Mother's Day and a weekend update.

Well, I had a lovely weekend that included zero cleaning out of the basement!  In fact, I didn't even think about it.  A few more days of not thinking about it, and I won't even remember that I was cleaning it in the first place.  

On Friday, Peter had an AP Euro exam and then treated himself to Dairy Queen.  And who can blame him.  Blizzards after hard tests are the way to go!

Later that evening Peter met two of his friends and they headed to Charlotte for a Hornets basketball game.  Peter loves the Hornets as much as he loves the Panthers so he was excited to be able to go.  The seats were in the nosebleed section because they were cheap but they had a great time regardless.

Peter even sent me this picture without me asking him to.  (Unsolicited pictures from my kids is my love language, by the way.)

And the Hornets won!  

Sarah had to take the SAT on Saturday morning so between Peter getting home at 12:45 AM and Sarah getting up at the crack of dawn, I didn't get my normal full night of beauty sleep. (I slept in on Sunday morning to makeup for it.)

We went to Mass on Saturday night and then came home and I made my delicious Philly Cheese Steaks.  I know they aren't as good as the ones you get in Philadelphia.  I personally have never had one from there but Dan lived there for 3 months and still raves about them.  But we all love the ones I makde when and Dan usually eats two...so take that Pat's and Geno's!  :)

On Sunday,  we celebrated Mother's Day!  We took my mom to lunch at her favorite restaurant. Look at my pretty food:

Then we went back to her house and enjoyed cake.  Mom made it and decorated it and it was as delicious as it was gorgeous!

 We both then opened our gifts:

And then took a few more pictures on the front porch.

And that was our weekend.  Now I should probably consider getting back down to the basement...

Now is not the time to be cleaning out the basement!

I'm not sure why I chose this time of year to start to clean out the back room in the basement but I did and here I am.

"Where exactly are you?" you might be asking.

Well, let me tell you. It's that weird time of the school year where things are wrapping up and schedules are weird because of AP exams, awards days, graduation preparation,field day etc. and I'm feeling all angsty about everything like I normally do when the end of a school year rolls around. This year is even worse because I have a junior and a senior and I'm feeling all "woe-is-me-the-end-is near". So throw in a basement full of random weird things that need to be thrown away or sent to Goodwill and I'm once again feeling all of my emotions.

And when you are all up in your feelings, it's probably not the best time to sort through and recycle a giant tub of stuffed animals, old Halloween costumes, your son's tiny first communion suit, your daughter's favorite doll baby and other random things that probably should have been dealt with years ago. So, that's where I am.  

I started this basement project last week but before you think we have two weeks worth of stuff to clean out I will assure you that we don't.  Cleaning out the basement is very boring and just a little sad so I've been taking my time.  30 minutes here, 1 hour there, two days avoiding the whole thing and that's how you end up having a semi cleaned out basement after two weeks.  

I would love to show you before and after pictures but I didn't take any before I started and I'm not anywhere near finished so that would be anti-climactic.  I guess I could take a work-in-progress shot but I don't want you calling the producers of Hoarders so you'll just have to use your imaginations!

And because I don't like a post without a picture, here's a shot of  my backyard tree looking all pretty and spring like!

The end is near.

I posted this picture on my Facebook page with the caption, "We are a month away from graduation and I'm not going to lie - I am already feeling all the feels."

While I am excited and happy for Peter, I have been a little melancholy this week. With Senior Retreat last Friday, and prom last Saturday, and the Senior BBQ on Wednesday, and then this sign showing up in our yard, and then Cupcake Day today*, and Hawaiian Shirt Day** next Monday, it feels as if the end is coming so quickly. 

I remember preschool and early elementary school days. They were good/hard/tiring days that seemed to move at a snail's pace.  We went from one milestone to the next but time moved slowly and then,seemingly after one long blink, we were already finished with middle school and high school was upon us and we hit warp speed at that point.

I can still remember when Peter turned 9 and Dan said, "He will only be at home with us for 9 more years." At the time I remember thinking, "What's the problem?  Nine years is a lifetime!"  

I was wrong.

Earlier this week, Peter said he was ready for high school to be over but that he was really going to miss his friends. 

And then later that evening, Sarah told Peter that she was going to miss him next year and that things were going to be weird without him.

I guess that sums it up for me too.  I'm really going to miss him and things are going to be weird.

