All Wrapped Up!

Monday is usually a work day for me, but I took today off in order to get myself to a chiropractor.  I've had a very bad headache/migraine for eight days now, and really was getting quite sick of myself!  So after being cracked, poked and prodded, I got out a free tutorial I saw recently and tackled it (whilst watching the Oscars - ssshhhhhh!).

 

Isn't it gorgeous!?!  Jess from Craftiness is Not Optional provides a free pattern for a reversible wrap top.  I have changed it up a little here and there and I have up-sized it using the same steps I shared in my tutorial HERE.  This is a size six.  Jess's tutorial is really easy to follow!

 

I just love this Amy Butler print!  The little yellow flower print co-ordinates beautifully!

 

Miss Chloe was VERY happy when she got home from school and discovered she had a new addition to her wardrobe......

And even more delighted when I pointed out she really had TWO new tops!

Now, what can I make next???

A Wedding Gift & The End Of An Era

You know what I love?  I love when I make something and post a photo on my Facebook page, that someone else loves it too and immediately orders one!  That's exactly what happened a couple of weeks ago when I finished the ring bearer's cushion for my brother-in-law's upcoming wedding!

The customer requested specific fabric for the cushion - which I had none of!  Lucky for me, I'm in a few fabulous FB groups, and put a call out for scraps of Sugar Flower.  Even luckier for me, a couple of lovely women came to the rescue!  And yesterday, I spent the afternoon putting the order together.....

I adore this little paper piecing pattern by Quiet Play.  I already have another one printed out, ready to make a third!  I used the old faithful Aurifil #2024 to piece and quilt all the little pebbles on the front.  I'm getting pretty damn good at those damn pebbles!  It's taken a few projects to get in to my pebbling groove - proof that practice makes better.

Can you believe the back of the cushion is made from two scraps?!!?!?  Thanks Toni!!!  I love how bright and sunny this print is.

I heart hearts!

My favourite, but most nerve wracking part of these cushions, is the stamping.  I bought these divine little stamp sets before Christmas, not having any purpose in mind - just because they were cute!  And they have already been used twice!  Who knew!??!

And just because I've been talking about it for weeks now, Chloe started school today!  In what I can only describe as "an end of an era", today ended 15 years of having a child/children home with me.  Whilst I can confirm I did not cry when we dropped her off, I cannot deny my throat closing over and choking up last night when I got her uniform out.  And I can also not deny the tears that were shed this morning whilst I was by myself.  I'm sure there will be more tears over the coming weeks and months, when I find myself wondering where my little quiet companion is?

The four most precious "little" people in my life.

And the fifth, who started work late so he could continue the tradition of taking our kids to their first day of school.

THIS is what I will miss!

I'm linking up with Pretty Bobbins and Quiet Play - You can too!

Checking In

I feel like I've haven't posted for AGES.  But, in reality, it's only been a few days.  Go figure.  I think the reason I feel like this, is that I haven't posted "personally" as such for a long time?  Well, here's a catch up on what's been happening in this corner of the world for the past few months.....

My kids are growing up.  Like, seriously growing up, and out, and around.  We've celebrated a couple of birthdays..... Cadyn's cricket cake was a hit, and Chloe had a Rainbow themed party for her 5th birthday - and it was an absolute blast!

My biggest boy had his Confirmation.  Seeing him look so smart in his "proper" trousers, a dress shirt and tie almost killed me!  He's so grown up!

And Ms Chelsea?  Well, she is finding a style all on her own!  At ten years of age, she is able to walk out of the house in some "interesting" fashion choices, and works them like nobody's business!  Although her mood swings and delightful eye-rolling are driving us all insane, she is certainly growing up to be a fabulous individual.

Apart from the kids, I have been kept busy with work and a little bit of play.  I'm over my strange little bout of mystery illness that saw me spend a couple of days sitting in hospital, but still curious to find out what on earth caused it.  My husband has put money on stress......

And yes, I have been stressed.  I've been going through a - up til now- rather private battle.  A battle with the much maligned mental illness.  Not my own, but my sister's.  I've said before that it's not my story to tell, however, this past few months have given me my own story - one of a sibling struggling to keep their head above water, whilst paddling relentlessly, and not getting anywhere fast.

I am almost consumed by the need to help my darling sister and her beautiful little family.  I just want things to be better.  To be calm.  But I'm finding it's a battle that just isn't there for me to win.  It's something that yes, I can help to facilitate, but no - I can't fix it.  And that's hard to swallow.....

