The Man who came to dinner.
It’s official. My teenage daughter has completed the Geek Trifecta: Choir Geek, Band Geek, Drama Geek. Now, around here, that’s not a bad thing at all, as it falls in the family tradition – I played piano, was in many renditions of choir, and also a drama geek. Nana was two of the three, though she didn’t play an instrument (unless we count playing Papa like a fiddle! badaDUM!).
Anyway, being in drama runs in the family, that’s all I’m sayin. And this weekend, The Girl officially took her place as the newest in a long line of Drama Queens, as the Cook Sarah, in The Man who came to dinner.
I saw the first and the third (final) shows, and was told I HAD to attend the last one, as in the show I missed, she flubbed one of her lines. The Drama Teacher Mrs. J didn’t even notice though, so I assured her it was fine, while telling her Drama Horror Stories of my own. (Cheaper by the Dozen. Act III. Two eerily similar lines. Said the second one first – thus skipping SIX PAGES of dialog. Calling one of the chars by a wrong name pales in comparison, don’tcha think? *L*)
The kiddos did a fine job showing off their acting chops. There were some shining stars, a couple of misses, but all in all it’s a very fun play that had us giggling and applauding throughout. When I asked one of my boys (Who played the lead, Sheridon Whiteside) how my daughter was as an actress, he said “Surprisingly good.” So I got him back after the first performance, and asked him WHEN he was gonna start acting, as all I saw in that rude ole boy was G. Ha!
As with any high school play – there were some missed cues, a couple of lighting mishaps, and a mishmash cross-section of High School Kids who had come together to create something they could – and should! – be proud of. There were geeks and jocks and cheerleaders/plastics and stoners and norms – and they all worked really hard over 8 weeks to make it all come together. I couldn’t have been prouder, even as I wished more folks had come out to support our kids and see the play.
Those of us who cared enough to go (multiple times in most cases!) however, made up for everyone who didn’t. There were flowers given, applause, and many accolades for our Drama Geeks – but we can always use more help.
Trust me on this one – if your local high school is putting on a show… go. You won’t be disappointed, and these young souls, the rising stars of tomorrow (or the Future Drama Geek Mama who couldn’t be prouder) deserve ALL the support we can give them!
Hannah Montana Ornament!
If you live with a young teenager or tween, who happens to be of the girlish persuasion and addicted to the Disney Channel, chances are you know exactly who Hannah Montana is. For those one or two people in the world who don’t – Hannah Montana is the name of Mylie Cyrus’ alter ego on the show, aptly named Hannah Montana, and Disney’s media darling. Of course, as with all Disney Darlings, there are the talks, the scandals, the questions, and more Disney events and concerts than you can shake a stick at. These events and concerts are attended by a metric TON of teenage and pre-teen girls, squealing and screaming and bouncing as if they were meeting… I dunno, the Beetles, if your of my mom’s generation, or maybe Metalica or Jon Bon Jovi (OMGYUM) if you’re of mine. Heh.
ANYWAY – What I’m trying to say is that if you DON’T know who Hannah Montana is – you’re living under a cable and internet free rock. Don’t worry though – I’ve got your back! Watch this!
The song is totally stuck in your head now, isn’t it? Welcome to my life.
Recently I was contacted by the ever lovely Libby on behalf of Lenox, who was sweet enough to send us one of the brand spanking new Hannah Montana Ornaments to show off to you all! It arrived yesterday, and when my youngest saw it, I had a time prying it from her gleefully clutching “IS IT MINE OMG CAN I HAVE IT” fingers in order to tell you all about it. The lovely ornament is crafted of ivory fine Lenox china, hand-painted, and shaped like a guitar, with a delicate golden chain to hang it from – it will shine on the tree in ways that only be rivaled by the smile of the fan who receives it!
