Family Guy

My son loves the show "Family Guy"--yeah, not at all educational, but VERY funny! Actually, there have been times that I have mentioned to my son a celebrity from the 70s or 80s that I know was "before his time"--but often he KNOWS about these people! I ask him--"Where in the world did you hear about them?"--he says, "It was on Family Guy"!! Apparently, they have references to a lot of popular culture--yes, they satire people a lot, but I still think it is neat that this generation is learning at least a little bit about our old celebrities from back in the day. Well, not that this show is FULL of pop culture trivia, but there is some. Anyway--it is sometimes a bit "off-color" but I think my son is mature enough to watch it. There have been times that I might say that something is not nice or gross, but he just rolls his eyes at my opinion. I just know that he can always be heard laughing almost the entire time the show is on, so he really likes it! :)

Mythbusters

My son really enjoys watching the show "Mythbusters." Even though the experiments they perform are very entertaining, viewers can learn a lot about physics and other scientific concepts in the process. I have watched some of them and, while I'm not into them as much as he is, sometimes they do something that peaks my interest. When he and his friend did the Diet Coke and Mentos experiment, they had recently seen it done on this show. So--shows on Discovery Channel that are both entertaining and educational--you just can't go wrong! There are more of these kind of shows--one is called "Dirty Jobs"--and he likes them all. As long as he is safe, he can try SOME of these at home--but not ALL! There are some that should only be done by professionals! I'm glad to see his mind churning as he takes in all of the information. I think one time he answered a question correctly in science class because he had learned it on
"Mythbusters"! :)

HIgh School Musical

Another thing my daughter likes on the Disney Channel is the High School Musical movies. They movies are really cute and the teens are really talented. Yes, we know about the scandals linked to some of them--but I don't want to ban the whole ensemble because of that. The phenomenon behind these movies is amazing! My daughter isn't a HUGE fan, but she does enjoy watching them and sometimes dancing or singing along. Mostly, she likes to read about the cast members in the celebrity gossip magazines (that is where we learned about the scandals!). To her, the boys are cute and she wants to meet boys that look like them--and the girls are pretty and she wants to wear clothes like they do. And, since she isn't in high school yet, she talks about some of the things she wants to do when she is--especially dating! The movies are sweet and innocent--a refreshing change from most teen movies. So I am perfectly fine with her liking these--much better than some of the other choices out there. No, they won't always stay innocent, but I want to try to surround them with good things as much as possible before they are bombarded with all of the bad things out there in the world. So, as the song says, "We're all in this together..."--let's support more movies for teens like these! :)

Hannah Montana

There are still some things that my daughter doesn't feel too old to enjoy--turning 13 didn't make her stop doing EVERYTHING she did when she was 12! :) She still enjoys some of the shows on the Disney Channel--she used to love Lizzie Mcguire and was a big Hilary Duff fan--then she discovered Hannah Montana and is now a big fan of Miley Cyrus. She watches the show a lot, and I actually enjoy it, too. It is kind of neat to see Billy Ray Cyrus in the father role--his image has really changed with this show. Yes I remember the mullet days and "Achey Breaky Heart"--but I will admit that I shed a tear or two when he recently sang a song to his daughter called "Get Ready, Get Set, Don't Go." As he sang about watching his little girl grow up and follow her dreams, I knew exactly what he meant when he showed hesitation in letting her go. We want our kids to dream big and have no limits to those dreams, but it sure is hard to let go of their hand so they can begin their journey. As the mother of a daughter in today's society, it is impossible to ignore the monumental influence that celebrities have on today's youth. I won't name names, but we all know which "teen idols" began as cute preteen girls and turned into, um...well...you know--something that NO parent wants their daughter to emulate!! I don't want to preach from a soap box right now, but since when did strippers and prostitutes become the role models that girls should follow?!!! How many parents would like to see their beautiful little girls grow up to be like that??!!! SO--as a mother, I am always aware of these influences and interjecting the fact that THEY are NOT women to emulate!!! Now--so far, Miley Cyrus has been a great example to girls--I REALLY like some of the things she has said about this issue. However, she is still young and only time will tell. Hopefully she will continue to stand up for herself and not fall prey to all of that. She seems to have a good head on her shoulders and has good parenting to back that up. Oh, by the way--we are NOT attending the Hannah Montana concert--didn't even bother looking up the ticket prices because even the low prices seemed steep to me. Same thing happened when Hilary Duff came to town--I just can't justify spending so much money on something like that. So--we'll just watch Miley on television--the show is really kind of cute, and I just love when Dolly Parton guest stars. I don't know if my daughter will continue to watch it for years, though--guess we'll just enjoy it for now and hope everything continues on this sweet and innocent path. Hannah Montana rocks! :)

A Boy and His Dog

My son loves his dog--well, it's the family's dog, but he is the one who takes care of it the most, so we call it HIS dog. Long story short--when his dad brought home a chocolate lab puppy, we all pet it and thought it was cute, but my son bonded with the dog right away. During the weekends, summers, and holidays, he does all of the caretaking. When he is at school, I let the dog out and check on her food and water supply, but "I'm just not that into her." Honestly, my feelings are this: I raised two kids and did not want another baby--I was well-adjusted to my life with two kids. Just as my kids were aging and I was gaining more freedom, they brought home a puppy. All I thought was--Oh, no!--here we go again with the "baby stages". Yes, it is different--but housetraining a puppy is a lot like potty-training children. A lot of the time, I was the only one home--so when the dog had to go--or when she didn't make it--guess who got to take of the problem? I resented that--oh, how I resented that. I just never bonded with the dog--we made her a very nice room in the basement and she stays down there most of the time while the kids are in school. When she was house-training, I had to clean the basement many times. Thankfully, she finally trained, and now I just let her out when she barks, check her food and water, and give her a treat when she returns. When my son gets home, he lets her upstairs and takes her outside to play a lot. My daughter sometimes plays with the dog, but she rarely does any caretaking. She could take it or leave it. Here lies the problem: the upcoming move--we may be living in an apartment for a while, and we won't be able to have a dog there--AND, I plan to work full-time once we move. The dog worked out okay here--basement, house with a yard, and a stay-at-home-mom to let her out during the day. I don't think it will work out as well once we move--not every place is dog-friendly and there won't be anyone home all day every day. And I resent the idea of having to worry about it--I am looking into schools, job opportunities, and housing for our family--I am not the least bit concerned about an animal right now. However, I do know that my son loves his dog. That also brings to mind another question--what is he planning to do when he goes off to college or in the military in a few years? The dog is only 3 years old--I do not plan on taking care of the dog for another decade, especially when my son leaves home. She is a very good dog--I don't hate her--I just don't want the responsibility. It is my time to go out into the world and do MY thing--I stayed home with my young children--I do NOT want to stay home with my son's dog!! MAYBE we can find a place that accepts dogs--and MAYBE my son can keep her in his room and let her out before and after school--MAYBE this will work out for a while--but I don't know. I do know that I don't want to give up a good place to live or a good job just because my son wants to keep his dog. And then when he leaves in a few years, what then? We know a family that MAY want the dog--but my son is adamant about keeping her--my daughter is okay with giving the dog to a family with a big house and yard(something we won't have when we move)--my son is NOT okay with it. I'm not sure what to do. Honestly, we don't need to move the dog to Florida--it wouldn't be good for the dog OR us. We may even have a family member in a different state that would take her in temporarily, but we don't think we will EVER be buying a big house with a big yard again--and I won't be a stay-at-home-mom anymore, either. I don't want to upset my son about this, but I just don't see how we are going to work this out. I want the best for everyone--we can't inconvience everyone just to make my son happy. I guess I need to convince him that the dog would be miserable locked up in an apartment all day--plus, there aren't many apartments that allow big dogs--and the dog needs a big place to run around. If I can convince him that it is in the best interest of the dog to give it to a family who can care for it better--maybe it will work. I don't know--it's a tough decision. For now, I want him to enjoy every minute with his dog that he can before we move and make a decision.

