Happy birthday to MEEEEE!!!! Random stuff with cute retro photos

Good morning, and welcome to my birthday blog post - where I have no agenda and plenty to chat about. I've been trying to decide if I should come up with a theme or connect my thoughts in some way, but Whoa - too much energy, and it's my birthday, bitches, so welcome to my disorganized thoughts:  

First, I lied to you. I know, I know . . . I hope you'll forgive me. I woke up the morning I posted about my new mattress, read all of your comments, and promptly suffered a minor panic attack. Did we really just spend almost $5K on a MATTRESS? No. Way. Who even are we? I texted Coach and said I could not justify it. 

A few decades ago, our very nice couch (like shopped at a quality store and spent real moola) fell apart prematurely and Coach told me I could feel free to take the $100 Sorry 'bout-that voucher they gave us, and buy a new couch with it, so long as I didn't spend more than the allotted $100. So Coach is not exactly one to easily part with money/know how much anything should costs. 

Translation:  he was more than happy to not be so spendy on the mattress. Although, he admitted that he was sort of sold on it because he's had some neck pain or something (when a PT complains about body aches, it doesn't really count because we all look at him like, Yeah, since your body is going with you to work tomorrow, you can just ask one of the wizards you work with to fix it).

That's me looking at the bunny - my
mom is behind me and
Marie is on my left in blue. Ann is on the
other side of our blond neighbor kid on my right.

I called the place and cancelled the mattress (Readers, are we still friends?), because if that mattress was gonna cost us an arm and a leg, while possibly making our arms and legs and backs and necks feel rejuvenated, then it was gonna have to also come with magic powers to order our closets, sort laundry, and prepare all of our meals. 

It took another couple of weeks to select a replacement to the replacement. If you're following, reward yourself with a leftover Christmas cookie. 

Every night, I'd tell Coach that I wasn't going to bed until we'd made a decision. I think I need a more believable threat. BTW:  we'd decided to just order something from Costco. If we don't like it, we'll return it within the year. We are still getting a king. I may have waffled, but I didn't completely cave. Costco mattresses are unavailable to sit on and yet people buy them, so we read a bunch of reviews and while they had a Tempurdedic that sounded a lot like what we'd ordered for half the price, I finally announced, That's it. We're getting the Beauty Rest. 

I'm 54 today, so I can use all the help in the I need more Beauty Rest department. The mattress is supposed to arrive on NYE. I haven't ordered sheets or a bedframe, so I'm totally on top of everything per usual. Check back for updates. 

And my crazy closet clean out of '24 is apparently gonna overlap into '25 and I really do want to get up there and make some headway before the delivery people get here and report us to the bedroom police for living in the most cluttered conditions ever. But first . . . 

Coach made reservations at a new to us Mexican place for dinner tonight (meaning Sunday, because that's when I'm drafting my bday post). We need to eat out tonight before Ed goes back to the city (boo hiss) on my birthday - of all the rude behaviors. Some of you may remember the disaster of the Outback Steakhouse 'non-reservation' birthday meal of a few years ago. 

Noticing a theme here?
I'm in the green hat -
 at the petting zoo again like a year later.
 Petting a bunny never gets old. My babysitter
 who is still a close family friend is sitting
 behind me in the stripes. Pat is sort of
 bald next to me and Marie
 is on my other side.

We cannot drive past that place without a kid referencing some part of that fiasco, like when we had to stand for literal hours waiting for a table and the hostess had to ask us to corral our children who were hovering over other patrons' tables most likely salivating like Pavlov's dogs. Cuz the other people, who presumably  went to that eatery knowing how sucky it would be, were made to feel uncomfortable. 

In our defense, there really was no where else to put the people in our party. By the end of the night, we were far from a party of people who were speaking to one another and the 'party' vibe died an hour before the server tipped Mini's plate when reaching across a band of brothers, accidentally dumping hot au jus in her lap and on her new purse. Anyway, it's a distant memory - thank goodness. 

Unfortunately, Lad hasn't been feeling well the last few days so I don't know that he'll be able to join us and that'll really bum me out. I wanted another opp to fake a Christmas photo. Yes, I'm the kind of mom who will make everyone put their same outfits on and stand in front of the leaning tower of Shenanigan tree for a picture. Fingers crossed I get that birthday wish. I might have to settle for our dinner out, and celebrate that it isn't tied in some way to a $20 gift card or coupon that Coach wants to use.                                                         

There she is:  the world's
worst Irish dancer. Ever. How I birthed
kids who could actually dance well
 is one of life's little mysteries.

In amazing news, Coach was sifting through our stack of gift cards before making the reservation and he said, "Wow, we have $350 at Lettuce Entertain You?!" And I heard angels sing and a weight lifted. Friends, a wonderful mom and dear friend whose kids I babysat for 5 years, gifted me $350 in Lettuce Entertain You gift cards (nice chain of restaurants in Chicago, Wildfire is my fav, it's a steak place). This was back in May on her littles' last day. 

