Just A Reminder

Every spring and fall, I clean out the kids closets. 

(Okay.  It's usually summer and winter by the time I *actually* get around to it.  But I still get it done!)

I move the clothes that are too small for Shane over to Owen and the clothes that are too small for Owen go to Good Will.

I usually feel thrilled and accomplished to get this chore done. 

Usually.

But this spring, I felt a little sad.

A little weird.

And a little nostalgic.

Because no one in my family can use the little kids hangers anymore. 

The little hangers that held all of my boys cute little overalls and cute little outfits.  Now they can't be used because the boys clothes are too big and they just fall off of the hangers.  :( 

They're just another reminder that my children are growing up fast.

As you can see, these groups of hangers are sitting underneath the Thomas the Train comforter set that the boys are now too grown up for.  I just can not part with them either.  We may have a house full of people at some point and need extra blankets.  Right?

I did give the hangers to Good Will.  I figure someone somewhere can use them. 

I can't hang on to everything. 

Including their childhood.  They are growing way too fast.

Which makes me both sad and happy.  Every stage has it's good points.  Or at least, hopefully I'll remember it that way.

Just like when I look at the hangers and think of their sweet baby clothes, I forget about the sleep deprivation of babies.

Nailed It!

Owen's been playing a game emojipop on the ipad.  It's like pictionary.

 

With a twisted sense of humor.

 

He solved this immediately in less than a minute.

 

"Everyone knows that boogers are nose poop.  It's logical."

I guess you have to think like a boy. 

:/

Photobomb Picture of the Day

Shane and his girlfriend Lydia at the 8th grade dance.

 

Photobomb picture of the day.  LOL!

 

Gotta Love That!

Mary Mayken: I brushed my teeth. Twice. And got dressed.

Me: Awesome girl. Good morning!

 Mary Mayken: Oh. And Owen brushed my hair for me because I couldn't reach the bottom of it.

Me:  Awwhhh.   <3 span="">

 

Gotta love that.  Owen use to not even give her the time of day.  I love to see him helping his baby cousin.  :)

High School Here We Come

Whose in high school?

This kid.  That's who.

I took him to lunch after his last day of middle school.  The hostess asked him if he needed a kids menu.  I don't think he was so amused.

LOL

Thanks for Letting Me Know

Parenting teenagers and pre-teens during the internet era is much different than when I was growing up.  In some ways, it's easier but in others, it's way harder.

Back in the day , we had a lot more freedoms.  After we ate breakfast, we were gone for the rest of the day in the summer.  Usually riding our bikes around the neighborhood or playing in the woods.  We either went inside when it was dusk for dinner or we heard our parents call us. 

Either way, we somehow kept up with the time and we never missed lunch or supper (or dinner if it was Sunday afternoon).  And we did it without the help of cellphones to keep up with the time.  But that also meant that our parents couldn't get in touch with us either.  But they didn't worry.  Frankly, they were probably glad that we were out of their hair.

Moving on into the teenage years, we tied up our parents phone line, which didn't have call waiting and rang busy for hours at a time with two girls in the house.  The cord on that phone was stretched to the max because we would drag it as far as it would go when we were talking to our friends.  And then we'd stretch it some more.  (Poor phone was attached to the wall so a cord that was suppose to go only 2 foot was stretched to about 20 feet.)

Our phone was exactly like this one.  Alvacado green, baby.  It matched our kitchen.  :D

Unless our parents listened in our phone conversations (and they had to be VERY quiet when they picked up the other phone otherwise, we'd hear the 'click' and we knew), the other very good way for our parents to find out what we were doing was to find the notes that we passed to our friends.  They looked like this one.

 

Oh we had to be careful for sure.  But teenagers today have a distinct advantage.  Everything is electronic and they are much smarter about navigating the intersweb than us.  Okay.  That's true for me because I am definitely electronically challenged.  (Me who doesn't watch the TV if it's not preset to just hit one button to turn it on.  If anyone uses the TV for any function other than just watching TV and doesn't reset it for me, I can't watch it.  Sadly that is the truth.)  :(

Anyway, I *am* on fb.  I do *know* how to use that medium.  :D

You learn all KINDS of interesting things on social mediums.  I do troll my kids email accounts (which I may or may not be traumatized about), fb pages and other sites that I know they are on (reddit.com) to see what they are up to.  Wow.  People just let whatever is going on in their minds out for the entire world to see.  Sometimes I wonder if these kids parents ever look at their kids pages. 

Every now and then, someone may spill something on someone unintentionally.

And if I'm lucky, it's dirt on my kids that I didn't know. 

And then I say...thank you very much for letting me know?  :)

Such was the case recently that my sister-in-law posted something that caught my eye.  She was with Owen for several days at the beach and unknowingly ratted Owen out about having an instagram account.  Apparently Owen has an account and I had no idea. 

 

 

Did you see that I said "thank you for letting me know" to Liz.  ;)

I'm not sure whether to LOL or UGH. 

