Yeah yeah. I've done it too. (September 30, 2008)

Oh how words can bite us in the ass. I have a few examples here courtesy of others. I know at some point, okay, okay A LOT of times, *I* have said something really dumb, but it's much more fun and interesting to point out someone else's goof ups... not mine... Moving right along...

About 2 years ago, I used to work with this girl, who we will call Ninny. Ninny was about 22 years old, and no kids. We were both on our lunch break, and somehow or another the topic of child rearing came up. The only thing I can recall in our discussion is her telling me how when she has kids, she will NEVER tell them "no". She will use other terminology. Such as "Not a good idea" Or "Don't do that", "Danger". etc. You get the idea, right? She said "No is too negative". THEN she tells ME that *I* should stop saying "No" to my kids and that I would thank her later for it. BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! ...ahem... cough. So, me, being the gracious woman I am, told her "One day you are going to have children. Out of the blue you are going to remember this conversation and you will feel like an asshole." and I promptly walked away. I *may* have taken what she said a little easier had she actually had children.

Someone whom I love and respect DEARLY, asked me ages and ages ago (before they had children) why I hadn't made it to church the past couple Sundays. I told them because my son had not been sleeping well, and was transitioning from 2 naps a day to one. They told me "When I have children I will NEVER let their sleeping schedule interfere with going to church", and something regarding priorities. At that moment and time I wanted to SCREAM at them saying "ONE DAY!! ONE DAY YOU WILL REMEMBER THIS AND FEEL LIKE AN IDIOT!!" But I didn't. I put on the mommy smile and let it all. sink. in. About 2 or 3 weeks ago I was talking to this person and lo and behold... It was Sunday. Wait.. "why didn't you go to church today?" I thought perhaps one of the little ones were sick. The response? "Oh, The baby hasn't been sleeping well, and we have something planned for later, it would just be too much." As soon as this was said, I went back to that phone conversation 5 years ago. Out of respect for them, I actually kept my mouth shut. But what I wanted to do was yell "NA NA NA BOO BOO!!! EAT YOUR WORDS!!! NOW YOU UNDERSTAND!!" I know that one day that will be remembered by them and I know they will feel really bad. And I forgive them.

I don't remember who said this bit to me, as it was a while ago. I think she had one child at the time, who was a young baby. What she said I can easily understand and appreciate. I wanted to hug her out of pity. She said something about "not letting my kid(s) EVER interfere with my bathroom time. I will NOT allow my child to come in to the bathroom with me, nor bang on the door while I'm doing my business. I will teach them, that for those few minutes, they are to not even call out to me." I wish I could remember who that was, as I would truly like to know how that worked out for her. If it *actually* did, I. Must. Learn. Privacy. Peeing. Secret. If it backfired on her and she's a mom like me where an open door policy keeps me more sane than a child(ren) is banging on the door... honey, I PROMISE you are not alone. But I like that you had a dream.

In fairness, before I had kids, my sister already had 5. She's a yeller. I vowed that I would NEVER yell at my kids. Like she does. But I do. Oops. (Working on it!!)

Recess time (September 29, 2008)

In January, Braden's school implemented "M.B.I's" (minor behavior incidents) and "Gotcha's". If a student does something naughty, dangerous or anything to break the rules, they get an MBI. The teachers also hand out gotcha's for anything recognized as positive behavior. If a student did not receive any MBI's, in a calender month, they were allowed to go outside for an extra half hour reccess at the end of the month. Braden received a lot of gotcha's. Unfortunately, he also got MBI's. So he had to sit in the classroom with the other "bad kids" while the majority of the class went outside to play. (Note that the other "bad" kids didn't have nearly as many gotcha's as Braden) He could go all week without getting an MBI, then on Friday's, he would get one. He had 2 grade one teachers. Mrs. "MBI" taught on Friday's. huh. And I thought his Monday to Thursday teacher was a cow. (I'll post about this at some point.)

Anyhoo...

Braden's grade 2 teacher is a saint. She must have been cut from the same cloth as his kindergarten teacher. Mrs M (his current gr 2 teacher) told me today about the extra recess today. My heart sunk, as yet again Braden missed out. Wait.. What? What did she say? She said she knew kids were excited about the recess but she couldn't figure out why Braden was jumping out of his skin... Because he got to go!! Braden went the entire month of September without an MBI. I am SO very proud of him. Tiny little tears welled up in my eyes. Then I got angry. I realised, even though I knew last year, it never really sunk in that Braden was NOT a trouble maker. He did not "conform" like the other little kids. He used the term "potty" instead of washroom. (again, I will SO post about this soon!) He spoke out instead of raising his hand. He talked too loudly. He ALWAYS talks too loudly. What Braden did was never "bad". More annoying than anything.

