first, has it REALLY been that long since i posted here? i know i'm doing so less because i'm on the desktop less, but i hadn't realized that it was THAT much less. not that life has loaded us up with something new everyday or that i have incredibly witty things to say, but still...TWO weeks? really, i have no excuse except for last week being the kids vacation so my one writing time was no longer, well, not available isn't quite the right phrase since it was available, i just wasn't awake at the time because i use the early morning when getting the kids off to school to do the stuff that requires my html program.
anyway, as of today, vacation is over and done, thank god. i love my kids, but i think they and i need that time apart from each that is provided by school. i know taz in particular misses school when it's out, even though he gets to watch a bit more tv. like all my kids, he likes school.
yes, i do know exactly how strange the children are. they've all been like that. but i do recall being like that myself. of course, unlike my children, my teenagerhood was spent otherwise in the mountains, in a tiny community that held absolutely nothing of interest to a teenager except sex and drugs, and i was so not into either.
okay, so maybe it's not quite so different for them—it's not like we go anywhere or they can walk any place that's all that interesting. though jewel used to walk to school when she missed the bus because we didn't have two cars and saxy used ours to get to work at the time.
at any rate, i am even more glad than usual that school has once again begun. froggy, my sweet gentle froggy, has gone full snot mode. yes, she has finally hit the developmental stage of staring, ignoring, and total attitude. and it came out in SPADES this past week, ESPECIALLY over the weekend in regards to chores. there is nothing unusual in having chores, the kids have always had them. in fact, we're getting taz to help with them a little—he's learning to help with the laundry (as in switching the loads from washer to drier and taking them out of the drier) and is now taking out the trash. but this past weekend, you would have thought i was imposing sooooo much on her time. she dawdled worse than every, we had to tell her to do everything not once but three or four times (and she's been doing this stuff for years), and when we did tell her? oh the looks that could have peeled paint off the wall, the mutterings under the breath, the rolling of the eyes, the bickering and arguing, the total attitude, it was ALL there. now granted, she's never been as bad as jewel since she rarely disrupts the house, but i did look at her at one point and say that if she really wanted to be kicked out at 17 like her sister, she should let me know now.
yea, that didn't go over well.
but, seriously, the girl doesn't want to be compared to jewel while she gets every closer to jewel's behavior. this weekend, she even took kitten's dvd player and hid it in her room, along with one of her sister's dvd's. we suspect that's what kept her occupied so much that we had to stay on top of her regarding her chores.
oh, and that whole living in the bathroom thing that girls go through has begun as well. she's in there three or four times a day, even when not going anywhere, not even outside! for some reason, that drives saxy up the wall more than anything else she does. she goes in, and stays in for a veeeerrry long time. and seriously, i have no idea what she does in there. she's not allowed to wear makeup yet—she hasn't shown us the responsibility that indicates she's ready for it. and i never was a mirror hog as a teenager. hell, i don't recall either kitten or jewel being this bad when it came to spending time in front of the mirror.
i am seriously so not impressed with the "new" froggy, and even more certain now that we need the time apart school provides.
because, really, i hate this age and really want it OVER. even more so that she can do all this and still turn around and be miss sweetness. i mean, seriously, how can a child be so sweet as she defies you? it's mind boggling. at least the snottiness, as much as i can't stand it, makes sense!
so, yes, thank god for the return to school (which i'm really beginning to think was created for parental sanity). now things can get back to normal around here. kitten is back from her vacation as well, so much of the next couple of weeks will be spent getting back into the routines we had two weeks ago—especially since she brought home a crazy baby. but once crazy baby gets back into the old habits, i'll have at least 6 waking hours of sweet peace without all the attitude.
