Teenager Tips

There's so many What to Expect When... books or tips on the Internet but I've yet to see one on Teenage Girls specifically. And since I don't have the privilege of raising boys, here are a few practical tips I thought I'd share for living with teenage girls:

If you want a phone charger, find one that works good and hide it! Treat it likes its pure gold and never let it out of your site because if you do, they'll take it. In fact, they'll take all the chargers and you'll maybe see them again or maybe not. It's questionable.

Just go ahead and leave your car running at all times because rarely will an hour go by before you have to run them somewhere. Consider a smaller, more fuel efficient car unless you are asked to transport multiple friends, then stay with the big family trucksters. Also, I guarantee you'll have to go back to their school to take them something they forgot or something they need to change into or whatnot, so that way your car is ready and off you go.

Go ahead and leave $20 on the counter every other day and save yourself a trip to the ATM twice a week. They need money for something constantly so this way it's already taken care of.

(And for all you young mommies, these teenagers are way more expensive than all those boxes of diapers your buying or cans of formula. Trust me!)

Don't be shocked by the constant smell of nail polish or nail polish remover. It will fill your house often and be pouring out of random rooms of the house. Set your rules early on where you want them to do all this polishing or I promise it'll end up on your carpet or tile grout. Just saying ...

Limit your shower to ONE bottle of shampoo and ONE bottle of conditioner because if you buy new ones, the older ones will never get used up unless you are the one that uses them up. We can have 3-4 open bottles of shampoo and conditioner sitting in the shower at one time and I'm the only one who recognizes it.

Don't ever, in any way, get use to empty laundry baskets! They're obsolete and won't ever exist in a house of teenage girls.

Expect the Lifetime Channel emblem to be engraved into your tv screen because it'll be on A LOT!

Keep an emergency kit in your vehicle that contains mini bottles of lotion, body spray and deodorant, along with lip balm and ponytail holders.

They don't grow out of crayons and crafts, so keep stocked up on colored paper, glitter pens, fancy colored markers and bubble paint.

When they stand in the kitchen and act like they want to talk, stop what you're doing immediately, look them in the eyes and pay attention. It's amazing what you'll learn if you do. Supper being late is totally worth whatever she's about to share with you.

If suddenly you realize both her AND her phone have been missing for quite some time, find her! Don't trust a teenage girl alone in a room with her phone and the door shut for long periods of time, unless she's specifically told you who she's talking to. Odds are, most the time, it's with someone you don't approve of.

And last but not least, pray! Pray for patience, wisdom, safety and gratitude!