Oh Crap, I've Got A Tween In My Home

That's right! My sweet little boy is about to turn 11yrs old. And with it is coming a full surge of hormones, that I expect will get worse, and a smart mouth. Now don't get me wrong, my son is one of the most amazing people I know. He is so smart, and loving, and has such an amazing spirit. However, this is being over shadowed by his sarcastic comments and quick snips. (Hmmm, wonder who he gets that from? I know it's not me!) Last weekend, my child decided it would be fun to light one of my balloons on fire. Yep, that's right. On fire. Now, as disturbing as it is to know that he was just sitting there and the idea to light the balloon on fire just came to him out of the blue, the more disturbing thing is that he convinced our baby sitter that this would be a good idea!!! (I'm just glad the two morons did it OUTSIDE my home.) So, now I know I've got a little pyro on my hands. I remember lighting things on fire too as a teenager. I'm a girl and I almost caught my mom's kitchen on fire. He is a boy, with less worries about danger. I'm sure the fire department will be called at least once before this child reaches the age of 18.I've also got to worry about things I say coming around and biting me in the ass now. I am forever telling my family that we have plenty of food in this house, but you just have to cook it. You know, put in a little bit of effort. Today while prodding my stocked fridge and freezer, I made the mistake of saying, "There's nothing to eat." Of course I meant there is nothing to eat instantly. Jaydn quips in, "There's plenty of food, Mom. You just gotta cook it." I couldn't even smack him for it because he darted out of the kitchen before I could turn around! Watching him as he enters this wonderful and insane time in his life, I smile and remember my own youth. As he opens his arms to give me a hug, I wonder how many more "willing" hugs I'm going to get from him. I have already informed him that he can either give his mom hugs and kisses (which are now on the cheek :( It goes by too fast!) for the rest of his life or have his dad and stepdad hunt him down and kiss him instead! Luckily that works out really well in my favor since my son would rather give me a kiss than have either of his dads kiss him. It is only a matter of time before he finds away around this one too. (Don't worry. I have a plan in mind to ensure he always hugs me.) As I listen to him debate his points on why he is old enough to watch a rated R action movie that is really cool looking (he loses every time), I watch my sweet 5yr old son. Watching Ryker laying on the floor and playing, and grabbing himself whenever he has to pee makes me miss having Jaydn that age again. I never dreamed that I would miss the days when my son was cracking raw eggs all over my kitchen floor at 5am because he decided to make himself breakfast, or when he was scaling up the walls in my home for fun. No, now instead of worrying that he is going to fall and hurt himself, I worry that he is going to fall and break something (like when he decided to JUMP off the top bunk a few months ago). Or worse, that I'm going to have cops at my house because something or someone has accidently been lit on fire! Oh, the joys of parenting. I might have to smack the next parent of a newborn I hear who whines about how hard it is.