Homecoming. Texas Style.

After learning that homecoming is fiasco-ridden marathon last year, Aidan said, "Never again!"  He decided he would spread the word that he was planning on "being out of town."

Then, he liked a girl.

And she liked him back.

So, here we go again, on the homecoming roller coaster ride that only Texans can do.

Last year, the "ASK" involved a small gift.  This year, the tradition seems to have morphed into a memorable event.  Things like many candles lit in the girl's front yard.  A scavenger hunt.  Convincing the teacher to add it as a question to a test.  Surprise is key.  Aidan hatched and discarded many different ideas, all involving varying degrees of props, supporting cast, financing and originality.  His final production involved half-naked men and body paint.

 

Just in case you couldn't tell, lying on your side to see the video, the boys all came out of the locker room of a swim meet and lined up in front of the stands where The Girl was sitting.  Some kind of tribal yell, and then they ripped their shirts off.  They each had a letter of H-O-M-E-C-O-M-I-N-G on their chests, with Aidan as a "?".  Definitely points for originality. Good thing she said "Yes!" with such enthusiasm, being a public event and all.

 

 

 

The next "event" on the agenda is The Ordering of The Mum.  There are all kinds of rules surrounding The Mum and it's best to get professional help.  The Mum Lady does a remarkable job and produces a quality product, no two alike.  Also to be accomplished is The Purchsing Of The Tie so that it will match the date's dress.

 

While all this is going on, the kids (and I suspect, the Mommies) start tossing around ideas for The Schedule of Events for the Saturday night of Homecoming Week.  Appently, "nobody" actually attends the dance anymore.  Each idea is more elaborate than the next, and all involve much carting of kids to and fro by weary parents who have been carting to and fro all week.  This year, somehow, the Saturday Night Events got moved to a town all the way on the other side of the lake.  Somebody wanted to take photos at the Botanical Gardens over there, even though several generous families all offered their very lovely (and local!) yards for this segment of the Festivities.  Also on the evening's agenda is dinner out, bowling, and an after-party at one of the kids homes.  Oy.

 

As we enter the homestretch, the events come fast and furious.  Next up is The Presenting of The Mum, which happens on Thursday, so the girl has the chore pleasure of wearing it all day at school on Friday, after which it gathers dust on her bedroom wall.  Mum Presentation takes place at someone's home and involves several couples.  The girls, all a-twitter, gather in one room, while the boys enter and conceal The Mum in another room.  Parents orbit in the margins of the room with cameras ready.  The boys enter and give The Mums to the girls and there is much "ooooh"ing and "aaaaahhhhhh"ing with exclamations of "It's so pretty!"  Everybody dons their Mums, poses for photos, then removes The Mums for intense examination of all the details.

 

 

 

Oh, the details!

 

THIS is why one hires The Mum Lady.  I sooooo could never pull this off myself.  All the bling, all the braids, all the special tassles, boas, sparkles.  Oy!

 

These are all the special braided ribbons. 

 

Various plastic symbols

 

The mum included a horse head (she rides), a jaguar jewel tassel,

and the teddy bear had a crystal tiara

 

Ribbons with their names, and even a whistle - in case she needs to get someones attention

A feather boa on a silken silver cord, and much artistry with the ribbons



 

There is even candy embedded in the Mum.  And bling.  Lots and lots of bling.

 

 Friday, the school halls and classrooms are filled with Mums.  There are students hiding beneath them somewhere.  One smart teacher made the kids remove them and hang them up on the wall.

 

 

Each Mum seems more absurd than the next.  I'll get off my Mum soap box, but will leave you with one last image, all from our local high school.

 



 

Finally, Saturday arrives, the day everything has been building towards.  Apparently, the girls all start getting ready about 10am.  There are hair appointments, mani-pedi's, and makeup parties. 

 

Since I had been a "conscientious objector" to the complexity and geography of the plans, my only role for the evening was to drop Aidan off at someone else's house where the first leg of the evening was to begin.  The Photo Shoot.  From there, they were taken to a restaurant for dinner, and then moved on to the bowling alley.  After bowling, they returned to Flower Mound to hang out at one boy's home for the "after party."  All transportation provided by parents with more generous spirits than I.

 

I know I'm being kind of snarky about all this.  I will add that Aidan and his very nice date had a great time.  This is an awesome group of kids and as a parent I want to be supportive of them since they ARE so great.  I know they get tired of hearing "Back in the day, we didn't expect all this rigamarole!"  I don't know how or why or when things got so complicated.

 

But, as always, at the end of the day, I am grateful.  Grateful for my healthy kids and that they continue to make good choices, including surrounding themselves with great friends.  Grateful that we are able to provide them the evening they want.  And yes, I am grateful that it's over.

 

Until next year.  When I will experience this again, adding the perspective of my daughter!

