Happy Birthday!

Today (Monday) is my younger sister's birthday. I'd say little sister, but she's 9 months pregnant, so at this moment, that's not the case!

What can I say about Alana. She is extremely funny, a really excellent mom, a wonderful friend, she's full of joy and she is an over-the top example of OCD.

It's really rather funny that my sister who used to hang her clothes on a chair till we couldn't see it and dust once every 3 years or so got married and turned into my mom, only on a more extreme level.

Alana (and I am NOT making this stuff up) counts her kid's toys and if one is missing, she won't rest till it's in it's correct and labeled container. One time the chicken was missing from the Fisher Price farm and she hunted every square inch of her house to find it. She's only ever lost 1 of her children's socks and she knows exactly where it was lost, just when she went back to get it, it was gone.

You know the mom's you see whose kids clothes always match (yeah I know, they're a little kooky) Alana is one of those.

One of her favorite Christmas gifts of all times was her label-maker. (Mind you, I asked for a dust-buster that year, so maybe the weirdness runs through the whole family.) There is very little in her house that is not properly labelled, including husband, kids and dog. (OK I made that up, they don't have a dog.)

When she checks out at Wal-mart or the grocery store, she puts things on the conveyor belt in groups so that when she goes to enter the receipt in her ledger she has the categories all there so she doesn't have to hunt. So, for example all cleaning products are together, all kids items together etc. I am not quite sure how she does this, my goal at the check-out counter is to make sure I leave with my bags and my two kids and to ensure that no biting or headlocks occur while checking out. I am rarely successful in this, apparently checkouts have a hidden symbol visible only to my kids that says, "hey, go on, poke him in the eye, no one will notice, he might even like it!"

When her kids go to bed at night their bedding is turned down for them, she does this in the evening when her hubby is bathing them and in the morning when making their beds she lines all their stuffed animals up tallest to shortest.

I had a fleeting thought of deliberately sprinkling this post with spelling mistakes in honour of her, but I don't want to give the poor girl a migraine!

I could go on and on, but already I hear her starting her own blog, in which she will only tell embarrassing stories about me, (and believe me, there are plenty) and besides it's her birthday!

So Yanna, happy birthday, here's to many many more!

Love ya!