Oh no you didnt!?!?!?!?

Yesterday was my day off. I was looking forward to getting all the kids off to school and spending the day at home with Skyler packing and just enjoying the day. I love my Fridays. So, that's how it went, I got the kids up, sent them off to the bus, and started packing. It was a nice quiet day. The only time I left the house was to run to the kids NEW schools and register them. I was gone about an hour and a half.

Around two forty five the two middle kids came home and around four o'clock my sister came over. She had a fun girls sleepover planned and stopped by to pick up the girls. We waited for Chelsea's bus (the thirteen year old) to get there, but the bus came and went and Chelsea was not on it. I thought for sure that we missed her, that she HAD to have made it off the bus and if she didn't then she would call me soon telling me she missed the bus.....but none of this happened.

I started to get worried. I was home all day and she wasn't with me and I was sure she WENT to the bus stop this morning even though I didn't see her get on the bus. (the bus is just across the playground from my apartment)

I decided that it was just to fishy so I called the school. The phone rang and the vice principle answered the phone. We are on a first name basis now this year (sigh).

Me: Hello, this is Chelsea's mom. She didn't get off the bus today can you look around and see if she is there with you?

VP: Well I didn't see her at lunch today let me check the attendance chart..(pause while she is looking)...OK I can see that she was not at school today. She was marked absent. I'm so sorry.

Me: (nearly in tears and now in panic mode) Well what do I do? Do I call the cops. I cant imagine where she would be for more then eight hours all day.

VP: Actually, calling the cops wont do any thing because they will not file a missing persons report until she is gone for 24 hours. Maybe you could wait until about six o'clock to call. Usually they come home by then because they are hungry for dinner.

Me: (really panicking now and just really annoyed at the police policy) OK Ill go and call her friends.

VP: OK but please call me and let me know if she shows up. I'm so sorry.

So, I get off the phone, in tears, wondering what to do. I have all these visions of really bad things going through my head. What if she ditched school and got abducted? What if she is having sex with some boy?

As soon as I turn the corner from my room I hear "Chelsea get in here." I run out to the living room and there she is (at five o'clock in the evening) right outside the porch. The look on her face was a tell all.

We managed to get her in the house. She had ditched with her friend. They just decided they didn't want to go to school so they walked around town ALL DAY LONG. That's more then eight hours of just walking around town. No food no water...just wandering around town. She said she had fun and she wasn't sorry she did it. She went on to say that she tries to be a good girl but its just to hard.

I took her makeup away and grounded her but the drama didn't end there. She was very mad at me and pulled the dad card again. Every time she is mad at me she goes to her dad and begs him to buy plane tickets for her so she can live with him and be an only child. PPLLLEEAAASSEEE!!! Can you say DRAMA????? Honestly, I am sick of this. I am tired of the little games she plays. I told her that going to live with her dad was NOT an option and she better BUCK up and grow up because she is going to get expelled from school and end up doing eighth grade again.

The worst part is that now she has her dad all confused. He desperately wants her to come live with him but he knows I don't agree with separating the kids. I want him to understand that she is just growing up and going through all these phases. I think his heart just hurts because he misses them. Its just not in the kids best interest to be separated. I refuse to do it. Here are a few reasons that Chelsea (just last night) says are the reasons she wants to live with her dad:

1. She can listen to any music she wants to, even if it has cussing in it.
2. She can accidentally cuss in front of her dad and he doesn't mind.
3. Her dads wife will let Chelsea do virtually ANYTHING she wants.
4. She will be an only child.

I think she has a very deranged view of what life would be like at her dads. She has only spent a month or two at a time with him since she was four years old. What she fails to realize is that if she was living with him full time...things would not be much different then here.

So, beyond all the drama of my pre-teens and teens, the count down continues to moving day. I am SUPER excited. We move on the 13th. I cant wait to get the kids out of these schools. I cant wait to get out of this STINKING neighborhood. I CANT WAIT!!!!!!!

My new strategy: To take my rent and pet deposit down to the property management company early and see if I can get the key to my new place early. We will see if it works.