weekending: good eats, great shows, social time, family meal (minus college kids) & another important (exhausting) chat

*Is anyone else having this issue, or is it just me? My blog feed isn't updating. It's frozen. I realized on Friday that there was no chance that No One had written a Five for Friday. Tell me I'm not alone? Any ideas on how to fix it? 

*****

At the last minute Friday evening, I reached out to our friends who have a lake house. They're usually out of town in the summer months. They were in town and they were up for drinks on our deck if Coach was (Coach was recovering from a colonoscopy - more on that later, all routine and normal, but still it developed into a funny ha ha Coach thing). I waited for Coach to wake up from his nap, and he said sure. It was such a nice night to sit on the deck. Neighbor girls came over and hit the volleyball with Kay and Rae, and then they hung out in the basement. I told them they could eat all Dad's leftover Jello. 

Saturday night, Coach and I had a social outing organized by Rae's school. We were sort of dreading it. Her school is organized into four houses, so this was hosted by a couple with kids in Rae's house. (yes, it's similar to Harry Potter). We knew a few other couples going, but it was far away, and another family was going to be there that we hoped to avoid  (I'll post about it soon. They're not bad people, but their daughter has an issue and the mom reached out to me and it's now become 'our issue'). This couple that we wanted to avoid (we'd never met face to face, so I didn't even know who they were) hung out with other people, so it wasn't a problem. We ended up really hitting it off with another couple, who were delightful. We both had a good time. 

Then we raced home to watch an epside of Task with Mini, who'd watched the girls for us. Task is on HBO MAX and it's really good. We're enjoying it. (there's violence and it can be intesnse, so your viewing pleasure might differ). I also have a funny story about Mini's recommendation for this show. Coming soon. 

Sunday, fun day:  Coach had arranged to go golfing with the 3 older boys Sunday afternoon. I was in charge of making dinner for them afterwards. I had Mini invite one of her college besties, who lives in the city. She's from NJ, so her folks are far away. She joined us and so could Lad's GF. Ed's GF was having a spa day with her mom and her sister as a pre-wedding thing. We joked that it worked perfect - the two guests could sit in Reg and Curly's seats. 

In the morning, I told Kay to come with me on my 4.5 mile walk. If I'm being honest, I'm drained. I've been putting in a ton of effort - having lots of 'come to Jesus talks' with her.  I'm diving in, because this girl needs to connect with me. I cherish my walks. I like being alone when I workout. I wasn't sure how to broach the topic that I wanted to cover, but I figured I'd dive in as we walked. I tackled it, and I think overall it went really well. I think she 'heard' my message and that it was well received. 

Cherry struesel pie
thing. High marks from
 the gluten eaters.

(in a nutshell:  be authentic, because when the therapist comes to help us connect, if you're being fake-Kay, then we won't end up connecting, because I can't connect with fakeness. Let's dive deep and do the things, so we can get this done vs having this lady come to the house forever. I want my Thursday evenings back). 

Yes, my arm is sore from patting myself on the back. Why do you ask? 

Then I spent a few hours writing a funny story about my spring break senior year of college. As a result, I left the cooking and baking go until the last minute (do not recommed), but everything was tasty. When I made my 7 layer taco dip for the school social 'house' thing the night before, I divided it into two separate containers, so we even had an appetizer when they walked in from golf. Who even am I?

I whipped up two different desserts:  cherry struesel something or other and a plum torte. Tank was like TWO DESSERTS FROM SCRATCH? (they were so simple, really) The main dish was a fam fav that we've not eaten in forever:  Cuban Rice Chicken Bowls. (I'm crazy tired staying up past my bedtime Sunday night, but I'll post or share the recipes if anyone is interested - lmk in comments). The dinner conversation was lively and full of laughs. Reg happened to call before dinner, so we video chatted with him, passing the phone around. 

this is the sheet
pan part. I forgot
 to take a pic of it when
it was in 'bowl' form. 

Ed:  what happened to your lip? (it was just chocolate - of course it was. Reg has a habit of not wiping food off his face).

