Showing posts with label high school graduation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label high school graduation. Show all posts

Monday, June 13, 2011

Circumstantial Pomp 2011

So I've been MIA from the Blogging Universe for the last couple of days.....ok, the last THREE Days!

I plead Insanity your Honor.

In the last 8 days I've half-assedly cleaned the house from top to bottom, had 3 relatives & a kid and his GF come to stay-over for various lengths of time, thrown a party and done all the cooking(Sis-IL did help with some of the prep work), helped pack a kid up to work across state for 2 months, fed various relatives various meals besides the party along with all the usual crap I do here.  And I fit in a couple of blog posts last week, as well as 1 trip to the grocery store, 1 trip to Kmart and 3 trips to Rite-Aid.....like you even considered I'd NOT go to Rite-Aid??? HA!

I so wish I had more of a stack of photos to share from my week.
But there are 2 reasons I don't.
1--I don't have a camera growing out of my hand like some people do cough *mark* cough and....
2--My camera sucks.  It's old and not very powerful and doesn't have good features beyond your basics.
And add in a #3 that I don't take very good photos either.  I just don't have 'the eye'.

With that said, here is how the last week went down......

The Sis-IL arrived last Sunday with her teddy bear companions(don't ask!).  I was so busy the first few days with cleaning and staying cool(it was almost 90 here for most of the week!)and not going insane that I didn't think to snap a photo of anything besides my Rite-Aid booty until Thursday when #1 son arrived with his Girl Friend.
Here is is trying to turn her to face the camera for a photo and her smacking him in the face.
Ain't love grand?


Here's a better shot of them with a couple of old fogies(Hubs and Sis-IL) in the way....


We decided to play Boggle that evening for fun.
Let me explain that I am the Master of the Boggle Universe....at least in our family.
None of them has ever beaten me at Boggle...ever.
Not just NOT beaten me in points for the whole game, but NOT beaten me in points for a single Round either.
Wow.....the secret is out now.  I blew my chance at ever being a World Boggle Shark, haven't I?!

Anyhow, we started a friendly game of Boggle.
#1 son had the great idea to level the playing field by spiking my lemonade with SoCo(aka Southern Comfort).
He was really probably trying to sneak himself a drink of it and when I caught him he came up with the leveling the field idea.

Either way, he didn't get any and I still won at Boggle, again! ;-)
Granted I couldn't stand up afterwords....

On Friday around noon my Brother and my other Sis-IL arrived, Hubs went to get BIL and the Nephew and Daughter brought her Boyfriend over.  After #2 son got home from school, his 2 buddies from down the street wandered over about the time the food was ready.  It's amazing how teenage boys have food radar like that, huh?lol

We had a family preGraduation cook-out from 2ish until 4.
I would have loved to share gorgeous shots of us all cramming our mouths with food but I was too busy manning the grill on the back deck and the smoker on the driveway out front.
Of course no one else took any pictures.

After we ate people found comfortable places to lounge and some of us snoozed.....

This is my Brother's wife.  They had an 8 hr. ride to get here and her everyday life is even more Crazy Busy then my life was this past week.  She deserves to nap any damn time/place she feels like it.
Don't judge.....

Everyone was feeling full and relaxed.
Here's the future Graduate and her BF goofing off for the camera.....

Then it was time to get to the Arena for the Commencement exercises.
I won't bore you with how I went over and dressed down some rude, young adults in the audience by us who were there to talk loudly amongst themselves through all the speeches and the kids' performances so no one around them could hear anything and then only SHUT UP doing that long enough to scream and yell at the top of their lungs when their buddies' names were called.  Hubs held me back from swinging at them with my big heavy black cane too.
I guess with all the money we will be spending next month on college tuition there isn't much left to pay my bail.

Here is one shot Hubs took of Daughter leaving the Arena....

She was the 5th one in the processional in and one of the last in the recessional out.
My, my.....another awkward sentence.lol

And here are a slew of the obligatory Graduation photos of the newly diploma'ed with her family....

First the boyfriend.
Daughter is tall which makes the BF a giant......


Then with soon to be broke Mom & Dad.
And no, I am NOT bald.  I don't know where my hair was....

Then with Uncle and Aunt from VA.....

Then with Hubs family--another Uncle, the Cousin and another Aunt from IL.....


Then again with Mom & Dad.
My hair is still MIA and I look like a happy lunatic.
I was probably asking for an adult beverage by that point.....


