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?

A Social Media Love Affair

I've been sitting on this post for a few days.  Well, figuratively speaking that is!  You see, a few days ago, I posted on Facebook - 

"How does one deactivate a Facebook account please?"

I could almost hear the sniggers from my office!  "Are you leaving FB?"  "Melissa leaving Facebook - hahahahahhahaha".  It did make me laugh!  I replied they should know me well enough to know that would never happen!

I was, in fact, asking the question so I could deactivate my teenager's account.  Now that is a whole other story, that could possibly take up a dozen posts.  So let's just say it was time for a complete social media ban for my big baby boy.

Back to the main story here.  My love of social media.  I now frequent Facebook, Instagram, Skype, Twitter, Pinterest, Flickr and of course my blog.  I'm not ashamed to say I LOVE being active in all of these platforms.  In fact, if I hadn't been on them, I can guarantee you I wouldn't be running a small sewing business, I wouldn't be in touch with all of my friends and god forbid - I wouldn't be quilting!

Facebook has allowed me to keep up with every single person I know.  Well apart from a very small minority of friends who have not actually got a Facebook account (gasp!).  I get to see the day to day happenings of my god children, who all live interstate or overseas.  I have been able to have conversations with friends on a regular basis - meaning that I never have to wonder what they've been up to.  I've joined countless FB groups - including sewing and quilting groups, which have been an amazing source of information and guidance.  I've met some fabulous online friends, whom have supported me through umpteen dramas and upheavals in my private life.  And on a different level - I've been able to keep an eye on what my teenager is up to!

I remember when Facebook started.  My BFF in London mentioned it to me and I was like "huh?"  But before long I'd embraced the concept and there was no looking back.  I am unapologetic for the fact I look like I am online 24 hours a day.  Yes, that is what I am assuming all of my friends think I do all day long.  Let's clear that up - I'm not.  My computer happens to be turned on 24 hours a day, however, I do manage to run a family of six, work part time outside of home and work part time at home.  I write this blog, I sew for pleasure and I also do a million other things OTHER than sit on Facebook!

My love for Instagram is growing by the day.  SOOOO much inspiration out there amongst the crafting community, and SOOOO many beautiful photos from all over the world!  Oh, and have I mentioned the giveaways I have miraculously won?  Ahuh!

And don't even get me started on Pinterest.....Seriously, the people who invented it are geniuses!  Want a recipe?  Pinterest.  Want a tutorial?  Pinterest.  Renovating?  Pinterest.  The lists go on, and on, and on.

And last but not least - Flickr.  Another fabulous community of people!  And it makes the sharing of photos here on my blog so. much. easier.

So why am I writing this post?  Well, because after asking that little question the other day, it occurred to me that some people seem a little embarrassed to say how much they love social media.  I know many of my friends don't post on Facebook, but I know they've been there - lurking.  How else would they know that so-and-so has stubbed their toe on the couch and had to spend countless hours in emergency to find it's not broken?  *lol*

I say embrace your social media love!  Don't apologise for updating your status 500 times a day!  If that's what you want to do - do it!  If people are offended by your regular postings - tell them to delete you!

Ok.  That's my little rant for this morning.  I do actually need to get off my ass and go finish some more cushion covers!  Oh, and check Facebook......

Are you a social media nut?  

T.G.I.F.F. - Just In The Nick Of Time!

Ever since becoming a shift worker, almost 17 years ago, I have relied upon my trusty diary to tell me where I should be and what I should be doing.  It has also been a saving grace as our family expanded, again, and again, and again!  But as my dear iPhone and iMac entered my life, a new member of the family has been welcomed - iCal.  My poor paper diary is a little neglected these days, as I find myself tapping reminders, appointments and birthdays in to my trusty phone.  And setting the alarms so I never forget anything!  Why am I telling you this?  Well, because I have a few very special little people in my life, outside of my immediate family.  And a certain young lady is having a birthday next week, and thank the lord I put a reminder in my calendar to make her something this week!

You may remember me bitching and moaning, and literally melting my way through the last couple of weeks?  Thankfully some cooler weather has fallen on us, so I have been able to return to my little sweat shop to whip this little baby up!

I stood in front of the Flying Geese block for about an hour before deciding which direction to take.  It needed to be bigger in size, so I just added an inch of the purple/green Terrain print, then another two inches of black before getting to the quilting!

And then I ummmed and ahhhhed about how to quilt it?  And which colour thread to use?  I cracked open another spool of Aurifil, this time the colour is #2605 - a gorgeous silver/grey.  I am slowly but surely falling in love with these threads, as I had been assured I would!  I never understood how thread could be such a big deal, but it really is so shimmery and lovely - and my trusty Bernina REALLY likes it!