I had convinced myself that I'd accidentally thrown the cards away, because I didn't remember putting them in the gift card basket. Did I ever check the gift card basket? No. Can I trust my memory in this my 54th year? No. Do I feel elated? You betcha. 

That's me adjusting Pat's Santa hat while
 Ann and Marie look on, waiting to correct
 me for doing it wrong, no doubt. Did you
 know that my sisters look so much alike
 my friends could never tell them apart?
They are not twins.

On my birthday, I plan to attend my fav in person workout class. Maybe I'll beg Mini to join me. If nothing else, that'll lead to some excellent blog fodder. Then my babysitting partner in crime (she and I do the same daycare thing at our own homes, join forces for fun outings, and compare notes and share laughs re: nutty parents/kids as needed) plans to take me to breakfast. I'll continue to hound Mini to organize her crap before leaving for Florence. And I hope to carve out some 'me time' to write my next chapter. 

I had plenty of time to do that today, but I procrastinated. Shame on me. I went down a FB Marketplace rabbit hole, shopping for display cases that can house Curly and Mini's Irish dancing trophies in the basement, because they literally litter every surface of their room since the shelving ripped out of the wall as a result of the tornado of '21. 

Come hill or high water, I will get this house organized and my 1st draft book finished in 2025. I guess you can say that there's my 2025 goals in a nutshell. *the closet! I must finish the CLOSET! too. (Hypothetically speaking:  if you unearthed a ton of OG nighties from when you were wed in 1996, and you haven't worn them in forevAH, would you toss them? Ahem, even if your spouse was like, Oh - HEY NOW, WHERE HAVE THOSE BEEN? I'm thinking I'll be plenty comfortable in my king size bed without them. Right?)

I briefly considered (me, brief?) writing a birthday post with a list of things I like or hate, or what my younger self would think of my 54 year old self, or fun facts you might not know about me. I went with stream of consciousness instead, so I'm asking you, my readers:  

What's a fun fact I might not know about you?  A post you think I should write (or one I've promised to write and my aging brain has forgotten)? If you've never commented before - how's about today is the day to say hello. Thanks for showing up. I always enjoy interacting with you guys. I'm grateful to have such great blog friends. I know this was long, but as my friend Kari says, It's my birthday, Bitches!

5 for Friday: the after-Christmas edition

I'm guessing that I'm not alone when I ask:  What day is it anyway? 

1. Our Christmas was very nice. 

I woke up late on the 26th after sleeping over 9 hours. I'd felt exhausted on Christmas, it was good-tired at least, and not can't-see-straight tired. It was close to 40 degrees here, so I went for a run. I'm so grateful when our winter weather cooperates and I get to run outdoors. 

2. On my run, I had a lightbulb moment.

I remembered that I needed to get my license renewed by my DEC. 30TH BIRTHDAY. That's right, friends. Now that we've celebrated the birth of Jesus, there's only a few short days to get ready to celebrate my birthday. Woot! Woot!

I'd gotten a letter alerting me:  written test and vision test. Yikes. Since there are  thousands of places I'd rather be on my b-day, I opted to make a same-day     DMV appointment after my run. Of course I could've renewed before the holiday, but trying to squeeze in one more thing, yeah - no. Curly had a game at 1:30, and the DMV near her tournament had no appointments. I grabbed a 12:20 appt at an out-of-the-way spot, studied up on my rules of the road, passed the test, and raced to get to her game, possibly breaking many of the rules that I'd just been quizzed on. 

3.  Curly's cheering section. 

When I got to the gym, I saw my two sisters, my BIL, 5 nieces, and a nephew in the stands sitting with Ed, his GF, Reg, Tank, Mini, Rae, Kay, and Coach. I knew my people would be there, but was unaware that other family members would attend. It was sweet. Curly's 3 point shot was a little off, and I bet she was nervous. I whispered to Mini, "But she played great when the gym was packed for the playoffs when we went to state." Mini: "Yeah but this is family." My niece was like, Yeah - we're a tough crowd. Curly eventually hit two 3's - which made our fam cheering section go wild. 

A fav moment:  Curly was called for a foul. These were some of the best refs we've had. But I legit think they had the wrong  number, because Curly wasn't near the action. It didn't matter. We were up 20 pts with only a few minutes left. But the reaction of the crowd was HILAROIUS. The Curly cheering section groaned so loudly. "WHAT? C'MON! NOOOOO!" Then Tank called out, "BUT THAT'S MY SISTER!" in a cartoon-ish voice. Everyone in the stands was chuckling, and Curly lost her game face, and laughed.

4.  Say cheese.

Kay sitting in the middle of the
floor in her fancy pants dress. 

I'm trying to let this go, somewhat unsuccessfully. I wanted to get a pic of all of us when everyone was all gussied up at my sister's house. Lad left the party before us to care for his dogs, and I realized when we were leaving later that the picture never happened. We posed without Lad, but dang. Additionally, I wish I'd taken more pictures of just Kay and Rae in their very fancy attire. 

