Prom is Expensive

This weekend my oldest son will attend his high school prom for the first time. He has asked a friend of his to go with him and she gladly accepted. Today my husband took my son out to rent a hundred dollar tuxedo. That was in addition to the forty five dollar a piece tickets that are needed to get in the door. On top of that, there is a dinner expense for two which will easily exceed another fifty dollars. That is one fancy night out on the town for a fifteen year old that doesn't even have a job. Looks like he is going to be washing cars all summer!

FCAT

This week two of my children will take the FCAT and for those of you who don't know what that is, it is an acronym for Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. There is a huge amount of stress that comes with taking and administering this test. So, this morning I woke up an hour earlier to fix a special breakfast for my little darlings to prepare them for their big day. They ate a hearty breakfast and then we were out the door. I have done everything on my end to prepare them for the test. At the end of the school day, both boys came home and said that they thought the test was easy. I didn't tell them this, but I really don't care if the test was easy or not, all I want is for them to do their best. They both were so worried and stressed about the test this morning so I was happy when they came home with smiles on their faces. I think I had more of a concern over their anxiety level than anything else. I just didn't want them to psyche themselves out. In the end, I believe that they both will pass the FCAT and advance to the next grade.

Relay for Life

This weekend we had the most wonderful time giving back to our community and sharing the experience with our children. On Friday night we attended Relay for Life which is an American Cancer Society fundraiser. The event started at six in the evening and ran throughout the night until the next day at noon. My daughter's favorite part of Relay is the butterfly tent where she was able to get a little mini make-over. The tent is in memory of a Plant City High School girl who lost her own battle with cancer five years ago. Both of my sons enjoy the Limbo Line which neither of them was limber enough this year to win. Once it gets dark, the  lights are dimmed and there is a candlelight walk around the track in silence to remember all those who we have lost to the terrible disease. I don't know how much my children understand cancer, but what I do know is that they will remember the wonderful times that they had at Relay for Life and hopefully continue the habit if giving back to the community.

I Love Drama Kids

There are parties, but then again there are parties. And I love a good party just as much as the next person. I like to cut up and visit with old friends surrounded by a ton of great food. This weekend, we had a party of that magnitude. My oldest son performed in his final high school production of the year and so we decided to celebrate after the closing show. All of the cast and crew ended up at our house for some old fashioned barbecue. The title of the play was The History of America Abridged, so we thought barbecue would be very fitting with that theme. The kids began to arrive around 9:30 and ended up staying until 1:00. They ate, played XBOX and then acted out random scenes from other previous productions. My husband and I enjoyed just sitting back and watching them hang out together. Oftentimes drama kids get a bad rap for being a little weird. Yes, they are definitely a different breed. Even more important, they are so incredibly creative! Their minds seem to be filled with so many random facts--and show tunes. It will be very interesting to see where these kids are in ten to fifteen years. I am expecting greatness out of all of them!

Please Leave My Daughter Alone!

I think I have a pretty good idea about how five year old kindergartners act. I know that they like to be silly and say funny words. I also know they can be really sweet and show many signs of altruism. My children are not perfect, but they are very kind and compassionate to those around them. Why are they like this? They are like this because their father and I model this behavior for them. So when a child is mean to one of my own children, I have a hard time wrapping my brain around it. I do not like to run to the teacher and tell on another child and I generally tell my children to ignore “mean words” of other children. Recently my daughter has been coming home complaining that a little boy is calling her names in her classroom. This evening she even cried about it. I have talked to her about staying away from him, but this is not always possible in a classroom situation. Now I have to decide if I should write the teacher a note or not. Some mothers would not even hesitate to pick up the phone and call the teacher. I am not like that though. I tend to let situations work themselves out on their own. My daughter's tears got to me tonight. I do believe in this case I should write a little note to the teacher. After all, it is my responsibility to keep my children safe from all harm. Even the harm of “mean words”.

No Txting at the Dinner Table

When I was a little girl, we always ate dinner at the dining room table as a family. At dinner time, I would properly set the table with the dinner and salad fork on the left side of the plate and the knife and spoon set on the right side of the plate.  We would turn the television off and then all of us would sit down together and say the blessing. The meal itself wasn't fancy, but it was a time where we all came together.

Presently, in this very fast-paced technological world that we live in, getting everyone to sit down at the table together is no small task. Since it was such an important part of my childhood, I have tried to have the same sit down meals with my own family. Don't get me wrong, it doesn't happen every night of the week. Four out of seven days of the week, one of us has some kind of extracurricular activity. But on the nights that we all are home, we do manage to sit down at the table for a family meal.

The family dinner table is a place where we can come together to share the day's events and talk about our plans for the week. After a long day at school or work, the dinner table is a place where we can unwind and tell each other about how we are feeling. Somehow, this simple act of breaking bread together brings us all closer and keeps us in touch with one another.

There are two things that I ask of my children and husband when we are sitting down for a meal. The first one is that we turn off the television and the second one is no texting at the dinner table. My oldest son has a hard time letting go of his phone for dinner so we have asked him to leave it in his bedroom. Otherwise, the temptation is just too much when his phone vibrates.

If you are experiencing a disconnect from your family and you want to bring everyone closer together, then why not try sitting down at the dinner table and sharing some dialogue. Unplug from all the electronics that we have grown reliant on and engage in some family time. You have to eat anyway, so why not share a meal. It is a good habit to get into and promotes a strong family bond. Trust me when I say, the family dinner table won't solve all the problems of the world, but together as a family, you sure as heck can try.

Mr.Pants

Sometimes a seemingly innocent act can turn a situation into a fiasco. Last night, while cleaning up the kitchen after dinner, my oldest son ran in and "pantsed" his little brother. For those of you that aren't familiar with the term, it means to pull someone's pants down. This is all just horseplay between two brothers and everyone was enjoying the evening until in an instant the mood changed. In a retaliatory move, my younger son decided to attempt the same move on his older brother and when he went for the pants, his cell phone fell on the tile floor and cracked the screen. This is when all hell broke lose! Casey went into a teenage rage that put the fear of God into his little brother. Kyle immediately went into the ugly cry and ran to me for coverage. I of course, explained to Casey that it was all just an accident which meant absolutely nothing to him because  he was now without a phone.
In the end, they both went to bed angry at each other. The old adage about never going to bed angry doesn't apply at our house. Sometimes when kids are angry, it's just better for everyone to cool off--especially kids. This morning it was as if it never had happened. They were back to their old usual, playful selves.