 

 



Braggin' on My Kiddos

One of the "over the top" (in a good way) things about Texas is PRIDE.  Not just pride at being a Texan, but pride in anything worth being proud of.  And while everyone is proud of their kids, I've noticed that Texans have a few more ways to show it.  I'm sure this happens in other areas, but California is my only other experience and I didn't notice it to be as pervasive as it is here in Texas.  Things may have changed in the time that I have been gone - do y'all have a lot of this kind of stuff in YOUR area?

One way to show your pride is a yard sign...  doesn't matter if it's a sport, arts or academic team.  School-associated or private club.  The kids expect a yard sign announcing to all who pass by that they are part of something.

Then, there is the vehicle stickers.  I just keep adding to my back window as the stickers arrive.  Who knows how many I'll have on there after a few more years?

Like all parents, I'm proud of my kids and like to brag about them now and then.  Actually, that is one of the main purposes of this blog!  So, a couple of recent accomplishments from the end of the school year.....

Aidan lettered as a freshman.  Which presented a sort of unique opportunity, how do you order a letter jacket for a child that has only begun to grow?  Um yeah, it's a little big.  But if fits Ray perfectly, so we figure the sizing is pretty much spot on.

Bridget was inducted into the National Junior Honor Society.  She works really hard on her school work and gives every assignment and test 110% so she definitely deserves the honor!

Hopefully, my kids will continue to work hard, both at school and other activities.  Mostly, I want them to be proud of themselves.

Anatomy of a Mum

It resided in our house for 24 hours, hanging in the entry way in all it's glory.  I almost felt as if I ought to give it a name, it seemed to have taken on a personality all it's own.

Aidan had a sheepish expression on his face when he brought it home, I could tell he finds this a bit absurd too.

First of all, props to the "mum lady" who built the thing.  My renegade opinion and snarky comments are in no way a reflection on the creativity and workmanship that went into this thing.  I consider myself fairly craftie and can readily admit there is no way I would have created such a magnificent specimen.  It has been pronounced "beautiful" by my friend Paula, who loves Mums and is a bazillionth-generation Texan.  Bridget, who has lived more of her life in Texas than California by now, thinks it's pretty too and can't wait to have a Mum of her own.  I only hope that her future dates don't disappoint her.

The Mum weighs in at a whopping four pounds.  That is about as much as one of my chickens.  It has a harness so the young lady can strap it to her torso and have the chore pleasure of wearing it to school today, the game tonight, and the homecoming evening festivities Saturday. 

The Mum has over 40 ribbons attached to it, and what a variety of ribbons!  Varying colors, widths, and embossments.  Sparkly ribbons, jaguar spotted ribbons, ribbons with their names.  Never have I dreamed of such glorious ribbonry.

Apparently, every Mum must also have a braided ribbon, and Mumnifique here (that's her name now), was no exception.  A very complicated braid (which I could never have managed without strangling someone), with sparkly bows attached.

Adorning Mumnifique's ribbons are all kinds of blingy charms that signify occasion and the activities of the couple.  Aidan's date is a volleyball player.  I was surprised that there is swimming bling.

Embedded in the actual chrysyanthemum is a teddy bear.  See the chrysyanthemum there, under the teddy bear?  It's the white petals?  That is the origination of the Mum - an actual mum.  This little teddy bear has a silver lame top and a blue sparkly skirt.  This teddy bear looks angry at being upstaged by the curlicues and stars that surround it.

And all around the teddy bear and the mum are more gee-gaws symbolizing football, bling, and who knows what.

All along, I've been joking that I wanted to make A Mum that had a water feature and a food dispenser.  Well, the "mum lady" beat me half way....  one of the "ribbons" is a tubular structure that is stuffed with Tootsie Rolls.

So, Mumnifique, I will miss you.  More than that, though, I am missing the kidney that has funded your existence, your 48 hours in the spotlight, and living out your days hanging on a bedroom wall gathering dust.

Ice Station Zebra

Greetings from Ice Station Zebra.

I am a scientist engaged in the study of global warming (ha!) and it's affect on moderen suburban families.

In this experiment, we will cut a small cluster of families off from civilization by encrusting their roads in ice and creating a hostile environment.  We will monitor the behavior of the trapped subjects.

The suburban offspring began the experiment by spending a lot of time out of doors, attempting to slide down glaciers.  While there were varying degrees of success with this behavior, due to the perpetual cycle of returning to the house for warmth and sustenance, and always forgetting to close the doors, their habitats now look like this:

This phenomenon has caused the suburban housewife to consume alcohol.

Seriously though.  What a mess!  Our roads have been frozen for three days, and it will not get above freezing today either, and then more snow is expected for Friday.  At this rate, with the "snow days" piling up, the kids will be in school doing makeup days until the Fourth of July.