If you’re a family who enjoys getting specially chosen ornaments every year to add to the tree – this is a can’t miss item for the Hannah Montana fan nearest you. Purple with delicate swirls in pink and blue, with rhinestones to catch the slightest glimmer of light, sporting the stars and rock star feel – any fan would be pleased to have this as their pick on this years’ tree! You can order it through Macy’s online, for $36. Get yours today, and tell them Lessa at PTB sent ya!
Trust me – your young fan will love it, if the possessive gleam in The Pups’ eye in any way matches that of your own Hannah Montana fan!
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I’m still looking for any other gift ideas for the Teenage boy and girl, so we can put together a nice list of possible items to look for in the upcoming Holiday Shopping Panic! What is YOUR teenager begging for this year? Hit up the Contact Me link over there, or leave me a comment and let me know!
Neopets Puzzle Adventure!
Yup, it’s review day here at Parenting Teens Blog! For the past few weeks, the lovely Melissa and I have been chatting back and forth about the brand new Neopets Puzzle Adventure! I had to admit that I was a hopelessly behind the times mom, and had yet to give my kids a Nintendo DS, and thus couldn’t get my hands on an advance copy – but I do have a PC copy coming soon, where I’ll be able to give a complete review in the weeks after Christmas.
In the meantime – I invite you to test out the online demo of the game, which is surprisingly addictive and easy to use – and you can play it RIGHT here, after the cut below! (Click the “more” link!)
The Neopets Puzzle Adventure will be available on Wii, DS and PC, and will be launched officially on November 25th. It’s fun, and challenging as well (UGH! I will NEVER manage to beat anyone at this flipping the tokens game. It’s infuriating! My 14 year old, however? Loves to point over my shoulder and tell me what I SHOULD have clicked on…)
Check out some of the images below (click to bigafy!) – the colors are stunning, the characters engaging, and you get to pick your own species, color – customizing one of 12 Neopets, and name them when you begin to play. The game is like a classic Reversi and Go – but with a unique Neopets spin on it – along with a lot of fun, mini-games like match, etc. Not only that, but as you unlock more puzzles and areas in the game – you also unlock secret codes that can be redeemed at Neopets.com for exclusive virtual items and accessories! And there’s not just one or two quests, either – for the single-player alone there are more then 150 quests to go on!
Neopets.com has an active virtual economy based on the caring and raising of your virtual pets, collecting Neopoints and taking part in daily and weekly creativity contests. There’s discussion boards, quests and thousands of virtual items that appeals to the Tweener audience! There’s an indepth and exciting storyline, an entire virutal world to explore, and as part of it, Neopets Puzzle Adventure is the ultimate puzzle adventure game for tweens, teens (…and me! I mean, adults!) alike!
(I’m gonna have to get me one of them newfangled DS thingys, huh?)
Hit up the demo above, and be sure to put this on the Christmas list for your DS loving Tween/Teen today! And keep checking back – I’ll be sure to write of our adventures as soon as our PC copy arrives!
Saturday PSAs
One of the things I love about writing here for Parenting Teens Blog is all the people that contact me with exciting surveys, contests, and products for our teenagers. Some of the things I never would have thought to look at, others make me thing, and a lot of them I am pleased to pass on to you. So today, we’ve a collection of product reviews (Scroll down) as well as – in this post – some PSA type announcements, etc.
First off, there’s a FANTASTIC design contest for teenagers living in California. I know, it sucks that it’s only for you Cali-kids, but I know you’ll come up with some great designs that the rest of us will approve of. The contest is to create a t-shirt design for their Design Not Drama line. Check it out:
Interested? Click here for more info. Contest is open until December 5th, so get your entries in now!
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The lovely Monica recently wrote to me with some more tips and tricks and stats for teens on behalf of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. They recently released data that highlighted teen and tween exposure to violent behavior and substance abuse via popular youth websites and social networks. We’ve talked before about how I handle the use of Myspace and such in my home, but it never hurts to take a second look and make sure that your chosen strategies are working for you.