Lad, Mini, and Curly. We've
decided that Curly never
wore clothing as a small child.

If Lad is available on Sunday, I'll request, as an early bday gift, that everyone re-gussy themselves so we can pose in front of our tethered tree. 

5.  A gift that spoke volumes.

My dad is thoughtless. It's frustrating. You'd think that I'd have lowered the bar by now. I guess it's because I know he has a good heart and he means well, but then he does something and I think WOW, HOW DID YOU NOT REALIZE? He isn't spiteful or intentionally mean. Consideration isn't in his wheelhouse. Unfortunately. 

Dad made a big to-do about gifting something to each grandkid, handing each one an enormous baby/young kid photo of them. They couldn't look at until after the kid turned, and the crowd either laughed wildly or ooh'd and ahh'd. 

Tank in Chariot's Fire mode,
Reg with a chick,
and Ed dressed as
Peter Pan in our tree
 on Halloween.
The Peter Pan pic has been
hanging in my dad's
 office for 22 years.

He did this by family, in age order. This photo gift was a first time thing, so I was unprepared. I wonder if my sisters had insider info.

Once I got the gist of what he was doing, I hoped that he'd included pics of Rae and Kay. After he called Curly's name, I held my breath. He called out my younger brother's oldest kid, and I knew he'd not thought of the girls. Damn it. I looked across the room at Coach, and we shared a disappointed facial twitch. None of my siblings mentioned how uncomfortable this was  - didn't seem to register to them. K and R were sitting front and center. They watched each kid accept their photo, a reminder that they're outsiders. 

My dad has asked me to tell him when we go to court to officially adopt the girls, so he can join us. It sucks that it didn't occur to him to ask me for a few photos of them. 

Our bio children were bothered by the girls' exclusion. Curly and Mini made a beeline for me, mumbling things like, 'Well, that sucked.' A few of the boys made eyes at me. I thought Lad might put his fist through a wall. I'm gonna count that - their awareness of the girls' feelings - as a win. How's that for seeking out the positive?

Have you had to take a written driving test recently? Anyone else sleep like the dead after Christmas? Do you have a family member who means well, but fails to consider other's feelings?  And, hey - anyone else with a Christmas birthday? (as if that's not bad enough, but making time for the DMV near the holidays? Double whammy!)

Surprise post: FOMO, Bermuda Triangle, Tree tethering, & Christmas cookies/treats

(I set this to post this morning, but accidentally chose 7:30 pm Monday - oops!)

I thought Thursday would be my last post before Christmas, but I'm back. My brain hurt last week. Lack  of sleep on top of panic over shopping, baking, etc. Today I finished shopping (and they all rejoiced) compliments of Amazon - so I thought I'd share some funny-ha-ha bullet point updates with you:

* FOMO - I texted in the ND mom group chat:  "Hypothetically speaking, if someone who was bummed to miss the Friday night tailgates with all of you, decided to bring breakfast to the dorm when everyone was moving out Saturday late morning . . . would you stop by and grab a bite and chat a bit?" The moms said they'd love that. 

This plan developed the morning after I'd slept 9 hours. 9!!!! 

Then Mini asked me to leave my phone on Wednesday night - leading into her last day of finals. Between Mini calling and me not exactly going to bed early enough in anticipation of her calls, that night was a disaster. I slept 2 hours total. Mini NEVER went to sleep. Thursday was a lengthy blur of a day. Poor Mini was a wreck. 

* BREAKFAST GOODBYE - Tank and Reg met me at Mini's dorm Sat. morning. I

figured most of the families would be on their way home, or too focused on packing to come and stop to socialize. Well, this was not the case. We set food up and so many of Mini's friends and their parents came along to eat and chat. So much fun. 

* BERMUDA TRIANGLE - This was where shit went sideways. Mini put a garbage bag of her clothes in the hall as she was starting to pack up her room. (I knew she would have nothing packed. She preferred we come get her on Sunday. Um, no - let's get you home. I told her I was bringing bags, laundry baskets, and boxes). That bag disappeared. Tank walked thru the dorm looking thru all the garbage. I think he went out to the dumpster too. Never found it. 

I told Tank and Reg that we could load up some stuff into their car and then they could just leave. I was taking bins into her room and dumping ALL.HER.CLOTHES. into the bins. This was gonna take a while. 

Tank went to get the car and realized he didn't have the keys. He retraced his steps thru the dorm, where he'd searched for Mini's missing bag. 

Then Mini claimed she lost her winter coat - this was later located under the futon. 

For reasons that are tough to explain, Reg convinced me that because the keys didn't have a clicker on them, the only way to lock the car was to do it with the key in the lock. BUT - there's a button inside the door. Duh! Reg lost a set of keys to that same car in South Bend back in September. My mind was about to explode. When Tank said he needed his meds out of the car, we contacted campus police to open it and that's where the keys were found. THANK GOODNESS. 

