Cayman Jan 27- Feb 2 2011 - Week 3

I love this picture of Coco modelling one of the outfits I got her. She is so cute in pigtails!

Jan 27 Thurs
Shayana got money from the tooth fairy today. When they asked my niece what she was going to do with the money she said "I'm going to save it for retirement." Have you ever heard of a 7 year old saying she's going to start saving for her retirement? Most kids would say they want to buy candy or a new toy. She definitely didn't get this trait from me!
Jason, Jing and I took Coco to her weekly gymnastics play group.Don't you dig her shnazzy gymnastics outfit? While Jason played with Coco, Jing and I did stomach crunches so we got a work out as well. But the toddlers were interested in what we were doing and had a few little ones come over and watch us. I guess it was pretty interesting for the little ones to see us grown ups trying to exercise. I started talking to a lady who was carrying a newborn with her while watching her nanny and toddler play. I found out the baby was only 4 days old! Imagine being out and about after only 4 days - I was impressed! Little did I know that her husband and Monette actually have worked together. Living on such a small island, it doesn't surprise me anymore. Monette and Jason seem to know everyone on the island!



Jan 29, Saturday
Today I slept in late. The night before we went to a sports bar with Jason's hockey team. The kids had various sports to do in the morning. We did another treasure hunt. Then in the late afternoon we went to the public beach for Shayana's friend's birthday party. After more than 2 weeks here I finally made it to the beach. Unfortunately, I've already acclimatized to the weather here. It was a cold and windy day. It was about 25degrees, the coldest I've ever experienced here. I dipped my toes into the sea and felt like I was in Canada! It was way too cold to go swimming! Fortunately there was lots of other things for the kids to do at the party. There was a playground, a tug rope contest, a pinata, and dancing. I spent a lot of the party pushing kids on the swings.
After the party we got take out food from our favourite Thai restaurant and rented the Facebook movie "Social Network". Another relaxing day here in Cayman.

Jan 30, Sunday
This morning the girls played with the bubbles I gave them in their treasure hunt. After about 15 minutes the 2 older girls were ready to come in. They went to play some computer games. Little Coco however, decided that she wanted to blow bubbles til the end of time. She was so cute to watch. Somewhere along the way she decided that to get bigger bubbles she would have to shove the little wand into the bottle really quick many many times! The look of determination on her face was priceless. Thankfully after what seemed like hours she accidentally dropped it on the ground. The End! Amen!

Then the girls "helped" their dad clean the car. They came into the house totally drenched from head to toe.


Tonight we went for dinner at Eat's. It's quite an adventure trying to go eat with these noisy munchkins. And it appears that Jason has learned from my father - as a dad you never order your own food - you just eat everyone's leftovers. He had the wonderful meal of pasta, garlic bread, french fries and cobb salad, all washed down with a half melted strawberry smoothie.

After dinner we went to Haagen Daaz for some ice cream. I was too cold and too full for that dessert, but was happy just to sit with the kids. Afterwards we started walking towards the parking lot, but little Coco had her own plans. She, apparently, was going to watch a movie by herself. Good thing they live in a small town, or else she could easily get lost. She's not afraid of being by herself at all!

When we got home, Shay, Rio and I put another treasure to use. We got out that huge coloured paper and made cut outs of shirts and skirts that were the actual size of Shay and Rio. Then they used markers to put designs on them. We taped them together, then put a loose string to hang around their necks. They modeled their pretty outfits for me!.

Finally, we lay in bed and Shay and I had a competition on who could read/sing these storybook verses the best. Rio was the judge. The 2 of them conspired together to make sure their Auntie Lana always lost.......even with my best rapping and opera skills put to use.

It's 9pm and this auntie is ready for bed. Great day as always!

Jan.31, Monday
Went to the playgroup at the community centre. About 40 toddlers in one room playing with nannies, mothers and visiting relatives. Met another nanny from Finland who has only been here 2 weeks. I love being able to tell people all about Cayman, as if I live here....well, I practically do!

Feb.2, Tuesday
Today we were stuck in the house all day because the nanny's car was in the shop. During exercise this morning, we spent a lot of time running around the house with little Coco chasing after us on her plastic tricycle. She was having a blast and we were getting some good cardio work! After exercising in the morning I got to take a nap. That's what I do in Canada, so I was really happy to be able to do that here. I woke up nice and refreshed. I think we tired out Coco, because she napped for over 4 hours! Good thing we had no plans that day! The rest of the day was quiet, with Jing just cleaning up around the house, and me lying around watching movies on tv - I love that on this tourist island they have lots of free movie channels.
Then at night we went to the Camana Bay outdoor mall to grab dinner and help Monette pick out her birthday gift from Jason (much better to let her pick it out than have Jason surprise her). So nice to walk around.