Who would have thought that a parent could be so proud of their child for getting an extra recess. Not only am I proud of Braden, but also proud of his teacher for her ability to want to see each child as an individual. She embraces each student's uniqueness and uses that to her advantage for teaching techniques, as she knows that children all work and learn in their own way. This is going to be such a great year for Braden. I am so excited for him and look forward to working with Mrs. M, as apposed to protecting my child from a "teacher" who tried to turn my son into a blurry eyed little robot that would just make HER day easier. So long Mrs. U and Mrs. MBI. Welcome Mrs. M!!!

The third time's the charm...I hope!! (September 29, 2008)

*Disclaimer - The author of this blog is in no way responsible for continuous eye rolling, gag fests or any other symptoms that may arise from a mushy post*

Aaron and I met in January of 2004. We became "official" about a month later. We were together for 6 months, broke up for one month, then back together again for another 6 months. 4 days after we broke up the second time, I found out I was pregnant. Niiiice. He had already made plans to move back to Ontario. I told him to go, but come back before baby was born. To make a long story short, he didn't move back until Mackenzie was almost 2. (We stayed in touch during this time, plus I went out there twice and he came out here twice in the 22 months of her life.) It may not have been the "right" decision, but I supported it. He moved back to B.C. just over a year ago. I wondered how things would be, what he would expect, and if he had done any growing up.

I discovered that not only had he grown up, but so had I. He loves his daughter fiercely, and parents with me. He supports my decisions, as well as I do his. We are on the same wave length. It's amazing. Not only does he love Mackenzie with all his heart, but Braden too. Before we got back together in July, (hey, third time's the charm, right?!)he not only took Mackenzie on the weekends, but Braden as well. His theory was/is "why not?" He wants Braden to call him dad. Sometimes Braden does, sometimes he doesn't. And Aaron doesn't care.

The bond that Aaron and I have is ...indescribable. I don't know how much of it is because we do have a past, or because we have a child together, or because we have both grown up. And I don't care. I have never felt this secure or happy in a relationship. I am definitely twitterpated.

There are two things that worry me however:

1 - The man has an addiction to chocolate more so than a room full of 50 hormonal PMSing broads. (How is he not fat???)

2 - The only country music he likes/tolerates is The Dixie Chicks, and the song, "Save A Horse, Ride A Cowboy", by Big and Rich.

Clearly, I'll have to have many more secret hypnotic sessions discussions with him regarding these points before we can move on.

Mackenzie says this about her daddy, "I wike him wots and wots." Me too baby girl, me too.

Yes, another one. These things are addicting (September 28, 2008)

What was I doing 10 years ago

I was living with 3 roommates. Jen & Trever (married) and Wayne. Jen and Trever also had a little girl who was 2 at the time. She was potty training. So Jen let her run around naked as a jay bird. That was all fine and dandy until she would climb on to the couch and shove her naked little ass in my face. I vowed I would never ever let that happen if I ever had kids... yeah... sure. I worked at Burger King and was infatuated with a guy named asswipe. I think that was his name..

What are 5 things to do on my list today

dishes
go to work
blog
pick Aaron up and bring his non driving ass HERE to MY house for a change! WooHoo!!

Snacks I enjoy

Um.... Let's just say this list would be much MUCH smaller if I said what snacks I DIDN'T enjoy...

Things I would do if i was a billionaire

Don't get me daydreaming. It's too hard to snap out of. If you DO snap me out of daydreaming, I may eat your face until I can get back to my happy place... Now where was I ... Oh yeah. I'm a billionaire....

Three of my bad habits

smoking
cursing
nail biting

Five places I have lived

Mission, BC
Aggazzi, BC
Abbotsford, BC
Taber, Alberta
Brandon, Manitoba

Five jobs I've had

Cook at Humpty's
Waitress at a little family diner that closed at 4pm
Waitress at a 4 star restaurant
Bartender
HP printer tech assist
(thought I'd list some jobs I didn't list in my previous "meme" post)

How did you name your blog

When I just had Braden, I would spend a lot of time scrapbooking, and making my own cards. On the back of the cards, I would sign it "Braden and Company" and draw a little copyright symbol. (to be cute) Well, Mackenzie came along and signing "Braden, Mackenzie and company" just got too much. So I took the first 3 letters of My son's name, first 4 letters of My daughters name, and voila!! "BraMack & Company" (myself being the "company")

Have your cake and eat it too!!! (September 27, 2008)

I have about 10 boxes of cake mix sitting in my cupboard. I buy them here and there, but never use them. I don't really have a sweet tooth (I crave the salty snacks) but keep them on hand "just in case".

