Homecoming Reunion

My children wear orange and black stripes. I want to support the town I live in, my parents' and children's hometown. I even bought a shirt with the word Tigers across the chest.

But it doesn't change the fact that my blood still runs like a Bulldog's.

Homecoming Court 1993

  I remember the dance to the fight song and am not afraid to do it.

Headed to Nationals, baby!

When I feel the bass drum of a marching band in my belly, I see red and black. When sneakers squeak on a gym floor, I remember slam dunks and three pointers and open mouthed opposing teams. When I walk in a theater, I feel at home.

Polariod taken during opening night. That look on my face? Acting. The dress? Sewn on.

When a football team rushes a field beneath a star-studded sky, I breathe deeply and wonder when the news helicopter will arrive to catch footage of our record-breaking running back and a team with heart.

That's what I remember most about my high school: heart.

When I hear someone (from another school, obviously) speak with anathema of their classmates, it saddens me. They missed out on so much. I'm not saying heartbreak and humiliation didn't happen to me or others--we were teenagers, after all--but there is so much more to treasure from those years. And the hard stuff taught me things. It was a good place to grow up because I was lucky to grow up with nice people.

And that can make all the difference.

I graduated with about 103 others.  In middle school, our class was twice that size, but closed factories, an oil bust and the economy caused a mass exodus. Maybe watching so many leave made us hold on to each other a little more.

We called ourselves The Class that Makes Traditions.  Yeah, we had a motto. We knew we were special.

10 year reunion.  Can you find me?

I missed my reunion this weekend.  Many things prevented me from attending, but on the morning of the reunion I thought the stars had aligned so that I could at least make the parade, tailgate, and game. For a couple of hours, I was ridiculously excited.

But, we had two people out at the office. Then, my daughter got sick.  Then...

I went on Facebook to wish a classmate a belated birthday. After posting a cheery message on his board, I scrolled down.

My heart stopped. My throat burned. I didn't like the messages before mine. As I sent a text to two of the reunion organizers who were probably herding classmates toward a parade float, I prayed that Jimmie was there with them. That I'd misunderstood the messages.

He wasn't.

Then I received messages from other classmates asking if I'd seen his wall and wondered the same as I.  We watched Facebook. Eventually, someone posted that he'd been in an accident that morning and had not made it.  I deleted my birthday wish and added a comment of condolences instead.

And cried.

I went to school with nice people, and we lost another one. Jimmie's smile, and orneriness, and energy will forever be a part of my memories and my life. Thank you for that, Jimmie.

And thank you to my classmates for being such a fun and loving group through the years.  Thank you for your heart.

This photo was all over Facebook. I'll give photo credit when someone fesses up.

Listen to Your Mother

Last year I heard a lot of buzz about a show called Listen to Your Mother.  Some of my favorite bloggers participated in "giving Mother's Day a microphone." I didn't attend, but I checked out performance after performance online.

I submitted this year. It sounded so cool that I submitted two different essays to two different cities.  I haven't heard about the Oklahoma City show yet, but...

Guess who has a callback to the NW Arkansas show on Saturday? 

That's right.

Me.

I'm so excited to make the first cut.  It seems like a great opportunity to grab your favorite ladies and enjoy a night out.

Check out the website for a show near you.

Or in stolen moments, check out past performances here. 

Hopefully, I'll be able to share my story, too.

Friday Favorite: Dr. Seuss Week

Why can't every week be Dr. Seuss Week?

Max's Super Teachers planned an entire week of fun with the kids.

They even had a party.

I need one of these streamers in my house

 Guess who arrived in time to GET TO READ  Green Eggs and Ham to the class? 

Me. That's right. I did!

Reading to kids is one of my favorite things to do.

I still haven't calmed down from the adrenalin rush.

Max helps his grandparents with their chickens, so my clever mom sent green eggs to school for his teachers.  Some of their hens actually lay GREEN EGGS.

Green eggs to go with our little ham

The Super Teachers showed the kids the green eggs and had them guess if they'd be green inside or not.  (Max kind of ruined the surprise on that one. ) Then, each child cracked his or her own egg and added food coloring and they cooked it right there.

Max making green eggs with Super Teacher 1 and Super Teacher 2

The kids had a feast fit for Whoville with bright red strawberries, green eggs and ham, and a goldfish bowl filled with colored Goldfish--complete with a fish net for scooping!

I'm at the Target Dollar Spot so often my ghost will probably haunt it. I had a stash of Seuss stuff just waiting to be used, and Max's Super Teachers gave us the perfect opportunity to gift them.  We filled them with buttons, markers, and pads.  Each child should have had something representing at least four different books. 

 

Why am I such a Seuss nut?

