I'm enjoying it, while it lasts!
Showing posts with label Alex. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Alex. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Alex's 8th grade graduation
Alex graduated from 8th grade last Thursday. The ceremony was actually very nice, as opposed to Steven and Luke's ceremonies at the same school. The older boy's ceremonies were really long and boring and it had to be 90 degrees in the school gym. It was warm, but comfortable enough at Alex's and the speakers were short, to the point, and for the most part, interesting. Alex got nominated to give one of the kid speeches, but didn't make the final cut. They picked 4 out of 12 kids nominated to actually give speeches. The girls who gave them did a good job, but one had only been at the school for 1 out of 3 years, so she didn't have all that much to say that was meaningful.
After the graduation, my mom took me and Alex out to lunch. We had a delicious lunch, although the restaurant service was extremely slow. They just started opening for lunch and I don't know if they had people who didn't show up or they just weren't properly prepared, but they only had one guy working the whole room. He joked that he was also cooking and I think he might have been, as he was disappearing into the back for long periods of time! Once the food finally came, it was really yummy and none of us passed out from starvation before it arrived, so that was good.
After the graduation, my mom took me and Alex out to lunch. We had a delicious lunch, although the restaurant service was extremely slow. They just started opening for lunch and I don't know if they had people who didn't show up or they just weren't properly prepared, but they only had one guy working the whole room. He joked that he was also cooking and I think he might have been, as he was disappearing into the back for long periods of time! Once the food finally came, it was really yummy and none of us passed out from starvation before it arrived, so that was good.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Alex's Show
Alex goes to a performing arts school, not a day school, but an after school school. He is in the Musical Theater program. I know I posted about it before, mentioning that he got a scholarship to attend. He attended a couple of years ago, but we just couldn't afford it anymore. He found out a few months ago that they were offering scholarships for boys and he applied and was accepted. He has learned so much there and I'm really glad he has been able to go. He is dying to take private voice lessons there, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the owner will let him do that next year.
Anyway, they always do an end of the year program, highlighting what they have learned during the year. Each class and the private lesson students did a dance or song and it was really wonderful. We went in, not expecting much, but ended up being treated to what, at most times, seemed like a professional performance! The costumes were beautiful. Too bad I forgot my camera! Alex, unfortunately, only participated in one song and dance, but he did a great job. The show was a lot of fun and my Aunt Louise, who is here visiting from Florida and my Mom came along, so I'm glad it was a good show!
After the show, we went home, planning to make eat at home, but we then decided to go out to dinner. Alex really wanted to and since he hasn't been home much at all for the past 4 months or so, we decided to splurge and go out. The only kids who wanted to go were Alex and Shauna. We went to Red, Hot and Blue, which was really good. We had a GREAT time! It was just a fun and funny, relaxing time. It was nice to have Mike along with us, since when he is home, he is usually really tired and sleeping or busy doing stuff around the house. Several funny things happened, but the main one was that I had my cell phone in my purse and whenever I got a text message, it says, "message received". Alex thought that was SO embarrassing! It was actually quite low and since it was in my purse, I don't think anyone around us could hear it. Plus there weren't even that many people in the restaurant, since it was pretty late when we finally got there.
After a few minutes of Alex teasing me about being embarrassing, he proceeded to drop his cell phone down between the end of the booth bench and the wall. He tried to get it out with butter knives, his hand, his flip flop, etc., with no luck. Mike, being silly, decided to call the phone. Alex had his ring on pretty loud and his ring tone is an obnoxious, rap-type song. So suddenly, we and the people sitting anywhere near us, hear "turn my head right round" music! Mike says, "And you had the nerve to say that Mom was embarrassing!" We had quite a few laughs over that and some other things, while we enjoyed a delicious BBQ dinner. Eventually when we still couldn't get the phone out ourselves, our server came over and tried to help. She first brought a broom stick from the back and tried that, but it wouldn't fit in between. Then she brought a bunch of kitchen gadgets with long handles, like a slotted spoon and tongs. Nothing worked. Finally, Alex tried pulling the bench out from the wall (which the server had said couldn't be done because it was attached!). Well, lo and behold, it was not attached, although it certainly did look like it was. Alex was able to rescue his phone, thank goodness.
