Valentine's Day and the testing of teens

It's a catch up post. Last month I made over 30 posts and this month I am taking a breather. 
Let me start by saying that teens are one of my favorite populations to work with. That being said it's a whole different ball game when it's your teen that starts the testing. Gage has been pretty well mannered most of his life. This month he has definitely been your typical angsty teen. It started when Steven and I noticed he was spending way too much time on a certain art site. Then one of his grades started to go down. He basically stopped turning anything in that class. After several groundings, testing limits, setting boundaries, and lots and lots of homework catch up, he is finally seeming to be back to his normal self. There for a couple of weeks I wondered if I was going to make it. Honestly I can handle a 3 year old tantrum way better than I can handle a 14 year old one. But the mentality behind it is very similar. And there is science to back that up. Lots of synaptic pruning going on. Basically their brain is reforming a lot of new stuff. That plus hormonal shifts makes a perfect storm for moody teen fit throwing. 
Onto Valentines day. I love when they are on the weekend. Steven and I went and ate lunch at Red Lobster with Ridlee. Later the older 3 had a Valentine's party at the church with a local children's group home that our church helps sponsor. I even got a nap today. Great considering I had been waiting all week to sleep in and I didn't really get to. I got the younger 4 some beanie boo's and Gage some new jeans. They all got a big box of chocolates to share. It was gone in no time. Steven got a new coffee machine and I got a pretty pink tulle skirt. We are so not typical. We did exchange cards. 
These were the only pics from today.
Kiddos eating ice cream.