Plaid is Rad.

It just so happens that I am a week behind on this post, but I figure, better late than never!  Alivia started school last Tuesday.  She is now a 1st grader at Assumption (of the Blessed Virgin Mary—seriously, could the name be any longer?) School in Belmont. 

I did not go to Catholic school growing up, and I never planned for my kids to go to Catholic school, but it just worked out that way.  Alivia has gone to Assumption since preschool and I love, love, love this school! 

Starting in 1st grade all the kids have to wear uniforms.  The girls in 1st thru 5th grade get to wear the lovely plaid.  I am not a fan of the plaid, but I am a fan of the uniforms!  Honestly, the skorts and jumpers aren’t that bad, but the plaid pants are dastardly!  Stay tuned this winter…if she ever wears the pants, I’ll be sure to post a picture.

The following day, on Wednesday, Lainey had her first day of preschool.  She is in the 4 year old preschool, also at Assumption.  The 4 year old class is Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings.  I am only working on Tuesdays and Thursdays now, so I’ll be able to take her everyday, yeah!  While she’s at preschool I plan on doing things like shopping, getting my nails done, and going to Starbucks, ha!  Actually that doesn’t sound like such a bad idea…

The class Lainey had last week was only an hour long (and I stayed the whole time), so tomorrow will be her first “real” day.  I’m anxious to see how dropping her off will go.  My sister, who has a daughter the same age as Lainey, said dropping her daughter off at preschool today was like trying to pry a 40 pound bear off of you!  My plan for tomorrow is to shove her in the door, and run for the nearest Starbucks!

Soooo…anyone up for coffee around 9:15 tomorrow morning?

A blog about implants, just not mine.

Whew!  It seems I am behind on blogging, again.  It has been a busy week around here with school starting last Tuesday, and my surgery on Friday.  YES girls, I finally got my funky boobie fixed.  It seems this has become a very interesting topic on my Facebook profile, and several of my my fellow facebookers have been waiting with baited breath for a blog on this subject.  I honestly don’t mind indulging you on the hilarity of this, but the problem is this:  I don’t know what to say.  Shocking, I know.

So, let me ask you, what do you want to know about breast implants?

I could tell you that this woman, Sheyla Hershey, has the world’s record for the largest breast implants.  She is only 5’3'’ and her breasts are a 38 KKK!

I could tell you that Tori Spelling has quite possibly the worst looking breast augmentation I have ever seen. 

I’m sure this is due in part to her recent pregnancies, and now the large amount of weight she has lost, but doesn’t she have enough money to get that fixed?  Seriously. 

Did you know that breast augmentation is the the number one most common cosmetic surgery?  It’s true.  Am I the only one who thinks this lady should have thought twice about getting implants?

Yikes!  I wonder if that’s even a real picture.  I could honestly do without the hairy guy in the speedo too.  Sorry everyone!

Well, I’m going to get back to my Vicodin and ice packs, but I hope everyone else is enjoying their long Labor Day weekend!

Little Miss Bossy

Do you remember this book as a child? I don’t remember the exact content of it, but I do remember reading it. If I were to write this book today, the cover might look something like this:

One of the nice things about having two daughters close in age is that they entertain each other. So, you can imagine I was little curious as to how my days with Lainey would be, now that Alivia is in school all day. Today was only our first day together, and Lainey definitely enjoyed having the spot light to herself.

This morning…

Lainey: “Mommy, let’s go buy my school supplies!”

Me: “We were going to go to the Y this morning.”

Lainey: “Yeah, well, we need to get my school supplies and that will probably take all of our time up.”

(she did need school supplies, but was using that as a way to get out of going to the gym)

Lainey (while at the store): “Oh, I really want a new blanket for my bed.”

(I did break down and buy both girls a new comforter for their bed, but they actually did need them.)

Lainey: “I’m almost 40 pounds, can you buy me a new booster seat yet for the car?”

Lainey: “I smell cookies. Do you smell cookies? Why does it smell like cookies in here? I’m hungry.”

This afternoon…

“I didn’t want my peanut butter and jelly’s cut like dinosaurs.”

“I don’t want to eat the white part of my cheese stick, I don’t like white cheese anymore.”

