Joe is 16 today!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

It’s been 16 wonderful, wild, crazy and fun years with you.  We love you and are proud of you.

In Virginia, kids must wait until they are AT LEAST 16 and 3 months before they can get their license, and they must have held their learner’s permit for at least nine months.  They are to complete a classroom portion of driver’s ed and 45 hours of behind the wheel practice (at least 15 of those hours needs to be at night).  After they do this, they take a behind the wheel driver’s ed class.  If they pass that, they receive their temporary license.  WHEW!

And I am behind that.  I want the kids to be responsible drivers and understand that driving is a privilege, not a right.

Roy took Joe to the DMV about a month ago, and Joe got his permit.  He was so excited!  I guess Roy was feeling generous, and he let Joe drive his car. Just down our neighborhood streets.

But, to put this into perspective, Roy LOVES his car.  I mean loves it, like if his car was a woman, he would have left me for it by now. No, I am not upset, though I tease him mercilessly about it.  He works hard. All the cars we have owned in the past have been responsible, reliable family cars.  Nothing sexy, nothing fun.  Roy did his research, and this is actually a very safe car. And it’s hot!

Roy has had his car since August, and he has waxed and washed it more in that time than he has our van, and we have had it for almost 6 years.  If he is driving it, and it rains, he pulls into the garage (which he cleaned out and completely reorganized for his car), runs into the house for his special “car towels,” and dries it.  He LOVES his car, and I love that he loves his car.

So, now you know.

Joe’s 16th birthday is on Sunday.  Our little boy is turning 16; I can’t believe it!

We were sitting down last night, watching our new favorite show (Community. Have you seen it?  If not, check it out!) when Joe comes running down stairs.

He has his most favorite possession with him (of course) his iPod touch, and he sits on the couch playing with it.

A few minutes later, he looks up, “Hey, Dad?”

“Hmm…” Roy is a bit distracted.  Hello, have you seen Community? FUNNY!

“For my birthday, can you take me out for a drive in your car?”

Roy said we would see, which usually means yes.

Joe is happy.

This was an exciting week for Joe!

Got a promotion in JROTC to Squad Leader

Just got his permit this morning

and a young lady asked him out on a date…

What a Week!

LOVE that song by Nelly!  Not sure why, but I do. Ok anyways…

So, Friday I was feeling kind of crappy.  My ovarian cysts seemed to flare up right about ‘that time of the month’ and the pain… seriously?  OUCH!  So, Roy came out to help me with dinner which was spaghetti. Also because I am allergic to raw celery and carrots (weird I know), and if I cut them and don’t completely sterilize my entire body, my lips swell and my eyes swell… pretty nasty stuff. I tend to put veggies in because, duh, how else do I get the kids to eat their daily intake?  

So, I made the sauce, cooked the noodles, and we all sat down to eat (except for Corey who was at work).  The usual chaos ensued.

“Addi would you PLEASE just try the sauce.” This from either Roy or I - or both.

“Mom, look at how much I ate.” This from Hayden as a subtle dig to Addi to prove he is being good and Addi is not.

“Dean! SIT DOWN!” This from me as Dean got up to dance over to the computer.

“This is kinda spicy tonight, honey.” Roy said this to me as he put the last spoonful into his mouth.

“So, Joe any hot chicks at school?”  And suddenly everyone was quiet.  I ask Joe this every so often, just to tease him a bit, but also because I’m nosy and want to know what’s going on.

We all looked at him. Usually, when I ask him this, he hems and haws, and I have to pull it out of him, but not tonight.

“Well, there is this girl in my Biology class.” He ventured.

Not wanting to scare him into silence, I just nodded my head.

“It was funny, she was rubbing my arm hair.” Umm… aren’t they supposed to be cutting up frogs or something?

“Why was she rubbing you?” Hayden asked.

“I don’t know.  She asked to see my legs too.” Now, Joe is dark haired like I am.   Corey has lighter hair, and his legs don’t look as hairy, though they are! 

“Umm… aren’t you guys supposed to be studying?  Why is this girl copping a feel?” I asked him.

“She wasn’t mom!  I just pulled up my pants leg.”

“And?” Did this girl make fun of my baby?

“She said I was hairy.” Joe shrugged with a smirk.

“Is she pretty?” I asked him.

“Yes.”

I was amazed. Usually he is shy and very cagey with the details, but he was open and seemed to enjoy all the teasing from his Dad and I… and even the younger boys.