*Cupcake Day is when all the seniors wear the shirts of the college they will be attending and they go to the guidance office at lunch to put their name and pin on the map where their college is located and then they celebrate with a cupcake. (I stole this photo from the school's Facebook page.)

 

**Monday marks 21 days left of class for the seniors so the seniors will all be wearing Hawaiian shirts to school and will get a Kona ice.

The Prom!

The Prom was Saturday night!  I was so very thankful that they were going to have an actual prom this year that I wasn't too annoyed that it was chilly and rainy on Saturday.

That messed up plans for outdoor pictures but the kids didn't seem to mind.

I picked up Peter's tux on Friday afternoon and brought it home for him to try on since he had Senior Retreat Friday and wouldn't be home until late.  Luckily it fit perfectly so we didn't have to go back to make any changes.

On Saturday morning, I went to the florist and picked up the boutonniere we had ordered for Sarah's date. Her date was Oscar, one of her best friends since 2nd grade.  Peter did not take a date although there were a couple of girls interested in going with him but he chose to go stag.

At 2:00 I took Sarah to have her hair done because while she's usually good at fixing her hair, she knew she wouldn't be able to get it prom ready and she also didn't want the hassle of worrying about it.  (She and I are still both traumatized from her having a bit of a meltdown when her hair didn't look the way she wanted it for the 8th grade dance.) It was definitely worth the $20 having a professional curl it.  

Sarah's prom group was meeting in High Point at the Country Club for pictures. Then they were heading to Winston-Salem for dinner at Jeffrey Adams and then the prom which was being held at the Millennium Center.  One of the mom's texted all the other moms on Thursday wondering if anyone would be interested in getting the kids a party bus so they wouldn't have to worry about driving in the rain, parking downtown, getting wet, possibly getting into an accident, etc.  I was all for that because I had been a little nervous about that. Sarah said that the girls were all driving together and the boys were all driving together. I only know one  of the girls in this group and wasn't sure how good any of their driving is and didn't like the idea of Sarah driving all over late at night in the rain.  It was definitely $70 well spent.  

Peter's group was meeting in Greensboro at the Starmount Forres Country Club for pictures and then they were also having dinner there as well. Then they were each driving to Winston-Salem.  The senior parents weren't worried about anyone driving so they were left to their own devices - no party bus for them! :)

I snapped some pictures of the kids before they each headed out to meet their friends and then Dan and I went to High Point to take pictures of Sarah and her date.  Obviously since Peter didn't have a date, he didn't want us there taking pictures as that would have been a little weird.  (The only downside to that is that I don't have a lot of pictures of that group.)

Okay, enough of those.  They are all very similar but I love those two kiddos so much that I couldn't just put ONE....

Here are some of Sarah and Oscar...

The cute couple...

 

 

 The group...

On the party bus headed to dinner....

At dinner...

Here are some pictures of my favorite 18...

Here's Peter's group...

(When your mom doesn't go with you, you might get a picture where you are stuck behind a pole and half of your handsome face is obscured.) I'm hoping Peter can get someone to send him a picture from a slightly different angle so I can see him better but if not, this one will do!)

 Edited on 6/7/2021 with the updated photo!

Peter with Owen and Corbin - the bros!

Peter and Rhett (Rhett is the other guy that went stag so they thought it would be funny if they got a picture together.  Rhett had joked earlier that he was going to bring Peter a flower!  😄

All the guys...

 After the prom, the kids both went back to friends' houses for the after party and stayed the night.  They both got home in time for Sunday lunch at Grandma's and were very, very tired.  

They both said they had a great time and I'm just so very thankful that it happened!

Also, just wanted to include a picture of Sarah's hair before the rain and humidity and wind got to it. She also had a braid in it on the side...it was so pretty!

Here's what's happening in our neck of the woods.

 It's been a while since I've done an update post so....

On Monday, Dan text me this picture:

 I've been anxiously awaiting the return of our hummingbirds since the end of March.  I always get antsy and put out the feeders a few weeks too soon but I figure it's better to have them ready and waiting in case they come early.  

Last year, we put a feeder outside of the window of the room that Dan uses as his work-from-home office and the birds right now seem to be enjoying this feeder a lot more than they are enjoying the three hanging outside the kitchen windows for my pleasure.  I usually see them visiting my feeders in the evening when I'm fixing dinner but they keep Dan entertained all day.  Here's the first picture I snapped of my little friends:

I will try not to post too many pictures of hummingbirds over the spring and summer but I can't make any promises.

