Homecoming Mums

It has been called to my attention that not everyone knows what a "Homecoming Mum" is. Hmmm... wonder if it's just a Texas thing? Surely not... maybe a SOUTHERN thing? Football IS big down here...

Anyway - for those of you who have never heard of such... here are a couple of photos of the last one I made (when Jake was in 8th grade). The day of Homecoming, the boys bring their dates a "mum". Usually it is a silk mum, but can be fresh, too. They're generally HUGE...like face sized - lol. And we hang all sorts of ribbons and trinkets and bells and stuff from them (I spend an average of $100 each at the craft store buying all the STUFF... it's a matter of pride, you know!) You can make them as fancy or plain as you like - but the more stuff you cram onto one, the better! If the couple is dating, you put their names on the ribbons. If the boy plays football - you have his jersey number and maybe football charms. In this case, Jake played football and his date was a cheerleader, so I had little cheerleader charms, as well. You can buy a premade/decorated mum at local grocery stores & florists the week before homecoming, but most people like to make their own so they're more personalized. I actually still have my Senior Homecoming Mum somewhere... definitely a keepsake!

Most of the time girls pin them on their shirts, but they can get so big they have to hang them around their neck. I got a little carried away with this one - and kinda forgot that she is a TINY little thing. Her mom had to trim the ribbons so she wouldn't trip over them and it was so heavy it hung down to her navel. Oh well... she loved it anyway (and I bet she still has it!)

Conversation with Jackson yesterday...

Conversation with Jackson (11) after school:

Mom: So, do you have any cute girls in your classes this year?

Jackson: Ummm, not really.

Mom: I guess that's probably a good thing - fewer distractions, right?

Jackson: No, that's NOT a good thing.

Mom: Why?

Jackson: I want to "get" a girlfriend by next week.

Mom: You want to GET a girlfriend?

Jackson: Yes. Homecoming is next Friday and I want to go with her.

Mom: Who?

Jackson: I don't know yet, but surely I can find a girlfriend in a week.

Mom: Is there anyone you LIKE?

Jackson: No, but I'll find someone.

Mom: Oh...

Jackson: If I get a girlfriend by next Thursday can you make her a Homecoming Mum like you made Jake's girlfriend?

Mom: Overnight? Are you kidding?

Jackson: No, I'm not kidding - she'll need a mum to wear to the Homecoming game.

Mom: I MIGHT be able to throw something small together, but that's ok - you're only in 6th grade.

Jackson: I want to her to have a BIG one - the BEST one, like you made Jake's girlfriend.

Mom: You want me to make a $125 Homecoming mum overnight for a girl that you haven't even discovered yet? Really????

Jackson: Yes. Can you?

Mom: ummmmm.... let's talk about it this weekend (hoping he forgets by then.)

Sigh.....

I want to know...

...how the kitchen floor gets SO dirty?
...why boys stink (literally, not figuratively)?
...why football coaches think they run the world?
...when magazine and book print became so SMALL?
...how the laundry pile multiplies like rabbits when I'm not looking?
...why chocolate cake has so many calories?
...why Middle School vice principals have to terrorize the children the first several weeks of school?
...why so many people think 'Family Guy' is funny?
...how virtual farming can be SO addicting?
...when DO the cows come home?
...why God made scorpions?
...why did they put Disney World in the hottest part of the country?
...did chicken pox come from chickens? (if so - shouldn't we call it Chicken Flu?)
...why I can't be Martha Stewart?
...how much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
...why I always want to take a nap when it rains?
...why some people are just MEAN?
...how to bake bread without a bread machine (that isn't hard like a rock)
...where does mildew come from? Is it always there, on seemingly clean surfaces, just waiting to grow?
...why...hmmmm...I think that's all the questions I have for now.

Pondersome, isn't it?

Meet the Boys... (aka B2S 2009)

Before I do anything else - I just need to say that I have the most wonderful kids in the world. I know, I know - I'm a little partial being that I gave birth to them and all, but really.... how many teenage & pre-teen boys do YOU know who willingly and ungrudgingly (is that a word?) sit for photos for their mother? Especially at 7:00 in the morning before the first day of school? Exactly - I thought so. They don't complain or grumble or refuse to smile...they do get rowdy and silly sometimes, but that's ok - it happens. Anyway - they're pretty awesome, if I do say so myself.

These are some of the photos from Monday morning's B2S photo shoot... I just love them...so full of personality. I let each boy bring what they love most (besides me, of course - lol). Gosh...there are some scrapbook pages just WAITING to happen!!!

This is Justin... 16 years old, driving (SO important to mention!), & a Junior in High School. Pictured here with his 2 favorite things - his Ibanez guitar and his dog, Gracie. Sporting stylish, new Abercrombie white shorts and American Eagle shirt... and of course, his favorite Sperry loafers. This kid is not going to have much of a life for a while... his schedule includes Pre-AP Calculus, AP American History, AP Chemistry, AP Computer Science, Pre-AP Language Arts III, AP Spanish IV, Newspaper & some random technology course he has to take. He had his 1st 4 classes yesterday - and 3 of them gave him homework...REAL homework...the first day of school. Sigh... I know it'll be for the best in the long run, but it's surely no fun right now! He got his first real job this summer, which ended 2 weeks before school started, so at least he had a little time off. Justin recently started playing guitar in our church's Praise Service (which means this night owl has to be at church at 7am - lol!) My Dad is so proud he could almost burst... :)

Next we have Jake... 15, just got his learner's driving permit about a week ago (and is happily scaring the daylights out of his mother every chance he gets!), and is a Sophomore in High School (also taking mostly Pre-AP classes.) Jake loves football, football, and...um... football. He lives for it, you could say. He plays Tight End for the JV team - their first game is this coming Thursday. He also loves playing violent, war-type games on the XBox360 - like Call of Duty & Gears of War... typical teenage boy. I don't see the fun in those type of games, but then I lack the testosterone needed to enjoy violence, I think. LOL - whatever. He's a great kid - no worries! Oh - almost forgot - he also loves to EAT. Beef, preferably - or eggs. Whatever it is - it needs to be in LARGE amounts. If I don't have enough of whatever it is we are eating for him to have as much as he thinks he needs - I get this look like, "Mother...don't you LOVE me? I'm half starved!" And Lord help me if I were to serve a meal without MEAT... tried it once over the summer (spaghetti with no meat - just sauce, noodles & cheese) and there was almost a mutiny - they all three FREAKED! Boys!