But on a brighter note......I thank my husband every. single. day.  Many years ago, he told me I needed a hobby.  My interests at that time were relegated to sitting on the lounge watching Oprah and Dr Phil, whilst wrangling multiple young children and a part time job.  The need for library bags and art smocks, when my Chelsea girl was starting primary school, has literally saved my sanity.  It was the beginning of a hobby that had been in hiding for almost 20 years.  I grew up watching my Mum sew.  Day and night.  It was her day job (she worked for many years in the wardrobe department at Dreamworld!), but it was also (and still is) her beloved hobby.

Library bags and smocks lead to frills and frocks.  The frills and frocks lead to quilts.  And the quilts have now lead me to a place of sheer bliss.  Sewing, and quilting, is my saving grace.  It's the place I go to when I need clarity.  When I need to just sit and chill - and the only worry I have is fabric placement and thread choices.

So thank you dear husband.  For the hobby that you told me I needed.  And the hobby I asked you the other night whether you regretted I had?  Your answer was perfect.....

"If it makes you happy"

***  P.S.  To all of the wonderful people who have left comments on my last few posts - I truly appreciate you taking the time to give me your encouragement and cheer me on in my sewing and quilting efforts! I literally have not had time to sit down and reply to all of you - so please forgive me!  I shall be back to replying asap. xxxx

T.G.I.F.F. - Pink Posy

It's a late night edition of T.G.I.F.F. tonight! I finished my gorgeous little Pink Posy quilt yesterday and I am hopelessly in love with it!  This darling little quilt will be up for sale at The Handmade Library's Pretty in Pink Showcase on 11th of September.  I'm feeling incredibly efficient having it finished now!

 

Isn't she lovely?  As I mentioned previously, I have never used this much pink in a quilt before, but am thoroughly pleased with the end result!  I basically went through my stash, after adding another half a dozen pink prints from a quick trip to Spotlight, and pulled out every single pink fabric I could find!  From each print, I cut 4.5" squares.  There are a few duplicates in there, but overall, there are 57 (if i counted correctly!) different pink prints here.  The white fabric is a Kona charm pack I bought ages ago, trimmed down.

 

I stuck with a really simple quilting design.  Lots of straight lines on the diagonals, and then around the border, I got my free motion on!  Gorgeous little flowers and meandering paths between them.  All the piecing and quilting has been done in a very pretty baby pink Gutermann thread.  I have almost completely run out of Aurifil and am waiting on my friends (YOU know who you are lol) to decide which ones they would like before I put my next bulk order in - so the Gutermann was called upon!  What I like about piecing with the pink, is that on the fabrics with a white background or just plain white, the pink almost shimmers through.  It's a lovely effect, and totally unplanned!

 

 I managed to fussy cut quite a few of them, which almost makes it like a little "I spy" quilt!

 

Pretty little pinwheels in the corners, that unfortunately lost some of their points in the process!

 

And one of the prettiest views of a quilt - all rolled up and yummy.

I'm linking up with T.G.I.F.F. being hosted over at Bedtime Quilting this week - You can too!

A Tale of Two Dresses

Every day, I receive a gazillion emails in my inbox.  They vary from the all important special sales online to recent blog posts from my faves.  Every now and then, there will also be an actual typed email from someone I know!  But, a few weeks ago I got an email telling me about a new pattern........and I kept that email because I loved the look of the dress, but had SO lost my passion for dressmaking that I didn't know if I would buy it, let alone make it.  

Fast forward to earlier last week.  I had some free time.  That does not happen very often.  I wandered in to Lincraft in the morning to get some denim for a new bag - only to find out that ALL of their fabric was half price!  BINGO!  So not only did I get denim, but I also found a couple of gorgeous lightweight cotton prints that would be nice for dresses.  It was right about then that my plans for bag making flew out the window.....

At around 2.30 in the afternoon, I started two dresses for my girls.  Not only are my daughters five and a half (the half matters you know) years apart in age - they are also poles apart in dress sense.  Miss almost five year old Chloe is a princess/barbie loving girly girl.  And Miss I'M TEN! Chelsea is trying to decide whether she is a high fashion supermodel or a beanie wearing goth....... Soooooo, here is the tale of the two dresses......in photos.......

Not so special just hanging around!

