25 Things About Me

Okay, Leah did this on her blog so I thought I'd give it a try. This one was hard! And I better see Jess doing it too! ;-)

1. My husband is Brandon and I'm Brandi so I just had to name my kids with the "Bra" theme too. I have Braeden and Braxton.

2. I am an x-ray tech and have been for 10 years now. I graduated in 1999. Yeah, I'm getting old!

3. In my 32 years of living, I have been a daughter, sister, cousin, aunt, friend, wife, and mother! Whew!

4. I swallow my gum! I'm not sure why I still do this at my age, but I do!

5. We have 3 dogs; 2 chihuahua's and an English bulldog.

6. I have been to the chiropractor numerous times in my life, but I WILL NOT let him pop my neck. I have a horrid fear of him breaking it.

7. I lost my mom when I was four and my dad when I was nine. These accidents have shaped me into the person I am today.

8. I wear scrubs everyday to work and for some reason, my shoes have to match my scrubs. I love to wear Crocs and I have a different colored pair to match all my scrubs.

9. I never take off my wedding ring....not to shower, wash dishes, put on lotion, never. I do try to clean it from time to time though.

10. I have lived in the DFW Metroplex for over a year now and the only places I can get to is work and home! If I HAD to, I could make it to Six Flags. I have got to get out more and make myself learn how to get around this huge place!

11. My oldest dog, Paco, has the greatest ears and for some reason I will bite them! I'm not sure if that makes me psycho, but it's gotta be close!! :)

12. I have a habit of biting my tongue at any given time. If I can't put salt on it immediately, I kinda freak out.....like my tongue's going to fall off or something!!!

13. I HATE doing spine xrays on obese people. It is an obession that I am VERY passionate about!

14. On Saturdays and Sundays, I always want all 4 of us to sleep in the same bed for naptime. It's just something that I look forward to all week. ;-)

15. I am very into angry, depressing music. I know that's probably bad to admit, but I am. I love bands like 30 Seconds to Mars, Staind, Chevelle, and Seether. I will hear a song I like and then I have to look up the lyrics and read them. I can always relate a piece of my life to a song.

16. I do not watch much TV, but when I do, it's always crime shows. My favorite is "The First 48." I really get into those kinds of forensics type shows.

17. Myspace is a daily habit for me. I have got to log in at least once a day!

18. I always make my boys wear white undershirts. Even in 100 degree weather! I just think it looks very nice.

19. I hate silence! Even at night I have a box fan going on high for the noise. Brandon and the boys are the same way now. If I'm at work, the radio is going. I just don't like silence.

20. I take pictures everywhere I go. I enjoy having reminders of memories. I carry my digital camera in my purse. I don't like leaving the house without it.

21. I am a neat freak and have to have my house in order at most all times. The only time I slack is when one of us is sick. When I come home in the evenings, I will not sit down or relax until the dishes are done, the laundry is folded, the boy's room is picked up, and the kitchen floor is swept. I also won't go to work in the mornings without making up my bed.

22. I have the best memory in the world! I can hear a song and I can tell you exactly what I was doing the first time I heard it. I can smell a certain kind of food and I can tell you when the last time I ate that was. I can remember things about my mom and dad like I just saw them yesterday.

23. I'm very open minded. There are few things in this world that just really shock me anymore. The only 2 things that can really get me down is cruelty to children and drugs. These are 2 subjects that I have had ENOUGH of. I get a little "winded" from time to time about these 2 things.....just ask Leah! :-)

24. As much as I hate drugs, I have pity for drug users. I firmly believe that drug addiction is a disease no different than cancer. There will eventually be a cure for drug use. I just have no idea when or what that will be. And I may be totally wrong, but I can sure hope for that day!

AND FINALLY:

25. I have been through and seen so much in my life. These experiences have made me a pretty good advice giver. I will rack my brain to come up with a solution to people's problems. If that fails, then I will listen to everything they say so they will know they're not alone in this difficult time! I feel like I have made a differenc in a few people's lives......

"Morning Fairy"

Okay, this one is for all of you who are having trouble getting your kiddos to sleep in their bed all night. Our 5 yr. old is insistent not to sleep in his bed! I mean we have been battling this issue for months now. He would stay awake until 10 or later waiting for someone to fall asleep so he could sneak in their room and fall asleep at the foot of the bed! It was getting super frustrating. So, someone suggested the "Morning Fairy." She's the fairy that brings little prizes early in the morning if you've slept in your own bed all night. I am proud to say that we have had 6 nights of no fighting, crying, or sneaking out because of the "Morning Fairy!" Brandon and I are soooooo proud!! We're just hoping that we don't have to use the fairy for the nex 5 years! LOL

Catching Up

Wow, I haven't written in a while! We have been having crazy times at the McAvey house! Brae was out of school for a week with the flu AND strep! That kept me and Brandon really busy and out of work those days too. But he's finally better now and Brax hasn't showed one sign of getting sick either. Thank goodness! Then we had the horrible ice storm on Tuesday night and that kept us off work on Wednesday. So, I'm finally back to blogging mode! The only bad part is that I have no idea what to blog about today! LOL I got a letter from my brother and that was nice. I haven't heard from him in over a month. So I was really glad to get that. We're still having a tough time getting Brae to sleep in his own bed. This has been such a challenge for us! Our 2 year old gets right in bed and stays there all night. Not the 5 year old though! Nooooo way! We battle with him every night! It's getting slowly better--VERY slowly! Other than that, I don't have much to report today!

