Update to "I'm sexy and I know it" in a pin stipe vest.

First, I have to thank some of my friends who actually had the gumption to get their cameras out during this event and then shared their photos with me!!!  Otherwise, none of this would have been documented properly! :) Because this slacker mom was so enthralled in nerves, I never took out my camera.....crazy!!!  I didn't even manage to get one photo of the shindig as it unfolded before us. 

You may or may not remember hearing about from us or reading this post earlier this month concerning Elder Son and Middle Child participating in their school Campus King and Queen.  That particular post comes complete with interview dialogue, that will go down in our family as total keepers to talk about from here until the end of time.

Well, as it turns out, Middle Child was right to be his true self in the interview room--where his personality apparently was even higher than his GPA.  You will remember that I said he was very disappointed when he realized, as a 7th grader, he was not actually eligible to win Campus King...you must be in grades 10-12 to earn the title.  So, his next goal was focused intently on beating out his brother. 

And he did exactly that. By one spot. A fellow classmate of Elder Son won 3rd alternate.  Elder Son was happy to be announced a winner as 2nd alternate and I was a beaming proud mama!  But the excitement was short lived, when I realized there was only one place left that Middle Child could take, I'm not gonna lie....I was a bit sad for him.  I turned to my friends and said, "you know there are still several guys in the race, a couple of them seniors even, bless his heart, he is going to be so upset."  And then they announced Middle Child as 1st alternate!  I could have jumped out of my skin!!

• One of Middle Child's good friend, who is a senior, won Campus King....but I'm not so sure he wasn't as equally proud of the fact that Middle Child won 1st!!

• Amidst the excitement, and forgetting he was on stage in the spotlight for all to see, Middle Child "blew it up" on stage when his friend walked out:

• And of course, they had a picture made together where Middle Child was allowed to hold "the wand"....:)

• Elder Son and Middle Child are more like brothers to these girls, they are some of their best friends.

• This lovely lady placed won 1st alternate in Campus Queen and thus was coupled with Middle Child on stage and in the back for the photographer.....the yearbook photo of the two of them will look similar to Mutt and Jeff.

• This is the moment they announced he had won 1st alternate and he walked on stage to receive his plaque.....can you see just how shocked, excited and proud he was?  Priceless.

                                                 

I was so proud of both of our boys....and they were proud to have won, too. 

While I can't say Elder Son was exceedingly happy he was beaten out by his little brother, I can report that back home after the event, no one lost a limb or received a black eye.  And they weren't even miffed at their mom for forcing them to enter. Go figure. 

Maybe mamas really do know what they're talking about afterall. 

The mean old mom strikes again -- Episode 23

There are times in parenting where you just have to say, "because I said so" and leave it at that.  While I could come up with a million reasons to back myself up, I am the mother, I get the last say, and that's just the way the cards were dealt.  My boys are fully aware of this undisclosed rule, but they often like to challenge it, just to see if it still exists.  

It still exists.  It is. It was. It shall ever remain in existence. Amen.

Recently they tried to pull a fast one on me and thought, just maybe, they were going to get away with it this time.....no.such.luck.buck-o.   Their high school has a Campus King and Queen each spring.  It's nothing major, but does require contestants to fill out a resume of sorts and show up, dressed nicely, on a Sunday afternoon for an interview with real live judges.  Then, the results are tallied and a couple of weeks later on Saturday night they stroll across the high school stage, dressed nicely, and the winners are announced. 

My boys know they are required to participate in such school activities....it's not a question at our house.  I expect them to do it, and no, not just "because I said so", even though I can enforce that rule if needed.  But rather, because it's character building, it's a great start to learning communication skills and the interview process, properly speaking about yourself, your future, your ambitions in life, it's fun to dress up and look all spiffy for a change, it's an awesome opportunity to build up your resume from year to year so that when the time comes for college...presto! you have already done the hard research to make YOU look your best on paper!

