How 'bout hyphenated (aka bullet point) hump day?

Here's a list of unrelated blurbs I wanna share. Diving right in to keep this short and sweet. (so that didn't happen)

See:  busy reading books to my crew. There's
another baby on my lap. I wonder if they'd
 like blogs if I read them in an animated voice?
 Disregard my baldy head - I let it air dry
 and once I brush it, I can usually
cover the showing scalp. Usually. 

 - Blog reading:  I want to read all.the.posts, but I'm finding it hard to keep up with  everything shared by my lovely blog friends. I beat myself up when I fall behind and I feel like a lousy blog friend . . . so, I'm hoping you'll be OK with if I read many of your posts, but not all of them. I hate missing out, but dang - I'm struggling to keep up.

- Tampa bound:  I could fill several posts with Curly's college basketball recruiting journey. Good thing life is boring, because this is an exhausting process. I have things to say and share, but for now . . . St. Leo's near Tampa is interested. It's a division II school. 

• Will she be OK being that far away from me? 
• Will Coach (my husband, not the St. Leo employee) be OK when I fly there every other weekend? 
• The other school she's strongly considering is Saint Mary's College, across the street for Notre Dame. I went there. It hits a lot of boxes:  close to home, great academics, small atmosphere with all the benefits of a big school across the street. But, the division III basketball resembles high school ball and she wants next level. That coach though - he calls her all the time and they're buddies. She can play volleyball if she goes there too. Not sure she would, but she can. (she loves volleyball, but spread thin much?)

We've had a few phone calls with the St. Leo coaches and Curly and I plan to fly there Wed. 1/14th. After I booked the flights last night, the coaches texted Curly:  

Well, since you're getting here so late (2:00 pm and they have a home game at 5:00) we can't get you at the airport. 

Now I feel like I did something wrong. There's a bit of a disconnect, because they text Curly. I'm on the sidelines. They pay hotel/meals. We buy our flights. Leaving at the butt crack of dawn:

•  didn't appeal to me, and 
•  was next level pricey (very few earlyish flights there) 

So I booked flights there on Spirit. I didn't buy seats, so I assume they'll strap us to the wing. Curly has a game the night before, so we can't leave Tuesday. I have till 9 pm tonight to cancel that Spirit flight. Should I fly into a different airport? All these decisions when Coach goes to bed early every night and there's a delay in my texts after he's asleep - well, this played a role in my wakefulness last night. 

I don't like the idea of getting there and turning around and heading straight home, plus I have Fridays off - so maybe we'll head home at 6:15 pm Friday? Maybe we'll enjoy some weather? Otherwise we'll do the 6:15 Thursday flight. Feel free to remind me to cancel one of those American Airlines frequent flyer return flights, because my brain is not to be trusted. Anyway, now I'm wondering if I should rent a car. Can they not send someone else from the college to collect us? Maybe they'll reimburse us if we uber. 

I also wish another school showed interest and we could visit two schools in one trip. Barry University is also D2. The whole thing ends up equating to a lot of 'Who do you know?' - so if anyone has a connection at a Florida (or closer to home!) school, feel free to introduce us. 

- Unsettling dreams:  Over break, I had some epic sleeps. It was amazing. The night of the 3rd, I slept 9.5 hours. What even? I wonder if some of it is a result of the unsisterly treatment I've been subjected to by Drisella and Anastasia. 

from Tenor.

Today I was up stupid early and couldn't go back to sleep. I fault the sugar free, high protein, high fiber, GF cereal that I opted to snack on last night. I think my body was like Oh, soo much fiber? Someone has been Feasting on GF desserts of late, and I'm experiencing some Gus-Gus issues. (Mini's shout out to the mouse in Cinderella. Look at me with not one but TWO Cinderella tie-ins).

The dreams are pure chaos. Last night's was Halloween-themed. I was trying to make a costume or maybe just a prop for Kay and or Rae. They needed a pumpkin and I was grabbing round things that would do, removing stuffing or adding it. Who even knows? At the same time, we surprised my mom and took her to see an art display or something. I believe we'd recreated something huge that she loved - like maybe something from Notre Dame's campus? It was a huge undertaking. It's that dream space that's hard to articulate now that I'm awake. I'd categorize it as Ef'd up. 

