Christmas with Crazy Cleo

What was I THINKING??? Getting a new kitten right before Christmas is NOT a good idea. Need proof? Check out the evidence (this is before ornaments):

BAD KITTY!!!

And then...further evidence of what a bad kitty we have brought into our house:

She just couldn't resist the shiny ornaments, just hanging there waiting to be played with!
Oh, Cleo....it's a good thing you are so cute. Because you are really naughty!

Thanksgiving - Doing it Different

 Although it was Thanksgiving, it certainly didn't FEEL like it this year. We always have a house full of people, usually the same group of people who either don't have family close by or choose not to spend the day with them. This year, though, a misunderstanding between some of our guests and a lack of communication with me left us with NO ONE coming! Cayman was devastated (sobbing even) because we wouldn't have anyone here. I debated between cooking a full Thanksgiving meal for the 3 of us or eating at The Driskill. I finally decided to cook everything just for us. And to calm Cayman down, I told her we'd take her to the movies.
 Well, guess what? It turned out to be an AWESOME day!!! We slept in, had coffee and breakfast, and started prepping our food. About 10:30 we left and went and saw "Tangled"...which is a GREAT movie. When we got back home we finished cooking, had our Thanksgiving feast, and watched the Cowboys. We had very little mess to clean up and I even did a little bit of shopping!

 We made the best out of a bad situation (which was all I could do, really). I hope next year will be more like our usual Thanksgiving get togethers...but if not, I know what to do!

Reflections Award!

Cayman entered the Reflections art contest this year. The theme was "Together We Can...". Her idea was "Together We Can Fight Bullying". She took a  close-up picture of her friends holding hands (dirty hands wearing Silly Bands), sent it to Walgreen's, had it made into an 8x10, and matted it.

We waited and waited and waited...and finally the finalists were selected! And she made it!! She got a certificate and a ribbon just for participating. And she got a trophy as an award of excellence! Her entry now goes to the District Competition! Way to go, Drama Queen!!! I am SO PROUD of you, baby girl!

Thanks A Lot, Cleo

As some of you know, we adopted a stray kitten a couple of weeks ago. Being a responsible pet owner, I took it to the vet to get it it's shots and to make sure it didn't have any diseases or worms or other gross things it could pass along to our other pets (or us). The vet (who is brand new to us  -  first time to go to this particular place) said that the kitten looked like it had at some point had ringworm, but it was clearing up. I asked if we needed to treat it and he assured me that there was no active ringworm. Above is a picture of the kitten (Cleo) with a SUPPOSED case of non-contagious, clearing up ringworm. Notice the red scratches on it's face? That's ringworm.

And here are some photos of my lovely daughter with ringworm on her chest and nose....that's right, RINGWORM! From the supposed non-contagious cat. Yes, I had to take her to the doctor, pay the copay, and then pay for an RX. Am I pissed? You bet. As a matter of fact, I've already called the vet and got a free RX for the cat, and I'm going to submit Cayman's doctor bills to them as well.
Thanks a lot, Cleo!

It's My Anniversary!

Yeah! Today is mine & Todd's anniversary! We've been together 17 years and married for 12 of those years. Without him, I wouldn't even have a pre-teen drama queen!
I do consider myself a very lucky woman. I have a husband who is patient, thoughtful, and just an all-around great guy. Plus he loves to COOK!! What's not to like?
So, in closing, Happy Anniversary to us!

What took me so long?

I mean, really...what took me so long? I've been wanting to start a blog for a while now (especially while following a friend's blog  -  "Running with Lumpy"). I could have named my blog "My Life With a Perfect Baby", or "My Kid Behaves Better Than Yours". Instead I waited until I have an 8-year-old Drama Queen. I missed out on all of the cute postings of a baby/toddler/pre-schooler. I'll have to hope for some cuteness, Drama-Queen-style.

Bear with me please, as I figure all of this blog stuff out. My blog will be mostly for me...but I hope you enjoy it as well!