Lad:  Dude, do you know your shirt is on inside out. (some things never change)

After dinner, Lad and GF watched football with Coach and the girls, and Mini came along when I drove Ed, Tank, and Mini's friend back to their respective apartments. (an hour, 45 min round trip). Mini and I drove past a building she'd like to live in. 

Mini likes to veg and watch a show before bed, so we got home and I drafted this on my laptop while we watched an episdode of the Pitt. Great show. Highly recommend, although - I do have to look away from the screen a lot, because squeamish. It worked to have my laptop to focus on. 

*****

Did you have a good weekend? Are you struggling with your blogger feed thingy? Do you like makig last minute plans? When was the last time you dreaded a social thing that turned out being enjoyable? One of my moms is having her baby today, and we are so excited. No gender revel and names have been kept under lock and key.

Thursday: this, that, and the other: a weird walk, so much travel, rules of engagement

I'd forgotten about this weird Tuesday night thing until Coach texted me about it Wed afternoon. A sure sign that my brain is busting at the seams. 

Tuesday night Coach and I took a 30 minute walk. It was already dark. These walks are clutch. We regroup, share updates, and trouble shoot or plan out what's ahead. 

The calendar was discussed - lots of upcoming travel.

• Sept. 18th, we drive to Omaha for Reg's fraternity's parent weekend. 
• Sept. 24th, we drive to KC for our niece on Coach's side's wedding. Excited! If we feel like it all happened too fast, no fear - her little sister got engaged a few weeks ago . . . she's 24. I was surprised that they didn't wait until after this sister's wedding to get engaged. 
• We'll be back in KC for her wedding Oct. 9th '27. Curly says she won't be allowed to go to that wedding either. Hmpf. What if she uses it as a bargaining chip (before I cancel her Sept 24th flights):  WELL, SINCE THE SEPT WEDDING IS EARLIER IN OUR PRESEASON, CAN I JUST GO TO THAT ONE? Curly refuses to ask. Phoey. 

  

  We didn't travel much this summer. We hung out at our pool Sat night. Coach grilled. I made an awesome salad. The guards played 'Closing Time' which made me chuckle. Looks cool at night with the lights.

I digress.

Oct. 2nd, Creighton is hosting a parent weekend (separate from the fraternity parent weekend). 

• When Tank was there, his fraternity scheduled the frat parent weekend to coincide with the college one. Smart. 
• Oct. 2nd:  Coach is teaching a class in Oklahoma City. I've toyed with going back to Creighton. Some parents are only able to go that weekend. Tank's going Oct. 2nd. I'd have to figure out childcare for Kay and Rae, so it's not likely - unless Coach's class gets cancelled for low enrollment. 

Coach cannot keep the dates, the weekends, the plans on the horizon straight.

On our walk (you knew I'd circle back, right?), he asked for clarification. Again. He had the KC and Omaha weekends reversed. I might have to draw him a picture.

Oh, and then the Niece's wedding on my side is Oct. 17th. We RSVP'd. Coach, Tank, Mini, and I are going. Mini isn't thrilled. I didn't force her. I encouraged her to go, esp. because Tank's going. Ultimately she feared not going would look like a boycott, sending the wrong message to the other cousins, possibly impacting  future wedding invites. 

Me:  This won't be an intimate dinner party, so the tension should be  diluted. 

I texted Tank, Mini, and Coach - asking them which entree they preferred for the RSVP, which is now an online thing, did you know that's how it's done now? 

Mini:  Doesn't matter what we order. They'll poison our food regardless.

I died laughing. Yes, I will bring my epi-pen, why do you ask? 

Anyway - Coach and I were walking back to our house after our loop - with me hoping the calendar confusion isn't indicating early onset dementia. Loud footsteps. I glanced over my shoulder. A guy was pounding along on his walk, like maybe 12 feet behind us. 

Why? 

Seemed like he'd pass us. But he didn't. Why didn't he cross the street? I looked behind me again, and recognized him. It was Curly's good friend's dad. 

He wasn't being funny, about to say, 'Hey guys,' or 'Boo'. He's an odd dude. So it was on-brand, but Super Strange. He was behind us, probably further down the street when we popped off of the trail that cuts across the golf course. We landed on the street ahead of him, but we didn't see him, because we turned toward our house. There wasn't a soul in the neighborhood out walking, but us. Once he saw us, why not cross the street, or say hi? Since we were almost at the corner where we would turn, Coach refused to cross the street. 