******

I had so many other hyphens. Next time. Can my Florida friends (please) guarantee me some nice weather next week? I'd love to pop in and see my childhood buddy, Johnny, but I'm not in contact with the brother who he lives with now. Talk about family drama - and funny thing, my sisters were confused in '21 when we went to my friend Joe's funeral and they learned that the brothers didn't all speak. Even then I was like, HMM, POT CALLING KETTLE, because even then they didn't exactly 'talk' to me. 

There ARE funny Christmas anecdotes, but FIRST . . . fam-of-origin drama

Unrelated, but how 'bout some pics
 of my ornaments? Guess who
 has an Ernie ornament?

I confronted my sisters on the 26th when the five of us (myself and my siblings) gathered at a restaurant to discuss how much care our folks need, etc. Friends, it did not go well. My sisters were not open or receptive to questions like, Why is the adoption so polarizing for you?

My sisters do not acknowledge the adoption. When I was in Tampa in November for the funeral of our dear elderly neighbor, my friend asked at lunch, "How're your adopted girls doing?" I froze. Marie was sitting next to me. This was a taboo topic around my sisters. I responded with the bare minimum. 

• Since my sister had never asked me things like "How are the girls doing?" "Does she like her new school?" etc. when I bumped into her at tailgates or at my folks' house, I didn't feel like sharing that info in her presence. 
• My sisters are of a hive-mind:  so anything I shared would be brought back to the hive, discussed, judged. So, no. 

In Aug. '23 a few months after the girls moved in, Mini was invited to visit the Art Institute with my dad and my Uncle Mike. Ann drove them, and when she dropped Mini off at my house afterward (Mike had already been dropped off. Ann was careful not to expose herself as an ass in certain company - she is, after all, all about appearances), she said to Mini:

"So, what are you guys doing with those girls? Like how long are they gonna stay? I thought you already did this? So weird."

Mini came inside, her eyes bugging out. When we told my fam of origin our plans to adopt back in 2021, Ann called to my parents from across the table:  I ALWAYS WANTED TO FOSTER. I THOUGHT ABOUT DOING THIS. 

In the car after the Art Institute, my dad:  Ann, Ernie is DOING A GOOD THING!

LITMAS:  A week before Christmas my kids alerted me that my sisters' kids planned 'Litmas' - a Christmas drinking party at Ann's house 12/25 at 8 pm, but I was hosting the whole side and our party would  not be over at 8:00. The text invite included videos from last year's party that took place at Ann's house. She hosted Christmas last year, and Litmas happened after the Shenanigans left. I vaguely recall cousins texting Mini to come back last year, and she responded No - I'm hanging with my family. 

My over 21 offspring (Lad, Ed, Tank, Mini) were invited, but they replied to the cousin group chat with a polite  - 

thanks for the invite, but since our family is hosting we think it makes sense for all of us to stay here. We want to hang with our parents too. You can bring your fancy drinks here, but we'll have plenty to drink.

Who plans another party, inviting most of the attendees from the original party?  At 8 pm, while at my house they sent out a group text: "Let's go now." And they all got up and left. My sisters left too. (one of Ann's boys is tight with Lad and doesn't see eye to eye with his siblings, so he showed the text to Lad).

In a nutshell:  it was time to speak up.  

I brought Mini, Ed, and Lad along to the 'elder care' discussion 12/26th at Buffalo Wild Wings. Ed and Mini are word smiths, and I wanted them there for backup.

What if I needed to share a horrible diagnosis or something? Even though she didn't know what I planned to say - while we waited for a table, Marie became verbally abusive and aggressive toward my children. My brothers hadn't arrived yet. 

Marie hissed at me: What are they doing here? They can't be here. This is a sibling meeting.

Ed said, "I'm a grown man, I can go where I want." . . . 

Marie stuck her hands in his face and applauded, like a golfer's clap. I guess she was congratulating him for being a grown man? She also stood in front of Mini, crossed her arms, and attempted to stare her down. 

I made this one and the Mrs.
Claus one in 4th grade. I still
remember making them.

I explained: They're gonna leave when we talk about mom and dad, but we're gonna chat about something else for a minute first.

Marie said:  Oh yeah? Then why does Mini look like she's gonna cry?

