Can We Say C-A-M-P-I-N-G?

Every year.....for the past 13 years or so, our family goes to a place called Shakamak State Park. It's 3 and 1/2 hours away. On a boring drive through flatland also known as Indiana. My parents stopped going years ago. My mom said camping isn't a vacation. She works harder when she's camping than at home. She no likey. But, my friends and I take our daughters every June. It's a "girl trip". It's cool because we all have little girls.

But Shakamak is CLOSED this year. We were freaking out. All the storms that everyone have been having majorly affected Southern Indiana. There's no camping because they are on a boil order for water and you can't take showers or anything.

Did I mention when I say camping, I really mean we are staying in a cabin. Yes, I call this camping. Tiger thinks I am NUTS whenever I say it. But hey, there are bats in the walls of the cabin and once, when I was 17 I ran over a snake in the campground. To me, that's pretty damn close to camping.

So, now we are off to a new vacation. It's bittersweet. I love going new places, but I can't imagine not being at Shakamak in June. Tomorrow we leave for White Water Memorial Park (Missy and I call it Shakamak 2). We will be back on Saturday. Bye Y'all.

Some pics from last year. New ones when we get back.

How Do I ???

HELP everyone! Missy has had a loose tooth for almost two months! Well, it's been at least a month and a half. A really long time. The girl is afraid to sit and play with it (this is her first loose tooth). To me, this is strange. I thought all kids go above and beyond to get some dough from the tooth fairy. Apparently not.

But, now I grow concern. The permanent tooth is starting to grow behind it! Ugh. I had her eat an apple last night. It's still there. I tried to twist it but my big mambo fingers don't fit well in her little mouth. I tried to take a string and just yank it out. That only hurt my ears as Missy screamed bloody murder.

What's a mom to do? I want this tooth out so she has a better chance of a permanent tooth growing in straight. Any ideas????

Wordless Wednesday - Lost Picture

Don't you love when you go back through your camera and you see a picture that cracks you up..........one that was long forgotten?

Growing Before My Eyes

Missy on the first day of school. Seems like that was just last week! Remember these?


Missy on the last day of of first grade!

Hot Lava

You know your kid drives you nuts in the store sometimes. This has happened to all of us. Now, my daughter is pretty good when we are out in public. But, at 6, she sometimes forgets how to act like a normal human being.

Today, we had to go to Meijer. Oh, Mommy already spent almost $200 in groceries there on Wednesday. But, I always forget at least one thing. Even with a list. That's just who I am. Always forgetting an ingredient to something that I currently need. Even with a list. It's very annoying. And not cheap on my gas tank either.

So the Tiger falls asleep early. I take the child. Oh geez. I should've just left her with the sleeping Tiger.

We get in and from the front door all the way to the food section it's skip, skip, skip, flop, flop, flop while she's holding my hand. I said, "Missy what in the world are you doing? People are starting to look at us." Her reply? "Well Mommy I can only step on the white ones because if I step on the gray I will burn up in the lava and die." Well, darn Meijer for having gray and white tile. Not just one color.

Well, what the heck? We don't want the child dying in lava on a rainy Friday night, do we? That all would've been fine if I didn't have to hear every two seconds, "OH NO Mommy you are dying in lava. I am going to be left all alone because you didn't follow the rules!"

All I wanted was some chips for a party tomorrow I have to go to. Instead, I think I was burnt alive in hot lava about 47 times.

The Young Buck

They'll never know exactly why he died.

To hear the news, everyone cried.

At the age of 24, he took his own life.

He did this over a girl? But, she wasn't even made his wife.

To us, he was always just a "young buck".

A thug who never gave a fuck.

He was invincible, no one could ever get to him.

And then to go and do this, just on a whim.

To not warn anyone or to say good bye.

He felt his only way out was to die.

TR Thugs 4-ever.

**I just wrote this for a man who was found dead today that I grew up with. We come from a small trailer park that was surrounded by corn fields. As children, all of us formed a unique bond that will never be broken. There's a lot of us, but we were invincible. The trailer park out in the middle of nowhere. We made our own community. Even as an adult quickly heading towards 30, the most content place of my life was in that trailer park. There's a serenity there like no other. TR Thugs 4-ever. That's who we are. To the man of today's blog, I'm so sorry to see you go like this. Take care young buck.**

Wordless Wednesday!

A pic of the Tiger, The Raging Hormone (aka my little brother), and Missy.....after waiting for an hour and a 1/2 to be seated!