Ranting

I am feeling FRUSTRATED. I am tired of having to pull teeth to get my son to do his homework. Having to sit with him while he does his math because he waited until forever to do it and cannot remember how to multiply and divide. This causes a fuss because he is stubborn and will not memorize his times tables so he has to resort to drawing bubbles with tick marks which takes FOREVER and he HATES, but he will not believe me when I tell him how much easier it would be if he would just memorize them! Then I had to fight with my kinder to finish her valentines and do her homework and then the bedtime struggle that is so common in families across the globe. All this is but the icing on the cake so to speak as my 13yr old has spent the evening reading and when I inquired about her homework she told me she did not have that much. When I asked for proof I discovered that the book report/project that was due TODAY, that I have been hounding her for weeks about is NOT DONE. She proceeds to lie to me about it until I find the instructions giving by the teacher and prove to her it is not done and her excuses make no sense. I extend her grounding and have the usual teen vs parent clash and I am struggling with my impulse to shake the stink out of her! She has appalling grades and everything we try is not working. It is not that she cannot do the work, it is just that she won't. UGH. I have grounded her for the rest of the school year as a result. She has no TV, no PlayStation, phone, friends outside of school, nothing. I told her until she starts focusing her attention on her schoolwork she will have nothing else. Until I see proof of her efforts in this I will not relent. Yes people, I am a MEANER and I do want to "rule her life." On a happier note. I spent the day making/decorating cupcakes for my kinder's classroom party tomorrow. Here is a picture of them. Nothing to write home about that is for sure. They are suppose to be love bugs. Maybe if you squint your eyes and hold your head just so.. I also made a cake for our own celebration. Since I could not give my hubby an actual valentines gift, here is a picture of the cake. We love you honey and miss you! He has been gone a week and it feels like 10. Especially today. (Pictures will not post so I will try again tomorrow. figures!