Cayman Jan 20-26, 2011 - Week 2

Thursday, Jan 20

Coco's the sweetest toddler ever. Doesn't she look so cute in this pink outfit I bought her?...like such a mature model! Out of the blue she'll run up to you, give you a big kiss on the lips and then hug you tight. I'm telling you this story first, so you'll think of her with sweet thoughts.......Because this next story of her might make her seem less than perfect!


She can say a few words, but still can't communicate totally. But she is very smart! When she makes a poop in her pamper she has recently learned to take a piece of it out of her pamper and give it to her mom or to her nanny. What a genius!

Friday, Jan 21

Today, me and the nanny Jing tried to go to lunch with little Coco. We went to a little place on 7 Mile Beach called Cimboco. Coco was fine for most of the time, but did have one explosion when I dared to say "No" to her when she tried to use her fingers to take ice out of my glass. I think in the future we'll stick to restaurants that have playgrounds inside - Burger King, here we come..


I spent my Friday night reading Coco the book "Hey! Wake Up!" over and over and over again. Then later on we put on the movie Mamma Mia which the girls love to watch. I was quite entertained watching their whole family stand up and do all the dancing and singing to a lot of the show. Couldn't be more content.

Saturday, Jan 22

Slept in on Saturday morning. Then me and Monette went out to do some shopping for Jason's birthday party tomorrow - presents and food. And we went to this fabulous little cafe called Icoa. They have delicious food and a lot of out of this world priced kitchen gadgets. Who would buy a $200 egg holder? I think all that stuff is there just to stun all the eaters. Here are some pictures of the food we ordered. Yummy!...


After we were done all our shopping I had a long nap. I woke up to the smell of greek food being cooked by Monette. Yummy! To work off all the food I had eaten I went to the playroom with the girls and threw the ball around with them. Happy days!

Sunday, Jan 23

I'm actually typing this in a week later, from notes I made in my notebook. We had no internet access for a while. Why? Ants got into the receiver thingamagig outside. Oh, the problems living in this Caribbean paradise!

So anyways, we celebrated Jason's birthday a week late. The girls had their various lessons in the morning, and then Jason left for his hockey game. While he was gone Monette prepared all our picnic based on the French cartoon Ratatoille (this cartoon movie I have never watched)..


When Jason got home I seated him on a bench in the great room. Music started and 1 by 1 they came out modelling their new swimsuits. They all looked fantastic, but Coco stole the show. She moved more like a sumo wrestler than a super model! Then Jason opened his gift of a matching swim suit. Next Jason opened my gift to him - a grey Banana Republic shirt. But honestly, how can my gift compete with 4 cuties in swimsuits?.
I woke up from my daily nap just in time to watch a little NFL. It's actually really exciting. I just wish mom was here too - she's become a real big fan of the NFL.

Monday Jan.24

Today was National Heros Day, so no work and no school. In the afternoon we went to the Turtle Farm - the one place in Cayman that I've never been to. The turtles came in all sizes - I was especially impressed with the giant ones that were 4 or 5 feet big...
.

There was also a big swimming park. So while Monette and Jason took the kids in the water I spread out and got my tan on. I didn't get that much of a tan, but at least I'm not so pasty white anymore.......although Monette would beg to differ..

Then we went down the street to an outdoor restaurant for dinner. The eating area extended right out into the ocean. Heavenly!

Tuesday, January 25

I've started to teach Jing some simple exercises. We'll do it every morning. Lots of cardio, some tummy exercises and working with dumbells. Maybe this will be the first time that I return to Canada not looking like a Pillsbury Dough Boy!

Wednesday, January 26

Exercised again in the morning, showing Jing a few dance moves. I know what you're thinking - Lana dancing? Okay - it's just a few steps we do in our exercise class at home. Other than those, the only other dancing I know is the chicken dance!

Later, we went back to Caymana Bay outdoor mall. While Jing took Coco to the book reading and to play in the water park I got comfortable in the air conditioned coffee house with a slushy fruit drink and my sudoku book. My idea of paradise.....

I made spaghetti for dinner tonight. Thank goodness they like spaghetti because it's one of the few things I know how to cook. I'm also well known for my excellent toasting of bread abilities.

Well, I'd like to share more but American Idol is about to start....I'll post more next week.

Cayman Jan 13-18 2011 - Week 1

I finally got to Cayman after 22 hours of travelling! It usually takes half the amount of time, but thanks to all the snow, I had to go a weird way with lots of waiting in between: drive to Seatac, fly to Dallas, fly to Miami and then finally fly to Cayman. But so well worth it!