I am about to run out of milk and am contemplating walking to the nearest convenience store just for the novelty of it.  Note to self, call first to make sure they DO have milk.  Rumor has it the grocery stores are running low.  Other than the milk (and I do have powdered), I am glad I have a well-stocked pantry.

The only friends the kids see are those within walking distance, and it is a cold, cold, walk!  Ray goes out daily to break the ice on the pool.  Aidan, obviously, hasn't been able to train at all, so I nag him to spend time on the stationary bike - it's about the only way I can get him away from the TV.

One of the neighborhood mommies kindly invited the rest of the neighborhood mommies over to a chili lunch today.  I am certain there will be wine involved, and so I may not be home until the spring thaw.

Disorganization

I am a bit disorganized lately.  Still recovering from the busy March and I just know that I'll barely get it together by the time I get hit with the End Of The School Year Whammy.

So, in typical disorganized fashion, here are a bunch of odds and ends for amusement and to catch you up on the Glynns.

We had visitors a few weeks ago - Ray's sis & her family from NYC.  More photos to follow once I download them from the camera, but meanwhile enjoy this one of our neice, Kailey.  She's three and adorable.  We went to the rodeo, and being a city kid, she wasn't used to the wonderful aroma of horse and cow poop.  Which Bridget and I find delicious, by the way.  Kailey held her nose the entire rodeo.

In the midst of the visitors, we had Bridget's (belated) "friend" birthday party, and Aidan's (on time) "family" birthday party.  Aidan's "friend" party will be belated too - because I'm disorganized.

For Bridget's party, we took a handful of girls to see Alice in Wonderland.  The cake is supposed to be an homage to Johnny Depp's hat.  And you'll never guess what Aidan's cake is.

Spring has sprung in Texas, and it is as glorious as ever. On my walk the other day my neighbor and I decided to go down to the lake to see if there were any Texas bluebonnets blooming.  There are usually several nice-sized patches, good for the traditional photograph of your children.

Oh.  My.  Goodness.

I don't know what grand alignment of the Texas bluebonnet planets happened this year, but there are banks and banks of bluebonnets as far as the eye can see.  It was stunning. 

Since I didn't have a child with me, I photographed my faithful companion, Scamp.  Isn't he cute?

Another outing we took when our visitors were here was to the Dallas World Aquarium.  I've got a camera full of awesome photos including getting up close and personal with a sloth, but until I get organized, this photo will have to do.

We were awaiting feeding time at the shark tank.

And, because I am in love with TEXAS IN THE SPRING, just a few more photos for your viewing enjoyment.  Ciao.  I must go get organized.

March Madness

As Ray said when I showed him the calendar for March, "Oh, crap!"

It's a little busy.  So, I doubt I'll be posting much, but I'll try.  I'll tweet more, so if you want to follow me on Twitter, that's where the info will be.

A few updates.....

Bridget tried out for the school talent show and.......  made it!  She'll be singing "Forever and Always" by Taylor Swift (who else?).  No, like last year, we haven't heard her sing.  also, like last year, there was a bit of self-imposed drama surrounding her decision to try out.  It's the journey.  Repeat.

Aidan's arm is still broken.  It still hurts.  The Very Big Swim Meet still starts on Thursday as scheduled.  We'll do a "test run" with no cast Wednesday afternoon and he'll make a decision on the "pain-to-performance" ratio.  Our Good Doctor is a saint to put up with all our cast shenanigans, but he's a former swimmer and knows we're weird.  And he knows how to make a cast that will be considered "legal" at the meet and has allowed Aidan to practice AND be able to still swim pretty darn fast.  We're hoping he's fast enough to keep his relay spots.

While Ray and I are cheering Aidan on down near Houston, Bridget will be seeing the sights in New York City with Captain and Nonna.  Lucky girl, and I am so glad that my little country bumpkin will get the opportunity to be amongst skyscrapers, art, and something other than livestock and wide open spaces.  There's a whole 'nother world out there, my little girl!

Open That Bottle Night was a few weeks back.  We opened that bottle, and that one, and that one, and.... all in the company of fellow wine enthusiasts.  Note to self:  Whites do not keep.  Duh!  Clean out wine collection more often.  That 20yr old Cakebread Sauvignon Blanc smelled like feet and tasted worse.  Fortunately, there were many more wonderful bottles than lost ones, and it was great to taste some of the older and pricier stuff we usually don't think to.

OK.  Next stop, The Woodlands (near Houston).  I am looking forward to the drive, as spring seems to have appeared and Texas can be durn purty in the springtime.

Cheers!

Snow Day!

Global warming my ass foot!  This snow stuff is gettin' to be a regular thing around here!

I just heard a big "thump" from out back.  It was our awning (which was on it's last legs) collapsing into a big mangled heap.  Well, at least I know that the corner pieces make excellent trelleses for the beans and tomatoes in the garden.  Maybe I'll have to build a few more beds.