Anyway, they always do an end of the year program, highlighting what they have learned during the year. Each class and the private lesson students did a dance or song and it was really wonderful. We went in, not expecting much, but ended up being treated to what, at most times, seemed like a professional performance! The costumes were beautiful. Too bad I forgot my camera! Alex, unfortunately, only participated in one song and dance, but he did a great job. The show was a lot of fun and my Aunt Louise, who is here visiting from Florida and my Mom came along, so I'm glad it was a good show!
After the show, we went home, planning to make eat at home, but we then decided to go out to dinner. Alex really wanted to and since he hasn't been home much at all for the past 4 months or so, we decided to splurge and go out. The only kids who wanted to go were Alex and Shauna. We went to Red, Hot and Blue, which was really good. We had a GREAT time! It was just a fun and funny, relaxing time. It was nice to have Mike along with us, since when he is home, he is usually really tired and sleeping or busy doing stuff around the house. Several funny things happened, but the main one was that I had my cell phone in my purse and whenever I got a text message, it says, "message received". Alex thought that was SO embarrassing! It was actually quite low and since it was in my purse, I don't think anyone around us could hear it. Plus there weren't even that many people in the restaurant, since it was pretty late when we finally got there.
After a few minutes of Alex teasing me about being embarrassing, he proceeded to drop his cell phone down between the end of the booth bench and the wall. He tried to get it out with butter knives, his hand, his flip flop, etc., with no luck. Mike, being silly, decided to call the phone. Alex had his ring on pretty loud and his ring tone is an obnoxious, rap-type song. So suddenly, we and the people sitting anywhere near us, hear "turn my head right round" music! Mike says, "And you had the nerve to say that Mom was embarrassing!" We had quite a few laughs over that and some other things, while we enjoyed a delicious BBQ dinner. Eventually when we still couldn't get the phone out ourselves, our server came over and tried to help. She first brought a broom stick from the back and tried that, but it wouldn't fit in between. Then she brought a bunch of kitchen gadgets with long handles, like a slotted spoon and tongs. Nothing worked. Finally, Alex tried pulling the bench out from the wall (which the server had said couldn't be done because it was attached!). Well, lo and behold, it was not attached, although it certainly did look like it was. Alex was able to rescue his phone, thank goodness.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Choir Concert
Sunday was the last middle school choir concert for Alex. He has been involved in choir all three years, so it was a little sad for him. This was Hannah's second concert, but I was out of town for the last one and didn't get to see it. The concert was really good and it was also an awards ceremony. I didn't get a picture of Alex in his choir costume because at the end, the 8th graders did a song and dance from Grease.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Godspell
Alex performed in Godspell this weekend. It was really good! What a group of talented kids. They really did an amazing job. I only have one picture, so far, but hope to have more later. I am also hoping I can put up a video clip of Alex singing, but I will have to talk to CUP about that.
Alex, after the play, being silly, as usual!
Alex, after the play, being silly, as usual!Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Stuff and more stuff
Steven continues to slowly improve after his surgery. He has been to the physical therapist 4 times, which is still really painful for him, but he is sticking with it and doing the exercises. We went to see a lawyer today to, hopefully, get his medical bills paid. She said he has a very good case and she is going to ask another lawyer to join her on this case because he has a personal injury practice and has a lot of experience with dog bite suits. I'm not really thrilled about having to bring in a lawyer, but since the dog's owners don't want to help with the bills, we don't have a choice.
Janine is here, arriving several hours earlier than expected on Saturday. CUP was freaking out because he had to rush to get ready. He gave her a hard time about it, but the important thing is she got here safely and without any traffic problems! Mike, Jack, Janine, Steven, Hannah and I all went to Richmond Saturday night to see Chuck's band again. It was fun. Since it was a beautiful evening, they played outside on the patio and that was really nice.
I have a black and white shirt that I joke around with my mom about. I call it my "hot" shirt. At the restaurant, I told Mike that I had my hot shirt on and his reply was, "I have my compression stocking on." Wow, talk about a reminder of how old we are getting! When we were dating, we hung around with Chuck and Roni a lot. While we were at the concert, I told Mike that it reminded me of when we were dating because he smelled like beer and we were hanging around with Chuck and Roni!