A couple weeks ago, my cousin was telling me instead of using the eggs, oil and milk/water, you use.. Da da DA....Diet coke. D.I.E.T. C.O.K.E. Put your eyebrows down. I did that too. She had heard about it at weight watchers but hadn't yet tried it. I forgot about till last night. I decided to get a second opinion. Google. I googled "diet coke cake" and up came a gazillion and two links for it. "okay", I thought to myself. "this can't be that bad." At worst case scenario one box of cake mix, one, yes ONE, CAN of diet coke would go to waste. So i hauled out my chocolate cake mix, my ONE can of diet coke (it STILL seems weird) mixed it together, baked for the required amount of time, and...?? VOILA!! CAKE!! That tastes like cake! Fluffy little morsels of (mostly) guilt free cake!!! I couldn't believe it! I put the regular store bought icing on it, but I read using cool whip is a great guilt calorie reducer too!

Next time I'm using chocolate mix with diet orange pop ("soda" for you Americans) Mmm... Chocolate orange cake! Doesn't that sound good?? THEN, I'll do vanilla cake mix with a diet sprite. Or chocolate with diet cherry coke. There are so many options!!

I can honestly say, I have never been so excited about cake!! Oh yeah. One more thing... Without the eggs, oil and water? There is less cleaning up to do after! Oh yeah baby!

Son? Where did it go? (September 26, 2008)

A scene from the other night at the household of BraMack & Company:

The kids had just gotten out of the bath, snuggled up on the couch wrapped in warm towels and "the" fuzzy blanket for added warmth. They were watching The Bugs Bunny and Tweety Show like they do every night before bed. I was plunking away at the computer when I hear my son laughing hysterically. I gave him a funny look and asked what was up. He controlled his laughter long enough to inform me he had a vagina. Um? Pardon me? I glanced and there was his little winky. "Braden, you're a nut case. You do NOT have a vagina."

Braden started killing himself laughing again, and said "MOMMY!! WATCH THIS!!" My precious, handsome and oh-such-a-boy son proceeded to tuck his penis between his legs and..... well, he had a vagina. All I could do was shake my head and ask "Who on earth taught you that?" I expected him to say his dad, or his 10 yr old cousin, but no. He proudly exclaimed "I LEARNED THAT ALL ON MY OWN!!!"

Oh the things we are proud of when we are 7.

Mind your peas and carrots! (September 25, 2008)

The kids and I head over to Aaron's every Friday, and stay till Sunday night. We eat 7 meals there in a weekend. (dinner Friday, and all 3 meals each day sat and sun) This man does not know what a fruit or vegetable looks like. Other than Bananas. He should have been born a monkey. If I want the kids to eat half assed decently, I either have to bring the meal ingredients, or go shopping with him and twist that freaking arm of his to purchase something, just SOMETHING somewhat healthy for at least 2 or 3 of those meals. He really has no clue as to what the big stink is about feeding the kids a piece of fruit or veggie. It drives me nuts and is a battle every time. *insert booming, echoing, sounding voice* EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.
Now, I am by far, NOT a health nut. I even have the extra poundage to prove it. I have gone a couple days without my kids seeing anything even remotely healthy. But I do make up for it. I have heard that it's mostly what you eat overall in a week, not a day. (Especially for children) So when we do eat crappy for a couple days, I usually compensate with good healthy food for the next 2-3 days. I digress...
Moving along. Below is a list of fruits and veggies. Beside them, is Aaron's definitions. He seriously uses these as his argument.

• Creamed corn - soggy Corn Pops
• Corn - popcorn (or as my son used to call it, "cockporn" mmm, salty, buttery "cockporn". Yeah...lose that one FAST kiddo)
• Carrots - carrot cake
• Squash - mashed potatoes...like, really mashed
• Broccoli - broccoli...covered in creamy cheese sauce
• Lettuce - pretty garnish
• Tomatoes - ketchup
• Cucumber - pickles
• Potatoes - french fries
• Grapes - raisins for kids, wine for the adults
• Bananas - Bananas! ohmygoshilovebananas. BANANAS!! I GO APE SHIT FOR BANANAS!! and ANYTHING that might taste close to a BANANA!! banana cream pie, banana slurpees, banana yogurt, banana pudding! BANANANANANANANAS!!!!!!
• Strawberries - strawberry jam
• Blueberries - blueberry pie
• Apples - apple turnover
• Watermelon - flavoured freezies
• Oranges - the devil's spawn
• Pineapples/Pears/Peaches/Cherries - fruit cocktail. (As in, sugar laden canned fruit. Factory canned. Probably with a shit load of BPA leaching into it.)

