Spider

So Bayli had a golf lesson yesterday which meant that I sat and watched, waited, read some of my book, had to tie a lasso, got lassoed, etc. etc. Normal golf lesson watching stuff. Oh you guys don't get lassoed while at a golf course? Well you need to come out to Tennessee Hills Golf Course in Pikeville, Tennessee and get lassoed! We go to church with the owners and their little boy is all boy and was in the lassoing (sp?) mood yesterday. I said whatever just don't hit my nose. Anyway I have digressed. Fast forward to lesson over and we are now in the car going home. Bayli is very scared of spiders and bugs FYI. She says "MOM YOU HAVE A SPIDER ON YOUR HEAD!!!!!!". I said "So, knock it off." She reaches over while I am driving flips my visor down and slides open the mirror. ????? Really? Meanwhile the spider could have eaten my face off, but ok. I said "Bay I can't use the mirror while driving so I said get it off my head or something to the effect of just knock it off my head." I guess the tone got it across to her and she knocked me in the head and then yells because the spider has went under the center console only to reappear a few minutes later when I became world's worst mom and forced her to smush it by herself. She'll be better off for it or in therapy. Either way she's a winner.

Post surgery update

It's been a while since I posted last. It has been a busy summer and then I had to have surgery on my nose for 3 defects. So looking forward to being able to breathe again!! Bayli told the youth group and who knows else that I was having a nose job. She thought it was hilarious, which it is, and now I don't know how many people that don't really know me think I actually had a nose job. Oh well, there are worse things. She also saw me asleep on the couch and told Lealan that I look so tiny without my attitude. Where does she get this stuff. I ain't got an attitude! :) Not a bad one anyways. It's just seems that when you're my size you have to be a little aggressive to be heard, believed, not taken for granted, pushed around, blah blah blah. I just make my wants and needs heard gently.

April Fools

Yeah I know I am behind, but it's been crazy with golf and everything. Bayli played a great joke on Lealan that I knew nothing about. She was very sneaky. He was getting home after we left that day so before we left she set him up. She taped the sprayer nozzle on the sink down so that when he went to wash his hands it would soak him with water. However, instead of a rubberband she used clear tape so it would be hard to detect. Sometimes she makes me so proud! Well I knew nothing of this and that morning my cell phone died so when I went to leave work I plugged it in the car and a voice mail came through from Lealan stating "Tell YOUR daughter I'm gonna kill her." and then a text message from Bayli asking if dad liked her surprises. I have no idea what is going on and I get to Linda's to pick her up and she is so excited. When we get home Lealan says he went to wash his hands and turned the water on and it sprayed all over him and that he jumped out of the way like that would turn it off. He said it sprayed everywhere since he had a hard time figuring out what was happening since our very clever daughter used clear tape. He said he couldn't be mad at her because it is something he would have done himself.

Me and my girl

That's my baby girl on the right. :( It's bitter sweet that she is growing up so fast. She is now within 2 inches of being the same height as me and LOVES it. She is all the time coming off with some midget or short joke to which I reply that she shouldn't make those because she is shorter than me. She laughs and replies that unlike me she is still growing. Really, how did I raise such a smart aleck child who relishes aggravating her mother. Oh, Bayli I am so not ready for you to grow up quite yet.

Golf Cart

Yesterday was Bayli's 2nd golf match. They won their first match on Tuesday, which was a home match! Yeah go team! We traveled to Cleveland yesterday to play Cleveland and Spring City. They have a big ol' nice course and fancy smancy country club. THe kids very very impressed with the huge course, pool, tennis courts, monster club house considering ours is not so large or has the other amenities, but it is a good course and we appreciate them allowing the kids to practice there for free. The Dayton Golf & Country Club is very good to our kids. I believe we won the 2nd match as well. I do well to keep up with where the ball goes when the hit it much less score, rules, etc. etc. I rented a golf cart because we were only going to play 5 holes and that meant a long walk back for the kids with their clubs after already walking the holes they played. That way when they were through we could just pile them and their clubs on the cart and motor on back to the clubhouse. That was my intentions at least. Who knew that my golf cart would die on the 5th hole. My daughter found this hilarious. She was laughing and saying I broke the cart, wait til dad hears this, yadda yadda. Smart mouth kid. But when I pointed out that she was going to have to lug herself and all her effects back on foot she shushed up real quick:) Even with that happening we had a wonderful time. I am so glad she is enjoying playing, but I'm pretty sure the kids enjoyed Cici's Pizza just as much after the match as the actual match. When we left it was like a pizza graveyard. I'm pretty sure I saw a tumbleweed blow across the buffet.

