My baby broke her wrist!!

Yep -- trying to be a monkey at school and fell off the monkey bars!! I have never had a broken bone -- ever -- and never thought Kennedy would be the first. This is 'pre-cast' -- she is now in a cast past her elbow and we go to the ortho dr to have it placed in a permanent cast. I literally laughed "OUT LOUD" when he told me he was going to give her a cast to take to Hannah Montana ... yes, we have the HM concert tonight and she let EVERYONE know. So, we got out of there with about an hr 1/2 to spare and she is napping right now. I felt so bad for her .... as soon as I walked in the door to her school, she started crying ... and so did I.

Gaspaarrrrrrillla 2008

Chad and I were invited to Gasparilla this year by our neighbor and the fine folks at Chevrolet ~ America's truck. Since Chad *needed* to go due to them nicely allowing them to drive one of their vehicles for free, we jumped at the chance to go IN STYLE! Now, I highly recommend, that if you go to Gasparilla, this is the way you go ~ private area, your own bleachers, your own port-o-potty, your own 'section' ... anyway, we got there early to beat the crowd. Within 5 min of us being there, we had our first 'incident'. The big guy from Chevrolet came to pick up me, Chad, Kandi and Ed (our neighbors, dear friends, and tickets to the parade) and we all loaded up in the golf cart. Before Ed and Kandi had a chance to sit down, Jim took off in the golf cart, Ed yelled at him to 'Stop STOP!" and before I knew it, I witnessed Ed and Kandi go SPLAT in the middle of Bayshore and OMG ... it was so funny. I am nearly doubled over right now typing .. because I suffer from "innappropriate laughter syndrome" and I couldn't help it. I DID ask if they were ok before I completely busted a gut. Too bad they couldn't recreate it, because I SO would have put it on my blog. The whole story of Gasparilla is that back in 1904 or something like that, Jose Gaspar and his pirates invaded Tampa Bay. So now it's an annual tradition and gives people an excuse to go downtown and act crazy. The day parade is a lot TAMER than the night parade - to say the least - and so all these "krewes" get together, make floats, and parade down BayShore. It really is fun ...

What ... is that MUSIC that I hear???

Why, YES! IT IS!! Imagine my surprise/delight when I realized I could post MUSIC on my blog and I figured it out ALL BY MYSELF!! Imagine my even bigger surprise when I realized Chad's very first single EVER was in the playlist. They didn't have Yes!, but I'm sure I can figure out how to find it .....

Waiting for Daddy

Me: Cameron, whatcha doin'?
Cameron: Waiting for Daddy to come home
Me: Do you see him?
Cameron: Not yet

I don't know whether this is pathetic or precious. Chad has been gone since Wed night and came home today. The kids were great ~ we had no major 'incidences' and I'm pretty sure Chad brought the cold weather from Memphis back home with him!!

Inspiration ....

I'm a lucky girl. I am blessed with some of the best friends a girl could have. I've decided that I'm going to 'call out' these girlfriends on my blog and let them know how much I appreciate them. Since I've got one with a birthday coming up, I'll start with her first. Here's where it all begins.

I want to spruce up Kennedy's room ~ NOT re-do it ~ as my poor husband has threatened my credit card if I dare bring another paint sample into this house. See, I have my very own personal Martha Stewart, without the arrests and diva-attitude, and she inspires me almost daily to 'do something' to my house. Whether it be planting a new flower, moving a piece of furniture, buying a new lamp (which I ALWAYS find for $10 or less when I am with her) and this time, it's no different. She wanted to make a tapestry of sorts -- 4 different pieces of fabric, sewn together and then hung on a beautiful curtain rod. Well, I was cleaning out our hall closet and I found some leftover fabric I used in Kennedy's room. I then asked her if she thought she might would want to help me make a 'tapestry' for Kennedy's room. Of course, as the song goes, "She said YES!" and off we went to JoAnn's to find 2 more coordinating pieces of fabric. We got the idea to add some embellishments (paging Kim Wheeler - aisle 2) and so hopefully within a few weeks or so, we'll have it done. This friend is Kandi Kirkland. She can make/cook anything and I can ask her "Will you show me how to do this?" and she will say "Well, what are you doing now?" and there you have it. She always makes time for me, even if it is to go to Home Depot at 8:00 at night because I don't want to go by myself. She introduced Chad and me to our church, of which we have become deeply involved and which I count as pretty much changing my life! She encouraged me to go to a women's retreat, that I honestly thought would just be a nice getaway for the weekend, which in turn, was another life changing event that I can HONESTLY say, cleared a lot of JUNK out that I had been holding on to for so long, for whatever reason. I have a bond with Kandi that I can't quite explain ~ although I am certain it is a "God thing". Her birthday is this week ~ so I want to send her a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY wish ~ and THANK YOU for all you do for our family! Kennedy and Cameron LOVE you too!!

