McGristle

So, the topic of conversation at work today is the re-release of the disgusting McRib. Alverson was eating one and asked if I wanted a bite, to which I replied "I wouldn't take a bite of that disgusting thing even if you paid me $20".Which led us all to wonder  --  How much money would it take for you to eat one bite of something you hate?
Here are the results of our very scientific research:

• Rhonda  --  1 bite of a McRib  =  $500
• Steph  --  1 spoonful of beans  =  $500
• Patty  --  1 oyster  =  $500
• Todd  --  1 spoonful of Jello  =  $5  (his is not a repulsion, just a dislike)

Todd said for $500 he'd probably eat a spoonful of poo. Yep, he's gross.

Tween Room

It's official...my baby is growing up. I have proof in the form of photos:

Cayman inherited the furniture that was in my room at Nonie and Dad's. And I must say...it looks absolutely beautiful in her bedroom! She is no longer a baby, a toddler, a kid, or a little girl. She is now officially a tween. Or as I like to call her...a pre-teen drama queen.

Horse Camp ~ YIPPEE!

Horse Camp started this week. Cayman's going to a beautiful camp called Switch Willow. This place is AMAZING! I was expecting some sort of red-neck barn structure and piles of manure. Not at all! It is beautifully landscaped with tucked away gardens and a swimming pool.

Here is a daily run-down:
Monday: Cayman rode (trotted) a horse the first day. Her horse was named Isis and was "AWESOME!!!",  and Cayman has now decided she wants a horse for her birthday. They swam and  did arts + crafts during the heat of the day.

Tuesday: Me: How was camp today?
                Cayman: Bad.
                Me: Why???
                Cayman: My horse was a cheeseball.       *Sidenote: LOL!!!*

Wednesday: They did relay races on their horses today. The kids are also learning how to take care of the horses. They also swam and did arts + crafts during the hottest part of the day  -  it was 104 degrees today!

Thursday: Today was a day of practicing all the things they learned. Cayman was on a horse named Sonic, and they did trots, relays, and riding. The big show is tomorrow...so they really practiced hard! Later in the day they bathed a horse named Joe, played games, and swam. She is LOVIN' it!!

Friday: Today was the big show....it was everything I expected and more! I was so proud to see my little drama queen  on her horse (Isis), trotting and doing relays. She looked so happy and I hope to be able to continue horse riding lessons when summer is over. She won "Best Rider" for the entire camp week!

End of Times

Since the world is going to end tomorrow at 6:00 (The Rapture) I thought I would do one last blog. I don't really have anything to blog about...but if the world ends tomorrow I hope that I get to spend eternity looking at this cute little face:

Found Photos

Before he passed away last month, my grandfather (Old Dad) came across a camera that had film in it that had never been developed. Grans took it and had it developed and all I could say was "Wow...this is incredible." There are pictures of Nonie and Grandpa Tiny (who have both since passed away) with Cayman, as well as pictures of the only Christmas Cayman had with Nonie.

These found pictures made me cry...


Cayman and Old Dad:

Me and Nonie:

Cayman and Granpa Tiny:

Getting a bath in the sink:

Christmas Eve:
Leaving cookies (and a Dr. Pepper) for Santa

Christmas morning!

Oh, how I love looking through these pictures! Especially since I had no idea they even existed!

Photo Shoot

Cayman and I recently had a mini photo shoot at the house. We needed some new pictures of her being seriously pretty (rather than ridiculously silly).
Here are my favorites:

And since little girls can't resist being silly, here is a silly one:

Still cute, though!
I love you, little drama queen!

Talking with Nurse Brandy

This morning Cayman had an orthodontist appointment at 10:30 (I'll blog about this later). After the appointment I signed her back into school and stopped by the nurse's office to let Brandy know that Cayman's mouth may start hurting and she may need some Advil. We started talking about various things that Cayman has been to see Nurse Brandy for from Kinder through 3rd grade. Here are the main things:

• Kinder: Had surgury to remove tonsils and adnoids. Had tubes put in ears at the same time.
• First Grade: Broke ankle AT SCHOOL! Nurse Brandy called me to tell me that Cayman had hurt her ankle celebrating a win in a math game. Together we decided that Cayman was probably being overly dramatic, so I sent her back to class. When I picked her up at YMCA at 5:30 the ankle was HUGE and severely bruised. Yep...it was broken. I got Mom of the Year for that one.
• Second Grade: Nothing!!!
• Third Grade: Braces and appliance

So, the school nurse definately knows my child! But she did talk about how Cayman would come see her in kinder for medicine and how she was so small and short and blond and cute. Now she's a big 3rd grader with braces and glasses. She's still cute, though!

Drama Queens Say the Darndest Things

I believe I gave birth to one of the most comical people I have ever met. She's not only comical...she's witty and charming, too. I recently came to the conclusion that I should document some of the things she says now so that when she's a teenager I can look back at this particular blog entry and remember how much she used to amuse me.

• 3/19/11  Cayman - "Animals are cute and I don't want to eat them anymore. I'm going to be a vegetarian.".  Me - "OK...you just have to eat more vegetables."  Cayman - "GROSS! Why???" Me - "Because that's what vegetarians do. They eat VEGETABLES!" Cayman - "Well, I didn't know that."

• 3/20/11   We had been to Cirque du Soleil earlier in the day. After her bath she ran in the living room screaming "Watch me be an acrobat. I'm going to be in Circus Ole'!" LOL! 

