Can you say, "I'm not Emo"?

If you are not the parent of a teenager....this might not make much sense to you, but we all used to be teens so maybe it will anyway. About a year ago my 14 year old daughter decided that she would start wearing make-up. I told her it was ok.....but don't go overboard. She started out innocently enough with a little of this and that. I wanted to help, but she would have none of that. So anyway...as time passed her hand got heavier and she started to look scary. One day I woke up to a daughter I didn't recognize with raccoon eyes and a scowl on her face.

I smiled, "Honey...don't you think the eye liner is a little thick?" She glared at me as though I had insulted her purposely. "No mom, this is the way all my friends wear it." was her excuse. Then came the red hair and the haircut that swept in front of her face covering one eye. Thank goodness she let me use the semi-permanent dye on her hair so it washes out in 30 days.

I asked her to cut back on the eye-liner, but she said it just didn't look good unless it was noticeable. Noticeable? That was an understatement. You couldn't notice anything else. Everything else faded away......we could only see "Emo girl".
So....I finally just let it go because A.) She had to wear a uniform to school anyway, so I figured if the school was ok with it then I would not worry so much. B.) It had to be a phase she would grow out of soon or later. and C.) Eventually she would run out of the liner because she used so much of it.

Months went by and Christmas came. We always take family photos at Christmas and I asked her to wear less eyeliner for the photos. She didn't. I tried to photo shop it off but it just looked weird to me. She has a boyfriend, or at least that is what she calls him. They only see each other at school. I told her she doesn't have a boyfriend because she isn't allowed until she is 16. She rolled her eyes.

She spends a lot of time in the basement. (That is where she and her 3 sisters live.) I call it the dungeon, even though it doesn't resemble a dungeon at all. It is just the place where they all go and disappear. She has spent more time down there than the rest though and so I have started calling her "dungeon girl". She pops upstairs to get bread and water and then goes back down to the dungeon. When I first called her "dungeon girl" she tried to hide the laughter under her breath....
About two weeks ago I saw her without make-up on and said, "Oh, there you are! It's been so long since I've seen you. This other girl came and took your place for a while and she wasn't as wonderful as you are." I gave her a hug. She looked at me like I was an alien. Then she burst out in laughter. "I didn't like that Emo girl.",I insisted. She indignantly rebutted, "I'm not Emo!" We all burst out in laughter because her sister informed me that anyone who adamantly denies being Emo is Emo. For those of you who don't know what Emo means......well your guess is as good as mine. They all have on dark eye-liner and wear their hair in their face.

I challenged her to wear her eye-liner lighter and see what her boyfriend says. She said, "He won't like it! He'll think I look weird." "Just try it one day." I coaxed her. I told her I thought he would like it and to see if she could prove me wrong by trying it. So she did. She came home that afternoon. "Mom, you were right. He said I looked really good." OMG.....did she actually tell me I was RIGHT? It was a glorious day. That's why I just had to tell you about it.

Emo girl is gone.....and I was RIGHT......what could be better! **SIGH**

I am Thankful

I was sitting here thinking it had been a long time since I blogged.....and it has. May 2008 was the last time. I have so much to be thankful for. This year has been a rough one with teenagers and all but I wouldn't give it up for anything.

I've thought about how God has been absolutely present in my life for such a long time. He is there and has never left me.

I have been writing a book for about 5 years now....with all my "extra" time. Not much of that these days......but God assures me there is a season for everything and there is a season for me to finish my book.
I know that time is just around the corner, maybe tomorrow.
I don't want to let these days rush by and not experience them fully.
Making lunches every morning. Kissing faces goodbye and hello. Helping with homework and eating dinner together.
Getting school uniforms clean and ready for wearing and watching movies with any kid that will have me sit next to them.
Surprising them with an afternoon out for lunch. Laughing in the kitchen because they are teaching me a goofy dance.
Making sure they remember to brush their teeth before bed.
My 3 oldest,... the teenagers don't want me to do any of those things for them any more. I have two left that still appreciate all those things.....so I have a couple more years left of doing those things and I plan to be completely present in their lives (even the teenagers) just like God has been completely present in mine.

Driver's License Day!

Oh my golly gosh and gee! We have soooooooo many teenagers and apparently "driving" is a huge hallmark in their lives.....