I forgot to blog that another friend of Steven's was killed last week. He had two friends killed in an accident last summer (they were drunk and high) and now this friend was hit head-on by a drunk/high driver and killed instantly. I find it hard to believe that people still think it is fine to drive drunk or under the influence of drugs. As we were leaving the lawyer's office, Steven got a call from one of his friends who told him that another of their friends had committed suicide. How sad.
This morning Alex had to stay home for a little while because he had such a bad nose bleed and it wouldn't stop. Every time I take him to the doctor and tell her that he gets these terrible nose bleeds, she tells him not to pick his nose! Hello, he is 14 years old, he doesn't pick his nose! I'm going to take him in again and see if there is something else we can do to prevent this, besides banning the nose picking. When he gets these really bad bleeds, he can soak through several towels and lose a ton of blood, which can't be good. I wonder if we should just take him to the ER the next time it happens. Of course, it almost always happens in the middle of the night or early in the morning and sometimes he doesn't even tell me when it is happening because he doesn't want to bother me. Sometimes I see the tell tale blood splatters and figure it out that way. I always joke that if a murder is committed in our house and the police spray it with luminol, there is going to be blood all over the place from his bloody noses, as well as Hannah's! He does a pretty good job of cleaning the blood up, now that he is older, but sometimes he misses some.
Janine is here, arriving several hours earlier than expected on Saturday. CUP was freaking out because he had to rush to get ready. He gave her a hard time about it, but the important thing is she got here safely and without any traffic problems! Mike, Jack, Janine, Steven, Hannah and I all went to Richmond Saturday night to see Chuck's band again. It was fun. Since it was a beautiful evening, they played outside on the patio and that was really nice.
I have a black and white shirt that I joke around with my mom about. I call it my "hot" shirt. At the restaurant, I told Mike that I had my hot shirt on and his reply was, "I have my compression stocking on." Wow, talk about a reminder of how old we are getting! When we were dating, we hung around with Chuck and Roni a lot. While we were at the concert, I told Mike that it reminded me of when we were dating because he smelled like beer and we were hanging around with Chuck and Roni!
I forgot to blog that another friend of Steven's was killed last week. He had two friends killed in an accident last summer (they were drunk and high) and now this friend was hit head-on by a drunk/high driver and killed instantly. I find it hard to believe that people still think it is fine to drive drunk or under the influence of drugs. As we were leaving the lawyer's office, Steven got a call from one of his friends who told him that another of their friends had committed suicide. How sad.
This morning Alex had to stay home for a little while because he had such a bad nose bleed and it wouldn't stop. Every time I take him to the doctor and tell her that he gets these terrible nose bleeds, she tells him not to pick his nose! Hello, he is 14 years old, he doesn't pick his nose! I'm going to take him in again and see if there is something else we can do to prevent this, besides banning the nose picking. When he gets these really bad bleeds, he can soak through several towels and lose a ton of blood, which can't be good. I wonder if we should just take him to the ER the next time it happens. Of course, it almost always happens in the middle of the night or early in the morning and sometimes he doesn't even tell me when it is happening because he doesn't want to bother me. Sometimes I see the tell tale blood splatters and figure it out that way. I always joke that if a murder is committed in our house and the police spray it with luminol, there is going to be blood all over the place from his bloody noses, as well as Hannah's! He does a pretty good job of cleaning the blood up, now that he is older, but sometimes he misses some.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
We set a new record today
Shortest time ever in the Emergency Room! Yes, I was in the local emergency room, again, just 3 weeks after the last time. I was keeping my head down, hoping no one would recognize me! We set a new record for fast ER visits, though. We were out in 1 hour and 15 minutes. Wow, I usually allot between 3 and 6 hours for an ER visit. While we were there, we figured out that 6 out of 7 kids have been in the emergency room in the last 18 months. That is a record I don't want to break!
Everything is fine, although Alex has a sprained ankle. He was at play practice at school today and apparently the set wasn't built too well. They had a wooden staircase and it collapsed and he fell through. The play starts in 10 days, so he should be okay by then. He has an ace bandage wrap and an air cast. He will be on crutches for about a week and then he should get back to normal pretty quickly.
