Kids are back in school! YEAH!
#17793 - 08/19/03 06:57 PM
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BL
Reged: 06/01/03
Posts: 3522
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I love my boys, but I am so excited to have them back in school. This was my first summer having two teenagers that drive and they were always on the go! Or extra teens were always at our house. And of course, teenagers always want to stay up late and sleep in.
I am thrilled to be back in a routine. We actually had the entire family home for dinner tonight. Now, my boys are home in the evening, and there are no extra teens at my house! Finally, I can get to bed at a decent hour! I need my sleep! Yawn!
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Hi Beaglelover, What's the matter, you don't like the blood curdling screams of the latest horror movie in surround sound coming from your livingroom at midnight? My favorite is the stinky pizza box on the kitchen counter when I get up to have breakfast. Maybe the best part about a driving-age teen is the constant negotiating about what time is acceptable to arrive home, or maybe it is cell phone tag - trying to figure out if they are where they say they are. Don't get me wrong, I probably have it pretty easy, he is a really good kid. However, I will take great satisfaction in watching him get up at 6:00 AM for school next Wednesday. hee, hee can't wait. artist
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Oh, this is great! Someone who understands why teens drive us crazy. I had to laugh at your post about the dirty pizza boxes on the kitchen counter. In my case, it was usually shredded cheese all over the kitchen floor, because mine would make nachoes every night and drop half the package of cheese on the floor. It didn't matter if I cleaned up the kitchen before going to bed, there was ALWAYS dirty dishes in the sink in the morning. And empty soft drink cans everywhere, trash cans overflowing, dirty clothes on the floor, well, you get the picture.
What? You don't let your son stay out all night? According to my boys, NONE of the other parents insist their kids come home at a certain time. Ha! Like I'm supposed to believe that these kids' parents just allow them to stay out all night. Does he think I was born yesterday?
And yes, the cell phones are just as much a nuisance as a help. One of my boys is really good about calling and letting us know when he arrives somewhere; the other one never calls and never ANSWERS it when we call him. If we take the phone away from him (as punishment), then he loves it! Then mom and dad can't reach him when he's away. (Kind of like punishes us, not him.) Yikes! He has this figured out, doesn't he?
Yes, it was VERY satisfying lying in bed and listening to their alarms go off at 5:50 a.m. this week. After keeping me up til all hours of the night this summer and then sleeping until noon, now it's payback time!
My oldest son built a video arcade this summer (who said he wasn't a genius?). But he failed to plan one thing---How he would get the huge thing upstairs to the rec room, so it got us far as the formal living room, and there it sits in the corner!!! A beautiful accessory to my newly decorated living room. And when all the kids at the local high school heard about it, they all showed up at our house just about the time I was putting my gown on and going to bed. Do you think I could sleep with an full-fledged video arcade right below my bedroom? I've gotten more sleep since Monday than I did all summer.
Oh well, as my mother keeps reminding me, they will be in college in a few years, so just enjoy them. I'm trying ...... Are you?
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Yes, parenting teens is never dull. It is interesting how certain things are invisible to them; have you noticed that? Like the bag of trash that they literally have to climb over to get out the door. Do you think that maybe they would carry it out the door with them? Or when they wash their car in the driveway, yet do not seem to notice my dusty vehicle 2 feet away. They can never quite figure out why they don't have any clean socks or underwear after two weeks- have they looked in their gym bag lately? I guess from some of the stories my friends tell me, these are pretty minor offenses. I think I am just feeling unappreciated. My kids first day of school is next Wednesday. Yippee! Hmmm, perhaps my son should unpack his backback that still sits on the floor of his room where he dropped it the LAST day of school. I can't wait. artist
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Heee! I can't believe it! My son's backpack sat on the floor of his room all summer too, filled with junk from last year. They must make these kids from the same mold.
My oldest is going through a bad case of senioritis. He came home from school the first day of his senior year with a serious attitude problem. A friend told me this is God's plan. She said God plans it this way so that parents will be so ready for their teen to leave for college. If he gets anymore obnoxious, I will be helping him pack his bags!
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It is a riot reading your posts about your teenagers! 
Is this what I have to look forward to? My oldest is 8 and already has a bit of an attitude.
We are going through "I don't understand why you get to do something and I can't, or the classic, "I am the boss of my own body. You can't tell what to eat or when to take a bath". I just tell him until he is 18 years old I am the boss of this house. It is funny listening to an 8 year old trying to reason with me and all I can think of is he will get smarter with age and will beable to reason better. 
I hope I have some good older moms around to give me lots of advice on parenting teenagers. My husband and I will have 3 three boys in high school at the same time. Isn't that a scary thought? 
