Friday, September 5, 2008

Hide and Seek

In our house, teenage cell phones are a reward for good grades. (Let's try not to call it bribery, k?) Every Friday, we go over the grades in the school's online program, and if the grades are meeting the standards, phone privileges are granted for another week.

So last April, Mimi had a little trouble in the grade/cell phone dept.

See, Mimi's grades would bounce around between the acceptable and not acceptable, but every Friday when we did the official checking, they were, well, not quite up to par.

Some would call that an incredible stream of bad luck. Others might say that it's karma coming around when you're willing to utter the phrase
"Hey, I don't have to turn in extra credit, because I'm 1/100th of a point above the cut-off,"
right in front of your parents.


But either way, the phone privileges were lost for several weeks.

I hid the phone in the normal spot. Which I didn't really think of as HIDING, per se... More like putting it in a spot where we weren't going to see it all the time, thus initiating more (continual) discussions about why she couldn't have the phone again until next Friday, even though her grades were back up and it was only Tuesday.

About 3 weeks into the "situation", I came across the phone - - - not in it's normal position in it's new little home. Confessions were made, and even though she really really REALLY needed to get some numbers out of the directory in her phone, it was agreed that she should NOT have been on the phone for any reason with out prior permission.

So I took that phone. And I hid it in a really really great hiding place. I mean, I was really thinking out of the box, here. (you know where this is going, right?)

Summer phone privileges were non-existent because of the end of year grade slippage. But here we are 3 weeks into school and she still has straight A's. ((( Yay Mimi! ))) She's been really responsible with her homework every night, and I would love to reward that with the thing she most wants in All the Universe.

Yeah, I've been looking for that stupid phone for a week and a half now, and I can NOT find it anywhere. Last week I told her that it was the natural consequence for making me hide her phone really super hard, and she would just have to wait another week or until whenever I find it. But friends, it isn't looking good.

Replacing that phone is not really in my budget. Nor is a cleaning/decluttering service. (Though it would be a pretty creative solution, now that I think about it...)

Times like these make me think I might have been better off without taking all those "creative thinking" classes in college. Seriously.

39 comments:

Heather said...

Ha! That is so funny, well on this end it is. Probably not so much on yours.

Heather said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Heather of the EO said...

I feel bad for you so I've come up with some creative hiding place ideas:
in the tank part of the toilet?
in an actual spin-the-dial safe?
under your mattress?
in your bed-side table?
shoe box?
freezer? no, no, that would be bad.
a cooler in the garage?
in your bra? wait...
your undies drawer?
jewelry box?

okay, that's it. I'm out.
Good luck!

Yvonne said...

I know--IT'S WITH THE PEARLS (now if you could just remember where you hid those ; )

Hooray for Mimi getting straight A's.

Pezlady Jana said...

HAHAHAHA That's so awesome! I love it!

Kimberly Vanderhorst said...

Oh ouch!

And I'm stealing your bribery system for when our kids hit that age. Oh my yes.

Corrine said...

how bout you tell her she can have it when she finds it :) kids seem to be able to find anything if they put their minds to it...

we are looking for a library book that other than possibly being thrown off our balcony I have no idea where it could be!!

Good luck in the search, my kids always tell me to say a little prayer.

Adrienne said...

I am so guilty of always doing that. I find I have to write it down somewhere. Lately I've been writing in my planner where I put things, because too many times I've put things in such a safe place that they are safe from everyone, including me. I have an old phone (not terribly old, but old to me, since I just got a new one in June) Let me know. Yay, Mimi!

The Mom said...

LBMO! The Teenager has a cell phone and we have the same rule. But that is hilarious that you can't find it. I am sure your daughter isn't finding it quite so funny!

Janell said...

My suggestions:

1) In a light fixture
2) In a piece of luggage
3) In a pocked of a coat (that isn't worn often)
4) Tucked away with Christmas decorations or presents
5) Between your mattress and box spring
6) Wrapped in linens in the closet
7) In a tax file box
8) In a car glove compartment
9) In one of Mimi's shoes in her room
10) In a fanny pack. (I hope you don't own one, but it might be in there.)

ktmay said...

Oh my, that is so funny. That sounds like something I would do. I have a million hiding places. I collect small wooden boxes, cigar boxes (I decoupage them so they don't LOOK like cigar boxes, LOL)and I hide stuff in them all the time. I honestly can't believe no one has figured it out yet. I am a chocolate hoarder. The kids always wonder where I come up with these little candy bars and Kisses that I occasionally share with them, when I'm feeling especially generous. (actually I'm thinking "I need to quit eating all this crap, my butt's looking bigger. Hey, I'll give it to the kids. They'll be so happy.")
Anyhow, after all that obnoxious rambling, let us know if you find the phone. I do NOT look forward to the cell phone drama. My son is 11 and already asking for a phone. YUCK. We let him borrow my phone one weekend and he bought $164 worth of video games on it. I didn;t even know you could do that on my phone. Plus he took tons of pictures. It's LAME.