And finally with her 2 Brothers.
Yes her older brother really went all out dressing up for the occasion.
And I actually got the hair out of #2 son's face long enough to get a photo.  He is giving me the stink eye.  I didn't push it and try for a second take because he just finished playing Pomp & Circumstance with the School Band a bazillion times inside the Arena.


Then we asked Daughter to pose alone.....the elegant Graduation shot for posterity, and this is what we got.


And Sis-IL's arm too boot.

Then it was back to the house for cake.....or as Sis-IL from VA kept pronouncing it, "keck".  She's been on a "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" movie kick lately.
Here's the Graduation Cake, er Keck......

 Daughter ordered the cake herself.  The school colors are red and black.  Not very festive a combination unless it's a wake or Halloween.  The least she could have done is had them put flowers on it.  Big old Black icing roses would have perked that baby up, ya think?

She also ordered a half yellow, half chocolate cake.
I kept referring to it as the diversity cake.
All the grown-ups got a big laugh out of that.
All the young'uns groaned and rolled their eyes at me.
Yes, I am so witty when I am exhausted and sleep deprived.

I made Daughter cut and serve everyone a slice.  She was very methodical and deliberate about it and took forever.
I think she should concentrate on cutting instead of loony bin once she gets to medical school since she dissected that cake with the skill of a surgeon.


After cake and gifts Daughter left for the Senior Lock-In and we old folks all collapsed into our respective beds.

On Saturday Sis-IL from IL hit the road for the trip home.
The young'uns all went off to see friends and do various fun stuff.

The grown-ups?
We laid around and napped and ate and napped some more.

Then we took everyone who was left out for Chinese.
We sat out on the deck and talked.
Then we all went to bed early again.

On Sunday morning #1 Son, GF and Daughter left for camp....



Brother and Sis-IL followed suit a half-hour later and left for their trip back to VA.
And I went back to bed and slept a good part of Sunday away.

Which leads us to this fine Monday morning.
The unseasonably hot weather has abated, the house is finally quite(at least until noon when #2 Son returns home from school)and I can begin contemplating my summer plans.

And I can begin boring you with posts again.
Aren't you one lucky devil?

Sluggy

Friday, April 29, 2011

The End of Year Season has Begun! & a Bit of Bad News and Good News

Before you think my cheese has totally slipped off it's cracker, I am NOT referring to the End of the Calendar Year Season, but the End of the School Year Season.

If you have kids in school, whether Pre-School, Elementary, Jr. High, High School or College, the Month of May through June is a very busy time of year!
As various school programs and extra-curricular programs come to an end and summer plans begin, total mayhem takes over the parental life.

For example, here is what is coming up in my kids' lives in the next 8 weeks....

*High School Concert and Jazz Band Concert  Completed last night
*Senior Prom
*Final College Exams
*High School Marching Band Banquet
*High School Marching  Band Disney Trip
*Finishing Young Scholars College Classes(Dual Enrollment Seniors)
*French Honor Society Ceremony
*Graduation Practices
*Honor Society Ceremony
*Final Exams
*Senior Awards Night
*Graduation
*Senior Lock-In Party
*Packing 2 off to Summer Camp employment
*College Orientation
*Packing 1 off to Summer Camp

Add in bringing 1 kid home from college, taking him out for staff training for the summer job, having him come home for his sister's graduation, hosting a house full of relatives for said graduation, trying to clean and fix up house before said relatives descend on house for graduation, running around to get stuff kids need to go to summer camp(either to work or as a camper).
Throw in doctor appointments, dentist appointments, orthodontist appointments, eye doctor appointments and refilling medications.

I'll get time around June 20th to sit down and breath again I am figuring.....lolol

Most of this craziness stems from #2 Son being in the band and Daughter being a senior in high school.
I suspect it won't be nearly as hectic next year when I have just the lone Sophomore in high school.
One kid left at home fulltime....
Wow!
I can't wait!!!

