One time, at band camp…
Peppermist is a Band Geek.
Don’t worry, she knows she is a band geek, and it’s one of the ‘labels’ she carries around proudly – right up there with drama nerd, and “PRETTY PRETTY PRINCESS”, though admittedly, she started that last one during a temper tantrum when she was just two years old. She’s played the clarinet since she was in 5th grade, squeaking out note after note as we proudly watched her perform in concert after concert. She’s gotten steadily better, though she’ll never be The Greatest Clarinet Player that EVER lived, because she has this aversion to steady practice. Go figure.
This year, however, she decided she wanted to add something new to her Band Geek status: Drum Line Color Guard – or, as we like to call it, she’s a “Twirl Girl”. She had considered doing it last year, but opted not too, so as not to miss breakfast with her Papa every morning. This year, her Papa is working different hours, and no longer can be there for breakfast (…which somehow translated into ME having to make breakfast for my own kids. It’s like I’m their MOM or something! WTF?!) so she jumped right into the fray.
This is frightening for a number of reasons.
– Practice is BEFORE SCHOOL at the lovely hour of 6:45. AM.
– Practice is also after school until 4 pm.
– 6:45 IN THE MORNING.
– She hasn’t seen 6:45 am willingly since the day she turned 13.
– I have to drive her to school. At 6:30 AM.
– Peppermist is not the most… shall we say… graceful of children.
– They gave her a BIG STICK with a FLAG on it. And expect her to twirl it around, gracefully.
– Without hitting anyone else.
– Or herself.
– AT 6:45 IN THE MORNING.
…this has comedic potential written ALL OVER IT, folks. Just sayin’.
Where the 'other' you lives…
As most of you know (but if you don’t, consider this the HI GUYS GUESS WHAT portion of the entry), I live in Alaska, and have for most of my life. One of the benefits of living here is the scenery – we’re surrounded by mountains, and hills and forests and trees and all the wildlife that entails – including (but not limited too) an annual parade of Mama and Baby moose that live in our neighborhood. One year one even birthed her calves in my sister’s back yard!
I only lived elsewhere for the first 8 years of my life, and the only really vivid memory I have of that city was the HUGE climbing tree in my front yard. Coincidentally, that’s also what I miss… a good climbing tree. These up here are… spindly. But fortunately, that’s not all there is to be explored around here!
I always love it when Deana emails me. She always has the good stuff! Recently, while we were moving to our new pages here, she sent me an email letting me know about the new PSA campaign from the US Forest Service and introduced “Where the other you lives”. It’s aim is simple – help you help your kids to reconnect with nature, disconnect the Game Systems for a while, and having some good, old fashioned, outdoor adventures!
While the campaign is aimed at our tweens, primarily, that doesn’t make it any less viable for your teenagers. If nothing else, they need to scope out their next wild and parentless party and/or lover’s lane location!
….what? 🙂
Here’s the thing. U.S. children spend 50% less time outdoors than 20 years ago, and research shows that children who play outside play more creatively, have lower stress levels, more active imaginations, are fitter and leaner, with stronger immune systems, a greater respect for themselves, others and the environment. An overwhelming amount of tweens even WANT to be out there hiking the trails and kicking rocks!
So what are YOU waiting for? Check out DiscoverTheForest.org for places to go and things to do. Find your way back to Nature today!
PS – speaking of the ever lovely Deana giving us the good stuff? Stay tuned! We’ve something AWESOME cooked up just for you! Be sure to check back in the upcoming days!!!
Those THREE GLORIOUS WORDS!
No, not ‘I love you’.
Not even ‘You’re not fat’.
Oh no. These three words are the best words any mother ever hears…
BACK TO SCHOOL!
Oh HELL yeah!
Its the day all kids – especially teenagers – dread, and all mom’s long for, it’s the day that I know means I can kick them out and then snuggle back into bed for a long winter’s nap. And on this first day, I don’t even MIND that I was working until 3:15 am, and my alarm went off at 6… no, because my kids? Are going back to school!
Aaaaaaaaah, peace and quiet.
They’ve been dreading it for weeks, you know. There’s NOTHING cool about back to school – except for that shopping trip with Nana which netted them with new outfits and fancy binders and all manner of sparkly cool things to wear and use. It finally hit The Boy last night as I picked him up from work.
We were talking about being broke – he just got paid, and the list of things needed for his truck is long, and sort of expensive. I said I knew the feeling, I’d paid bills, so was broke as well.