He has always loved my spaghetti. YEAH? WELL?? I grate carrots into the sauce! And you know those chocolate chip muffins you love so much? I put zucchini chunks in them. I could make a list here. But I won't. Just in case one day you stumble across my blog. And if you DO come across this blog... You aren't the Aaron I'm talking about, and none of this is true ... still wuv me ...? hunny?... heh heh ha..cough cough...

Why is that?? (September 24, 2008)

I have never been good with words. My boyfriend and I were discussing that a few days ago. I'm the type, that in midst of a fight, will get all flustered and either say something that makes NO sense, or I'll say nothing at all. Any where from 1 hour to 3 days later, the best comeback pops into my head. Why is that?? I watch in awe as I witness "real" arguing. People tossing attitude that makes sense back and forth. No fair! Their minds working full tilt and alert, where as I seem to be on a 10 second delay... or a 3 day delay in some cases.

~~~~
I need to start carrying around a notepad and pen. At the oddest times, I get an idea for blogging in my head, and think "Oooh! That'll be a good one!" Ten seconds later I forget it. Even worse, I'll recall the topic, but not the content. Very frustrating. Why is that??

~~~~
A lot of people tell me I'm hilarious. I can crack a joke about almost anything, and make people laugh. So when I pen it to paper (or keyboard it to computer :P) I am a giant flop. Why is that??

~~~~
I have discovered, because I am such a freaking SLOB by TOTAL accident, that fruit flies are attracted to rotting milk. Ew. Let's say, for example, "someone"left a glass half full of milk on the counter for 3 days. Can we say infestation? What the heck? I am now going to refer to fruit flies as "rotting dairy flies". Why is that??

~~~~
My kids drive me NUTS. They yell, scream, defy me to no end, nag until I want to rip my hair out, steal cookies, (really... Mackenzie JUST stole one as I was typing this.) cough in my face, and back talk me. But I love them more than words could ever describe, and and unless it's me wanting to kill them, I would die for my kids. Why is that??

~~~~
There are MANY different places I want to go to. But only certain people would make those places special. I mean extra special. Shannon, my best friend aka- sugartits, (Hi Shannon!!!) would be my first pick to take with me to Australia. Nothing would be more fun than exploring caves, harassing kangaroos, and yelling "Let's throw some more shrimps on the barbie mate!!" But only with sugartits. I mean Shannon. If and when I head to the Yukon, yes, I said YUKON, I only want to do that with Aaron. It wouldn't be the same with anyone else. Why is that??

~~~~
I have one faithful reader. (that I know of anyways). That would be the above mentioned sugartits. And she doesn't even blog. Now, I know that I'm new to this whole blogging thing, but if anyone I would want to encourage to get blogging, it would be YOU, SHANNON. But she hasn't. Yet. Why is that??

What exactly is a "meme" anyways? (September 22, 2008)

There a about 10 blogs that I try to take a peak at everyday. Some of them do something called meme's? I don't get the whole "tagging" thing, but some of them look like fun, or just interesting. I don't think I'll ever tag anyone (even if I ever actually understand what that means!!), but I'll still fill some out for the fun of it.

Here's one:

4 Places I’ve lived:
1- Mission, BC. - Born and raised. Moved to "find myself" I guess. What ever. I moved because I COULD! a.k.a - 20, single, no kids!

2- Taber, Alberta - or, as my mother referred to it, "a piss hole in the snow". It was/is a VERY tiny town. Lasted there about 7 months.

3- Brandon, Manitoba. - Lived there for about 2 years. My fiance and I broke up and having a newborn baby and not having my "own" friends, had to move to ..... (see # 4)

4- Abbotsford, BC. - Where I still am, 7 years later. :)

4 Jobs I’ve had:
1- Cashier/drive-thru attendant at Burger King. Why I lasted 2 whole years there, I will never know. Surprisingly enough, after seeing what happens there, I still eat there on occasion! (Don't ask for details, unless you REALLY want to know!)

2- Waitress. I actually enjoy being a waitress. I'm not too much of a people person when it comes to dealing with the public, but for some reason, I really like waitressing. If only I could find a restaurant with medical/dental plans and an old age pension, I'd be good to go! Really!