Coach's text today:  Does it feel like Mr. N is still following you? I keep looking over my shoulder to see if he's still there. 

******

Any upcoming travel plans or busy schedules causing confusion? Ed's been told no proposal during his gf's sister's 18 mo engagement. I feel like he could've proposed if it was 5 months or more before the upcoming sister's wedding (happens to be the same date as one of our cousin's weddings, so it's soon). Ed was not bothered by the time restrictions, but I felt like it was silly. Then again, I couldn't believe that the 2nd cousin got engaged so close to her sister's wedding. I'm assuming they're all fine with it, which is all that matters. Do you believe/or have you dealt with 'rules' like that?  Has anyone walked too close or freaked you out while walking in the hood?

Daycare Doody: update on the apparent 'no boys allowed' daycare (plus rare photo that will disappear soon)

Joymarie's recent comment:  We haven't heard anything about the daycare:  

Me:  No news is good news.

Seeing as good news beats crutches in lakes, broken phone screens, and fears of infectious cuts, I give you . . .

Daycare Doody:  update on all things daycare

story time on a Monday (Kay was still home, so she snapped this)

My current crowd:  5 families - kind, grateful, and not demanding - making my job enjoyable. Whether we adventure out in GW (so far we haven't - corralling this young crowd is mind blowing), venture out to the swing set, record videos of the littles dancing, the parents will be thrilled. 

Fertile Myrtles. Remember when the family that had a daughter 'Denise' who turned 2 in Aug '25 welcomed identical twins Sept. 23rd? This year, Denise (now 3) comes Tues/Thurs, opposite preschool. Her twin sisters (almost 1) come Mon-Thurs. 

I have Fridays off. Can I get an 'amen' on how my four day work week is the best form of self-care I could treat myself to?

Two sisters:  Two women, Maggie & Carin, are sisters who I babysit for, and they are both expecting in the fall. 

We go Way Back.  They attended the same grade school as our older gang - a bit older than Lad. Sitting for families I knew many moons ago beats starting out with strangers. Both sisters also happened to attend the same college as me. I'm not sure when I'll retire - a question I tossed around when Birchie and Kyria visited, but I'm thinking I'll ride the wave of good-times and happy-vibes with these current families and retire when they no longer need my services. 

Carin, who has a 16 month old, is due in a few weeks, and Maggie, who has a 2 yo, is due with another girl in late Oct. Maggie's 2 yo shares the same IRL first name as Curly. At Chez Shenanigan her little goes by 'Baby Curly'. My daughter, who babysits for Baby Curly in our house in the summers because her mom is a vice principal with some summer hours, answers to 'Big Curly'. Baby Curly is the one who gifted a candle to Big Curly after removing her dirty diaper during a nap and stinking up Big Curly's room.

I'll have a slower few months while the sisters are on maternity leave. They might do some drop in days for their 'big littles' to hang with friends. I hope they do. 

Newbies:  In Feb. '26, I had two different moms text me randomly ten minutes after one another. 

Me:  IS SOMEONE PRANKING ME? 

Because, c'mon. What are the chances? Both women had /were about to have a baby. They each had a tot who graduated from my care the year prior. 

One of the moms, while a lovely person, was demanding and left me feeling like I was walking on eggshells. No space for both, so I declined the demanding mom. In August, I welcomed the baby sister of the kid who went viral for saying "WTF?" when he opened his Happy Meal toy. (I think I shared this clip before). 

Daycare gender math isn't hard:  if you're paying attention, this adds up to 6 girls - plus one new baby girl due in Oct. The gender of Carin's baby is TBD.  

On the way out:  On Mondays, I also have a family with an 18 mo old boy and a 3 yo girl. They've whittled down their needs from 3x a week three years ago to 1x. It's too hard to work other families around a one-day a week schedule, so I've fit them on Mondays until the maternity leaves end. Translation:  token boy is temporary. I felt bad parting ways, but I cannot cater to a family that takes up two spots one day a week. The mom understood my conundrum.