I wish I'd been quick with my words, but I was SHOCKED. I would've liked to have said, And why, if Mini is about to cry, are you unable to show her any compassion?

Mini recorded the whole thing on her phone. It's tough to hear, because of the background music - but the clapping bit is clear. 

As Mini later said, "I feel scarred, but I don't think that I would've believed Aunt Marie could act that way unless I saw it for myself." 

When we finally sat down, I addressed their issues with the adoption - for example, Rae told me that she didn't think my sister Marie had even said Hello to her on Christmas. I said throwing a party during our party was shitty. 

My brothers were at the table. They looked baffled, not knowing all of the layers. Mike's kids are under 21, so he had no idea that the drinking party was happening. 

I said if they felt like making a heartfelt apology, we could move forward. I referenced our Catholic faith and that forgiveness is what we practice. They made their hatred of me clear, saying unwarranted and inaccurate things, calling me names. Ann called me toxic - laughable. Talk about the pot calling the kettle. 

When I was done, Ed spoke with a voice choked with emotion, and when he cried, so did Mini and Lad. 

Ed:  When my brother was abused by his coach and we sued the high school, it was a very difficult time for our family. Friends, former coaches, so many people reached out to me to show their support, but my mom's two sisters never said a word. Never asked if Reg was OK.  

Marie in a snarky/wise ass voice:  I'm sorry you feel that way.

After my kids left, Pat directed the conversation about how mom and dad could use more help - something we could've covered in a group chat. 

Later my sisters unfollowed me and all of my offspring on social media, to which we all got a good chuckle.

**********

There are so many background stories and maybe it's a character flaw, but I want people to KNOW - to understand  what has gone down. Maybe I'll make it into a movie, because the stuff over the years is almost entertaining. I'm not perfect, but Ann literally misremembers things that other people heard her say. I'm not sure how much my brothers understand. The fam therapist suggested that I not defend myself to them, but am I alone ? - when you know something is WRONG, DO YOU NOT WANT PEOPLE TO SEE HOW WRONG IT IS?

Believe it or not (I'm guessing you do believe it), before I drafted this, I wrote out the entire event. Sometimes that helps. (If anyone is interested in the entire saga, I can share it). Writing it out today seemed to boil my blood all over again.

It's clear my sisters have issues. Marie, it seems, is codependent on our parents. Maybe she's crumbling because they won't be here much longer? Ann has been a victim since her divorce 18 yrs ago, and our folks enabled her entitled behavior. 

My sisters are impossible to have a relationship with and I'd distanced myself from them, assuming ties would be severed after our folks pass away.

Imagine all the money we will save not being invited to our nieces and nephews weddings? Mini was initially upset - worried that cousins (she's tight with 2 of Marie's daughters) would never speak to her again, but now she says if that happens - she'll be fine.

I apologize for the lengthy post. If you got this far, you deserve an award. Let the funny holiday stories commence . . . soon.

It's my birthday and I'll post if I want to . . . a post sung to 12 Days of Christmas

Our smallest tree ever.
But pretty.

I'm here. I'm alive, and now I'm (presumably) better than ever as a 55 year old. Double nickel (I first heard that over at Suz's blog, is it a thing, or did she come up with it? Not sure but I'm borrowing it). Five has always been my lucky number, so . . . maybe 2026 is gonna be double lucky for me? 

On the 12 days of Christmas, the things that happened here:  (OK, these points do not align well with the song, but I'm gonna hum it while I type anyway) . . . 

One cousin flew in town (the other had a stomach bug & flew in the next day to surprise Curly), 

In town cousins and visiting cousins
at Curly's game on her 18th bday.

two Christmas parties (both sides - my side on the 25th and fun-side on the 27th) were hosted, 

three containers/trays of food were tossed (left in oven, left out all night, etc - on different days, like LEARN FROM YOUR MISTAKE), 

four gifts were botched/forgotten/mislabeled (a few hilarious stories, I might need a reminder, but I'll expand later), 

Dinner and appetizers.