This year, both of my boys elected to forego informing me of the upcoming Campus King and Queen.  They thought their silence would win in the end.  They were wrong.  Bless their immature hearts, their mama is always going to find out.  Fortunately, a good friend asked, "why didn't the boys sign up for Campus King this year, I thought for sure they'd be in it."  That was all the fuel I needed to light a fire under their unassuming tails. And so, I promptly got in touch with the sponsor and said, "add their names to the list, they are in.  In fact, just keep their names on the list from now until they graduate, there is no need to ask them or me, just always know they will be participating, I don't care what they try to tell you at school."

And so, we raced around for the next 36 hours acquiring their interview attire.  Amidst the moans and groans and repititious  "I can't believe you are making us do this", we managed to pull it together.  I said, "guys, this is easy, it's an interview all about you, all the questions are going to be about your life, you can't get any of the answers wrong, it's the best process ever".   However, on the drive to the school building for interviews, I did give only a couple of instructions: 

• Try to remember they are not asking for yes or no answers, expound on your answers. If they ask what your favorite subject is in school, please do not say P.E., and DO NOT, under any circumstances, say something mean about your brother during your interview.

Campus King can only be awarded to a guy in grades 10-12, Elder Son and Middle Child are in grades 9 and 7.  So, they can't win, but they can try to secure an alternate position.  Elder Son has placed the last two years he has entered.  This is Middle Child's first year, and while his first goal was to be crowned King, once he realized that was not a possibility, his primary goal changed to just beating his brother. Oh, the love.   Anyway, interview day arrives, met with much anticipation.  They waited in the classroom until their time slot opened for them to be escorted to the interview room and stand alone before the judges. 

Elder Son did fantastic.  He's calm, cool and collected.  He answers his questions with ease.  When asked to name a song that describes him, he said "Dirt Road Anthem"....we live on a dirt road, he's pretty laidback, so "chillin' on a dirt road" does speak to his life right now.  When asked what he would do with a million dollars,  he answered he'd like to get a lakehouse (he loves the water, loves floating a river and fishing with his Daddy, loves family time on the lake) bless his sweet heart, I'll buy one for him if I get a million dollars one day too.  When asked about his community volunteer work, he responded by telling of how he helped deliver meals to our tornado victims last April.  When asked, besides a family member, tell us someone you admire most, he answered that his principal had great leadership abilities, was also an excellent coach, cared about every kid at the school and showed that on a daily basis, in and out of the classroom, on and off campus.  He's my more reserved child, the oldest, the reponsible one. 

Now, I'm going to give you a dialogue of just part of Middle Child's interview:

~So, what's your favorite subject in school?

• "well, I really want to say P.E., but I guess I'll say History or Reading. Right now I'm reading a book that took place in 793 A.D. and it's about these Anglo-Saxon siblings who are kidnapped by vikings...."....and he rambles on for a minute or two giving his complete dissertation of the current book he's reading.   

~What song best describes you?

• "I'm sexy and I know it" ---  yes, he really said that. And he didn't pause a second before answering.  And afterwards, bursts of laughter erupted from the interview room and the judges informed him he was the first one that day who had an immediate answer , many said they couldn't think of one.  Oh, a fine, shining, proud moment as a mother.  He answered with "I'm sexy and I know it"....He's 12. 

~Who do you think is the coolest girl, it can be a celebrity, a family member, a fellow student, anyone...

• (pointing to the table of  female judges, he cleverly answers) "If I choose one of you do I get extra points?"  Laughter erupts again and he knows he's got them reeled in with his undeniable charm.  But he continues on to give a real answer, "I'd have to say Betty White." (what? you've got to be kidding me, he said Betty White?) 
• Well, that's a great answer, but why did you choose her?  "Well, is really funny even though she's old, she's like 90 or something, and she's still working, I mean she's just really cool like that"  (More laughter)

~Why do you think you should be chosen over your brother for Campus King?

• "Um, my mother said we were not allowed to talk about my brother during the interview"

~(amidst giggling again) Okay then, why don't you just tell us why YOU should win Campus King? 

