Most of you know that the Sunday after Valentines Day is Balloon Day at our house. 
Ian and I always get them balloons for Valentines Day so they made this tradition a few years ago. Michael is part of the tradition, but since he didn't come down until after I put my camera away, he missed the photo op.
Evan loved it.
So did Max.
You will notice that there are only 3 boys in this picture. That's because Xander worked his magic and successfully made Ben cry and go in the house. Xander causes a lot of the fights in our house.
Which brings me to the second portion of this post. HOLY COW, RAISING AN ALMOST TEENAGER IS HARD! I'm not sure I'm going to survive the teenage years. Or maybe he won't. And when I start to think about Ben going down the same path next year I start to hyperventilate a little.
Sure he looks all happy in this photo, but let me tell you, looks can be deceiving. One minute everything is fine, the next he is yelling that we don't understand him and that we never let him do anything and that we suck. Seriously. Thank goodness for Tiffany and Kim who understand my pain and listen to me vent. Without them, I might've already went insane.
Ian and I always get them balloons for Valentines Day so they made this tradition a few years ago. Michael is part of the tradition, but since he didn't come down until after I put my camera away, he missed the photo op.
Evan loved it.So did Max.You will notice that there are only 3 boys in this picture. That's because Xander worked his magic and successfully made Ben cry and go in the house. Xander causes a lot of the fights in our house.Which brings me to the second portion of this post. HOLY COW, RAISING AN ALMOST TEENAGER IS HARD! I'm not sure I'm going to survive the teenage years. Or maybe he won't. And when I start to think about Ben going down the same path next year I start to hyperventilate a little.Sure he looks all happy in this photo, but let me tell you, looks can be deceiving. One minute everything is fine, the next he is yelling that we don't understand him and that we never let him do anything and that we suck. Seriously. Thank goodness for Tiffany and Kim who understand my pain and listen to me vent. Without them, I might've already went insane.The other day at work I asked a co worker (who successfully raised 5 boys) what the secret to handling teenagers was. She picked up her glass of diet coke and pointed to it.