five high school basketball games were attended, 

six dishes (or more if you count the multiple desserts I made) were prepared by me for dinner on the 25th, 

seven kids went crazy in our basement watching the Bears game on the 20th (Curly had a few friends over and cousins were still here and what better entertainment than an OT win after losing all game?), 

eight kids were delighted with their gifts (phew, oh, girls love their necklaces), 

nine (times 6 = 54ish!) Red Bubble stickers failed to arrive on time. After I paid out the ass for arrive-on-time shipping (translation:  our stockings sucked),

ten Shenanigans feasted on an amazing Christmas brunch (before kicking it into high gear to prep for the 3:00 party), 

eleven nights I stayed up WAY past my bedtime to A. get it all done, B. spend time playing games with the kids following our two parties,

Just before we hosted, I piled up all
 the shoe options and let
them pick. My closet
was busting with this inventory.

and twelve pairs of fashion sneakers were returned to Kohls today (Kay and Rae got shoes, but Santa stocked up on all.the.sizes as one does when coping with club feet issues to be sure we had what we needed. *the girls were tickled).

And . . . (so much more to report, but this was a quick overview) On the 30th of December my true love said to me:  

It's your birthday, so I took the daaaayyyy off!

Beautiful nativity at St. Therese of Lisieux Shrine
where we attended mass this morning. 

We went to mass, and lunch, and visited  my folks and returned shoes to Kohls where I treated him to new underwear with my Kohl's cash, because I'm that kinda birthday girl. 

Can you find the gingerbread 'man'
Mini made wearing a bikini?

I've mostly been absent on the internet and I apologize but I'll bop around to your blogs when I can find time. I did have a fairly earth shattering situation crop up, but we're only talking happy things on this, my birthday. 

*****

My birthday is winding down (and thank you Joy Marie Cooks for the b-day message - I saw that!), but it's not too late - tell me what you've been up to and maybe like How long you've been reading my blog and whether or not you'll care if I drop down to posting once a week-ish? Anyone forget to put food away, or leave an entire tray in the oven to stay warm and then FORGET about it?

SANta gift! & some posts write themselves: time sucks, MULTIPLE car stalls, approaching surprise go-time, & more

Silly me, thinking I might not post again before Christmas. I totally blanked on sharing my Secret SANta gift even though so handy. Two pairs of warm, cozy gloves arrived just before our very cold Chicago weather a few weeks ago. Thank you,  Daria at Mom of Children. 

*I'm behind on commenting and replying, I apologize. I'm reading - between doing stuff. 

Things that are taking longer, because that's fun . . . followed by other updates:

1. I hodge-podge photo ornaments for my daycare tots. This year I downloaded a bazillion photos while on my way to a show with my brothers and folks. Great use of time while Pat drove us to the city. Later, I tried to order the photos for pickup, but - no coupon? Snapfish always has coupons . . . but apparently only for mail orders vs local pickup. Reloaded pics to Walgreens site. Cost me $15 vs $41. But SO MUCH TIME. 

Unrelated:  it wasn't until I was in the
 pew at mass thatI feared a heel had
 broken off my shoe.
 I felt lopsided. I was
 wearing two different Fly
London shoes. Oops. 

2. I bought matching stockings in '23, SEE:  'new girls'. Kay's name is spelled differently since we finalized the adoption, so I ordered her a new one at Personalization Mall. Then I ordered both girls ornaments (due to their orn. deficit). Did they offer 'spend $50, get free shipping?' Nope. Their warehouse is a stone's throw away, but they stopped allowing customers to pick up. To add insult to injury, it took me an entire nap time to get photos to work on the sport-themed ornaments - too grainy, wrong format, didn't fit the space. Total time-suck. 

3. Speaking of time-sucking orders. The heart pendants? The place didn't understand 'trad monogram' ie last name initial in larger font, in the center, staggered. I spent several days sharing photos of what I was looking for. Sheesh. I didn't want Kay's monogram to be:  KAS. Not a word, but not NOT a word, like would people ask what KAS was? I paid for expedited shipping, but no idea if those will arrive on time now. 

4. Poems - Done earlier than ever. Sent to the printer Monday the 8th. They usually print them in a few days. When I emailed 'Update?' they responded:  DOING THEM MONDAY. A whole week? Not earth shattering but I was bummed. 

Me:  Sigh

Coach:  What's wrong?

Me:  Poems taking longer. . . 

Coach:  OH, I THOUGHT SOMETHING HAPPENED. THAT'S NOT A BIG DEAL. 

