Dear Xanga, (Being guest submitted, soon!)

 Today it became official...I am the favorite kid. I've sort of known that for the ten years that I've been a big sister, but I've never really admitted it to myself until today. Previously, there was a post on Datingish that featured a girl who was "the other woman." She went on to say that she doesn't exactly want to be this person, and doesn't always intend for it to happen, but somehow it just does. Well, that's exactly how I feel about my new title...the chosen one, or whatever you want to call it.

 Allow me to explain...when I was 2 years old, my parents separated and a while after my 3rd birthday, on July 1st, 1994, they were divorced. My Mother, seemingly destined for a long life of singlehood, has remained out of the dating scene, but my Father ended up meeting another lady and a few years after the split, had another child with his then girlfriend, now wife. Michael and I are now ages 10 and 18, and despite our different Mothers, people still think I'm his Mother...in other words, I just look like his terribly aging twin.

 Let me remind you before I go further, I didn't intend to become the favorite, it just sort of happened.

 It's terrible, it really is. I don't have to do 1/2 the things he does. When I want to sit down and he's sitting in "my spot," my Dad makes him move for me. When we're eating dinner, he takes in my plate, but I'm fully capable of helping. If something bad happens to him, somebody always tells a story of how it was 10 times worse when it happened to me. If he does something good, I've done something better. If I want to do something, he has to do it with me, no matter what, or else "it's bedtime."

 I'm one of those siblings, too. I'm the unconventional perfect daughter...I'm not thin, but I get some attention for my looks. I had braces, but that didn't stop me from getting the stereotypical perfect daughter smile...straight, pearly whites. I've never been a A student but I made the B honor roll all throughout high school, and the A my first semester of senior year. I've never been in sports but I was in every drama club imaginable, received gold medals at state in forensics and competed at State Solo & Ensemble. I was voted "Class Clown" and "Most Theatrical," when I graduated this year and received three different scholarships so I can go onto school with an Education major. In the mean time, my brother? He got kicked off the bus for 3 days for fighting, failed both spelling and science and has the reading comprehension of a 2nd grader, entering the fifth grade...a boy who can't tell time yet, is destined, like I was, for braces - affectionately known as "Buckey the Badger" and is about 30 pounds overweight.

 I can't really help that my Father and his wife like me better, and it comes in handy a lot of times, but I can't help but feel bad for Michael either. I love my little brother, I try not to take advantage of him, and we usually get along really well...hanging out and going for bikerides, but when I try and be nice to him, I can just see the looks of approval of my Dad and his wife...them saying, without really saying it, "Wow...what a great girl, trying to help out our disadvantaged son."

 It just seems like no matter what I do - good or bad, I'm praised for it. I'm not trying to say that my life is hell because my parent and step-parent are almost too accepting, but it's a very tricky situation to be in.

 I also don't like getting attention for being the favorite by my other family or cousins...I can't help that I'm like more than him, and I know this post sounds crazy, but I truly can't, and if I could change things, I'd make it so Michael and I were pretty even on the fairness scale. I know he's overweight, I know his teeth aren't so good looking and I know that he has a lot of learning disabilities, but you can't help but love and feel sorry for him.

 You can feel about me whatever you want, you can say that I'm a horrible person and report me to "heyyousuckasabigsister.com", but it doesn't matter, because even your annoyance with my life status isn't going to change anything, although I am hoping that a breakthrough will happen while I'm 1 hour and 1/2 away at college.  

 Parents - please don't put your children, either of them, in this situation. Michael wasn't a mistake, and he needs to know that...just like any other kid who didn't end up as lucky as I did.

If you have any kids, do you pick favorites or try and love equally? Are you the favorite child of your house?

Goodnight Xanga, I'm going to go to the park with my little brother.

- A.

Dear Xanga,

 It wasn't too long ago that I blogged about my Father and his pantsless tendencies and although I'll admit that he's gotten a lot better about it, that is no longer the hot spot in my household. My Father has committed an even more offensive (more to his wife than myself, I guess) offense! *Does the man ever get a break!?*

 So - as some of you may have known/celebrated...Father's day was on Sunday and in our country located house, what a gloomy day it was! I worked the 8-3 shift at my grocery store job, so dear old Dad didn't get any breakfast in bed, but I did manage to purchase him a card that displayed a picture of a guy eating a piece of cake in his underwear on the front - very appropriate.

 Well - when I got home from work, I was greeted by an irate, and I mean IRATE woman...the chick my Dad married last year. She was fuming in the kitchen to my little brother. I dropped my apron and purse at the door and went to find out what all the commotion was about, and it was around that time that I learned the center of her fury...a cake.

 Apparently Kelly (the wife's name) went out to Wal-Mart last night and purchased a cookie cake - it was a giant cookie that had frosting around the edges and Happy Father's Day written in blue icing. Cute, no? Anyways - while Kelly took my 1/2 brother on another trip to Wal-Mart (apparently she had forgotten a crucial element for the festivities), my dad ate the cake...the entire cake! GONE. She showed me the empty container...

 Now, as a respectful stepdaughter, I tried to find sympathy in this, but all I found was comedy! The cake was huge - I saw it - and my Father, who makes confectionary shop owners tremble at his name, decided that it was Father's Day and he was exercising his right to do what he pleased on the day that is set in all calenders, just for him. Props, Dad...really.

 I realize that this would usually call for a female riot, including comments like - he should have shared - that was very selfish of him - how rude, but I refuse to say anything...instead, I chose to laugh.

 That man can make me one of the most angry and embarrassed daughters out there, but he always makes me the most amused.

To all the Father's out there, I wish you a happy belated Father's day, and hope that you were able to have your cake and eat it too!