“Can I have some of your lunch? I love that kind of pizza!”

“Let’s play school.”

(3 minutes later) “Let’s play parade.”

“When is Alivia going to be home?”

“Who is bringing Alivia home?” (I’ve told her this 100 times)

“What time is it? What time is Alivia coming home?”

“I hear knocking and voices downstairs, do you hear that? Go check to see who it is!”

“I want to go outside.”

“Why are you changing your clothes? What are you going to wear? I don’t like that outfit.”

“When is Alivia going to be home…”

Wow, I’m really starting to look forward to preschool starting next week! Oh, and if anyone finds the part of my ear which she talked off today, can you let me know?

What are you fighting about?

Last night we took the girls to see Sesame Street Live (a few pictures maybe coming soon). On the way home it was dark out and I saw a shooting star across the sky in front of us. I said to Shawn, “Did you see that? I saw a shooting star!” He replies, “Yeah, I saw it, and it was a firework.” I’m thinking, NO WAY, that was a shooting star! So, I argued, “No, that was a shooting star.” He replies, “No, it was a firework.” We went back and forth like this a few times before we heard this from the back seat:

Alivia: “What are you fighting about?”

(By the way, she didn’t really care, she just couldn’t hear the movie they were watching)

Me: “We’re not fighting.”

Alivia: “Well, then what are talking about?”

Me: “I saw a shooting star, and Dad thinks it was a firework.”

Alivia: “You’re lucky if you saw a shooting star! You should have made a wish!”

Me: “I did make a wish.”

Alivia: “What did you wish?”

Me: “I wished for Dad to be quiet.”

(At this point Shawn is dead silent, and glaring at me)

Alivia: “Wow, your wish even came true!”

As a side note, after watching the 11 o’clock news Shawn came to me and said he had to apologize. The meteorologist mentioned that at 9:15 there were reports of “a meteor or space debris” falling from the sky. Ha!

You can’t judge a person by their eyes.

Or their name?  Or their voice?  Or, can you?

To start, I need to share this story of how my work day started on Tuesday.  As you know I’m a nurse, and I work (part-time) at a surgical center.  On Tuesday I was assigned to circulate in one of the OR’s.  My very very first case of the day went like this:

(Anesthesiologist brings patient into the room)..

Me (to patient):  “Hi, my name is Tami, I’ll be one of the nurses in the room with you today.  Can you tell me your first and last name and date of birth?”

Patient:  “What race are you?”

Me:  “Excuse me?”

Patient:  “I said, what race are you?!  You’re not American, are you?”

Me:  “Yes, yes I am.”

Patient:  “Well, you sure don’t look like it!”

Now, I don’t know if you’ve ever been in an operating room, but all the OR staff are wearing surgical hats, masks, and scrubs.  So, this is what he could see of me:

(oh, and please excuse my wonky eyebrows which need waxing!)

After his accusation of my not being “American,” he then went on to say this:

“You know what the problem is in this country?  Overcrowding!  They started letting too many people in, and when you get too many people, that’s when you get the fighting!”

I can only assume I am one of the people he was referring to.  He never did confirm what “race” he actually thought I was.

Did this bother me?  Not really.  Why?  Because this tirade is just one example on my growing list of such accusations.

Within the past month I also had the scheduler for my MRI ask me my race and when I said “Caucasian,” she said, “You’re not Hispanic or African American?”  And this was over the phone, she didn’t even see me!  I don’t believe I was speaking in Spanish or Ebonics, but I guess I can’t be certain.

I also had another patient at work look at my name tag and say “What kind of a name is that?”  When I said I didn’t understand what she was asking she said, “Is that ethnic, or something?”  Now, my name is Tamara (which my sister insists is an African American name), but my nametag says “Tami.”

All of this was comical at first, but now it’s starting to get annoying.  However, if I say it’s annoying to friends or co-workers, then they say, “Why, are you racist?”  Umm, no.  It’s like if you had a baby girl and every time you took her out people asked you if she was a boy, you would probably find it irritating after awhile.  It’s not that you have anything against boys, but your daughter isn’t a boy.