Anime

My daughter really enjoys watching anime cartoons and drawing sketches of anime. She drew this one and I thought it was very good! I know there are many titles that are considered anime, but I think her favorite is Sasuke and Sakura. Apparently, there is a girlfriend/boyfriend relationship there that my daughter is interested in watching. She draws many other things, but she has drawn a lot of anime lately. I think she is daydreaming about how she wants to look, how she wants her future boyfriend to look, love and dating, etc. So far, she has contained her feelings in crushes--no REAL boyfriend yet--but I know it is coming soon! I want her to channel all of that in her drawings for a while before moving it into her real life! :)

Online Games

My son loves to play online games like RuneScape and World of Warcraft. I have monitored his gaming sessions before, and they seem innocent enough I guess. I think he can play against his friends and even chat with them while playing. He likes the challenge of moving up to different levels--unlike some of his PS2 games, I think there is no limit to how far a player can go. My son owns many games that he claims to have completed--he got to the highest level and "beat the game"--so now he is bored with those games. Apparently, the online games justs keep getting better and the sky is the limit. The only problem we have about these games is regarding the amount of time he wants to spend on them. We have had to put limits on this in the past. During the summer, he would play all day every day if we didn't limit him on it. During the school year, he has been known to play when he should be doing his homework. I will say that he did that more during middle school than he seems to be doing during high school--he seems to be balancing school and homework time well with his leisure time these days. We are proud to see him make this transition--it shows maturity. So, for now, I guess there is nothing wrong with an occasional online game--except when someone else needs to use the computer for work or school! :)

Teen Magazines

My daughter loves to read her teen magazines. She mostly gets ideas for fashion and style in them, but some of them discuss things like dating and other teen issues. I like to look through them, too, because it gives me an idea of what is in and out in the world of teens today. I WISH there was a magazine for PARENTS of teenagers!! I read parenting magazines for years, but when my kids outgrew childhood and moved into puberty, these magazines did not move into this stage with us. I do not understand why there are magazines for pregnancy, childbirth, parenting babies/toddlers/preschoolers/and young children, but there are NONE that pick up from there!! Sure, there are tons of teen magazines--but they speak to the teens, NOT the parents!! I feel kind of isolated as I go about trying to raise my teens--I always have loved having current advice and support through magazines as I moved through the various parenting stages. I love reading magazines specific to my life--right now, I read More Magazine (for women over 40) and Oprah Magazine (very much like her show--full of ecouragement and empowerment for women). I CRAVE a magazine for "Parents of Teenagers"--but there isn't one. Oh, well--I guess I will share my daughter's teen magazines--I will skip the "how to get a boy to like you" crap, though!! I just like looking at the fashion and style pages to get an idea of what she may like for gifts. And we BOTH like to read about celebrity gossip! :)

Teen Drivers

I have mixed feelings about the issue of teen drivers. On the one hand, it really is a rite of passage to have the freedom to drive yourself around as a teen--and it makes it more convenient on parents sometimes. On the other hand, the leading cause of teen deaths is car accidents--and we recently experienced this firsthand. My son's 15th birthday is approaching soon, and I am trying to decide what to do about this issue. I remember how I felt at that age--it was SO important to me that I be able to drive!! Now, as the parent making that decision, it is a tough one--I miss being on the other side of these decisions sometimes. We will also have some issues related to our move: the state we live in now has specific rules about first-time drivers, and Florida has very different ones. My son will turn 15 here and then move to Florida a few weeks later. As much as he would like to get his driver's permit on his birthday, I think we will wait until we move to begin working on that (based on Florida rules). Once he becomes an official Florida resident, he can do all of the testing on line and get his learner's permit. I am still looking into the Driver's Education issue--not offered in schools here, but may be there. Some states are doing "graduated licenses"--meaning they have strict rules at first and earn more priviledges as they age. Some states are tying in school issues with this--problems at school can keep teens from obtaining a license. All I know is this--I spent a very busy weekend recently going back and forth SEVERAL times--dropping off, picking up, dropping off again, picking up again--it made me think, for the first time, really: it will be nice when he can drive himself to all of these places! Still, going to the funeral of a boy who died in a car accident just a few weeks after he began driving--that makes a parent think twice about handing the keys to their teens. I guess this all goes with my previous thoughts about growing up, breaking away from parents, and moving into the world of adulthood. Soon, it won't be up to me if my son drives or not--soon, he will have to make those choices for himself and he will have to live by the laws of the land--if he breaks the laws when driving, he will have to be responsible for himself. For now, I am considered the responsible party--my insurance company looks to me if something goes wrong when he is driving--law enforcement holds the parents of minors responsible if the teen drivers break the rules. Part of me wonders--should we make him wait until he is 18 and a legal adult, legally responsible for himself in the eyes of the law? Tough call! I think, for now, we will let him do the testing process once we move to Florida and he will get his learner's permit. Then, I think Driver's Education is a must. And we will carefully watch him as he drives with us in the car while he is learning. Next year, as his 16th birthday approaches, we will decide if he is responsible enough to get his license and drive alone. Until then--there will be a LOT of "driver's education" going on in our family!:)

Renting From Blockbuster

We have been members of Blockbuster's Rewards Club for years. First, we rented VHS movies--now we rent DVDs. My son has always enjoyed renting video games from Blockbuster, and my daughter enjoyed the latest Disney and family movies when she was younger. Now, things are changing. As far as the video games are concerned, they have really raised the rates on these--plus, since my son hasn't upgraded to the newest gaming systems, there is less of a selection now. As far as movies that my daughter likes, she is now into the same chick flicks that I like--no more Disney or cute kids movies. Then we can talk about the rating system: PG-13 for teens? OK. R for teens under 17? Not so much--R for violence or R for sex?--more than they would see on television?--probably (but that is getting to be a closer call these days). And games have ratings too--E for everyone (too babyish for teens), T for Teen--OK, M for mature?--violence, blood and gore, sexual innuendo?--some things I can overlook, some I cannot. What is my decision? For the most part: PG-13, USUALLY no to R (unless I can prescreen and decide what earned the R rating)--and games: T for Teen, USUALLY no to M unless it is just about blood and gore, then I have to decide (Jaws, OK--anything about murder, NO). It's tough making these decisions because sometimes a good movie or game is rated a certain way because of a quick word or scene--sometimes I can "edit" it out by skipping it. Plus, now that they aren't little anymore, they ARE being exposed to things in society that I don't like--what should parents of teens do? Can we edit their whole world and shelter them? My son says--"I hear those words every day on the bus"--"I see worse than that on tv"--"It doesn't bother me, I just tune it out." I'm torn between wanting to protect them and wanting to face reality--they WILL be exposed to things in the real world that I wish they were not. For now, we will stick to PG-13 and T for Teen--I'm not sure at what point I will relax that rule, but they will soon be old enough to do what they want, regardless of how I feel about it. And I can remember going to R-rated movies when I was in high school, so I know it's going to happen. Oh, and the Blockbuster thing?--now they are competing with Netflix and things are gradually moving to online downloads of feature films. I guess soon we will have to deal with the movie issue on line--we already are dealing with online games and video content--it's a crazy world out there and the internet lets it all into your home if you let it. But I still enjoy renting a movie from Blockbuster every now and then, and so do my teens. We may continue our membership for a few more years before moving on to internet downloads--oh, and there is always "on demand" on cable/satellite television! :)

