There is a fine line...

Please forgive me a rant for a couple of minutes. I have 2 issues right at this moment that are bugging me.

1. I love blogging. I think it's great, it gives me an outlet and a way to journal the goings-on of my family in a quick and easy way. It also allows me to connect with out of town family, or distant relatives that I may not have known otherwise. So what is the issue? I feel like I am losing the closeness of friends. I'm finding that I am not really having any of those good old fashioned long phone convos about nothing and everything. It's easier to take a quick minute and check some one's blog or myspace page and see what they're up to, and then you feel like you've touched base with them. I think people are becoming afraid of talking on the phone. Are we worried that maybe someone will find out from the tone of our voice or the words we say, that are not as easily edited, that something is wrong, or all is not right in paradise?

2. ADHD and behavioral issues. What do you do with an 11-year-old boy who you are ready to strangle? It took me years to decided for sure that he had ADD and was in need of medication. He is on the meds now, and has been for a while, and they work wonders for him. His 5 week progress report was mostly A's and a few B+'s. He did awesome. So my problem with him is that he is so smart and can act so stupid. I AM NOT CALLING HIM STUPID, PLEASE DON'T THINK THAT, BECAUSE I DON'T. I'm just saying that his behavior is out of control sometimes. Especially in the morning. This morning was an hour long battle that ended with me so upset I was ready to move to Alaska (maybe Sarah Palin will take me shopping and her husband can take me fly-fishing) and Mike coming home from work to deal with McKee. He is 11. He is old enough to know that whining and yelling at his mother is unacceptable behavior. He is old enough to know that we take showers to get clean, and the only way to get the soap off is to rinse it under the water. I mean really, come on. I'm so fed up. And then the worst part is I try to tell Damon, (his dad) and he is so oblivious and thinks I'm overreacting because he doesn't see the same behaviors I do. Well, it might be because he only sees him on the weekend and one weeknight, and it's during his less structured time. And, who really whines at their friends? Damon treats him like a friend. So anyway, what do you do with a child to reinforce appropriate behavior and make him realize that I don't want to be up waking up a whiny, lazy (his new favorite phrase is "I don't want to have to do anything") when he knows better.

Thanks for any advice. I may not take it, but please feel free to help me. I am also taking donations for a vacation.