File Under "Growing Up"

Today my son, who is all of 16, started his first job.
Pushing carts.
He almost got run over by an old lady and a customer pushed a cart at him and hit his knee, got sunburned, but all in all I think it was a good day.
Quite a step for him.
He has always had issues (debilitating at times) with new experiences, so even the fact that he was able to go though the interview process with people he did not know in an unknown environment is a huge, HUGE step for him.
I'm so proud and sad at the same time.
Like they say they do grow up way too fast.

Shame Cave

Via Feministing....


I just about peed my pants when I watched the Daily Show last night.
God Stick and Shame Cave.

Seriously though, everyone knows that abstinence only does not work.
Why do the fundis and the Bush administration continue to force this on school districts?
But more then that why do the parents of teens (that silent majority who are not fundis)
not storm their school boards and demand that their kids get a real sex education program that
incorporates the facts and abstinence?
If Josh went to school i would be all over this.
As it is my kid knows all about sex and condoms and AIDS and STDs and babies i won't be taking care of or supporting and why abstinence is good until you are an adult.
What I have not done is lied and talked about "dirty toothbrush" or that sex is not nice.

BTW, big news for The Boy. Not only has he gotten his learner's permit he also got a job and went to pee in a cup today to prove he is not smokin' the weed......as if that should keep one from being a cart pusher.

What I Woke Up To

A blanket tent, or you could say "boy fort" in my living room.
Now this would not have been that odd a few years ago, but Josh is
now 16. He even has his learner's permit. But last night he was
so bored after I went to bed that he built a tent AND he was
sleeping in it with the cats when I got up today.
It's actually pretty sweet and makes me nostalgic for that little boy.

Whats for Dinner This Week

Tonight it was BBQ; pulled beef sandwiches, coleslaw and BBQ Beans from a local BBQ joint.*
Then:
Wed- Hurry Curry Chicken
Thurs- Burritos
Friday- Chicken Patty Sandwiches with Fries
Sat- Big Chef Salads

I've got a big magnetic calender that I fill out for the month with meals.
It had gotten to the point where all we were eating was pasta....by the time I began thinking about dinner at 3 or 4 pm it was to late to do much else. Plus I would decide on something and go look for the freaking ingredients and there was always at least one item missing.
Now I can make out the grocery list for Mr. Goddess based on what I plan on cooking.

Dinner around here, while maybe not like at the Cleaver's, at least does not look like the Bundy's anymore.
Though I do still wear my skin tight leopard carpi's with stilettos while cooking and smoking....it's how I roll.

*Just so you know I do not buy take home very often, but today was the day we spent in purgatory at the DMV getting a new DL for me and a Arkansas ID for the boy so he can become gainfully employed (yea!) at WalMart pushing carts.
Not a bad job for a 16 yr old.
We left around noon, got home around 4:30pm.
Yes, I need a drink.
Too many things went wrong, but suffice it to say that in Arkansas you can't use BOTH your Birth Certificate and SS Card as ID since they are both considered primary ID's and one must have a secondary ID.
None on the list did we have.
So I had to go fill out a piece of paper declaring The Boy was who I said he was ( I guess I could have brought any urchin in with me and declared he was my kid) and get it notarized...then get back in line.
Oy, and Vey!
Then with ID in hand he went to the bank to take some of his own money out of his account, but we were given the wrong information earlier and my hubby has to fill something out giving The Boy permission to sign on the account because he is a minor.
Jesus Tapdancing Christ on a Stick.
Long story short, nice lady at bank let Mr. Goddess OK over the phone and The Boy with money in hand got to go to WalMart and buy the video game (some Pinata game where you grow them then kill them, I think...which really sounds awesome in a sick way to me) that was the WHOLE point of the WHOLE damn trip to Benton in the 1st place.
THAT is why we ate take home today.

TMI and Teen Sex

Was just listening to NPR and they had a story about Gernarlow Wison finally being released from prison.
(and just let me say i can not believe that ANYONE would think that a getting a blowjob from a teenager a couple of years younger (he was 17, she 15) then you is worth 10 years in prison and the lifelong label of "sex offender". Stupid? Yes...Worthy of any prison time? No.)

His lawyer mentioned this website:
my5th.org

From the website:

This legal maxim means that it is no defense to plead I didn’t know what I did was illegal!!! So that’s why you have to know your rights! My5th™ is a non-profit to discuss the laws that apply to you. We want to be real and tell you how laws affect your everyday life… you decide if they are right or wrong. We will cover both criminal and civil law issues. My5th™ gets it's name from the 5th Amendment of the Constitution---the clause that guarantees due process of the law before you are deprived of life, liberty or property and provides that you cannot be a witness against yourself. My5th™ will cover these rights and so many more.

Please show this to your teens so they know what are their rights and how to protect themselves from the laws and authorities in your area.....'cause in some places folks are just NUTS about that fact that ~gasp~ teenagers have sex.
Whats more teens seem to enjoy taping it and sharing it...which really I don't get and that freaks out parents even more and the kids just do not see why is bugs us...they think we are way too uptight.

All I know is that when I was a teen there were a couple of guys who might have gone to jail because of me.
Which just chills me to the bone since they were other teens, not creepy 20 or 30 year old guys, guys from school AND I KNEW WHAT I WAS DOING. I wanted to have sex, it was fun, there was no pressure from the guys.

Do I think teens should wait?
Sure, it is a good idea and even though sex is a biological urge it is still best enjoyed as an adult.
(and no, I could care less if you are married or not or who you do the deed with as long as they are other consenting adults)
I'm sure I was sexually active at an early age because of a slightly emotionally distant father and man, was I lucky I did not get pregnant or get an STD and this was before AIDS.
It was a crap shoot and I had luck on my side.

Do I talk to my son about this?
Oh, HELL yes.
He knows I was sexually active, that I'm lucky I did not end up pregnant or worse.
What's more we talk about what could happen to him as he gets older, the crazy sex offender laws that apply to both creepy pedophiles, peeping toms AND guys who had sex with their teenage girlfriends alike.
We talk about condoms and girls coming on to him and trying to resist (yes, I do tell a teenage boy to resist, but really I don't expect it to happen....I'm more interested in him knowing he can tell me ANYTHING or ask me ANYTHING without me getting mad or judging him) them if the time is not right or the condom is not available.
We talk about how when he is 17 to make sure he avoids girls under 16 at all times.

So he and I will spend sometime on My 5th and make sure he is aware what is and is not legal for him to do with his own body.

PEEPS

What teenage boys do when they are bored and have a few packages of peeps.



Peep Torture!

Pie Makes Everything Better

I made a Derby Pie yesterday minus the pecans.
Fang really wanted some and The Boy said I should give her some.
I said no "pie is not good for crazy big head dogs" and then my teen said;
Pie is good for everyone, pie makes everything better.

No truer words have been spoken.
Like I said he is a budding philosopher.

Mr. Kitty says;
More Pie