We had some fun at the ER. The x-ray technician came in to get him and my first thought was that she looked like a cave woman! Alex actually let out a startled, Uh, when she started coming in. She had long hair, looked like she was high, and her hair was all wild, just like they always depict cave woman. She asked Alex his date of birth and he told her and she said her birthday was December 1st also. Then she said in a monotone voice, "1957". Just the way she said it was so funny.
Then the triage room was right across the hall from us and the triage nurse had a very loud voice. Some poor woman came in and the whole hall heard that she had bipolar disorder, was having a panic attack and hasn't been taking her medications!
Everything is fine, although Alex has a sprained ankle. He was at play practice at school today and apparently the set wasn't built too well. They had a wooden staircase and it collapsed and he fell through. The play starts in 10 days, so he should be okay by then. He has an ace bandage wrap and an air cast. He will be on crutches for about a week and then he should get back to normal pretty quickly.
We had some fun at the ER. The x-ray technician came in to get him and my first thought was that she looked like a cave woman! Alex actually let out a startled, Uh, when she started coming in. She had long hair, looked like she was high, and her hair was all wild, just like they always depict cave woman. She asked Alex his date of birth and he told her and she said her birthday was December 1st also. Then she said in a monotone voice, "1957". Just the way she said it was so funny.
Then the triage room was right across the hall from us and the triage nurse had a very loud voice. Some poor woman came in and the whole hall heard that she had bipolar disorder, was having a panic attack and hasn't been taking her medications!
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Winter Wonderland
Shauna and her friend, Sydney. Yes, that is Shauna's winter coat in the snow. It was 24 degrees and she was hot!
Shauna at the bottom of the hill
Alex enjoying some of the first snowflakes
A thrilled Shauna, with her coat on!
The snowy night sky in front of our house
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Yearbook nominations
Alex is in 8th grade, very outgoing and one of the "popular" kids. Hmm, I was totally the opposite when I was in school. I was incredibly quiet, introverted and popular only with my small, select group of friends. It is kind of weird to have a kid like him and yet, he and I get along really, really well. We have a very close relationship and spend a lot of time together, mostly just talking.
In his schools yearbook, they have those most things. You know, most popular, etc. Well, Alex got nominated for 5 of them this year! He was nominated for most stylish (none of his friends know we shop at thrift stores and spend next to nothing for his clothes!), most unforgettable, most talkative, drama king and reality star (whatever that means). They are only allowed to be nominated for 2 things so he had to pick 2. He picked drama king and reality star, even though he also has no idea what reality star means!
In his schools yearbook, they have those most things. You know, most popular, etc. Well, Alex got nominated for 5 of them this year! He was nominated for most stylish (none of his friends know we shop at thrift stores and spend next to nothing for his clothes!), most unforgettable, most talkative, drama king and reality star (whatever that means). They are only allowed to be nominated for 2 things so he had to pick 2. He picked drama king and reality star, even though he also has no idea what reality star means!
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Quick post
I have to make a quick dinner and then go pick Alex up from theater class. He got a scholarship to go to a performing arts school and he started yesterday. He is very excited. He took classes there about a year and a half ago, but had to stop after 6 months because we just couldn't afford it. They now have scholarships for boys only and he applied for and got one. We are still waiting to see exactly what classes they are going to let him take. So far, he is just in musical theater. He is hoping for dance and voice lessons, as well.
I had Shauna's IEP meeting yesterday morning and she got approved for an IEP! Yay! I was really lucky to have the support of a teacher who has known her since kindergarten, as well as the school social worker and psychologist, who just happen to be married to each other and friends of mine! After all the testing was done, it was determined that her IQ is on the higher side of average. However, she has a severe math disability, that only 1% of the population has. Ugh. She also has a lot of memory issues, probably due to prenatal alcohol exposure. I'm so happy she is getting the IEP because she will be in middle school next year and will not survive there without one. I just hope she gets the same special ed case manager that Hannah has this year.
I had Shauna's IEP meeting yesterday morning and she got approved for an IEP! Yay! I was really lucky to have the support of a teacher who has known her since kindergarten, as well as the school social worker and psychologist, who just happen to be married to each other and friends of mine! After all the testing was done, it was determined that her IQ is on the higher side of average. However, she has a severe math disability, that only 1% of the population has. Ugh. She also has a lot of memory issues, probably due to prenatal alcohol exposure. I'm so happy she is getting the IEP because she will be in middle school next year and will not survive there without one. I just hope she gets the same special ed case manager that Hannah has this year.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
My kids are making fun of me!
