Never Say Never, Learn as You Go, and Other Cliche`s

This week we broke down and got Hannah a phone. I know, one of my first posts was all about how she would not be getting a phone, that she did not need a phone. This is where I think of that old saying "Never say never." However, circumstances have changed.  I am no longer teaching middle school and she will be going to school without her twin ( Rachel will be at a private school that works closely with kids on the spectrum) as well as taking the bus to and from school on her own. 

I must add that the phone is not fancy, no Internet or downloading capabilities. I have all the parent security stuff on it like being able to limit the time frames and minutes she uses ( unlimited for family). Also it is a basic phone, I refuse to have my child have a more sophisticated phone than her parents!

As a lay study in Tweenragolgy, I have noticed several interesting phenomenons regarding this new device that has been implanted in my daughter's hand ( I do believe it became fused upon first contact). I have recorded a few of my observations for the sake of science.

1) she is quieter.  When Hannah was little she was a  "binky baby", She never went anywhere without her pacifier and it seems a cellphone has much the same effect on a Tweenrager.

2) I can be screaming at her from two feet away and she does not hear me, however, if I send her a text I get an immediate response. Thus I conclude texting is the main form of communication for tweens other than whining and stomping feet.

3)Tweenragers have incredible texterity, the rate of TPM (text per minute) is quite amazing! After only three days, I believe she could have possibly penned a novel.

4) Apparently Tweenragers are also quite adaptable. After loosing the use of one hand ( due to the phone fusion) she is still quite capable of doing everything one handed.

Overall, I feel that with supervision this phone thing might not be too bad. In fact I now have a new weapon to hold over her head. If she does not listen, or fights with her sisters, all I have to say is "Do you want to keep your phone?" and she stops!  I still get the "look", but then I think of the old cliche` "silence is golden" and smile.

Home Security ( Hah!)

Kudos to all you single moms. I really do not know how you manage. This week my husband is out of town on business and I am the sole parent in the house.  It is not that I am unable to care for my family with my husband away, I am fully capable and fearless in this matter. The hardest part of being the only parent around is the invisible weight that rests on your shoulders. 

The weight I refer to is the one that tells you that there is no "break" waiting around dinner time when your spouse comes home. All decisions must be made by you, and all grievances ( and with three children there are lots!) must be heard by you. So even though it is only three days, the absence of a partner is sorely felt.

There are so many little details that when you parent as a team that you take for granted when the other person is not around. This morning I left the house without letting the dog out and forgot to take out the trash. Last night I ran around at midnight because I could not remember if I locked all the doors.  This morning I slept past the alarm (not sure if it even went off) and was running around like a lunatic making sure every child was dressed, groomed, and ready for camp only to realize in the car that I forgot to feed them breakfast (yay for Dunkin' Donuts).

Even the dog is a little "off" with my husband gone for a few days. She is a sweet dog, but can be loud and will bark ferociously at anything that may pass the window or knock at our door. She is a great comfort ( so I thought) to have when you are home alone. I let the girls sleep with me last night for a "slumber party" and at sometime in the middle of the night there was a small storm. We would all have slept through it, except for the darn dog!

Our fearless protector was so scared she climbed up to the top of the bed and tried crash our little slumber party. Mazel is a German Shepard mix, not a tiny dog, and in that moment she was trying to squeeze as close to us as she could. I was sleeping through the storm until I woke to my littlest one crying "mommy! mommy! help!"

"Wha..what..is it?" I say through my haze.

"Mazel..is..sitting on me!"

Huh? I look and there is the dog shaking with fear, and siting smack on top of my 4 year old, tail swishing in her face, trying to get some attention from the other side of the bed.

If it wasn't 1:30 in the morning I might have taken a picture of our big oafish dog smack on top of Shayna freaking out from the thunder. 

I think the weight on my shoulders got a bit heavier when I lifted the dog off of Shayna. So much for canine security....

Family Vacation

Wow, it has been quite a bit since I have blogged! I have been experiencing a bit of writers block as well as just hanging out at home this summer and reading all the books I put aside during the school year. I seem to be at a crossroad in my life, leaving behind my old career as a teacher and venturing of to law school in the fall.  However, my role as mom remains the same. In fact I have promised my older children that we can be "study buddies" as they make their way through middle school.

Summer...ah summer, I have fantasized how wonderful it would be with the children in camp during the day. I had plan to catch up on laundry ( hah!), organize the garage, and spend time at the beach(double hah!). Unfortunately, driving to three different camps all over the county and fitting in doctor appointments for the children has left me with about 1.5 hours a day to myself and this time is usually spent trying to read and cool off between scorching hot trips in and out of the car. Reality really is a bitch.

We did manage to make one trip to Disney World this summer.  They loved it, I survived.  I am not a theme park person. I have never understood standing in lines for hours for a 5 minute ride. I do not like the heat, the crowds, and the herd-like atmosphere of people following the pointing mickey hand to find their destination. But for the love of my children, I strapped on the fanny pack, packed the sunscreen, and lugged the stroller.

Our trip was decent until the last day, it had rained a little bit before, but the last day was nonstop rain. The kind that just soaks through your poncho and sloshes in your socks. We had save Hollywood studios for the last knowing they we could probably see all we wanted in half a day and then hit the road.  When we realized that the entire day was to be a deluge, my husband and I tried to convince the girls that we should just head home. Hannah and Shayna did not seem to mind, but Rachel was adamant we go to Hollywood Studio.  After all we had planned the trip, bought the 3 day passes, and this was the third day. We had a schedule and Rachel was firm in us keeping the schedule. Ira and I did not argue, because getting a little bit wet seemed better than listening to her screaming a fighting with her sisters all the way home.

I think we were soaked through, even with ponchos,before we even made it to the ticket gate.  After two shows, Rachel turned to me and said "My socks are wet and squishy!" ( not to mention I had to keep bailing out the stroller for fear of Shayna drowning!)

At this point, I seized on her vulnerability. "how would you like to change into some dry clothes in the van? We could go have lunch at a nice place on the road instead of shivering in our squishy socks?"

It worked! Not only did we get to dry off, but the cost of our meal at Perkin's for a family of five was much nicer than Disney's prices!