3- Telemarketer. Don't shoot me. Please. I'd cringe when people asked me what I did for a living when I had that job.

4- Worked at a strip club. Really! No, I was NOT a stripper!! I worked the VLT machines and gave customers their cash when they cashed out their tickets. Unfortunately, My seat was RIGHT in the view line of the stage. I only stayed for about 3 months. Could only handle so many drunk men (some women too!) asking when I was going up next! (I was MUCH thinner then!) Uhg.

4 places I’ve holidayed:
1- Hawaii. I was 16 and with my parents. Someday I hope to go back all growed up!!

2- Valemount, BC. Every year for the past 7 years for our annual "Canada Day Family Games" Valemount is SUCH a beautiful place to see. (Not to mention the surrounding areas!!)

3- Arizona/New Mexico/Colorado. All done on the same trip, so I count them as one place!

4- Banff/Jasper Alberta.

4 Favorite foods:
1- Tim Horton's Coffee. Extra Large English toffee please!

2- Perogies and farmer sausage with "schmontfat" Must be the Mennonite in me!!

3- Mexican! What else can I say??

4- A good home cooked meal (not cooked by me) involving meat and potatoes (preferably mashed, with HOMEMADE gravy!)

4 Places I’d rather be:
1- Sleeping

2- At Braden's school as a fly on the wall!

3- Vacationing in Australia...or Ireland.

4- In Shannon's living room, talking about the kids and what crazy antics they have recently come up with.

4 Bloggers I like to pass this meme onto:
1- Well, like I said above, I don't "get" this whole meme thing. So if you're reading this and want to do it...Do it!! :)

I'd like to keep my uterus, thank you very much (September 21, 2008)

Had my ultra sound Thursday. I knew when I was preggers with Kenzie that I had a fibroid. "A" fibroid. I found out that I actually have 3. THREE that were recorded 3 YEARS ago. What the heck? Why did I not know about this? My doctor obviously was not concerned about the 2 "little" ones. I found out from the ultra sound technician that the big fibroid was 7cm (3 inches) 3 years ago. But for legal reasons, she couldn't tell me anything regarding this visit. (A radiologist has to look first, and either tell me themselves, or have my doctor tell me). I know it's gotten bigger. But how much bigger? The only thing she could tell me is that it (the big one) is growing from the right side, and is filling my uterus. Plus 2 more. I asked how big THOSE ones were, and all she was allowed to say is they are "relatively the same size as last time". Well. That doesn't help much, now does it? Considering I didn't know about the other 2!!

Needless to say, I'm booking a Dr appointment for early this week to get some answers. I want these fibroids OUT. I am praying and praying and a tad more praying that I don't have to have a hysterectomy. I also don't want to just leave the fibroids, because *what if* I want to have more kids? Realistically, I'm 99.999% sure that I WON'T have any more...but *I* want to have that option. I'm 29. I think it's fair to want to keep my womb. Things would be very different if I was pushing 40... not 30.

I wonder now if Mackenzie was born 4 weeks early due to the fibroids "kicking" her out. According to my Dr, AND the ultra sound tech, the size of my large fibroid (at the time Kenzie was born) is the same size as a 15 week fetus. So in reality, at the end of my pregnancy, I had the equivalent of a 51 week baby in me. HOLY CRAP! SOOO many things could have gone wrong! I'm very lucky.

I would like to point out for the things I am grateful for though. I am grateful that I don't have uterine cancer. I am grateful that I have the option to go to a Dr and find all of this out. I am grateful that my lumpy bumpy womb has popped out two healthy rambunctious children with zero complications.

But I still hope things go my way.

Just for fun (September 20, 2008)

Here’s what you do: Type the answer to each question into a google image search, and then pick an image from the first page of results.

1. Age At Next Birthday: 30. NOOooo!!! 2. Place I’d Like To Travel: Australia

3. Favorite Place: This was a tough one. So I googled "Family". Seriously, if my man and kids are with me, It would be my favourite place. Cheezy, I know.

4. Favorite Object: My Ipod nano.

5. Favorite Food: Mexican. The only thing missing from this pic is the load of sour cream, and a giant margarita!! Doesn't that look AWESOME??