Fore!

So after 4 days of golf tryouts Bayli made the Dayton City School golf team. She was so very excited and we were so proud. So from looking at the calendar they gave us we will either be practicing golf or playing matches everyday for the rest of my life. Well, maybe not the rest of my life, but at least for the next couple of months. That's okay though, she enjoys it and they will have a lot of fun. Who knows maybe she will continue to play through the rest of her school and maybe get a scholarship. That would be fantastic because college is EXPENSIVE and it looks like she may be going forever for her degree in forensic anthropolgy.

Leftovers

Last Tuesday night I made taco stuff for dinner. That's what we call this skillet of turkey burger, refried beans, tomatos and green chiles that you put over tostitos with lettuce, sour cream, tomatos, jalapenos, cheese, etc etc. Me and Lealan love it, Bayli not so much. Well we had a big skillet of it and we ate it Tuesday and had it for leftovers on Wednesday. Thursday evening Bayli asked what we were having for dinner and I told her there was a little bit of taco stuff left that she could eat. She looked at me and said It's been 3 days it's probably not good, you know it ain't Jesus and then she walked off. Me and Lealan were standing there trying to figure out how she equated Jesus spending 3 days in the tomb with leftovers. She is right however that it ain't Jesus and no matter how good it is it's nowhere near as good as what we are going to have in Heaven!

Broken

We had lots and lots of beautiful snow come Monday morning. So we all bundled up and rode the 4 wheeler over to meet Jill and Aaron to play. We had the 4 wheelers, sleds, and intertube and we had a blast!!! We had been playing for a while and Bayli asked me to ride the tube with her again. She sets down in it and I sit beside her with my leg thrown over her. Lealan is pulling us for a while and then for some reason the tube goes crazy and I fly into a parked 4 wheeler. I'm glad Bayli was under me so she didn't get hurt. That ended our playing since I had to go to the ER, but it was so much fun while it lasted. I ended up with a big knot on my forehead, broken nose, possibly cracked ribs, bruised knee and leg, whiplash, and a bruised arm. I was really blessed that God was watching out for me and for keeping Bayli safe. I'll take whatever I got as long as she didn't get hurt. I have to go see an ENT about my nose since I broke it when I was younger. I will be sore for a while, but you can't keep me down for long!

Stories

I thought I might try telling some of my childhood stories on here. Bayli loves hearing them over and over and this seems easier than repeating myself. She can ask I can just say go read the blog :-) I will try to start at the beginning, but don't get mad if I skip around. I will start adding in some Bayli stories too!

Once upon a time on February 24, 1978 the world was blessed with one, Brandi Renee (shout out to Aunt Tammy for the Renee portion.) Swafford. Born about 3 weeks late, but hey I’m on my own time. Dad being the funny guy that he is came out to the waiting room and told everyone it’s a boy with (holding his hands a little apart) a thing this long! You just have to know my dad. He's always got something funny to say. He then revised it to it’s a girl with hair this long. See, where this came from was, the length of my hair and the way it grew, okay still grows. Yes, I am revealing my deep dark secret; I was born with a rat tail. For some odd reason my hair had grown like a “v” in the back so it sort of looked like a rat tail and it was long, like down between my shoulder blades long. It still wants to grow longer in the middle than the sides, but I have a wonderful hairdresser who takes care of me! Maybe I started the whole rat tail era, but thank God it ended! But enough about rat tails lets get back to the perfect child that has just been born. Those of my family members, and I know who you are, should quit laughing right this minute.

The McSpadden's

When I was adding our pic and labeled it "The Mc's" it brought back a funny memory. Bayli was probably in Kindergarten or First Grade and we were eating at a restaurant in Pikeville and Bayli of course was talking to people at other tables. Don't know where she gets her talkativeness from? The lady at one table asked her what her name was and Bayli replied "Bayli of THE McSPADDEN's". Like we were important royalty or something. That lady found it very hilarious.

