but he is always there if sombody needs something.  He is, as my Dad used to say, 'Good People' and I am not only proud, but completely blessed to be his Mother. So I'm already starting to get tears in my eyes, so enough of that. On to the party!

The day was very rushed and I was supposed to go to work but I didn't. I'm sure I will catch hell tomorrow but the time just got away from me. Hailey was to meet Corey at The Summit for a date. I dropped her off and went to do my shopping. When I got home I had to clean and make the cake and decorate. Michael and Alyssa were going to come by around 7 to get his Birthday card from me (which contained 50.00 for them to go out to dinner). Michael thought he and Alyssa were going out to dinner and then they were just coming back here to have some cake. I was trying very hard to pull off another total surprise like I did last year. I don't think he suspected anything and Alyssa was in on the surprise so she had to play it cool.

They had decided they were going to Olive Garden. They looked so cute all dressed up for dinner!

 

 

 

So I sent them on their way and got back to work. I was having a hard time getting anybody to RSVP me so I made a few phone calls to confirm.  I at least had 4 people that would be here before Michael and Alyssa came back.

Meanwhile I got the cake done and the table set up. It was an 'Black Tie' affair LOL. By the way, Michael's nickname is Ska which is what most of his friends call him. I don't call him that but I didn't have room on the cake to write Michael. I thought it turned out well and I counted the candles 4 times to make sure I had 27 (when Michael was 13 or 14 I actually put the wrong amount of candles on his cake and he has never let me forget it).

 

 

I took a regular box cake mix and vamped it up a bit by substituting the water in the recipe for some strongly brewed coffee and a splash of whiskey.

So things were getting ready to go and some people showed up around 9pm. Alyssa had txt me that they were done eating and had gone back to the apartment. I told her to bring him here at 9:45.

Wait! Where is Hailey? LOL...just kidding. But I was rather proud of myself. She had met up with some other friends including BFF Brittany (who's had a car and license since age 16). I was really too tied up to go pick her up and she REALLY wanted to stay there a while SO I let her stay out and I let Brittany bring her home just in time for the party. And she made it safe and sound!

Several people were here and Alyssa was txt everybody because she didn't know what to do. There were some other people coming but they were at a restaurant and didn't know exactly when they would be here. I had to let Alyssa off the hook so I told them to come on.

We managed a pretty good surprise moment!

 

The other people showed up just minutes after Michael arrived and even more people came later. It turned out to be a pretty successful party. Although I had requested it be BYOB due to my own financial constraints it seemed that everybody was too broke so I gave them a bottle of wine and let them have some of the whiskey I had bought for the cake. I had also bought Michael a six-pack of Killian Red because he likes those weird kinds of beers.

 

 

I let Hailey have a sip of wine. She didn't like it!

 

 

These are two of Michael's oldest friends. They were friends as teenagers and he has roomed with both of them together and separately at one time or another. They all used to be in a band together and although Michael and the band parted ways, they have remained good friends.

 

Pat, the one on the left, has an ongoing love affair with Heidi.

 

Everytime he comes over she just gravitates to him and stays glued to him the whole time.

Some other friends:

This is Michael's friend Austin who I always mistakenly call Aaron. Not sure why I do that! (Hailey has a friend named Bobby that, for some reason I always call Eddie. Now I just call him Eddie Bobby). Austin and his girlfriend Martha are extreme bohemians!

 

 

 

 

 

This is Michael's current roommate Jeremy and his girl Shannon. He is the one that had to call me and give me that horrible news about Michael being in the hospital. He's a super nice guy!

 

 

So finally it was time to fire up the cake! I had to have 2 assistants to get all the candles lit!

 

(I actually caught Michael counting the candles too!)

I missed the shot when he blew them out. Oh and we sang Happy Birthday, HORRIBLY!

 

Everybody liked the cake except for Hailey. She probably would have if I hadn't told her I put those extra ingredients in!

 

When I was at the dollar store getting plates, cups, etc I spotted some bubbles and bubble paraphenalia. I thought they would be fun. I never thought a bunch of 20 somethings could have so much fun with $3.00 worth of bubble stuff!

 

 

 

 

 

Who'da thunk it?

Well my house was trashed, all the booze was pretty much gone and everybody was getting ready to leave. They were all going to a club to see some Irish band perform. I was going to bed. A good time was had by all. Happy Birthday Michael!

Today is Wednesday, September 27th, 2007 and I am so angry and frustrated.

Sometimes I just feel like things just CANNOT go smoothly in my life. It's like once I get one thing resolved and safely tucked away another gremlin rears it's ugly head. I can't freaking win!

Sometime over the weekend my foot FINALLY started feeling better. I was SO happy! It's still swelling a bit when I wear high-heels but it FEELS better and I can just tell that it's finally healing and that's a huge load off of my mind. I kept having these images of myself walking around with one of those boots and...ugh...no. I can't drive with one of those on. My foot is definitely NOT broken. It's on the mend and that's very good.