I finished both dresses around 8pm that night!  Hence the dodgy iPhone pics of the girls!

I guess I wanted to show you how different a dress can not only look on the hanger, compared to wearing, but also in the use of different prints and fabrics!  The little version (actually, it is TOO little - the sizing on this pattern was a tad small, so I've bought more of the bloom fabric to make her a bigger size - dress anyone??) is a poplin bordered print.  Perfect for this style of dress!  The bigger version (which falls beautifully below the hips - perfect sizing) is a lovely soft voile.  It's the first time I have sewn with voile, and it was great to work with!

Needless to say, both girls loved their dresses!  Now we just need the weather to switch over to Spring and they will be able to contemplate wearing them!

If you like this pattern, you can purchase it HERE.  It was pretty damn easy to follow, and the finish is neat and tidy.  There are also some beautiful options to change the look of the dresses.  I will certainly be making many more of them.

Have you tried any new patterns lately?  Sharing is caring!

xxx

PS - Have you entered my GIVEAWAY yet?

Raising a Child Takes A Village - Raising a Child with Social Media Involved Takes An Army.

If you've been around these parts for a while, you will know that I am partial to putting on my ranty pants.  I get my knickers in a knot about all kinds of interesting bullshit - but mostly about teenagers and the way things are today.

Enter today's post.

I think I'm doing an OK job as a parent.  I think that my eldest son's Dad and I, together with my husband and his Dad's partner, are banding together in some kind of strange unity to get him through these revolting teenage years.  If someone had of told me ten years ago that we would be working together, I would have laughed hysterically.  But a couple of months ago, when our son decided it was time to "up the ante" and test the proverbial waters, we all joined forces to SHUT THAT SHIT DOWN.

And it's worked.  So far.

What I AM struggling with, is being aware of everyone else's children.  Being aware of what they're up to, the shit they're getting in to.  And their parents being oblivious to it.  Hey, I'm not saying I'm perfect - clearly not.  It took almost six months for us to find out that our son had been feeding us bullshit sandwiches!  But in relation to social media - I'm on it.  I'm on his back - always have been, always will be.  We have explained to him what is and what is not acceptable when on social media applications.  That "liking" photos of scantly clad women with derogatory memes or FB pages called "Straya C*nt" not only offends me at times, it also shows up on all his other friends news feeds - including his grandmothers........ and that is NOT acceptable.  We have explained to him that just because a 15 year old girl has the username "Infinity_whore" (yes, you read that correctly), does not mean that it is OK.  It in fact means that she is not only degrading herself, she is allowing others to think it's OK to use such derogatory terms.  NOT OK.

I could go on.  And on.  And on.  I have so many tales to tell about instances we have had to pull him up and educate him on how we expect him to be using social media.  And how it doesn't matter whether other parents let their children use it - or in a lot of cases - don't give a shit about how their children use it.  What matters is how HE uses it.

I digress.  The reason I chose to write AGAIN about this, today, is because I have found myself in yet another quandary in regards to knowing about a child's behaviour and trying to decide whether or not to let said child's parents know?  I know the parents, from many years ago, but we are not friends as such.  I have stewed on the information for a couple of weeks now, debating how I would divulge the information?  Would I want to know if it were my young teenage daughter?  Would I want to hear it from someone else?  I put it out there late last night to my FB friends, and the resounding answer was YES.

So this morning I have been stewing further, going over several different drafts in my head, and have put it down in a FB message to before-mentioned Mother.  I am still yet to send it.

Earlier this year, I wrote this status on my personal FB page, after reading THIS post on MamaMia:

"Some of you already know this, but to everyone else - I will contact you if I see your kids posting inappropriately on social media, or if they're younger, just letting you know that their settings are public when perhaps you would like them to be private. I'm hoping you'd all do the same! Social media can be used so wonderfully - to engage with people in a wonderful way - it's such a shame that it gets used so shitfully at times. xx"

And a whole lot of friends agreed to do the same.  In the past couple of years, I've messaged, phoned and emailed parents when I've come across something I feel is either inappropriate or potentially dangerous with regard to their children.  It is always received gratefully, and in some instances, the parents have had absolutely no idea what Facebook or Instagram even are.