Later Mini, Tank, and I laughed at how the other families were enjoying the breakfast I brought while we were across the lounge area providing them with entertainment - showing our true colors, as we lost shit left and right.

Tank:  I will never set foot in that dorm again. It's the Bermuda Triangle. I cannot find my way around in there. 

I would've liked to sit and relax a bit more and sip hot chocolate with the other families whose kids were either more organized, or they purposefully planned to stay an extra day and drive out east Sunday. 

* IF A TREE FALLS IN A FOREST AND NO ONE IS THERE . . . OK, THAT'S NOT WHAT HAPPENED - I ordered the rest of my gifts (let's hope) Sunday morning. Mostly stocking stuffers - or at least it started out that way. I might have cracked a code here. Ordering last minute means some things are unavailable, and decisions are made FOR me. After I finished ordering, I caught up on a bunch of blogs, and then we finally decorated the tree. I was still standing next to the tree that was most of the way decorated when it fell.

I caught it, but it was about 45 degrees to the floor. 

* TETHER - This is the year our Christmas tree is tethered to the curtain rod. Will we find out just how much weight the curtain rod can hold? Let's hope not. The guy cut the tree trunk on a really bad angle and it won't sit in the stand right. Coach knew this but didn't realize till we got home and didn't have a chainsaw to straighten it out.

* CHISTMAS COOKIES - While the tree balanced in the next room, the 4 girls and I baked Christmas cookies and decorated them. There was some serious artistic creativity happening. 

Has your tree ever fallen over? Ours fell over about 10 years ago. In the middle of the night. We lost some ornaments, sadly. Some were the ones the kids made when they were tiny. Hoping our tree makes it thru the next week or so. It's been up for weeks without an issue, but we just did lights and ornaments yesterday. 

Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas! May you know where all of your keys are and may your trees stay upright and your curtain rods secure to the wall. Keep scrolling for my Christmas cookie recipe and Rocky Road Fudge Bar recipe.

Mini's artsy creations

CHRISTMAS COOKIES

(copied from my childhood neighbor)

1 ½ cup sifted confectioners sugar

1 cup butter

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

½ tsp almond flavoring

2 ½ cups GOLD MEDAL flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cream of tartar

Cream sugar and butter. Mix in egg and flavorings. Measure flour by dip-level-pour method of sifting. Blend ingredients; stir in. Refrigerate 2 to 3 hours. Heat oven to 375. Divide dough in half and roll on lightly floured pastry cloth to 3/16 inches thick. Cut. Sprinkle with sugar. (or decorate). Place of lightly greased baking sheet. Bake 7 minutes or until delicately golden. Makes 5 dozen 2-2 ½ inch cookies. 

FROSTING

4 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp almond flavoring

2 tsp powdered milk

2 tsp water (approximately) - I use more like a 1/4 cup or water, depends on how thick you want it

Rocky Road Fudge Bars

- not cookies, but I made them this week. A fam favorite!

Bar ingredients:

½ cup butter or margarine

1 oz unsweetened chocolate

1 cup sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour

½ to 1 cup chopped walnuts

1 tsp. Baking powder

1 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

Filling: 

8 oz cream cheese softened (save 2 oz for frosting)

½ cup sugar

2 Tablespoon flour

¼ cup butter or margarine softened

Recipe makes one pan.
I made two to feed a big crowd. I make this
 GF sometimes with GF flour. I use green
 food coloring on the cream cheese filling,
 so I know which is which. It has so much
 chocolaty goodness, that it doesn't
 have a clearly GF taste. 

1 egg

½ tsp vanilla

¼ cup chopped nuts

6 oz (1 cup) chocolate chips

Frosting:

2 cups mini marshmallows

¼ cup better or margarine

1 oz unsweetened chocolate

Remaining 2 oz cream cheese

¼ cup milk

3 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Directions: 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease (not oil) and flour bottom and sides of a 9 x 13 pan.

In a large saucepan over low-heat, melt ½ cut butter and 1 oz chocolate. Lightly spoon flour into  measuring cup (level off). Add remaining bar ingredients: mix well. Spread in prepared pan.

In small bowl, combine 6 oz cream cheese with the next 5 filling ingredients. Beat one minute at medium speed until smooth and fluffy: stir in nuts. Spread over chocolate mixture in pan. Sprinkle with chocolate pieces.

Bake 25-35 minutes till toothpick comes out clean. Remove from oven; sprinkle with marshmallows. Bake 2 or more minutes longer. 

Meanwhile in a large pan over low heat, melt ¼ cup butter, 1 oz chocolate and remaining cream cheese and milk. Stir in powdered sugar and vanilla till smooth. Pour over marshmallows and swirl together (I use a fork to combine melted marshmallows and warm chocolate mixture). 

Cool and cut. 

Store in refrigerator, or freeze. Makes 3-4 dozen.