• "Well, (combing his hand through his hair), because I'm "me" and I'm wearing this pin stripe vest...and we all know pin stripes are awesome"

Win, lose or draw....pin stripe vests are awesome indeed.  Now, I guess I need to sign him up for a self-esteem class to build his confidence a little, huh?  I'm sexy and I know it.....oh. my. lands.   He doesn't meet a stranger.  He doesn't stress out about much, if anything.  He is bright, witty, a clear thinker, an intelligent old soul inside a young little body.  As my brother-in-law always says, "he's never going to need blood pressure medication in his life."  He rolls with the punches and smiles the whole way.

We don't know the results yet, that's still many days away, but I do know that I am proud of both Elder Son and Middle Child.  They rocked their interviews in their Sunday attire and they didn't even complain one minute afterwards.  Secretly, I think they enjoyed it although you will never get them to admit it.  I did however, kiss Elder Son on the cheek back at home and quietly whispered..."thanks for doing Campus King", he smiled sweetly at me and replied "I didn't mind, it wasn't that bad"  which is cool guy speak for "mama, you are the best, I am so glad you make us do this stuff that we really don't want to do because no one else's mama is making them do it, but in the end I know it's going to help us and it's really fun when you get down to it and when I'm all grown up I will look back on this and be even more appreciative" -- or something along those lines.  :)

Season ending thoughts.....

Here at House of Bowling, we just transition from one sport to another.  Basketball ended on a Friday night, Elder Son had the next week off, and then just like that, Baseball try-outs.  It was a fun 7 days of freedom. 

At any rate, I certainly enjoyed watching him play round ball this year.  As I've said before, his coordination and ability to perform on the court this year was MOUNTAINS above last year. Granted, the NBA will probably not knock on our door, ever, but his mama sure is proud.

And by the way dudes in the photo below....that's clearly a FOUL....you can't slap a player's arm while they shoot!  Had you been in attendance, this was one of the moments you would have heard my mother yell LOUDLY to the official to notify him, the player/s involved and anyone else inside the gym of the crime just committed against her golden grandson. God love her.  

Above all else, it just makes me happy to see Elder Son play, good or bad, at anything he enjoys. 

And to enjoy it with his friends....well, that's just the icing on the cake.  As witnessed here, winning by a large margin in the 4th quarter, the starters were taken out and allowed to take a breather and watch from the bench....where something on the court certainly tickled them all!

My boys of fall....

It's not that I'm a slacker...no, really, it's not.  I lost an entire laptop.  A spare laptop that I had been using after mine perished back in August.  And it was the laptop that I had saved pics from their Junior Varsity football games.  We've been searching for weeks...and finally, I found it! So, here they are, some very overdue football pics of my boys:

Denial....it's not just a river in Egypt....

it's a friggin' ocean. So how do you keep from drowning in it? (many years ago, a quote from Meredith Grey on Grey's Anatomy)

Yep, I'm back at the corner of bitter and sweet again this week. 

Today's post of denial is about Elder Son.  Who's growing up way too fast.  He's not featured a lot here on the blog because, well, teenagers are completely different creatures when it comes to blogging.  The shame, the embarrassment, the privacy clause, etc.etc.

We recently celebrated his 14th birthday with a party...about 4 months late.  (with a trip to the bowling alley, after I nixed the go cart track racing.)  Which at this point I'd like to interject that I beat all of the people in our party, of every age even the 39 year old with me, in bowling---twice!!! 

I said Elder Son could invite as many friends as I could hold in my vehicle and we'd meet his father after work one Friday night.  He invited 3 friends.  A boy and two girls.  And as luck would have it, the two girls "like" the two boys in my car and vice versa.  I felt like a chaffeur the entire evening. What's up with this?  I'm used to breaking up knock down drag outs in the garage every day for who gets to ride in the front with me. Hmph.  We're not in Kansas anymore.

When the mom of the boy (and good friend of mine) called to check in on the evening she asked "how's your triple date going?".  I promptly replied this WAS NOT the "d" word, as we were just simply out bowling to celebrate Elder Son's birthday, why in the world would she call it that? 