Alex and Shauna were making fun of me tonight. Everything I did, they narrated it, like this:
"Oh, I'm putting meatballs on my plate. I'm going to blog about this."
"I'm pouring milk. I'm going to blog about this."
"I'm sitting down with my dinner. I'm going to blog about this.", etc. etc. etc.!
Then, a few minutes after they stopped making fun of me, Shauna was practicing for her science project presentation. She was speaking quickly and it sounded like she said, "Jesus cleaned the pennies" (she actually said juice cleaned the pennies). I said, "Jesus cleaned the pennies? I'm going to blog about this!" She laughed and said, "Have you heard of privacy, Mom?"
"Oh, I'm putting meatballs on my plate. I'm going to blog about this."
"I'm pouring milk. I'm going to blog about this."
"I'm sitting down with my dinner. I'm going to blog about this.", etc. etc. etc.!
Then, a few minutes after they stopped making fun of me, Shauna was practicing for her science project presentation. She was speaking quickly and it sounded like she said, "Jesus cleaned the pennies" (she actually said juice cleaned the pennies). I said, "Jesus cleaned the pennies? I'm going to blog about this!" She laughed and said, "Have you heard of privacy, Mom?"
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Valentine's Day
Even though Mike is in Las Vegas, he hid some Valentine cards and treats for his girls with Luke. This morning we were presented with cards and candy. Thank you, Mikey! His being in Las Vegas for the weekend is the reason we celebrated last Saturday at Red Lobster. I am jealous, though, he had dinner tonight at Aurelio's Pizza. There are actually two in the area and we went to both when we were there last month. Aurelio's originated in Homewood, IL and is one of our favorite Chicago pizza places. He even sent me a picture of his pizza and his appetizer, which was fried ravioli. It looked delicious! Not to be outdone, we are having homemade lasagna tonight, that I made at Christmas time and put in the freezer. It may take forever to cook, however, since I forgot to take it out of the freezer until this afternoon.
Alex and Shauna surprised me by making some brownies today. I asked them to set the oven timer for 30 minutes because I wanted to take a short nap and then shower because we were going to Steven's new house for a little while. Apparently they decided to make brownies while I was sleeping and kept setting my timer for longer so they could be done before I woke up! I guess I got a little bonus nap time and I'm not complaining.
They cut the brownies with a heart shaped cookie cutter and put some on a fancy platter to take to Steven, which I thought was nice. Steven appreciated it and even hugged Shauna (although he called her Skeletor!). He also hugged me when I was leaving!
He and Will have been working on their room and it looks really nice. He even made his bed, which believe me is a total first for him! Poor Sassy is still scared about being in a new place and spends most of her time in the closet when she isn't hanging with Steven on his bed. I hope she gets used to it soon, I feel so bad. Steven's finger looks a bit better today. The swelling has gone down a bit and it isn't visibly throbbing anymore.
Alex and Shauna surprised me by making some brownies today. I asked them to set the oven timer for 30 minutes because I wanted to take a short nap and then shower because we were going to Steven's new house for a little while. Apparently they decided to make brownies while I was sleeping and kept setting my timer for longer so they could be done before I woke up! I guess I got a little bonus nap time and I'm not complaining.
They cut the brownies with a heart shaped cookie cutter and put some on a fancy platter to take to Steven, which I thought was nice. Steven appreciated it and even hugged Shauna (although he called her Skeletor!). He also hugged me when I was leaving!
He and Will have been working on their room and it looks really nice. He even made his bed, which believe me is a total first for him! Poor Sassy is still scared about being in a new place and spends most of her time in the closet when she isn't hanging with Steven on his bed. I hope she gets used to it soon, I feel so bad. Steven's finger looks a bit better today. The swelling has gone down a bit and it isn't visibly throbbing anymore.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Quote of the day
"So you aren't doing your job as mother, again?"--Alex
(This was after he asked what we were having for dinner and I said, "I don't know, what are you making?")
(This was after he asked what we were having for dinner and I said, "I don't know, what are you making?")