So Monday my daughter calls me from school to tell me that her eyes hurt. She has VERY bad vision and wears contacts (as I do) but her vision is twice as bad as mine. I ask her to try and make it through the day. She does. When I pick her up and take her home I tell her to take her contacts out and wear her glasses and just let her eyes rest. By Tuesday morning she is in extreme pain and I'm concerned. I keep her home and stay home myself to call the doctor. After waiting for a couple of hours for the nurse to call me back we finally decide that it is eye strain and choose to do compresses on her eyes. I finally get to work at 1:47pm. I work until about 6 and come home and make dinner. Her eyes are not feeling any better. We have spaghetti for dinner. Her eyes still don't feel any better.

This morning when I go to check on her her eyelids are visibly swollen and the pain is worse. Yet another day of school she will miss. I get myself ready and go to work. I call the doctors office and they first say we should just go to the Eye Foundation and then they schedule an appointment at 2:45 this afternoon. We go to the doctor and she can't find anything wrong but refers us to an Opthamologist and prescribes an antihistamine because she 'thinks' it may be allergy related. She also tells us to continue using the Vigamox drops that we already had from her last bout with conjunctivitis. I do not know at this point if my healthcare will cover the visit to the Opthamologist.

So we go drop off the prescription at the CVS and go to the grocery store. We go back to CVS to pick up the prescription and they tell me it's $50.00 which I think is wrong... I ask them if they filed my insurance and they say yes. AAAARRRGGGG to United Health Care. I decline to pay for the prescription since I don't think it will help and will suck another $50.00 out of my pocket.

I'm just very upset that fate keeps f'ing with my daughters eyes AND that my healthcare provider is so sucky! I pay approximately $160.00 a month and have to get the runaround about everything! It is really exasporating!

So my daughter is going back to school tomorrow, wearing her glasses because I think that the contacts are the culprit. Hopefully we can schedule a visit to the Opthamologist next week. Meanwhile I need to work. I have logged a total of 10 hours in the past 2 days. I am very thankful that I have a VERY understanding boss.

So on to chapter 2....

 

A father asked his 10-year old son if he knew about the birds and the bees.
"I don't want to know," the child said, bursting into tears. "Promise me you won't tell me."
Confused, the father asked what was wrong.
The boy sobbed, "When I was six, I got the 'There's no Easter Bunny' speech.”
“At seven, I got the 'There's no Tooth Fairy' speech.”
"When I was eight, you hit me with the 'There's no Santa' speech."
"If you're going to tell me that grown-ups don't really get laid, I'll have nothing left to live for."

 

HOW DO YOU DECIDE WHOM TO MARRY? (Written by kids)

 

You got to find somebody who likes the same stuff. Like, if you like sports, she should like it that you like sports, and she should keep the chips and dip coming.

-- Alan, age 10

No person really decides before they grow up who they're going to marry.
God decides it all way before, and you get to find out later who you're stuck with.

-- Kristen, age 10

 

WHAT IS THE RIGHT AGE TO GET MARRIED?
 Twenty-three is the best age because you know the person FOREVER by then.

-- Camille, age 10

 

HOW CAN A STRANGER TELL IF TWO PEOPLE ARE MARRIED?
 You might have to guess, based on whether they seem to be yelling at the same kids.

-- Derrick, age 8

 

WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR MOM AND DAD HAVE IN COMMON?
 Both don't want any more kids.

-- Lori, age 8

 

WHAT DO MOST PEOPLE DO ON A DATE?
Dates are for having fun, and people should use them to get to know each other. Even boys have something to say if you listen long enough.

-- Lynnette, age 8

On the first date, they just tell each other lies and that Usually gets them interested enough to go for a second date.

-- Martin, age 10

 

WHAT WOULD YOU DO ON A FIRST DATE THAT WAS TURNING SOUR?
 I'd run home and play dead. The next day I would call all the newspapers and make sure they wrote about me in all the dead columns.

-- Craig, age 9

 

WHEN IS IT OKAY TO KISS SOMEONE?
When they're rich.

-- Pam, age 7

The law says you have to be eighteen, so I wouldn't want to mess with that.

-- Curt, age 7

The rule goes like this: If you kiss someone, then you should marry them and have kids with them. It's the right thing to do

-- Howard, age 8

 

IS IT BETTER TO BE SINGLE OR MARRIED? It's better for girls to be single but not for boys. Boys need someone to clean up after them

-- Anita, age 9

 

HOW WOULD THE WORLD BE DIFFERENT IF PEOPLE DIDN'T GET MARRIED?
 There sure would be a lot of kids to explain, wouldn't there?

-- Kelvin, age 8

And the #1 Favorite is........

HOW WOULD YOU MAKE A MARRIAGE WORK?

Tell your wife that she looks pretty, even if she looks like a truck.

-- Ricky, age 10