Web Cams

My son wants a new web cam--he wants to use video to chat with his friends. This photo shows our old web cam--it was great in it's day, but now it is about a decade behind the times. We used it with our first computer--when we moved out of state when the kids were young, we used it to keep in touch with the grandparents. We made video phone calls to them and enjoyed the new (then) technology--it was so cool! We had installed a component into the CPU unit of the old computer, and this web cam plugged into the component. This was before the days of USB connections--at least, we didn't have them. Once that computer died, we no longer could use that web cam. When we replaced the computer with a laptop, we couldn't add the necessary component. When we bought the new Dell desktop, we didn't want to put the decade old component into the new CPU. It would be quite simple to just purchase a web cam that has a USB connection--we just haven't done that yet. Now my son wants us to do so. I had forgotten how cool it was to video chat! I guess I will consider buying the family a new web cam soon, but it really isn't a neccesity--we can definitely live without it. And I did discover one thing when we had one--sometimes you DON'T want to be seen when talking to people!! :)

Scrapbooking

My daughter printed out some of her digital photos and put them in a scrapbook. She is taking after me! :) I used to spend hours scrapbooking our family photos--I've gotten behind lately and need to catch up. Now that they are older, my teens take their own photos and keep up with them. My son usually keeps his digitally and rarely prints them out. He sends them to friends and posts them in his MySpace account. My daughter would rather print them out and put them in albums that she has elaborately decorated. She has the cutest stickers and other scrapbooking supplies! I enjoy looking at her albums and scrapbooks because they show life from her perspective. She even lets me read some of her journals to let me know how she is feeling. It is interesting to see the difference between my son and daughter on issues like this--she is more open to sharing her feelings and talking to me about her life. He is less open about things--we talk, but he is less eager to share his deepest feelings like my daughter does. He talks to his dad more than me when it comes to serious issues. He talks to his friends the most--that is to be expected--teens share things with their peers that they don't want to share with their parents. I wonder if my daughter will become less open with me as she ages and matures--I hope not, but I guess it is also to be expected. Until then, I am really enjoying the fact that she shares so much about her life with me. And I LOVE looking at her scrapbooks! :)

Mixed Feelings About Moving

My teens are looking forward to moving--they love Florida and are excited about all of the things they want to do there. BUT--they will definitely miss their friends here and they will miss many things about their lives here that won't be available to them once we move. These mixed feelings have caused them to be kind of wishy-washy when discussing the upcoming move. One day, they will beg us to hurry up and move because they want to do something specific and hate waiting to do it. The next day, they will ask us if we can wait a few more months because something is coming up here that they don't want to miss. I know moving isn't easy on anyone--especially teenagers. We moved a few times when they were younger, but this will be the first move with teens. Luckily, all of our moves have been positive experiences for them--they gained access to things they did not have in their previous homes. Sometimes they missed a few things about their old lives, but they usually jumped right into their new lives and enjoyed them immensely. This move should be another positive experience--they really are excited about the many things they want to do in Florida that they cannot do here. I guess it is just that they have deeper roots here than they ever have before. Still, we have discussed the future and they realize that they will probably be leaving Florida in a few years for lives of their own. Neither of them plan to return here in the future--college plans and other future plans are not aimed here. We have a few family members here--but they moved here after we did and they talk about moving to Florida in the future. No one is permanently settled in any one place. My son is currently making his plans for the future--he will do WHAT he wants and go WHERE he wants regardless of what his friends here are planning to do. In other words, he will have to leave these friends in the near future anyway because they don't seem to be headed in the same direction for college/military/etc. I am glad that he is setting his sights on individual goals and is not just following the crowd and going to the local college or getting a job in a local industry. Not that there is anything wrong with that--I just know what he wants to do, and it requires moving to a different place. So, in a sense, he will be experiencing that "leave home and leave friends behind" stage that graduating seniors experience, but he is doing it a bit early. I remember those feelings at graduation--there are many people that I hugged that day and never saw them again. It is part of growing up. My son did not want to stay here and go to high school here--he wanted to do all four years of high school in Florida--then he plans on moving again as he pursues his future plans. So, I know that his mixed feelings are completely normal "growing pains" that he will have to experience as he moves on to adulthood. He will feel this way as he leaves here to move to Florida, he will feel this way again as he leaves high school and moves on to the next stage in life, and he will feel this way several times as he moves/changes jobs/builds relationships in the future. My daughter will also go through these stages and mixed feelings--she already has expressed both excitement and sadness about moving. One minute, she is ready to go--the next, she wants to wait. Life is about change--if we don't change, we don't grow. Still, change isn't always easy--there can be pain and sadness during the transition phase. So, as their mother, I will acknowlege their feelings, both good and bad--and I will do whatever I can to help them make this change. I will listen to them as they express sadness about moving, and I will encourage them as they express excitement about their new lives. It's the "ying and yang" of life! :)

Christmas in Florida

Well, we've made our final moving plans, and we plan to be settling into our new home during the Christmas holidays. We had hoped to be there sooner, but the delays just could not be avoided. So...we will have our first Christmas in Florida this year! It will be so different than what we are used to, but different can be a good thing. No more white Christmases for us! (Unless you count the white sand on the beautiful beaches!) No more fires in the fireplace, no more hot foods and drinks by the hearth (we won't even HAVE a fireplace there!). In the past, we have decorated our trees with a mountain/woodland theme. I guess we will now switch to a tropical/beach theme. I never thought about it until I saw this photo, but Floridians often decorate palm trees with lights during the holidays. Some cover their trees with seashells, starfish, and sand dollars. And some even purchase small palm trees to decorate indoors instead of fir or pine trees. It will be hard to get used to such drastic changes, but we plan to dive into the new culture and partake of the new customs. My teens are looking forward to going to the beach, swimming pools, water parks, and theme parks during the winter--a definite advantage to moving to Florida in the winter. And they will have some time off between Christmas and beginning a new semester in their new schools--a month off in Florida during January might be even better than a hot, humid month of vacation during the summer. We are looking forward to spending our first Christmas in Florida--and all of the upcoming holidays and events, too! :)

