When will she ever learn?

Everyone knows the trouble that we had with Courtney a few months ago and I was hoping we were over the "hump". She's actually been very, very good lately and has earned back most, if not all of her priveleges. She went to Indianapolis for spring break, got her cell phone back, goes to friends houses, got her myspace page back, etc. I EVEN LET HER HAVE A BOYFRIEND (that she doesn't really see, but does talk to). I THINK I'M DOING PRETTY DARNED GOOD HERE.

WELLLLLL....... the trouble started when I looked at our cell bill online the other day and noted that Courtney has already used THE ENTIRE FAMILIES MINUTES in ONE WEEK. So now the whole family has to be limited on their daytime use of our phones if we don't want to pay a fortune. So I got on her case about that and started taking her phone from her as soon as she got home from school and wouldn't give it back to her until 9pm when free minutes kicked in. She wasn't happy about it, but she went along with it. So today I decided to do a sneak attack on her and snuck up on her room, knocked, opened the door and snatched the phone without any warning so that she couldn't delete anything before giving it to me like she normally does (she thinks I'm stupid).

The first thing I did was look in her pictures and noticed two pictures...one of her friend, one of herself...in front of the cannon in our park downtown. I was thinking "when in the heck was she in the park??? She does not go near that park to get to where i pick her up." So I look at the properties.....and it says: May 1 t 10:11 a.m. EXCUSE ME???? Isn't that on a TUESDAY during SCHOOL HOURS???? HMMMMM.... So I confront her about it and OF COURSE what does she say? "That's not true! I don't skip school! It must be WRONG!!! It doesn't record the correct times for pictures!!!"

So as she's talking I turn on the camera and snap a picture of the wall beside her and turn to the properties... "Wow Courtney, that's funny...it's accurate with the picture that I TOOK!" So as usual she's denying up a storm and then I find ANOTHER picture...this one saying today's date at around 11:30 a.m. But she didn't take THAT one either she says....Trisha had her phone! (Trisha who has HER OWN phone) Right. And it keeps getting better...stick with me here. She interrupts my rant to say "you're gonna come across some bathing suit pictures on there...I'm just warning you because you're probably going to be mad."

*cricket, cricket*

Then the silence ends with "what???? ARE YOU F****ING KIDDING ME?????" B'GAWK!!! Yeah, I freaked out on her. She's already gotten in so much trouble in the past for taking inappropriate pics of herself and now she's doing it again??? Why??? You think you're gonna send them to your new boyfriend??? Oh hell no!!! Of course her comeback was "no one has seen them! I only took them to see how I really looked in my new bathing suit...an extra pair of eyes...." Whatever player! (yes, back to the she thinks I'm stupid thing). So I start scrolling through the pics and before I even get to the bathing suit business I come across ones of her with her shorts rolled WAY down and dressed all stank. I said "what? you needed to see how your shorts fit too? with them unzipped and rolled way down like a hooch?" So she starts running her mouth to me and I remind her that if she is picking this specific moment in time to start challenging me and running her mouth to me it would be one of the dumbest moments she's had in a LONG time." She turns and storms out of my room running her mouth about how unfair it is and how she's done nothing wrong and then tells me that she "might as well skip because she's getting blamed for it anyways!" Whatever, you'd better get ON Felicia! So her phone is GONE...it's mine now. She's also grounded. She's lost her digital camera. Who knows what else will happen but for tonight that's where it stands.

I mean come on! I know that as far as kids go she's a pretty good kid, but that's just not good enough! She still has the potential to ruin her life and I'm not going to sit by and watch her do it with my hands folded in my lap singing "happy happy joy joy". Keep praying for her please...AND FOR ME!!! ugggh