Stay tuned to see if I will I maintain a No Boys Allowed Club?  

Waiting list:  I've never turned away so many people asking for a spot. My friend, Becky, who also cares for teachers' kids, is experiencing the same thing. What's happening? If I were an octopus - or was able to clone myself, I'd have wall-to-wall littles here and would rake in the dough. 

Discount:  The WTF parents are very young. They're living with his folks, trying to save for a house. Since they don't drop off Baby C until 9 am, (others arrive at 7:20), I can sometimes load the quad stroller and go for a walk.

I texted them a special pricing deal over the weekend. They didn't ask for it, but Coach and I agree, lowering their price by $60/week was the right thing to do. They need to save their money more than I do. 

Big and Baby Curly chats:  Sometimes I video chat Big Curly, so Baby Curly can see her. It's the cutest. Over the summer she started referring to our house as:  'Ernie Curly house' vs. 'Ernie house.' Now at drop off she says 'Ernie house' and then she says 'Curly on school bus.' 

That's gonna be one long-ass bus ride. 

*****

I'm posting this on Labor Day, a day off from the tiny cutey pies in my life. I'm excited for my 3 day work week.  This morning in addition to wrapping up this post, I'll be attending my fav workout class (hoping I can go to it regularly when I retire. I attend on Monday holidays and summer break. It's so hard). I also plan to cut Coach's hair. What's on your agenda for the day off?

"What's wrong with these kids?" Tank (forgetting the tongue stitches, are we?)

Saturday morning, Reg called. He was in the Ozarks for his fraternity's formal. 

Reg:  I'm fine. I didn't do anything stupid.  

Use your imagination here as to why we've had multiple  DON'T BE STUPPID conversations. Clue:  alcohol. 

Reg:  I got here Friday. Walked into the lake and stepped on a rock. I'm on my way to urgent care right now , because it's so painful today and I feel like there might be a piece of a rock still in it. This sucks, because I might be there a long time and I wanna have fun with my friends. 

I was confused - Was he going for an x-ray - did he think he broke a bone? Or was it all about a cut? He explained it's a cut and that the nursing students had all looked at it and they thought it would be fine.

Me:  Keep me posted. 

(I was in NYC, more later) Mini and I went for a walk in Brooklyn on a gorgeous day.

BUT:  My mind was distracted. Remember Mini's roomie Kate? Who got a staph infection and almost lost her life or her leg? Urgent care had handed her an anti-inflammatory for her knee scrape, not realizing she was in bad shape. 

Reg called a few hours later. They gave him one stitch, a shot in his butt for pain, a few shots in his foot, and pills to take. I requested that he send Coach a pic of his discharge papers, so we'd know what meds they prescribed, and suggested he drink next to nothing. 

*****

Backing up the bus:  this summer Reg got a new phone when his ancient one died. He didn't put a screen protector on it. Dropped it a few days later. The screen was a web of cracks. I insisted he replace the screen. He claims he didn't have a screen protector on his last phone.

Tell me you have memory issues, without telling me you have memory issues. 100% he had a screen protector on his last phone.  

He took it to the U-BREAK-WE-FIX place near our house while we were in SC. New screen $220. Now, he informed me that his screen was black and he could see nothing - less than 2 weeks later. 

*****

Now, we couldn't reach him. He borrowed kids' phones to call us. He had crutches but couldn't get to the other house where his friends were hanging out. No one could drive him, because they were all drunk. Couldn't Uber, because his phone . . . 

Me:  I'm sorta on a small vacation. Ask someone to call you an Uber and pay them back. I'm most concerned about the foot. If you spike a fever, or start vomiting . . .

He did a decent job of keeping in touch, but we never got the discharge papers and I struggled to sleep Saturday night. Thank you, racing-Mom-mind syndrome. 

Sunday morning, I suggested to Coach that we ask Tank to reach out to the older fraternity brothers for intel about the urgent care, etc. Coach was hesitant.

Me:  What if this is the perfect storm? We'll regret not reaching out, if this goes south and we were out of the loop b/c of his damn phone. 

Tank gladly accepted his role:  I probably knew about the bloody foot before you did. My fraternity brothers text me stuff. 