After bowling, we visited a yogurt shop where I quickly snuck some candles in Elder Son's yougurt bowl of choice.  And since it doesn't matter to me what Elder Son's age is, or who his party guests are, or where we are at the time, I even made him blow them out! But, I did not torture him with the awkward Happy Birthday song in the middle of the packed out Friday night yogurt crowd.

So, the circle of life....you invite girls and boys to Elder Son's toddler and preschool parties, even up to mid-elementary or so....then comes the drought of only guy parties for a couple of years, and now we're back to mixing it up again.  Oh Lord, help me.

Yep, he's growing up alright, how can I tell?  It can be witnessed in the following photos:

• He is no longer one of the kids registered for VBS, but rather one of the Recreation Leaders on staff for VBS. (And he does a SUPER job, by the way!)

• He has muscles. Guy muscles. 

• He's past the stage where he would be embarassed to even be SEEN on a pink float, much less float around for hours and smile for the camera.

• He's taller than me and he looks like a guy. Not a child. A good looking guy. With gorgeous eyes. Where you can glimpse that sweet and tender soul inside.

Sweet Mercy.  I am enjoying having a front row seat to watch him grow.

Even if it includes girls coming to his birthday celebrations.

A chip off the old _ _ _ _ _.

T-O-O-T-H.

Front tooth.  Permanent Front tooth. Oh the joys of raising boys.

So here's a time line of the event with photographic evidence.

1:30 p.m. (receive incoming call from high school)

Me: Hello?

Elder Son:  Um, hey, mom, you need to come check me out.

Me: Why? Is something wrong? Are you sick? Did you get in trouble?

Elder Son: I broke my tooth.  My front tooth. And you need to come check me out.

Me:  What do you mean you broke your tooth? How in the world did you break your tooth? Does it hurt?

Elder Son:  (lets out a deep breath) Can you just come check me out, they said you need to come check me out.

Me:  Sure I can come check you out.  Were you playing basketball at PE or something and that's how it broke?

Elder Son:  I chipped it in English Class.

Me:  In English Class?  What in the world were you doing in English class that might chip a tooth?

Elder Son: we were playing this game called "pitch" and I sit up front and anyway I hit it on my desk. And when it hit the desk, it hit the slanted angle side and I felt it bend and then I saw two white chips of my tooth laying there.

Me: Oh my, you were horseplaying right? What do we do in English class? Do we horseplay in any classroom?  Oh my, Elder Son, that's a permanent tooth, your FRONT tooth.  I'll be there in a few minutes.

Click.  Thinking to myself....(how strange...chipping your front tooth in English Class...the very same classroom I sat in for English back in the day, except you can rest assured I did not horseplay in Mrs. Renfroe's room...ever.)

2:00 p.m. -- I arrive at school to find Elder Son waiting in the chairs at the front office. With a chipped, front, permanent tooth.  And some chapped lips that seemed to be screaming for carmex. :)

2:30 p.m. -- We call our dentist, Dr. L. He says come on down and we'll see how much money he can make off of us to help pay for a new boat damage is done. 

4:00 p.m. -- Dr. L suggests we just do a filling type fix for now, as Elder Son's maxillary bone (like all his other bones) is still growing.  If we were to do a more expensive extensive, permanent procedure (root canal with crown) it would just have to be repeated 3 or 4 more times before he turns 18 years old.  Hello Bank Loan.

After checking the x-rays, he says it looks as though the nerve is okay and proceeds to go forth with plan A....a less expensive, but "this is my firstborn, he can't have a chipped up smile" mother approved treatment by filling in the tooth in question.

And it took all of 18 minutes.....voila'.....restored tooth, pretty smile, happy mama.  (sorry for the blurry photo it was taken with my phone).

Dr. L reminded Elder Son on SEVERAL occassions during the course of treatment that this filling is not a permanent fix.  In fact, it is rather delicate and he must be careful with it.  No eating hard candy with his front teeth, as a peppermint would break it if he bit into it. No using his teeth to tear open a potato chip bag, no cutting fishing line with his teeth, etc.etc.etc.

