Saying Goodbye to an Old Year

Now that we will be starting a new year, it's time to say goodbye to 2007. My daughter has had some good experiences this year, starting with going into high school, making new friends, marching band and all the football games, a first boyfriend (but not anymore), a new horse, a new guitar and alot of understanding about a father who doesn't have much time to come and visit. Awe, this year has been a quick one, for sure. Wonder what next year has in store for my darling daughter.........hope it's not drivers ed, just yet. lol Happy New Years everyone !!!

I will Soon Be Planning My Own Daughter's Quinceneara

Planning a Quinceneara can be mind boggling to say the least. The picture below in the wordless wednesday is actually my daughter's best friend and she posed for this picture before hers so that she could put it on her invitations. I was so pleased because I am the one who actually took the picture. In some of my upcoming blogging, I will talk about getting ready for my darling daughter's quinceneara. This is actually a very large party for a girl who is turning 15 years old. My oh my, it kind of scares me because it means that sometime after that, she is going to want to learn to drive. I hope all of you are enjoying the holiday season. We are. My darling daughter has been cleaning her room today and doing some laundry. Fun, huh?

Wordless Wednesday--a beautiful young lady about to have her quincenera

Teens and Christmas

Oh what a lovely Christmas we have had today. We all woke up bright and early and everyone assembled in their spots around the living room to open presents. We were truly blessed once again this year. I love wrapping presents but this year I decided to pull a new trick on my teen. I told her that she was going to receive one box for Christmas. That's right, one box.....but what I didn't tell her was that she was going to receive many more wrapped up presents inside of that box. I did this to prevent her from seeing the shape of each wrapped present and wondering about them, figuring everything out before hand. She was absolutely thrilled to find a bunch of wrapped presents inside of her box. What a treat. I am so blessed this Christmas. How about you?

Unexpected Things Happen

The other day, we went to the barn. Things were going as normal but something out of the ordinary happened. My daughter just fell off her horse. She was riding bareback and as she went over the jump ( a small one), Frenchie turned really fast and off she went. I always sit right there up close to watch because I am a firm believer in keeping an eye out for her while riding, and thank goodness she wasn't hurt. I am also a firm believer in helmets. They are meant to keep our children safe, especially in activities such as horseback riding, or even skateboarding or skating. Bike riders don't always wear their helmets but it can be so very important in their safety. She got up, and got right back on her horse and they went about riding as usual. Always try and keep safe!!!

Wordless Wednesday- Isn't Love Grand?

Wordless Wednesday-- wouldn't my teen love driving around pappa's old truck !!!

For more wordless Wednesdays please visit http://5minutesformom.com

Tackle It Tuesday

Today I am going to tackle the job of getting the rest of my Christmas packages wrapped and ready to go under the tree. I have tons of things to do though, before I can even work at this, especially getting that darling teen daughter of mine up and OUT of bed !!! So, maybe I can get 2 things tackled today !

Working Towards A Goal

Even though it's Christmas time and everyone seems to be out and about, shopping for their friends and family, I still believe that there are some things that our children should make a goal to work towards. A couple of friends of mine have told me how their credit card has been on fire with all the purchases they have been making. I tell you, I have been out spending like everyone else as well, but with cash that I had saved throughout the year so I wouldn't have to use my credit card much. Anyways, my darling daughter has found everything on earth that she wants this year and I had to find a way to slow things down a bit. She gave me a nice list, which I bought early and then after all was said and done, she decided that she wanted a new electric guitar. Yes, my 14 yr old has decided that she wanted to learn how to play. She already has 2 flutes that she has for the band but now she wants to try something new. I felt like I was stuck in a pickle because I had already purchased her gifts. Let me tell you, her desire was to have that guitar and I asked her if she was willing to put it in layaway, and she said yes. This turned out to be the best thing ever, because she found a guitar at a very reasonable price. (119.00). She then did some babysitting and every time she had money, she would go and pay on it. She had some pennies she had been given awhile back and some she'd saved along the years, cashed in at nearly $40, and that also went towards the guitar. Her grandpa's Christmas money came in and she paid on it once again. This afternoon, her grandma's Christmas money went to pay it off. She walked out of that guitar shop with a very nice electric guitar, and along the way, she learned how to gather her own money to get something that she wanted. Do you suppose that she will take better care of it since she had to buy it herself? Well, if you knew my daughter, the answer is YES !!!! and boy am I glad.

Teens and Christmas Gifts

All teens love getting great Christmas gifts. Here is a very unique give-a-way that's being offered over at http://thedomesticdiva.org/blog/2007/12/01/kodak-gallery-50-giftcard-giveaway
Go and check this out !!!!! What a wonderful gift. Kodak is offering a giftcard valued at $50.00 and you can get some really cute personalized gifts with it. Wouldn't your teen love having a mouse pad with her/his own picture on it? Or perhaps a coffee/cocoa mug with one of their friend's pictures on it? They offer so many really neat gifts. Head on over to the domestic diva site and see how easy it is to win!

Talking With Our Teens

Having a teen in the home can be very enjoyable or it can also be very worrysome. Try to keep the lines of communication open with your teen, whether it be short and sweet or a conversation about something they like talking about. If your teen shows an interest in a particular sport, talk with them about it and if you don't know anything about that sport, your teen can teach you more about it. When our children grow out of that "kid" stage (you know, the one that WANTS to go everywhere with you and wants to participate in everything) and grows into this teen, who is now trying to learn about becoming more independent, they go through alot of changes. We went through this ourselves growing up, but they don't often realize that we have been through the things that they are starting to encounter. They can often be "know-it-alls" and that can be annoying. Try using some patience with them and start off with easy, "lite" conversations. That can certainly go a long way in starting the communications going once again.