Joe is shy, and because of some things that have happened lately he has been a bit down on himself at times.  I am just glad to see that things seem to be turning a corner, and I hope he starts to see himself the way we do - as a funny, smart, kind, caring, and very handsome young man.

Bet this young lady sees him that way…

This post has two different ‘issues’ in it, but I have a full house today, so I am just combining them into one. Now splitting the posts into two.

Joe is 15 and a half.  We have teased him before that he is ‘clueless’ to certain things, that he is off in his own world.  And then he does something that surprises me.  Joe is a pretty straight forward kid.  He likes certain things - video games, computers, etc.  He doesn’t ask me for new things every day, and he doesn’t expect me to buy him things every time I go out.  He always looks presentable, and when he wants to, he looks very handsome when he dresses up, but fashion isn’t something he is overly concerned about.  He takes his schooling seriously (although math could use some extra attention), and I think he has really found his comfort spot with his JROTC class at school.  Joe has an amazing wit. Yes, sometimes he can be sarcastic and a smart aleck, but he has a great sense of humor and perfect timing.  He makes us laugh, and laugh, and laugh, but he is also secure enough in himself that he takes all our teasing in stride and will give it right back to us.

Joe will be eligible to get his driver’s permit here soon, and he was really hoping to get a job this summer.  BUT, the fact of the matter is, he is still only 15 and can not drive yet, and that seems to have really impacted many of the ‘traditional’ jobs that kids his age get.  So, when the opportunity to babysit one of Addi’s friends casually came up, he was thrilled!  I admit that I had my reservations… mainly because another tween in the house means the the noise level is cranked up a bit more… though to be honest it can’t go much higher.  

Today is the first day of Joe’s new venture, and I have to say… BRAVO!  He is doing wonderfully.  He woke up early, got dressed, and ate so that he was ready.  He has been entertaining the boys, but not hovering.  He is including his younger brothers, and being so sweet about it.  Dare I say, he is a better babysitter than Corey?  Yes, I might!  I am proud of you, Joe, and you are reminding me again just how mature you are becoming.

When Joe (he is 15 now) was about 8, I remember sitting around the dinner table one night and asking the boys what they wanted to be when they got older.  Ok, maybe he was a bit younger, but anyways… I am not sure what Corey and Addi said, but Joe’s answer was hilarious.

“I want to have hair!” He announced with conviction.

I looked at my son blankly. Joe had and still has a full head of very thick dark brown hair, so I was confused as to what he wanted.

“You have hair, Joe.” Roy answered drly.

“No, I want hair like dad!” He answered with excitement, “I want hair on my chest and my legs and under my armpits.”

I laughed hysterically.  My husband has a full chest of hair, and while I love it, I didn’t quite realize that the boys looked at his hairy chest as something to which to aspire.  Roy shook his head and chuckled.

“When you have to shave twice a day, then we’ll talk.”  He told the boys.

Little did he realize that the boys were eagerly anticipating the day when they would have to shave.  Along with shaving, came other ‘adult’ things - driving, earning money, dating, paying bills… (OK, they probably weren’t looking forward to that last item).  Shaving is a rite of passage for girls AND for boys.

And now, many years later, the dreams have changed.  I’m not sure if Joe still wants chest hair, and he is about to start driving.  Corey has already reached that milestone.  There was once a time when they wanted to stay up past 11 pm, and now they have friends over until 2 in the morning.  They wanted to see a Rated R movie in the theater, and now Corey can soon go without us (they don’t always check ID here, but either way he will be 17 in about a month!).  They wanted to be able to stay home alone, and now not only do they do so, but they often babysit their younger brothers.

Corey thought it would be so cool for me to ask him to run to the store for some milk, and now he gets to do that (or even get something for himself at the spur of the moment).  Joe dreamed of the day he would have his own computer - he does, along with a nice little flat screen TV and an Xbox 360.  (TV was a Christmas gift, and he bought the 360 himself).  Addi wanted his own room - he now has it, complete with cool black walls (he picked it) and a bed he helped his dad make.

The three older boys have their own cell phones (Perhaps that’s why our cell bill is over 200 dollars? I don’t know!), and Hayden’s big dream is to have his own phone too (in time, dear).  Meanwhile, Joe wants a car, and Corey is hoping to be a chef one day.

The dreams change and grow just as the boys do, but I miss the days when Joe’s biggest goal in life was to have a hairy chest.

Meanwhile, Dean’s goal right now is to watch The Amazing World of Gumball on Cartoon Network.