Stormy Weather

When my daughter and I were picking up her new glasses, my son was home alone. He is almost 15 and has been home alone before, so it wasn't a big deal. However, it began to rain, then it began to storm, then it began to flood in our area--I didn't like driving in the bad weather, and I felt bad about my son being home alone during the storm. It made me think about all of the possibilities and things that could happen. Nevermind the fact that in about 3 years my son will either be off alone at college, in the military, or on his own somewhere else--the mother in me just couldn't keep from worrying. I pulled over on the side of the flooded road and called him to see how things were at the house. He said that it wasn't raining that bad there--weird how storms can change within just a few miles. I told him that we were experiencing some delays due to flooded roads and backed-up traffic--he said not to worry, that he was fine and would be fine until we arrived home. I know he has a good head on his shoulders and that he would make the right choices if an emergency situation arose. Still, I feel like I'm not doing my job as a mother if I don't worry--will that ever end? He has talked about many things as he plans his future and he has many interests: he may go into law enforcement, he may go to law school, he may go to engineering school, he may join the Marines. I know I will worry about him even when he is an adult--especially if he is a police officer or in the military. But the time is coming soon when I will have to let go of my sense of responsibility for him and let him be responsible for himself. That is a hard thing to do, but it must be done in order for our kids to become full-grown adults who can take care of themselves. My head says, "Let go," but my heart says, "Hold on just a little bit longer." I feel this way about both of my teens, but there is something about the mother and son relationship that is vastly different than the mother and daughter relationship. He has to let go of me in order to become a man--my daughter will learn how to be a woman while remaining by my side. Plus, he is my firstborn and he will be the first to separate from me and leave home. I have been preparing myself for this separation for a while now--I think I am getting used to it more and more each day. By the time he is truly ready to go, I think I will be prepared enough to handle it. It just blows my mind to think that this day is only a few years away! Time sure did go by fast! One day he was a cute little boy, one day soon he will be a full-grown man. I will worry about him until the day he leaves, and I will worry about him beyond that--but worrying is not the same as hovering or interfering. Days like this stormy day remind me that he IS growing up and will soon be a man ready to live on his own. I know he will be fine. (At least I hope so!)

Cute Glasses!

My daughter has new glasses now, and she loves them! She didn't get rimless, but they are cute wire rims that remind me of the 60s. And she looks so cute in them! :) Big difference in how I looked and felt in my ugly 70s glasses when I was her age! She doesn't need them at all times--mostly to see the board at school or other things that are far away. When she first wore them, she immediately noticed the improved visual clarity--I remember that feeling! You never realize how blurry things were until you first see them clearly--then, WOW--I can really see better now! :) And she likes the way she looks in her glasses--that's good for her self-esteem. When she first wore them at school, everyone gave her compliments (even the cute boy she likes!). So getting glasses turned out to be a good thing for her. She's happy, so I'm happy! :)

Packing Up Our Lives

We are in the process of packing everything we own and preparing to move to our new lives in Florida. It is NOT a fun process! Yes, we are excited about moving--but the list of things to do before we go is immense! My teens have packed, unpacked, and repacked their things several times. They think they won't need something, pack it away and seal the box, then later decide they need it and frantically open their boxes searching for the needed item. Later, they repack everything again, only to repeat the process when looking for the next missing item. We are living out of boxes and suitcases right now, and it is a pain in the butt! We can't wait to complete this move--it has been a very long and drawn out process. We have moved several times before, but it never dragged out as long as it is this time. I really wanted to make this a smooth transition, but it has been a lot bumpier than planned. I know my teens are very flexible and resilient--they will be okay through this--but still, I wish that there was something I could do to make this go smoother. I am doing the best that I can, so I shouldn't feel guilty. In the meantime, I guess we better get used to living out of boxes for a while. At least we know that there IS a rainbow at the end of the journey--one day we WILL unpack and settle into our new lives in our new home. And then, in a few years, they will grow up, graduate from high school, and leave home--and the process of moving will begin again. I guess life IS about changing and moving on to new stages and places--the new things in life are great, but the transition isn't always easy. Right now, we are completely enveloped in the transition stage---we cannot wait to get past it and into the new stage of our new lives! :)

Living in a Glass House

Okay--our house isn't entirely glass, but we DO have lots of windows! :) The title refers to the fact that we are living in our house while trying to keep it on "display" at all times. We have had several families view our home--sometimes we have a day or two to prepare, and sometimes we only have a few minutes before strangers arrive and "go through our things." It is a surreal experience--one minute we are relaxing at home, the next minute we are staging a walk-through and acting like aggressive salespeople as we try to "market our product." This is NOT an enjoyable experience! It is nearly impossible to truly relax and "let our hair down" when we never know if we will be "under inspection" within the next few minutes. Once we finally sell this house, I think we'll rent for a long time--I am NOT enjoying being a homeowner right now. Sometimes it is more trouble than it is worth. I know my teens are not enjoying the process--you know how teens are about their rooms. They have done fairly well, but it is NOT easy or enjoyable to keep everything looking perfect enough to show to potential buyers. They are looking forward to moving, getting settled in, and just simply relaxing in their own space again. We will be moving soon--house sold or not--and they will be able to concentrate on things other than keeping their rooms ready for display. They certainly will be relieved, and so will I! :)

Skateboarding

My son and his friends enjoy skateboarding--especially when it involves things like ramps, jumps, and "catching air." The other day they put several ramps together and made some really great jumps. I think one of them had a minor injury, but no arms or legs were broken in the process. A few years ago, my son had a bike wreck and suffered some major "road rash"--I was overprotective for a while after that, but I eventually realized that I was doing him no favors by hovering over him in anticipation of his next injury. As time progressed, I began to let go of my unwarranted paranoia and learned to stop hovering (or at least held myself back a bit). Now, if I say something that even resembles worrying, my son calls me out on it. He assures me that he is taking the proper precautions and using the recommended safety procedures--however, he is not going to let the possibility of getting injured keep him from having fun. His dad has informed him about the "dos and don'ts" of many things--he has more experience in this arena than I do. I was a girly girl who took very few risks--no thrill rides or extreme sports for me. His dad, on the other hand, was a daredevil--he grew up in the days of Evil Kneviel, and he often tried to recreate cool stunts while riding his bike. I hate to be stereotypical, but I guess it's a "boy thing"--at least for our family. The neighborhood girls seem to enjoy watching the boys jump and do stunts, but they rarely seem to join them. None of the boys seem to be overly obsessed with skateboarding--it is just something they do every now and then. I think they like their video games a lot more--this is the big difference between their generation and ours. I guess my generation spent more time outdoors looking for things to do, while their generation turns to technology first and only go outdoors as a last resort. Hmm--I wonder how it all balances out: more time outdoors can mean more physical activity and better health, BUT...it can also mean more physical injuries, too. I will try to avoid excess worry or hovering over them, but they will just have to deal with my occasional statements and pleas such as, "Be careful," or "Wear your helmet." They always react by rolling their eyes and telling me that I worry too much, but that's okay--I tell them that I love them and I am "just being a mother." I guess we never really stop worrying about them, do we? So, in the words of my favorite 80s cop show, "Let's be careful out there."