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Barbara, It feels like my children were just 8 yrs old yesterday! The time just seems to fly by. I mean, I swear I was just in high school myself, wasn't I?  I have a daughter who is a Freshman and a son who is a Senior. Don't get me wrong, there are definate perks to having older children. No more car seats, better yet, YOU CAN LEAVE THEM HOME. Do you remember what it is like to go to the mall or grocery store BY YOURSELF? It is fabulous. You and your husband can be a couple again. Just think, no need for a babysitter; you can go out to dinner with your husband any time you want. When you go to the beach or pool, you can sunbathe! No need to chase the children or prevent them from drowning. THEY carry in the groceries! You no longer need to force them to shower or bathe. Unfortunately, this part backfires because they shower at least 3 times a day. Each time leaving smelly clothes and wet towels. If the towels are not on the floor they will be crammed so tight in a ball on the towel bar that they could never possibly dry. Also, remember how soap and shampoo was enough to get your children clean? They now require scrubs, creams, washes, rinses, exfoliators, razors, gels, mousse, and thousands of other aids just to accomplish what soap used to do. All of these items are strategically placed around the ENTIRE bathroom. They emerge squeaky clean, however the bathroom is a shambles. Another perk is that they can cook for themselves (sort of), they will not starve without you. Mine have not completely mastered the art of cleaning up after this "cooking". Oh they do, but I often find bits of dried egg on my favorite skillet when I go to use it.
One bit of advice, you may want to abandon the "when you are 18" excuse. My son will be 18 in October, and he is just a Senior in high school. This is definately not the time you want them to decide "you are not the boss of me". You may want to revise it to "as long as you live in my home" or "because I am the Mom and it is my job to make sure you are taken care of and safe".
My best advice to parents of younger children is, NEVER let your children talk back to you, be fresh or disrespectful. This will only get worse as they get older. Do not let them question your authority. Of course it goes both ways, you must always be courteous and respectful as well. They model your behavior good and bad. My children may be typical messy teens but they are never disrespectful. I can live with the little annoyances if they do not give me a hard time about the big stuff.
I may complain, but I know my heart will ache when they move on. Enjoy them while they are young because it goes very quickly. Best, artist
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three boys in high school at the same time. I will start praying for you now! That means you will have 3 in college at the same time. Are you saving money for that NOW? My friend said her daughter's expenses at a state university will be around $1,000 a month. Just think, I get to double that figure, and you will have to triple it!
As to the attitude problem, nip it in the bud now. I wish I been stricter on mine when they were younger. Try disciplining a 6 ft., 2 inch, 175 lb. teenage boy and you get the picture of how difficult it can be.
No wonder I have stomach problems. I worry about them driving, riding with other kids I don't know, girlfriends, drug/alcohol use, the SAT, college visits and applications, their future after high school, AP classes, senior school project, essays, research papers, curfews, cell phone use, money management, part-time jobs, etc.
My oldest wants to apply to a university graphic arts program that requires an art portfolio for entrance, on top of the application and 3 essays. Of course, I forgot to mention high school graduation and my parents' 50th wedding anniversary shortly afterwards. Someone just shoot me!
Then, just think, next year the process will start all over again with my other son. Barbara, just enjoy those boys while they're little----and the more you keep them busy with sports and other activities, the less they will get into trouble! (Actually, mine are very good kids; it's just dealing with all these issues that is a pain.)
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And it seems to happen overnight. One day I was substituting at my son's school and he loved having his mommy there and the next day, I waved at him, and he was mortified!
Your description of the messy bathroom could not have been any more accurate. Every morning I walk to my boys' bathroom and spread the wet towel out onto the towel rack. My husband tells me to leave it. Has he ever smelled a towel after it hangs wet like that all day? (of course not-- he's a guy.)
Oh, and their bedrooms, yuck! Clothes all over the floor, candy wrappers, empty Coke cans, sunflower seeds everywhere---and my son wonders why he can't find that $89 calculator we bought him last year for math class. If I so much as rearrange one item in his room, he has a fit when he comes home later. "Now I can't find anything!" he says. How could this be? Does their brain work only when things are chaotic?
And I must say, him having a driver's license has its pros and cons. I sent him to Wal-Mart to buy his own school supplies this year, which was nice. I asked him to buy several Little Debbie snacks (99 cents) for the lunchboxes and he came home with giant boxes of Twix candy bars, Oreos, Pop-Tarts, pizza-flavored Cheez Nips, you get the picture. That will teach me to send a guy shopping for food. (my husband would've picked up the same junk, believe me!)
And I think the lady at the local bank thinks I'm crazy. I go through the ATM and then ask her to break all of my large bills. Never would I give my teenager one of my twenties! Does she think I'd ever see the change?
I gave my boys my debit card and a budget and told them to pick out their own school clothes. One son immediately said, "That's not enough!" I told him, "Tough. Everybody has a budget to work with." I whispered the PIN number to him and warned him not to write it down anywhere. If he forgot it, he was to call me. Sure enough, the phone rings later and he says, "Mom, are these shoes too expensive?" After discussing the pros and cons of athletic shoes on the phone, I thought we were finished. The phone rings a second time and he's whispering, "M-O-M! What's that PIN number again?" So cute! He's learning. Maybe one day they will have their own apartment and actually spread their towel out on the rack. We're working on it.
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Change?
#17941 - 08/21/03 07:25 AM
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artist
Reged: 05/28/03
Posts: 132
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Change back from a teen? Are you kidding? The only person that gives me change back is the guy at the gas station. artist
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