Me:  (do I even need to share my response?) Oh, it's not? And you know this how? I wanted them done - in the mail, off  my list. Not that you would know anything about that. Do you shop? Generate gift ideas? Scour the internet for items? I allotted time over the weekend to stuff, lick, stamp . . . 

Pardon me. Hope you weren't
 planning on leaving any time soon. 

4. I was gonna write a whole post about this, but cliff notes. My dad can't drive anymore - or shouldn't, so he gifted us his ancient Rendezvous. I swear the other cars are ticked- they've all started acting up. On Monday, two of our fleet of 5 cars died . . . while I was driving them.  

Two separate instances. One AM. One PM.

Being stranded twice in one day - major time-suck. Oh, and it was FREEZING. I'm still thawing out. (I removed the deets, maybe next time - this post is SO long). 

Wig?

5.  Last weekend, Coach and I contemplated staying in the city. (SEE:  redo anniversary stay). Girls were at camp. Ed and roomies were having parents down for dinner/party at his apt. We thought about it. One of us (yes -ME!) spent time looking at hotels. Ultimately we bailed on that plan. It was FREAKY cold. Not fun to wander the city. Ed's party was so much fun. Tank was there too. 

Pat took this pic on
 the way home
- me sleeping in
the backseat.

6.  On Sunday, we took my folks (my sisters couldn't come) to see a John Denver singer. All credit goes to Pat for the idea. Pat:  I wonder if Mom and Dad will remember that he's dead and this is just a guy singing his songs? The dude wore a horrible wig, and my dad wasn't convinced it was a wig. Tell me you're 85 without telling me. When my mom reached over and took dad's hand during Follow Me, I sat in the dark theater and wept. So touching. 

Mom & Dad - holding hands.

7.  Tomorrow morning:  Thursday . . . a niece and nephew will fly in to surprise Curly. In my 'spare time' (SEE:  lies I tell), I'm meal planning and trying to convince people to clean the kids' shower and organize bedrooms (I don't really care - the house is organized because of last week's party and teens don't notice bedroom clutter). I've not told Reg or the little girls about the surprise. Hoping to get some good footage of Curly's face, but not even sure how we will surprise her. She'll be done with exams and maybe walk in and they'll be here? It'll be a go-time decision. Stay tuned. 

Harder to see hand holding,
plus our view of the stage.

8.  After another frustrating stretch with Kay, we attended fam therapy session Monday. Therapist related emails, solo/ joint therapy sessions, and emails to teachers . . . well, that's a time commitment all of its own. BUT IN GREAT NEWS, and I do think this post could use some great news:  I got a call yesterday that we're off the waiting list for adoption preservation therapy. The therapist will come to the house and meet with us. AND IT'S FREE! I'm so hoping this'll move us forward. 

9.  Shopping:  well, I've done some. Clothes mostly - not what I wanted to do. Still trying to scrape together some other ideas. Maybe another pair of shoes for Kay and Rae? Now that we can do that at Kohl's, it's affordable. I think they'll be excited to have another pair of shoes. 

Reg was stamping cards on the couch. Hours
after he dropped the cards at the post office,
I noticed he forgot this stack. Some
 people will get their card a day later. 

10.  I'd be remiss if I didn't share that Reg has been an absolute life saver. I shudder to think of where I'd be without him. He's done post office 3x, groceries, Target, babysitting, jumping cars, pushing stalled cars, poem pick up (30 min away), stamp & stuff cards, driving little girls, etc. He really is a worker bee. 

ALL OF THIS WHILE . . . movement is punctuated by occasional stabbing pain from a scab on my back. I had a thing burned off of my back last week - 2nd time. Along my bra line. This time? Might've burned thru my ribcage. 

*****

I already wished ya'll a Merry Christmas and who knows - maybe I'll pop back in. May you each have a Reg in your life to do all.the.things. - especially if you're like me:  the key Merry Maker. 

What's taking you longer than expected right now?  Have you ever unintentionally worn mismatched shoes?

 

1 (short) funny thing Friday: a multi-talking misadventure & clean kitchen pics

Taken the next morning.
 Someone brought me
that poinsettia. You can kind of
 see my village set up on the buffet. 