1

a b-day girl, BBS, All I want for Christmas is a non-disappearing remote, & updates: Mini and the gifted dresses

Today is Curly's 17th birthday. As far as b-days go, finals week isn't ideal. But Curly is a sweet girl (so long as you don't offer advise about how she might want to style her curls) who works hard and is a friend to everyone, always inclusive. She loves that Reg is home weekly during what was almost his first year away for college. Is it wrong that I'm crossing my fingers that these two end up at the same college since they'll be heading to school only a year apart? My fav Curly post continues to be this one about her intro to tampons. Might also be my most fav post of all time. In case you haven't read it, check it out the next time you need a solid chuckle.

BBS:  we didn't have time to watch the British Baking Show like I thought we would that one Friday night when we ended up going shopping with my mom. But Coach, Reg, Kay, Rae and I watched an episode the next night in the basement. We started with 2017, because that's as far back as Netflix would go. We enjoyed it, but at this rate (since it's 2? weeks later and we haven't watched another episode) Coach and I will be empty nesters by the time we catch up. 

Curly would've loved it too, but she went out to eat with her team after their crazy win. (I almost cut this next section about Curly and bball -skip it if you prefer, my feelings won't be hurt. Everyone is busy and not necessarily needing to read my vent).

The (non-BBS) season:   Curly has gone from being part of a 4th in state team, to a team that resembles a Bad News Bears version of b-ball. The AD hired Curly's coach to takeover for the boys' varsity team. A position that opened up after the varsity team coach was fired for what he did to Reg. In other words, this feels like a ripple effect of that ordeal and it's impacting Curly. 

Curly misses having a real coach. Her new coach is over the moon crazy about her. He told me that she's like his assistant coach. Um, she doesn't want to be an assistant coach. She wants to be coached. She's a junior, and she wants a coach to correct her, advise her, and challenge her. He doesn't believe in plays. He calls them actions. Curly was like, Call them what you want, but we need to review them at each practice cuz this team needs the reminders. (majority of the girls don't play b-ball outside of school, and they rely on plays to know what to do next, etc.)

The bench consists of a few seniors who joined the team this year in order to get a senior banner. I've seen them practically fall off the bench giggling during the games. I'm all for incorporating fun into sports, etc. but they're sort of checked out. The coach did finally tell them that they had to knock it off or stop showing up. So, at least he is paying attention to that. He doesn't have the girls run. Doesn't believe in it. This isn't chess, it's basketball. He was refusing to use man to man defense. That would be like a baseball team asking their players to go to bat without using a bat. Curly did convince him, after a tough loss to a team we should've beaten, that they have to go to a man to man when they're playing a team that's scoring 3's left and right. 

Lately Curly has been in a bit of a slump, missing more 3s than she's making. She looks like a different kid out there. Frazzled. I think she feels like she has to guide the team and give them direction while playing, because the coach isn't providing typical coaching direction.

This is a collapsible laundry basket.
 Reg claims he tossed the remote
 on the couch the night before it went
 missing. Well, that could mean anything,
 esp. because laundry lives on our couches.
 He found the remote Sunday am. He'd
 looked 'all through' the laundry, but it
 was nestled into the folds of the collapsible
 basket. AKA he looked for it
 like a male looks for things. 

On top of that, one of our starters tore her ACL in the Thanksgiving tournament. It's heartbreaking. She's a 3 season athlete and will now miss soccer in the spring - her favorite sport. One of our best guards is only a sophomore, and misses games sometimes because soccer is her main sport and she travels/plays year round. 

That ACL tear's mom once coached a high school team to a state tournament. I wish she would've applied to coach the team. She is always positive, knows the game. After pointing out that the current coach has no intensity (which was an excellent observation), she said she'd come back as an assistant if my Coach agrees to be head coach, just like decades ago at the YMCA when our girls were tiny. Coach got a good chuckle at the thought - as anything past YMCA level coaching is above his pay grade. 

Do you see what I see? Fun
looking in the family room
 vs the 'lost remote' looking

Why did we watch TV in the basement? Reg lost the remote to the TV the day before. He was the last to have it, and since his memory is compromised and he sometimes puts things in weird places I worried he threw it in the garbage while on autopilot (like maybe with a wrapper or an empty microwave popcorn bag, but that would involve kids TOSSING out the used popcorn bag, so there's that). 

It was finally found the next morning despite the fact that we tore the family room apart the night before.

Updates on Mini and the case of the gifted Macy's dresses:  My next post will be after Christmas. There is much happening here (I can't make it to the ND playoff game - tailgating in the bitter cold doesn't interest me, and Curly has a game that night, but TODAY, I decided to bring breakfast to the dorm Saturday morning after the big game when we all have to pack up the rooms because all the girls are going abroad after break). This might be over the top, but my FOMO was kicking in. I love these folks and it was killing me that they're all gonna be in town).

II keep jotting down things I need to do and then needing to start a fresh list to add more things. I'd be lost without Tank. He's been instrumental in stepping up and pitching in. Keeping me afloat. He did a great job caring for the tots/babies while I was MIA in South Bend tending to Mini. Reg is home too now, and equally at my service. So, I've got that going for me, which is good. 

