Let the talking begin.... Tweens/Teens and cell phones.

My daughter has never been much a phone talker. In a way she still isn't EXCEPT when it comes to her BFF of course then she can talk, and talk, and talk on the phone. Or just sit there and listen to each other giggle.

The talking it doesn't stop. We enacted some rules it seems she hasn't been following so now there will be new restrictions on her phone use and how to keep her off of it when she shouldn't be on it.

Her phone is checked periodically she knows this. Her records everything... so when she'd been really good about it we've laxed. I check on her the other night its a school night and it is 10:30 pm and she was on her phone... TALKING to her friend.

New rule, phone goes up at night. Why didn't we think of that before? Well she's been responsible and shown we didn't need to.

I actually find it kind of amusing but don't tell her that... I gave her the stern face and the lecture. Really though, did she think she could hide it? I went and checked and she's been doing it for a couple of weeks which means her dad hasn't been checking records lately either. They have a new rule there too because... da da da da... she got caught there too. Is it odd I find it so amusing? Because this post it makes me chuckle.

Also it is sort of refreshing to see her have some normal behavior for her age group and know it is normal behavior. For so long we had so many troubles it is kind of nice. Weird in a way yes but not uncommon for parents with kids who have had/have special needs and issues with behavior.

So what are your cell phone rules for your kids?

Summer Softball begins...

I got a call from Sabby's new coach and practice starts tomorrow, she was able to get the field twice this week during the day. Since they are on spring break she thought they could get started this week.

Those of you that have been through this kids childhood with me will know that this is a huge thing for her. She has always resisted anything social or interacting with other kids and sports. Last summer she came to me and said she wanted to play softball. It was too late to sign her up then but I said we would this year. The sign up sheets went up and she was all excited and asked if she could do it.

What makes this even better is it is only $30 to play and our local fire department sponsors the girls so all they need is their pants and I've been told cleats are optional and most girls don't have them. YAY!!!

I'm so excited and proud of my little uhhh I mean growing girl. She is still getting a 4.0 in school too!!!

This is no small accomplishment for her at all she has worked hard and now is becoming like this blossoming kid. She used to struggle so hard and was so totally socially inept. I worried for years, if someone had told me she'd have come this far I'd have thought they were crazy now I'm clinging to this new phase we are in.

I couldn't be a happier or prouder parent.

It is hard for me to go to some of my friends who are still struggling with challenging children. The medications she started a little over a year ago have really made the difference. Her medications before that made a difference but this one has really helped her grow to her fullest potential.

I can't wait to see what more is in store and what she becomes!

Sick kids are no fun!!

The kid is sick, she's miserable and trying to decide if a doctors appointment is needed. I think its warranted she's so rarely this miserable when she's sick. Her fever is gone but she is more miserable without it than she was with it. I hate the balance between overprotective mom and try not to worry about it mom. GAH!!!

The crabbiness is like out of this world crabby. OH.MY.LAWD!!!

Tomorrow we'll be on day 2 no school, here's hopin' that she can get better by Monday. Today was supposed to be the first day back at school after winter break and she didn't go, my kid was disappointed ha! I was the kid pulling the heat the thermometer on the light bulb trick like in E.T.

The Good Life

So I can feel myself getting a wee bit depressed. What can I say a lot of stuff is going on that is affecting me negatively.

I should be using this blog to get that out, but for some reason I can't do that.

Instead I'm going to talk about the good.

My daughter brought home a 4.0 (all A's)... there surely was never a report card like that in my hands before I became a parent. HA!! I just didn't care about my grades like she does. So a big ole WTG Sabrina for a job well done.

I have a job, there is threat of layoffs in a year depending on if the customer renews our contract or not. It is looking like not. This is somewhat a good thing though because I can plan ahead. I can be in a better financial spot than I was in April of 2007 when I was laid off for over 6 months.
I'm excited about increasing my credit score, having an emergency fund for the first time ever, and generally not drowning in the financial torrent sea I have created. I have one big expense coming up but other than that the rest is saving money. If I don't get laid off then I can use some of the emergency fund to help pay off debt. Win, win all around right? I think so.

I have a list of things I have to do:

• Re-do my budget that currently isn't working for me
• Start a savings account which earns interest
• Make a list of purchases that will reduce my bills and expenditures (odd I know but this will get covered in the new blog when I start it).

I am quitting smoking... again! You can't quit if you quit trying right?

Things with T are going smashingly well, we've had a small 'disagreement' or two but no arguments or fights since we met. He really is a great man! He has helped to get me through the hardest parts of my life I've had and he's been through it himself. It brought us a million times closer.

What is going on good for you all?

She likes a boy

she won't tell me much but his name. I won't share though.

Darn kid told me she'd tell me a little each day because she's embarrassed about it.

