10 Signs I'm Living With a Tween

It's hard to believe, but Blake's less than two weeks away from his 12th birthday.

Brett and I have survived the sleepless nights, the potty training, the homework, the learning to read, the first sleep-over, the swimming lessons, the Chuck E Cheese's birthday parties, the learning to ride a bike, the trips to the emergency room -- all that kind of stuff.

But there's a huge aura of mystery that looms as we ponder the next six years and the warped obstacle course we'll be forced to fumble through as we take on the new role of being parents of a teen.

We have one more year of our oldest being a tween. One more year until that "w" is plucked from his title and we officially have a teen. Insert scream here.

We're frequently reminded that a tween is in the house -- more and more so each day. The first 10 things that come to mind:

1. Just last week I was asked to buy Clearasil for a tiny little bump that can barely be seen with the naked eye.
2. His friends get more face time with him than we do.
3. He doesn't get in the car without his Ipod.
   
4. He asks if he can get unlimited text messaging because 200 messages a month is just not possible. And he basically texts just his best friend.
   
5. Paintballing is the thing to do. Every time I see him surfing the net he's checking out paintball guns. What happened to squirt guns? Or even Nerf?
   
6. Coming home from school and eating two bowls of cereal is normal. I stock up when our favorites are on sale -- it's not unusual to see a dozen "extra" boxes in the pantry at any given time.
   
7. Brett and I are requested not to chaperone field trips. At this point we can still attend soccer games, but perhaps there will come a day when we'll have to don masks and wigs and hide behind trees.
   
8. The top requests for birthday gifts are gift cards and cash. But Blake, don't you remember how much you loved that magic set when you were 5? Doing those magic tricks with that cute top hat. Sigh ...
   
9. If something is wrong in his world, it is, of course, all Mom's fault.
10. Getting him to take a shower is no longer an issue. :)