Mostly that's due to the fact that my Daughter is alot of work.
You mom's out there with both sons and daughter....do you find that the girls are just so much more exhausting?
Or is it just me.....and my girl?
Please tell me it's NOT just me!lol

Besides the High School Concert last night, we also got 2 pieces of news from the University Daughter is going to be attending.
First the bad news.....
Due to the proposed state budget for PA, the state colleges here are having their funding slashed, BIGTIME.
Daughter got a letter with the estimated updated costs to attend(since the state budget doesn't even get voted on until June sometime, we won't know the final costs until then).  Instead of the usual 8% rise in attendance costs, it's looking more like 18%!
More than DOUBLE the usual rate.
Suddenly the one school that Daughter wouldn't have to go into debt to attend is going to leave her with a small pile of debt when she is finished there.
At least she got that small Board of Governors Merit Scholarship for all 4 years of her undergraduate schooling, so if she can save some summer job money, she might squeak out with a teeny tiny pile of debt to pay back.

Now the good news.....
Daughter heard back from that pre-med program at the school and she was granted one of the five guaranteed seats at the Medical School after she obtains her 4 year degree at the college!
This means if she keeps her grades up through college and after she gets her B.S., she is automatically accepted into the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine. 
I just think that is awesome! 8-))

So are you running the End of School Year gauntlet too?

Sluggy




Friday, June 5, 2009

This That & the Other Thing

Today is yet another dreary rainy grey day in the Northeastern part of the USA.
After the winter we just had with not many 'Snow Events', we sorely need this rain! But combined with the low temps, this continuous rain pushed back our planting dates here. We were finally able to plant last weekend but this week's rain & cold is keeping my seeds from reaching out their tender shoots from beneath their snuggly dirt blanket.


The only things I have above ground are the transplanted tomato and pepper plants. They are looking a bit scraggly still but I hope to see them make strides toward vigorous health by the end of the month. We have 3 veggie beds planted and these are the only things growing so far.





My little Lemon Magnolia Tree bloomed about a month ago. It was early by our standards, due to a 2 weeklong heat wave here in early May. I never got the camera out in time to snap a photo of it in full bloom, darn it! Then the cold weather came back and we had frost one night. My poor little tree dropped it's flowers and most of it's leaves have shriveled up. It looks like heck now. *sigh* I hope it will recover...

The only thing in bloom now is the Collossal Rhodedendron. I keep hacking it back and it keeps taking over the side flower bed. It overgrew the little fir tree next to it to the point the fir tree's growth has been stunted on one side. It's the bully of the bed & I've been at war with it for years.lol



I've been trying to clean the house, as hubby's sister arrives early Sunday for a week long stay. Hubby's other 2 siblings and the kid's cousin will be here on Monday too for the Graduation Festivities. It's been difficult planning a family party, as the graduation is at 6pm & then there is something called a LOCK-IN from 10 pm to 8 am at the school for the Seniors. It's an all-night party to keep them off the roads/away from alcohol, so there are no Graduation night drinking/partying deaths on the roads. A great idea but the timing leaves me no time to have a family get-together. Well I could have it AFTER the graduation but the Guest of Honor-the Graduate won't be here.lol

I can't wait and do it on the weekend because all but 1 sibling will be gone, as they don't live in state, much less in town here. I'll be hosting a late lunch BEFORE the graduation exercise instead.

At any rate, I have to clean this pigsty up by Sunday am. Remember all that stuff I bought in April AND May from Price Chopper as part of those 2 Unilever Cat Promos?
Guess where all those items I bought are still sitting?
Go ahead.....I dare ya!

Yep.....covering my dining room table!LOL
We haven't had a reason to use the big honking table since Easter dinner, until NOW!
I just put off having to make room in the stockpiles for those things since it wasn't in anyone's way where it was.
Well, NOW it IS in the Way!!!lolol

If ya'll don't read from me by next Wednesday, send a Search & Rescue Party out to PA, k?




Here's a pic of the graduating Senior after the Awards Ceremony that the school held on Tuesday. He won an Academic Award(some ugly pewter plate with a name plaque-no Cash Monies dang it!lol) and got a Pin for Academic Honors(since he already won a Letter & Jacket for Athletics last year, they don't give duplicates of those for Academics even if the kid earns them, so he gets another pin). He then got a different pin at some ceremony during school on Wed. for something he didn't tell me what, and 2 pins for Wrestling. #1 son is gathering quite the collection of Bling before he leaves high school.lol They did the big class photo with everyone in their robes this morning, so he is officially D-O-N-E! except for 'the walking'! ;-))
Gee, it is usually ALOT MORE BORING around here! I can't stand all the excitement and forgive me for rambling on & on. I'll try to be more boring next time.
Ok....I'm off to vacuum & then move cereal and spaghetti sauce and peanut butter and shampoo and body wash and bandaids.........
Sluggy