So Much More Drama

When my oldest daughter was a baby I couldn't wait for her to talk.  She was a very high maintenance child and screaming seemed to be the only way she would communicate what her heart desired.  The toddler years didn't fair much better.  "Yes!" meant "Oh hell no!" and "No!" meant "Mommy what didn't you give me that NOW!" and "I want to go outside, " meant "I want to go outside for 5 minutes then come back inside even though it took you longer than 5 minutes to get me ready to go outside in the first place!"  When we reach her being school aged I thought we really had this communication issue figured out.  But then she would tell me some ridiculous off the wall idea that was rolling around in her brain and I would sit there looking like a confused dog.

Now she is 10.  A "tween" if you will. Guess what though?  She is starting to speak a language I know.  Stroppy tweenager.  Maybe it is because half the language is non verbal.  There are the eye rolls, the exasperated huffs, the stomps up the stairs, and my favorite of all time the irrational tears.  Hormones hormones everywhere!!

I have found myself more than once reacting to her over reaction in fits of giggles.  I know, that's probably rude.  It is hard being completely ruled by your hormones.  I remember this age entirely to well.  Nobody understood me.  Nobody knew how hard it was to be this age and want to do all the things in the world better than everyone else because I knew how to do everything right because I was always right!  Only I didn't know my mom knew exactly what I was going through.  And I know exactly what she is going through as well. 

And although this stage of her development may be a nightmare for me some days, it leads to a lot of amazing moments.  Moments where we can just sit and talk and have moments of complete understanding.  Moments where she knows I am rooting her on, no matter what path she takes.  And although there are some days I am screaming up the stairs "Just remember I am not your friend I am your mother! I have enough friends and I am doing this for your own good!" as she is getting ready to slam the door that she might not have on the hinges tomorrow if she keeps slamming it, I wouldn't trade it for the world.  Because my baby is growing up and turning into a young lady. A young lady that still wants to play with Pokemon and Nerf guns.  That's ok too.  No need for her to grow up too fast.

Excuse Me Young Women, We Need to Have A Talk About Feminism

I am a feminist.

I believe that women should have all the opportunities that men do.  I hate the gender segregation of the toy industry.  The aisle of pink in the toys stores makes my blood boil. I read about gender issues.  I teach my daughters that they have value; not for the fact that they are "pretty" but because they are people and people matter.  ALL PEOPLE.

So when I saw a young woman at a bar on the Air Force base wearing a shirt that proclaimed that she was "Property of (insert her boyfriends name here)", I inwardly cringed for womankind.  What kind of world do we live in when young ladies think it is cool to declare their love for a man by proclaiming that they are his property?

Young ladies, you are not property.  Property is something that can be bought, sold, passed along and discarded.  Can you be bought, sold, passed along and discarded?  Do you feel that is what you are worth?  Are you not better than this?

I thought not.  Know better.  Do better. 

Uplift yourself.  Uplift other women.  Do not buy into the media.  You are worth more that your looks or who you are dating.  You are worth something because you are you. You are a woman and you are not property.

My New Favorite Thing- Bullet Journaling

For those who know me, they know my life is at best organized chaos.  What kind of ninja lives in organized chaos? This one.  However with my kids now being in American schools (although we still live in England. Don't worry, you're not getting rid of us that easily.) we now have a summer holiday that lasts for TWO WHOLE MONTHS.  Seriously, let that sink in for a moment.  This amount of family bonding time can seriously cause even the most organized Mary Poppins type mother who has a million activities to occupy the kids to run for the hills screaming or at least be found huddled on the kitchen floor on a Wednesday evening clutching a bottle of vodka and muttering about the little monsters tracking dirt in on her freshly mopped floors.  Ahem, not that I have ever done anything of the sort.  Recently.

As the summer holiday was approaching I could feel myself just dreading it.  How was I going to keep all my meeting times for Girl Scouts, tasks, kids activities, birthday parties and holidays straight?  Well, my solution was found with my Northern Guardian Angel, Nickie.  As I was scanning through my new twitter feed (Yes, that has moved as well.) I noticed her mention something called Bullet Journaling.  I out of curiosity clicked the link and found her talking about a new method of organization that she is using called Bullet Journaling.

All I have to say is that Bullet Journaling just may have saved my summer.  All of a sudden I know exactly what I need to do without having to find all the little post-it note lists that I have laying about the house. My grocery lists, meal plans, meeting notes and random bits of information I need are in one small notebook in an organized manner.  I even have been able to plan my 8 year old's birthday party without pulling out my hair this year. 

Before I keep ranting and raving how amazing Bullet Journaling is, go check out the official Bullet Journaling website.  Oh and I forgot to mention the best part.  It's free.  All you need is a pen and a notebook. 

Starting Over

Hi there, it's me, Kat.  You might remember me.  I used to blog over here.  3 Bedroom Bungalow was my labor of love for well over 4 years and then I took a break.  Then the break turned into an extended holiday.  Then the holiday turned into months of no posts.  Then I swore off blogging.  Then I realized I missed blogging.  I missed having my space where I could share all my stories with you.

I almost put up a new post at The Bungalow.  Then something stopped me.  It just didn't feel right.  It isn't me anymore.  I mean, it's me, but there is a different me. Kinda. Sorta. 

I still have the two girls; KiKi is now nearly 8 and LaLa is 10.  I still have the husband.  I still have Mr Tibbs the cat and Elizabeth the dog.  I still live in the UK.  I am still a military wife.  I still have the most amazing crap luck of anyone I have ever met.  However, I am much happier and much more thankful for my amazing life. 

This is the new me.  I hope you will let me entertain you with my stories. I am just bursting to tell them all to you.