As Teen Grow

I have noticed that in my dear darling daughter, she has done a bit of changing. No longer does she act like a child, except on occasion that she is being silly. She takes her homework more seriously now and seems to have her priorities in order. Children grow up so quickly. I try very hard to talk with her to see how her day went, all the while letting her know that I am here for her if she needs me. Do you have good contact with your daughter?

Are You Your Daughter's Friend?

I have raised 4 children already and this last baby girl of mine is quickly becoming a young lady. We all know that as our children grow, they begin to assert their independence and sometimes it can get really hard to deal with., even a hard struggle of power sometimes. You need to be a good listener and try to be open to their ideas, even give some advice but you must always remain a parent. My teen and I are very close. I respect her privacy, I am a great listener, but I also let my daughter know what I think are the good choices from the bad. I want her to know that I am here for her, but that I am still in charge. Make sure your daughter knows what the rules are in regards to dating, friends, school work and what's expected from her at home and housework as well. I am also very quick to praise for something done right. Raising teens in this day and time, is sure different than when my mother raised me.

Never Give Up

Wow, what a weekend we had. You know, I love having a long weekend, but this weekend was so busy that I didn't have any free time. We had our first football game to attend and this was my daughter's first band performance. She flew by with flying colors and oh, how excited she was after the band performed. She was awesome. After a long Friday night, we got up early on Saturday and went to the barn. Her horse was being a total "stinker" and she was quite determined to get her horse Frenchie, to do well. Frenchie was not going to do what she wanted and my daughter left the barn with tears in her eyes, upset and feeling distraught. I tried to take the chance and talk to her, on the way home, but she closed off her ears to my words. A couple of hours later, she seemed to be alright. Sunday came, and we went to the barn again. In my opinion, Frenchie did MUCH better, but my daughter didn't think so. I had to once again, talk to her, hoping that she would now open her ears to what I was saying. My dear darling daughter, you cannot always look at what you Don't accomplish. You have to look at what you DID accomplish and go from there. Look at the good things that you got done. Think on the positive side and never give up.

Clothing Shopping

With school fastly coming upon us, today starts the "tax-free" weekend here and soon all the stores will be jam-packed. Unfortunate for us that we had no choice but to go this weekend, but hopefully we won't be out too long....haha...I just bet your'e laughing at that one. Most teens can't go right into one store and pick out everything very quick. So, yes, I suppose that I will be out for awhile. Good time for others in the family to pick out a little something as well, right? I suppose that I could use a few things. Now, to be honest, I am not a shopper. I would rather save my money. Here is some advice for my dear darling daughter" please remember that mom is on a shoe-string budget here and that money does not fall off trees". Choose your clothing wisely. Buy shirts and pants that can mix and match. Lastly, don't put all your money into one outfit." Happy shopping !!!!

Creating Mother/Daughter Memories

Yes, we are in July. I know it's early.... however, it's now time to start thinking about Christmas projects. Have you thought about what you are going to get for everyone? Are you someone that has alot of family to buy for, but not alot of money? Believe me, I am. Not only do I have 4 grown children, 1 young teen at home, a hubby, but I also have 4 grandkids, and my grown children have their spouses as well. I thought that I would give some suggestions here. How about making up a family cookbook for some of the new daughters-in-laws? This is something that you can do with your daughter, providing she is old enough to get on the internet and search for new recipes to add to yours. She can help you print some of these out, and you and her together can go and have these laminated and put into a notebook or binder. Or in our case, we are going to sit down together and go through some old pictures and some new ones, and put them together in a 3 ring binder and make a scrapbook for my mother. My mother already has everything she needs and it's hard to find just the right thing. This is also something you can do with your daughter or even your son. This is time spent together that will good memories and alot of fun doing together.