Amy Peterson said...

If I was hiding a phone, where would I hide it! Think, think, think....

Amy Peterson said...

P.S. I hope you don't have a fanny pack either!

Jillybean said...

At our house, we don't use the word "bribery". Around here, we prefer to use the word "incentive."

I hate it when I put things in a safe spot and then I can't find it.
I did that with a $20 Famous Footwear coupon, and now I'm trying desperately to find it before it expires. I've found about three other coupons that are already past their expiration date. I think they use a special ink that makes them invisible until they are no longer any good.

Did you think of the possibility that someone else may have found the phone and changed it's location? Happens around here all the time.

Or check in the very back part of the inside of the couch. Our couch ate an ipod a while ago, and we still can't get it out.

The Dillon 6 said...

here's an idea...why don't you take Mimi to a nice dinner to celebrate her good grades. While you're there, tell her it's high time she get a job and pay for her own darn cell phone. ;)

I know -- it'll go over like a lead balloon

Anonymous said...

i'm glad i'm not the only one losing my mind, i mean, starting to forget things. :) must be a GREAT hiding place!

mormonhermitmom said...

Offer another incentive. One Saturday when you are ready to deep clean before winter, announce that you'll pay 5 dollars to the person who finds the missing phone. That's only if the phone is in working condition. Only 1 dollar if it's broken.

Em-Cat said...

Hilarious!

Melanie said...

Um....how grateful I am for not having teenagers yet. I cringe at the very thought.

Janell said...

I like mormonhermitmom's idea :)

Anonymous said...

Yeah guys, just so you know, my mom not being able to locate my cell phone is SO not funny.

mormonhermitmom said...

You're right Mimi, hence your mom's anxiety. Good luck finding it and let us know will you?

Super Happy Girl said...

And that's what you get :)

Ah Mimi, you and my Fashionista would get along so well, you are both being raised by really unfunny moms.

Our system is that on Friday we check the online grades then they can go out on the weekend.
I like your system way way better. I am so using it!! Thanks.

MWAHAHAHAHA>

Randi said...

I am hearby announcing that I will pay $5 to the person who finds the phone.

Alive or Dead.

All searchers are welcome.

(And if you let me know you're coming, I'll make some cookies or something!)

Thanks, mormonhermitmom!

Amy Peterson said...

$5.00 you have got to do better than that! My mom use to lose her glasses and offer $50.00 to whoever found them, we just started hiding her glass so we could get the money!

Lisa R.D. said...

I'm so guilty of putting stuff in a "safe place"--gift cards, immunization records, even my passport... luckily most important documents have been found or duplicated. If only you could order a "back-up" cell phone without paying the hefty fee...

goddessdivine said...

How funny. That kinda really sucks for you though. Good luck. If I lived nearby, I'd offer to help search.

Melissa said...

I'm on my way! I love cookies and I'm good at hiding and finding things... usually... if I get tired of looking, can we just sit and chat?

tricki_nicki said...

HA! Randi, you always make me smile so BIG!!

I really hope you find your phone...if you don't, just buy one for $10 on E-bay. That's what my hubs does!

M said...

I like the cell phone for grades. I'll have to remember that. I'm all for bribery.

Good luck BTW on finding the cell phone. I took off my wedding ring when I was prego with my daughter as my fingers were swelling, I put it in a safe place and now, 5 years later, I can't find the darn thing. I'm hoping it turns up in the move but I really think some boggart stole it away as a pretty gem. "My precious...."

N.F. said...

I just love the label for this post.

LOVE. IT.

Elisa said...

We do the exact same thing at our house! Except I will buy her more minutes when her grades are acceptable.

I am loving all these hiding places... I hid thing1's and couldn't find it either. I found it Saturday when I was vacuuming under the couch cushions on my bedroom couch... weird place to have hidden it.

Beth Blair said...

Ah well, at least you know it's somewhere in the house, right? LOL.

Unknown said...

If it makes you feel any better, I lost a wedding present. Yep...we ended up an hour late to the reception after searching and tearing apart the house only to have to buy another.

Yeah...go me!

Tori :) said...

LOL! Sounds like something I would do. It makes me think of my dad. He locked some channels on the tv and then he wanted to watch a show and totally couldn't remember his password...

Heidi said...

Hey, let's all focus on Mimi's awesome acceptable grades!

Why do you need a phone, Mimi? Isn't the knowledge that your grades are awesome and acceptable enough?

That's the tack I would take, Randi. I'm just saying.

... said...

oh my =)

i've been know to hide small christmas gifts and/or stocking stuffers throughout the year and then not be able to find them when i need them. of course, i find them half way through the next year. it's very frustrating to not have a better solution AND not having a better memory.

good luck finding the phone.

Carol said...

Oh no! Nightmare. Especially after she is doing so fantastically well.

Fingers crossed you find it and soon.

Linda said...

Your label says it all. This gave me a really good laugh, as it is SO something I would do! Thanks for the entertainment...