I could write a whole week's worth of posts about that ND overnight stay. It wasn't pretty. Mini (suffering from extreme test anxiety isn't sleeping) fell asleep FINALLY  at 7:50 am. I left for home, stole her phone with it's alarm set for 10 am and gave it to the front desk, hoping she'd sleep till noon when they agreed to wake her up (her exam was at 7:30 pm). The hotel offered to use its shuttle to drive her back to her dorm. She woke up on her own at 10 am, found my note, and got her phone from the front desk. *sigh* She's requested I keep my phone on again tonight, so I'm sorta on call. I still need to go back and respond to comments from my post last week. Thanks for your patience. Oh, AND I finally got someone at Macy's to answer the phone. They can't tell who ordered the dresses, but they were ordered online. Sent to me - using my name and my home address. So strange. I think I can go to the store and return them, and they'll credit the person's card. Stay tuned. 

Weirdest place you've misplaced a remote? I had just looked at Best Buy's website and was about to send Reg to go buy a new ROKU one. Then shouts of joy. 

a mystery delivery, a lovely blog gift, the plot thickens, a kid who can't count sheep, Plus teen issue & an achy, breaky back

It's a mystery:  An unexpected package arrived from Macy's on Friday - addressed to me. It was a fancy, black, size L, dress with rhinestones on the sleeves. There was no note, and it wasn't wrapped. Huh?

I got distracted, and set it aside. 

Why distracted:  Rae blew up at me  Thursday. That time-suck episode caused me to race around Friday, playing catch up. Thursday evening we had no games. I was gonna tackle stuff. Then KABOOM. (Coach and I had a late evening emergency call with the fam therapist Thursday. By the time you read this - Rae has apologized, and we are back on track, but it was an unpleasant few days).

Me:  It felt like we were taking backward steps, and I REALLY don't wanna go back. We've come so far. 

She agreed. 

I wrote up all the details, but maybe I'll share later. This is getting lengthier than intended. 

I think this is the latest I've ever finished my Christmas poem. If you'd like to receive a Christmas card and my poem, feel free to fill out this form. After slouching in my chair all day Friday and Saturday, squinting at my screen - my low back is killing me, which in turn is making my head ache. I did it to myself. I know this. When it comes to the videos I create to share during graduation parties, and the Christmas poem with the photo collage - I morph into a perfectionist. 

If you saw the state of my house or my STILL-incomplete closet clean out project, you'd not identify me as a perfectionist in all things. I need to learn to limit my energy on the poem/photo gathering project, cuz I'm in pain and I gotta carry babies around for the next four days. I did manage to go for a run Sunday am, and I'm kneeling on a cushion while typing this, so, progress? 

A whole supply of cozy,
warm socks. 

On Saturday, a package arrived from Michelle at MG Doodle Studio. So fun. I waited
until a time when more of my people were around to watch me open it/when Rae had returned from the alien, yet all-too familiar, land of teenage angst. I opened it Sunday and the crowd rejoiced. Such a wonderful, abundant collection of cozy socks.  And a really cute gnome wearing a cozy sweater and matching hat. Thank you to Michelle for the very generous, lovely gift with a sweet card. 

Coach:  Hang on. I could use some cozy socks. I wanna blog. 

The plot thickens:  Then ANOTHER package from Macy's arrived, with another special occasion dress in a size 10. What on earth? 

Twice as confusing. 

Macy's is my mom's fav place to shop, so I texted my sibs to ask if anyone had taken Nana to Macy's and let her loose without any supervision. (not that she'd recall my address without help).

It's wild. What's happening? Of course, my brother Pat created some hilarious scenario where a girl my age named Georgia, who my mom used to babysit after school when we were kids, was sending me fancy dresses in order to reconnect.

When counting sheep won't work:  Poor Mini. She's been experiencing test anxiety this semester. Will spend an entire night not sleeping a wink. Not because she's studying, but because she can't fall asleep. No caffeine or anything. She's super private about it, so if you happen to know her IRL please do not mention.

Gnome keeping me company at
my computer. The Macy's box and
dresses in the background. 

Becky tried to set my new phone so that Mini can break thru my silenced phone and call me at any hour. Turns out she called 3 times Friday night and it never worked. I left my  sound on Sat. night and told her to call me if needed. She called me at 1 am and again at 2 am. We talked for a bit. She put earbuds in and I tried to just talk while she drifted off. Can you believe, I ran out of things to say? How is that even possible? I was trying to not bother her with any talk about ALL THE STUFF I NEED TO DO. Eventually she disconnected and told me today that she didn't go to sleep until around 4 am (maybe 3 my time) - but slept 6 hours. 