The public library of my childhood was a beautiful old building with a stained glass skylight and strong wooden tables.  I can still smell its wonderful combination of mustiness and books. A sturdy oak bench lined the edge of the children's section.  I knew that area well.  It was where I first realized I could read.

Sitting cross-legged on the edge of the rug in front of the collection of Dr. Seuss books, I realized I was reading the words--not reciting them from memory. I flipped the pages back and forth and mixed it up to be sure.

The moment was magical.

Which is why I love Dr. Seuss and think it is appropriate that schools dedicate a day or entire week to the author and his books.

If you're looking for some easy activities and snacks to enjoy with your little Whos with stuff you probably already have at home, check out my mini Seuss roundup of ideas.

The Cat in the Hat
Snack: Fruity Thing One and Thing Two
Activity: Clean room before Mom comes home.  (Yeah, like that's going to happen.)
For real activity: Check out the hand print art from above. I'm going to try it with Little Sister and frame my Thing 1 and Thing 2 to put in our Seuss playroom.

Green Eggs and Ham
Snack: The most simple snack is use food coloring to dye a scrambled egg or deviled eggs with a ham sandwich, but a sweeter idea is From Mrs. Lirette's Learning Detectives: Green Pudding and Vanilla Wafer make an "egg"
Activity: Try something new. Anything!

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish
Snack: Colored goldfish.
Activity: From Oopsey Daisey: Count and sort before eating them. If you want to get fancy, print off these chart.

The Foot Book
Snack: Try a Fruit by the Foot snack from the grocery store.
Activity: From Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas; Trace or paint your child's feet.  Label left and right. Play games like Hokey Pokey and Twister so kiddo can practice left and right.

The Sneetches
Snack: Make sandwiches or cheese slices and cut a star out of the center. Cut up pineapple or cheese in star shapes.
Activity: Also from Oopsey Daisey: Play Musical Chairs but have students stand on stars. Make one a different color. Whoever lands on it, is out. or you can cut out stars and from I Can Teach My Child: Play a variation on Simon Says.

This link has a whole bunch of Seuss Videos to watch. 

And, of course, Pinterest has a smorgasbord of ideas for anyone who wants to put in a bit more effort or just peruse the eye candy of all that is Seussical. Click here for a link to Seuss boards on Pinterest.

And after you do these activities and the week has gone by, remember the good doctor's own words:

"Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened."

Friday Favorite: It's the little things...

I like Lucky Brand clothes.  We get catalogs from them. The winter issue arrived and I laughed out loud when I saw it.

If this is the style this season, well... I just don't get it. Could they be for real?

Is it just me, or does this model look like a (sexy) homeless man who stole some bag lady's sweater to throw over the flannel he found that was so small he couldn't button it?

And look at the expression on his face.  My mind came up with all sorts of scenarios of what he must be thinking.

Give it a try. Leave a comment on what you think a caption to this photo should be.

Confession of an Earth Mother Wannabe

Image from blog at mozardien.com

Everything that has gone into my kitchen trash this morning could have been recycled. Everything. But the recycling bin is full. Which means I'd have to empty it first.

And it's heavy.

And my back hurts.

And...I don't want to.

When I was in high school, the upperclassmen voted me Most Likely to Save the Planet. Pretty fancy title just because I wasn't a litterbug.What a hefty responsibility to lay on a teenager!  I was bound to fail.

Am I the only one who feels guilty when I don't recycle? 

We're usually pretty good around here. I mean, my son had a trash/recycling birthday party for Pete's sake.

I'm not feelin' it today.

C'mon! Let's be practical. Surely we have enough places on this big ol' planet to store trash until the end of time. The Mayans say it's December 21, right?

 If we're still around for Christmas, I'll definitely recycle all of the wrapping paper. Definitely.

Friday Favorite: Celebrate Society Shirts

Everyone possesses talent.  How one uses it makes all the difference.

When Jennifer Laws was in the hospital with her newborn twins and planning their future parties, her mind wandered to other babies in the world who were not born into such happy circumstances. Recently, she decided to use her party skills to make a difference.

Thanks to Jennifer, children who are in a local emergency shelter on their birthday will get the regulation cake from the kitchen--and they will also get a "party in a bag."  It's a kit she created that helps each child, when surrounded by strangers on the anniversary of his or her birth, understand that someone knows their existence is worth celebrating.

I love this idea almost as much as I love Jennifer's heart.

Want to know how to help?

She's funding this endeavor by creating designs that you can buy at her etsy shop. 

 

Print and iron the design yourself or pay a little more for her to create the whole shirt.

What a simple way to celebrate your little ones and help celebrate another child as well!