Music Videos on Television

I have to agree with Justin Timberlake--MTV needs to put music videos back on television again. I think he is too young to remember the beginning of MTV, but I'm not. It debuted during my high school years--continuous music videos around the clock. At first, artists were clamouring to make the videos--few existed and it was a brand new medium. Soon, every song on the radio had a video to accompany it--and MTV was the channel to view them. I remember sometimes feeling disappointed once I saw what certain singers actually looked like--some of the romantic ballads were sung by some not so attractive people! I also remember being blown away by the amazing videos that told a story--yes, even though MJ is really strange these days, no one can deny the amazing talent shown in videos such as "Thriller." The 80s were the heyday of MTV--I remember eagerly anticipating the debut of the latest videos from the top artists--it definitely rivaled today's current debuts of things like Harry Potter or the latest and greatest video game consoles. Alas, things have changed drastically for this generation of teenagers. Where have all of the music videos gone?

My daughter still manages to find SOME music videos on television--I THINK that MTV even has a small portion of the day, every now and then, dedicated to music videos. It may be TRL that she watches--I think we saw J-Lo debut her latest the other day (of course, everyone was speculating about the possible pregnancy more than discussing the video). MTV--an hour or two a day of videos is not enough. Yes, SOME reality shows are good, but dominating "music television" with them is NOT good. I know teens are getting their music videos from the internet now, but it would be nice to have at least one channel on television that is truly 24 hours of the latest hits. My teens don't know what they are missing! Of course, I could not have even imagined having access to the technology they have when I was a teen--maybe they are giving up 24 hours of music television, but at least they have 24 hours of music on the internet or on their I-pods. Either way--teens LOVE music--and, since the 80s, teens LOVE music videos. I think MTV could really rejuvenate itself if they went back to their roots as "Music Television." Until then, I guess my teens will catch things like TRL every now and then, then go to the computer to see the latest and greatest video debuts. Man, I feel old!

The Diet Coke and Mentos Experiment

My son was at a friend's house when they decided to try the well-known Diet Coke and Mentos experiment. I think all you have to do is put the mentos in the bottle, close it, and watch what happens--oh, yeah...and LOOK OUT! Apparently, it worked exactly as they expected it to do--the pressure built up in the bottle and the bottle exploded. They report that the bottle flew several feet into the air before landing with a loud thump back into the yard. There were remains of the Mentos scattered everywhere! They were amazed and thought it was an awesome experiment. They had watched it on "Mythbusters" and wanted to try it themselves. It worked and they remained safe throughout the entire experiment--no damage was done to any property. I'm not sure WHY teenage boys are so fascinated with things like this, but they are--things blowing up, things getting destroyed, things being ripped apart to expose the inner workings--my son has always found things like this to be extremely interesting. As long as no one gets hurt and no damage is done, I guess it is okay with me. I'm glad it worked so well and they learned a bit of chemistry and physics in the process. Thanks to "Mythbusters," they will probably try a few more experiments in the future. I just hope they always proceed with caution and use their best judgement in these experiments. I think they are learning a very valuable lesson: science can be really cool! :)

YouTube Videos

My daughter likes to watch music videos and celebrity gossip on YouTube. Lately, there has been some controversy about copyright infringement on many of YouTube's videos. On the one hand, the artists and production companies have the right to decide when and where their material is used. On the other hand, the enforcement may be going a bit too far. If someone has a radio on in the background in their videos, the owner of the song playing may be able to have it removed from the videos. If someone uploads a video of their family and the television happens to be on in the background, I guess it is possible for the owner of the television material to ask YouTube to remove the video. It is an interesting dilemma--YouTube has it's hands full with all of these issues. Right now, my daughter watches videos but doesn't upload them, so this isn't an issue for us. I guess I need to educate her about these issues in case she wants to upload videos in the future. I have already tried to explain the issues related to downloading material from the internet--now I need to work on the issue of uploading. Technology is amazing, but it brings multiple issues into our lives that we never had to deal with before. The internet is full of both good and bad issues--we'll deal with the bad as it comes along, but we sure do love all of the good things about it! :)

Reward Money

We usually don't pay for grades around here, but we were SO proud of their extra effort and SO excited about our upcoming plans that we decided to do so this time. Not only do my teens deserve a reward for their hard work at school, but they have also worked very hard at home to get ready for our move to Florida. It isn't easy for teenagers to keep their rooms cleaned anyway--and then, to keep them in great shape at all times in case potential buyers want to see the house--it makes things extra tough. They have been very helpful around the house lately--I thought they deserved to be rewarded for their effort. Plus, I am VERY proud of them for their good grades--I think they also deserve a reward for their efforts at school. Boy were they happy! :) If this hard work and effort continues--and if we continue to receive good news about our new lives in Florida (i.e. extra money, too!)--then we can continue to reward them in the near future. I don't want to spoil them, but things have been very tight around here lately because of the delay in our move and other circumstances. It feels good to finally be able to have a little breathing room in the financial department. I want them to develop a good work ethic, and getting paid to work is a big part of that. Volunteering is also valuable, but earning a paycheck--it really teaches a LOT about the working world. I want them to earn their own money and make decisions about how to spend it--that is teaching them what they need to know in adulthood. NO handouts there--one must earn their own way in life. So this is our way of getting it started--paying them for their hard work and effort. They certainly appreciated it, and I think they will continue to work hard in the future. When hard work pays off, it is a very good feeling! :)

Celebratory Dinner

We had a lot of good news in our family this week and we wanted to celebrate. Both my son and daughter brought home EXCELLENT report cards, we received more information about our move to Florida, and we made our final plans to begin our new lives in Florida during the Christmas holidays. We are so happy and excited about everything!! :) We are so ready to begin a new stage in our lives! :) We are ready to go! Plus, we are glad to be ending things on a good note here--good grades, good times, and good memories. We STILL don't have our house sold yet--that would be the icing on the cake. We have some potential possibilities in that arena as well, so maybe we will have good news about that soon. For now, we enjoyed a delicious steak dinner together as we discussed our upcoming plans. My teens talked all about the things they want to do when we move--they think that they will really enjoy living in Florida. I hope they do--I think we will ALL love it! :) So here's to good news--it sure does make life a lot easier, doesn't it? :)

Downloading Photos

My daughter received an email the other day with a invitation to see her friend's photos at snapfish.com. She signed up as a member and looked at her friend's photos. She wanted some of them, but I wasn't available to help her so she just copied and pasted them into her own files. She then edited them and added text to them with photo editing software. She printed them out and shared her creations with her friends. I don't know what all of the rules and regulations are with snapfish.com, but her friend (who "owned" the originals) said it was fine for my daughter to copy the photos this way. With all of the copyright infringement talk going on lately, I don't know what is or is not okay. Here, I posted the image and logo of snapfish--I hope that is okay. I am not making any money off of other people's copyrighted material--but I am still wondering where the line is drawn. Anyway--with downloadable music, movies, videos, photos, etc.--it's just hard to know what is acceptable and what is not. In this case, I think it is okay for my daughter to have photos taken by her friend, edit them, and show them to her other friends. I guess if she was presenting them in a more public manner, there would be issues and she would need to credit the original photographer. This reminds me of when my mother wanted copies of some family photos--the developer would only do snapshots, not professional portraits--they cited copyright issues. Or one time I wanted a bakery to create a cake with the theme of a certain product, but they wouldn't--they also cited copyright issues. Well, in both of those cases, money was being exchanged. I guess, as long as we are not trying to make money off of someone else or take credit for their work, I guess it's okay. I will definitely look into this matter more, though. The internet opens things up to everyone, but sometimes copyright issues put a snag in things. Anyway--my daughter, AND her friend, enjoyed the photos. Hope it's okay! :)