The receiver of this gift has a penchant for purple, but I didn't have long nor wide enough amounts of purple Terrain left, so I went with the orange.  Which actually works beautifully with the print I purchased for the backing.  I LOVE all the wonderful statements on this print, and think it is just perfect for a 15 year old girl.  I haven't had time to get the right size cushion insert, so stole this out of one sitting on my lounge!  Just a tad "fat".

And here it is empty.  Why can't fabric manufacturers print straight!?!?!?!

So that is basically all that I have managed to finish this week.  But I have BIG plans for this coming week!  Fingers crossed the weather plays along.

I'm linking up with T.G.I.F.F. over at
Dreaming In Patchwork!

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!

I've got My Ranty Pants on.....Again

So I have my ranty pants on tonight.  Most of my ranting of late is to do with social networking and teenagers.  Basically because I have a teenager and he lives and breaths social networking.  Don't get me wrong - I am quite obviously in to social networking, but the past six months or so have opened my eyes way more than I am comfortable with in regards to the way our teenagers are portraying themselves to the world.

And here are just a couple of examples why.....

I've been banging on to Lochie about being aware of what he is "liking" on FB.  The fact that when I look through my newsfeed I can see that he likes 50 girls status's and/or photos of them leaning forward in to the camera lens with their tongue hanging out the side of their mouths makes me queasy.  Not because he likes that sort of shit - he's a teenage boy with a pulse - but because these girls are putting that crap up there for him and a million other boys and possibly pedophiles to see....

The fact that I can then (if I wanted to) right click on any of said photos and save them to my computer makes me ill.  And I'm a harmless, 37 year old Mother of four.  Who else could save these photos to salivate over???

Then there's the posts he likes from ridiculous FB pages and/or groups.  One of them was beautifully titled "Straya C*nts".  Lovely.  Let's just say I was able to delete this page from his list whilst I still had his password...  I pointed out to my beloved son that not only was I seeing this shit in my newsfeed, so were his grandparents and potentially anyone else who had eyesight.  I am no prude, and have been known to drop the odd "C" bomb, but would not and could not in front of my parents or grandparents.

Last week was the straw that broke the camel's Mummy's sanity!  Now that Instagram is gaining a tight hold on everyone, it seems a young girl whom I'm assuming is probably quite charming, has named herself "Infinity Whore"......and Lochie is "following" her.  There are so many things wrong with this scenario I don't even know where to begin.  The bottom line is this - no 14 year old girl should be naming herself in any way, shape or form a Whore.  Not for amusement, not for popularity and certainly not for anything but degradation.  Unfortunately it took quite a few conversations, raised voices and the reality that he will some day in the near future have two sisters the same age as this girl, to finally get through to him that this was NOT OK.  Oh, and a phone call to his Father threatening not to pay phone bills or give him access to any form of internet and/or phone if he did not use communication tools in a way I find respectable.

  I posted this on his FB page and we spoke about it.  I think I'm on track....

{Source unknown due to random FB post}

To top all of this, last night whilst scrolling through  FB world, I see my darling son has liked a young girl's status about it being nice to know that some people care out there.  For some unknown reason it raised my curiosity, and when I clicked on this girl's page I was horrified.  There were several posts about wanting to kill herself.  About how close she lives to a train line.  And that she had tried to kill herself the previous night.  As I read through it all, I wondered who her parents were?  I wondered who I could contact to let them know their baby was in trouble?  And as I scrolled down this stranger's page, I recognised two other children in her photos.......  They just happen to be a friend's children, and after emailing said friend, I find out this morning that she is the friend's step-daughter.

My friend was very grateful I had emailed her, and during a phone call this morning explained that the young girl had been banned from FB, but had obviously opened up her own account and gone on to block all family members from any access to her page.  What she didn't think about was the ever growing six degrees of separation that FB has helped to create and make public.  Her step-mother now has screen shots of her page so she can somehow deal with the situation at hand.

Now I questioned my actions this morning.  Should I have butted in?  Should I have made contact and let this girl's family know what was going on?  I DID NOT HESITATE.  I would want someone - anyone, to butt in and contact me if God forbid I had no idea.  And as another friend pointed out - I could not live with myself if I hadn't and something happened.