The plan:  I'll drive to South Bend Monday evening (if I'm lucky - maybe late afternoon, and stay in a hotel room across from campus with her. Change of scenery/back massage/no loud people in the hallway. I'll wake up early - I hope, tiptoe out, and drive back to babysit. She can uber or walk back to her dorm when she wakes up. Her first exam is Tuesday evening. If I'm not here by the time tots are dropped off, Coach will be here till 8ish and Tank will be home. He can hold down the fort. Babies and tots are crazy about him. Praying she can get back on track, because it's not an easy situation. 

********

In my mind this was a short post about the mystery secret Santa dresses, and my lovely new sock collection and cute gnome. But here we are. 

Have you ever gotten mystery special occasion dresses? (I plan to call Macy's and see if they can track down who these are supposed to go to, right after I decorate the whole house, address envelopes, and make the annual tot ornaments with Kay and Rae). Test anxiety advice? I might call ND, or have Mini call - but not sure she will, and see if she can get any test accommodations. She's seen our amazing fam therapist over zoom a number of times, so there's a trail of a professional in the loop. 

shop till you drop: unplanned memories to warm any heart (or break your back and your bank account)

Mom said good-bye to dad multiple times after she agreed to go shopping with me and the girls. 

When I walked into my house with Nana, announcing that she was going with us to the mall, the girls got giddy. They still act silly (even though they know Nana), when they're in a new social situation/receiving unexpected attention. It's harmless, but so is nails on a chalk board, if you know what I'm saying. After a few minutes and a raised eyebrow look from me, they settled down. 

I referred to these two
 as the peanut gallery. 

The girls didn't grasp that this was a 'them' shopping spree. The night before, Kay was invited to a caroling event. Finding something dressy enough for her to wear was a struggle, so I bumped up the need to get them dressy clothes on my to-do list. 

The girls' sizes land them in different departments, making the process lengthy. We shopped for Kay first. I sat Mom in a handicapped dressing room that was empty, so she could sit. Rae sat next to her and Kay paraded in with each new outfit. 

Nana had a few things to say:  Why is the waist so high on that dress? I don't think that one hangs as nicely on her as the other one. That one is just OK. Does she need a different size? Oh, I really like that one. How much is this one? 

Nana didn't like the
way it hung, but they
had the seamstress
steam it while
 we continued on our
shopping expedition. 

I loved that she was engaging and voting. It took the pressure off me to make final decisions, and I think the girls enjoyed her input/comments. 

Kay loves dressy dresses. Ask me how hard I want to kick myself for literally giving several garbage bags full of girls' clothing to my niece the summer before these two joined us?

Depending on when the adoption is finalized, maybe she can wear her new Christmas dress to court. She chose a beautiful formal navy gown. She had several options to choose from, but she gushed over this one. I also bought her a cute skirt and sweater for a more casual, but dressy look. 

I'd love to find Kay some black fashion boots. Lord help me here. Her feet are a 6 and an 8 in women's and a 4 and a 6 in kids, but most fashion boots in kids only go up to 5. And women's? We've got high heels, and pricey items to deal with. 

My definition of a foo-foo skirt.
 Not overly frilly, but perfectly
 cute. It'll work for Easter/spring.
 That top is just what Rae's
 wardrobe needed. A go-to
 for whenever. 

I warned Mom as we made our way to juniors, that Rae would be harder. She's very picky. We gathered up a bunch of options and headed into the dressing room. There were two chairs outside Rae's room, so Nana and I collapsed sat in those and the fashion show began. 

I shared photos with Mini and Curly. Both girls responded, which was awesome given it was a Friday night and they were both busy. Curly and Mini both voted for their favorites, which I know meant a lot to Rae. "Mini likes the green one the best, but she said the skirt also looks super cute.", etc. etc. "Curly said the last one is her fav but you should get the skirt, too." 

We bought a pair of navy/white pinstriped pants that the store is altering for Rae,  She also selected two dresses (what is even happening?), a pink foo-foo skirt, and a cream colored, dressy (as in knit, not blouse) long-sleeve v-neck top that will go with anything. 

Both girls were gonna need dressy shoes. My one mistake of the evening was

She also got a long
sleeved green
stretchy dress with
 gathered sides. 

wandering into the shoe department 15 minutes before closing. Fitting their mismatched club feet with shoes is a time-consuming challenge. My plan was to pop into the sale room and see what they had. The girls were with me, in the flesh. A rarity.

I again found Mom a chair. The girls and I grabbed a few shoes and asked the saleslady if they had various sizes. The saleslady argued with me, first telling me to go find the other size in the sale room myself (I was like, can you please check inventory on your computer. Hello, timing?). Then she told me that she couldn't sell me one pair and wait for a second pair to come in and THEN have me return the mismatched pair. 

I was tired. Mom was exhausted. I sighed, then told the woman. "I've done this a number of times." I explained how it works. She adjusted her approach, calling another store to see if they could ship me a different sized shoe for Rae to match the one we wanted to buy in the store. Rae wisely asked for a Mary Jane in a dress shoe, because of her foot's deformity/super high in-step. Otherwise it'll just pop off. 