Let them eat cake!

Bayli and Lealan's birthdays were August 28. Yes, they share a birthday which means 2 birthday cakes. Lealan usualy wants a german chocolate cake, but this year he wanted yellow with buttercream. No problem, however, Bayli wants a multi layered cake with fondant. I have never done anything with fondant. So about 2 weeks before this I bake a cake and practice. It turned out alright so I thought I could tackle the 4, yes I said 4 layer cake she wanted. I spent the Friday before the birthdays baking and decorating. This time with fondant was a little trickier than the first time, but it came out okay. I think I managed to hide the worst areas. It may not have looked the best, but it tasted great and Bayli loooovvvved it! Her loving it was worth all the time it took.

Orientation

Tuesday we had Bayli's 7th grade orientation for 3 hours. As if I wasn't depressed enough realizing that my baby was going to be in the 7th grade, but I also had to sit through 3 hours of several different people reminding me that she is growing up. I swear she was just in Kindergarten last week! We got her class schedules, met all her teachers, and realized how much money we would be putting out from now until school starts. All the school supplies, clothes, shoes, workbooks, planners, trips... And then when school starts it will be more each week for this and for that. It never ends. Well enough of my complaining. I have actually considered taking a math class at Chattanooga State just to be able to help her with her homework. She got put in honors math so (fingers crossed) she won't need help?! I mean she's in honors math, doesn't that mean she should be able to do it all by herself? Mr. Gravitt, the math teacher, said they would also be working in the 9th grade math book. Well, what's she going to do in 9th grade, NASA math? We went to school and actually had gym every day and some free time and recess and now they don't have any free minutes at all and come home with lots of homework.

Bragging

Bayli had her 4th watercolor painting lesson yesterday and I just have to brag. She is doing AMAZING!!! She didn't get her talent from me because I can't draw a straight line with a ruler. Marshall, my brother, can draw and paint very well, but he doesn't anymore and that drives me crazy. If I had that kind of talent I would be using it to the extreme. This sand dune/ocean painting is the one she did yesterday and I love it! We are going to frame it and hang it in her room. She is enjoying her lessons so much and Sam Reilly is a wonderful artist and teacher.

The Liquid Chainsaw

Wednesday May 12th I got to go watch the top 12 winners in the 6th grade science experiments present their projects. Bayli was one of the top 12 with her "the Liquid Chainsaw" project. She studied the effects of Coke, Diet Coke, Lemonade, Milk, Tea, and Coffee on human teeth and cow teeth.. She did an excellent job if I say so! Lemonade ate the enamel off the tooth, it just wiped it clean. OWWW. Seeing the results of her project makes you think twice about drinking anything. I was such a proud mommy when all the votes were in and she won 2nd place overall!!!! She was so excited! She had been saving the cow skull she got the teeth from for a year just waiting on this project. Way to go my little anthropologist/egyptologist in the making!

Scope test

Bayli had to have a scope done on April 21. They are checking to see if she really does have acid reflux or if her problems are just side effects of all her meds. It was her first time being put to sleep, which makes mom a little nervous, but we made it through it just fine. TC Thompsons is a great childrens hospital and the staff is wonderful. The happy juice before the iv and surgery made her all melty into the bed and giggly. They attached what is called a BRAVO (don't know what it stands for if anything) to the bottom of her esophagus and took some biopsies. She had a monitor to wear for 48 hours that the BRAVO transmitted data to wirelessly during that time. How cool is that! And the BRAVO thing will just let go and pass on through :) I think she helped it on down when she swallowed a whole piece of candy Friday evening! She had an allergic reaction to the glue on the heart monitor pads that meant a little extra time in recovery and a few days for her spots to go away. She was funny! She was trying to talk, but you could not understand anything she was saying, but water. She had no idea what she was doing and had yet to open her eyes, but the third time she asked for water and hadn't received it yet she growled "GET ME A GLASS OF WATER NOW!" I actually think her head spun around. I busted out laughing and mom nearly peed her pants. Once we got her a drink of water the growly monster slept for like 2 hours.