The 2nd photo here is of Jake being invisible in his Abercrombie camo shorts. I can't see him - can you?

Finally we come to Jackson... 11 years old, started 6th grade yesterday - Middle School... geez, I'm still in shock about that one. (nevermind - it's not 'pity-party for Mom' time right now...) Anyone want to guess what Jackson's "thing" is? Yup - soccer. He's starting his 5th season with the Eagles. I'm really surprised he didn't choose to wear red, white & black to school on the first day. Most of the school clothes he picked out were his team colors - lots of Adidas and Under Armour stuff. Guess he wanted to look like the big boys. Of course - all of his new American Eagle clothes have an EAGLE on them - so I guess he's covered either way! Jackson is also working on his adult Black Belt in Taekwondo. He's got 3 stripes on his red/black belt - 2 more to go! Poor kid has had a bit of a rough summer... he was diagnosed as OCD with a vocal tic disorder. Long story, but he's doing better - still has a ways to go, but we're hoping the meds work well enough so that school is not a challenge for him. He gets to start Pre-AP classes this year, too - Language Arts & Math and a GT Explorations class. I have been so blessed to have smart kids!

Love, love, love them! :)

Dear Miss Kitty...

Do you know how fun it is to sew with you around? Really... it's fun to do ANYTHING with you around. But sewing is especially so. I just love how you pull all the pins out of the pincushions and throw them on the floor. It's sweet when you paw at the needle going up and down. How did you know that everything I make is for you?? You lay on whatever I'm making, so you MUST know. And when you're feeling extra helpful, after I've put you on the floor over and over again - you start knocking things off of the sewing table...or my desk...or the shelves - whatever you can find. Such a sweet little helper - what would I do without you? Only you know how much I love to remove cat hair from all of my projects... or pull pins out of the carpet... and that my FAVORITE thing is rewinding thread onto spools. It's nice to know you care so much.

Vacation?

Some might think that going to the beach with a husband (only 1, thankfully), 5 boys (11, 12, 15 & 2 16-year olds), a crazy brother & his Russian fiance' would not qualify as a "vacation". I might have to agree. We DID have a fantastic time, though! No one was terribly damaged by the sun (we all had crispy noses but there's not a lot you can do about that!). No one had any painful encounters with jellyfish (which is definitely a first!), rays or sharks (would have BEEN a first, but is certainly worth noting!) Several of the boys were accosted by hermit crabs - so there was a LITTLE blood, but nothing major. All-in-all a relatively pain free trip!

Kelly rented 2 long surf boards, so there were 3 total, and he and the older boys spent most of their time surfing. Who knew you could catch so many waves on Texas beaches??? I didn't even TRY to surf this year. Last year I tried...once. A wave rolled me and popped the surf board up... which came down and bonked me on the head so hard I saw stars and didn't know my name for a few minutes. That is enough for me. I'll stay on the shore and take lots of photos! :) Much safer for so many reasons - like there are NEVER any sharks out of the water! I'm not fond of sharks. Actually I'm not terribly fond of any animal that wants to EAT me...sharks, crocodiles, alligators...you know the ones - big with lots of teeth? Snakes, I can handle... spiders... mice... but not sharks. EXCEPT on TV... they're fascinating when they'e safe behind the glass of the TV screen. Even so - I still find myself trying to talk the people OUT of getting in the water with them. They don't listen.

I took a TON of photos, as usual, and if I was smarter than I am, I would put them on a slideshow as part of this blog entry... but I'm NOT smarter than I am and I don't know how to do that. Maybe someday.

Yesterday I...

made 7.5 gallons of YUMMY smoked salsa (which, just so you know, is a LOT more work than it looks like! lol)!

This involved the following:

1. Coring, quartering & seeding 3 cases of tomatoes

2. Peeling & quartering 16 pounds of onions

3. Roasting & peeling 22 heads of garlic

4. Removing seeds from 200 jalapenos (burned the skin on my hands, too - didn't have any gloves!)

5. Smoking tomatoes, jalapenos & onions on the big wood smoker outside (actually Kelly does this part :) YAY Kelly!)

After veggies were smoked I:

1. Removed skins from tomatoes & put through the food processor (82 cups of chopped tomatoes)

2. Put jalapenos & onions in food processor (14 cups of onions, 6 cups of jalapenos)

3. Chopped 2 bunches of cilantro

4. Pureed the garlic (about 4 cups)

All of these ingredients plus several bottles of red wine vinegar & canning salt - and voila! The BEST salsa EVER!

Of course... my work was not over. It all still needed to be put in jars and sealed. Luckily we had sterilized all of the jars the night before...several dishwasher loads!

The canner holds 7 jars at a time... this was a looooong process! LOL

What we ended up with: 3 Quarts, 48 pints & 9 half-pints of pretty-dang-spicy yumminess!!!! Yes, this seems like a lot, I know. But after my brother, Josh, takes his 20 or so jars, and we give the quarts to a friend's parents, and give out random jars throughout the year - by next summer it will be GONE!

LOVE this boy...