It has also made me wonder how parents are dealing with the 24/7 presence of social media in our children's lives?  Another friend asked me last week how long I thought it would be before Lochie would no longer allow me to be friends with him on FB?  Ummmmmm - how about NEVER?!?!  We have rules in this family - and many relate to his usage of FB.  I believe that having his password for the first couple of years he was on there was the single most smartest thing I could have done.  I picked up so many inappropriate things, but turned them in to lessons for him.  He knows that if he wants to use FB, he needs to follow my wishes of using it respectfully - OR HE WON'T HAVE IT.  As I said to him last week - having his phone, laptop and unlimited access to WiFi is a PRIVILEGE,  NOT A RIGHT.  And I am more than happy to remove his privileges whenever I see fit.....

Sooooo..........how are you dealing with your kids and social media?  Would you alert a parent to a potential issue on their child's page?

Discuss.....

Monday Funday

A bit of Monday night random thoughts for you all.....cos I know you need it!

Please tell me I am not the only person who is regularly greeted with poo in the toilet?  You know, you innocently walk into the bathroom and go to sit on the toilet to see that the person before you has not only failed to use toilet paper, but has also failed to flush?  Do little kids just have this inept ability to "snap one off", or could it be that they have no problem walking around with poo stuck to their undies every day?

Told you it was random.....

I am taking a strange amount of joy in taping empty boxes together and filling them ONLY with stuff I am remotely interested in carting to the new house.  I am taking even MORE joy in putting a whole bunch of crap next to said boxes, preparing them to go to their new home at the OP shop!  Or bin - sssshhhhhhhhh........

I continue to be freaked out by the 13 year old MAN that is residing in my house.  It just IS NOT RIGHT that he has gone from being a little boy to a mumbling, deep-voiced, pimply and somewhat hairy human being.  It does not help that this person also thinks he can raise his voice and question every. single. thing. we. say.  Nope, not helpful at all.

I wore leggings today.  And leopard print.  Together.  I got some strange looks - I'm always in jeans or skirts - I think everyone at school pick up was confused?  Cadyn was confused - Cheetah or Leopard?

We watched an epic of a basketball game on Saturday - Chelsea's under 10 team in the grand final - coached by my husband.  They came from behind to draw and went in to double overtime.  At some stage during the last 15 minutes of the game I felt like I was going to keel over.  The Mum sitting next to me said I went white as a ghost whilst I took the "Brace" position you learn over many years of watching serious airline stewards.  Lucky for me I had lollies in my bag and powerade was rampant on the bench!  I can laugh about it now - but the serious side of this is that I have had a pathology request on the fridge for two months now.  I'm off to have my GTT test tomorrow.  Remember the two hour torture glucose test you have to have when you're pregnant?  I am *meant* to have them every two years - post gestational diabetes with all four kids.  These funny little episodes I have been experiencing for a few months now are hopefully not indicative of anything serious......cos I will seriously KILL someone if I can't eat chocolate or lollies anymore!!!!

And last but not least in this Monday mundane.  During Chelsea and my post-grand-final-loss-shopping-trip, we I came across this delightful product.....

If I were Kate Middleton/Wales, I would not be a happy Princess!

School sucks...sorta

I organised to have today off work over two weeks ago.  My astoundingly athletically talented freakishly flukey daughter, Chelsea, is running in the district cross country today!  To say I was surprised when she told me this little pearler, would be an understatement.  Let me clarify - she spent the first two seasons of basketball skipping down the court and looking off into space as if the fairies were coaxing her to their toadstool.  Obviously one season of serious basketball with her hard-ass Dad as coach has paid off - she can run!

Anyway, I digress.  So today was meant to be one of relaxing, getting my nails done, taming my eyebrows and generally doing whatever the hell I wanted, oh as well as watching Chelsea run.  This is how my day went.....

At 8.30am, I rang Lochie's high school and demanded requested a meeting with his level co-ordinator.  She obliged and said she would see me at 10am.  I then had to rearrange my appointment to meet with the renovator at the house.  Check.  I spent the hour before school meeting pouring bleach all over the tiles in the bathroom and scrubbing them with a toothbrush.  Cos that's what you do when you're annoyed with something yeh?  I inhaled said bleach and started packing.  Who knew we had so many freaking books!!  Honestly - I don't think I ever actually see anyone reading them?  Oh well, they're packed and moving with us, so they can patiently sit on the bookshelf in the hope that someone will read them again.

Meeting at school was actually with the co-ordinator AND the Vice Principal.  This shit just got serious.  To cut a really long story short - a few weeks ago Lochie told me of some issues he had with one of his teachers.  I rang the co-ordinator at the time and discussed with her my concerns.  She reassured me that it would be dealt with.  It was. A week after that I had to ring her again with a more serious concern.  After getting off the phone I was sure it too would be sorted out.  I was wrong.

