Big Kid Buzz

Photo by  RAZmom88

It's hard enough raising one teen -- but three?! Welcome to RAZmom88's wild and wonderful life. Check back every Thursday to find out what drama or joy she encountered this week.

A Choice

Zack, 15, made the choice not to try out for the JV basketball team and instead focus on indoor track. I was a little disappointed because I wanted him to do three sports this year and indoor track is not considered a school sport.

He made the decision so that he could be ready for track season this spring with the hope of making it to state. Last year he was the only underclassman to earn a Varsity letter in track. He also does weight training two nights a week. He explained to me how much pressure he is under to keep his grades up and do so many school activities. He is only going to focus on the ones he is best at.

Photo by Cafe Cynthia

Time is flying by way too fast. So, so fast. Flashback six years ago from tomorrow. Me sitting at my aunt's dinner table trying to soothe a screaming infant (he was always colicky) in one hand while trying to shovel stuffing and mashed potatoes into my mouth with the other. Yes, I soon became a master at cutting food with my fork with that one.

Thanksgiving dinners are different now, much more sane. My son and his little cousins all sit at the "kiddie table" by themselves now, since there's never enough room for all of us at the table at any of my relatives' houses. There's much more fooling around than eating going on over there, but at least mommy gets to overeat in peace, and for that I am SO thankful!

Other reasons I'm thankful for my big, beautiful, boisterous big kid:

Photo by 920Wendy

CafeMom TheTravelMama (aka Colleen Lanin) is an expert at traveling with kids, but only because she's had her share of past fiascoes to learn from along the way. Colleen is a travel writer and founder of the Travel Mamas blog, the resource for everything and anything related to traveling with children.

Today the mom of 20 month year old Leo and 4 year old Karissa shares three of her own biggest traveling disasters and how she learned to prevent them the next time she hit the road:

Fiasco #1: Kids Tend to Throw Up

You never know when motion sickness or the stomach flu may strike. During a road trip to an amusement park, my preschooler, Karissa, woke 20 minutes before our destination and announced from the backseat, "I'm gonna throw up!" I whipped around from the passenger seat and frantically searched for any type of vessel. I grabbed a box of Kleenex, ripped the tissue from it, and thrust it beneath her chin, narrowly evading a smelly disaster.

Photo by SnoWhiteImages

If you or your big kid hate Twilight, just skip right on over this post -- and the like 20 others that the Buzz bloggers and I have written this week. Huge Twilight fans, all of us. We just can't stop thinking and talking about New Moon's premiere today.

Our official Daily Buzz Twilight Reporter got into the Thursday midnight showing -- read her Twilight review (she won't spoil anything) over in Entertainment Buzz. Moms are also sharing why they are so obsessed with the story and the characters.

Click over there to hear what they say. Then come back and tell me if you agree with some of these moms? And is your daughter obsessed for the same reasons you are -- or for a totally different reason?

Help to satisfy my Twilight fascination and tell me!

There've been times when I've had the urge to use a taser on my son. Oh, have there.

Like last night when I told him to go to his room after he batted his sister in the head with a light saber and he matter-of-factly said, "No. No, thank you, not happening," cloaked in that irritating 6 year old attitude of his ...

But I can't imagine I would ever really do that ... or even ask a police officer to!

An Arkansas mom did! Last week, on Veteran's Day, she called police after her 11 year old daughter refused to take a shower. She gave the responding officer permission to "tase" the unruly girl if necessary, according to a report in the Huffington Post.

The officer did tase the 11 year old girl -- a quick pop on her back -- but only after the girl kicked him in the groin when he tried to take her into custody.

I know what a lot of you will be doing tonight! The Twilight Saga: New Moon opens in theaters today. They say Thanksgiving is the worst travel day of the year, but I'd say this is the night to stear clear of the areas of town that have movie theaters.

Lots of CafeMoms love Twilight as much -- or even more! -- than their kids and have been making plans for today for a while. I hope you were lucky enough to get a ticket for tonight or this weekend. Will your tween or teen be joining you?

Photo by lilysmommy8503

Every year for both Thanksgiving and Christmas, my mom would dress my sister and I up in what she called our "special holiday dresses."

Oh how I hated that. I was such a little tomboy and the idea of putting on itchy tights and a bow that never stayed in place made me quite the holiday Grinch (at least until it was time to eat Thanksgiving dinner or open presents). 

Photo by  RAZmom88

It's hard enough raising one teen -- but three?! Welcome to RAZmom88's wild and wonderful life. Check back every Thursday to find out what drama or joy she encountered this week.

Fighting Siblings

My teens usually get along fairly well. A few times I've heard name calling, which I hate. They are all my babies and I don't  like when they hurt each other. So on Saturday, Andrea and Zack were really going at each other.

Andrea turned off the video game while Zack was out of the room. He came back and threw a punch at her, and she did a good job of blocking it. I was completely stunned.

Zack went in his room and Andrea in hers. I went in and talked to each of them. Andrea knew Zack would be mad that she turned off the game (it was a football game and it took him hours to get where he was).

Photo by Emily_Dollface

Oh, great. It's not enough that this working mom already feels guilty about not spending enough time with my kids. Now here's another bit of info I'm going to stash away and hopefully never use ...

Being a working mom is not looked on too favorably by the courts during custody battles. No one likes to think about divorce and I don't wish it on any of us. But according to a report in Working Mother magazine, more fathers, stay-at-home dads particularly, are fighting for primary custody of their children -- and winning.