With the challenges that I am facing raising a teenager, I did what any mother would do.  I prayed.  Not that I just started praying now.  I’ve been praying for my son for a while now.  Specifically singling him out from the rest of the family.  Why?  Because he needs it.  I need it.

I am not saying that prayer doesn’t work.  It really does and I’m a firm believer of it but this amigas,  calls for a job for… the youth leaders.

The only male role models my son has are his dad and his uncle (my BIL).  He has 2 male cousins who are too busy in their own teenage world  and another uncle (my brother) who has completely abandoned the rest of the family so in reality, there is no one for my son to really look up to.

One key aspect when we were looking for a church was their youth program.  And I am not disappointed.

One call to the youth pastors and they came, spiritually swooping up and taking control of my son’s spiritual being.  They prayed for him and like soldiers taking care of buisness in the battlefield, they took care of buisness in the spiritual realm.  Getting MEN who are strong in the word and taking care of the young ones is what being a pastor (especially a youth pastor) is all about.

I know that this challenge isn’t over yet, but both my husband and I are glad that we are not alone.

For homework he had to draw a picture and write a paragraph about the picture he drew. He wrote his paragraph first and then proceeded to draw his picture.  What he had in mind to draw he couldn’t put it onto the paper.  This is where it all came crashing down.

He wanted me to draw a building.  Well, my interpretation of a building is a square box, a door, a couple of windows and that’s about it.  That didn’t work too well with him.

See, he wanted me to draw Farrell’s for him. Yes, the Ice Cream Parlor.  This kid wanted me to go into details about the place.  I told him that I wouldn’t and that him drawing what he could was fine.

He cried and cried and quickly it turned to sobbing.  All he kept on saying was that he wanted “Farrell’s.”

I drew 3 (yes, THREE) separate interpretations of what I thought Farrell’s looked like and all three were, according to him, wrong.  At this point, I think I cursed at Farrell’s for even existing!!!

I have to admit that I was a little taken back at his reaction to both of us not being able to draw what he wanted. I was beyond frustrated.  I went to my room to keep me from ringing is neck!   I simmered down and went to my son and tried to reason with him.

We finally were able to draw (what I had already done in the first place, UGH!) the building he wanted with the Farrell’s sign on top of the square box.

The single piece of homework turned into an hour ordeal.  How do you deal with your perfectionist?

Meet my familia de ranas….

I know right?  It’s so cute! I was at Albertson’s and as I was casually walking around doing my groceries, this beauty caught my eye.  Can you guess why I love it so much?

If you guess a number, then you are right!  It’s a family of 5 frogs.  A daddy frog, a mommy frog and 3 kid frogs in different sizes!  This is us!!!!

Do you know how hard it is to find anything that comes in 5′s?  Normally anything at pertains to families come in 4′s.  And here… here we have 5.  I know it’s ugly looking and just plain, eh.

But it’s mine…

Do you have something that’s “just yours?” Something that has no significance to no one except you?  Share it in the comment section. Come on now, I know I’m not the only one. (:

This is hard.

I’ve told you about the struggles I’ve had with how to handle my then tween.   I’ve always had the silent dread of the teenage years.  Now, I am in it.  Knee deep. And I seriously have no clue what I’m doing.

Being a parent takes you through many “firsts.”   This is the first time I parent a teen.  This is the first time I discipline a teen. Talk to a teen. Raise a teen.

Want to know something weird and so not funny? In the middle of my heated battles with my son, my mind wonders to the time of  adolescence and how my mom would always tell me “Deja que tengas los tuyos.” Am I paying all the wrong I did to my mom?  I wasn’t that bad, was I?

Is all the yelling, rolling of the eyes, the god forsaken sarcasm, the talking back, the MUST HAVE THE LAST WORD and the mumbling under the breath normal?  Hormones? Influence? Passage of life?

Have you done and finished raising your teens?  Are you going through what I’m going through right now?  I would love to connect with you and really ask you….

How do you do it?

Q1.  Am I the only one who thinks about weight loss in January?  Well, besides all the ads and TV commercial about exercise equipment and gyms, weight loss is often top-of-mind at the beginning of the New Year, with 67 percent of women saying it is the ideal time to begin a weight-loss plan.   See, we are not alone!

Q2. I want to lose 20 pounds by summer but I always fail, am I the only one who’s obsessed with loosing 20 lbs?  Ugh… the dreaded 20 lb’s!  How many time have you heard ” don’t step on the scale” when you’re trying to fight the battle of the bulge? We all know that we shouldn’t worry about the “number” but it seems we always do. 62 percent of women fixate on the number of pounds they hope to lose, which often derails them from their weight-loss plan.

Q3.  The lack of support always makes me fail my weight loss plan, am I alone?  Nope. 64 percent find a lack of support the reason for getting off track from a weight loss plan. Me included.

Q4. What can I “gain”  when I “lose” weight? Girl… You can conquer the world!  75 percent of women said they aim to gain confidence by managing their weight in the New Year.

Last Monday, January 2 was National Weigh-In Day with Special K.  I’ve told you all about Special K before. Special K’s 2 week challenge is still going strong.  This year, something has changed.  What happens after the 2 weeks?  You have your momentum going strong and then… what?

Recognizing women need flexibility in their plans and tools at their fingertips, the Special K brand is offering new ways to keep women on track. SpecialK.com features tracking tools, peer inspiration and motivation that make it a potential alternative to best-in-class weight loss communities. In addition to the tracking tools and communities, the SpecialK.com sitenow allows women to design a plan just for them.

 The Special K plans are also customizable to women’s lifestyles.There are on-the-go options for busy lifestyles and adventurous recipes for “foodies,” plus vegetarian recipes. After selecting their meal plan and activity level, women are given a personalized Special K plan that is unique to their needs and goals. Women can easily track their progress online via their mobile device that goes way beyond the 2 weeks.

In my quest to soul search and really try to make a difference in my life, I have put “lose weight” in the back burner. What I mean by that is- I want to be healthy. I need to make the lifestyle changes that enables me to want to start a plan. Last year, we gave up soda.  Not completely but we did reduce our soda intake significantly.  This was huge for us as a family. This year I want to move more. But, just like the survey results, I really, really lack motivation.  I don’t have the encouragement at home.  I have a husband who “walks” for a living and kids who don’t need to be on a diet. I have no accountability with anyone.  This is why I am glad to support the Special K challenge. It truly provides really women helping other women achieve their goals.

Ready to get things started?  Check out Special K on twitter @SpecialKUS and on facebook.

PS: Want to know what I will gain when I lose?  Peace…

This is sponsored post by Special K through The Motherhood. All thoughts and opinions are my own. To learn more about the feelings women have about weight loss, theSpecial K® brand commissioned a national survey among women ages 25-54.