Ghosts upstairs

My daughter is afraid to upstairs by herself at night. She states that there are ghosts up there and has gone so far as to name the 3 ghosts that reside in our upstairs rooms. So, to do anything that requires going upstairs, she needs an escort to ensure her safety. She sometimes takes the dog with her, but the dog is not always cooperative with her request, so, she relies on the protection of her 8 year old sister. She is very adamant about not going upstairs alone. So, for our amusement, as she is walking upstairs, we will look behind her and yell "look out!!!!" I know it's mean, but if you could see her face as she screams, it makes up for all the difficulties she puts us through!

Shopping lessons

My daughter still will be seen with me (for short periods of time) in public, so we still get to do things together. Today we went shopping to see if we could score some bargains. Shopping with my duaghter is not only a great opportunity to stay connected, but it becomes a learning experience for me. For instance, I was not aware that my sense of style borders on the grotesque. I did not know that. I also did not know that I should be shopping in, and I quote my child, "the old lady section". News to me. While I always thought of myself as a little bit funny, I was made aware today that I am, in fact, "so not funny". And, that brings me to the biggest lesson of the day- "mom, you are so embarrassing!". Wow, what an eye opener today was. Now excuse me while I put on my granny nightie, make some tea and get ready for bed. OLD LADY, HUH!

Teenagers are Expensive

Until this year my daughter did not care about her looks. She strictly wore sports pants and tee-shirts and sneakers. She always wore her hair in a pony tail which I was ordered to put in. All of a sudden, she is primping and prepping before the mirror. She is, finally, able to do her own hair and gets upset when it doesn't look good. She showers without us begging, bribing and yelling! This new, hygienic, child comes at a price, however. And I mean a BIG price. Price tag, that is. We now have specific stores and specific brands that she NEEDS to have in order to be cool. She HAS to have certain labels in order to fit in with the girls at school. No more are we able to get away with "knock offs". She looks better than I do and I have a job. It just doesn't seem fair.

Happy Christmas

Yesterday was Christmas and we had a great day. Both girls were in good moods and they called a truce to the fighting for this one special day (got right back into it first thing this morning, though). My oldest daughter desperately wanted a pair of UGG boots and my youngest daughter begged, and begged, and begged for a Barbie Dream house. I did my best to convince them that Santa would not bring such extravagant gifts, even faking real sorrow that they would be disappointed on Christmas morning. So, for my husband and my amusement, Santa hid these two gifts and wrote a note in their stockings that they had one more gift each and to go and look for them. Prior to finding this note, my husband and I were gifted with my older daughter's expectant face when she first saw all the gifts, which turned into horror and disappointment as she opened the gifts under the tree and assessed that the size and shape of the remaining boxes indicated that they clearly did not possess her most wanted gift. And, although I hate to admit it, we got a real kick out of her disappointment and subsequent joy and elation when she finally found her UGGs! So, since they both got the gifts that they wanted, all was quiet on the home front yesterday. It could have easily gone the other way if Santa had not delivered, so THANK YOU SANTA!

Can I get you anything else?

Ok, I know as a mother I am a lot of things. I am a maid,a cook, a waitress, a nurse, a friend, a disciplinarian, a confidant and so much more. However, it never ceases to amaze me at the length my pre-teen goes to to ensure the least amount of effort is put out by her. She avoids work like she avoids being nice to her sister. Today, as she is sitting at the breakfast bar, she says to me- in another room- that she would like some noodles for lunch. I said, "ok, just heat the ones up on the couter". She proceeds to ask me to please do it for her. Being nice, I move to make her the noodles. She, however, was not done placing her order. She says, "oh, and can you put the butter on before you heat it and make sure the butter is completely melted"? I know that I have said this before, but REALLY??

Today's crisis happened first thing this morning, right as the bus was supposed to get here. It began with her yelling at, and then pushing her little sister off of the couch because that is where she believed she had left her phone. Evidently, the only possible way to search for this phone was to remove all the cushions and throw them across the room. After not finding the phone in the couch amungst the various food scraps that the kids had left behind, she proceeded to tear apart the rest of the room in this phone search. Once she was satisfied that her room destruction would not result in her finding her phone, she proceeded upstairs to her bedroom to repeat the proccees, all the while yelling at me to find out where I had left her phone. She even called her dad at work to see if, perhaps, he had misplaced her phone. At this point, the tears started, which then had her saying she wasn't going to school because people could tell she was crying. OMG!!! I almost put a shot of tequila in my coffee!! This all before 7:30 am! Needless to say, she went to school, minus her phone. Hope she makes it through the day.

Terrible Teens

I know most people have heard of the "terrible twos", which are no walk in the park.  It takes a strong person to get through that difficult stage of parenting.  But, I am going to tell you about another "terrible" stage and that is the tween/teen years!  You parents who are already in this hell know what I am talking about- the mood swings, the tears, the social difficulties and all the other challenges brought on by becoming adults.  It is a difficult stage for teens, which, in turn, becomes a huge challenge for us parents!  I am hoping that other parents in this nightmare time will comment on this blog to let me, and others, know that we are not alone in this nightmare.  You parents still enjoying your time with your cute little ones, take note and maybe learn some tricks that you can use on your tween/teens- they may make your transition years easier.

Let me start by telling you what my 12 year old daughter did last night.  I am going to preface this by telling you that we gave her a phone for her 12th birthday last spring.  We gave her this phone because of her busy school/sport/social life.  We felt it necessary for her to have a means of contacting us, if needed.  My daughter has the free phone that comes with your plan- no iphone or smart phone.  She can call and text, that is all.  We felt the phone was a great time saver for us, as well, in that she could call when she needed to be picked up, instead of us waiting around for her.  Turns out, my daughter thought it should be a great time saver for her, as well.  Last night, as my husband and I were watching tv, I got a text on my phone.  It was from my daughter who was in the basement watching her own show.  She texted me to ask me to bring her a snack and a drink!  REALLY?? I mean, how lazy can a kid be?  She actually thought that I would get up and make her a snack and then deliver it to her!  HA! Clearly, that didn't happen.