What Bugs Me… Got 2 This Morn…

Of course, both kid related…

Being my son’s alarm clock.

He used to be responsible at getting himself up school mornings.  He gets up around 6am (it could be later but he has this thing about taking 25 minute showers…)

As the school year is progressing,  he is dragging his feet.  I think its because hes staying up too late.  We ‘think’ he’s in bed, but ….    the culprit may be that CELLPHONE of his-   some late night texting?     I know,

“Duh,  remove the phone from his room!”

ah, but I’ve tried that, to which he proclaims

“Mom, that’s my alarm.”

I need my sleep – I should NOT have to get up at 6am or even 620am to wake Prince Charming.   Two mornings straight my eyes have opened  at 640am to find him lost in deep slumber…

Tonight he is receiving the ‘old fashioned’ alarm clock from the guest room, and the cellphone will be confiscated.

Being my daughter’s ITUNES sugar daddy.

Opened my email this morning and there sits another Itunes invoice – for more money spent at the Itunes store online.   I hate how Itunes is set up – or maybe I don’t know the RIGHT way to do it with kids?   Please, someone direct me!!!

I have an Iphone.  I use Itunes and the store for  app downloads, occasional music – etc.  You must have a credit card on file for the account.   Fine.

My kids have Itouch’s. They use Itunes as well – its the place to download cool stuff.    They are supposed to download the FREE stuff, and if there is something requiring purchase I need to know BEFORE they pull the trigger.   I’d rather they NOT have access to MY credit card on file, but how do I do that?  And HOW can they USE those stupid Itunes gift cards instead of it automatically charging my credit card?

My son ‘gets’ it – I rarely have a problem from with him.  My daughter?  Always the one behind the random Itunes invoices.   Of course I hit her up for the amount -  she acts clueless – like these weren’t intentional purchases – she thinks, somehow, it should have been free – or maybe that ‘preview’ purchase bill that pops up on her screen is written in Chinese?

I’m ready to shake sense into her.   She isn’t ‘clueless’,  even though I get a blank stare in response to my ramblings about irresponsiblity -  she just doesn’t care.

Hmph – oh ya?    Mama bear just finished updating her Itunes password.

Thanks for letting me vent    Now I can start my day – I promise I have a bunch of cool stuff to post about!

STOP Using My Stuff! Teens And Aging Moms…

Okey, I know I’m not the most sharing person – if you polled my family I know they would answer “Her Popcorn Bowl” if you asked them “What is the one thing she won’t share?”   And I don’t like sharing my private stash of candy…

Still,  I think I’m awful giving when it comes to the kids.  They really aren’t in need of anything -  they live a pretty good life.  As parents we tend to put our kids first – they get what they need or desire,  at the expense of  us going with less.  And we do that with free will and no regrets….

My son has been easier so far. He is cleaner,   he doesn’t leave 50 hair clips and bands, socks, sweatshirts, shoes etc strewn all over the place.  His room is way cleaner (though it is now starting  to take on an ‘I need a Febreeze spritz’).   His bathroom area is cleaner.  It’s almost like his brain ‘gets’ the rules, and follows them in simple terms (even if its half ass).  SHE? I’m not sure if its that her brain doesn’t get it, or that she just chooses door number 2 (ignorant blank stare), but she doesn’t follow simple rules – like turn your radio off, put that away,  fix your bed,  or get the clothes off the floor.

He needs less – less clothes, less shoes, less accessories,  less stuff .    SHE is higher maintenance.  Always needs something -  like new deodorant  ( are you eating it?) even though a full deodorant stick is in her bathroom drawer.  Oh no, wait!  It’s cap less on her bedroom floor, now half eaten by the dog.

I’ve try to go with the flow…. to not sweat the small stuff,  to pick my battles.   My kids are good kids for the most part.   So what turns me into this?

 

When my personal things are messed with.    I don’t buy much but I do like certain cosmetics  (hello, we’re talking 46 year old skin)   Skin products that come with a promise of rejuvenating aging skin, and disguising permanent dark circles.  My 13 year old chooses to  sneak my  ‘old lady’ makeup, instead of using her 5.99 eye glitter?  I don’t get it.  Her skin is beautiful – SHE doesn’t get it.    You can’t use someone elses mascara – that’s gross.

I resort to having my husband put a door lock on our bedroom.   Now I have a whole other set of issues.

I run upstairs, to grab that thing I forgot, and I am locked out of my room – I forgot to grab the KEY so I can get into my own bedroom.   Worse?  I can’t find the key -  I hid it somewhere, but for the life of me I forgot where!

It could be worse right?

 

SURFACE Cleaning – Gross Me Out…

Finally a day off, and this house is in need of a desperate cleaning.   I’ve gotten to things when I could… to get by.  The kids have had ‘daily chore lists’   but when I’m not here to monitor the cleaning – well, you can imagine the effort put forth….. We’ve been surfing along on the SURFACE cleaning wave way too long – it is time to get serious.

Why, you might ask?

Well,  first I saw this, in the morning sunlight -

look closer-

OMG that is disgusting.    So I rounded up Nick, a washtub full of hot soapy water, and a rag, and showed him how his FIRST chore of the day is to go around all the baseboards and legs of furniture and wipe down the cobwebs.

Now it is going to get REALLY GROSS!

I hear Nick yell out from the front room. I thought he hurt himself.  I ran in there and he tells me that he just saw the biggest spider  (AACCK!  Instant panic!)  and that thank goodness it was dead.  (Okey, breathe a little)    So he points to where its at, right behind that cobweb chair.  I could see it (BIG) but it was hard to see the detail (thank God) because it was shadowed by the wall.  So I got out my Nikon zoom lens.

(Why did I do that?)  I stood on the couch and snapped some photos, then Nick and I went back to my laptop to view Mr. Dead Spidey -

I am NOT lying -  in order to even post that photo there?  I am squinting,  so that I don’t have to look at it again – or I will be sick.    I am deleting all the disqusting closeups from my camera,  I hate spiders.

I had to laugh a few minutes later.   I told Nick to take care of the dead guy -  to dispose of him in the toilet (no vacuuming)  and I see him dragging this down the hallway to the bathroom-

And that’s how our morning is going….

You Think By Time They Are Teen’s They’d Know How To Pour Cereal Milk…

Yesterday morning the kids headed out to catch the bus and I was left cleaning up the breakfast mess.  Sometimes they have enough time to clear their dishes, but 99% of the time they are pushing the clock and

• A) its more important to me that they are eating breakfast, the MOST important meal of the day and
• B) I do NOT want them missing the bus, because then I have to drive them and the drive line in the morning at their Junior High is crazy…

So I grab Julia’s bowl and its basically a empty bowl and spoon.  I grab Nick’s and its loaded with milk, a few cereal bits left floating.  And of course, the spoon.   This is very typical, and I’d regretted not taking my camera out and snapping evidence.

This morning?  No different.   Now mind you , these bowls are soup size bowls…

Julia’s -

Nicks-

We’re going to have a nice little chat about this later.  It’s NOT that difficult to get the milk/cereal ratio right, and in this morning’s case,  he wasted a good bit of cereal as well.   We go through milk like crazy, so I hate pouring 2/3 cup down the drain every morning.

We’re going to have a not so nice chat about this as well -

Nice place to spit out your mouth wash,   right where we all walk.  Gross.    Do you think maybe the grass would have been a better choice?