Up until Friday night we could officially say that our kids hadn’t had a “real” sleepover.

We just weren’t ready for it. And by “we” I mean my husband and I.

Oh sure, they’ve stayed overnight with relatives here and there but not with friends.

Yes, my boys are 10 and 11 years old. Call me overprotective.

I know first hand that sleepovers can be filled with fun memories. I can still recall many a sleepover with my elementary and middle school pals. (Crank-calling boys, fashion shows, listening to Rick Springfield records, playing “light as a feather, stiff as a board,” gorging on Twinkies… you know, the usual. I realize that I am soooo dating myself here.)

But I also know, from first hand experiences that children can easily end up exposed to things they are not ready to deal with or God forbid, worse.

I’m not normally what you would call a “worst case scenario” kind of mother but I am also not naive. My husband and I are vigilant about keeping our boys as innocent as possible for as long as possible. They’ve not been overly exposed to the doom-and-gloom evening news or sexual and violent media. (I stopped watching the evening news in front of them the first time I was asked, “What is a rape, Momma?”)

Realizing that each family has different standards of raising their children, we’ve not been very open to the whole overnight stay option. As a friend of mine so accurately pointed out, “No matter how well you KNOW someone, you still never really KNOW someone.” Gee, thanks for making me feel better. Ahem.

But Friday night we made the decision to let our youngest son stay over at his best friend’s house.

And of course, everything went smashingly. They built a fort. They watched movies. They got up ridiculously early and played outside.

Good, clean boy fun.

Sigh of relief inserted here.

What I would love to hear is how YOU do it? Am I incredibly overprotective? Scared of nothing? Or am I a normal mom? Do you have fears as well?

Times are a changin’ here on this blog.

My kids are growing up. Sigh. I just have to face it.

My kids are growing up and so is my blog.

The issues the boys are facing in their lives at this juncture are, shall we say, of a more sensitive nature.

Puberty, my friends. Puberty and all of the joys that come with it. And by joys I mean attitude. And by attitude I mean full out tears and trauma.

Go ahead and laugh if you want. I understand. It is only the beginning.

As for this blog, I see a line being drawn in the sand in regards to the type of content I will be able to cover without mortifying my children and ruining their social lives forever. I’m trying very hard to keep these posts contained. (I can’t tell you the number of times I have begun the post about pubic hair and shower irregularities. So. Hard. Not. To. Write. And what about the whole “how babies are made” topic? OMG.) I really don’t want to devastate them but oh how funny things are right now!  If I ever needed moral support from other mothers, this is the time. I feel like someone duct taped my mouth (fingers) shut.  Arrgghhhhh!!!

So bear with me as I find my way through blogging with pre-teen boys. And please, if you have some advice – I NEED IT!

As an aside, Hip As I Wanna Be was featured in a new Maryland Family Magazine article about mom bloggers – “The Best Friend You’ve Never Met.” You should go read the article and get acquainted with some other fantastic area bloggers!

Tiny Ninja brought home the official “Middle School Handbook” today.

Middle. School. Handbook.

Un-freakin-believable.

He unceremoniously handed it to me along with his other papers and went back to his homework like it WASN’T EVEN A THING.

I could barely touch it.

Opening the manual I found two other rather shocking documents inside – an announcement for NEXT WEEK’S middle school open house and a registration form for his 2011-2012 class schedule.

I felt like my head was spinning. I knew the day was coming, of course. I just wasn’t ready for it so soon. SO VERY, VERY, VERY SOON.

People, he still believes in Santa Claus. And he hasn’t even ONCE asked how babies are made.

Sigh. I had better get  on that, huh?

In discussing the while middle school subject further with my little man I’ve learned that there are three (or four) major things that every male 5th grader is looking forward to regarding middle school:

1. Lack of lines (Rumor has it that nobody stands in lines in middle school. It’s a pretty big deal. All the kids are talking about it. It’s anarchy.)

2.Vending machines (Oh. Dear. Lord. You. Can. Buy. Soda. Any. Time. You. Want.  It’s heaven on Earth.)

3. Combination locks (The most exciting thing since sliced bread. Locks! On Lockers! Locking lockers that stay locked! It’s lock-tastic!)

4. The introduction of boobs. (Okay, I’m making this up. I can’t confirm or deny that this is being discussed but I have a pretty good hunch.)

So now I am being forced to deal with the dreaded “middle school” transition. I’m seriously not sure I am up for this…

Help?