Tank provided Coach with the urgent care number. Coach got the deets. Reg was on an antibiotic and they could tell that he'd picked it up. Progress. 

I kept focusing on how damn much it hurt. Kate couldn't cope with her pain and it didn't add up for this small cut that she'd gotten. 

Reg called when they were driving back to Omaha Sunday late morning:  It still hurts a lot, and I can't walk, because some drunk idiot tossed one of my crutches in the lake and we couldn't find it.

When I relayed this to Tank:  What's wrong with these kids?

Uh, how soon they forget. Raise your hand if you remember Tank almost biting off his tongue falling off a fence while retrieving his fraternity's rock.

Reg went to the Verizon store in Omaha - they were gonna charge him $800 for a new phone. 

Me:  Nope. Wait till tomorrow when We Break It opens. 

Monday morning my kid emailed us. He was unraveling. He had no phone. Was tired of borrowing phones. His foot hurt so much (I assume because he had to walk on it). He'd gone to health services to get crutches, but since he couldn't prove that he'd been in an urgent care (no phone to show an email, receipt, etc.) they wouldn't give him any. (You shoulda shown them your stitches.) He was missing texts for his b-ball manager job. It was taking him so long to get to class, because of difficulty walking. 

I stepped into high gear, calling the nurse, who gave me her personal cell number last year when Reg had seizure symptoms. She could get him crutches. I created a group chat using all the numbers that Reg called me on. "Creighton kid #1, Creighton kid #2 . . ." There were 6 of them. I texted the group, introducing myself, and asking one of them to pick up the crutches, giving directions for where to go on campus. Reg got the crutches. (note to self:  bring cookies to this kid in a few weeks when we go for parents' weekend)

Reg went to the U BREAK WE'LL OVERCHARGE U place, and they fixed his phone for another $200. 

Meanwhile, Lad dealt with the local WE FIX STUFF place that had done a lousy job replacing Reg's screen. (no one has broken more phones than Lad, and he knows a thing or two about how to promise to leave a 1 star review). He demanded they reimburse the $220 following the crap job they did. Let's just say, Lad called me after he got them to pay the piper, asking WHAT'S NEXT? 

Best of all - Reg's foot is healing. I'll refrain from showing photos, but it looks so much better and he thinks he can walk again today or tomorrow. 

*****
In other good news, Kay started school Tuesday. We made it through the summer. I woke up Friday (my day off) knowing I'd be gone all weekend. I was bound and determined to do something special with her. I called a yarn store to see if we could get private lessons on crocheting. Didn't work that last minute, but back burner for another time. She and I went to mass Friday, followed by lunch, and time in the Maker Studio at the library, where she did an etching (burned image) and a carved name thing on a piece of wood for $4. She told the therapist Monday that it was one of her favorite days she's spent with me.

tracking down abroad friends & no, I didn't intend to drop a baby on 'home soil'

When my brother, Pat, got married in Ireland in 2002, Coach, Lad, Ed, and I stayed with my former classmate, Aisling's parents near Dublin. Aisling was a bridesmaid in my wedding. 

*As students, Pat teased Aisling (whose name is pronounced Ash-ling, but the g is sorta silent, I guess) that her name should be Shling based on the spelling, so we all called her Shling. They all called me Rin, claiming that my real name was the same name as a certain country, IYKYK, which wasn't a name at all, thus Rin.

Anyway, at the time of Pat and Aunt Leprechaun's wedding, I was enormously pregnant with what would be a 10 lb 3 oz baby Tank. I was only like 29 weeks pregnant, but I looked like I was carrying twins or Godzilla's lovechild. The Aer Lingus staff almost didn't let me on the plane, because they believed I was about to deliver. 

Imagine a Lucky Charms voice, spoken with a head tilt similar to a nod but done on an angle, chin to one side, forehead opposing directions (yes, it's a very specific thing cute Irish men do, sort of like a compliment and it's the sweetest gesture ever):  

"Ya tryin' te half dat babe on home soil now?"

Me:  No, I am not. I just have large babies with big Irish heads.

Shling's folks gave us an entire floor of their house and we settled in for a few days with our littles (Lad and Ed) until they adjusted to the time difference. Her parents had also stayed with my folks when they came to the States. 