Little Coco is so funny. Everytime I start singing her a song she puts her finger to her mouth and says "Sssshhhhhh!" Then when she sees the look of dismay on my face she laughs hysterically.

Jan.13, Thursday - On my first full day here Nanny Jing and I took Coco to an indoor playground and then to Quizno's for lunch. I needed a long nap when we got home. Then when Shay and Rio came home we did a treasure hunt. All 3 of them got an outfit and the 2 older ones got puzzles. Rio finished her puzzle meant for a 4 year old in about half an hour. But the puzzle for a 6 year old took Shay and me over 3 hours to do! I don't know what's going to happen when I have to buy a puzzle for a 7 year old?! Maybe I should just keep buying puzzles meant for 4 year olds!

After dinner I needed another nap. Then I stayed up for another hour or so tossing balls around with the kids. Finally I went to bed and slept for a solid 8 hours.


Jan.14, Friday - It has never been this cold here before. The warmest it has been is 26 degrees and it is very windy which makes it feel freezing. In all the years that I have been coming here it has never been this cold. I was even able to wear my hair down because the back of my neck wasn't all yucky sweaty.....maybe I'm sharing too much information!


Anyways, I went with Jing and Coco to their small version of Costco and then to my favourite grocery store Kirk's. Coco talks so embarassing loud in the store....but it's kinda funny too! They all know her there so they put up with the loud voice - they also put up with her stealing grapes and eating them while we shop. They even offer her other treats! Whatta spoiled brat - I wish I could eat free there too!

Jan.15, Saturday- Today was a fun day. Spent the morning playing with the kids and taking an early nap - resting up for our afternoon in the sun. The weather is so cool these days, you don't even break a sweat! Both Monette and Shay were playing in a ball hockey tournament to raise money for childrens' cancer.

Spent a few hours out in the sun surrounded by all their families and friends. At one point a bunch of the little kids that I know from their play group sat with me. Whenever I see them they always want me to tell them about what happened to my bad eye and ask me stories about Canada. I love little kids!

Afterwards we got a quick bite to eat at Camana Bay and then headed home. After that, I needed a second nap! Second naps seem to be the norm for me here.



Sunday - Why did I come here during playoff season for the NFL? All Jason and Monette want to do is watch football! Thank goodness they had a children's party to go to for part of the day. Had the tv all to myself!





Monday - I went to the community centre for Coco's play group. I knew a couple of the filipino nannies and their kids. I met someone who had lived on the island for a few years, but it was her first time at the play group. Then another lady came up to me. It was her first time at the play group. She was a nanny who just came from England. It's so nice to meet new people here.


Monette's gone til Thursday for work. Tonight I played a lot with the girls in Rio's room. We ended up playing with their big Barbie doll house that is about 4 feet tall with many floors. The elevator, unfortunately is broken. So in the game we played, I own the house. Visitors come into my house and before I can tell Ken that the elevator is broken he jumps into it. He gets trapped and when I call the elevator repair man, he says he can't fix it til later the next day. So we have to throw food and water to Ken in the elevator. Then the worst thing happens - he has to use the washroom! We give him a bucket to pee and poo in. (All games with my nieces contain the words pee and poo.) What's worse is that when the elevator is fixed Ken comes out and is really stinky. I try making him take a bath in the bathroom, but the mermaid barbie is in the bath. Then I try putting him in the bathroom sink, but another barbie is using that. Finally I take him to the kitchen sink, but the silly kitchen doesn't have a sink. I try covering him with perfume, but all my perfume bottles are empty. I tried to give Ken one of my dresses to wear instead, but finally Ken disappears. For the next week all I do is scrub the house clean, trying to get rid of the bad smells. Finally I am happy. Then who comes to the door, Ken!!! He still hasn't taken a bath and is still as smelly as ever. I say "NOOOO! Get out!" But Ken doesn't listen and he runs around in every room in the house and makes it smell so bad again! I cry and cry as my nieces laugh. The End!



Tuesday - Jing, Coco and I went back to Kirk's store to do more grocery shopping. We went window shopping in the Pink Mall - well, I went window shopping and Jing actually bought stuff. Later that night Shay was mad because we were shopping while Jing was technically working. Shay doesn't realize that keeping me entertained is part of Jing's job while I'm here!

Then we went to Chicken, Chicken for lunch. Had me some delicious jerk chicken!

Back home for a nap to get me through the night of playing with the kids at the house.

Well, that's my first week here in Cayman. Four more to go!