Big Shoes For Big Feet

We went shoe shopping the other day, and I was amazed at how big my teens' feet are now--especially my son's. I don't know why I was surprised--they are definitely the size of adults now. My daughter and I can share some shoes, size 8 to 8 1/2. She can even wear size 9 in some styles. My son wears around size 10 1/2 to 11, depending on the type of shoe. His dad wears size 13, so I guess he has inherited his dad's big feet. It is so weird once your kids outgrow you! When we were shopping, we saw some tiny baby shoes and I remembered when they had such little feet. Then we saw the kids' sizes--I remember those small feet very well. Now, we go straight to adult sizes--at first, the beginning sizes--but now, the larger ones. I know many women who have small feet and wear sizes 5 or 6 shoes. I also know many men who have average sized feet and wear around an 8 or 9. My teens seem to be on the larger size in the shoe department. I DON'T know a lot of adults who wear these sizes--and there is a good chance that their feet will continue to grow in the next few years. So they may have trouble finding shoes in adulthood if they go to bigger sizes--it seems especially difficult to find pretty shoes for women in larger sizes. Dainty heels for dainty feet?--not my daughter! :) But it is interesting, though--they may have big feet, but they are very thin and of average height. It is neat to see how everything balances out once a person stops growing--I have a feeling that my teens will grow to be relatively tall adults--tall and thin, with big feet. In the meantime, I continue to be amazed at how much they have grown lately--do we ever get over that? :)

The Family Desktop Computer

So here is the Dell desktop--the computer that my teens are now limited to using because they hate using my laptop hooked up to the old monitor. That's ok, though--now they won't be begging me to use my laptop anymore! Still, I am beginning to miss the convenience of moving around the house with my laptop, so I may be sending it off for repair soon. I can always use the Dell when they aren't on it--and I do. But I am realizing how nice it is to carry my laptop to a comfortable place to either write or to access the internet through the wireless connection. My daughter helped me to put it all in perspective though--I was moping around as if in mourning for my laptop and feeling bad about dropping it and messing it all up--she told me to get over it because it was just a computer, not a person! We just went through the sadness of losing a person from our lives, and I needed to get some perspective on this--she is completely right. So I dropped my computer--so what--I'll get over it. Fix it--or don't. Either way, life goes on and everyone is fine. I think I will take this piece of advice to heart. Sometimes it takes the perspective of youth to help adults see life clearly. It is, after all, JUST a computer! :)

Moving Files With a Flash Drive

My teens had some of their files on my laptop, so today they used a flash drive to move them to the Dell desktop. They are still very disappointed about not being able to use the laptop--they cannot stand the idea of using the old monitor. So the transition from the laptop to the desktop went smoothly for them--save to a flash drive and copy it to the Dell hard drive--no big deal. As for me, I am still trying to back up all of my files on disc--flash drive won't cut it for me because I have so many files. Come to think of it, it really is amazing how they use technology these days. They each take flash drives to school to save their work there and bring it home to work on it here. Sometimes they attach files to their email in order to get it home. One day, my son emailed me and asked me to attach some files and send it to him while he was at school. I did, and he completed his project minutes after I sent his files to him. That is just so cool, isn't it? Much different than the old days of "Mom, can you please bring me my homework"!! Now, it's an email plea of "Mom, can you please attach my homework to an email and send it to me"!! Technology has come a LONG LONG way!! :)

The OLD Monitor

I thought it would be interesting to see the "evolution of computers" in our family by showing the old monitor that I am using to salvage files from my laptop with the broken screen. This is the monitor from our very first computer that we purchased in 1997. If I go back a bit further in my computer experiences, it takes me back into the 80s--although I never owned one of my own until the 90s. I was first introduced to Apple computers in college in the mid 80s. I mastered the basics back then--it was a tiny step up from the electric typewriter that I normally used to write my papers for school. That was about all I used computers for back then--word processing and writing. Even then, I wrote MORE papers using a typewriter than I did on the computer due to lack of availability--sometimes it was easier to go home and type than it was to wait for a turn on the school computers. And those printers back then (dot matrix, I think?)--SLOW SLOW SLOW!! As the 90s approached, I saw people using computers for work, but not many people were using them at home--not my peers, anyway. They were expensive at first, and I was in the group of young, fresh-out-of-college/entry-level career/making no money types. Soon, I was married with children--my husband used computers at work every day but saw no need to have one at home. Then the internet came into play--I began getting very curious about the world wide web. I accessed it through various places in the mid 90s--when in libraries or other people's houses, I began to discover how cool it was to have access to so much information. Then my kids discovered computer games--basic games, yes, but games that could only be played on a computer--which we did not have at the time. FINALLY, in 1997, when my kids were 3 and 5, we purchased our first family computer--the monitor shown above is from that first set up. At first, it was an amazing addition to our household--I used it for email and research, and the kids used it for learning games. That computer lasted us a LONG time--we upgraded the hard drive after about 3 years and added several peripherals to it. Finally, in 2004, it began shorting out. It had lasted us 7 years and had met our needs fairly well. However, when the kids began wanting certain computer games, it was often determined that our old computer was just not fast enough to handle the newer games. It was time for a replacement. That is when I decided that I wanted the convenience of a laptop. So we bought a laptop--it was the family computer for a while. However, we decided that I needed the laptop most of the time and that we still needed a family desktop. So we purchased a Dell desktop with a flat monitor in 2005. After my laptop crashed and had to have the hard drive replaced, I became more protective about it--it was mine--they could use the desktop. Up until recently, I kept the laptop to myself except for letting them occasionally check email or other quick uses. I was worried about them causing problems with it again--and then I go and drop it MYSELF!! At first, I plugged the Dell monitor into my laptop and discovered that I could use it that way--then, I remembered the old monitor sitting in storage. I guess I was waiting to take it to a place that disposes of old technology--now I am glad that I still had it. Now I can use it with my laptop and the rest of my family can use the Dell desktop. My teens got a good laugh about the size of this thing--they had forgotten how huge it was compared to the flat screen on the Dell. It reminds me of our old televisions--all are huge and very heavy--we have yet to upgrade to plasma tvs yet, although we want to do so soon. So now we laugh at old technology--kind of like we laugh at the HUGE cell phones in movies from the early 90s! :) My teens have experienced HUGE changes in technology over their lifetimes so far--and they cannot even imagine a time before having all that they have now! They think MY youth must have been SOOOOO boring with only 3 channels on tv and NO computers, cell phones, or I-pods!! They just don't know how lucky they are to be born into the technology age! :)

Broken Laptop Screen!