So this morning I find myself in this office trying to convey my frustration.  Thankfully they were very understanding and apologised that this had not been dealt with in a more timely manner.  Then it happened - I got emotional.  FUCK IT!  Why do I always feel like crying when I'm passionate about something??  Anywho - I got all of my points across, and was thanked for being a parent who cared enough about my child's education to try and work it out.  Lochie had a meeting with the Teacher and her superiors, and it "seems" to be sorted out....along with an apology to him from said teacher.

Chelsea survived the cross country.  133rd from 160+ kids......I think that's pretty damn good. She was stuffed.  I lasted 30 minutes at cross country.....I was stuffed.  Headed straight for the shopping centre...

I forget how quiet it is when you get to have lunch by yourself.  Albeit with a million people rushing past your seat, busily going about their lives and all important shopping.  But I sucked in that serenity and took advantage of it.

The rest of the afternoon fell into place.  The nails were done, as were the eyebrows.  I even managed 20 minutes of torture via the chinese massage place.  Heaven. 

How do you spend your days off?  Is bleach and/or wax involved?

Being Blonde AND Brainy

I'm really amused and annoyed at myself right now!  I've just returned home from dropping Lochie off at basketball training.  And whilst that in itself was enough to have me in tears - I mean, really, when did my little boy turn in to a tallish, lankyish version of his old self?  I jumped in the car to return home to be greeted with a little red light, a beeping noise and my the car's temperature gauge almost bursting out of the dashboard!  Hmmmmm.  Whilst panic was setting in, I rang my husband.  Why? Not because I thought he could fix it (we are both mechanically challenged) but because I was worried I would konk out somewhere.  He was still at work on the other side of the city, and the two middle kids were at home whilst I made the ten minute return trip to the basketball stadium!!

About that time I had to make a choice.  Do I continue home in the hope I make it?  Or do I pull in to the service station to see what the problem was scratch my head and vacantly look under my bonnet?  I chose the second option.

Now I know this much about cars - they have a radiator.  Said radiator should be full of water.  Said car should be serviced at regular intervals so that mechanically minded employee can ensure it has water.  Let's just say........it was not full, because it hasn't been serviced in quite some time.  Whoops.

Whilst I stood there looking at empty radiator water container thingy, I remembered you should not open a radiator cap thing whilst they are hot.  So I stared a bit longer before a fellow who looked like he may vaguely know what he is doing pulled up next to me.  And I did what any blonde woman with a small child in their car would do, when they have no idea what to do.  I said:

"Excuse me?  I have a dumb blonde question: If the light is flashing and beeping and the temperature is super hot does that mean my radiator is empty?"

As I started speaking, I wanted to slap myself!  This lovely gentleman made light of my dumb blonde reference and was actually impressed amused that I even knew what a radiator was.

Thankfully, he took over the situation.  Got some big piece of rag type fabric from his van (do all middle aged men carry rags in their cars!?!) and calmly opened the radiator cap which was by this time a steaming furnace.  TWO BIG WATERING CANS later - and my radiator was full again!  She was bone dry.  Again - whoops.

Sooooo........the next dilemma.  Do I take my delightful 1999 Ford Station Wagon to be serviced and pay what will probably be a small fortune?  Or do I take the small fortune and trade her in for a later model baby?  Decisions, decisions.

Do you make jokes on your own behalf when you're feeling a bit silly and awkward?  

NO MORE BLONDE JOKES FOR ME!

Randomness

Today's post is brought to you by the letter C.  For CAT.  The same cat that just opened the bathroom door whilst I was sitting on the toilet.  Not only do I have to contend with children invading my privacy, I also have a cat who doesn't care..... It made me think of all the randomness I have come across today, whilst going about the million other things I accomplished.  Have you ever thought of all the things you have managed to get done in one day?  Write a list - it can be pretty impressive.

*  Whoever it was that invented the recorder....should have it shoved somewhere the sun doesn't shine.  Seriously.  Chelsea has waited oh so patiently to get to Grade 3, so that 1. She can join the choir and 2. She can play the recorder.  The singing I can deal with - she actually has a lovely voice and can belt out a tune no worries.  The recorder on the other hand has become one of the many banes of my existence.  If I hear "Hot Cross Buns" one more time, I could be put away for recorder snapping......and I don't mean taking a photo of it!

*  In keeping with family entertainment, apparently we have a tribe of show ponies.  This last week has brought many a show for our thorough enjoyment.  The build up to these "shows" is intense.  Andrew and I are given handmade tickets, and told to hold on to them for safe-keeping.  The rehearsals go for all of 20 minutes, and then it's SHOW TIME....

