And baby makes three kids
We were excited for my cousin's baby shower yesterday. We haven't seen them since J2's wedding three years ago, and we certainly haven't been to his house before. Our job was to pick up grandma, then travel to the house for the shower. Here I was, concerned about the trip from Chicago to Algonquin. Why would I be concerned about going to grandma's, a drive I've done any number of times? Heh. Famous last words. Just as we got to Swift Road on North Avenue, we discovered construction right at 355 where my lane, the far left one, disappeared. Mom saw the straight arrow in the lane moving to the left and went, I think you can go straight here! I told her, mom, I'm pretty sure that's the turn lane to get onto 355.
...Guess what it was. Yes, it was, in fact, the turn lane to get onto 355, but since mother insisted, I'd gone there instead of to the right, and then mom was insistent that I could just make my way over into the other lane. Mind you, at this point there is a construction gap two lanes wide. She went, look, those people are going across the lanes! Mom, that's because they're from westbound North Avenue and they're turning onto southbound 355. (The "you idiot" was silent.) There was no safe way for me to get into the straight lanes. I was forced to turn. Mind you, 355 is still a tollway at that point; I do not have an I-Pass. So, yeah, I'm a scofflaw.
It doesn't take much for my mother and me to have words. I think we'd already had some contentiousness prior to that, but there were choice words said around that time, and of course I now had to figure out how to get to grandma's from there. The first exit--close enough that I never had to leave the lane for the entrance ramp--was to Army Trail Road. I got off there and momentarily went, now what? I don't know where to go offhand from that point. At least the next light was Route 53, so I went, screw it, I'm driving back down to North Avenue, and the rest of the way was fine. Grandma had called a little earlier and I'd said we'd be there between 2:15-2:30, which was exactly right, even with the detour. We went up to her place and set up her new toaster and coffee pot, and we all had bathroom breaks, and then we set about the second leg of the trip.
Thankfully, getting to Algonquin was FAR easier and less stressful. I'd come up with the most straightforward route I could: Irving to York to Algonquin Road, IL 62. Algonquin Road isn't a very main street east of that point, and I didn't want to have to wend my way around the airport to find it. Irving is the main road south of O'Hare, and I'd ridden on it countless times in my youth visiting my aunt and uncle's house. It's surreal to realize a place I'd spent so much time in my childhood is now asphalt and concrete, surrounded by a fence, with piles of dirt nearby. But Irving moves pretty quickly in that area, and York is industrial so it wasn't terribly busy on a Saturday. I'd been joking that it was 30 miles along Algonquin to get to J2's house. Mom took that as gospel. Well, not quite, but it was just over a half-hour on 62 to get up there. I was impressed by how pleasant of a ride it was--it's not overrun by strip malls the way Golf Road/58 and Higgins/72 are, and there are forest preserves and other green spaces, and we had a beautiful day, so it was really nice. Mom also thinks that it was an off-time, so that people weren't really out shopping, and it was too late for lunch and too early for dinner, and that's why traffic wasn't too bad. Whatever the reason, it worked in our favor. By the time we arrived, I'd driven about 75 miles all told.
(We're also really pleased the shower wasn't today, because it has rained and downright poured for much of the day. Today was the Bears' season opener at Soldier Field and they had to squeegee the new Bermuda grass turf before the game started. Didn't matter; the field was so flooded by the end of it that the players were playing Slip 'n' Slide to celebrate the win.)
I found the house pretty easily and got greeted by M's son, who is almost 5. The baby is due on his birthday. M doesn't think she'll go that far, because at her doctor's appointment on Friday, she was told the doctor could feel the baby's head and she's already dilated to 1.5 cm. Sitting is uncomfortable. I get that--having spent 3 hours in a car to that point, with an already-sore hip thanks to work, I needed to get out and move. I'd pulled into the driveway so grandma wouldn't have too far to walk, and I got to stay there; deluxe. Pretty much everyone was already there by that point, though a non-staying guest came by to drop off a gift. A number of people had already sent stuff to M's house and she'd brought along three totes of items to show off when the newer gifts were opened.
