Being Mommy

Sara has been sick since Friday. She's had fevers, cough, sore throat and tiredness. We've made her stay in bed all weekend. Today I allowed her to stay home from school to hopefully kick it out because tomorrow she has FCATs at school. Don't want to miss those. So Saturday while Joe went to play golf I went grocery shopping (a task I really don't care to do). We didn't go the previous week so we had nothing to eat. Really there was nothing. Along with buying the foods we normally keep in the house and stuff for our planned dinners for the week I threw in a bag of donuts, 2 packages of oreos (because they were 2/$5) and 2 packages of Klondike bars (they were BOGO). I usually don't buy this stuff but I figure the donuts were a quick breakfast for Sara, the oreos were for her lunch (it was either that or more GS cookies but Joe said to go with the oreos since more cookies come in the package than GS cookie. He happened to call while I was staring at the oreos.) The Klondike bars were because coldness felt good to Sara's throat with it being sore and who can pass up a BOGO deal? Well Joe informed me Sunday that Sara told him I bought too much junk food. Yes me, Ms. Healthy bought too much junk food. Coming from my 13yo daughter. So last night I mentioned it to Sara and she laughed and said she didn't mean it mean but that normally I would not buy that stuff. Well Joe helped me realize what I did. The nurturing mother came out of me and I wanted to make my sick baby happy.

For those of you who follow my health blog, this so goes against what I blogged about today there. lol. I really did buy the "junk" food for Sara. Now if I get an urge to taste the "junk" food I will do so in moderation then get some activity in to burn it off.

Happy Monday!

Deck the Halls....fa la la la la

I am happy to say that my Christmas tree was angel-less for only 2 days. (See prior post.) We finally got the house decorations up and my home looks so Christmas-y. See:




And every house is not complete at Christmas time without a nativity scene:

Some more of my snowmen:

And the stockings were hung by the fireplace...er...videos?

Yes we do not have a fireplace and we do not have a mantle so I have to get creative with my stocking location. There is one for Joe, Sara, Joey and me and of course I can't forget the furry kids, JayJay & Polly. They are worse than a 4yo searching for Christmas gifts. I've had to hide their gifts way, way up high off the ground because they are already snooping around.

Merry Christmas!

I wasn't dreaming

This morning started off like all weekday mornings. Alarm goes off at 6am and the snooze button is pushed. 9 minutes later it goes off again and I let it continue going off since it's just the radio. A few minutes later I drag myself out of bed and head towards Sara's room. To my surprise I open my bedroom door and who do I see walking out of her room into the kitchen? Yes Sara! I turned back to Joe to ask him if I was still asleep. This NEVER happens. Sara will lay in bed until she has 5 minutes to be ready to walk out the door. Which drives me insane so some mornings aren't too happy. On the weekends it's the same thing trying to get her up if needed even at 9am or 10am! So I pinched myself and it hurt. Yes I was awake and not dreaming this.

Ok, so I'm fully awake now with this shock of Sara being up AND dressed before I even got out of bed. Then shock #2 comes: "mom, what would you like for breakfast?" I thought I was going to faint. My child is awake, dressed and asking her mother what she can make her for breakfast at 6:15am. So she made oatmeal for me and Joe.

Shock #3: she washed the dishes without anyone telling her too!! And she even squeezed in time for her own breakfast! So I told her on our way to school how proud I was of her for what she did and she has earned her keep for another month. lol. Now how can I convince a 13yo that this is what you should do EVERY morning??

Happy Friday!!

Halloween Images

Here are my Halloween photos:

Doggyween


Sara and I carved our pumpkin. Can you tell what it is?


Batman & Dracula


Indians


Don't we look cool? I love the holiday seasons!

Dracula & Batman

We had a fun-filled Halloween weekend. I already blogged about the Pet Masquerade Sara and I were at. The pets had fun too. Saturday night Joe, Sara and I went to a Halloween party. Joe and I dressed as indians. (Pictures to come.) Yesterday we went with my sister the The Florida Aquarium for Guppyween where kids in costumes get in free and there are trick-or-treating stations all around. Safe for the little ones. Well, here's my little one, although she's not so little anymore, as Dracula (or is she Draculina?) and my nephew as Batman:


Isn't she beautiful? Sometimes, even after 13 years, it's hard to believe she's all mine! And isn't he so handsomely cute? I will have more Halloween pics to blog about as soon as I remember to transfer them from my camera to my computer.

Happy Halloween!

Music: Yesterday & Today

Yesterday I was driving home with Sara and a song came on the radio she liked. She turns it up a little which I don't mind at all. I like the song too but I'm really not sure how appropriate it is for my 13yo daughter. I start thinking back to when I was her age and a song came to mind that I absolutely loved. Here's the song I loved, although I was probably a few years younger than Sara:



Now here's the song that came on the radio yesterday:



Now they are 2 different songs but here are my thoughts:

"We Don't Have to Take Our Clothes Off" by Jermaine Stewart
This song talks about couples can have fun without having to get naked and having sex. Now when I was a tween and listing to this song, I had no clue that's what it meant. I always asked myself "why would you have to take your clothes off to have fun?" Well, now that I'm an adult, I know why.

"Addicted" by Saving Abel
This song talks about the guy being addicted to the girl sexually (in an oral sex way) and when I found this video on YouTube I couldn't believe my eyes! I haven't watched rock videos in some time and OMG are they reveiling! So I wonder does Sara know exactly what this song is about when she hears it? We have had the 'sex and where babies come from' talk several times. But now that I really think about it she is 13yo! A teenager! I've heard stories about 13yo getting pregnant! As far as I know she hasn't had a boyfriend. We do talk and I hope she will open up to me when the time comes, when it's her first date and down the road, far away, when she feels she is ready for sex. (I pray it's on her wedding night.) Sexual material, whether it's music, movies or magazines are too easily accessible these days. Having an open relationship with your child by talking I think will help them with making a wise decision. And not only with sexual situations but in anything with friends, jobs, hobbies. I pray everyday I'm raising Sara to become a good person who values herself. We've all been teenagers before and know what we are capable of. That's scary!!

Kids & School Grades

Sara is in the 8th grade. I think by now she is old enough to be responsible for her homework. I shouldn't have to remind her to do her homework or give me papers from school. But I find myself doing it anyways. One of her weekly assignments is getting her agenda book signed by a parent. Every Monday she writes in her classwork/homework for the week for each class. Then Monday night she has to get a parent signature. This counts for a grade. If signed, an A. If not, a F. How hard of a homework is that? Well my daughter can't seem to remember to get that done. She forgot last week and almost again last night. Joe wants me to remind her over and over until she gives the book to us to sign it. I say no that she needs to step up and be responsible for her stuff. Of course I want her to get good grades because there are consquences if she doesn't (like writing me some essays or a sentence over and over 50 times. I give out good homework too!) But I don't feel like she deserves the good grades if I'm constantly reminding her to do her assignments. Joe thinks I should remind her so her grades won't fall. I say no cuz if her grades fall its her own fault. She doesn't deserve good grades based upon the parent actions. We don't do her work for her we just remind her the work needs to be done.

I need input. Am I just being stubborn and allowing my child to fail? Should I continue to remind Sara of her work? Or am I doing the right thing? Next year she starts high school. The school she wants to attend requires applying and being accepted. Grades are a major factor with acceptance and if she continues the route she's going she will be denied. She makes mostly A's & B's with occasional C's. I expect more because I was an almost straight A student with occasional B's. Yes my middle school and high school years were many moons ago but even now in my college classes I make almost all A's. What to do!?!