My amazing parenting skills last night

Last night, my Dear Morgan really pissed me off. First, we spent a really fun day at the new Aquarium. It wasn't cheap. $50 to get in plus we got lunch. We had a great time together.

We got home, I cooked up some dinner, and then I reminded Morgan that we had to pack her up for Youth Camp (she left this morning). She was in her room lying on her bed. I pulled out a sleeping bag, pillow, water bottle. There was Morgan, still lying on her bed.

"Morgan, I want to be done tonight soon, too, and I can't do it if we don't pack you up," I said.

"I know, Mom, I've got it, I've got it," she said in that 14 year old snotty voice.

That set me off (and I'm not even taking Dex until tomorrow!). "And you need to vacuum. I've asked you every single day for a week."

"I've been busy," she said in protest.

"You've been busy? You wake up at noon, you're not ever ready until two in the afternoon. And you have no time to vacuum?" I was seething. "Pack yourself up NOW and vacuum pronto. You're on your own."

"Fine, I've got it, I've got it."

"Give me your cell phone," I said. She handed it over. "Don't even ask me for it until Sunday. It's mine. You are taking Siena's phone with you to camp as a backup. I'm not taking you to Subway to pick up lunch for tomorrow. And I'm not taking you anywhere to get snacks for the drive tomorrow. Pack your own stuff up."

At this point, Morgan thought better than to open her Big Fat Mouth and challenge me anymore. Tw hours later, Morgan asked if we could talk. She didn't know why she was mouthy. She didn't mean to be. Can't I be like (my BFFs) Julie and Shane who just yell at their kids and then don't carry through on any of their consequences?

Gosh no! I am a parent. Good parents give their kids consequences and they don't back off.

And then 30 minutes later, I told Morgan in my very big Lizzy Stern Voice, "Get your shoes on and get in the car." She was surprised. Oh no, now what? I could see it in her eyes. We got in my car, I stopped by her friend's house and called her mom to send her out. When Shelby was in the car, I told them that I was taking them to Walmart and they had $11 to buy snacks for the next day so plan together and buy wisely. Yay! They were so excited. We stopped by Starbucks and got their new hand-crafted sodas (yum), and then I dropped Shelby off at home. I then gave Morgan an option: sleep with me since it was our last night together for three days and get her phone back, or sleep in her own bed and take Siena's basic phone with her.

Really? Morgan almost shouted for joy. We watched TV, talked in bed, and bonded. It was a fun end of the evening.

Hey, I did not get her Subway for lunch the next day. Instead I made her a lunch. I did stay firm on one consequence, right?

Yes, consistency is not my strong point as a parent. I'm a total push-over. Any my kids know it.

Bad Mom, I am.

Summer Dreamin'

Where has the summer gone? I am dreading the end of it. No, let it stay forever! This has been this best summer in such a long time.

First, of course, there was the trip to Italy, Switzerland, Greece, Turkey and Croatia. I've already written about that extensively.

Second, there was the trip to Southern California where I got to hang out with my very best friends in the whole entire world. On that trip, I also got to reconnect with a very special California friend, which I will leave private (for now). I got to feel surrounded by love and happiness. On the trip, I took lots of power walks with Julie, slept a lot, read a fascinating book, Zealot, which is a fresh take on Jesus, the historical Jesus, not the religious Jesus. Jesus of Nazareth. Wow, what an eye opener.

We also met up with my rockin' awesome former step daughter, Kalie. The girls loved seeing their sister. They love her and miss her. Me, too! After lunch, Kalie and I hung out for a good hour catching up. To think that we had a rough go of it initially is just unfathonable to me because, despite the fact that I'm old enough to be her mom, I find her incredibly smart, wise, and intuitive. I wish I had been that smart at her age. Instead, I was stupid and worried more about partying than anything else. What a waste of time.



We went to Knotts Berry Farm because we have annual passes.

We went swimming a lot. And Morgan's friend, Kiley, who was once our next door neighbor, stayed with us for four days.

We went to Venice Beach. Always entertaining!

My friend, Katherine, and her two daughters came to California, too.


And we went to Big Bear. And Vegas. When we left Vegas, it was 115 degrees outside. Scorcher! While In Vegas, I went to Hell (aka the M&M Store) at Siena's insistence.

Interestingly enough, while in California, my sore eyes weren't sore anymore. My spine, which oddly enough experiences two stabbing pains per day, and has been that way for two solid years, disappeared. Was it the sun? Love? Peace? Good karma? What? So the Big Question is... Do we move after I'm done with my two years of maintenance therapy? Because we can do anything I want to. And that is exciting.

I met up with my old college roomies, Jen and Susan. I saw Susan last year for the first time in about 25 years. The last time I saw Jen was when Morgan and I flew to San Francisco for less than 24 hours so I could get Morgan's Russian passport renewed at the Russian consolate. With her Russian passport in hand, Morgan was able to travel with me and Rob's mom, Peggy, to Moscow to pick up Siena from the orphanage. Hanging out with Susan and Jen was awesome. Despite all these years, it's like no time has past. I love them forever. We have strong ties that bind us. (Side note: I colored my hair really blond. I think I like it.)

But the summer isn't over. Julie and Shane will be here in a few days. Emmy will be here a week later and we'll meet up with Susan again. We're heading up to Jackson Hole. And who knows? I think there may be at least one more surprise visitor.

Because we have no structure these days, Morgan and I have gotten in the habit of watching NCI Miami reruns until 1AM. Sometimes we fall asleep on the couch. Siena doesn't get out of the water. She's become really good friends with Katherine's son, Gavynn. They stay very busy. Tomorrow while Katherine and I meet up for lunch with another friend, we're dropping off the kids at the Discovery Museum at Thanksgiving Point. That'll give us time to go shopping after lunch. Retail therapy with the girlfriends is always fun.

Soon enough, we will have to get back to school and structure and deadlines, bedtimes, and homeword. I AM NOT READY FOR IT. Until then, I will continue reveling in the warmth of summer.