So we've had one on the road for over a year. She has some fun things under her belt:

• Running out of gas on the highway
• getting stuck at a stoplight in the snow (sisters had to push)
• Paying an incredible amount of money for gasoline (drives constantly)
• Leaving her car in neutral while parked and coming out to find it rolled into another car!
• Running a RED light and getting a ticket (she still has to go to court for that one)

Now the second one JUST GOT HER license! Oh my heck! I filmed a little video that day while we were waiting for the "tester guy" to come out to test her......here it is. Kinda goofy, but this was an important day for my daughter. It is a 3 min video and my first attempt at video editing. Hope you like it. We had fun.

The Village Idiot

Ok....so my husband and I from time to time actually have a conversation. Sometimes those conversations are ODD. Who am I kidding? They are almost always ODD. This is entertainment at it's finest for us....having just plain odd conversations about things we have not a clue about or from where it came.

Take....."The Village Idiot" conversation for instance.

As we are driving down the road he notices that it seems like the squirrels have a death wish. It is as though they are waiting until just the precise moment to cross the street exactly when we are crossing their path. After dodging 3 or 4 we start laughing and comparing them to ...... you've got it......The Village Idiot. Now ....Why this was sooooooooooo funny....I know not. But from here to eternity every time we see a squirrel we refer to him as The Village Idiot. These are the moments marriage is made of........ The times when you can laugh at something that absolutely nobody else understands or probably wants to understand.

Lately......my husband has been going mad over the squirrels that are stealing the bird seed out of the feeder. He has moved it at least 8 times to different spots and they keep finding a way to get to it. This leads me to one conclusion.....maybe they are not really idiots. Hmmmmmmmm?
I can't catch them doing it to save my life though. I'll turn my head to look at the bird feeder and all I see is it swinging violently back and forth from the unseen force of the Village Idiot jumping off. The other evidence is the scattered birdseed all over the ground below it.....everything but the sunflower seeds. You see ..... the Village Idiot is picky. He knows what he wants and he gets it.

Well.....we've decided that he may have great skills in obtaining food resources....but his decernment in timing while crossing the street leaves much to be desired. So.....I'm afraid we may have the last laugh along with the starving birds. We do love our little Village idiot though. He shows up wherever we go, dodging bullets. ;)

Homework Police No more....

This is my second posting in less than 24 hours! Oh my heck?! I must be on a roll or something.......
So I just had to share this: I have 3 kids in High School and 2 in a K-12 Charter school. I can go on-line and check their grades at any time. Pretty cool.

The Charter School just started something new with a website called, http://www.classnotes.com/ NOW.....I recieve emails every time one of their teachers adds an assignment to the website. Wooo Hooo!

I was getting...."No mom, I don't have any homework tonight." Well, no more of that.

I will know now if they have anything to do and what it is.....so I feel less like a policeman and more like management.

The internet is a beautiful thing. :)

Where Have I been?

It has been forever.....since I last posted anything. Partially because I have been soooo busy and partially because my brain has been in a holding pattern for about 3 months.

I want to blog...but...I don't know what to blog about right now.......

I have an issue with my toaster: that seems like a likely subject......hahaha OMGawwwwsh!

I have this toaster. It is a wonderful toaster, but a little overzealous! When the toast pops up….it also pops OUT! Like…..to outerspace……Overzealous is usually a good thing except when your toast lands on the floor. Darn that toaster! I really love toast too. I don’t eat carackers….I eat toast instead. I also like REAL butter. I've decided it is healthier than margerine. Thanks to Doc Oz. I found out about Hydrogenated Vegtable Oil.........If you eat that stuff just call in the heart doctor right now. K?

I already have High Blood Pressure. I told my dad and he said, "Wow, I didn't get high blood pressure until my 60's. " Thanks a lot dad. The fact is......I eat super healthy and I work out almost every day. I also take my meds. I'm doing everything right at this point, so that is really all I can do.

I turned 40 and fell apart. My hair went gray, I gained weight and I got high blood pressure. I have since LOST 30 pounds......dyed my hair......and got on blood pressure meds. So....there ya go. I'm old.....but I cover it up well.

The other day I went to the high school to do headshots for the cast of their spring musical. A teacher came up to me and asked where my pass was?!! OMGaaawwwsh! I laughed so hard I almost peed my pants. Then she put her glasses on. ......hahaha

;)

Later.........

Family Christmas Photos

Hey.....we actually got a family photo done this year! We had a snowstorm on Sat night and Sunday ALL of our kids were actually in our house! So.......I forbid them to leave until we got a photo. You can check out the rest of them on my MySpace:

http://www.myspace.com/pennamecs

Merry Christmas!