2 fer

One and a half days of school left. Will I make it?

Mayhem #2 had her awards assembly last night. Or as the principal called it "8th grade graduation." To start off, the ac in the auditorium wasn't working. Add several hundred people and you have the makings of a riot. Every 8th grader got a "diploma", and the principal asked people to hold their applause until the end. That lasted until the third name was called. She even had to ask for the "side conversations" to stop so everyone could hear the names. Why can't people be a little respectful?

Mayhem #2 was recognized as a charter member of the junior thespian troop. They announced her band award even though that had been given out last week at the concert. And they announced her science fair successes. She and a bunch of others got awards for keeping at least a 90 average this year, but she didn't get a citizenship award. Go figure? Always in dress code, never written up, never had detention...Was there an evil side to my child I didn't know about?

Then they started handing out "spirit awards." They never explained what that meant, but they started listing the classes that Mayhem #2 was in. I was getting a little miffed. "If these are academic awards, why isn't my baby getting any?" Then came the "pride" awards. Once again, no explanation. The longer the list got, the more upset I got. Some of these kids were getting more that one award in the same classes as Mayhem #2. Mr. Mayhem thought he was going to have to restrain me. Finally there was a list of the Pre AP classes, and technology, and band and they finally called Mayhem #2. She also received the highest GPA for the girls. Mr. Mayhem gave her a hug as she went to collect her award, and he went to take her picture. That got an extra round of applause. The boy and girl with the highest GPA were named Mr. and Miss IMMS. (Say that real fast and see what you get.) We didn't expect that since it's usually a popularity contest.

So we got two valedictorians for the price of one. Sorry if I'm bragging too much, but I'm very proud of my girls. To celebrate...We went to Dairy Queen for ice cream! Believe me, we needed to cool off.

Graduation answers

Since I'm in the throes of graduation madness I thought I'd answer the Thursday Three.

1. Memorable speech?

I don't really remember the speeches, but I thought it was neat that two sisters had to give the speech in back-to-back years. There will be four years between mine. So Mayhem #2 says.

2. How many graduations?

I've had three if you count the graduation ceremony we had from elementary school. I've been to gobs of them. (How many zeros are in a gob?) We taught high school youth for a while. Plus we've gone the last three years because Mayhem #1 was in the band and had to be there to play Pomp and Circumstance.

3. Worked a retail job so that in August I could clear my bank account out to pay for that first semester of college.

Bonus: Best gift?

I was called Tigger at work so my fellow employees bought me a set of Tigger sheets.


My favorite graduation to attend was when Mr. Mayhem graduated from college. We got married at 1:30 that day and graduation was at 6:30. He had a big "Just Married" sign on the back of his gown.

Oh, I thought I'd let you know that there words to Pomp and Circumstance. At least there are around my house. Here goes:

My reindeer flies sideways.
Your reindeer flies upside down.
My reindeer flies sideways.
Your reindeer is dead.
(Bomp Bomp Bomp)

Busy? part 2

After getting her nails done, Mayhem #1 and I went home for some lunch. Then we were off to get her hair done. She had found some pictures on line and decided to combine two of them for the look she wanted. It was half up and half down and curly. It took an hour and a half, and she was very pleased with the results. Complete with little purple do dads added to the curls.

As she was dressing and putting on make-up, Boy calls. You have to understand that neither one of these kids knows anything about going on a date, especially a formal one. Pictures were suppose to start at the prom at 6:00. I suggested he pick her up at 5:00 and we could do the flower thing, go to the botanical gardens, take our pictures, and make the five minute trip downtown. We invited his parents to come make pictures too. He decided Friday that 5:00 was cutting it too close, so we agreed on 4:30. The phone call came at about 4:05. Maybe 4:30 was too early? They decided on 4:45.

Boy arrives in his little red Toyota. There had been talk of him borrowing a relative's Hummer, but that didn't happen. That was ok with me. The nice clean red Toyota was much easier to climb into than a Hummer. His folks were very nice and glad we had invited them. Once we got the corsage turned right, he put it on her wrist. I put his boutineer on him, because I never got around to showing Mayhem #1 how to do it, and his mom said it had been 30 years since she had done that. A couple of pictures there, and then off to the botanical gardens. We had to work our way around about three wedding parties, but we got some nice shots. After worrying whether or not it was going to be "Raining on Prom Night", it turned out to be a beautiful cloudless day. The kids kept complaining about the bright sunshine and the heat. At one point, Boy said he swallowed a gnat that flew in his mouth. Priceless. Then, hugs and handshakes and they were off.

Here's the postscript. They had a good time at prom. There was one minor mishap at the parking garage, but that was easily resolved. They didn't go anywhere afterwards. There had been talk of a group going to IHOP, but Mayhem #1 thought that was weird. Boy walked her in and we all talked for a minute or two then he went home. Mayhem #1 and I visited a little while she got ready for bed. I think it all was a good experience. She hopes her hair is still nice enough to leave up for church. I guess I better print some of the pictures so she can show them around at church.

Nine days of school left. Two weeks til graduation. I hope I make it.

Busy? Not me!

Tonight is an interesting night. I'm home alone because Mr. Mayhem has gone to a friend's birthday party, Mayhem #2 has gone to Six Flags with the band,(Normally I would have gone too, but this next phrase came first.) and Mayhem #1 is at the prom. I've been working on prom stuff all week. We've had to buy undergarments, a purse, jewelry, hair do-dads, and flowers. I went to the botanical gardens to see where would be a good place to make pictures. I made a second trip to the botanical gardens to check out the conservatory since rain might be in the forecast. Today I picked up the flowers, which I had to wait on because they hadn't been able to get the flowers I wanted. So instead of calling me like, oh, yesterday, they waited til I was there to pick them up to ask if these other flowers would be ok. Do I have much of a choice at this point? They looked fine.

We made it to the appointment for her nails just a little late, and then waited. This was an odd experience. The folks who worked in the shop were Asian. They didn't really talk to us too much, but they talked to each other across the room in a foreign language. I wasn't overly impressed with the manicure either. They made two of her fingers bleed because they nicked her when they were working on the cuticles. The paint job wasn't great either, but Mayhem #1 was happy so I kept my mouth shut.

I'll continue this in the morning. I have to go flocking.