We're all busy - so without further ado: 

Coach took Wednesday off. He told me Tues evening. This stemmed from having days that he couldn't carry over, but I'll take it. (refresher:  I was having a party Wed. evening) I'd contemplated taking the two tots I had (an unusually light Wednesday) to the mall. I wanted to buy each guest an ornament from Von Maur. They'd wrap them all fancy-like. 

Now I could escape at naptime.

The snack bar with fridge drawers.
 I keep my laptop here to
 be used while babysitting. Ignore
 the stationary bike, rolled
 in for my workout.

Only hitch:  I had a zoom with my gastroenterologist. A checkup scheduled months ago. The office called me in the am:  Any new meds or falls?  etc. 

I'd sort of hoped they were calling to cancel. 

The staff:  Please sign into the zoom at 12:45 - the doc will hop on at 1:10. 

I laughed. Out loud. This doctor must think she's pretty busy. 

Party ready.

I signed into the zoom on my phone at 12:45 and drove to the mall. I arrived and walked around with my phone out, so I could see when the doc popped onto my screen. I selected a dozen different ornaments and hurried to the checkout. 

The salesman put each in a cute tiny box with a gift receipt. He was about halfway done . . . 

DING signaling I've been released from the zoom waiting room - no time, my doctor's voice:  HI! HOW ARE YOU? ARE YOU AT WORK?

A rare clear island. Miracles do happen.

Well, shit. I'd figured I could just duck into some empty corner of the lingerie department (what Curly used to call the no-look department, because of the  mannequins dressed in bras). I fumbled to turn down my volume a tad. It was now 1:35 - only 25 minutes behind schedule. 

Me:  Hi. No, I'm uh, checking out of the store.

Doc:  Oh, OK. How've you been feeling? How are your

BOWEL MOVEMENTS. 

Well, there it was. Let's dive right in. I'd not gotten the volume down low enough where only I could hear her, so now the entire gift department was aware that someone in their midst needed to chat with a doc about her bathroom habits. 

I successfully turned the volume down most of the way and smiled at the screen and nodded. "I'm good. Nothing new. Everything's fine. I take my meds and sleep fine. All good."

Taken the next morning -
if you look closely . . .
there's a tot playing in
the middle of the room. 

Doc:  ABOUT HOW MANY BOWEL MOVEMENTS ARE YOU HAVING A DAY?

I tried to signal her the answer by rapidly blinking, but she wasn't catching onto my attempt at Morse Code. 

Picture me nodding profusely as she took a stab: LIKE TWICE A DAY? 

Me:  U-HUH, MORE. 

We played footsie with this answer for awhile until I whispered into the phone:  you do remember that you guys have me taking Miralax twice a day, right? So whatever your best guess is multiply that by four. I'm fine. I wish you could figure out what's wrong with me and not just manage my symptoms, but I'm fine. 

This worked in her favor, because shortest visit ever. The patients waiting forever all benefited:  You're welcome! While she recovered from being behind, I continued to blink excessively while pretending to be fixated on the great job the older man was doing packing my ornaments. 

I acted the story out at my party, and it was a hit - or maybe that was the charcuterie board and wine talking. (In December when Kyria asks what I learned, I've got my answer:  I can never, no matter what, learn to pronounce charcuterie).

If you'll excuse me, my phone dinged. It's 8:45 pm (Thursday night) and I need to drink my Miralax . . . in my clean kitchen. Wonders never cease. 

*****

Do you rely on hosting to force your house into order? Can you pronounce charcuterie? What's your favorite charcuterie item? Have you ever unwittingly overheard a doctor appointment while out shopping? 

If I don't post before Christmas/whatever you celebrate, I hope you and yours have a joyous time full of laughter and relaxation. 

Scattered, but succeeding - 5 things, good, bad, and ugly & who wants a Christmas card?

I'm here. I'm alive. I'm interrupting my own blog-break to post. I'm gonna try to limit it to 5 things, because it seems we bloggers love things in fives. 

Grateful to last year's version of me for
this list of addresses to update
and cards that were sent but returned.

I'm no where near prepared to host a party on Wednesday, so perfect time to create a new envelope mail merge (am I alone here - this task promises to elicit more bad words and potentially tears than any other) vs organize/clean/declutter my house that is still suffering from November (If I'm being honest - I can't limit it to Nov. I've been on an ignore-the-clutter spiral for MONTHS). I'm updating my address spread sheet and writing this post even though I'm in desperate need to kick it into high gear for party prep. 

