Kelsey needs a cell phone ~ #selfie, #cellphones, #girls #tweens, #friends, #tweengirls, #blogs #gratitude

Hi girls! Happy Sunday! Kelsey is 12 years old and was sitting at home on a Saturday evening as bored as ever. Her parents had recently told her that she would have to wait until she turned 13 to get a cell phone of her own. Kelsey freaked out and complained to them about this rule. After all, Kelsey's friends (Tiara and Shannon) had their own cell phones! In the meantime, she had to share a phone with her sister Lacey who was 16. Kelsey did not like sharing the cell phone because Lacey was always away from their home with friends. When Lacey was home, she only let Kelsey talk to Tiara and her other friends for 5 minutes. "You have five minutes! No longer!!" she would tell Kelsey. Kelsey told her parents, but it did not do any good. Her mom told her to be patient. Kelsey told her mom that she was the only 12 year old girl in the world that did not have her own phone.Her mom just gave her a funny look. Kelsey felt frustrated and discouraged. That night, she fell onto her bed so hard that her pillow fell onto the floor. She didn't bother to pick it up. The next morning, Kelsey awakened with a sore neck. Kelsey woke up thinking about another long year of waiting for her phone. Kelsey got up, went to the kitchen and grabbed a piece of French toast from the skillet on the stove. She took a bite, turned around and saw Lacey with her arm reaching out to her with the cellphone in her hand. "It's Tiara. Hurry up.", Lacey said. Kelsey grabbed the phone. Tiara asked Kelsey to come over to her house for a birthday party. The party was for Tiara's little brother who was turning 4 years old. The party was at a nearby park and they were going to go swimming. After asking her mom, Kelsey said yes and Tiara's mom picked her up. Kelsey met Tiara's friend whose name was Summer. What a cool name, Kelsey thought. Summer was new in the neighborhood. The girls listened to music, swam in the pool, and played with the little kids. The girls ate grilled chicken burgers with sweet potato fries and Kelsey laughed as she and Tiara took the onions off of their burgers at the same time. The girls talked about their favorite color(s) of swimsuits. The girls were putting sunscreen on when Tiara asked Summer where her mom bought her swimsuit. Summer said that she was staying with her grandparents. She told Kelsey and Tiara that her mother was in a treatment center. Her mother slept a lot,drank too much alcohol and took too many prescription pills. Summer said that her father left the family and went to stay with a woman. Kelsey was surprised to hear Summer say those things. Kelsey learned that Summer did not have a cell phone either. She could tell that Summer missed her parents very much. The girls got up and played with the large beach ball in the swimming pool. They raced each other from one side of the pool to the other. Tiara won the race. Kelsey watched Summer as she clapped for Tiara. Summer was so nice, she thought. While eating birthday cake along the side of the pool, Kelsey asked, "Summer, why did you clap for Tiara? You lost the race!" "Losing my parents hurt, but my grand ma said that being sad is a waste of time. She told me to be kind to others and I will have a happy heart instead of a sad one." Kelsey smiled. The party ended and Tiara's mom drove Kelsey home.She felt so lucky to have her mom and dad. Kelsey opened the front door and walked in to her house. "Mom!" she called.Her mom came out of the laundry room. Kelsey ran over to her and told her that she could wait for her own cell phone. Her mom looked at her with surprise. " Uh, ok Kelsey.Good!" Kelsey later told her mom about Summer.They hugged. Kelsey learned that everyone has problems... some are big and some are little. Suddenly, having to wait to get a cell phone was her little problem. Kelsey decided to fill her days with thankfulness. (Hope you liked this girl story! Hugs, Marie)

The skin she is in ~ #socialissues #tweens #tweenblogs

Erin was waiting for her toast to pop up so that she could hurry off to school.She pondered if she should tell her mom what happened the day before in gym class. Erin has a best friend named Kanesha.Kanesha and Erin met during ballet class when they were six years old.They lived in Atlanta,Georgia and remained friends.The two girls had sleepovers and loved swimming,music,scrabble,drawing,and the Just Dance video game. Now they are in seventh grade and had English and gym class together.English class was good.Erin and Kanesha both loved reading books. Gym class always began with warming up.The class ran two laps around the basketball court.The gym teacher said that they were going to play a couple of games of basketball.Erin and Kanesha really did not like playing basketball.They had trouble dribbling the ball sometimes and thought it was a wierd game. Tracy and Dian picked their basketball teams.Erin was on Tracy's team.Dian had to choose one more girl and picked Kanesha.Kanesha had a feeling that Dian didn't want her on the team by the expression on her face.Kanesha just brushed it off. The games began and Kanesha made 10 points to give Dian's team the first win.Dian was happy and gave Kanesha a high five at the water fountain.Then,Dian wiped her hand on her gym shorts as if she had touched something dirty.Again,Kanesha didn't think too about why she was acting so snobbish.Dian's team won the second game also,and the gym teacher dismissed the class. In the dressing room,Erin and Kanesha talked about what they were going to do after school.As they were getting dressed,they heard two girls talking in the shower.One of them said,"That ghetto girl can play basketball!" Erin and Kanesha waited to see who said that. Out came Dian and another girl.Erin had fire in her eyes from anger.Kanesha told her that she knew Dian didn't like her.Now she knew why.It was because Kanesha was a Black girl.Kanesha pulled Erin out of the dressing room quickly and told her to forget about Dian.Erin and Kanesha talked that night about skin color and race.They thought that the way Dian acted was so dumb! Erin and Kanesha decided that they loved everybody... no matter what color.Their parents had taught them that at a young age. Erin was now eating her toast and told her mom what had happened in the dressing room at school.Erin's mom told her that there are two kinds of people in the world.... Those who help others and those who want to see others fall down.Erin kissed her mom goodbye and her mom smiled and waved at her.Erin's mom knew that she had raised a rockstar! Sweet feelings~Marie