Any day decals:

birthday party decals:

and check out these adorable Halloween decals--just perfect for a t-shirt or treat bag:

 
Last month I witnessed the giddiness that is Jennifer on the morning of her sons' birthday party. "I love party day," she said, practically bouncing with joy. "This must be what Lebron James feels like on game day!"

Pretty accurate comparison.

4th Birthday Trash Bash!

At two, Max loved Elmo.  At three, his heart's desire was to be a construction worker.  For the last six months, though, he's declared he wants to be a trash man. So, for his fourth birthday party, we got "trashy."

The invitation:
I couldn't find any trash/recycling party invitations--go figure!--so I made my own. Max helped color my hand drawn trash trucks.  The actual invitation was a torn up flap from a cardboard box. Who needs an envelope when you can use a brown paper bag? We just stuffed the torn away paper that was not glued to the cardboard in the sack before sealing it.  It was a trash party, after all!

The decor:
Decorating doesn't get much cheaper than this. Everything was free.

Party brought to you by Maximus Enterprises

My husband and I kept wanting to pick up items that we'd left out on purpose.

How great that we can leave trash around and it's party decor?!

My parents and grandparents donated newspapers to have them "upcycled" into party decor.

I couldn't believe how much trash my family generated once I paid attention. So glad we recycle!

A trash party needs a flyswatter, right? These flowers were purchased at Dollar Tree--two for $1.

Beautiful tissue paper balls have been on the blogosphere for years now.  I decided to try them with newspaper and glam up our trash bash. I am not crafty, so I'm still impressed that I pulled these off. SO, SO easy! I'll post a tutorial later.***Update! Here's the how-to post!***

Those strings were attached to balloons.

Nothing says party like trash in crystal, don't ya think?

Those scraps of paper on the table are facts about recycling. For example, "Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to run a TV for three hours. In spite of this, Americans throw away enough aluminum to rebuild our entire commercial fleet of airplanes every three months!"

The food:
 What's a trash party without junk food?

 

Disposable casserole containers that had been taking up space in my cabinets were ideal serving dishes.

 

A new trash can served as an ice bucket and we served non-alcoholic "trash can punch." Check out the recipe.

This beautiful platter is made from a recycled aluminum can. No kidding!

I bought the rats and "take out" containers from Dollar Tree--both 3/$1

Check out my shirt! Our family each wore trash truck shirts with the image from the invitations.

The activities:

Dumpster Diving! Due to rain, our den became the dump.  I set out trashbags and boxes full of newspaper and recyclables. The kids chose a box--the dumpster--and dove in to retrieve candy and robot grabber arms.

The beauty of this game was that they made the mess and then used the arms to pick it up and put it in the trash can. 

 As any good trash man knows, if you want to do it right...you need a truck!

 

The amazing Josh Hutchins, owner of Tahlequah Recycling, Inc. agreed to bring Kermit, the recycling truck, for a visit.  What a nice guy! 

party guests who braved the camera

 The kids loved it.

So did the adults.

Garrett getting trashy

Max was in awe.

 I was disappointed the rain made it an "inside" party, but Max was thrilled he got to wear his galoshes!

Max treated both the truck and Mr. Hutchins with reverence. He kept his distance from both. He was the only kid who didn't sit in the seat and honk the horn.

One of Max's birthday buddies. They were born just hours apart!

But he did dump some recycling in the back of the truck. 

Loading the recycling truck is a great trick to get all that trash out of the house!

 Look at those faces! Who thinks TRI could have a side gig with birthday parties?

 Seriously, how much longer can we convince children that cleaning up is a game?!

The amazing Mr. Hutchins and Kermit show the kids how to crunch and smash boxes.

Even the little guy enjoyed the mess.

The cake:
Our birthday boy loves strawberry cake...and cookies...and ice cream...and shakes....

Reasor's bakery did a great job, don't ya think?

Max was crying because his little friend had just told him she was going to take home the trash truck from his cake. He freaked out.  What kind of mother laughs so hard when her child is clearly traumatized? At his own birthday party, no less!

blowing out the candles

Baby J loving some cake

Oh, yeah. That was one happy baby boy.

Party favors:
The kids took home the robot arm trash grabbers, candy from the dumpster dive, and cookies!

Max just discovered Morgan's Bakery's curly q's, so we sent one home with everyone.

It was a fun time. Even the little ones approved!

Baby Alexandra and Dad 

 Party Inspiration:
Cakes Like a Party: Oh my goodness. When I saw this, I knew we had to try. I showed the pictures to Max and there was no going back! His excitement lasted for months.
BellaGrey Designs: These invitations inspired the wording on Max's. Aren't they adorable? Check out the party with all of the design elements. This party has a little more of the icky idea of trash.

Getting "trashy" and recycling was a lot of fun!