Times, they are a-changin'

Well lookey here... it's been over a month since the last post. Condensed version: Boys - good, busy, fun. Cam - good, busy, tired! Karen - good, not as busy, wishing she were more productive.

Thanksgiving is this week. We're going to my sister's house in Reading. Cam will go and get my mom, but not sure of the logistics. The boys are disappointed not to go to my mom's house. They love the country, open space, good food, and cable TV. They've finished soccer, I've finished marching band season, and we're glad of that. V made the basketball team and practices start today. He made first honor roll, so grades are not a problem. S missed honor roll this time but only in 2 classes. He had mostly A's and will work on bringing up a couple of the others. His piano continues to kick butt.

Of course they are making up Christmas lists. They actually don't have that same "greedy look" in their eyes as in the past. They're being a little more thoughtful about what they want and what they'd like to do for and give to others. Huh. Who knew.

Puberty stinks. And we hear it's hard on the kids, too. These guys are growing so fast (S is 5'3"; V is almost 5', I think). Personalities and attitudes are on roller coasters, so we try to go with it. I will tell you this: The parenting techniques that we have been using pretty steadily for the past 4-5 months have yielded amazing results. Very little arguing, fewer control battles, and a lot less stress on us as parents. It's all about the kids doing the thinking and the problem-solving. See what I mean at www.loveandlogic.com. They have some mp3 downloads and lots of resources. If your library has the CD's, check them out.

Happy Thanksgiving!