15 Yr Old Serves Hard Time

I try very hard not to be naive with my children, in fact I feel that I am pretty insightful. So last night Tommy and I met up in Austin for drinks and dancing with some of his old friends. Amanda had one of her friends over and they wanted to go to the movies with a few of their "boy" friends. Joshua was in charge of watching little ones for us. Joshua agreed to drop the girls off, but since Sam and Carter would be sleeping, he would not be able to go pick them up. So after what seemed like hours of pleading, I agreed to let the "boy" friends give the girls a ride home. (After all it is only 2 miles tops)

The rules were very clear....

1. You better come straight home. (I gave them no more than 10 minutes to walk in the door from the time the movie got out)


2. The "boys" were to drop them off only. They were NOT to get out of the vehicle and they were NOT allowed to stay and hang out (inside, outside or otherwise).


3. She was to text me the second she got home.


4. I made it clear to not screw this up or it would for sure NEVER happen again!

So, her text came in with a few minutes to spare saying they were home., which Josh confirmed. I was happy and satisfied that my rules were followed and she was one step towards trustworthiness.

However, about 5 minutes later....another text arrives from Joshua, "Those boys aren't supposed to be here, right?" Well for her sake its good that I was actually an hour away in Austin. Since the dance hall was sooo loud, I sent Amanda a text, "Those boys better be gone in 60 seconds or I will call the police to escort them out...oh and let them know they are never allowed back!"

No response from Amanda......

Josh texts, "Geeze don't sell me out now she knows I told you. We gotta work on that one..... I just got offered $5 to keep my mouth shut so they could stay 30 minutes." (Don't you know that it costs more than that to bribe your brother?)

The "boys" were gone in 60 seconds of course, but still no response from Amanda. After making my way outside to 40' freezing temperatures, I make the call I knew she was regreting.

Sometimes, I wish that we had phones like the Jetsons did, you know the kind where we can see the other person and then I could have rung her little neck! She had the nerve to argue with me....of course that enraged me more! "It's no big deal, MOM!" We'll see how big of a deal you think it is when your ass is grounded (no cell phone, no friends, no laptop, no basketball games, no movies, no anything) at least for the next 2 weeks, and if I hear how it's not a big deal again, it will be twice as long until you understand just how BIG of a deal it IS!

I swear...just as you think you can trust them and that they make good decisions, then they go and pull crap like this!

Busy, Busy, Busy

Well, yesterday was my first week-day off work in quite some time (holidays excluded). Anyone that says being a stay at home Mom is an easy job, obviously hasn't done it. I knew my day was full so before I got going I made a list of all the things I needed to do. In all, I had numerous places to go, a dozen people to call, housework to be done, shopping to do, doctors visits, physical therapy appointments, ect, ect, ect. As I crossed things off, others got added as I remembered them. At the end of the day, I had managed to get almost everything done, however, I was exhausted and ready to pull my hair out if I had to hear one more argument from a 5 year old. Getting those two in and out of the car (while disturbing their movie) was a fight at every stop. I have to say that going to work is much easier, at least for me.

Although... going to work for me means dealing with the boys there too. I converted my office into half a play room when Samuel came home 3 years ago. They stay busy watching TV, riding scooters and playing out back. Things get hectic sometimes and I have to excuse myself from a customer to break up the latest argument. So I am taking my hat off to all stay at home mother's today. It IS the hardest job out there!

On another note....from the cutest things my kids say file, here is a conversations that Samuel and I had this morning on our way to pre-school.

Samuel: (with the up most seriousness he could muster) "Mom, I really want to get a girlfriend. How do I get one?" (like we could just stop at the store and pick one up)

Me: "Well, Samuel... you don't get a girlfriend, you ask a girl that you like to be your girlfriend."

Samuel: "Can I get one from Russia?"

Me: "Maybe when your older, but not now. A girlfriend is someone like Chelsea is to your brother, Joshua. They go to the movies together, hang out, and hold hands."

Samuel: "Well, I really like Claire in my class. She is pretty!"

So later when I picked the boys up from school, Samuel says to me, "I didn't ask Claire to be my girlfriend today, I will ask her on Monday."

In telling Tommy this story, after laughing his only comment was, "It's good news that he doesn't want a boyfriend."

I would love to know how the young minds work. Where in the world do they think up this stuff. It's just priceless.....