My best piece of advice?  Become an expert.  An expert on social media.  Learn how to use all forms of it.  And check in on your children.  See what they are "following", "liking" and laughing at.  Because without your direction and knowledge, they are trying to learn for themselves what is right and wrong.  They are learning from other kids, who possibly don't know what they're doing either.  Social media is a whole new world in terms of parenting.  I was trying to work out what to compare it to - but I've come up with nothing.  Nothing compares to the murky waters that social media has presented to us as parents.  And I hate to think that anything ever will.

Are you navigating the murky waters of teenagers and social media?  How's it working for you?

Fiji - A Review of Sorts!

A little over a week ago, I was sitting in a hammock, reading a great book and listening to the sound of gentle waves lapping at the shore.  The only thing that could remotely annoy me were the ever present "mozzies", but even they were easily tamed with some local insect repellant.  My husband and I had seven whole days of peace and tranquility.  We had relaxation overload.  We met new friends and learnt a lot about different cultures.  It was an experience that I shall never forget, and one that I would most eagerly repeat, time and time again.  Our "honeymoon" we had waited almost ten years for, was amazing.  So here is my "sharing is caring" post - and a review of sorts - if only to get you all to visit this little peace of heaven!  Enjoy....

Leaving Melbourne at 2am was never going to be ideal, and try as I may, I could not get a wink of sleep!  So we landed in Nadi a bit worse for wear.  Greeted by a lovely driver, we jumped in his car and took a delightful slightly hair raising two and a half hour drive up the coast.  From there, it was a 30 minute boat ride, across the seas to a little island called Beqa.  And on that island was our destination - Lalati Resort & Spa.  Thankfully, we had these beautiful coconut drinks and a foot massage to greet us!  Oh, and singing and smiles from the local staff. 

This was the view from our room.  Literally steps away from the beach.  The sound at night, of the gentle high tide waves, was beautiful.

Looking out to the jetty from the social hub of the resort.  When I say social, I mean it's here that you can sit around with any or all of the other 16 guests.  Yep, the most guests at this resort at any one time is 18.  And I think that's what makes it so. damn. special.  Oh, and the fact there's no children - which was perfect for all the honeymooners and late honeymooners like ourselves!  You can slip in to the water from the jetty and snorkle to your heart's content.  We saw so many beautiful fish there and amazing big blue starfish!

My husband - just hanging around.

Some of the wonderful staff - Ollie, Josiah and Chantal.  They all live in surrounding villages on the island.  And they were all gorgeous souls!  Josiah was most impressed that I could upload a photo for him to Facebook - so he now has a profile pic!

On our fifth day, Josiah took us on a visit to his village - Lalati village.  It's only a five minute walk from the resort, but it was like stepping back a bit in time.  EVERYONE wore a smile.  And the kids were just divine!  We all had a hoot taking photos, singing and dancing.  Unforgettable.

And on this visit, we took a look inside their church.  Fijians are quite a religious bunch, with churches in each village.  This gorgeous little piece of handwork was inside, so I had to get a photo!

This is me with Captain Josiah after I'd been snorkelling.  We took a boat trip out to the middle of the ocean and were dropped on to the reefs.  To say I was shitting myself would be an understatement, but I sucked it up and relaxed.  It paid off.  We saw reef sharks and amazing fish.  The coral was beautiful.

And this is us with a local firewalker.  Yep, these fellas are known for their ability to walk on hot rocks that have been burning for seven hours.  Not even a flinch!

Excuse the grainy photo from my iphone, but this little cherub kept me company during a Kava drinking and dancing ceremony in the village! We had lots of fun taking photos!

There was no escaping patchwork for me!  This darling skirt was offered to me to wear when we went on a hike up a mountain to a beautiful waterfall.  We had to walk through another village to get there, and the local women do not wear pants, only skirts, so to show our respect, we had to wear skirts over our pants whilst walking through.  Certainly doesn't go with my runners!

And this my friends?  This is a photo of two extremely relaxed and re-juvinated human beings!  I took it just before we departed the island and headed back to the mainland.

I left Lalati with more than I came with.  Not in terms of possessions, but my heart was full.  The people I met and the places we visited just re-itereated to me how bloody lucky I am.  And how much "stuff" we have.  We left some of our stuff over there.  Basically because they needed it more than we do.  I wish I could have had the foresight to have taken lots more with us.

So there you have it.  A destination that I would strongly suggest you all get to one day!  

Have you been on a holiday lately?  Where would you suggest we dream of going to next?

