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 :)

Oh Pinterest...

How I love thee.... but how you are a blackhole of time!! I can sit down to look up one thing, and then find something else and then an hour later.... I think my hubby thinks it's a bit odd. I can go on there looking for the recipe for dinner, and then i'm calling him over to show him a watch he might like :) Well, see honey the lady who pinned the enchiladas also had a pin for these shoes, and that one had a pin for birthday ideas and then that one had a neat picture of a beach scene, and well they happen to have a whole board of watches... geez it's simple ;) I've been finding all kinds of neat stuff though. One is these handmade wands. Midget is loving harry potter since we read it recently. She had a wand from her bday my mom got her, but it's not something fun she made. So i think we will be doing this. http://browse.deviantart.com/artisan/?q=tutorial#/d389bn0 We've found all kinds of fun things to do. Plus i found some really cute things for monkey's bday to make him feel special :)

Loving my little man...

So with monkey being 12, going on 25 he is wanting to hang with his friends more, and play games. I get that. So the moments when he sits and chats are so much more special. I do have to admit we've been crazy busy, and every time i take the time and sit and talk, he wants to talk. So it's neglect on my part too. But sometimes he amazes me, and i just want to hug him and squeeze him and put him in a jar to keep him like this forever. That sounds creepy, i don't mean it in a creepy way :) I love, love, love poetry and reading. I've always been a book nerd, and poems were really the first things i remember reading and thinking wow, that is so beautiful. So i remember in 3rd grade memorizing Emily Dickenson's poem this is my letter to the world. He had read it in school, so he wanted to talk about it. So then he says they were reading Edgar Allen Poe. I think, dark but I love him too. So I just had seen a play of the tell-tale heart. It was the neatest thing, but so creepy. They had it dark with red lights, and the heart beat throughout the whole theater. He wants to see it :) Can you tell we were looking for papers today and came across baby pictures? I'm just a wee-bit sappy.... Not to mention field day for him. None of the kids wanted to go??!! There was a line to pick them up early? What's up with that? Granted it was hot, and didn't look all that fun, but it's field day....

Field day, jeeps and parks

So hubby is on a nature kick. It's fun, but the mosquito's are out in full force in Texas. And for some reason, they are obsessed with me! They chased me all through the trails we went on this weekend. Hubby says it's my sweet blood. Right... I don't run too often, but I was moving quickly through those bushes :) The kids had fun on the hike though, and it was nice out there. Could someone please enclose it though so there aren't bugs. Between the spider bite I had and the mosquitoes I'm getting a complex! We got hubby his new car, and it's a jeep. Lot's of fun for the weekends and for hubby. He's nearing the mid-life crisis age. And this is the gift, a car to tinker with:) Plus we get to have fun with it too! We have field day tomorrow, wish us luck.. I got assigned the snow cones, a cush job i hope! Here is crazy cat enjoying the sun, asleep and upside down:)

The positive people on the hike.. Monkey and I were slapping bugs :)

Monkey and his friend having some fun.

My baby still likes to swing, i so love that..

My roses, so pretty.

The Jeep

Uncle Joel's biggest fan!

How cute are they?!

Catching up....

So I finished my semester of school, and wow it all seemed to pile on at the end! I had projects and papers to do.. I did it though! I think my mom had a point, it sounded more like an arts and crafts class than a college course. I thought that was funny. But then realized, well yes, that is why i want to be a teacher and not an accountant :) I'd rather read Dr. Zeuss all day with 7 yr olds than work in an office on a computer. The kids have 3 more weeks of school. All the standardized tests are done, thank goodness. It was midgets first experience with them, and she did pretty well. The reading was harder than she expected, but she was more worried with the math, so i think that's why. It was easy she said. Monkey did great, and said the test was easy also. I don't know where he gets it, but test don't phase him. Me, I completely freak out :) So we are waiting the end of the school year, and recitals to end so we can relax. Until then we have ballet 3 times a week. Midget is doing a feature dance with a friend, so she needs some extra help. She's so excited though. Her friend has her toe shoes also, so she is obssesing on that. It's sweet, such a little girl rite of passage :) Monkey has plans for the summer, no camps he says, just sitting around sleeping and playing games. Yes, sniff sniff, my little baby is growing up too fast! If someone can stop him please do so!! Hubby is home now, and the kids are all excited. Of course that means no more eating at the coffee table and watching movies, or sneaking food upstairs :) Someone let them be a little more sneaky. It's nice to have him back though! We missed him while he was gone. So life is back to normal! Here's my little man cashing in his tickets. He won the ball out of a machine. It was so great, don't know how he did it!