OK ~ back to our inpiration .....
I was cruising around some websites, I stumbled across one that gave decorating ideas. One lady emailed in about what to do with empty spaces ~ and they suggested an assortment of plates on the wall ~ so then it dawned on me that I had some of my grandmother's china in my china cabinet that is just sitting there, collecting dust ~ so I pulled out the plates and take a look:



PERFECT - huh? I'm going to put 3 plates on Kennedy's wall above her bed. It will be just perfect. For those of you that know me, you know that I have a very strong relationship with my Grandmother Steen. I don't say "had" because even though she passed nearly 9 years ago, I speak to her almost every day. She was such an amazing, wonderful woman, and if I grow up to be 1/10 of the woman she was, I'll be doing ok. I know she is looking down on me - proud of me and thankful that I 'FINALLY' got it together with my relationship with God. She was the most GODLY woman I have ever come across. My mom is her exact recreation and I count my blessings each and every day for the relationship I have with my mom and I pray that Kennedy and I will have that same relationship (we will ... )

Here's wishing you a week where you become INSPIRED!

** UPDATE ** Kandi finished her tapestry and it is FAB-U-LOUS. I'm going to see if she'll let me take a picture of it to post here. The fabrics above are the ones she helped me pick out for Kennedy's tapestry!

What $800 will get you ....

Florida Sharks Competition Cheerleaders .... FREAKIN' GORGEOUS!! It's expensive, but Kennedy loves it and it's building great character and moral for her ~ her coaches do not tolerate ANYTHING!



Practice pose ....



Chad Jr. ~ posted just 'cuz I love this picture (and this BOY!!!)

Make Mommy a Face ....

Have you ever asked your kid to make a certain expression? I had my new camera and so I decided to ask Cameron to make certain faces .... this is what he came up with:


Make Mommy a TIRED FACE ...





Make Mommy a SAD FACE .. (my personal fave)



Make Mommy a HAPPY FACE (or you are part jack-0-lantern)




Make Mommy a MAD FACE (he pretended he was crying)



BREAK .... cheesy grin




Make Mommy a SURPRISED face ....

And please do not report me .. like I said, my kid is ALL BOY. The bruises are from bumping into, falling off or just plain rough housing ..... at least I didn't post the one with the snotty nose!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ~ BABY BOY!!

3 yrs ago TODAY ~ born at 3:33 pm on 1/11 (see the weird number deal there??)



I see SO much of my side of the family in this picture (in all aspects) - one of the only times Cameron looked like something OTHER than a Brock.



One of my favorite pictures - July 4, 2005




He finally got his bike!!



Outta my way (seriously - that is what he is saying!)



Such a party animal!!



He figured he could ride it like a scooter for now ... ignore the Sam's club size paper towels and vaccuum cleaner in the background (that's for YOU ~ Shawn) ... at least you know we're are semi-clean (or TRY to be).




Gettin' the hang of it!



Ohhhhh ... THIS is how you do it!



Getting a little help from our best friend Madelynn ...



Getting birthday wishes from Nina and Pappy!!


I'll never forget making the phone call to Chad to let him know we were having a boy! He was in Maine ~ on the road touring ~ and he cried like a big 'ol baby. We still cry - but for different reasons - because we wonder what on EARTH we did to tick the GOOD LORD off after seeing some of the things this kid is capable of!! He is well beyond his 3 yrs (finally) and can work an iphone so well it will BLOW YOUR MIND! We can now hold complete conversations and communicate with Cameron AND know what he is saying (most of the time). He still says his 'c's as t's ... but for right now, it's cute. His teachers love him at school .... and say he is the class clown! He loves shoes too ..... hard to believe our baby boy is 3 yrs old today - seems like yesterday I was about to laugh and deliver him (seriously .. ask my sister). He is a complete JOY and makes me laugh every single day! We love you, Cameron!!!

Ohhhh, mama got a new toy!

I title this one "pretty purple flower"
and this one is called "I'm nearly dead" ... see the blurry purple flower in front? I didn't do that on purpose, but I think it looks COOL!!

Games Adults Play
Hey -- lemme outta here!

Today, the UPS man brought me something I have been waiting - what seems like forever - for! My new NIKON D40 with 2 additional lenses. I am SO excited. I immediately popped in the included charged battery and started snapping at whatever I could. I actually got pictures of my cat (who has now come out of hiding now that Roscoe is gone) in mid yawn, stretching, meowing, sleeping, etc. SO I decided to venture outside for 'nature' shots. Well, since we had a frost last week, everything is dead. EVERYTHING except a couple plants by my front door .... I just HAD to see the detail of the camera and sure enough, I SCORED. I researched and researched cameras before I decided on the Nikon D40. I really was going to get the Canon Rebel XT, however, it took a different card and I already had the one the Nikon took - plus for just $40 more, I got the add'l lens on the Nikon plus a couple DVDs on how to use the camera, etc etc etc. I especially intended to have the camera for Kennedy's cheerleading and all the things we have going on this year, so I'm really excited!! Kim - now you have to get yours!! It's worth it girl!!

Sad day ....

Yep, today was a sad day but last night was even worse. Roscoe is no longer living with us. He did the unthinkable -- he bit. My kid.