Him: We don’t need electric. I’ll get candles and I have books.
Me: The computers won’t work…
Him: did I SAY anything about my laptop?
Me; No… but no computers means nothing distracting for mom. i might, you know, start to TALK to you and ask QUESTIONS about your LIFE and DEMAND CONVERSATION. You know, like any other day, but WORSE… Like… any giiiiiirls I should know about?
Him: I only have ONE GIRL.
Me: (… knows where this is going) Is that so. Who?
Him: You! (hug!)
Me: You still have to go to school tomorrow.
Him: DAMMIT!
Me: (snicker!)
Despite his best smooze attempt, I still made sure he was awake at the bright hour of 6am, as well as Peppermist shortly thereafter so that she could get up, showered and dressed in her new finery. She even woke up her sister before I took the teens to school, so she could do the Pup’s hair. AND the BOY gave his sister a HUG. Awwwww.
So the teens are off already, the Pup will be catching the bus soon, and all signs point to “Mommy Nap Time” shortly after that.
Life? Is GOOD.
PS: Yes, Papa. I made their freakin’ pancakes. Stop nagging!
PPS: They fend for themselves tomorrow.
PPPS: please don’t remind me that said baby boy is a SENIOR this year. Peppermist is a SOPHOMORE. And the pup is in FIFTH GRADE. I don’t know how this happened. At all. Because I’m still 16.
PPPPS: Shut up. I can hear you laughing….
🙂
Zits!
No, no no. Not the “Omgewgrosspopthatbeforeittakesovertheworld” kind, but the cartoon kind!
That still sounds bad.
Anyway – the comic strip Zits, is finally letting one of it’s characters come of age! The ever lovely Marissa let me know earlier this month that all through August we can watch the star character, Jeremy Duncan, turn 16 and get his driver’s license. As we’ve been talking on that very subject here, it seemed a perfect place to spread the word (Though my apologies to Marissa, as it took me so long due to the change of venue from 451!).
Here’s a little bit more about the comic:
Zits Star FINALLY Gets a Driver’s License
New York, NY July 22, 2009 – At last! After 12 angst-filled years of being 15 years old, Jeremy Duncan is finally having a birthday, turning 16 and completing one of a teenager’s greatest rites of passage – taking his road test. Will he pass or fail? Will he finally drive his parents over the edge with his driving? Only time will tell.
In a special series that begins Mon., Aug. 3, fans of Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman’s popular Zits comic strip will be able to follow their favorite teen as he comes of age in the newspaper comics, both in print and in King Features’ new Comics Kingdom online portal. To see the series, please visit one of more than 40 Comics Kingdom partner news sites, including the New York Daily News, Denver Post, San Antonio Express-News, Toronto Star, Las Vegas Review Journal, Santa Fe New Mexican, Spokesman Review, Sarasota Herald-Tribune and Tulsa World.
When asked why they decided to tamper with the age of their strip’s star after 12 highly successful years in syndication, Scott and Borgman responded, “About the meanest thing you could do is freeze someone at 15. After a dozen years our consciences have gotten the better of us. It’s time to let the kid drive.”
Distributed by King Features to more than 1,600 newspapers in 45 countries and 15 languages, Zits features the daily adventures of the quintessential teenager With his loving parents, Walt and Connie Duncan, his best friend, Hector, and his on-again, off-again girlfriend, Sara Toomey, by his side, the perpetually slouching and disheveled Jeremy treads the murky waters of adolescence in oversized sneakers.
Zits is the brainchild of Pulitzer Prize-winning artist Jim Borgman, and award-winning cartoonist-writer Jerry Scott, who also co-creates the popular “Baby Blues” strip. Zits established itself early when it launched in July 1997 in more than 200 newspapers – one of the largest start-ups in comics history.
And my son thought I made HIM wait a long time for his license! 🙂
Did Jeremy pass? Find out here! And thanks Marissa for letting us know! 🙂
Insurance fright!
So he’ll soon be driving on his own – and you know what that means…
Heart attack for mom. But also, it means that my insurance rates are about to get all sorts of jacked up. Nana understands, and she sent me this article about how to cut the cost of insuring your teen.
Me, I think we should just lock them in their rooms and not let them go anywhere, but well, folks tend to frown on such things. I can’t understand WHY… 🙂
The article is full of tips to help us parents deal with the insurance woes – as well as some frightening statistics:
Unfortunately, inexperience combined with lack of judgment helps explain why young drivers are more likely to crash and to die:
* Car crashes are still the leading killer of people age 15 to 20.