 

Parenting teenagers in this day and age sure lends itself to different, unique issues that I'm sure my parents didn't deal with.  Nope.  They just figured out what we did because we were careless and left notes laying around or even left beer tabs (or tab) on the floor. 

 

I mean.  *If* we did anything wrong, it sounds like something we probably would have done.  ;)

The Definition of Lazy

We all know that kids are lazy.

They leave their stuff laying all over the place. 

They think that the front hallway is where their bookbags, shoes and everything else goes.

They leave their dishes whereever they ate.  And Heaven forbide that they actually put water in them so that the food doesn't get caked on.

But this takes the cake.

That's an EMPTY milk carton.

Sitting RIGHT BESIDE the trash can.

That's the very definition of lazy.

But, of course, no one did it.  The "not me" ghost is alive and well in our home.

Kids.  Sheesh.

The Newest *It* Thing

The kids trip me out with their "thing of the moment."  Sometimes I see it coming.  And other times, it sneaks up on me and hits me in the back of the head like a brick.

Owen's had an interesting 5th grade year.  We all know that he wears what he wants.  Colors don't matter.  In fact, if they don't match, that makes the outfit *even better.*

At the beginning of Owen's fifth grade year.

Well.  Until recently that is.  Owen and his two best friends Ky and Connor are obsessed with Elite socks by Nike.  OBSESSED.

And their outfits have to match the socks.

Yeah.  For realz.  Shut your mouth.  Because that was my reaction too.

His socks have to match his outfit.  I'm totally wiping a tear from my eye because finally someone in the house matches besides me.

Shopping for the correct color match.

Not only do the socks have to match the outfit but they have to have very specific shoes to go with them.  I call them shower shoes.  Owen and the rest of the world call them slides.  I don't get it.  But then I guess my mom didn't get most of the things when we were growing up in the 1980's.  (I should have listened to her.  Jelly shoes *were* stupid.  lol).

But Owen had to have Nike slides so that they match the Nike socks.

Say what?

Who is this child? 

I thought it was weird that all of the sudden he was obsessed with everything matching.  Then I figured out that it was because Ky is obsessed with it.  And well.  You do what your best friend does.  I wouldn't know *anything* about that! 

 

Please note that the lei that Owen choose MATCHES his outfit too.  :D

 

 

Oh yeah.  He's a preteen adolescent who finally cares what he wears.

Ugh.  It's a little weird.  Okay.  It's really weird. 

However, I'm ready for the day where he obsesses over being clean and will actually take a shower and brush his teeth without being told.  Or more like begged 15 times.  Yeah.  Them wanting to be clean is the only good part of the preteen years.  :D

Stupid Payback

via text to Shane:

Me:  Your drawers are a disaster.  I thought you said that you cleaned them out. 

Him:  I did clean them out.

Me:  No you didn't.  It's sweat pants and other clothes you haven't worn in a year.

Him:  Yep.  Long pants and the such.

Me:  Yep.  All jumbled up and wrinkled.

Him:  Just the way I like them.

Me:  MEH.

Exhibit A, Your Honor

Exhibit B, Your Honor

Exhibit C, Your Honor

Paybacks.  Sweet, stupid paybacks.

Moving on to Middle School

Whose now in middle school?

This guy.

 

Before he moved on tho, they had to have an awards ceremony and a party to commemorate it.  I mean, they have to do *something* to fill the last few days of school with, so it may as well be a send off for the fifth graders.  :)

 

He got the president's physical fitness award. 

 

 

And the award for Most Musical.  Really?  He's not in Super Singers or in Instrument Ensemble.  I guess they gave it to him because of his awesome rap during the 5th grade History Review.  Either that, or they had left over awards and left over kids and they just randomly handed them out.  That's what he said he thought happened anyway.  lol



 

Owen's teacher this year was Mr. Kitt.  He was a disciplinarian, which is definitely the structure that Owen needed.

 

Everyone needs a BFF.  Connor, Ky and Owen...the 3 Muskateers.  They had their ups and downs, with some drama, but where one was, you could usually find the others.

 

Everyone loved Ky's little baby sister Evie.  I mean, who couldn't?  She's adorable.  :)

 

Cooperating taking pictures with mom and dad.  :)

 

Onto the party, which is what the kids *really* wanted.

 

 

 

Flexing his "muscles."

 

 

The Vice Principal Mr. Roman took one for the team and got into the dunk tank.  This is his last year at FFES.  He took a position as a principal at another elementary school in the county.  He will be missed.





 

Owen's always up for some self portraits.  :)

 

Aside from a little rain, the day was great.  I'm a little sad that this was the end of an era of elementary school.  I fully realize that I will no longer be welcomed into the lunch room and I won't know the teachers.  (That didn't stop me with Shane.  Once.  lol) 

But I'm also looking forward to seeing where life takes my little Owen.  And hey.  If nothing else, I'll no longer be legally responsible for anyone else other than myself in less than 8 years.  Woot.  :)