Watching 3 children bounce around a trampoline is highly entertaining, especially when the old "double bounce" comes in to play, and the 3 year old goes flying...

*  When Lochie was nine, he decided he wanted to move to Darwin with his Dad.  After much soul-searching, I let him go.  It was the longest two years of my life, and the months between school holidays would go so slowly, and the week he would fly in to spend with us would go ever so fast.  One of those visits, he took some chalk and did this, on the side of our garage....

Admittedly, I was a tad annoyed when I saw what he had done, but was smart enough not to wash it away.  Years later, it brings a smile to my face.  Especially now that he is a teenager and will probably never admit publicly to loving us all again.....

*  We have lived for the past few years with our hot and cold water tap backwards.  Everyone in this household is used to them.  It's only when we get visitors that we remember how backwards we are.  What is funnier is when it's your retired plumber Dad points it out......but doesn't change it over for you!

*  I live with a fanatical Hawks supporter.  Oh, and my husband.  I never thought anyone could be more sports mad than Andrew, but Cadyn has overtaken him, in leaps and bounds.  I have kept the walls in our back room in check for a few years.  But I know he's itching to fill all of them with paraphernalia.  Cadyn's bedroom walls - and windows - are plastered in posters, and given that when he can't find any footy or cricket on the television, he will watch (and commentate) darts - I don't think there's any hope for his future wife.....

 

*  This is something I've been working on for a special showcase over at Handmade Love.  Handmade Showcase is full of super talented people and the challenge is to all use the same collections of fabrics to come up with creations that the public can then go in to a ballot to purchase!  This gorgeous Vivienne skirt is now just waiting on a top half to compliment it.  I love it.

*  This used to be an office/dining room.  Now it's not.  Whoops.

*  I just overheard Cadyn ask Chelsea if she knew what a porn was?  Ummmmm........I froze and waited for the rest of the conversation.....turns out he was talking about chess club - PHEW!

What randomness have you come across lately?  Do you want to snap a recorder when you hear one?

Teenager - Part Two

Only a few months ago, I was celebrating a new chapter in this household - we had a teenager in our company.  Fast forward, and I'm wondering why on earth I was celebrating?!?!?!

This past few weeks have brought moments of fear, horror and complete disbelief.  My son is no longer the innocent little man I mistakenly thought he would always be.

      Exhibit A - Driving in our new automobile, which has whiz-bang techno gadgets, and means we have a USB stick full of music that can be played.  Cool right?  Choosing song to play and I hear "Dedication to my ex" from the back seat.  I say "what ex?"......"Mum, it's a song".  Ok then.  I'm getting old.  The next day I remembered the song, so thought I would have a listen.  Mistake.  I nearly crashed the car.  You have more than likely heard the radio edit of this song, but here's the version my husband got from iTunes for the kids......  Dedication to my Ex - Explicit Version!  I just love that Lochie now has that song to sing out loud and proud......not.

      Exhibit B - Driving in my bomb-of-a-car, approximately 8pm.  Advertisement on the radio comes on.  For "Little Horny Devils".....ah----hemmmmmmm.......  It goes a little something like this - "toys that go buzz in the night"!  I'm trying to act like there's no sound in the car at all.  And then it happened.  The giggle. I look at him and ask him what he's laughing about?  "The Ad" he guffaws....... Oh Lord give me strength - he understands the bloody ad....

      Exhibit C - Sitting at our family dinner at an Indian Restaurant on Sunday night.  There's a tv in the restaurant playing the cricket, cos that's how they roll.  Ad comes on (frickin ads!!!) - and Lochie comes out with something about "The Hangover".  It becomes very clear that he has watched the movie.  I am past unimpressed, moving onto furious.  My interrogation begins quite calmly, until it occurs to me that I have next to no control what my 13 year old is doing, watching etc at other people's homes.  This frightens me.  My fear continues until I let loose at him last night.  And these are some of the things I said to him....

"You are 13, you have the rest of your life to watch that shit.

You are a kid, you don't need to watch sex, drugs and whatever else is in that shit.

You are supposed to be responsible and know what I would and wouldn't be happy with you watching."

The list goes on.....  But what it boils down to is this.  I have a teenager.  A teenage boy.  And it scares the shit out of me.  He has always been very responsible, thoughtful and pretty trustful.  But I fear the age of 13 has brought a whole new kettle of fish in to the equation?  I know I can't wrap him up in cotton wool, but there's a whole big world out there, full of things I don't think he's ready or prepared for, and I don't know how to cope with it.

How do you cope with your children moving in to teenage years?