6. Favorite Animal(s): I love ALL sea mammals.

7. Favorite Color: Blue

8. My Nickname: Meathead. My dad has always called me that, and still does. It really is a term of affection!

9. Town I Was Born In: Mission


10. Bad Habit I Have: Procrastination

Concocted by Lana@The Kids Did WHAT?! at approximately 7:28 AM 0 reflections

Jello baby (September 19, 2008)

I'm going insane. I kid you not. It's not what you would think that is putting me over the edge. It's not finances. It's not Braden's lack of common sense (well, he IS only 7, but still..), it's not even car troubles, the economy or what to make for dinner.

It's my jello baby. Mackenzie has perfected, perfected, the amazing ability to make her armpits disappear when trying to pick her up. Especially when I need to give her crap for something.

Me - Mackenzie, come here.
Her - No.
Me - *neck twitch and eyebrow lift* Come HERE. Please.
Her - Nuh uh.
Me - *walk over to child, pick up...pick... PICK UP... what the??... My hands grab where her armpits USED to be, but amazingly enough my hands continue to slide upwards, all the way up her outstretched arms, as she crumples to the floor...laughing. At me. Where the hell did her armpits go???
Her - *lays on floor laughing, saying "I funny mommy. Right?"
Me - ?!?! cries laughs softly

She'll pull this little act while I'm carrying her somewhere. She's happy. I'm happy. We're chatting, and all of a sudden WHAMO! she slithers to the ground. (Now, keep in mind I'm not carrying her by her armpits.) Out of the blue she decides she's going to let go, miraculously heave all her weight (35 pounds) to her lower limbs and hang there. All the while I'm desperately trying to hang on so she doesn't plummet to the ground and smash her head. Because I don't have time to go to the hospital right now Because I wouldn't want her to get hurt.

The other day, picking Braden up from school, Kenzie asks me to carry her. No way. I tell her I'll hold her hand instead. We walk back to the car and as I'm dodging 250 some odd 5-12 year olds, I realize my right arm is dragging further and further away from me. ??? Braden, who is standing on my left gets yelled at for this, as I'm still not recognizing what's going on. "Braden! Go. To. The. Car!! Now please!" he looks at me bewildered like and says "Uh.. I am..." I turn to look at Kenzie, to ask her to hurry up a little bi... Huh? She's hanging from my hand. Her legs have turned to jello, she is swinging wildly at a crazy angle with a huge goofy grin on her face. "UHG! Mackenzie! Stand up. NOW!" She doesn't, so I go to pick her up. Armpit's disappear and she laughs manically at me.

Where's my padded room?

THIS *IS* MY INSIDE VOICE (September 18, 2008)

I'M BRADEN. I'M 7.

I HAD THE COOLEST PARTY EVER. I HAD MY FRIENDS THERE AND WE HAD CAKE AND I GOT TONNES OF PRESENTS.

I WISH I HAD A NICKNAME. BUT I DON'T. I WANT TO BE CALLED "BRAD" BUT MOM SAYS NO WAY. NO FAIR MAN.

I LIKE TO SHOW OFF. MOM SAYS I OVER DO IT, BUT I JUST WANT PEOPLE TO SEE ME IN ACTION ALL THE TIME.

SOMETIMES IT'S HARD BEING ME. MOMMY SAYS I TALK LOUD ALL THE TIME AND IS ALWAYS SAYING "USE YOUR INSIDE VOICE!!" I *AM*!!! SIGH. SHE ALSO SAYS I TALK REALLY FAST. BUT SHE DOES TOO, SO THERE!!

GRADE ONE WAS WAS KINDA HARD. I DON'T KNOW WHY THOUGH. IT WAS KINDA TENSE. BUT I LOVED KINDERGARTEN AND I REALLY LOVE GRADE 2.

SOMETIMES I GET SOOOO EXCITED ABOUT ONE THING, AND JUST WHEN I'M GETTING REALLY INTO IT, SOMEONE, EITHER A TEACHER OR MOMMY OR WHOEVER, MAKES ME STOP AND DO SOMETHING ELSE.

I JUST LEARNED HOW TO RIDE A 2 WHEELER. AT THE BEGINNING OF JULY. NOW I'M A RIDING FOOL. I LOVE BEING ON MY BIKE IT'S THE COOLEST THING EVER!

THIS SUMMER MOMMY AND DAD (SOMETIMES I CALL HIM AARON, OTHER TIMES I CALL HIM DAD) TOOK MY SISTER AND I HIKING. LOTS AND LOTS OF HIKING ON MOUNTAINS. I LOVED IT SOO MUCH. DAD SAYS FOR NEXT SUMMER HE'S GOING TO BUY A WHOLE BUNCH OF HIKING EQUIPMENT SO WE CAN BE "REAL HIKERS". I CAN'T WAIT!!