My husband is a good man. He puts up with A LOT.  But he and I are opposite in so many ways.

He is a DETAIL MAN.  An everything-has-a-place-man. An if-you-put-things-right-back-where-you-found-them-we-wouldn’t-have-this-problem-kind-of-man. I am NOT. I try. But I am more of a free spirit when it comes to organization, especially when it comes to housework. And, of course, my husband is essentially right. (Albeit in a housework-utopian-society-kind-of-way.) But, try as I might, there is always SOMETHING that comes up to thwart my efforts.

Let’s go on a journey through 10 minutes of the mess and chaos of my life shall we?

Take, for an example, a pair of my running shoes that has not yet made it back into the closet. According to my husband’s logic, I should have been able to take them off my feet and toss them into the closet. Err, I mean, lay them gently into the designated running shoe cubby that he has labeled for me. Yeah.

So here is what happened instead. I took them off of my feet.  At that precise moment, my son yelled dramatically from the other room. I sprint over to him and find that he and his brother are pounding each other over a Light Bright design. I settle the argument and notice hundreds of Light Bright pieces all over the floor. Crap. (Their father WILL NOT be amused by that.) So we make a game of it and pick them up. In the middle of that the phone rings. It is my friend reminding me it is my turn to bring snack to soccer. Double crap. I run down the stairs to see if I even have something that would qualify as a snack. Nope. Put it on the list of things to do. I then notice the laundry is finished. I put a new load in and take the other out and begin folding it. Kids come running downstairs and want a drink. I get them a drink. They spill juice everywhere and I attempt to clean it up and make a mental note to mop after they go to bed. I begin emptying the dish washer because I can’t even put the juice cups away due to the overflowing sink with dirty dishes in it. I am halfway through this task when hubby comes home.

So this is what my husband sees: Kitchen a mess. Sticky floor. Laundry strewn everywhere. Light Bright pieces not picked up. (Because they decided to dump them out again while I wasn’t looking.) And then, of course, he tripped over my shoes. Yeah, THOSE shoes. The ones that should have been put away as soon as I took them off my feet.

And then he says…. “Jen. Why don’t you ever put anything away?”

This is the second post filled with uplifting advice from women across the internet. These two posts (the first of which can be found here) are dedicated to my 16 year old niece Kelsi and are indeed relevant to any teenage girl navigating her way through life. (I must say, however, that I find great inspiration in these words myself and I am almost 40.)

Enjoy…

“The hardest lesson I had to learn as a young woman was to be true to myself. Too many times I let a boyfriend or a co-worker, or a so-called friend tell me what to think about a specific topic or situation and I didn’t want to rock the boat and so I would agree. Too many times I was a follower and not a leader. Too many times I didn’t listen to the truth I held inside me and respect myself enough to live it.” - Sunday

“Dwell in possibility” -  Emily Dickinson …  I love that three words holds so much meaning–stop and really think–and think hard–about what you can do, what the future holds, and what your place in that future is.

And I cannot help but share one of the very first things I ever memorized, aside from the Hail Mary and Our Father, of course. . .
May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the rain fall soft upon your fields,
the sun shine warm upon your face,
And until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand. – Amy

“More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope…” (Romans 5: 3-4) Know that when you are faced with adversity, you are being refined and perfected for the task which you were purposed. Take all hardship and suffering with the mindset that it is readying you for what great task lies ahead. Know that you will come out of your trials with a brilliance that a life of ease could never produce. You will shine and the world will see the fruits of your perseverance.” - Kadi

“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.”  (Dr. Suess) – Mary

“Nothing beats a failure but a try.” My mother ingrained this in me at a young age and did not accept me giving up on myself under any circumstance. I had to complete everything I started and I have to say I am a better person because I’ve listened to her advice.” – Renee

“Remember that in any relationship – either with a boy or a female friend – YOU always hold the power. YOU control whether someone is worthy of the pleasure of your company. YOU get to decide whether they are worth your time. You are the gatekeeper. YOU are priceless. - Jessica

“I remember reading a quote once that said, “”Wherever you go, there you are.” For some reason, the notion really hit home with me. I was struck by the fact that the only constant in my life would be ME, so I better become a person that I could be proud of. Life changes, friends change and people come and go. But, you? You are in your life forever, and the most important thing about it.” - Jill

Amazing words from amazing women. Thank you all!