5 THINGS (in no order:  the good, the bad, & the ugly):

1. (good) GW broke down the day before T-giving. It did start eventually (Reg drove it to the gym and after his workout it started, but then died while midway backing out of his parking spot). Coach got it over to our mechanic. On Tuesday they let us know - they could find nothing wrong. The legend lives. Curly suggested that if it died (we don't plan to pour any more $ into it), we'd have to dismantle it and display parts of it around the house. *Bought GW when Curly was 16 mos. She'll be 18 the 19th. 

This is the charm bracelet my folks gifted
 me years ago. Every time I had a baby,
 they gave me another baby charm.
 My mom had little diamond
chips added to the girl babies
 - of course she did.
 We asked the jeweler how much to create
 Kay and Rae charms. $2K/each. I dislike
wearing it without them represented, but
 at that price - I think they'd
 rather a trip to Florida. 

2. (good) SHHHH! We're flying Curly's 2 fav cousins in from SC Dec. 18th to surprise Curly for her b-day. Her high school class lacks an abundance of great friend options. Her 2 besties are from travel ball and they don't live nearby. She's gonna lose her mind. Prayers for good weather, so this all happens. If there's a snow day, she's gonna have finals on the 19th. 

3. (ugly) I've not purchased or planned a single gift. For anyone. We hoped to travel but waiting for the b-ball schedule means flights would be 1k each. 

In our world, I bring the merry. If I don't kick it in gear, there'll be no gifts. Coach and I tried to buy Kay and Rae necklaces at a jeweler Friday. Think heart charm with their new initials engraved, adoption date on the back. These items would live in my room, only worn for special occasions. The jeweler quoted the heart pendant alone at $1,100/EACH! - not including a chain. #clueless #rethinking my best gift idea. 

What TJs looks like if
you shop at closing.

4. (good) I don't shop at Trader Joe's. It's not in my neck of the woods. It's only 15 min, but I can barely make it to the regular grocery store that's 1.2 miles away. I had a $50 gift card from Coach's patient - rec'd it prob a decade ago. Last night before they closed, I went to get stuff for my first ever charcuterie board at my college alumnus Christmas party Wednesday. A store worker helped me so much. I spent $100, but hooray for the g.c.

5. (bad) My house - we don't have a tree. There are no lights up. There's clutter everywhere. (my village houses are on display tho) My kitchen, well I'm avoiding going in there. Current location:  hiding in my study. I know it'll get done. I stayed up late. Reg asked me to edit/look over a paper. I should NOT have done this before bed. Dumb. 

Oh, wait - best news . . . I completed the Shenanigan family Christmas poem, arranging photos in the margins - a painstakingly long process. A labor of love. I'll send it to the printer today - earliest ever. My cards arrived weeks ago. Thus tackling my addresses/envelopes . . . as a procrastination tool. 

bonus (5 is a small # it turns out):  

Inside of Wilde - an amazing
 restaurant in Tank and Ed's hood.

• allergy shots Friday (drove halfway there Thursday in rush hour because I knew I could sleep in on Friday, but after I called to verify the shot times - missed the window and did a U-turn). My shots make me sleep like the dead - who remembers when I slept thru a tornado that literally turned our neighborhood into a near disaster area? so many trees/chimneys downed - but no one died, even though I was apparently giving it my all. Anyway, Saturday I slept till 8 am. 9.5 hrs.  
• One baby's dad took paternity leave, so my week is light - specifically Monday, which is when I plan to make so much of the food for Wed. 



Outside decor at Wilde - where we
 took Tank for his b-day dinner. 

• Tank's bday was Friday. We drove to the city, dropped a cooler of drinks/food on Ed's back porch (he had his work party, so wasn't joining us), met Tank our for dinner, then walked back to his place. His roomies had retrieved the cooler/hung the photos I'd sent, and a small gathering of his buddies surprised him. 
• my lips are a mess - not from meeting anyone under mistletoe for a make out session. No amount of Vaseline or Chapstick will help. As if I have time, I'm going to the dermatologist Tuesday. 