I'd not kept in touch with my other friends, but after I dug up my journal and started pouring over the photos in my abroad album - I found a few of the other girls who were part of our group. Two of them (Shling and Yvette) had stayed with my parents the summer after I graduated college. They worked as waitresses at the country club where my brothers and Coach (at that point he was just my brother's friend - we weren't dating) caddied. If you've seen Caddyshack, the movie, then you know that the waitress who dates the main character, Danny, is from Ireland. All summer we joked that we were recreating Caddyshack. 

AI told me that my friend Niamh teaches school near her hometown. It shared the name of the school. She'd never married, so I went to the school's website, found her email address, and sent her a message:  Did you attend Maynooth in 1992 and hang out with an American everyone called Rin? 

Within minutes, she emailed me back:  Hey Rin, you found me. 

We exchanged a few emails, and then moved on to Whatsapp. She's from county Mayo. They'd just won the Gaelic soccer championship for the first time in like 50 years, so she sent me videos of them celebrating with their elderly dad. So fun. Her dad was quite the character. 

I found Yvette on FB, and we messaged back and forth a bit too. 

Tank just admitted that he wants to get back over to Ireland to visit Shling's folks. He stayed with them the year he studied abroad (just for a visit - he was in Limerick - they are not far from Dublin). I do hope to get to a handful of Curly's games, but dang - I'm getting the itch to go back for a visit too. I can meet up with Niamh and Vettie, and Shling. 

I was gonna share this in the upcoming 'look what I found in the boys' room' post, but it fits here. Tank bought a piece of the Berlin Wall when he was abroad. He stayed with Shling's parents and showed his touristy purchase to her dad, Hector. Hector found it very funny. How would Tank know if this was indeed from the Berlin Wall? When Tank arrived home, he found a rock in his bag. He couldn't figure it out, but I knew right away. Hector! He wrote 'Rock of Cahsel' (a famous castle in Ireland) on it in sharpie. I love that he pulled this prank on Tank.

****

Where would you like to revisit, or just plain visit? Anyone have a good nickname from college or childhood days? Also, I was in NYC this weekend. I sat down to draft a post and my mind went blank. This was in my drafts. Feel free to remind me, what are some of the posts or updates I've been promising?

Dilemma with the RSVP: what would you do? & pulling off the Pope hat (skippable sections for regular readers)

*If you're not new here, skip the refresher sections*

Sometimes I have a list of things to write about, and then stuff crops up and I write about something else entirely. This is one of those times. 

Dilemma:  We need to RSVP soon for Niece's wedding. 

*****

Refresher:  Niece is the one my dad recently called a nut. When I defended her saying 'her family never treated her well' - Dad said, "She didn't deserve it." 

Niece marches to the beat of her own drum for sure. The way I understand it, she was diagnosed with ODD and never got therapy as the marines wouldn't have sent her family to an overseas deployment (her father is a marine). Instead she acted out and her family grew frustrated.

I relate to Niece as the unique soul in the family. What I lacked in behavior issues, I made up for in being 'different'. I played outside barefoot, building duck ponds in the adjacent vacant lot. I got h0llered at for crafting before crafting was cool, making a mess when messes weren't tolerated. I was always to blame for the one damn pair of scissors (solidarity, Nance!) missing from the kitchen drawer (the horrors). I wasn't quiet and shy like my sisters. (Thank God). I wasn't good at sports like my brothers. Mom urged my brothers to attend my b-ball games purely for the entertainment value. As the middle, I was the only one without a buddy. No one stuck up for me. Two older sisters had each other's back. Two little brothers were practically Siamese. 

All that to say, today I'm grateful. My birth order/family of origin stuff built character. 

*****

Niece's wedding is Oct. 17th near Green Bay. 3 hours away. The RSVP due Sept. 4th. 

• Reg will be home that week for fall break. He might be getting his wisdom teeth out. If he doesn't - waking up in Green Bay that Sunday and having to get back to Omaha . . . not ideal. 
• Curly can't go - been there, tried that
• The older kids don't wanna go. Maybe if it was closer? Ed texted me today to say that when he gets married he won't be inviting all of my-side family members. 
• I thought for sure Mini would go. She's said a million times - as recently as last year before cousins were engaged, "I cannot wait for all the cousin weddings." She told me she'd have more fun going to see her friends in the city that weekend. I pushed her a little, considering she's tight with two of Niece's sisters.