It looks awful, doesn't it? Well, at least the hard drive is fine--I am busy trying to save all of my information before I decide if I will send it away for repair or not. I can only blame myself for this one--I tripped while carrying it and dropped it! :( I am ALWAYS worrying about this happening--especially when my teens use my laptop. But when it DID happen, it was MY fault! My son and daughter were both disappointed about the laptop being "out of commission," but they were relieved that they did NOT have a hand in its demise. About this time last year, the hard drive crashed and one of them MAY have been to blame--there was a series of events that led up to the final crash, and a virus may have been downloaded. I had to send my laptop away for repair, and it wasn't an inexpensive endeavor. Once it was returned in working order, I was more reluctant to let them use it--they have access to a perfectly fine Dell desktop. In fact, for a while, I labeled the desktop as the "family computer," and the laptop as "my computer." Sure, things can happen--but teens aren't known to be as cautious about things as adults--and then THIS adult (ME!) goes and drops the laptop!! Yeah, real cautious, huh?!! Anyway, so far, the quotes I have received have been quite high--don't know if it is worth it: it is NOT a high-end brand anyway and not worth as much as other laptops, it is about 3 years old, and the costs of getting this laptop repaired more than once is quickly adding up to the cost of purchasing a new computer. I had planned on buying a new laptop sometime next year and giving THIS one to my teens--now it is worthless unless I get the screen repaired. The pros and cons of repairing/upgrading/replacing electronics can be tough to discern--sometimes it is worth it to try to improve a current product, and other times it makes more sense to just replace it with a newer and better product. I will weigh the pros and cons a bit longer before I decide what to do. In the meantime, I discovered that I can plug my desktop monitor into my laptop and use it that way. Of course, that totally elminates the reason I like laptops--portability. I am going to save everything on my hard drive and back it up on discs so that at least I don't feel that all is lost. But I don't think it will be long before I begin missing the convenience of carrying a laptop wherever I want to go. Until then, I will hook it up to my desktop monitor to use it. In fact, I have an OLD monitor that I can use so that I won't be taking up space at our family desktop. It is huge--that really big and bulky kind from the 90s--but it will work for what I need to do. I am still frustrated with myself for causing these problems in the first place--if only I hadn't dropped my laptop! My teens are almost as disappointed as I am--they liked the convenience of checking their email on a whim from anywhere in the house--now they have to be anchored to a desk. Funny how much times have changed--I couldn't have even imagined any of this technology when I was a teen. Now, these things have almost become as important to us as our basic needs such as food, clothing, and shelter. Well, not THAT important--but to my teens, you would THINK that technology rates that high on the list of necessities in life! :)

Good Grades on Report Cards

Now that the first quarter is over and the new quarter has begun. my teens received their report cards. I was pleasantly surprised! :) My son was very proud to have all As and Bs, and I was VERY proud of him, too. Middle school was difficult for him--he often forgot to do his homework and/or turn in assignments (which, of course, brought his grades down)--but now that he is in high school, he seems to be more "on top of things" (he rarely forgets assignments anymore). I guess a bit of maturity has made a big difference for him! :) My daughter also had all As and Bs--she struggles with a learning disability, so this is a HUGE accomplishment for her. She is much more organized and a lot less forgetful than my son was in middle school--that really wasn't her issue. She worked hard and earned her grades--she is very proud of herself, and I am VERY proud of her, too! Both of my teens worked hard and achieved their goals during their first quarter of school--I hope they continue to do as well during the upcoming school year. I have definitely learned one thing about school and teenagers--at this point in their education, how far they go and how well they succeed is COMPLETELY determined by their inner strength, ambition, and motivation. There really isn't a lot I can do for them at this point--it is all up to them. If they want to work hard to achieve good grades, they will--if they don't care, they won't. At some point in the past, everything shifted from outward motivation from parents to inward motivation from themselves--as they matured, they developed their own standards and expectations of themselves. This will bode well for them in adulthood--being self-motivated is key to living a successful life. One cannot achieve much success if they are not self-motivated--NO ONE can push them into success if they don't want it. SO the shift has occurred and my teens are now self-motivated. There was a time when I wondered if it would EVER happen--and then it did. We used to have to constantly remind them to do things that they now do on their own without being told. THIS is the good part about kids growing up--as they become more mature, they take some of their parents' responsibilities and turn them into their own responsibilities. Eventually, when they are full-grown adults, parents will no longer be responsible for their grown children's actions/successes/failures/struggles/etc. Every young adult MUST learn how to take ALL of the responsibility of themself FOR themself. Watching my teens make this transition is amazing--one day soon, they truly will be ready to go out into the world on their own and take care of themselves. I am seeing this transition occur right before my eyes--the view is awesome! :)

New Quarter

Both my son and daughter started a new quarter at their schools the other day. Schools start pretty early around here--especially compared to the school district in Florida that we will be in once we move. We will probably be here until Christmas break--their last day of the first semester here is the Friday before break begins. Even though we had hoped to move during the summer to avoid these issues, we think that moving between first and second semester won't be too terrible. It would definitely be better to finish one semester here and start a new one there than it would be to just move in the middle of a term. In order to do that, my teens will complete the first semester here on December 21st--then we will move (report cards will be mailed to our new address/records will be sent to their new schools)--and they will begin the second semester in Florida on January 28th. Schools in Florida return to school after Christmas earlier in January, but there seems to be no point in attending the last few weeks of the first semester there when they have already completed an entire semester here. During those few weeks, my teens would just be floating between semesters--classes would be ending and final exams taken, especially in high school. It wouldn't make a lot of sense for my teens to arrive at the end of a semester during final exams. So they will enjoy having most of January off from school before starting a new semester in Florida--I guess this is a good way to make up for losing most of the month of August because school started so early here. And the weather in Florida being as it is, it might be much more enjoyable to have free time during January rather than in August! :) It will be nice to have this time to move, settle in, and get used to our new hometown before starting their new schools. We thought that summer was the best time to move--and maybe it is--but it just didn't work out that way, so we are trying to make the best of our current situation. So from October to December, they will be concentrating on the second quarter in school here. Then they will enjoy a long break in December and January--and we will move and settle into our new home during this time. Then, after feeling rested and refreshed from their long break, they will begin a fresh semester at their new schools--and I hope they will have a good experience from beginning to end. I think everything is going to work out just fine for them! :)

Keeping Warm

My daughter also is enjoying the cooler weather. This weekend, she bundled up under some blankets, made some microwave popcorn, and watched some of her favorite movies and television shows. She loves many things about the fall season, but she is also ready to move to Florida for "year round summer"! :) She says that she wants to go to the beach, swim in a pool, and go to waterparks during the fall and winter months. I know that there will be SOME cool days even in Florida, but the idea of fall with changing leaves and winter with snow--that will DEFINITELY change once we are there. She is fine with that, though. She even suggested that we get a PALM tree and decorate it for Christmas if we are there by then! :) I guess we'll have to adjust to a whole new way of thinking--white sand = a white Christmas, palm trees decorated with ornaments and lights, and "Santas" on surfboards and lounging on the beach. Winter in Paradise--sounds good to me! :)