* Young drivers are three times as likely to die in a crash as those aged 25 to 64.
* The younger the driver, the more accidents: The crash rate for 16-year-olds per million miles driven is nearly three times as high as for 19-year-olds, and nearly six times as high as drivers aged 20 to 24.
So now, I don’t feel quite so bad that my son still isn’t licensed at 17.5 years old. But my time (and ability to sleep) is running out. He’s a senior in high school starting Monday, and he has The Beast, which he – oddly enough – expects to be able to drive on his own at some point. Sheesh. Talk about high expectations!
Here are some of the suggestions to help keep down the cost:
1. Find out how your insurer assigns drivers to cars.
This is different with each insurer, and often they’ll assign the driver who’s most expensive (the Teenager) to the car that’s most expensive. Allstate does that, in order to help cover the risks of young drivers. This can double or even triple your premium, especially if you have new cars.
Suddenly I’m very glad we both have cars that are 16 and 37 years old, respectively. I’m also glad that I get to assign the drivers to our vehicles, it’s not done for me. Check it out through – and remember that it is usually cheaper still to put your teen on your policy rather than getting them their own. Don’t be scared to ask for a quote for all approaches though!
2. Keep those grades up!
Though driving ability is not based on your grades, some insurers will still give a discount to students who maintain a B average or better – Better students are seem as more responsible or something.
I’m screwed on this one. Moving on.
3. Take Driver’s Ed.
This is an AWESOME tip. It eases the mind of the parent knowing that they’ve been taught by a professional – so take this break if you can get it.
I made the choice to teach my kid – AND let my dad teach him. He taught me, and I do pretty good. That and I couldn’t afford the Driver’s Ed (it’s not offered through our schools), so. If you have the option, take it!
4. Jack up your deductibles.
common sense – higher deductibles, lower premium. It is scary though, but we all know it’s smarter to use the insurance for big disasters rather then covering small stuff out of pocket.
Besides – that dent gives your car CHARACTER. Right?
5. Take your college student off the policy.
Only if he’s not driving while at collage, of course.
6. Don’t buy new cars.
Sure, you want all the fancy new safety features for your kids, but the fact remains – new cars = more insurance. If you are serious about containing you overall costs – don’t buy a new car for yourself or your kid.
I got this one DOWN. And I only have the minimum required insurance on my vehicles. It’s the only way I can afford the insurance at all, to be honest.
7. Consider not reporting fender-benders.
Ok, so the insurance company HATES this idea – but really, is the scratch in your fender THAT big a deal? It’s overall a better idea to pay for it out of pocket, and keep mum. Or make your TEEN pay for it. They’ll think twice that way!
Those are all short term ways- but here’s some cost-cutting life-saving tips too.
Insist on more supervised driving.
Some states now require 50 hours of supervised driving, and have adopted a ‘graduated license requirement’. Alaska is one of those states. your first license is “Provisional” for 6 months, and you have to be alone in the car (unless it’s a sibling or an older licensed driver). While I would have complained about this requirement when I got MY license? I love the idea now that I’m a mom of a driving teen. 🙂
Restrict nighttime driving.
As I’m “nightblind” myself, this is a great idea in my opinion. Problem is – this works really well during our Summers, as we’re the land of the Midnight Sun. However, in the wintertime? Well, the kid will be driving in the dark.
Limit Passengers
Fatality risks rise with the number of people in the car, especially if the passengers are male. This is where my love of that provisional license comes in once again.
Limit other distractions
No cell phone, ease up on the bass on your stereo (or simply love that The Beast doesn’t even HAVE one) etc.
Zero Tolerance.
Here’s where my mantra comes in – TALK TO YOUR KIDS. They want this responsibility. You want them to be responsible. So get together with them, and discuss your individual rules for allowing them to live drive. Make sure that they know the consequences for going against the guidelines that you have agreed on. If necessary, make them sign a contract.
I can’t say it enough – TALK TO YOUR KIDS. There is nothing that beats that first, legal, solo drive. It’s a coming of age all it’s own, and we want it to be good for them, like it was for us. Tell them your war stories, tell them the good, the bad, the ugly, and let them voice their wants and concerns until you are both on the same page.
Then stick to it.
And put 911 on speed dial…
