they're growing up and I don't like it one bit! Summer used to be quiet and relaxing. I looked forward to the break in activities and schooling them. Now though summer is busier than the school year! One is gone all summer (I'm dealing better with that than I thought I would) and another is leaving today for camp. Then a week at home and another leaves for camp and so on all summer long! Then there's VBS at church thrown in and a few other things. I'm just trying remind myself though that one day they'll all be up and out and I won't be running anyone but myself anywhere.....yeah right! I've told them all I expect a houseful of grands and they'll probably want me to run them too! And with 6 kids I don't think a houseful of grands will be too hard to accomplish!

My mother always said the happiest home is which graduate other homes
You r lucky

Sometimes I miss my daughter being small but now that she's 11 she's not as needy as she was when she was small. Now she'll entertain herself so that I can sew. She, too, is leaving for camp two weeks from today but only for 5 days. That will be about 4 1/2 more than I can stand. We have more fun together now, we go shopping, garage saleing, etc. together. But I only have the one, not several all needing to go in different directions. Maybe that's the difference.

I loved it when mine were little. I still have 1 that is little and I cherish every moment of it. I have come to realize that I don't like teenagers at all. I have 2 of them, One 16 and one 14(almost 15) and I love them both and at the same time I can't stand them. Me and little man hang out together. He always tells me mommy I won't grow up I will stay your baby.

Mine's not a teen yet, we'll cross that bridge when it happens but I've heard it said that raising a teen is like trying to nail Jello to the wall.

You got that right. But I have them both terrified of me. My 16yr old is a girl and she just whines all the time gets on my nerves. The 14 yr old is a boy and he likes to challenge me but I just tell him if you like living here you better back down or I'm gonna beat the H--- out of you and then pack your bags. I don't remember that being a teenager was this hard, I loved being a teenager.

I have one that's 21, two that are teens, one preteen and two that are younger. The youngest who is 5 is my baby. He comes every morning to give me my good morning hug...then I get an afternoon hug too. lately he's been snuggling up with me at night till he falls asleep which is nice. But yeah everyone going in different directions is what is hard I think. The 19yo is my biggest helper and she is gone all summer so that makes it harder.

ughh! you couldn't pay me to be a teenager again! It was hard and awful. Thank you but I will take menopause and my gray hair any day of the week over being a teen again!

Whining gets on my nerves too. When DD started doing that a year or so ago I said, "If you have to whine then you obviously aren't getting enough sleep. We'll raise your bedtime by 1/2 hour each night until you can get enough sleep that you aren't whiny anymore." Somehow it ended almost immediately. Funny how that works. I did the same thing to my stepdaughter when she moaned and groaned at the breakfast table. Worked for her too.

Well I guess you could have some more! :lol: