Grounded Again...

I know I'm late in posting this, but for those on my Facebook page, this is old news... Princess went over 2000 sent texts again. When we got the bill mid-May, she was at 2503 sent (we don't count received; she has no control over those). Now, if you remember, I said the phone would be gone for a month if she went over 2000 texts after the last incident; no early earnbacks. I sat on the couch and told my husband that I felt bad. Her grades are great, her social skills are where they should be, she's an active part of her rec league soccer... she's an all-around great kid. The phone isn't interfering with her doing what needs to get done. He said, "You grounded her the first time & told her what would happen if it happened again... but you're in charge here; your decision." So, being the mom who always follows through on her promises, and never makes a threat without meaning it, I walked into my room (where she was watching t.v.) and said, "I have good news & bad news." She looked at me and said, "I don't like bad news." I had to chuckle at that... "No one likes bad news, mija. So, the bad news is you went over 2500 texts last month." She got up, grabbed her phone from my dresser, turned it off, and handed it to me. Then she said, "I'm sorry mom. I didn't keep track." So, I said, "Ok... and the good news is that, once your grounding is over, you will no longer have that stipulation. As long as your time on the phone doesn't interfere with your real life, we won't worry about how many texts you send." She goes, "Really?" "Yes; you've earned it. Just don't disappoint us." This was on the 16th. Every day since, she's turned it on in the morning, texted me when she gets to school, texts me when she leaves school, and texts me when she gets home if I'm not here yet. Then, she turns it off. She told all her friends within a couple days that she's grounded from it, and they were given our home number & her email address. She hasn't asked to use her phone for a music player on field trips (they're allowed to use electronic devices with earbuds or no sound), to take to friends' houses for overnights, not even when she spent three days over Memorial Day Weekend with my mother & her 4 1/2 yo cousin. I've raised her to understand that most things in life are negotiable... but not this one. She's taking it like a champ.