Aidan left for a nearby friend's house and Missy B was feeling lonesome, so she and I walked the mile down to her friend's house and I pawned her off on them for the day.  Thanks Paula!  'Cept I'm going to have to walk that mile again (and it's uphill, both ways) to get her back.

We saw these horses on the way.  Don't they look cosy?

Scamp really enjoys the snow.

Aidan and friends are building an igloo.  Pretty creative, eh?

Fortunately, Ray's flight home wasn't cancelled and he made it from the airport to home without incident.  It will probably freeze solid later tonite, so the streets around here will be like ice-skating rinks.  Luckily, we've got plenty of liquor food and don't need to venture out.

The woods behind my house....

....are full of the most amazing variety of plant life.  Trees, bushes, grasses, flowers, berries, mosses of every shade of green.  It's different every time I go back there.  I remember when we first moved here, I took a break from unpacking one day and just headed into the woods for a few hours to explore.  I was stunned by the variety of flowers blooming at every level.  I picked "one of everything" to bring home to show my family.

While Spring and her wildflowers are showy and spectacular, Fall brings a quiet beauty that I've always appreciated.  So many shades of brown - russet, amber, whisky, topaz, chocolate.  A few weeks ago, I decided to bring back "one of everything" and make a wreath. 

It's been so nice to have a little bit of "The Woods" right on my front door!

Crazy Weekend

Aidan's vomiting pumpkin 

This was my kind of weekend.

The highlight was a visit from Kelli. Thanks, Kelli, for making the trek to The Republic of Texas and hanging with us. As I was tucking him in last night, Aidan sleepily said, "Kelli is my good luck charm" because he had such a fun weekend.

After the kids got out of school Friday, we headed to the pumpkin patch. It's a yearly ritual and it was left so late because it's been raining for the last 40 days. But the skies cleared 1 hour before Kelli's plane landed, the Texas prairie and woods were in all their beautiful fall glory. The kids played in the hay maze, and did all the other stuff and we selected our pumpkins and headed home.

After the pumpkin patch it was time to get on our fancy duds (the clean jeans) and head out to dinner. Another marvelous dinner at our new favorite restaurant, the Lonesome Dove Bistro. Just love seeing Picky Boy order rabbit off the menu and I enjoyed my elk sausage and foie gras sliders. Then we sauntered down the street to the Stockyards Rodeo for a couple of hours or bull ridin', ropin' and watching the kids participate in the Calf Scramble.

Saturday dawned early for Aidan and I as usual, and he headed off to swim practice and a team Halloween party. Kelli got to accompany Bridget to her riding lesson. It was a crisp fall morning, and she got out of the car at the barn, looked around, and said "Am I in heaven?" Yeah, that's exactly how Bridget and I feel about the barn. Especially on a glorious fall day like that. She had so much fun watching Bridget work with Cherry Bomb and watching the psychology play out among the other riders and their horses too. I left the two of them to attend other errands and they finished their morning with a visit to the tack shop and lunch at the local Mexican restaurant.

Once we all rendez-voused at the house, we began what was probably the busiest and craziest 8 hours since this weekend. Ray, Kelli and the kids pulled out all the Halloween decorations and proceeded to turn our place into The Scariest House in the 'Hood. I started rolling dough to make my soft pretzel amputated finger hors d'oeuvres. We carved pumpkins and crimped Bridget's hair.

4:30 and the festivities began! We hit the first party of the evening, and it was a hoot to watch the Daddy Squad play football. Ray even got grass stains on his knees. We abandoned Bridget there and moved on to the next party where we stayed until dusk. Ray, Kelli and I then quickly ran back home and got all the strobes, torches, black lights, candles and scary music fired up before the Parade of Trailers began.

Since we live in a semi-rural area with no sidewalks or street lights, the best and safest way to get the kids around is in hay-filled trailers. There are several that slowly make their way through the streets, attended by a flotilla of golf carts. All vehicles sport lights, streamers and other Halloween decorations.

We three big people had fun answering the door and seeing the little one's reactions to all our scary decorations. It's fun to sit in the dark dining room and watch them tenatively make their way up the walk. Kelli and I would hand candy to the kids while Ray would ferry trays of absinthe shots out to the adults.

Once Bridget's trailer arrived, Kelli and I abandoned Ray to accompany the trailer to it's second-to-last stop of the evening, a Very Posh Horse Barn where we all went in and gave the perplexed horses treats and loves. The stop at the Very Posh Horse Barn gives Mr. Haunted House Guy time to get the last stop of the evening prepared for our arrival.

On to Mr. Haunted House Guy's place for a tour through his foggy, spooky place. By this time, the trick-or-treaters were done and Ray had caught us up. Then back to the party for the Great Candy Swap and way too many sugar-loaded kids.

Then back home to collapse.