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Yesterday Sucked-Part Two
Alex had a call back for his school play after school, which was supposed to end at 6:00. He called at that time and said that the drama teacher had asked a few kids to stay after until 7:30 to read for the leads. He went in, thinking that he was getting a lead since she had asked 5 boys to stay after and there were 6 boy leads. At the end of the hour and a half, she gave all 4 of the other boys a lead, gave one of the remaining leads to a boy who wasn't even there and gave the last boy lead to a girl. Alex was the only kid there, including the girls, who didn't get a lead. Then she says, to everyone, don't worry if you didn't get a lead, you are still in the play.
Alex has had many disappointments before with not getting the parts he wanted. It is a part of acting and he handles it really well. This time, however, he did not and I don't blame him. First of all, he was on the fence about trying out for this play. They have a new drama teacher this year and he didn't think she was very good. He had joined drama club at the beginning of the year, but ended up quitting because it was so unorganized and she let the kids run wild. I encouraged him to try out because at that school, they had always given preference to 8th graders for the leads, only going to 6th and 7th graders if they ran out of 8th graders. Apparently that isn't the case any more.
At the try-outs, the drama teacher wasn't even the one who was doing the evaluations. She had brought her middle school daughter, one other middle schooler and several high school students to help with the auditions. The high school students did the evaluations. Then she posted the call back list and some of the kids who didn't get on it went to her and begged and she put them on the list. Who ever heard of such a thing? Call backs are never negotiable.
Anyway, the reason Alex melted down was because first of all he figured everyone who was asked to stay late would have a lead and she was just having them stay late to decide which kid would get which part, since she had fewer boys than available boy parts. All the kids who stayed thought the same thing. Another reason was that he had gotten compliments after singing a duet with a girl at the earlier call back. He also had gotten a standing ovation from the kids in the audience after he sang. All of the other kids who were trying out were sure and kept telling him they knew he was going to get the part of Troy (High School Musical 2 is the play).
CUP and Luke went to pick him up and he came in the front door, threw his backpack down, kicked off his shoes and ran through the house and out the back door. I asked what was wrong as he went past me and he wouldn't answer. I let him stay outside for about 10 minutes and then I went looking for him. I couldn't see or hear him, but I started calling and got no response. Then I started to get a little worried because I had never seen him that upset before, but he finally came up on the deck. He had obviously been crying and still could barely talk about it. He finally told me what had happened and I didn't blame him for being upset. I don't like the way the drama teacher handled this at all. She should have known better. It has nothing to do with the fact that he didn't get a lead, that he could handle, it was the way she went about not giving him a lead that was the problem.
I don't know what he is going to do now, as far as the play goes. All of his really close friends got leads. I think he should quit because it is a huge time commitment. That would be fine, if he had trust in the director and respected her, but in this case I think it would just be stressful. My guess is that she doesn't like him for some reason and might make his life miserable if he stays. I normally hate quitting and never allow him to try out for a play with the understanding that if he doesn't get a good part, he will quit, like many parents do. I tell him that if you make a commitment, you keep it. I did tell him before he tried out for this one, though, that he could quit if he wanted to, as long as he did it at the very beginning so it wouldn't be a problem for the teacher. In this case, since he will just be an extra, they won't miss him anyway. I am going to leave it up to him and support him either way, but I really hope he decides to quit. He applied for a scholarship with a local acting school and if he gets that, he will have to quit anyway.
Ugh, yesterday was one of those days when I wonder if I would have been better off childless!
Alex has had many disappointments before with not getting the parts he wanted. It is a part of acting and he handles it really well. This time, however, he did not and I don't blame him. First of all, he was on the fence about trying out for this play. They have a new drama teacher this year and he didn't think she was very good. He had joined drama club at the beginning of the year, but ended up quitting because it was so unorganized and she let the kids run wild. I encouraged him to try out because at that school, they had always given preference to 8th graders for the leads, only going to 6th and 7th graders if they ran out of 8th graders. Apparently that isn't the case any more.
At the try-outs, the drama teacher wasn't even the one who was doing the evaluations. She had brought her middle school daughter, one other middle schooler and several high school students to help with the auditions. The high school students did the evaluations. Then she posted the call back list and some of the kids who didn't get on it went to her and begged and she put them on the list. Who ever heard of such a thing? Call backs are never negotiable.