I wanna know all about this boy.

I think I hate middle school now!

I really do have the best daughter ever!

I have to brag about Sabrina, she is really the best kid ever. Those of us in tween hell will appreciate that this is a rare occurance, because while we love our kids, sometimes it is really, really (no I mean really) hard to like them. I think they do stuff like this to keep from being killed before they turn 18. Whatever it is she is saved from tweenicide for now.

Something must be right about the parenting she receives.

I'm sick, sick as a dog. It was 'just a cold' that moved to what is likely a sinus infection. This will likely move to bronchitis because I will not make time to see a doctor and it will spiral. Also I'm miserable and I don't wanna go. I'm done with the sickness (ha like that spin?) ewwww wha wha haha. Okay I'm done being dorky and being all ADD getting all side tracked (oh... look a kitty).

Okay, in all seriousness. My kid is awsome.

Yesterday was her second time staying home alone while I worked. She did everything asked of her, she cleaned the living room and did the dishes and showered. YAY!! She went above and beyond that though too, she ran the vacuum in the living room, and made the bed. She finished all of her homework while I was at work all before turning on the television or the Wii.

I get home, and I make dinner. I force my sick self to eat. I promptly get sick. Kiddo calls her step-mom to come and get her as I'm supposed to be dropping her off there. Step-mom agrees but asks if 8pm is too late, no, no it isn't. All the while Sabrina is bringing me blankets, and hot cider, cleaning up dinner and the dishes, and taking care of her sick ole' mom. I'm wondering where my kid is but I won't ask for fear that the aliens might take her back, so I enjoy it.

Step-mom picks my daughter up and they go on their merry way. Sabrina must have told her step-mom how sick I was because about 10 mins later in comes Sabrina again with Vernors (ginger-ale for non-Michiganders) for my sick self. This is super cool because I asked my mom to bring me some and she refused, Sabrina had wanted to take her bike in the snowy cold rain and get me some but I said no.

I must be some kind of sick to get this kind of treatment. Normally if I am not feeling well she rolls her eyes at me and huffs and puffs if I so much as ask her to clean up her own plates, or bring the kleenex. This she did mostly all on her own. Either that or meebee its the impending holidays and the fact that she knows mom is Santa now so she wants the good gifts. Nawww she's a good kid, but this isn't normal for her and it was a nice surprise.

My child

I haven't blogged on her in a while. I've been focusing on me in this blog for whatever reason that is. Maybe it is because my whole life is her and it is nice to have this little space on the internet that is just mine. However, I am a mom too so she is part of who I am.

My 11 year old child is playing the clarinet as I type this... gone are the days of the screaching instrument (mostly) and she is getting quite good at it. Despite that her report card says she needs more practice.

Since I mentioned the report card I must RAVE that her most recent one (minus band) was fabu. She's doing beautifully in middle school. So much so I haven't even logged onto that parent connect website they mailed us about yet. Must put that on my check list of things to do soon.

She's doing great with her braces and I expect her treatment time to be minimal. Her next appointment is during Christmas break.

Her sassiness and moodiness still leave quite a bit to be desired though. Ahhh the perils of tweenhood.

I made a mean lasagna that even her royal pickiness couldn't complain about last night. *note to self, make this more often and sneak in stuff her royal pickiness complains about eating*

Middle School: Week 2

So we got through our first week of middle school. It seems to be going well... most of the questions I ask though I get shrugs and "I dunno" but I hear that is pretty common and it has been a common response her whole life anyway ha ha ha.

She is enjoying band still, and she says she's been late to gym almost everyday due to logistics... we'll see how that reflects on her. I'll actually mention it at open house next week.

Mom is still a little bit crazy but she is doing better too.

Middle School is tough on mom.. I plead temporary insanity

So my daughter started her first day of middle school today.

This is so much harder than Kindergarden was. In kindergaren I knew she was the wee little one but there were so many people that thought awww they are so cute and took care of them. In 6th grade though... yeahhhhhh not so much.

They are given a tour of the school quickly then given their schedules and they are let loose. No one shows them to their buses or even directs them where to go.

I have a hard time letting go so I went up to the school early before dismisal and watched from the parking lot to make sure my wee little 6th grader knew what she was doing without knowing mom was actually there. My attempts to go all incognito failed and I was busted!!! Ahhh we'll get to that in a bit.

Anyway I spot my 6th grader coming out of the school, she's totally petrified and alone. Try to imagine all this with me fellow mothers. I see here frantically looking around for the right bus, and she can't find it. I can see her classic fidgiting signs that mean she might loose it at any moment. I am sitting in my car with tears streaming down my face as I watch this because I know in my head I can't rescue her. All my instincts tell me to go run to her as fast as I can and rescue her from the pits of middle school and all the scary things. All of a sudden I can't see her... I know she must have gotten on "a" bus... but which bus? Oh no!!! A new set of panic sets in... what if she got on the wrong bus? All of this knowing full well she has a cell phone in her bag and can call home. The thing is does she know when to call home or will she panic like mom? Who knows unless we test it out.

