:cursing::mad2::cursing:

I swear to (insert your deity here) today if I could get my hands on my Daughter's biological Father I would punch him dead in the face for helping me get pregnant. :confused: I love my Daughter more than my life, but it's one of those days where I find myself thinking " Did I lose my flipping mind by having kids?" Seriously I'm considering having a two year old melt down in front of her Junior High graduation tonight just so she gets a taste of humility. LMAO that thought makes me giggle inside just a little...

My hat off to all who live or deal with teenagers on a daily basis, we all need a hug or clubbed like a baby seal on days like this... To all you teens who are oh so much smarter than your keepers (ha) Watch it, we have forks and we can be mighty hungry bandsters lol....

Now where is that straight jacket smilie I need one :thumbup:

You folks are the best... I knew that there would be some of you out in the forum which could relate.

SOME? Pfffftttt... We all can either relate OR are too young to relate because they aren't there yet with their kids -- OR they're lying. :biggrin:

Doug and I often think of the life we'd have - read, how freaking rich we'd be - if we didnt have kids, lol.

Wait till your "kids" are in their 20s and living at home going to college and grad school. That's when they really milk you dry! But of course you want your children educated and to have a better life than you had so we do it.......

My husband and I raised 10. When the 5 youngest were little, I had all 5 under 6 years old. I couldn't wait for them to get older, so they could do more for themselves. Yeah right! They are all teenagers now and I still do it all!

OMG! I am there with you all!! My 19 yr old is perfect! (he's at Boston College so he's never here.) My 14 yr old daughter?? OMG she is driving me CRAZY!! I am mostly a single mom (married but single--better married seperately! lol) Some times she is the best in the world and very helpfull with my 3 and 4 yr olds, but then I wonder what the heck happened?!! I made the mistake of being her friend and it's hard to get the mom respect back.

And since I'm complaining I can't leave out the little ones. They are boys--is that all I need to say? Very active, LOUD, play fighting all the time so they get in trouble at daycare for being too rough, and in less than a minute they can trash the house!! Of which I have given up cleaning and attempt to use it as punishment for my daughter but I can argue with her point of "why clean it, they are just going to make another mess when I'm done if not while I'm cleaning up".

Phew!! I feel better now, thanks!

They say that '25' is the m agic number. Once they turn 25 or so, the light switch comes on for them. The respect comes back, they 'see' what you've done for them, they appreciate you again. Now we have all the answers again. We just need to be patient and understand that these teen years won't last forever! Even though it may seem like an eternity! lol

My husband and I used to run a group home many years ago and always had anywhere between 5 and 11 teens. My husband has always had this gift in dealing with kids in a gentle and humorous way, kind of a gentle way of laughing about the behaviour but not at the kid. So many ugly situations have been diffused this way. So I've learned this from him and it worked well back then and works now with our 16 yr old.

Our boy has had many horrendous medical procedures done since he was 9 and we've learned that after every hospital stay, he's angry. His behaviour is atrocious. This usually only lasts a month max and we don't use the humour with this, we just ride it out because it's not really HIM.

Right now, at 16, he's an amazing kid. He's smart and funny. He thinks he knows everything of course, and can be a bit obnoxious about it, but nothing we can't handle. He's an amazing musician and spends hours practicing and studying. He has discovered literature and is inhaling the books. He even goes to bed early to get more reading time. He watches what he eats and goes to the gym and pool every day. He and his buddies think they're all Jackson Pollock and go to each others houses to paint. We always have a pile of smelly, bad oil paintings laying around in various states of dryness. He also likes classic movies. I was away at a conference a couple of weeks ago and he spent the whole time watching Ingmar Bergman movies.

Not your average bear.

My only complaint is that I wish he would be more attentive to the courses he's not fond of in school which of course are all the non arts courses.

Sounds to me like you have an amazing son! God bless him. I think it's great when a child finds his gifts and doesn't push them away, but uses them. You and your husband are great parents!

Wow. I was kind of dramatic as a pre-teen but I think it had to do with malnutrition- I had an eating disorder. But something clicked and I swore to myself I'd never be that typical teen. Backwards enough, I hit 13 and even though my first period started and messed with my hormones, I did what I could to be the good kid.

And it worked! I kept myself (mostly) in check, helped my parents, was respectful, even paid rent when I got a job.

My mom says it takes on a whole new meaning when she tells me she hopes I have one just like me :cursing:

Sounds to me like you have an amazing son! God bless him. I think it's great when a child finds his gifts and doesn't push them away, but uses them. You and your husband are great parents!

Patty, thank you. I don't know how I could have missed this post from months ago.

Our boy is 17 now, and things are pretty much the same other than he pulled off an excellent mark in Math which is far from his favourite subject, and the oil painting has gone by the wayside. Our house smells much nicer now!

Cool cartoon, Wendy!

Cool cartoon, Wendy!

Thanks Devana! I love Garfield and thought it would be a cute addition to my siggy!