My camera is getting dirty looks

'Moooom, do you HAVE to take a picture?'
'Moooom, why do you ALWAYS take pictures?'
'Mooom, enough already'

Lucky for me, that's only the opinion of one of my kids.  And boy, is he getting moody.  I'm a little afraid of what's on the horizon.  The P word.  Never in a million years did I figure HIM to be the one to go all 'tween' on me.  However, that which I thought wouldn't happen, is.  The day is coming when he'll tell me I'm embarrassing him.....outright!  I think he hints at it now as he vocalizes his displeasure with my photo taking hobby.  I was lucky to snap this one on a recent 6th grade field trip.....

Ever tried chaperoning 6th graders? It's like herding cats. You need a stick.....a really big one!  Actually, my group of 11 and another group of 9 were pretty well behaved, especially considering all but ONE were boys (that poor girl, but she hung in like a champ.  My boys are friends with her and said 'she's tough').  Photo ops with 20 12 year olds look something like this-

And with 125 12 year olds?  Like this-

So, back to my tween-He has to wear the right pants.....the skinny kind.  The kind which there are only 3 pair in his closet and he wears them in rotation.  He thinks it's OK to wear a short sleeved shirt outside because it has the name of the high school on it he'll hopefully attend in another 2 years, despite the fact it's 24 degrees.  The winter coats that hang in the closet for the boys 'are too poofy'. The closet full of shirts hanging in coordinating colors are ignored for the stack of long sleeve thermal Old Navy tees that I happened to pick up as the weather changed.  He flips his hair when he thinks I'm not looking, with a quick jerk to the side. He thinks hats are meant to be worn nearly hanging off the back of his head, rather than flat......even his Boy Scout hat.  C'mon mister. I'm sure the day is near when he tells me sandwiches aren't cool too.....or something else totally ridiculous.  It seems like brothers and a sister aren't cool anymore either.  They are on the 'you annoy me' list.  SO sad!

The hard part as a parent, at least for me, is that I find it completely annoying!  Do all parents find their kids annoying when they hit this stage, or should I think it's OK?  I'm a little confused as to the stance I should take on this new found coolness factor.  Especially when the other boy could care less.  Sure, he takes pride in how he looks, but he could care less about skinny jeans or how to hang his hat. His hair is longish as well, but he thinks his brother looks stupid when he flips it and then he gets all 'mom, he think he's so cool all the time'.  Maybe because it bothers boy #2 so much, it bothers me?  I'm not quite sure that's very fair...but it really is annoying.   Boy #1 also thinks he is quite hilarious and has developed a wicked sense of sarcasm that he tries to pass off as funny.  And sometimes he actually is pretty quick witted and he makes me laugh. but sometimes the sarcasm stings as he says things to his siblings that aren't at all funny, but hurtful in a 'funny' (or so he thinks) way.

There are days I think he is quite self-centered and self-absorbed, and I tell him that.  Is that part of the journey?  I think I have blocked out all my tween years....growing up as an only child, I didn't have siblings to bother or be bothered by and I'm pretty sure I kept my tongue in check when talking to my parents.....at least I think! I do remember feeling SO inconvenienced when I had to clean my room or do some chores...so that I know is pretty darn normal.  Feel free to chime in Mom!

Now, lest I paint a terrible picture of said child, he really is a great boy.  He is driven, a self starter, helpful when he needs to be, a fun friend, a great trumpet player that takes pride in doing well and has a wonderful attitude about school.  So, I guess I really can't complain.  Until boy #2 starts acting the same way!  But then again, he's well on his way with other issues.  They do say that twins are double trouble......