By the time we left it was 15 minutes after closing. I bought a dressy silver ballerina flatss for Kay (they had both sizes, so done), one Mary Jane pair for Rae (hopefully the other pair coming in the mail will work). I apologized profusely for hitting their department so late in the night, but noted that I needed to see what clothes/colors we were working with. I thanked them for all of their help. 

Nana mentioned that it was nice that the store wasn't very crowded (even before it technically closed), and maybe that means she'll be back? All in all, it was a delightful night. I'd planned to stay home and watch British Baking Show with the girls while I hammered away at my laptop at the mini island between the kitchen and family room. Well, my chapter did not get submitted until noon on Saturday, but we are ready to be fancy over here. I'm still working on the fashion boots. Would love to score a pair for both of them. And then tights. The alterations department steamed Kay's dress while we were shopping too. 

Have you lingered past closing while shopping? When was the last time you shopped till you dropped? 

king me, "you have the tushie", and a small Christmas miracle

Oh what fun! We are getting things done over here at Chez Shenanigan. 

On Saturday:  I ran outside. Weather was supposed to be in the 40s - Let's go! Sunday looked even nicer. Monday still looked decent, so I planned to run Sat and Monday. Scoring two warmish weather runs out of the 'heat wave.' 

It made it into
the stand Sunday.

My run on Saturday? REALLY cold. With the wind, it felt like low 30s. I couldn't wait for it to be over. When Coach suggested we get a tree right after I returned, I agreed. I could do tree sap while gross and wind with a hat. Showering after made sense. 

The little girls, Coach, and I picked out a lovely tree. On the way home, we talked about Mission Mattress. The Chicago Original Mattress Factory  closed, messing up my game plan. He suggested we try a nearby 'store closing'. We dropped the girls home, and planned to be quick.

Well, have you shopped for a mattress in the last 26 years? Because we haven't. Quick is not a thing. We were the only people in the store, thank goodness. Our mattress choice was not one of the closeouts. Of course. 

I was just gonna stay in my long, heavy coat. Once home I'd:  shower, nap, load thermoses with dinner, go to 4:30 mass, and then straight to Curly's game. I'd stayed up late Fri night to finish my chapter, but didn't finish it till noon Saturday. Because I ended up having an adventure on Friday (that's my next post - get excited). 

It was 80 degrees in the store. Off came my coat, but not my hat. I'd put on a clean, very long, long sleeve shirt of Reg's that was in the kitchen. Still, not my favorite way to shop. 

We were torn between a medium tempur-pedic hybrid and a firm Beauty Rest. The guy suggested medium as I'm a side/belly sleeper and Coach is belly. I felt like if we went firm we might need the fancy-ass base. Have you seen those? They elevate feet, head, and do a vibration thing that helps circulation, but what I liked was the lumbar. We were leaning toward the Beauty Rest but opted for the tempur-pedic, because pressure point relief sounds dreamy. We dropped our life savings in the store, even though we skipped the base. 

AND . . . drumroll . . . IT'S A KING! Coach didn't even argue as I'd told him I was done with the queen. Merry Christmas (and Happy upcoming in 3 weeks, if you're counting birthday) to me!!

Welp. He says he tried all the strands before
he hung them and they all worked. Have we
 talked about how much our
neighbors must love us?

On Sunday:  I contacted Snapfish - our cards arrived but the photo was so dark, nothing like the actual photo. They're redoing them. 

I cut Reg and Coach's hair on the front porch in the balmy, I shoulda run today  weather. 

I took Curly and her new jeans back, because the alterations didn't make the waist tight enough. How's that for a problem to have? They agreed to make one pair tighter, but they can't make the other pair any tighter in the waist, because as the lady put it in her thick accent (she was from Greece, and she was lovely):  You have the tushie and then the no waist. When we got home, we saw that Coach had put the lights up. 

But Friday, Friday was a day of small Christmas miracles. 

Coach, Reg, and Curly weren't home. When I dropped off dinner to my folks at 5:15, (Mom had already eaten more of the Costco dinner that I'd brought Thurs.) I asked Mom if she'd like to join me at Von Maur to buy the girls dresses/dress clothes for Christmas. 

Mom:  Oh, yeah. I'll just get my coat. It isn't snowing, is it?

Well, you could've blown me over. Mom usually refuses to go places. I assured her it was not snowing. (she asked two more times -  she might be forgetful but she remembers to be fearful of slippery roads). I was about to tell her that I'd get her after the girls and I attended a 6:00 church event, but I bit my tongue. 

Go with the flow! Make memories! 

I knew the girls would be excited. It had been ages since I took them both shopping, aside from the Old Navy run when Mini and I bought Rae jeans. And Nana had never gone shopping with them. 

Deets on our shop till you drop with Nana adventure in my next post. My closet post is an ongoing saga. Stay tuned. Hope you are feeling little to no panic and savoring life's little adventures. Do you get a real or fake tree? Can you believe Coach agreed to a king? Anyone own a bed with a remote that 'does stuff' - raise feet, raise head, lumbar support?