I wish I could say I see why people are asking me this, but I just can’t.  The most popular response I have received from people who know me on this subject is that maybe I resemble Halle Barry…

I wish!

You’re not my friend anymore!

In my adult working life I have seen first hand how mean and vicious women can be, especially to other women. Did you ever wonder when and why this behavior started? Well, friends, I have figured out the “when.”

Alivia has gone to the same daycare since she was 3 months old. She only goes 2-3 days a week, but she has made several good friends there over the past (almost) 6 years. When she was 4 she started preschool at Assumption school, where she would be starting kindergarten the next year. Now, the daycare does have a preschool, but we thought it would be best for her to go to preschool at Assumption, so that her transition into kindergarten would be smoother. Who knew such a small decision could turn a 4 year old into an outcast? Who knew you had to attend a daycare 5 days a week in order to maintain friendships?

I shouldn’t be so dramatic because I suppose her becoming an outcast didn’t happen instantly at that time, but it has been more of a slow progression. The worst part for me, is that Alivia adores these girls at her daycare, and they can be downright mean to her.

What? What’s that you say? How can 5 and 6 year olds be so mean? Let me tell you! In the past 3 month Alivia has:

• Received what I have lovingly coined “hate mail” in her backpack
• Been excluded from a girl’s birthday party who was included in Alivia’s Libby Lou birthday party last year
• Been kicked out of a talent show routine while we were on vacation
• Been told her outfit didn’t match (trust me, it did match!) and that brown was a boy color
• Been made fun of for riding a bike with training wheels. As a side note, now that her training wheels are off, some of her “friends” have asked to ride her bike, and Alivia has happily shared.
• Been excluded from what her friends were playing, with the reason of “This is a 6 year old activity, and you’re only 5!”

The list could honestly go on and on. My point is this: When do women turn into mean, conniving bitches? 5 years old people, 5 years old.

I’m not saying a word.

Okay, I admit it, I am the worst blogger ever. It’s not that I have nothing to say either, really I do…

I could tell you about the 5K which I ran last month, and placed 2nd (or 3rd, depending on how you look at it) in my age group. But, if I told you about that, you might be jealous of my mad running skills.

What if I told you about how I was so excited after the 5K that I decided to train for a half marathon in October? However, if I told you about that I would also have to tell you about how I may have to give up due to shin splints and a popping painful left knee...and I wouldn't want you to think I am a quitter, would I?

Maybe you would like to hear about my baby girl turning 4 years old this month, and the 72 cupcakes I made and 3 birthday parties we had? But if I told you that, then maybe you, along with the rest of the world might ask me when I'm going to have another baby. And then I would have to slap you, and we don't want that, do we?

I bet you would love to hear about how one of my breast implants has somehow rotated and flip flopped around in the capsule it's supposed to be nicely tucked in. But, then you might ask me how it happened and when I tell you I don't know, you might conjure up perverted ideas and suggestions of what I may have been doing when it happened.

I know! I could tell you about our wonderful trip to The Great Wolf Lodge in Traverse City with my parents in which we also went to the world famous "Moomer's Ice-Cream?" That might make you hungry for ice-cream, and jealous of the chocolate-no-bake ice cream I had, so I guess I won't bring that up.

Maybe I should mention that we celebrated my Mom’s birthday yesterday with a mini surprise party at Graydon’s Crossing – Derby Station. The very same place we had my 29th surprise party just 9 short months ago. I shouldn’t say that though, because then you might realize my 30th birthday is just around the corner!

I probably shouldn’t post the above picture either, with my parents and my sister and brother. If I post that picture you might see that my sister is pregnant with her 4th child!

Ok, here is a little known secret…Shawn and I have been doing the “Love Dare” book from the movie “Fireproof.” It’s an awesome book, and the movie is very powerful too. However, doing it together, instead of individually has proven very difficult. I shouldn’t tell you that though because I would hate for you not to try taking the “Love Dare” yourself!

Maybe I will tell you that the reason I have been too busy to blog is because we’ve been soaking up every last minute of summer, since these two cuties will be starting school in almost a week!

Actually, I’m not going to tell you that because then I would have to admit that summer is nearly over!