Families Are Complicated

Families are complicated, or mine is at least. I've always wondered how it is possible for some families to be so close to each other, and yet other families hate each other, or just can't seem to get along. My family falls firmly in the "just can't seem to get along" category.


My family situation is actually so complicated that it would be really hard to explain it all on a blog. Let's just break it down a bit. My brother and his family are not on speaking terms with my oldest sister and her family. My oldest sister thinks that my Dad doesn't want anything to do with her. My oldest sister and my older sister do not get along with each other at all. I try to get along with all of my family, but I feel like I am stuck in the middle of everything. All of my siblings live in the same town, and my Dad lives about 20 minutes away. When I come to visit, I actually have to sit down and plan how I am going to visit everyone, especially since we are usually only able to visit for a few days and my niece and nephew are both in school. Oh yes, and I refuse to have anything to do with my oldest sisters husband, who is often at home. So when I come to town, I have to try to take my oldest sister and her son out somewhere so I can spend a bit of time with them. I could arrange to have her for dinner at my other sisters, but since they don't get along well at all, things could get awkward. On the other hand, I feel bad having dinner with the rest of my family while my oldest sister gets left out. On the other other hand, she has caused a lot of problems all on her own and never was the kind of person you wanted to include in anything anyways (I am sorry to have to say that, but she is seriously the killjoy and buzzkill in our family).

To make my family situation even better, everyone talks about each other behind each others backs. Even I am guilty of it, although I try to understand things from every one's point of view and I only complain about someone if it is really merited (i.e because they were talking about me behind my back).

My older sister is a pathological liar so anything that she tells me, about other members of my family or otherwise, is always taken with a grain of salt. In case you're wondering, no she has never been diagnosed as a pathological liar. She does however consistently lie, even about mundane things that no one would care if she did tell the truth. And when you call her on a lie (jn the nicest way possible), she will get defense and angry. She even covers her lies with other lies. In fact, she lies so much that I don't even think she knows half the time when she is actually lying. I think she really believes she's telling the truth.


So, there you have it, my family. Pretty crazy, isn't it? I wish I could say that my husbands side of the family makes up for the craziness of mine, but alas, his family is almost as bad. 

Diastema - The New "In" Thing in Fashion

For those of you who don't know what diastema is, it is the condition of having a gap between your two front teeth, Apparently, this is a hot thing in the fashion world. So much so, in fact, that some people have went to their dentist to ask them to create a space between their two front teeth (a process, which, by the way, is irreversible). Personally, I think this is absolutely hilarious. I have diastema, although I did not know before yesterday the correct term for it....I always referred to it as "gap teeth". For many years, this was the bane of my existence. Especially as a teenager, I felt my "buck teeth" were very much responsible for my not attracting the opposite sex. Sometimes I was made fun of too. Point is, this condition that I spent many years hating because I thought it made me ugly and made me stand out, is now being lauded amongst fashionable circles as "appealing", "unique" and even "sexy". Well, I will enjoy it while it lasts. Take that, fashion world! For possibly the first time in my life, I am fashionable and have something that people want to imitate (even if this thing is slightly odd and I have no idea what would possess a person to actually want to create this basically irreversible condition).

Lonestar - Mr. Mom (lyrics)

This song definitely sums up how I feel some days.

Lost my job, came home mad
Got a hug and kiss and that's too bad
She said "I can go to work until you find another job"
I thought, I like the sound of that
Watch TV and take long naps
Go from a hard working dad to being Mr. Mom

Well!
Pampers melt in a Maytag dryer
Crayons go up one drawer higher
Rewind Barney for the fifteenth time
Breakfast six, naps at nine
There's bubble gum in the baby's hair
Sweet potatoes in my lazy chair
Been crazy all day long and it's only Monday, Mr. Mom

Football, soccer and ballet
Squeeze in scouts and P.T.A
And there's that shopping list she left
That's seven pages long
How much smoke can one stove make
The kids won't eat my charcoal cake
It's more than any man can take being Mr. Mom

Well!
Pampers melt in a Maytag dryer
Crayons go up one drawer higher
Rewind Barney for the sixteenth time
Breakfast six, naps at nine
There's bubble gum in the baby's hair
Sweet potatoes in my lazy chair
Been crazy all day long and it's only Monday, Mr. Mom

Before I fall in bed tonight
If the dog didn't eat the classified
I'm gonna look just one more time

'Cause
Pampers melt in a Maytag dryer
Crayons go up one drawer higher
Rewind Barney for the eighteenth time
Breakfast six, naps at nine
There's bubble gum in the baby's hair
Sweet potatoes in my lazy chair
Been crazy all day long
Oh been crazy all day long and it's only Monday, Mr. Mom
Oh Mr. Mom

Balancing checkbooks, juggling bills
Thought there was nothing to it
Baby, now I know how you feel
What I don't know is how you do it

Honey, you're my hero

Music and Books - These Are Two of my Favourite Things

I just finished reading a beautiful book called "Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas" by James Patterson. It made me think very much of my two little boys, and just how much I love them. I hope that one day they will read this blog and that it will give them a slight glimpse of what their Mom was like.

I absolutely love to read. I was taught to read at an early age - before kindergarten. I fell in love with books then, and have been in love with them ever since. I love how you can delve into a book and be transported into another life and a different time. I love how a story you read can deeply affect you; can make you laugh or cry, can make you happy, sad, angry, or melancholic.