The Little Red Balloon

I'm not real sure if it was so long ago that I don't remember, or possibly that I was so young I didn't pay that much attention to the innocent things Joshua or Amanda said when they were little. I was only 19 when Joshua was born and 22 when Amanda was born. At that time in my life, I was in a far from ideal place in my marriage (but continued on for 9 years) that I now regret not paying attention to the little things that my kids did to make me laugh or smile. I hope that doesn't make me a bad mother, but if so, at least it's something I work very hard on now.

Anyway...yesterday Samuel and Carter were given a balloon while shopping in Wal-Mart with my Mom. She explained to them to hold on very tight because once outside the balloons could fly away. Of course I could have predicted that either one or both would fly away once outside.

It happened to be Samuel's little red balloon that got away. (Carter was holding his for dear life!) Naturally, he was upset. Well, great thinking on my Mom's part...she said "Don't be sad, you just made someone in heaven really happy today." This got Samuel asking questions about how the balloon would travel there and who would be getting it. He asked if maybe his Grandma Gail (Tommy's mother that passed away a few years ago) would be getting the balloon. My Mom say, "Maybe". Samuel thought about this for a few minutes before saying, "I wish I could go to heaven to see Gma Gail and get my balloon back." My Mom said, "Oh, I don't want you to go to heaven right now...I would miss you way to much." Samuel responded, "Oh, I will be right back...I will only be gone a minute."

I have to say that when my Mom told me this story, I just sat here wondering if I was ever going to remember these precious stories. Honestly, I don't remember very many from Joshua and Amanda younger years and that makes me very sad. I hope by keeping this journal and sharing it with my friends that somehow they won't be forgotten.

To Wii or not to Wii...

Believe it or not this weekend was my first experience playing and watching for that matter the Wii. We went over to some friends house for dinner and a Wii bowling tournament. The company as always.. wonderful, the beer was..oh so yummy, the enchilada's were AWESOME (especially for a white girl) and the Wii was so much fun. The bowling game was quite the challenge (It was different from the one that comes with the Wii) enough that Tommy threw in the towel and quit in the 6th frame. It seems that you have to throw the ball just right or you drop it behind you, which I did many times. After the poor display of bowling, we decided to try boxing. I am happy to say that I kicked my husband's ass in Round 2. Now that is a great way to take out a lot of frustration and get a hell of a work out all at the same time. Two days later, muscles that I didn't even know existed are still sore. What a great invention....wish I had thought of it, especially since all the store are still sold out. The playing of these childish games continued far into the night. Needless to say, I was up the very next morning and placed my order (I found one on eBay) for the Wii complete with the Wii Fit too in hopes to finally full fill what seems like years of New Years Resolutions to loose weight and exercise more.

I have managed to stick with one resolution so far which was to cut down or out, if possible, my excessive habit of drinking diet coke. So far I am 9 days into nothing but water (and the occasional beer on weekends). If you know me, you know that itself is a huge accomplishment.

As for other resolutions....I didn't make any more as not to disappoint myself later.

Amanda-isms

My beautiful daughter, Amanda, is an excellent and dedicated student with straight A's. However, this blond child will sometimes say the dumbest things. So much that I have started keep a list of what I call "Amanda isms". To start off the year on a laughing note, I thought I would share some of these with you.

• In 2005 at the age of 12 years old, as we were preparing for a family vacation to Hawaii, Amanda asked, "Are we gonna fly or drive?"
• This past Christmas Eve at the age of 15, we were discussing the Christmas game of capitals and states. Amanda said, "There must be a lot of Mexicans in Iowa since the capital is Des`moines." (You had to hear the spanish accent she put on that word)
• During the same discussion above, one of the presents had Juneau which is the capital of Alaska. Amanda says with attitude, "Alaska isn't even in the US, why did you pick that one?"
• In September 2008, we went to watch a Texas Tech/Red Raider football game. One of the star players last name is Crabtree. We went to a shop to buy a few T-shirts and there was a big inflatable crab over the doorway and Amanda says, "I didn't know they were the Texas Tech Crabs!" (This one was enough to keep us laughing all weekend long!)

I will continue to share these bone head statements with you throughout the year (I get several a month). We love them because she always makes us laugh, especially since she is so serious about it. I can't wait to see what she comes up with during our 24 hr car ride to Florida this summer. In her defence, she really is a smart girl, her mouth just works faster than her brain.