Anyway, the reason Alex melted down was because first of all he figured everyone who was asked to stay late would have a lead and she was just having them stay late to decide which kid would get which part, since she had fewer boys than available boy parts. All the kids who stayed thought the same thing. Another reason was that he had gotten compliments after singing a duet with a girl at the earlier call back. He also had gotten a standing ovation from the kids in the audience after he sang. All of the other kids who were trying out were sure and kept telling him they knew he was going to get the part of Troy (High School Musical 2 is the play).
CUP and Luke went to pick him up and he came in the front door, threw his backpack down, kicked off his shoes and ran through the house and out the back door. I asked what was wrong as he went past me and he wouldn't answer. I let him stay outside for about 10 minutes and then I went looking for him. I couldn't see or hear him, but I started calling and got no response. Then I started to get a little worried because I had never seen him that upset before, but he finally came up on the deck. He had obviously been crying and still could barely talk about it. He finally told me what had happened and I didn't blame him for being upset. I don't like the way the drama teacher handled this at all. She should have known better. It has nothing to do with the fact that he didn't get a lead, that he could handle, it was the way she went about not giving him a lead that was the problem.
I don't know what he is going to do now, as far as the play goes. All of his really close friends got leads. I think he should quit because it is a huge time commitment. That would be fine, if he had trust in the director and respected her, but in this case I think it would just be stressful. My guess is that she doesn't like him for some reason and might make his life miserable if he stays. I normally hate quitting and never allow him to try out for a play with the understanding that if he doesn't get a good part, he will quit, like many parents do. I tell him that if you make a commitment, you keep it. I did tell him before he tried out for this one, though, that he could quit if he wanted to, as long as he did it at the very beginning so it wouldn't be a problem for the teacher. In this case, since he will just be an extra, they won't miss him anyway. I am going to leave it up to him and support him either way, but I really hope he decides to quit. He applied for a scholarship with a local acting school and if he gets that, he will have to quit anyway.
Ugh, yesterday was one of those days when I wonder if I would have been better off childless!
Monday, December 15, 2008
Christmas Decorating
The lights on the porches and the wreath on the garage
A close up of the wreath
We worked on finishing up the decorations tonight. Alex and Shauna helped me put the outside lights up. They look really nice, as always. Then I finished putting the blue lights on the green tree. Drew ran to Rite Aid for me to buy some more lights and pick up prescriptions. He has been home from work for the last few days with an eye infection, so this was his first time out of the house. He got the infection from leaving his contacts in for two weeks, when they are supposed to be removed and cleaned each night and then the entire pair changed after two weeks. Well, he was in a lot of pain and wouldn't go to the doctor, so I'm pretty sure he learned his lesson.After putting the blue lights and white garland on the green tree, Alex, Shauna and I put the ornaments on. Luke helped Alex carry the ornament boxes down, after Alex located them in the attic, after looked couldn't. I think Luke's idea of looking for the ornaments was to open the attic door and glance left, then right, then close the door! We had to really cram them on, but we got all of the good ones to fit. We have two small trees this year, instead of a big one. Since the cats climb and ruin our trees, I have to be able to put them in the sun room each night, so they can't tear them apart.
I took pictures of the green tree and will take pictures of the white one tomorrow. I didn't even bring the white one out today because I didn't want to have to worry about the cats getting into it while I was working on the other one.
The green tree with all the family ornaments
Rebel straight chillin' in the box
Hmmm, this isn't such a great chill spot, once Wrigley sticks his snout in!Sunday, December 14, 2008
Dance Pictures
Alex and Hannah went to a dance Friday night. I straightened Hannah's hair and took some pictures. Alex didn't want to be in one, but I made him. Speaking of Hannah's hair, ugh! She found out about 6 weeks ago that if she washed her hair and left the shampoo in, her hair would stay wavy and wet-looking and not puff up. When I found out that is what she was doing to achieve that look, I told her she needed to stop immediately because she was going to dry out her scalp and hair and her hair would break off more than usual, etc. Well, you can't tell Hannah what to do when it comes to her hair. She is obsessed with it and plays around with it constantly. I'm not kidding, some days she will change the style 25 times, not an exaggeration. Well, she ended up drying her scalp out (surprise, surprise) by leaving the shampoo in and I had to pick hundreds of clumps of disgusting dry skin (think dandruff, but WAY bigger with most pieces about 1/4" x 1/2") out of her hair after I washed it. There were some before I washed it, but when I massaged her scalp, it loosened a ton more. Her ears were covered with dry, flaking skin, too. These flakes were a dark color, as well, because they had taken on some of the color from the other hair products (leave in conditioner and probably hair spray, even though she is forbidden to use it) that she uses. YUCK! I hope she learned her lesson. She said she has, but I wouldn't be surprised if she forgets and repeats it at least a few more times in the next few months.