Food Taste Tester

Wednesday we were coming home and Bayli was discussing becoming a forensic anthropologist. She said she could be a nutritional anthropologist, but she really didn't want to study that much about food, however she would like to be a food taste tester. I replied "Bayli I don't think there is much call for a lactose intolerant taste tester with reflux." She kind of harumphed and said "Well, I could taste test allergy free foods!" I hadn't actually thought about that, but she's got a point.

Be specific

On Sunday trying to get ready for church Bayli was dragging her feet and it was driving me crazy. She kept going and reading a book instead of finishing whatever it was she was supposed to be doing. I finally had enough and told her that if I caught her reading that book one more time I would throw it in the trash. I go on to finish getting ready and come back in the living room a little bit later and what do I see but her reading a book. I say "what did I tell you I was going to do?" She said "that was this book (points to one laying on the couch) not this one (points to one in her hand)." This must be the "getting off on a technicality" they talk about at trials. Next time I will say "a book" not "that book" to cover any book she may be holding at that time. Smart aleck kid! I really don't know where she gets it from.

Reflux

Bayli had her asthma/sinus/allergy/reflux checkup yesterday. Her lung function wasn't too bad, but the left side of her nose had a sore spot in it with some blood (sorry for the grapic picture) and the right side was nearly swelled shut. I so feel for what she suffers through with sinus problems. I don't know how at 11 she deals as well with what she goes through. She has been having reflux trouble too and she already takes 40mg of Zegerid at night, which is a pretty good dose of medicine and they are now adding Zantac 150 in the mornings for several weeks to see if this will help. They said sometime some people need a little extra help. How exactly do you get extra help to pay for yet another med? They also told us to start really watching her diet for the reflux more than we already do. We go easy on spicy, fruit juice, fatty, greasy etc. At least she is a water drinker and only occasionally drinks a soda and then never anything that contains caffeiene. Now we have to add more fiber and protein to her diet to which my husband said "what, is she an old lady?" and reduce the starchy foods and watch for hidden sugars (and avoid those). These people already know that she is lactose intolerant so who's going to help me at the grocery store read labels for yet another issue? All that's going to be left to eat are carrots and water and then what am I supposed to do watch her turn orange for entertainment? No really I should be thankful and I am thankful that none of her problems are life threatening. We will just have to suck this up and all learn to eat differently again. Things could be worse. I would just like to be able to once watch her go to a birthday party and actually eat the cake and ice cream they have without worrying if the lactose pills are going to be enough or is she going to get sick, or can she even use the pills because she used them one or twice this week (she can't use them all the time like most people can) or carting our own cake around everywhere. I guess she deals better than me because she doens't know any different. She's been doing this since birth and I know what she is missing because I can eat it.

Tallness

Back to the whole tall/short thing. Bayli has inherited my wonderful sarcasticness. When she calls me short I reply "I am still taller than you" to which she replies "At least I'm not done growing!" What's up with that? No respect, no respect at all!

Birthday!!

That's right folks Brandi is now another year wiser. See doesn't that sound better than another year older. I have turned the big 32 and it feels just like yesterday when I was 31. It also makes me feel good to know that I am 32, but my wii age is 31! Now if I can just keep it that way. Bayli woke up first thing this morning singing "Go shorty, it's your birthday. Go shorty, it's your birthday". She found it hilarious seeing as how she thinks I'm short. I'm not. I'm 5'2" and as long as there are people shorter than me I will always be of medium height. That is my story and I am sticking to it! People also call me skinny, but I just tell them I'm not skinny I'm too tall. So I guess that works the other way too if your overweight just people you're not overweight your just too short for your body size. This is probably the reason my husband can't follow a conversation with me as I go randomly from one topic to another, but it all made sense to me. Maybe he just can't keep up with my keen mind. Anywho back to the whole birthday thing. I have to take Bayli to the Asthma Doc tomorrow, which happens to just be on the same road as Gigi's cupcakes and seeing as how I LOVE cupcakes I think I will treat myself to one tomorrow. I was talking about it a lot this morning with my husband and he said "Do you plan on buying Bayli one too?" I was like yeah, sure I guess I could. It would probably be bad momminess of me to eat it in front of her with other people around. Probably better to do things like that at home where no one else sees it, right? I have a cupcake weakness and I have ate the last one at home in front of her before and I didn't even really feel bad for it. Does that make me a bad mommy?