I couldn't post on here for the longest time. For some reason now I can?

I've not been very good about posting on here. Things have been rather blah around here. Trying to make sure the kids are keeping up in school. Monkey is in high school, it's amazing how much pressure is put on them when they are freshman. Not that he's concerned about college. They certainly are at school. He's signed up for all advanced classes, and I think they are harder here than back home. He won't get out of them though. I still am not sure if a B or C in a AP class is worth more than one in a regular class. I hope so! We have the sounds of heavy metal guitar coming from his room day and night. He's found his passion, and I'm so happy for him. How I do hate heavy metal music though!!! Screeching guitars, and screaming men who can't sing, mostly. But it's so good to see him excited about something creative like that. I'll gladly hear him play! Midget is her usual model citizen in school. Eager to be a part of everything, and a social butterfly. She's a prickly pear in the musical of the jungle book. It's her first one, she's so excited. She has her first dance competition coming up in April. So we are busy around here, trudging along!

How gorgeous are they?

How lucky and blessed am I to have these beautiful, smart. and amazing kiddos? I am feeling a bit sappy today, and very blessed. Looking at these two sometimes I am just amazed at how life works. They are both such sweet, and individual people. They are so different, but they have a similar kindness in them. Having been home with them all summer, and now they are back in school, I miss them! With monkey starting high school, and midget growing up so fast I wish I could push pause....

News....

So we have big, exciting news. Midget got called to be an extra on the tv show Revolution!! We went Friday and she got fitted for her costume. She will be a townskid at the Halloween festival. Monkey was upset he couldn't go, he wanted to be paid:) She's giving him 10 dollars, so he's happy. Monkey has freshman camp on Thursday:( So sad he's going in high school already.... I think he's excited to go though. The school is huge! I don't know how he isn't going to get lost in there. We get to find his classes after the camp. Hopefully that helps. Busy week here!!!

Drive-in Movies..

When watching the old movies from the 50's, people looked so happy at the Drive-in's. So when I saw we had one here in Austin I though, "How fun!" Well, there are the way you picture things going in your head, very Donna Reed is how I pictured it. I did not take into account the 99 degrees it was outside, how late it was, and how you couldn't keep your car running with the AC. It was so hot!! It was fun though, and I would go back in the fall or winter when it isn't so darn hot. Neat idea, maybe a better date night, unless you have a truck maybe where everyone can sit and be comfy. I think the heat ruined it for midget, and my liite man was more interested in the movie after than the one we saw:( We'll try again when it's cooler:)

It's been a while...

So it's been a while since we've posted on here. We've had chaos, renting the house, moving to a beautiful city, and getting settled again. I would say we are settled now, and loving it here. We are only 3 hours away from "home", so we can still see our family when we want to. That is nice. The kids absolutely love Austin. It's so pretty with the hills, and all the parks. Midget has made her usual friends, and has settled into her new dance school. We had a bit of a disaster at the first one, it was Dance Moms in real life! The ladies were not friendly at all, the girls were very catty. So we moved to a new studio and hoped for the best. It is great, thank heavens! The owner was so sweet when we stopped in, and she goes out of her way to watch out for cattiness. Midget even gathered all her nerve and tried out for the schools competition team, and made it! She's got a long way to go, but this gave her the boost she needed to give it her all again. So proud of her!! Now to sell some kidney's to afford it:( My little man, turned 14 a couple weeks ago. That was rough! He is starting high school in a few weeks, can someone please stop that? I am in no way ready for it, and neither is he. I don't think it's sunk in how important high school is for his future. Hopefully this new program AVID he got in will help him out. Toughlove is what it is going to be i think. He's got some nice friends, one is so annoying, but is really a good kid. The kind who comes in and makes himself at home. It's good to have those friends:) Hubby is settling into his job, it's boring for him i'm sure. Political drama abounds again i'm afraid. I guess that's what grown-up jobs have. He's loving his jeep though, and driving off-road. I prefer the desert so it offers some cushion if something happens. These rocks scare me! I'll try and get back in the habit of posting. I tried to be handy yesterday and made my own dish tablets and detergent. A friend posted the recipe and I thought I'd give it a try. I love the laundry soap so much! It makes a ton, it's alot thinned than the ALL I usually use. The smell though is so nice, it's soft and not so perfumy. Love it! The tablets are being tried out now, so I hope they are great too. Since a bad of them is nearly 8 dollars, I couldn't pass up the chance to try. Here's the recipe for the soap: http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/2012/02/no-grate-homemade-laundry-soap.html Here's the tablets: http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/2013/04/make-your-own-dishwasher-detergent-tabs.html Here's some pics from the past few months, the kids have grown so much! So I have to share this. The Spiderman hoodie he has on... We are in Hot Topic, a scary store if you have little ones. They do have some cute t shirts and Dr Who gifts. He looks at it and says he likes it. I though, strange, but Ok. Are you sure??? Oh yes, it's awesome.. So I go back to get it, it's sold out. I order it online, and he gets it for Christmas. He then claims he was joking.. I think he had a friend make fun of it or something. Anyway, he makes fun of me for getting it, gives me so much grief. It's now a big joke in the family, if someone likes something, really? Are you sure it isn't a Spiderman hooodie? And he know gets something Spiderman something for every holiday, and he will for the rest of his life! He loves his Spidey underwear for his bday, I made sure it's so soft he couldn't resist it:)

Growing up...

So in less than a month my little boy is going to be 13 :( This is killing me... Not to mention he is full on acting like a 12 yr old about to be 13. He's still one of the sweetest boys i've ever met, you just have to catch him at the right time now :) He's sleeping in, and playing games all summer. I would be bored, but he seems to be loving it. He's taken on a new job though. Rather than paying the yard guy 40 bucks a week to mow, we've now bought a lawn mower and are paying him 25 dollars a week. He doesn't complain one bit, and he's doing a fabulous job! I'm just so proud of him. Dad is watching, making sure we lose no toes. And i have to say kudos to my husband, for being supportive and biting his tongue on the few "spots" that got missed. :) \ Sunday was father's day. We got dad a few gifts, and enjoyed doing the yard with him. I think he actually did enjoy it as we were all out there together. Midget even sweeped up the grass, now that's teamwork. And by the end of the day monkey was back in his comfy spot, in his favorite robe. But he added a new partner, they were playing Minecraft together :)