So my brother is still running for sheriff, and a nice family hosted a fundraiser for him. They have the most beautiful historical home! I'd never been in a home like this. It was built in the 1800's. I wanted to take pictures, but I didn't want to embaress my brother by gawking and saying the "oh my gawd, did you see that?" that was constantly going through my mind. Does that make me a little classier, the fact i didn't say it outloud? Here is my proud mommy...

There are midget's little chics from her class. They raised the eggs in the incubator until they hatched. What a life lesson! They had birth defects, unborn chics, some died. It was tragic! But here are the survivors. Luckily her's made it, her name is Alice :)

Poodles

Well, not poodles, cool kitties on skrits. Today is Sock Hop night at midgets school. This is something Monkey and his friend are running, and very fast from. So he is sleeping over at his friends, so they don't have to go :) He still loves us though, i know it, I got a text :)
Here is the child who still thinks school functions are fun....

We made her poodle/kitty skirt together. She said today her friends asked her if we got the wrong thing, since she had a cat and not a poodle :) It turned out pretty cute, and man does it swirl when she spins. So tonight she will be singing with her friends to sock hop music. We have already bid on teacher time, the auction to raise money. We went for the music teacher, hopefully the bids don't go to high. Then she can teach music class all day! The principal is usually the highest, and we can't go there...

Sheldon loves her skirt too!

This i can get behind!

Just heard this on the Today show, and this is research I can really get into :)

Cake for breakfast. Best discovery ever, ever, ever: doctors have sanctioned eating dessert first thing in the morning. (We do this anyway, but it's nice to have science on our side.) Adding a treat to a 600-calorie balanced breakfast helps dieters lose more weight in the long run, found research out of the Tel Aviv University. And, it gets better. The research found that cutting carbs in the morning hindered long-term weight loss. "But the group that consumed a bigger breakfast, including dessert, experienced few if any cravings for these foods later in the day," said researcher Daniela Jakubowicz. Chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast every day, doctor's orders. [Tel Aviv University]

Back to school...

So this week we all went to school. Wow, has it been a long time! The last time i was at school was standing in the line debating on whether i could go with a 3 year old and pregnant. Standing in the line i started to throw up, and that decided that. So that little bundle of joy is 9 :)
My gosh how things have changed!!! Everything is almost done online, you upload your homework, and everything is on smartboards, and how many acronym's can there be in this world?! I think i'm a bit tech savvy and i'm lost. I can't imaging someone who didn't use computers would do. It's good to be using my brain again though :) Classes are a lot more fun when they are involving your desired career. I mean, one if my assignments is to make a children's book. That i can do :)
Now figuring out an online blackboard, clueless!
Midget is moving onto dividing, and i feel so sorry for her. I can see her struggling with it, and i know how important these years are for her whole math future. So we are working hard, and trying all the different ways. I had a great tutor in college, who was the first one to help me get through college algebra, and i found her as a math professor. So if things don't improve i may give her a call. She's a bundle of positive energy, and would click with my little bundle of energy.
Monkey is taking the SAT in a couple weeks. It is so hard to explain to him that this isn't like any test he's ever taken. Luckily we signed him up for a seminar for 7th graders taking it at the college. I don't want him to get discouraged and give up. Plus this will give him a chance to meet some kids, and learn some testing skills. He's googled and found out that he isn't going to score perfect, Mit wants 2200, and the average 7th grader gets a 300 or 400. That was a bit of a heads up :) But i'm glad he's thinking ahead, and we should start buying our lottery tickets now so we can pay for it .

Christmas pics and Aunt Patty and Julie

I finally got around to downloading, or is it uploading? my pictures from Xmas. I had forgotten that hubby was running around like the paparazzi at my mom's house too :) He got some nice pics though, but this one is my absolute favorite...
That man, he still melts my heart. Look at the look on his face... He was so happy to give her the sweetest heart necklace he picked out for her.

And this, this was monkey's big present... ugh.

Here is my super-cool bike the kids and hubby got me... it's so neat. My mom had one almost identical when I was a kid. :)

This on his shirt is Nyan cat.... a pop-tart rainbow pooting internet sensation... and just so you all know.. I am awesome for getting him that shirt!

This is my brother, and our 18 yr old cat Rodney

Here's the kids educating Aunt Patty and the grandparents on Maru the cat :)

The family :)

The family, rotate uncle J out and add dad :)

Now Sheldon is one SPOILED cat! Yes, that is monkey holding the neck massager on him, and he absolutely loves it!

Aunt Patty, and i really want to know what skin products she uses... because she has some amazing skin!