See before all of this I find out there is major bus trouble and that on the first day of 6th grade my cousins son got all messed up for the same reasons and didn't make it on the bus home. This added into first time middle schooler mom and the panic I saw in my daughters face as well as the tears she fought back after she thought I left her in this big bad school this morning to fend for herself.

As well it wasn't that long ago I was a new middle schooler entering the sixth grade. One of the benefits sometimes of teenaged motherhood is that I KNOW when things are going on with my kid because it wasnt' that long ago that I was there. I'll know if she tries to get high, or she sneaks out, I know all the tricks. The downside I remember still all those feelings and I have moments of insanity where I think I can spare her all that somehow.

Oh and that I was busted note up there somewhere. It was confirmed my daughter was on the correct bus when she got off of it because she saw me and was confused. I directed her to get back on the bus, and to go to her father's as planned. I had to go to work.

Lesson here... it is likely much harder on mom when she makes it harder on herself. I'm sure my daughter would have been fine and I wouldn't have caused myself the emotional upheavel if I had just stayed home.

Stay tuned... for more middle school stories... especially from this week as somehow I think it will take mom that long to adjust along with daughter.

Hey, at least I wasn't that mom that I saw taking pictures in front of the entire Middle School of my new middle schooler's first day of school talking about how cute it was. That mom fer sure embaressed her kid.

Where did my baby go?

You all get to sit and read/listen to me go on and on about my kid growing up.

I just can not believe that come Tuesday she will be starting middle school, with a locker and switching classes and everything.

Then in about 3 weeks she's going to be getting braces. Brace!! How can she be old enough for braces? How can it be that all of her baby teeth are gone?

She's even got a new later bed time. Oh, and keys... keys to the two homes, and a cell phone to call in an emergency or to check in.

Oh and she's been in band for a year... how can I forget band. Next year she wants to play softball (which for anyone that knows my child knows this is a HUGE thing for her to do).

She's hormonal so I'm sure that other changes are just around the corner.

Where did the time go? What happened to the toddler with the big fat baby rolls who'd say with her index finger pointing in the air (instead of a thumbs up) 'du dude' (which meant cool dude)?

Getting ready for camping

Is hard work!

I'm sure I've forgotten something major. I wrote no lists to pack I just quickly tried to get it together. At least it won't be too bad I do know I remembered to pack clean underware for both Sabrina and myself. One time I forgot mine and had to go out and buy some while camping. That wasn't so fun.

Why is it that camping involves packing so.much.stuff? I feel like I packed for an army for 4 nights. Clothes, shoes, towels, toiletries, pillows, sleeping bags (oh shoot... did I remember mine? yes check that off... only if I had a list lol), drinks... yep got those, food was someone elses responsibility thankfully. Then Sabrina has her bike, roller blades, baseball and mitt... hopefully my cousins kids brought their bats because my kid hasn't gotten to the store yet to buy hers (read mom has had no time).

I forgot for certain a disposable camera but I can't run out and get one as I have no car until after we get back, which really stinks. My car is in the shop for another repair, but we'll save that for another blog day.

We are going camping at Higgins Lake you can check it out here http://www.michigandnr.com/parksandtrails/Details.aspx?id=496&type=SPRK the waters are crystal clear and breathtaking. Here is a wiki link about Higgins lake http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Higgins_Lake

We will be driving about 3 1/2 hours North of where we live... that should be interesting with my ADHD child who hasn't been in a car that long in AGES. I've got lots of things packed for her to do while in the car she shouldn't get bored... too quickly and the rule in my car

1) Go to the bathroom before we leave
2) NO asking if we are there yet

A little tidbit about Higgins Lake it is reputed to be the 6th most beautiful lake in the ENTIRE world. Amazing that this gem is so close to home. Hopefully while I'm typing this I can find a beautiful picture online to share. Here we go http://www.higginslakehomes.com/asp/homes/2815%5C720184_8226090.jpg ... take a look at how blue and clear that water is.. it doesn't get much better than that without venturing to the carribean.

Michigan is home to the United State's most fresh water. Michigan owns over 90% I believe it is of our nations natural water resources... pretty neat when you think about it. Looking at a map of Michigan you see the Great Lakes but you don't get to see all the large and small lakes inland. There aren't many places you can go inside of Michigan in either Pennisula where there isn't a body of water within a few miles.

I'll probably have many exciting things to be told when I get back. We'll be out on the boat and tubing and loads of other things as well.