MY SISTER CAN BE SUCH A PAIN. SHE YELLS AT ME WHEN I'VE DONE NOTHING WRONG. SHE'S ONLY 2 THOUGH. I SHARE WITH HER SO MUCH. IT MAKES MOMMY'S HEART HAPPY WHEN KENZIE AND I DO NICE THINGS FOR EACH OTHER WHEN SHE HASN'T ASKED US TOO. I KNOW THIS CUZ SHE TOLD ME. I LIKE MAKING MOMMY'S HEART HAPPY.

SOMETIMES I DO SILLY THINGS THAT I KNOW I'LL GET IN TROUBLE FOR. I DON'T KNOW WHY I DO IT. I FEEL BAD AFTER CUZ IT MAKES MOMMY REALLY UPSET WHEN I DONT LISTEN TO HER THE FIRST TIME.

THEN MOMMY SAYS EVERYONE MAKES MISTAKES, AND I WONDER IF ITS OKAY TO DO THOSE SILLY THINGS ANYWAYS? BEING SEVEN IS REALLY HARD SOMETIMES!

AH, MAN!! I GOTTA GO. KENZIE IS RIPPING MY SCHOOL DAY PLANNER AND THROWING MY LEGO'S IN THE TOILET! MACKENZIE!! STOOOPPPPPP!!!!!!

Wild Card Wednesday - 5 points of randomness (September 17, 2008 )

1 - My son's grade 2 teacher is AWESOME. Love her, lover her LOVE HER. She's taking things slowly and WANTS to get to know the students before hitting the curriculum. that's cool in my books. I'm guessing this way she'll also get a feel for how each kid learns. She keeps sending notes home saying "I just love having Braden in my class. He's so adorable!" I hope she still thinks that way at the end of June!!

2 - My best friend just lived out a hurricane. Hurricane Ike made it's presence known and she stayed. Granted, they live right by Houston, where they weren't told they had to leave or anything, but still! They have a bit of water damage in their oldest son's room, but nothing too serious. They COULD have been without power for a few weeks, but lucked out and were only powerless for 3 days. Whatever. I'da hightailed my ass out of there!!

3 - I have discovered that I do not like teenagers. Mostly teenage girls. And by teenagers, I mean from the age of 12 to 23. They...OK A LOT of them... are catty, snotty and just plain rude. I probably don't like them because I was just like that when I was that age. I discovered this working the weekend shift. Good grief! Please please PLEASE get me on the Monday-Friday shift SOON!!

4 - I have massive fibroids growing in my uterus. I go in for an ultra sound tomorrow to see how big exactly and where exactly they are. When laying down, I can feel my uterus AND fibroid(s). my Dr. said it feels like I'm about 15 weeks pregnant. WHICH I AM NOT. I want it/them removed. My Dr said if they are inside the uterus it could be removed, but if it's inside the muscle, I won't be able to, and suggested a hysterectomy. NO THANKS. He said IF I was to want another child, that getting pregnant with the fibroid(s) that size, could literally kill the baby by not leaving any room for it. I have NO plans on having another child ANY time soon, but still. Lets hope for the best. Lets hope I can just have the fibroid(s) taken out with uterus intact.

5 - Even with life's daily and not so daily stresses, I am pretty dang happy these days. Life definatly isn't a bowl of cherries, but in the words of "John and Kate plus 8" "It might be a crazy life, but it's my life." Even on my wort of the worst day/week/month (you get the idea) I wouldn't trade it with anyone. I STRONGLY believe, that if everyone took their issues and problems and could throw them into a giant heap, and then were told to go to that heap and pick the same number of problems we threw in, 99% of us would take a look at the mess, and sort through to pick back up the very problems we threw away. After seeing what we COULD have been dealing with, our problems probably wouldn't seem all that bad. Now try telling me this when I'm really stressed out and I'll probably have to smack you. Call me Pollyanna, but there REALLY is a bright side to EVERYTHING. Even if we can't see that right away.

Shhh...don't tell mommy, k? (September 16, 2008)

Hi. I'm Mackenzie. I'll be 3 in November. I'm a princess. ACTUALLY, it's "Da da da DA, PRINCESS KENZIA!!" Sometimes I'm referred to as princess Fiona. Mommy says when I'm a grump I'm still a princess, but an ogre. Like Fiona from Shrek. Whatever. She's still nice.