Mini:  I don't like conflict and it'll be awkward, because of everything. I don't wanna go.  

*****

(refresher:  Marie is her godmother and didn't wish her a happy birthday in April and struggles to greet her when she sees her at my folks' house. Moments after I confronted Marie and Ann with "Why is the adoption so polarizing for you?", they unfollowed all of my offspring on socials. tee hee hee - can you even? As Ed says SHOOT, MY BORING AUNT ISN'T FOLLOWING ME ANYMORE). 

*****

I'm assuming Coach and I will attend. Skipping it would feel like a boycott, or like I'm afraid. Plus, I wanna show up for Niece. I don't think she'll mind if we skip it, but I wanna be there to accept her and all of her antics or her over-the-top choices, while my sisters exchange pouty faces when Niece bucks tradition. 

My folks' caregiver sees things clearly. She told me that Marie asked her to take my folks to the wedding and drive them home the same day. Staying overnight wouldn't be easy for them. 

Coach:  That's a long day for them. 

Caregiver can't, as she'll be home in Ireland for a visit. I've thought about offering to take my parents. That would give Coach and I a reason to leave early. But, no one is asking us and I'm a nice human, so if someone asked I'd probably agree to do it - but I also don't necessarily feel like coming to Marie's rescue on this. I don't need to take one for the team when the team doesn't play nice.

We could possibly leave Kay and Rae at Coach's brother's house in northern Illinois, and pick them up on our way back. I guess they were invited, but we'd enjoy ourselves more (or manage the tension better) if we're solo. The invite came to our  home, addressed to 'Shenanigan Family'. Three older boys all live outside of the house for over a year and they didn't receive their own invitations, so if Plus 1's are included - it's ambiguous. Is that odd, or is it just me? Our niece on Coach's side (wedding in Sept) sent invites to the older guys at their homes.  

The hat has the Sox logo on the
front and the tails in the back.

His excellence and Nana

Mini and I took turns sitting with Nana Tues night, while my brothers and 'Beth', one of Ann's daughters, took my dad to the White Sox game. I took the late shift. Now that she works, Mini turns in early. My dad walked in at 11:15 pm, pushing his walker and wearing a Pope hat. Apparently Beth got it as a give-away at a previous Sox game, and she gave it to my dad at the game. He was fake blessing other fans, who approached him requesting to be blessed by 'the Pope.' 

*****

Should I:  

1.  Offer to drive my folks to the wedding, but then claim the rights to wearing the Pope hat? 

2. Beg Tank and Mini to go to the wedding to represent our offspring? So Coach and I have reinforcements who come equipped with a great sense of humor and quick wit. 

3. Boycott and send Niece money towards a down payment for a house (that's what she's asking for on her registry and I know she would appreciate it).

4.  Fill in the blank:  What would you do?

A full week: blogger meetup, the 'grind', back to school bash, Irish music, and more

* I apologize for not responding to recent comments. I'll get there soon. This first week back to work has kicked my butt, thus 'a full week' title. 

*****

Sunday = Funday thanks to visitors

Earlier in the summer when Kyria reached out to say she and Birchie would be in my area the weekend of Aug 15th, I was so excited. I was also thinking WHOA, HANG ON. WHAT IF I'M NOT IN TOWN TO SEE THEM? 

Coach and I worked out the 'who's on first' deal over here with college drop offs, and meeting blog friends for dinner Sunday the 16th would work. 

I would've liked to invite them to my abode to sit on the deck and sip an adult beverage or to enjoy a meal (barring Mini from assisting with food prep) or to spend the night, but with college kids departing, our home was up for grabs. Understatement. 

After decluttering the boys room and reintroducing the carpet to the joys of the  vacuum, I mopped my sweat, changed into a summer dress, and darted around the kitchen for a few minutes before leaving to meet Birchie and Kyria. 