And after each mini-lecture, he would stop working and turn to me and say, "but mom, if it does happen, don't fuss at him because this is really easy to break, and it's no big deal, just bring him back down here and we'll paint it back on again."

In my mind, I'm thinking....don't fuss at him. Don't fuss at him.  Now, I'm getting parenting sessions thrown in for free with the dental work. Nice.

4:30 p.m. -- Dr. L also mentioned that the big thing to worry about now is just to wait and see if the tooth turns black and is dead, or if Elder Son begins to have any pain with it, as either of these would be reason for us to come back down immediately to let him be seen by an endodontist for further work. Endodontist is just a fancy name for someone who wants you to pay for their beach condo.

Bedtime thru 7:30 a.m. following morning -- So we wait.  We make it through the night fine.  Elder Son wakes up the next morning, still no pain. He goes about his day at school.

3:00 p.m. -- I pick him up as usual at the end of the school day. 

(Can I just stop right here and remind the reader that it has been less than 24 hours since he had his tooth fixed)

He hops in the passenger side and smiles at me.  I smile back. He says "it's really hard to remember not to do stuff because that tooth is so easy to break".....I say "yea, I guess it will take some getting used to....awwwww, Elder Son....you broke it today didn't you?"  I immediately notice his tooth is no longer all nice and fixed like Dr. L managed to make it the previous afternoon. 

He then proceeds to tell me that he was playing basketball and a friend, who is a girl, accidentally hit him in the mouth when going for the ball.  It chipped a little corner off the filling.

Nothing like the big chunk he knocked off during the reading of Hamlet, but still. Seriousy, I know y'all probably can't even see it from the photo, but I promise it's chipped again.

And guess what?  It's going to stay that way.  At least for a while. Oh, I didn't fuss.  I may have told him he'd have to save his lawn mowing money this summer to pay for a new tooth to start 9th grade with in August, but I didn't fuss.

And if it breaks off even worse, maybe I'll just forego the dental visits all together and instead get him a hat that says "Git-R-Done"..... 

One season seems to play right into the next.....

Yep...since back at the beginning of February...when snow was almost still on the ground....and the girls were still playing basketball (a post to come about their greatness, soon),  Elder Son started playing baseball. Yippee!

What?  Sitting out in the elements of freezing weather after the sun sets on the horizon until deep into the early night doesn't sound like fun to you? Me either.  Well, not exactly, unless of course I have a child out there on that field of play...then I'll sit through just about anything. Including frostbitten toes. 

Can warmer weather get here to stay for a while? Please.

Denial is my best friend.

Denial.

No, not because Elder Son killed a pretty fox a few weeks ago. This isn't even really the picture I would have chosen to put on this blog post, but I knew it would make him happy....he was proud of his fox kill back in January.  And being the bad blogger I am....it never made it to it's own blog post, so here it is now.

Rather, I'm in denial because he keeps getting older....and I don't like it at all. AT ALL. 

He's all cool, calm and collected in these teen years. (Let's just hope it stays that way).

It's a blessing to him as our firstborn.  It's a blessing to watch him grow.  It's a blessing to see him play sports. It's a blessing to hear him lead a prayer at church services. It's a blessing to have him help his little brother or sister with something they can't yet do. It's a blessing to see him eat half our grocery supplies in a day that should have lasted a week. (if you are reading this and feel led to do so, please send money to feed him...thanks).

It's a blessing to call him my son.

Happy 14th Birthday, Elder Son. You are one of the greatest gifts God has given us!

If at first you don't succeed, try, try again!

I know. I know.  I stay so behind on this ol' thing called the blog. But I'm trying to do better. It's a matter of relevance, the term better. Putting up a post months after the fact is better than not putting it up at all. Right?  So, Elder Son tried out for the basketball team again this year, and this time he made it! Yeah for Elder Son! We were proud of him, as this was something he really worked hard to do, and really wanted to be a part of the team.  