*****

crowd source question:  thoughts on the engraved jewelry idea? Do I need to go to a different jeweler, or is that how much these things cost IRL? Aside from my wedding ring, my only jewelry has been gifted to me by my folks. Open to ideas. 

If you'd like me to mail you a Christmas card, please email me your address with 'CHRISTMAS POEM' in the subject line. If you think I have your address, you're fine. My email is my IRL last name clan7@yahoo.

Any other gift ideas for the whole fam - so I can avoid shopping for 'stuff'? I'm contemplating gifting flights for spring break, but we can't all go together. 

Another post? The anniversary adventure - starring me as a honeymooning Carol Brady

(* might want to read the first part of this saga - it'll deliver more laughs that way). On the 60 min round trip drive to the far south side, an area we wouldn't normally venture at night, I regaled Coach with tales from when we started dating and when he proposed, etc. so we stayed 'in the moment' . . . sort of. After leaving the car, we went to another bar. After a short attempt to rally and hang, we called it a night and returned to the hotel. 

The next morning, we went to mass and then breakfast. We had to transport Tex from the street to the repair shop. Would Ed handle it? Ed wasn't interested. I offered to cook a vat of chili for he and his friends in the fall during football viewing. 

He took pity and tried to uber there. Then texted Coach:  "Is this a not-so-great area, because all the ubers are cancelling?" 

Yes, we did replace
the $50 used tire
 with a $100 new tire the
next week. Why do you ask?

I waved the white flag. "Tell him we'll do it. It's fine. We can get the minivan from the garage, get Tex pulled into the repair shop get a new tire. Then we can go enjoy the rest of our Sunday."

The woman working at the repair shop couldn't have been nicer. She was missing most of her front teeth. I told Coach I wanted to donate dental care for her. It broke my heart.

I think it was $50 for the tire, 30 min later we were on our way. I followed Coach in the minivan to park Tex on the street near McCormick Place. To get there, GPS took us through some scary areas. I begged the traffic lights to stay green, so I didn't have to stop, worrying the popped tire would end up with Coach and I being shot or car jacked. It was feeling like a scene from a movie, and I was so relieved when we got outta there.  

Together in the minivan, we headed to the beach, which I thought was odd. Whenever I suggested we do something else, Coach said we were going to the beach for at least a little bit. 

We parked at the zoo, and walked to the beach - on the sidewalk people were leaning up against the little buildings that sell ice cream, etc - they seemed to be enjoying the shade. I noticed a kid  - who looked just like Reg. He was averting his eyes. I did a double take. Wait, it WAS Reg. 

Did he sneak downtown instead of caddying? . . . then I noticed - ALL OF OUR OTHER KIDS WERE LEANING IN A ROW NEXT TO HIM all of them averting their eyes.

I stopped walking - "WAIT? WHAT ARE . . . ?" 

Coach was standing ahead of me on the sidewalk, grinning.  

The kids put on sunscreen and went into the water, and I stood there blinking. Not gonna lie, I was like WHAT THE WHAT? I THOUGHT WE CAME DOWN HERE TO BE ALONE? Even the fam therapist had advised me to enjoy the getaway and to not even talk about Kay (she'd been pushing my buttons so much at that point). 

Then Coach explained.

Ed, Mini, Reg, and Curly
playing spike ball.

We'd gone to the beach earlier in the summer with just the 3 youngest girls, and Curly admitted to Coach that it wasn't the same without the older sibs. So, Coach asked all the kids to show up on this day, to give Curly a bit of a do-over, beach-fun-wise . . . on our anniversary. 

Well, it wasn't exactly what I had in mind for our weekend away, but Coach's beach mindset was sweet. 

Remember -  when Mike and Carol Brady got married? (I'm talking Brady Bunch Show, 70's flashback) The kids missed their folks, and Alice brought all of them to Mike and Carol's honeymoon? Did I feel a tad like Mrs. Brady on her honeymoon?

Yes, yes I did. 

*****

If Reg hadn't puked on T-giving, I'd not have added that trendy post and I would've ended NaBloPoMo with my Carol Brady line. Anyway, thanks for hanging with me this last month. High praise for San, our fearless organizer. I'm hosting a party Dec. 10th for my local college alums, so peace out while I clean my house, and decorate. Who votes Coach and I get a downtown overnight redo the weekend of Dec. 12th when the girls go off to camp?