• 3/23/11   As Cayman was getting ready for her bath she put her hands on her chest and said "Mama, does it look like I am getting my boobies yet?", to which I replied, "No, not yet"....

• 6/5/11   "Mama, I'm probably gonna be kinda stupid in a couple of years. It won't be my fault, though. Because I'll be a teenager. And ALL teenagers are stupid...they can't help it."  LOL! SO true!

Ex-Smoker

• Day One  -  as of today I am officially an ex-smoker. It hasn't been too hard and I haven't cussed anyone out (yet!).  I think the time when I will have the most difficulty is at home. Todd is going to smoke and Cayman is going to drive me crazy (probably)...but I have faith that I can stick it out. I have literally nibbled all day long...sunflower seeds mostly. I also managed to chip a corner of my tooth off on a sunflower seed. So now I have to go to the dentist :(   Hopefully tomorrow will be just as easy as today...minus the broken tooth.

Update...

Update...

So I haven't blogged every day. I haven't exercised every day.

However  --  I HAVE been taking Chantix every day. And it makes me feel like poo-poo. Seriously.

Here is a list of my complaints (in no particular order, because they all suck):

• Nausea. This one really sucks. Because it NEVER GOES AWAY!
• Sleepiness. I could literally take a nap every 15 minutes.
• Sore neck/shoulder muscles. I really need a person to stand behind me and massage my shoulders all day. He can take a break when I have my naps. Oh, and his name should be Fernando and he should be shirtless.

Complaints aside, Monday will be my quit date. Wish me luck!

Resolutions...

Started 3 of my New Years Resolutions today...it just took a while :)

• Started on the Chantix  -  I think THIS is the time it will happen for me! I am DETERMINED!
• Exercised for an hour. Yes, I was playing Kinect...but it was definately a workout!
• Trying to blog every day

And now for a cute photo that was taken Spring 2010:

Bieber Fever

Do you have Bieber Fever? No? Don't worry, I don't either. And I'm sure it has NOTHING to do with the fact that I am not a pre-teen drama queen.

Luckily for me, Cayman's BFF Grace asked her to go see "Never Say Never" today after gymnastics. Translation  -  I don't have to go! Yippee!

As a trade-off I will take the girls to Disney on Ice. Pretty good trade-off, dontcha think?

And now, a cute photo of the life-long BFFS:

New Years Resolutions

So here it is the middle of February. And although I MADE some New Years Resolutions, I haven't actually STARTED any of them yet. Some are easy...one is extremely difficult.
I had good intentions back in January. It just didn't happen. However, I am now ready! I will start on Sunday :)
Below is a cute photo of the Drama Queen and her dad.

I'm Sorry Clementine. I Didn't Mean To....

I have made Clementine VERY sick. I put a Hartz flea collar on her until I could get to the vet for more Frontline. BAD mistake. After only a day and a half, little Clementine was almost dead. She was very lethargic and just generally not interested in anything. I've been carrying her to her food and water bowls to make sure she eats. Apparently flea collars are extremely toxic to some animals. Why are these things even being sold???
Here is a picture of Clementine before I inadvertently tried to kill her. She doesn't look this good anymore :(

Poor Clemmie...the vet said she will get better. It's just going to take a long time. I'm so sorry Clementine!

My daughter - Evil Knieval the Invisible Ninja

I'm glad that my daughter isn't some prissy little thing who sits quietly and plays with baby dolls non-stop. Yes, she does those things on occasion...but usually you'll find her running down the sidewalk barefooted, waving a princess wand, and screaming at the top of her lungs that she is an invisible ninja. And I wouldn't change a single thing about her.
HOWEVER  -  this invisible ninja child of mine also knows no fear. She proved this by trying to jump a curb on her bicycle. She crashed (HARD) on her face. The following photo was taken 3 days after the wreck:

It looks like I have been beating my child. But I haven't. Besides, it's kinda hard to beat an invisible ninja... they are extremely hard to catch.

Naughty Kitty FREE to Good Home

Yes, Cleo is cute. But she is also a naughty kitty! Here is a list of the things in my home that she has ruined/torn/scratched:

• Cayman's gigantic green beanbag  --  has a hole chewed in it.
• Wallpaper in master bathroom  --  shredded in window area.
• Cayman's favorite stuffed animal, given to her by Uncle hours after she was born  --  nose chewed off. (This one is SERIOUS. Nobody messes with Teddy!)
• New Balance walking shoes  -  shoestrings chewed up.

I have always left her in the bathroom during the day while we are at work (don't worry...I'm not confining her to a tiny space...it's a HUGE bathroom). However, today I am testing her and letting her roam free in the house. I hope she behaves (ie, sleeps all day)!
And by the way, we're not REALLY giving her away! She's much too cute!

My Dad

This isn't going to be a post about the drama queen. This one will instead focus on her grandfather, my dad. We found out that he has a serious issue with his lungs. It's either lung cancer or mesothelioma...the tests next week will tell us more. I haven't told Cayman yet. I wanted to get a bit more info first. I don't believe in keeping things like family illness from children. It just has to be explained in a way that she can understand. She's going to be real worried about her "Poppie". They watch Spongebob together and have snoring contests...he's just a lot of fun.
Pop is a great dad and an amazing grandfather...and we are going to rally together and beat this! If he can survive what us kids put him through, then he can survive this!!
I love you,Pop!