The weekend
I feel like I got quite a bit accomplished this weekend, although not as much as I would have liked. I cleaned out a cabinet that has been a gathering place for some kitchen stuff, some spices and extracts and some junk. I haven't quite finished yet, as I still have to vacuum the cabinet out (I asked Alex to do that, but I'm pretty sure he never did) and put everything back in that is staying. I also cleaned out three boxes that have been sitting under the recipe desk part of my kitchen counter for the last few years. Yes, years, I'm not exaggerating! Almost everything in them was trash. It was mostly old paperwork that I didn't need anymore. I saved some report cards for keepsakes, found one savings bond and a few other keepers, but the rest went in the trash. I also realized one of the boxes was craft supplies. I have been looking for the beads that were in there forever. I remember now that someone was doing a project for school and I brought the box out and never put it away. This whole time, I thought it had paperwork in it!
I took Hannah shopping today to get something for her Secret Santa. Each year, the 7 kids draw names and get a $20-$25 gift or gifts for their Secret Santa. They love this and have a wonderful time shopping for their person. Hannah also picked out a few things for herself that will be either from Gramma or Santa. I usually pick things up for the girls for my mom to give them because she doesn't really spend much time with them and really doesn't have a clue what they like or are in to. She used to just buy them things that she knew my niece would like and their tastes are much different, so I offered to get their gifts for her. Not exactly what I need, more shopping to have to do, but I prefer that to seeing their disappointed faces when they get things they aren't interested in. My mom always gives the boys money, so that one is easy.
After I dropped Hannah off at home, I picked Alex up from "Godspell" practice and took him shopping for himself from Santa and for his Secret Santa. I can't pick clothes out for him and that is all he wanted, because he needs to try them on. By the time we finished shopping, we forgot all about getting something for his Secret Santa! We did stop at Walmart and get frozen pizzas for dinner so I wouldn't have to cook when I got home.
After a full day of shopping, I came home, ate and then combed Shauna's hair out. She had washed and conditioned it herself, while I was gone. She did a really good job because she put the conditioner in and then combed it out, before rinsing it. That got a lot of the tangles out so it only took me about 45 minutes to comb it out. I just put it up in one pony, so I will have to either straighten it tomorrow or braid it.
I took Hannah shopping today to get something for her Secret Santa. Each year, the 7 kids draw names and get a $20-$25 gift or gifts for their Secret Santa. They love this and have a wonderful time shopping for their person. Hannah also picked out a few things for herself that will be either from Gramma or Santa. I usually pick things up for the girls for my mom to give them because she doesn't really spend much time with them and really doesn't have a clue what they like or are in to. She used to just buy them things that she knew my niece would like and their tastes are much different, so I offered to get their gifts for her. Not exactly what I need, more shopping to have to do, but I prefer that to seeing their disappointed faces when they get things they aren't interested in. My mom always gives the boys money, so that one is easy.
After I dropped Hannah off at home, I picked Alex up from "Godspell" practice and took him shopping for himself from Santa and for his Secret Santa. I can't pick clothes out for him and that is all he wanted, because he needs to try them on. By the time we finished shopping, we forgot all about getting something for his Secret Santa! We did stop at Walmart and get frozen pizzas for dinner so I wouldn't have to cook when I got home.
After a full day of shopping, I came home, ate and then combed Shauna's hair out. She had washed and conditioned it herself, while I was gone. She did a really good job because she put the conditioner in and then combed it out, before rinsing it. That got a lot of the tangles out so it only took me about 45 minutes to comb it out. I just put it up in one pony, so I will have to either straighten it tomorrow or braid it.
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