I know pretty much everything. Braden my brother, likes to bug me. But I have discovered that before he gets the chance, I can get him in trouble. If he's in the other room, and I think he might be heading my way, all I have to do is yell "NOooooo Braden! NOOOOOOOOOooooooooo!!!" and Mommy will make sure he doesn't continue to bother me. But she's quick. It only took her a couple weeks to realize what I was up to. He doesn't get in trouble any more. Now I do. How fair is THAT?!?!

My favorite favorite thing to do to drive both Mommy AND Braden crazy, is to wait until Braden starts talking, then yell and scream at him that *I* was talking to my mommy FIRST. even when I wasn't. They both get SO riled up.

Mommy thought she had the whole potty training thing licked with me. Apparently pooping on the potty is suppose to be the final step. Well, I thought I'd teach her a thing or two. i HATE having poop in my pull-up. So poops on the pot have never been an issue. She seems to think I should be peeing there too. Personally, I don't really care. I have better things to do. Pee in the pants is nothing. It's warm, not smelly (compared to poop) and doesn't make my butt all lumpy when I sit. Mommy hasn't figured out that I'll do it when I'm ready. I think 15 sounds like a good age. I like to keep her on her toes.

I love our night time routine. We eat supper then have a bath. We're usually out of the bath at 7:30pm when the bugs bunny show comes on. My brother and I get to sit on the couch wrapped up in warm towels (mommy has them warmed up from the dryer for us) and we sit and watch that cwazy wabbit and friends. Then at 8:30 we are both ready for bed!!

Every night before she goes to bed, Mommy comes into our room and kisses us again and tells us she loves us. She doesn't know it, but I always know when she comes in. I pretend to be fast asleep, but really I'm wide awake contemplating the theory of relativity, and whether or not I'm going to share my carrot sticks with the other kids at daycare the next day.

I should get going now. Braden said he wants to have a turn. I think I'll mess around on the computer a bit more, investing in stocks or something. I'll waste just a tad more time on here so he HAS to wait till tomorrow to make a post. I LOVE being a little sister. Such POWER!!

Where has the time gone? (September 9, 2008)

It's been a while. I new I wasn't going to blog everyday, but I did intend on blogging a bit more than what I have been. Life has been SO BUSY!!

Aaron and I are officially together, as of the beginning of July. WOOHOO!! It seems longer because of our "history" but a good longer. I have NEVER felt this secure and happy in a relationship. Even when we were together before I didn't feel this way. He's freakin AWESOME. Of course he IS still a man, but I can forgive that. ...

Mackenzie is such a diva with bad-itude! When she doesn't get her way she either tells me "I don't WIKE you!!" or she'll growl. Yes. The little turd will growl at me.
Braden is in grade 2 with an AWESOME teacher. The first time I saw her I KNEW we were gonna have a great year this year...although, he could have had Bigfoot as a teacher and it probably would have been better than last year. Seriously though, this teacher actually wants to get to know the kids and have them know and trust her before she pulls out the work load. Niiice!!

The boys have settled quite nicely back in with their mom. I have ONE thing to say about it... just one.... WHY IS SHE NOT ENFORCING THEIR TABLE MANNERS??? I only expect near perfection in children at the table. Ok. seriously. I NEVER said a word to Alex, who's 4 (was 3 when he came to me) regarding his manners, other than not talking with his mouth full. But the other guys who were 5 and 7, they KNOW how to eat with elbows OFF the table, mouths CLOSED while chewing, hold the utensils PROPERLY and SITTING ON THEIR HINEY. sigh. ALL of that GONE. She doesn't care. and it drives me BANANAS!!

You know what else drives me crazy? People who are against breast feeding. duh. Obviously MOST mothers feel that way, right? I didn't breast feed. I may or may not post another time as to why I didn't, but not today. But you know what drives me even MORE crazy??? Is people who gush on and on and on and on and on and on and on (getting the point???) about how wonderful it is to do so. and what a beautiful thing it is. Why is it more beautiful than a bottle fed baby and mother? It is a mother feeding a child. I do not feel that I did not bond with my children any less feeding them a bottle of formula. I held my children close to me while they ate, burped them, looked in their gorgeous little eyes as their tummys were getting full. I support breast feeding. I also support bottle feeding. Hell. I support GOOD MOMS!! YAY MOMMYS!!

I have to work on the weekends for the next couple weeks. BLAH. I haven't worked on a Saturday or Sunday since... um.... Well, I believe I worked a couple Saturdays when Braden was 3. Before that was in 2000. wow. Oh well. The kids need some time with their dad without me around right? And it won't last long so I think I can handle it. It just REALLY sucks that my first Saturday shift is a TEN HOUR shift!! EGAD!!!