Everything happens when your 12

Tanner and I were talking today and he asked me a question and my answer was when your 12. He said "Ugh, I hate being nine, you have to wait like three years to do anything, everything happens when your twelve. You can have a pocket knife, you get to babysit, you get a cell phone, and you even get a little skillet and it comes with a small pot too". 8 used to be the birthday to look forward to in our house because even though after you get baptized you get more responsibility as a big kid you also get a little more freedom like riding your bike on the street or playing over at a friends who's not a member of the church or related to you, buying your own ice cream from the ice cream man and for the boys riding in the car without a carseat. Zander is gonna be very disappointed he turns 8 and he isn't big enough to do most of the 8 year old things. For Sarah and Zander 12 will be when they are finally big enough to ride without a carseat.

Lying

My 12 yr old can't seem to stop lying to his mother lately. I don't know what's happened because he used to be the good one and all of the sudden he's lying about everything, even things he probably wouldn't get in trouble for. Since he's only aloud to watch TV and play video games on Saturday grounding him wasn't very helpful. Taking away the cell phone wasn't helpful either because I make him babysit and sometimes take his little brothers and sister to play at their friends when I can't and he needs his phone for that. He hasn't had an allowance and has been doing extra chores for so long that that isn't a punishment anymore either. I have been driving him to school because it is very embarrassing to be dropped off by your mom when your twelve and that has been a little helpful. I think today I may have found the solution. He wanted to go out and ride bikes with all the other neighborhood kids. Most of them were his age and they came over a few times to ask him to play. At first I said no because he was grounded but that didn't seem like it bothered him much so I decided he could go outside and ride his bike but he couldn't cross the street and every time they asked he had to tell them no because his mommy won't let him cross the street. (I sent Tanner as a spy make sure he told them) He stayed out for about ten minutes before the other kids decided the sidewalk was for babies and they were going off to do something else. I told him if he keeps it up I would be eating lunch with him as well. He swears he will never lye to me again. Lets hope he doesn't because I really don't like school food.