Partnered with Nielsen Online, the Drug Czar tracked the online viewing habits of teens. They found that:
• Nearly one in 20 teens online viewed drug-related videos during a one-month period; 35 percent were under age 16 (Nielsen Online Custom Study);
• Almost 40 percent of drug-related videos contain explicit use of drugs and/or intoxication (Nielsen Online Custom Study);
• Even the youngest kids have access to dangerous online content. More than 8.9 million (8,934,000) two- to 11-year-olds viewed video online in August (Nielsen Online, VideoCensus);
• The average age of first Internet exposure to pornography is 11 years old. Eighty percent of 15- to 17-year-olds have been exposed to hardcore porn multiple times (Internet-Filter-Review.com);
• More than one in eight teens say someone has spread a rumor about them online. Nine percent of teens who use social networking sites say someone has posted an embarrassing picture of them online without their permission (“Cyberbullying and Online Teens.†Pew Internet & American Life Project: Data Memo);
• Nearly a third of students say their parents would disapprove if they knew what they were really doing on the Internet (i-SAFE Survey);
• Drug use and underage drinking don’t make parents’ top 10 list of concerns of their kids’ online computer use (State of Internet Security: Protecting Children Online.†Webroot Software).
ONDCP has several tips that they recommend for us parents, to be sure that we know what our children are doing while they’re online. They’re common sense – but it never hurts to mention them again!
• Do Your Homework: Check out the popular teen sites like MySpace and YouTube. See for yourself the kinds of images and video teens can find by searching basic keywords like “teens†and “drugsâ€;
• Set Rules and Consequences: Be explicit about the behaviors and activities that are acceptable in your family and set rules to establish when and how new technologies can be used; and
• Monitor Your Teens: Know who your teen’s friends are and where they go, on and offline. Check your computer’s browser history and downloads, cell phone text messages, and incoming/outgoing phone numbers.
As always, I stress that the MOST IMPORTANT thing in any conversation about limits placed on our kids, the most IMPORTANT thing is communication without accusations. Talk to your kids. Let them know your concerns. Come to a consensus that you both can live with. You’ll be surprised how far mutual respect will take you! For more help, check out the AntiDrug website.
Heartbreak
When you get pregnant, everyone is quick to tell you about all the wonderful things that are coming your way, making sure to point out that all the pain that they’ll now explain in excruciating detail will be worth it when you see the first smile, the first tooth, the first step, the first day of school, the first friend, the first girl/boy friend, etc. They intersperse tales of sleepless nights, baby-chewed breasts, walks off table tops, homework you don’t understand, the first fight, and the breakups with all the AWESOMENESS that it is to be a parent. We discover quickly that we feel every little bump and bruise that our babies gather along the way – none of which hurt as much as the bumps and bruises given to their hearts.
We try to protect them, try to prepare them, and if your me? You make jokes about the rebound girls just waiting in the wings just in case. And then later that SAME DAY, you kick yourself repeatedly, because those horrible four words were just sent via text: We need to talk.
Whoops. Yeah, that’s me there… feeling like an ass.
After their first date on their own, it seems she’s decided she’s just not ready, that it’s going too fast. Of course, any slower and the boy would be moving backwards – he’s been so very careful to take things slow, to let her set the pace, to ease into this friend to dating experience gently. He’s such a gentleman, and a gentle soul, and he really gave her every bit of space and understanding. Unfortunately, she just wasn’t ready. She’s younger then him, and while he respects her decision, he told me that he feels like he was kicked in the gut.
Me too, baby boy. Me too.
It’s hard not to make snarky comments, to make him laugh, to point out again that since he STARTED dating MK, he’s had girls suddenly all over him. It’s like they suddenly realized that -along with being a big ole teddy bear and their friend – he’s dateable. They all saw how much respect he has for MK, and how well he treated her.
I have a feeling that we’ll be embarking on a new adventure very soon – and maybe, just maybe, we won’t be kicked in the gut again for a while. At least, we better not, or Mama will do some kicking of her own!