It all started last night when Chad was at church rehearsing for worship team - because, as most of you Moms know, NONE of this crap (yep, that's what it is - CRAP) happens when Daddy is home. There was a piece of chicken on the counter and Roscoe had his front paws sniffing it. Kennedy told him "NO ROSCOE" and pulled on his collar to get him down. He turned, grabbed her face with his paws, and bit her. There were 2 loud barks - what I call 'warning barks' - that he would normally do when Cameron was rolling on him, or if the cat was near him or whatever. It has never bothered me. After the 2 barks, I heard a scream. Now, Kennedy has done this before and it has been nothing - 100% of the time. She came running THROUGH THE FAMILY room screaming that Roscoe had bit her. I grabbed her face and saw NOTHING. She was screaming and I was telling her "No baby, he just barked at you" and then blood came pouring out of her mouth. Let me tell you - it freaked me OUT. THEN her face started swelling and the scratch marks started to bleed. I rushed her into the shower, bathed her with anti-bacterial soap and made her rinse her mouth out with anti-bacterial mouthwash. I actually had some antibiotic cream that we had from 2 weeks ago when Cameron had an infection on his foot - so I slapped that on there too. It appeared that Roscoe just went after her because he thought she was going to take the chicken. Had it been me, he would never have done it. Chad came home and we made the decision that Roscoe had to go back to the SPCA. Here's the hard part - he is a good boy. I really wrangled with the decision because he was such a cool, fun pet to have around, but he did tend to get a little agressive. More than should be in a house with a 5 yr old and a 3 yr old. I cried today when Chad told me he had dropped him off but the lady at the SPCA is a good friend of ours and she promised she would make sure he went to a good home - they are a no-kill facility -so that wasn't an issue. Our risk was that he would do it again and we know he probably would do it again -- also, we didn't want to risk him doing it to a friend's child, etc - I would NEVER forgive myself. We really love Roscoe and Kennedy was so upset this morning when I told her that Daddy had to take him back to see Marissa (our friend at the SPCA) but they agreed that we did the right thing. We felt like we had finally succeeded with a dog as we have had SEVERAL dogs in the past and it just NEVER worked out.

When Kennedy was crying and in shock, she did look up at me and say "Someone needs to pray for me" and I loved that she knew that is what would make her feel better. PLUS a lot of TLC --- she was so worried everyone would call her 'ugly' (her face is pretty messed up, but I refuse to post a picture) ... just keep her in your prayers that she will make a speedy recovery!!

CSI - Valrico

I so wish I was making this stuff up .....

From Tampa Bay's News Channel 10:

Valrico, Florida - Hillsborough deputies say three men who robbed a Valrico Subway Sunday night and fire two shots inside are part of the gang called "Bloods". They also say one of the men put a gun to the female Subway clerks head.
Deputies say at 9:18 PM the suspect went into the Subway located at 3208 Lithia Pinecrest Road with what appeared to be white T-shirts wrapped around their faces.
According the to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office the suspects grabbed the femal clerk and put a gun to her head while demanding money. The suspects got the money and as they were leaving deputies say one of them fire a shot inside. The bullet hit the freezer.
The suspects drove off. Deputies put out an alert and a deputy spotted the suspects on Highway 60 in Brandon. The men crashed their car into the wall at the Eaglewood Estates. That's on Mulrennan and at Imperial Eagle drive. The suspects were eventually caught. Deputies found money from the robbery, a handgun, and a rifle in the suspects car.
Deputies arrested 20-year-old James Michael Davis, 18-year-old Lavone Hill, and 23-year-old Rodney Brenard Richardson. Deputies say all three men belong to the "Bloods".

This was a crazy night. One of the funniest nights in our neighborhood was when we first moved in. We heard helicoptors, saw police cars driving down the street with their lights on (IN our street) and so I was on the phone with my neighbor Shannon - who, like me, does NOT like the sound of the helicopter because it's just never good. The guys were all standing out in the street talking to a cop who told them there was a fugitive that had robbed this large automotive store and was on the run. Shannon's husband decided, at this time, it would be funny to run out into the street with a pair of black pantyhose over his face. He scared the living daylights out of Chad, who reared back to punch the living daylights out of 'the robber'. Chris ripped the pantyhose off his head just in the nick of time .... funny. SO fast forward about a year or so and we have Sunday night. Shannon calls "Do you hear the helicopters? What's going on? Tell Chad to call one of his police friends" ... so Chad calls and this time, it's pretty serious. We were instructed to stay inside, lock all of our doors and turn on all of our lights as well as to alert any of our neighbors of the same. The 3 guys were armed with 2 guns and were IN our neighborhood. Chad went outside (fully protected mind you) and walked down to talk to the cops. At this point, they had captured 2 of the guys (the DOGS got 'em) and they had the other guy 'hemmed in' (police talk I guess). Luckily, by 10:30, everyone was caught and we were on the 11:00 news. This photo was taken today and it is entrance of our neighborhood. The house JUST on the other side of that wall belongs to a Hillsborough County Deputy .....