t’s been years since I was on the preschool ‘playdate’ circuit, where I scheduled my kids’ social interactions, but I still remember one of the best perks, which was when I discovered a mom with whom I clicked. I’d go over to retrieve my kid, and we’d end up chatting for another hour, thrilled to find someone to talk to in complete sentences. At that age, the kids were young enough that they’d play with just about anyone, so it was easy to make most of their playdates with kids whose moms I enjoyed.

One of those preschool moms has become one of my dearest friends, so yesterday we met for a quick lunch at the Nordstrom Cafe, where we used to meet when our older boys were in preschool and our 2nd kids were in strollers. We reminisced about those ‘good old days’, remembering where Hannah (her perfect little girl) charmed the grandmother at the next table, or looking at the dent in the chair I’m sure was left by Ben (my rambunctious one). And we fretted that as our schedules (and kids’ lives) have gotten more complicated, we no longer have those long, leisurely playground outings and Burger King lunches.

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When you have kids, making plans is hard work. Even if you only have two kids, it seems that as soon as you are walking out the door, someone comes down with fever. Plans are never made with complete confidence.

When you have a bunch of kids, there are way too many variables involved. At any given time someone either has a cold, pink eye, fever, rash, the vomits, head lice, a broken leg, or all of the above. On the rare occasion that every single child is in perfect health, plans are often interrupted by hockey play-offs, music recitals, and dance lessons.

If the stars are all aligned, we actually have a chance of getting to our destination.

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The picture you see is of my beautiful nephew Emmett with his dog, Magnum. A picture of our family pet does not exist because we do not have, nor will we ever get a furry friend. My kiddos often complain about how difficult it is having a mean mama. I like to remind them that they may luck out in their next lives, but for now they are stuck with me.

Nagging for a pet is a hobby for my kids. Last summer I compromised and told them they could have fish, but not the pet store kind. You see, there are these nuisance fish called globbies that hang out in Lake Ontario and eat the eggs of native fish. When you pull a globbie out of the lake you are not supposed to put it back in, so they generally become lunch for the nuisance seagulls.

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If you commented on the Name Game blog entry, keep watch on Caitlin’s “Mabel Files” (www.blog.mabel.ca) where she will soon be posting the winner of the Camp Pack. Caitlin takes care of all the official stuff and I get to have the blogging fun. Heck, I’m on maternity leave so it seems fair that I run the contest and someone else worries about monitoring entries, wouldn’t you say?

Although I’m on mat leave, I have not fallen off the face of the earth entirely - still blogging, checking facebook, on twitter, etc. To simply disappear from social networks and ignore good online discussion is not something this chatty mama is cut out for. Cocooning for an extended period of time off-line with my kiddos wouldn’t really work for me. And last I checked, my inbox didn’t get the memo that I’m on maternity leave.

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I know a woman named Iona Dick. Go on - say it out loud. The kicker is she took her husband’s surname when she married so actually decided to become Mrs. Iona Dick.

I have a friend whose little boy is named Owen Vary. Nice name, lovely kid. Two weeks ago, Owen’s poor mama got hit with the realization that his first initial with last name makes the word “ovary”. She is hoping the kids he ends up in high school with don’t clue in.

It’s fair to say that we Mabel mamas are mildly obsessed with baby naming. It’s a bit of a sport around the office. We get irrationally excited by names and you can often hear squealing in the Mabel’s Labels production area when someone comes across a new or unique name.

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Katrina Carefoot, Mabel BlogHer correspondent, from Fickle Feline, is guest blogging while Julie recovers from the birth of her 6th baby - welcome Finian Aloysius!  Julie will be back next week (talk about a whirlwind maternity leave!).

I probably shouldn’t admit this in such a public forum, but I have a thing for office supplies.  Meaning, I fancy really nice, top notch pens, rulers, paper, notepads, mechanical pencils, paper clips, scissors and staplers.  If my work doesn’t happen to supply my preferred brand of a specific office product, I will bring my own from home.  Yes, I’m that particular, specifically about my stapler.  But my stapler - it isn’t just any stapler.  It has a special history.  It is a burgundy, Swingline stapler.  And how do I say this nicely?  No, you CANNOT borrow my stapler.  Uhh…I mean, of course you can borrow my stapler, just please be sure to bring it back to me when you are finished.  And be gentle with it, it was a gift.  A Valentine’s Day gift.  Specifically, my first Valentine’s gift from my husband after we got married.  But, you know, no pressure.  However, be aware that if you scratch it, dent it, or ding it, I will never speak to you again.  Otherwise, we’re cool.  There is also the fact that it matches my Blackberry Curve perfectly.  I know…that’s just crazy talk, I mean, who accessorizes their office equipment?  Probably the same type of person who labels it…

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