I am a voracious reader. And when I find a book that I really enjoy, I can barely stand to put it down. In fact, when I was a child I used to sneak books into the bathroom to read. I would sit in there reading for so long that my parents would come and check on me because they thought something was wrong. I would stay up way past my bedtime too, reading by the light of my night light. By the time I moved out of my parents house at the age of 18, I think I had read almost every fiction book that our small library had. Now I am fortunate enough to have technology on my side, so I can download all kinds of e-books and read them. At this point, I have well over a thousand e-books sitting on my computer, waiting to be read.

As I wrote above, I also love music. I'm not sure when I fell in love with music. My Dad had lot's of records and tapes, but we didn't really listen to a lot of music growing up. The music we did listen to wasn't really my style - old country and polka music (although I have come to appreciate some of the older country songs). Somewhere along the line, I realized that there was other types of music out there, and I wanted to hear them. I clearly remember the day that my Dad gave me my first tape deck with AM/FM radio on it. Oh, how I loved it! I spent hours and hours listening to music and taping my favourite songs from the radio onto cassette tapes. I would spend entire evenings with just my radio and my diary to keep me company. I loved how the music could move me....how certain songs would tell a story, and how other songs seemed to have a life all of their own. As a teenager, it was all about pop music. Backstreet Boys were my absolute favorite band for a large portion of my teenage years. N'Sync, the Moffatts, and Hanson were all close seconds. I know that probably makes me extremely uncool, but it is what it is. Now I listen to a variety of music. Pop, pop punk, rock, pop rock, country....I listen to whatever sounds good to me, and who ever sounds good to me. A peek at my Ipod playlist right now would reveal everything from Nickelback to Tanya Tucker. Music just....affects me, and I love that music has the ability to do that. I marvel at how certain songs can make me cry for no other reason then a beautiful melody and touching lyrics.

Well, I have shared two of my favourite things. Feel free to share two of yours. I only hope that I can instill my love for music and books into my two boys. Especially my love for books. I feel that people don't read enough.....or at least not the people I know. No one in my family reads much. On my husband's side of the family, his mother and brother read a lot, which is definitely nice (because I can borrow their books!) I feel like, in a lot of ways, reading is become a dying art - something people don't do and don't appreciate. But I hope that my children do learn to love it and appreciate it, because books offer an experience unlike any other.

Zac Brown Band feat. Alan Jackson - As She's Walking Away (lyrics)

We never spoke a word
But every thought she had I heard from across the room
We were standing face to face
I couldn't find the words to say give me one more move
I don't even know her name
I guess foolish prides to blame

Now I'm falling in love as she's walking away
And my heart won't tell my mind to tell my mouth what it should say
May have lost this battle, live to fight another day
Now I'm falling in love as she's walking away

Wise man next to me did say
'Bout the one that got away
Son I missed my chance
Don't you let regret take place
Of the dreams you have to chase
Ask her to dance.... go on son
You might fall down on your face
Roll the dice and have some faith

Don't be falling in love as she's walking away
When your heart won't tell your mind to tell your mouth what it should say
May have lost this battle, live to fight another day
Don't be falling in love as she's walking away

You might fall down on your face
Roll the dice and have some faith


Don't be falling in love as she's walking away
When your heart won't tell your mind to tell your mouth what it should say
May have lost this battle, live to fight another day
Don't be falling..., falling... , falling in love.... as she's walking awaaaay

Taylor Swift - Back To December (lyrics)

I'm so glad you made time to see me
How's life, tell me how's your family
I haven't seen them in a while
You've been good, busier than ever
We small talk, work and the weather
Your guard is up and I know why

'Cause the last time you saw me
'Twas still burned in the back of your mind
You gave me roses and I left them there to die

So this is me swallowing my pride,
Standing in front of you saying I'm sorry for that night
And I'd go back to December all the time
It turns out freedom ain't nothing but missing you
Wishing that I'd realized what I had when you were mine
I'd go back to December, turn around and make it alright
I go back to December all the time

These days I haven't been sleeping
Staying up playing back myself leaving
When your birthday passed and I didn't call
And I think about summer, all the beautiful times
I watched you laughing from the passenger side and
Realized I loved you in the fall
And then the cold came, the dark days when fear crept into my mind
You gave me all your love and all I gave you was goodbye

So this is me swallowing my pride,
Standing in front of you saying I'm sorry for that night
And I'd go back to December all the time
It turns out freedom ain't nothing but missing you
Wishing that I'd realized what I had when you were mine
I'd go back to December, turn around and change my own mind
I go back to December all the time

I miss your tan skin, your sweet smile, so good to me, so right
And how you held me in your arms that September night,
The first time you ever saw me cry
Maybe this is wishful thinking
Probably mindless dreaming
If we loved again I swear I'd love you right

I'd go back in time and change it but I can't
So if the chain is on your door, I understand

But this is me swallowing my pride,
Standing in front of you saying I'm sorry for that night
And I'd go back to December
It turns out freedom ain't nothing but missing you
Wishing that I'd realized what I had when you were mine and
I go back to December, turn around and make it alright and
I go back to December, turn around and change my own mind and
I go back to December all the time

You're Amazing Just The Way You Are

I am a huge Glee fan. I've watched it from the beginning and I absolutely love it; I look forward to watching it every week. However, my favorite episode has to be from this season. Episode 8, the one where Kurt's Dad and Finn's Mom get married. I LOVE this episode, and I love it so much that I keep it on my computer and periodically watch my favorite parts. Watching them singing "I Think I Wanna Marry You" and "The Way You Are" (both Bruno Mars songs, in case you were wondering) is just so....moving. It actually brought me to tears. I think their versions are actually better then the originals, and that's saying something because I usually hate covers. And then listening to the songs while watching the acting on the screen....just awesome. Really, if you have never seen Glee, download Season 2 Episode 8 and watch it, I promise you won't be disappointed.