the mum

This is the mum we made for Parker's date. Notice that there's no bear - oops! Mistake...

Did you locate the "random" Rockem-Sockem robots and cowbells?
Parker and the "garter mum" that his date made for him. See the marching band bear and all?

Parker and Tiffany

ok - i want to know who came up with this hideous homecoming mum idea! what? you don't know what a homecoming mum is? NO - it's not a fall flowering plant that you put into your front garden bed. no, it's not a mother from canada. you must not be from texas!

for the past 3 weeks, i've been having panic attacks and running around trying to gather crafty and "random" ("random" is the choice word for vague ideas of the teenage crowd these days) interactive-type trinkets & things like ribbon, candy, vampire teeth, and hotwheels cars to put on this crazy thing. homecoming mums are basically very big mostrosities that boys give to their homecoming dates. the girls wear them either pinned onto their shirts to school on the day of the big homecoming game (which will inevitably create a BIG hole in their shirt, as we all know!); or, as in the woodlands high school, they hang them around their necks with cording. this mum thing only happens in texas and oklahoma (i know this because of my many google searches for ideas). it's not that i don't want parker's date to have a mum; and it's not that i want him labeled as the only guy who didn't give his date a mum; i have this fear that i'll do it wrong! i have been gathering things for days in my intent to create....it's really hard to find a "native texan" in these parts to ask for instructions, as almost everyone seems to be a transplant from another area. oh, by the way, the girls give the boys "garter mums" that they wear around their biceps or triceps or whatever, too.

so, after days and days of collecting items from every kind of store imaginable, yesterday i realized i'd have to put this thing together as i only have until tonight (wednesday night) because parker and date are to exchange these after band practice on thursday night, which means that he has to have it with him on thursday morning. yikes! so i spread all the ribbons out on my kitchen table and island, heated up the glue gun, and went to town! another problem was that my internet, home phone, and cable tv (not that cable tv matters - it's not like they were doing mums on hgtv or anything) were out of service. our provider went down and we had no internet to study! but you'd think that after numerous trips to 2 michaels stores, hobby lobby, and the "homecoming mum" store (yes, you heard that right - there's an actual store for these where you can pre-order these for a "basic" charge of around $175 and up!!) i'd have figured out what to do!

remember, this is texas! the nice michaels' craft employee told me that in certain areas of texas, like dallas, it's very important to make the mums a certain way with certain pertinent items on them (as in the big glued-on plush bears on top of the actual mum flower. to me they look kind of spooky, sort of like they're dead teddy bears). but in the woodlands, we're a bit more liberal - except - the thing here is....get this...surprise!....the bigger, the better! what? not in texas....really?! you can do the small single mum (which means that the wearer is ok - but her mom probably made it for her to wear); the 1-mum - bigger version than the last (girl and boy are going to the dance as friends or the boy didn't want to waste his money on the girl); the double mum (boyfriend/girlfriend); or the heart-shaped mum, which signifies a major couple. the nice michaels' lady also told me of a 6-mummer she was custom-making for a guy who was giving it to his date. woah! i slyly said, "i wonder who's paying for that?" to which she said the boy was paying. hmmm....that's refreshing! (but with whose money? ok, i'm a cynic!).

so, free-thinker that i am, i think that the double mums look weird, and the little single mum is too lonely, and the heart - well, weird, and parker & his friend/date aren't a major couple; so we did the big single mum. it's hot-glued (i.e. concreted) on there and will stay on through the next hurricane. i have the burns on my fingers to prove it - and that was the easy part! how to fit approx. 50 ribbons, trinkets, cowbells, jingle bells, and rockem-sockem robots, tootsie rolls and a feather boa on there was the problem! i'm hoping that this poor girl won't have a neck cramp; but i suppose hers may look like the "mini mum" compared to the rest of the crazy woodlands moms who got carried away doing the mum thing. i just hope it passes as acceptable and isn't too embarrassing for her to wear! i guess she'll have one night to re-do it if needed - cross your fingers....and be glad you're not wearing on of these on friday!!

p.s. to this post - almost 1 week after the dance...i made a major mistake in not hot-gluing on a bear. whoops- i'll remember next year. isn't parker's garter mum cool? it featured candy bars, bells, a science test tube, computer, and bear complete with marching band hat & plume, and actual little sweater with the woodlands "w" on it. wowee! he had a great time - went with his date and 10 other couples...boys made dinner for the girls, then on to the dance. tiffany and parker coordinated really well (dress, tie, and flowers matched) - she looked v.pretty and he looked great also! sounds like they had a good time.