Some Would Say

Some people would say I am a sucker for punishment.  At times, I think I would agree with them!  Often when I think my plate can't get any fuller, it overflows.  Last Friday, I was reminded by my 14 year old that we had a Japanese student arriving today......For a split second, panic set in, but then moved along.  Until the same 14 year old told me he'd left all the information regarding said Japanese student in his locker at school.

After a quick phone call to the school late Friday afternoon, another quick phone call to the Japanese co-ordinator that evening and a fairly limited email of information close to midnight, I let it be and accepted that I would be a little unprepared for our visitor.

Fast forward to today.......  A quick re-shuffle of my work day meant that I was only five minutes late to pick him up from school - and an instant smile and a long thought out answer of "I'm good" from him meant we would be A-OK!

We have only had two weeks notice for this visit.  You see, the Australian and Japanese governments are working together to bring out these kids for an Australian experience.  This group of children are from the Minami Sanriku area in Japan.  Their town and surrounding areas were flattened by the tsunami a couple of years ago, so many of the children have lost everything.  I didn't think twice when the information came home asking for host families.

We've had conversations, albeit very quick ones, with our children about what our visitor may have been through, and I followed our Japanese co-ordinators advice and googled the town.  I was speechless.

Sooooo, it is with much pride and happiness that I have watched and listened to my children this afternoon and evening, communicating with Ryuoto (pronounced Rio-toe).  Playing Wii with him - which he told us he was very good at, and then proved it very quickly!  They've taken him over to the local park and are now sitting with him watching tv.  He loved my cooking - telling me very clearly that my roast beef was delicious!  He can stay.....

This is the third time we have had a Japanese student stay with us, and although the first experience was extremely difficult and could have quite easily put us off ever hosting again, the second time was a breeze and joy!  I am so glad that my kids are so accepting and willing to go out of their way to make someone feel so welcome.  I think by the time all four of them have made it through high school, we could have a dozen or so extra children all over the world!

Google translater getting a run for its money.....

And the universal language of gaming......Bless.

Tell me - have you ever had an international student stay with you?  Would you?  Could you?

W.I.P. Wednesday - Amongst Other Enthralling Happenings!

This past week or so has thrown up the following......

My youngest starting Kindergarten.  No words required really, it's a huge step in the life of Chloe, but also in mine.  For the first time in over 14 years, I now have TWO WHOLE days without any children home.  I'm flying solo.  Whilst I am VERY excited by this change of routine - I'm also just getting in to the swing of things.....

Big Kinda Girl

My eldest broke up with is girlfriend.  At 14 years of age, the past few months have been a learning curve - for him and me.  I never thought I would have the conversations I have had, and certainly did not think I'd have to be having them so early!  My ranty pants returned, my reality check arrived and my role as a Mother changed a little.  I would like to say that I didn't have a smile on my face when he told us he'd broken up with her.....but i would be lying.....

I've talked periods with my nine-soon-to-be-ten year old daughter.  In front of my husband.  Another conversation I didn't necessarily envision happening the way it did!  BUT - a true sign of just how much things have changed since I was her age.

I found a teeny little dead possum in our front yard......being played with by our kitten.  I posted a photo of it on Instagram, basically because I was a little perplexed.  Its bucky teeth made me second guess whether it was in fact a rat?  The photo was then posted on FB, somehow delayed by hours.  It was then that I had it confirmed, yet again, that some people feel the need to make you feel like a bad human being, a bad pet owner and a hater of wildlife.  It was then that I also remembered the "block from posts" setting...... 

I had a dodgy ear.  Blocked for a whole 24 hours.  Not appealling - at all.  This lead to having my ear syringed.  Let it be said that this procedure is even less appealling than having a blocked ear!  BUT - the relief was amazing!

I saw "Silver Linings Playbook" at the cinema.  Had no idea what it was about until AFTER I'd bought the tickets.  Young girl behind counter says "It's about a guy with bi-polar"....... I knew then that I was in for an interesting couple of hours.  Brilliant movie, but a little too close to home for me.  I cried throughout the film, and then cried the whole way home.  That evening I had an errand to run nearby my sister's workplace. I popped in just to give her a hug.  Told her about the film and that although I will never fully understand mental illness, I was trying.  And I would always have her back - even though there would always be times when I'd have to retreat to protect myself.  Tears.

I had to figure out how to help my son help a friend of his at school, who it seems is having to deal with cyber bullying and general cruelty from others.  Makes me all the more grateful for the lack of technology when I was growing up.