Fall Weather

We have a very wooded backyard, and our first trees are beginning to change colors. We have had some cool fall weather, too. Fall is in the air and we are enjoying it. My son has been spending less time indoors and more time outside in the nice weather. He rides his bike often now--it's much more comfortable in the fall than in the sweltering summer. We will miss experiencing a change in seasons when we move to Florida. Still, the idea of going to the beach, swimming in a pool, or going to a waterpark almost year round--my teens think that will be cool. We actually went to the beach in February and it was quite pleasant! :) We THOUGHT that last fall was the final one for our family before moving and experiencing year round warmth in Florida. Seems that we will get to experience one more autumn before moving. We MAY even be here for a few weeks of winter, too--something we know we won't miss once we move. We've experienced enough snow and ice for a while--it will be interesting to essentially "skip" winter when we live in Florida. The theme parks are open year round, so "season passes" are really "annual passes"--no off season like the theme parks we're used to around here. Yes, we have enjoyed our fall experiences, but my teens say that they are ready to live in year round "vacation mode." Sure, they have to go to school--but being able to go to the beach or a theme park EVERY weekend of the entire year--they think that is "heaven on earth"!! So I will enjoy watching them as they soak in their last autumn for a while--then we will be moving on to the perfect place for teens with its year round near-perfect weather--Sunshine State, here we come! :)

Grandparents' Alaskan Cruise

After we went out to dinner, we decided to visit my parents (my teens' grandparents) because they wanted to give me a birthday card and gift. They had just returned from an Alaskan cruise, and they showed us their pictures from their vacation. Even my teenagers were interested in these photos--there were some really gorgeous shots of Alaska and the surrounding areas. I've never been on a cruise of any kind, and neither have my teens. However, after seeing the luxury cruise ship, we all would like to go on a cruise someday soon. Once we move to Florida, there is a good chance that we could take one out of Port Canaveral to the Caribbean. We may still want to visit the Northwest someday, but I think we all were more fascinated with the idea of a cruise more than anything else. Where it goes is less important than enjoying the cruise itself. I have even seen some cruises that cater to teenagers and their families--that would be cool! :) So, here's to happy cruising! Maybe one day we will be among the people who call themselves "cruisers." That would be fun! :)

Celebrating MY Birthday

My teens don't really like Cracker Barrel as much as I do, but it was my birthday today and this is where I wanted to eat. They can pick the restaurant on their birthdays--today was my turn. We did notice a lot of interesting things while we were there--it is a great place for "people watching," and we just couldn't help but comment on some of the "country" (i.e. redneck) things that were hanging on the walls. I used to be enamored by country things--I even liked the magazine, Country Living. It's funny how much people change through the years--I don't like it at all now. I used to find antiques and historical things to be "charming"--now I just see them as outdated. My mother still loves these things--she probably will always want to decorate her home in the "Early American" style. She just isn't into modern styles and never will be. I don't know if my teenagers are part of the reason for my changing tastes--they like a lot of modern things from Pottery Barn Teen and Ikea. Their tastes may be influencing me--or I may just be expressing my new progressive thinking that affects many areas of my life. I used to dream of living in a historic home that has been preserved in its original state. Now, I dream of living in a very modern style home with all of the latest technology in it. I used to eat at Cracker Barrel and think that I wanted to decorate my home in a similar way. Now, I have no interest in doing so. When we move, I think I will sell all of my antiques and rustic furniture and purchase some modern decorations for our new home. My teenagers are very happy about this prospect--they HATE my rustic country furniture such as my farmhouse table, ladder-back chairs, and pine armoire. They will be glad to see more modern furnishings in our new home. I also hope to fill our new home will a lot of high-tech electronics. I used to want to hide the television in an antique cabinet--now I want a large plasma tv hanging on the wall. My how times have changed! :) So I no longer get my home decorating ideas from Cracker Barrel--but the food is still delicious! :)

Cell Phones

Both of my teens are begging for their own cell phones, and I tend to agree with them that they need them now. Last night was a perfect example: I let my son use MY cell phone when he went to the Homecoming Game. My daughter was at her friend's house while he was at the game. After dropping my son off at the game, I went back home and had access to my home phone only. Later, my son called me from my cell phone and asked me to pick him up. I left home, and my home phone, to do so. While I was waiting in the school parking lot, looking in a crowd of hundreds of teenagers for my son, apparently my daughter tried to reach me to ask for a ride home, too. At first she called home--no answer and no one was home. Then she called my cell phone--her brother answered (from the football game) and he did not know where I was at the time. I rode around and around the parking lot searching for my son even though we had agreed on a place to meet when I dropped him off. All I kept thinking is: if we BOTH had cell phones, he could call and tell me where he was and vice-versa, thus saving a lot of confusion and time wasted looking for each other. There have been other occasions when we were with people with cell phones, and calling each other sure cuts down on confusion when looking for people in a large crowd. I don't know HOW our parents put up with all of this when we were teens and only had limited access to pay phones! :) Cell phones have REALLY made a difference in our family--calling while at the grocery to remind someone to get an important ingredient, calling to explain that a traffic jam is making us late (instead of having someone wait and worry needlessly), etc. In times like these, we often wonder--how did we EVER survive without cell phones!! And, of course, there are sometimes emergency situations that can be attended to quickly thanks to calls made from cell phones. They can truly be lifesavers! Once my son FINALLY found me, I told him that I plan on buying him a cell phone SOON because it would just make things SO much easier now that he is getting dropped off and picked up so often these days. I guess he forgot to tell me about my daughter's call on my cell phone, because we returned home and THEN she called me again. I had to get BACK out to pick her up----if she had reached me by cell phone, I could have done that while I was out picking up my son. Yes, I think giving my teens cell phones will make things MUCH easier on ME! :) They will enjoy being able to talk to their friends, but I will immensely enjoy being able to stay connected and not go through the confusion that we did last night. Thank God For Cell Phones! :)

Homecoming Game

My son went to his first Homecoming Game last night. He wore school colors and rooted for his team. He had fun, but he just wasn't as into it as he would be if: a) we had already moved to Florida and he was attending the school he REALLY wants to attend and b) he definitely wants to be in the marching band next year. Seeing the band play was a reminder of what he was missing this year. I hate that we had to time our move to Florida so poorly--I REALLY wanted to move in the summer so my son could begin high school in his new school there. I feel bad that we are putting a wrench in his plans for Freshman Year. Having said that--I DO know how tough that first year of high school is, and it would be tough no matter HOW we did it. So if he can just make it through this transition, he should be able to begin a new school--and stay there until graduation--once we move. In the meantime, I am glad that he is able to participate in some of the rites of passage of high school, such as having fun during Homecoming Week and going to the Homecoming Game. He can enjoy some of these things now--and then he can enjoy them again once we move. I imagine his heart will be more into it when he is representing a school that he can truly be proud to attend. He is really looking forward to being a student in his new high school in Florida. And if remember correctly, Junior and Senior Year are the MOST enjoyable years of high school, anyway--and he will DEFINITELY be in Florida by then. Freshmen are busy learning how to be high schoolers and sophomores seem to have the "middle child syndrome"--Juniors are "almost Seniors"--and of course, Seniors "rule the school"! :) It is an interesting experience to watch these stages from the perspective of a parent--I remember those days well from my own high school days. I have really enjoyed watching my son experience high school, even though I am watching "from afar." He seemed to have fun at his first Homecoming Game--just three more of those to go before it's all over! It won't be long before I am writing about his LAST high school Homecoming Game during his Senior Year! :)