On Tuesday evening, we headed to the school for the National Honor Society Induction Ceremony.  Peter attended as a current member of the NHS and Sarah attended as a new inductee!

On Wednesday, the seniors started Senior Assassin.  It's a tradition at Bishop and any senior that wants to play signs up and pays $10.  One of the seniors serves as "Commissioner" and he's in charge of determining who has who and let's each person know.  There are a lot of rules involved but basically you must shoot your target with a water gun all the while trying not to get shot by the person who has you.  There's a private Instagram page where they all keep up with who is still in and even videos of them getting their targets. Apparently some people got their targets this morning as they were leaving their house for school.  Peter is very paranoid and made us check all around the outside of the house before he left this morning to make sure no one was lurking in the bushes with a water gun. 

Peter got his first target yesterday afternoon and is trying to figure out how to get the next one today or tomorrow.  Some of the rules include: there's a 15 minute grace period before and after the start of school so you can't try to get someone out there, obviously you can't play during school, you aren't allowed to shoot your target while you are driving your car, if you plan to shoot the target inside of their home you have to have permission from another family member to come inside, if someone is trying to shoot you but you get them with your water gun first then you are immune for 3 hours and they can't shoot you, etc.  There are a lot more rules that I can't remember but Peter is having a blast!  Oh, and there are 54 people playing so the winner gets $540!  

Next Saturday is the prom.  I am so excited that they are going to be able to have it this year.  They will have to wear masks, but I'm just so glad they are having it. As usual with trying to plan things with large groups of kids, there has been a lot of texting, snap chatting, etc. to determine where to take pictures, where to eat dinner, etc.  I think all the plans have officially been worked out. We've rented Peter's tux (I just need to pick it up next Friday) and Sarah has purchased her dress and shoes (we just need to go after school today to pick it up from the alterations place.  Sarah's a shortie so we had to have the dress hemmed.)  

That's all the news that's fit to print around here.  Have a great weekend!

It's finally over!

Last summer, a friend emailed us and asked if Sarah would like to participate in the Triad Area Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Student of the Year Campaign.  Our friends daughter recently competed and won.  

I asked Sarah if she was interested and while she was honored to be asked, she was hesitant.  Junior year is pretty hard (and important as it's the last full year of grades colleges will see as you submit your college applications in the fall of senior year), plus she was going to be a captain on swim team, serve as an officer for the school's Catholic Relief Services club, and was also going to be working on her Girl Scout Gold Award.

She weighed the pros and cons and decided to accept the nomination.  In early August of last year we had our first meeting with the local SOY coordinator for LLS and Sarah selected the team she wanted to help her with this venture.

Many, many, many more virtual meetings later and the 7 week campaign officially kicked off on February 18th.  It ended with the  gala this past Saturday night. Sadly, it was virtual as well but to make it more festive, we had appetizers, sparkling cider, and balloons.  The winner was announced at the end of the gala and Sarah came in second place!  She raised over $34,000 and received the Citizenship Mission Award as well!

While we were a little bummed that she didn't win first place, we are so very proud of our girl. She has worked so hard on this campaign.  She held meetings with companies to ask for funds, managed and met regularly with her team as well as with members of LLS, stepped out of her comfort zone and spoke to people she didn't know and learned how to make phone calls (kids today do not know how to do that!), learned the art of writing professional emails and other correspondence, and learned how to handle herself professionally.

The last 8 months haven't been easy.  There was a lot of hard work involved and every now and then, some tears.  But Sarah did not let any of this get to her.  She continued on with a fierce sense of determination. At one point, she realized she was not going to be able to do everything she had planned on this year and decided not to focus on her Girl Scout Gold Award until after the LLS campaign.  But now that the campaign is officially over, she hopes to work with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society as her community partner for the Gold Award. 

I am so thankful for every single donation she received and for every person who donated. While it's easy to get caught up in the competition, it's important to always remember the ultimate goal of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Student of the Year Program - to raise money to find a cure to end blood cancer.  And with the help of so many friends and family members, we certainly did that! 

(And a special thanks to my faithful blog readers who donated money to this campaign even though we've never met in person.  💜)