I welcomed back my gorgeous boss and friend to work.  After the hardest time in her life and seven months on leave, it was so lovely to have her back.

I met another neighbour.  After they decided it would be a good idea to get a trap from the council and trap our little Bella kitten in their backyard.  Apparently they do not appreciate her shitting in their sandpit.  And apparently their common sense does not prevail.  I took my partially dehydrated pussy cat back home and googled "how to stop cats shitting in sandpits".  I'm still yet to find a solution to their problem - seeing as though they do not see putting a cover on their pit an option......  For now - Bella is inside!  Suggestions welcome!

And I also cut out this:

Chloe's Good Fortune Quilt

Tomorrow is my "rostered day off" from parenting.  That is, Chloe is at kinda.  So I'm binding her quilt finally!  I ordered the Good Fortune fabric for the binding from The Oz Material Girls.  Fabulous Australian online fabric store, which meant I had it within a couple of days.

And I just wanted to share with you an amazing tool I was directed to by Molli Sparkles!  I was trying my hardest to figure out how much binding I required - something I fail at spectacularly each and every time.  I asked my lovely friends in my quilting group how to work it out, when Molli piped up with a fabulous iPhone App called Quilt Calc.  It was like Angels sung and a full orchestra came in to play when it was loaded on to my phone!  Hallelujah!  For those of you who are mathematically challenged like myself - this app is a Godsend!

In the words of another famous Molly - Do yourself a favour!

I'm linking up with 

Sign Of The Times?

Do you remember when you were growing up and you'd hear your grandparents say "Back in my day...." or your parents say "when I was a girl....."?  Do you remember rolling your eyes and thinking "yeh, yeh" and wondering what all the fuss was about?  Thinking that all of them were just old fogies who had no idea about what you were going through, about the type of world you were growing up in?  And thinking "when I'm a parent, I'm NEVER going to be like that!"?  Well, I feel like I'm in a never-ending version of that complete paragraph at present!

One word - Teenagers.

I want to know what on earth has happened in the 20 years since I finished being a teenager?  Since when did it become OK to do everything that it wasn't OK to do when I was a teenager?  Have I really been living under a rock BOULDER???  I don't think I'm naive, I don't think I'm a fuddy duddy, in fact I think I'm a pretty COOL MUM.  But if the teenage years get more eventful and more testing the older they get - I could lose my cool.....

At 14 years of age, I had only just relinquished my Barbie dolls, started filling out a bra and was not remotely interested in sex.  Don't get me wrong - I had a pulse, and hormones, so I knew the opposite sex existed - I just wasn't interested nor prepared to get involved in anything more than a kiss.

Fast forward to 2013........where 13 year olds think it's OK to drop the F bomb in front of their friends' Mum.  Where parents think it's ok for the same age girls to roam the streets after 5pm, hang out with boys unsupervised and wear the most ridiculously skimpy clothes known to man.  Morals are thrown out the window (or maybe they're just not taught?), restrictions on phone calls don't exist (can you imagine calling someone at 11pm back in 1988?) and writing on FB that you're on the phone to your "sexy boyfriend".  13.  THIRTEEN.

You may have guessed what I'm dealing with?  I thought the fact I had to go and borrow the "Where do I come from" book last week, for the younger members of the family, was enough sex talk for at least a month, but apparently not.  It seems my world has now become one of repetitive conversations about what is appropriate and/or inappropriate behaviour.  

Remember this little gem of a book?

The expectations I have as a parent are pretty simple - I thought?  But I'm slowly realising that perhaps my expectations are completely out of whack with the time I'm living in?  A certain someone said to me today that he was "glad he doesn't have daughters".  And I replied that I was glad I did, because I will teach my daughters (and my sons!) morals, self-esteem and love.  That my daughters will have a slew of restrictions of what/how they can and cannot wear, do, say and behave.  And that there will be consequences for the choices they make in their lives.  Am I really being THAT unrealistic to think that I can have so much input in to how my children are going to turn out?  Do I have to just give in to the fact that times have changed and expectations appear to be somewhat lowered?

I'm doing my best.  I'm having VERY open and honest conversations on a very regular basis.  I'm ensuring the teenager is informed and protected.  But I feel like I'm going "against the tide" so to speak.

Do you have teenagers?  Do you have expectations?  Discuss!