as of today, 3/6/2014, i am the father of a teen-aged daughter.

a lot of people have been giving us warning glances and telling us to brace for the next bit of road. thus far, while we do see the occasional dustup, it has not been all that bad. i believe a contributing factor is marty and i have never subscribed to the 'it's gotta be this way' mentality regarding any facet of parenting. we are working our butts off to teach our children that behavior is a choice—and if your behavior is a shitty choice that taints the mood of our home, please enjoy it in the quiet and solitude of your bedroom.

admittedly, our saving grace very well might be that bella does not like to spend prolonged periods of time in her room, away from everyone. granted, if my room were as messy as hers, i'd very likely be of the same mindset.

the above photo shows anthony helping marty with her standing tradition of hiding birthday signs, with the number of your new age, throughout the house.

also, my good deed of the day was cropping out marty's coin-slot. i try not to overly edit these things, but this is a family site.