If you haven’t ready part 1 of this post, check it out here.
All the moms know that there are only eight coveted parts but we hear that there will be two casts. I see moms looking around the room and silently counting. The girls continue to exit the audition one by one. I’m exhausted so I can’t imagine how tired the girls still in the studio are.
After over two hours I see her emerge from the studio.
I was afraid to look at her but then I realized, “She’s not upset.”
She had a huge smile on her face. Could it be? Did she get the part? I wouldn’t allow myself …

Watching your teen go through a break up is not easy!
How many of you have teens that have fallen “head over heels for someone?” I guess you could call it the first time your teen was truly interested in someone. You may also say your teen’s first “true love.” Whatever the case may be, your teen is absolutely crazy over this other person. My friend’s son was dating someone for a couple of months until she wanted the relationship to end. The disappointment was so overwhelming. The breakup caused her son to feel very upset and emotional.
My friend encouraged her son to hang out with his …
Katie got her report card last week and it was a good one. It wasn’t straight A’s, but it was close. Way to go, Katie! Of course, I knew long before that piece of paper was in her hands what the grades were. She’s pretty good at monitoring the situation with her grades. At any given time, she usually knows how things are going with her grades. She checks in with her teachers fairly frequently to be sure she’s doing okay. She’s not a perfect student and she’s fine with a B. But she doesn’t like anything less than that.
I’m lucky Katie keeps up with her work and is driven …

High school is a big change for some teens.
Lately, Max has been reminding me that he will be in high school next fall. I am surprised he is bringing it up so often. Maybe he is not just reminding me but coming to grips with it himself.
Will high school be a big change for Max? In terms of meeting new people, maybe not. After all, most of the kids who will be in next fall’s freshman class are kids he has known since second grade. A lot of students who will be seniors at that time are Gus’s pals so Max will know several upperclassmen as well.
He …

In this third and final chapter (blog post), there is a happy ending, and my Basset Hound, Happy, was happy about that. The lost black lab camped out with us for the weekend. Austin was growing fond of the lost pet and hoped that I would not be able to connect with the owner as he has been asking for another dog for 2-3 years.
The low to the ground Basset has never been quite what he wants for a dog – he wants a large, rambunctious, roll and tumble dog to expend some of his energies with. Meanwhile, I continued with my research and endeavor to restore this very nice dog to its …
My daughter’s Facebook status says it all…”It’s official! I’m going to Texas to the American Ballet Theater’s Summer Intensive!” This is the summer program that she has decided to attend.
ABT is a world renowned and nationally recognized ballet training program. She is very, very excited to be expanding her horizons and taking this huge leap out of her normal comfort zone. However, she is accustomed to this type of intense scrutiny and ready for the challenge.
I remember three years ago when she walked into her first “real” audition at Carolina Ballet. She was the new girl. She was all alone. She didn’t know anyone. She walked to the barre and …

Can't We Just Get Along?
Being that my son is an only child, I had to turn to some friends for input on how their teen relates to their siblings. I have a friend with two teen daughters who fight about everything. My friend claims it doesn’t matter how trivial the issue.
One of the biggest complaint is borrowing things from each other and not asking. They both like to go into each others rooms to take clothing, jewelry, and make-up. My friend claims this is an every day battle. Both girls are always invading each others space.
So what does she do to maintain order in the household? …

Happy, our resident Hound
It turns out that not only am I super mom, but a crafty detective as well. I guess I have some idea now of what I may do in retirement or possibly in the “next life”. So, Friday afternoon kicks off with totally re-arranged plans for the week-end with the abrupt arrival of an unknown quite large frisky male black lab dog. He, of unknown origin and name is to lodge with our family over the week-end and who knows how long.
You have to understand, this was also much of a disturbance to our gentle, sedate Basset Hound, Happy, who has …
I’m pretty sure I am going to have to get rid of my kids. They are simply too expensive to keep.
I was having some stress already about the cost of owning teens lately. For one thing, my cell phone bill is atrocious. I won’t give you any actual numbers, but for this mom, they are shocking. And right now there is only one smart phone and two not-so-smart phones on our bill. So I am in the process of shopping for a new cell phone carrier to replace the current one. Good news: I found a carrier where we can have three new smart phones for the same price …

"Do you hear me now?" Do teens develop hearing problems?
I think Max has a hearing problem. Lately, it seems he hears only half of what I tell him. For instance, the other day as I headed out to work I reminded him of the several chores I wanted done since he had the day off from school. I spoke quite clearly to him when I looked in his room to tell him I was leaving. “Max,” I said, “Remember to do the vacuuming, run the dishwasher, do your laundry, and take out the trash.” He was still in bed at the time but he looked right at …