He still isn't a starter, but he has seen some playing time on the court.  I actually wasn't there to see him play in his first game, but his father was....and he was kind enough to send me that sweet text "your son just scored his first points."  I was elated!  And immediately sent a text out to several friends announcing the big breaking news. As if anyone really wanted to know, but hey, I'm a proud mama, I'll tell the world about my kids if they'll only stop and listen! :)

It's been hard trying to keep up with 3 kids all going different directions, but I wouldn't trade it for anything else in the world! 

Now, aren't you glad this was a feel good post instead of a tear jerker like this POST from last year when he tried out...and didn't make it?

Me too.

'Cause those will break your heart slap in half when you have to live through them.

This year it was a much better time for all of us involved.  And don't think for a minute I didn't sweat bullets waiting for the call to come forth that tryouts were over.  Last year, I had been at gym with Baby Girl and Granny had to pick up Elder Son from the dreaded let down of not making it.  I decided not to miss that this year, win, lose or draw, I'd be there to shout with joy or cry silently inside with him.  

So, because he is a teenager, it seems fun to play tricks on your mom.  Tricks that make your heart stop a beat or two. Just because. Yeah, it's real funny, unless you're the mom. Who loves your child more than basketball or life itself. Here's how this year's conversation went after try outs:

"Hey, mama?"
"Yeah, buddy, are you finished?"
"Yes, we're finished, come pick me up."
"Okay, I'll be there in a minute, so, how'd it go, did you make the team?"
"I can't hear you real good, just come pick me up."

I'm not gonna lie, it's hard to figure out teenage boys and their emotions even face to face, but through a converstaion on a phone???? please, ....it's virtually impossible. So, my mind raced a thousand miles while I drove the dreaded few to the gym.  What if he didn't make it?  What would I say? How could I make it feel okay? It's not like a scrape on the knee after a bicycle wreck on the driveway when he was 6....band-aids, kisses and popsicles don't work anymore.

I pull up to the gym and he's in the parking lot talking with some other kids, and a close family friend who's in college. He hops in the passenger seat and I just smile, not wanting to cause any unneccessary drama in front of his peers, I don't immediately ask the BIG pressing question.  

The college aged family friend (who was an outstanding athlete in high school and college) stands at my window and leans in....then says aloud across me, "it's okay, Elder Son, you'll make it next year." 

I just look back and forth between them like a tennis match at Wimbledon.  I'm speechless. And heartbroken. But trying to be strong. Elder Son seems like he's being really strong, too. And we sit there for what seems like forever or maybe it was just a few seconds, and finally Elder Son cracks a broad smile and says "Mama, we're just messing with you, I made it!".

Real funny. Teenage boys. They're a laugh a minute.

Baby Girl to Elder Son...."Hey, your stocking is singing"

Someone was totally surprised on Christmas morning....TOTALLY. Like I mean  Shock and Awe.   I love it when a plan comes together.  Nothing is more exciting to me than pulling off a great surprise.

This is Elder Son's "mom, are you serious, there's a cell phone in my stocking" face.....

This is PawPaw's hand in the right lower corner using his cell phone to make the now famous first call that enabled Elder Son's stocking to start "singing".   And this is also the children who are looking to the left at their father in total disbelief that their big brother REALLY has a cell phone.

And this is Elder Son once again.....he still can't believe it.

These fun, exciting, broad smiles across the face moments with a teenager, as I'm learning, come less often than I'd like....but OH THE JOY of experiencing them first hand when they do!!!

Now THAT'S how you bob for apples....

Nicely done, Elder Son.  You Rock....at bobbing for apples and being a super great kid.

My boy, the football player.

Yep, that's my boy.  And he plays football.  Now, he may not be the best to ever take the field, but he looks good in his uniform. And I think he plays well no matter what letter of the alphabet he lines up as....I think he's a "z", but what do I know.  

Oh, I do know something else, he finished up his play on Junior Varsity earlier this week with their Championship game.  Nope, we lost, however, I have news to report, my boy made a nice tackle while playing defense.....and I've never been more proud to see him take a guy down.  Don't you just love football season?  I sure do.

Yep, that's my boy, the football player and oh, how I love him.