Pedicures and Robot Babies

My baby sister (the baby baby), Marianne turned 15 yesterday. I was fourteen when she was born, so there is quite an age gap between us. She has always been a little kid to me. I don't even have a lot of memories of living at home when she was around because I left for college when she was three. And as far as I'm concerned, she should still be three. But, now she is 15, all of a sudden. And a beautiful, sweet, and talented young lady.

Last weekend I ended up in a car with six 15-year-olds on our way to a pedicure party. My Mom had called me a few days before and asked me if I would be interested in trading kids. This meaning that she doesn't do well with a car load of teenage girls and would prefer my two babies at home to that any day. Of course, I am always one for a break from the little kids so I said I would take them to Eagle to the closest Nail Salon for pedicures. My mom even offered to pay for my own pedicure if I would drive them.

On Saturday the girls arrived and one of them had a robot baby with them. Yes, a robot baby. She was taking a teen living class for high school and she was assigned a crying, fussy, pooping robot baby for the entire weekend. Unfortunately, she had to bring it a long for the trip because, like all good mothers, that's what you do, and unfortunately, she was also a "single mom" so no help from a partner. So, along with six girls, my backseat still contained a carseat, except this time, it was a robot baby. So much for my break from crying and poopy pants.

This baby was an amazing piece of technology. It recorded all data from the day--everything from if you forget to support is neck to how long it cries each time before you tend to it's needs. And like all real babies, it's pretty realistic in the amount of time it eats, sleeps, and cries to be burped or changed. It was a very anatomically correct boy baby, which shocked me because I have only ever played with your basic baby dolls. It was as close to the real deal as you could imagine one to be. It cried the entire time we were having our pedicures (not unlike my own child would have been doing had I brought it along), and it cried while we ate Cold Stone's ice cream. (Also not unlike both of mine, who somehow could always sense when I was about to sit down and eat and they needed to eat as well). And you can imagine the looks we were getting from people at the sight of six 15-year-old girls playing mother hen to this doll in public.

I couldn't help but think how things have changed just since I was in school! (You know, back in the 90's?) We carried around an egg for about three days. There was no way of knowing how neglectful you were of you egg. There was simply a pass if the egg was intact and fail if the egg broke. I actually think I got bored with this project and left the egg in my locker except for the actual class of teen living. Luckily for Cameron and Tucker, I treat them a little better than the egg.

I had to laugh when all of the girls were trying to decide if they were going to go to a movie after pedicures and the girl who had the baby spoke up and said (overdramatically, of course), "I don't know if I can go, I do have this baby after all...."(snotty sighs from all the other non-mother girls)....(Said in an overdramatic teenaged girl voice)"Just go without me. I was up TWICE last night and all I want to do is go home and take a nap!"
Oh honey, if she only knew that TWICE in one night is actually a good night.........

So anyways, a new experience for me being around a robot baby. I'm still for giving each girl a shot that makes them feel labor and another shot that makes them feel morning sickness instead of the plastic baby. That would have stopped me from EVER having a baby. Actually, seeing as how I am on baby #3, I guess I am a slow learner after all.

Another thing about teenaged girls who get together in groups....they talk all the time and not necessarily to one another or even on one specific topic at a time. And usually they have a lot of inside jokes and nicknames for boys that they like, so it's really a challege to keep up with conversations. The other thing about teenagers these days compared to our days? Not only are they talking incessantly about boys and whatnots, they are also having full blown multiple conversations via texting while they are talking to each other in person! Amazing multitasking skills...until you start to listen to the conversations....and you get so confused you don't know what to think. I heard every conversation from asking someone to please stop biting their foot to the pros and cons of abortion in every situation, to the definition of "poaching". At that point, I had to butt in because I couldn't believe how misinformed these girls are. But the rest of the time, I realized that I am the lame ass OLD sister who is basically in the same category as Mom.

It's amazing how ditzy and deep they can be at the same time. It makes me miss my friends that were so important in my life at fifteen. The amount of time and energy we put into writing notes to one another (because duh, we didn't have cell phones back then) filling the margins with doodles and inside jokes, folded up into that funky looking triagle shaped notebook paper package that had the tuck in flaps? Lots of time and energy on these! The conversations that must have went on that we regarded as deep but people listening must have thought good lord! I miss those times. We would talk for hours on the phone about nothing and when we spent the night, we'd talk again for hours about nothing. We had nick names for every hot guy in school and nicknames for the ones that were the opposite, just to be mean. Teenage girls are so lucky. And at the same time......would you ever go back? It kind of makes me sad because I know my sister thinks she is the center of the universe right now. And she should. That's the great thing about being a teenager. Your world is the only one that matters. And it matters a lot. And in about 5-8 years, she'll be looking back and laughing. Wondering how it all went so fast. And now I'm sitting here looking at Cameron who is five, but thinks she's 15 and hoping it all doesn't go so fast. Life is funny how it just goes by and then you turn around and realize some major part is over and you didn't even realize you were in it. Too deep for a Friday afternoon? I agree.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend. I am emotional as hell right now and I love that about pregnancy because most of the time I'm a total hard ass about movies so I rented My Sister's Keeper for tonight with the full intent of having a good cry. Makes me feel good to feel that way sometimes. And Pizza for dinner. No cooking and an entire evening on the couch with a blanket. Can't wait.