10 Best Things.....

I thought that since I have been blogging about nothing but negative things, I'd write one on all the postive things I do have in my life. I have done this before so I'm kind of copying just a little! LOL I do LOVE my life and those that are in it! I have been stuck in a "negative" rut, but I'm done with that now! ;-) Please enjoy!!


1. The way Brandon rubs my back sometimes when he knows I don't feel good or he knows I'm stressed out.

2. How when it's time for Brax to go to sleep, he will snuggle up really close to me and whisper "I lellow." That's his way of saying "I love you." And then he turns towards my head and procedes to give me 42 good night kisses....

3. When I pick Brae up from school, he runs towards me with the biggest smile on his face and then he tells me "I was soooo good at school today, Mama!"

4. I like it when I'm in bed and lying on my side, Paco will snuggle up in the crease of my bent knees. He gets as close as possible and then he settles in and goes to sleep.

5. I love the fact that after Brae pulls off someone's flag in a football game, he completely stops what he's doing, turns to me in the stands and yells "I GOT ANOTHER FLAG, MAMA!"

6. Anytime I cry or get upset, Brax is the first one in my lap giving me hugs and asking me "Where's you owie, Mama?"

7. Brandon is the first one to get up in the mornings and he kisses me on my forehead and tells me "It's time to wake up, Beautiful." That's soooo much better than a loud alarm clock!

8. I get those random phone calls or texts from Brandon reminding me that he loves me and he misses me. It's nice to hear those things for no reason.

9. After dinner is cooked and we're all sitting at the dinner table, the 4 of us start a conversation about how our days went and what happened and what we plan on doing tomorrow. I love dinner time at our house for that reason right there!

10. And one of the BEST things about my life is the 3 guys I have in my heart, in my home, at my dinner table, in my mind, and most nights, in my bed! Even as uncomfortable as it is, I never sleep better than those nights where all 4 of us-and Paco-are snuggled into our bed!!

This old world

I am one of those people that read the newspaper on a pretty much daily basis. I should say that I technically read it online now instead of getting the actual paper. It's just easier that way. Anyways, today while I'm reading there were 2 stories that caught my eye. One was about 4 children who were severely burned when a canister of sulfuric acid exploded in their mother's pickup where they were riding. The kids were aged 14 down to 18 mos. What caught my attention was the fact that after the explosion, the mother and her boyfriend left the scene of the accident and the 4 children. Immediately I'm filled with rage. I know EXACTLY what the sulfuric acid was for. The "mother" and her boyfriend were probably headed home to make methamphetamine. That's why she panicked and left her injured babies in dire need of medical attention. Eventually, the kids were careflighted to Parkland Hospital and they are in the burn unit in severe critcal condition. The next story is about a 6 yr. old little boy who was beaten to death over a 3 day period by his mother's boyfriend. The 24 yr. old man accused of beating him said that he "whooped him and beat him with a leather and fabric belt all over his body and butt because he wouldn't mind him." Then when the bruised little boy disobeyed the last time, the man held him under the water in what he called "punishment for being real bad." The little boy died after either all the trauma or from drowning. The autopsy will reveal that at a later date. At the end of the article was a picture of the cutest little boy with the biggest smile on his face playing during an obviously better time in his life. This is the point where I basically lost it! The tears just started flowing. WHAT is the world coming to? Why is it that the children are suffering at the sins of their mothers and fathers? I know this kind of stuff isn't new. I know that children have been suffering for years. But, it seems like here lately it's an everyday occurrence. I am so sick of all this. I am sick of drugs. I am sick of the people on drugs. I am sick and tired of the horrible crimes that take place because of drugs. WHEN are people going to realize that drugs aren't just hurting them. They are hurting their CHILDREN more. I don't have an answer. I pray about this stuff everyday and try to turn it over to the "Man Upstairs." I want to be more than just someone who's praying though. What can I do? Does anyone have any suggestions? I want to make a difference in the life of these children. If anyone knows of anything I could do, please let me know. Thank you! And I'm sorry for this depressing blog, but I feel so helpless and I hate that feeling! HELP!

Old Song, New Twist

My oldest son, Brae, went to watch "Bolt" in 3D with his grandmother yesterday afternoon. He absolutely LOVED it! He was amazed at the stuff that "kept coming at his head!" He said, "Mama, I could touch the doggie on the screen!" LOL That really made me smile. So, while he was gone, me and Brax decided we'd work on the Alphabet Song together. And let me just say that for 2 years and 3 mos. old, he's doing AMAZING at learning it! We just kept running into a small problem. He does great up until "...J, K, L, M...." then he kinda drifts off into his own world. Okay, so let me try to explain. Here's Brax singing, "H, I, J, K, L, M, N, Old Macdonald had a farm, EIEIO..." Isn't that adorable? I thought it was super funny and it sure brought a smile to my face. I just wanted to share that!

My brother

I am having a REALLY hard time dealing with the issues surrounding my brother. I know it seems like that's all I write about, but this is my "outlet." I spend most of the day at work thinking about the what if's and the could of beens. It's really getting hard. I need to accept and realize that this is the hand that we've been dealt. And eventually I will get there. So, here's a poem that I just wanted to share. I didn't write it....nope, I'm not that creative. But, it definetly tugged at my heart strings.

Here ya go, baby brother. I love you.

Brothers,The ones you go to for help, For comfort, For advice. When you just had a fight with Mom and Dad, Another girl, Or your boyfriend. Brothers, The ones you go to, to tell them that You're pregnant, Getting married, Or just need a shoulder to cry on. The ones you look up to, Share jokes, And talk to about everything. Brothers, They're there for the good times, Bad, And everything in between. My brother, He helps me with everything. Now all he needs, Is ME.