Coach (who'd just arrived home after driving Reg to Omaha):  WAIT, ARE YOUR FRIENDS COMING HERE?

Me (cackling like a maniac):  What? Look around you. (flails arms to indicate the debris - stacks of high chairs waiting to be set up and emptied Amazon boxes, toppled laundry baskets). I'm meeting them out obviously. 

We met at a Mediterranean spot ten minutes from my house. It was delightful (the food was good too). So fun. I heard more about their travel itinerary and we discussed books a bit, and I updated them on life at Chez Shenanigan. While we chatted, we feasted on kebobs. Kyria ordered an appetizer plate too, and while I'm not usually a fan of hummus, this version was delish. The employee was unsure if the rice contained gluten, so I chose salad-type sides. I succeeded in avoiding an epi-pen episode, which is always the goal. 

Back at home, I set up pack and plays, hauled toys up from the basement, did a load of baby sheet laundry, and arranged junior-chairs and high chairs in the kitchen with a slight spring in my step. There's nothing like a fun blog meetup to outweigh  the bummer of the approaching academic year of tots and babies. 

Daycare days  

Kay doesn't start school till Sept. 1st., so a chunk of my time each day is spent finding ways to keep her busy. Daycare ramped up. I was silly enough to think I was gonna find time to write a Thursday post. And in my comments, Joy Marie asked about my daycare, noting that I didn't say much about it last year. 

In this case:  no news is good news.

I will share some daycare updates and deets soon, but all positive. I care for the cutest group with the best parents, who are so gracious.  

Back to School Bash (BSB)  

Years ago, we hosted a Back to School Bash, starting when Curly was 3. These parties were one of my fav things. About a dozen families attended, and brought food to share. Coach grilled piles of burgers and dogs. Parents gathered in the kitchen or on the deck. Dozens of kids played flashlight tag (I bought a ton of tiny flashlights). The night was full of laughter and great memories. Ah, the good 'ole days.

A few weeks ago, I suggested that we recreate BSB with families we've met thru Rae and Kay. Only about 6 families could attend on Friday, but dang - it was a lot of fun. (again -I'm laughing at how I thought I'd get a blog post written for Thursday). I worked to get the house in order and I made food, but I chose NOT to get stressed about whether or not the house looked perfect decent or about potential rain. 

Funfact:  Our basement has gotten water 3 times this summer (1st time in 18 yrs since we moved here) - all since our roof was redone and they reconfigured the gutters. Guess who isn't returning our calls? The roofers. 

Anyway, the carpet padding hasn't been replaced and things are a bit disheveled down there. My plan worked. It did not rain, so kids played volleyball in the yard, and I did not stress out.

Sunday & the week ahead  

Lad and GF watching a band
 in the row in front of us.

I wonder if I might get to see the traveling twosome again as they make their way back thru the Midwest. Mini and I fly to NYC this weekend, so I'm not sure if the timing will align. Thanks to the BSB, the house has been restored to a (mostly) presentable condition. So if my bloggy friends are in the hood while on their way home - they're welcome to stay. 

We haven't seen the girls' bio grandparents in a long time. As a reminder:  they have struggled to follow the boundaries we've set, etc. We invited them to meet us at Rae's away volleyball game that's in their neck of the woods Tuesday night. Fingers crossed that this short visit goes well.

I'm drafting this post Sunday night, following a weekend that I anticipated being full of time to catch up on 'things' - aside from our Fri party. Instead it was a case of LOTS OF UNPLANNED HAPPENINGS, many good things, but my bills and other to-do's await. 

Coach and I used to take the kids to Milwaukee Irish Fest annually without fail. We stayed in a hotel for two nights. A big splurge for us, but we loved it. Since it's usually held during college drop off, we haven't been in years. Lad and his GF were going to a local/much smaller Irish fest, and he urged us to attend. Tank was home for the weekend, so Coach and I brought Mini, Tank, Rae, and Kay Sunday afternoon. Great music. So fun. Seeing all the young families with the babies dressed in green - wow, did I feel nostalgic. 

*****

Have you done anything lately that reminded you of days gone by? What sort of things have interrupted the progress you've imagined in your mind for a 'quiet' weekend? Have you ever attended an Irish Fest?