Who all was there:
M, her husband, her daughter, her son
J2 and his wife, MK
J1
M's husband's sister (also a J!), mom, and grandma
The husband's cousin and her daughter, maybe?
MK's mom, helping with the party
And me, mom, and grandma
I'm trying to think if anyone else was there. My uncle made a couple of appearances but didn't stay. My aunt had stayed home, between her wrist and her cold, and my uncle was there during the Zoom portion of the shower, but he came and dropped off the food, went back home, then returned toward the end to come pick up grandma. I'm very thankful I didn't have to do the reverse drive to get her home, though if needed, we could've made it happen.
J2 and MK's house is cute. Mom said it reminded her of our old house, though it's a little bigger and has an attached garage. They are very millennial; I say that because the living room is full of plants. And a cat stand. J1 said the cat is not social and would be spending the party upstairs, away from everyone; makes sense. I'd gone back to the wedding post to see how I'd referred to everyone and the cat had gotten mentioned at the ceremony, so this was really MK's cat. The house was pretty well decorated, with metallic streamers covering the doorways and balloons taped to the ceiling. There were even fun toothpicks in some of the food. M's daughter was passing around a tray of little cucumber sandwiches and I asked if she'd helped to make them; she went, I put the toothpicks in. Hey, at 9, they still put her to work.
The party started at 4, and miraculously we made it a little beforehand. Grandma immediately sat on the couch in the living room, directly under a trailing plant; a leaf kept brushing her head. We were talking to J1 for a bit and it turns out he has a house as well; he lives in the next town over, not far from his sister. The kids did good. And I'm sure my aunt and uncle like having everyone in close proximity.
The Zoom portion of the party started about 4:30. J2 was the moderator of sorts and was up in one of the bedrooms, with a pink party background. This was for one of the baby games--Baby Jeopardy. J2 and MK came up with six categories, with five questions per category, just like the first round of Jeopardy. They did not require for us to answer in the form of a question, thankfully; they decided that would be too hard to enforce. J1 was tasked with keeping score. If somebody answered incorrectly, he did not subtract points, at least. I had to laugh because M's mother-in-law and grandmother-in-law had positioned themselves at the kitchen table just outside the view of the camera on purpose; however, I wanted to play, so I sat on a chair behind the couch. MK was our clicker-person; there was a button to select on screen to raise one's hand to be chosen to speak/answer. Having never Zoomed before, this is probably stuff most people know, but it was novel to me.
The game was pretty fun, and the party collectively was the "living room"; the others who joined us remotely were seen by their names. It was honestly nice to see everyone's names written out, truthfully. I've encountered some of them before. I have to say, most of them participated in the game, which was pretty awesome, but the advantage definitely went to the people at the party. One of the categories was "All About Mom," meaning trivia about M, and I got the $400 answer: This was M's birth weight. My hand shot up immediately--no one else dared to answer; I imagine my aunt and uncle were waiting to see if anyone else could do it--and I was told I could just give the poundage. Nope, I know it exactly: 8 lbs, 13 oz. Everyone was like, wow, how did you know that??? She was my first cousin on this side of the family! I was very excited that she was born. I think I got three or four correct, including a scandalous one in the "Kids Book Quotes" category. I don't recall the quote, but I knew it was from Everyone Poops. Long afterward, MK and her mom were like, this is a great book for little kids! But the subject matter must've been taboo for my cousins and it was not a book they'd read when they were little. I told them how I'd worked in a bookstore and my first manager made me sit down and read it, not even kidding. They found that really amusing. However, I was not the winner; I came in second. M's sister-in-law beat me by $100, I think it was, in part because she's a nurse in pediatrics and knew some of the weirder answers in the "Baby Facts" category, including, what body part are babies born without? Turns out it's kneecaps, and they don't develop until about the age of 2. And the first sense a baby develops took four tries to get a correct guess--it's touch, hence why the baby is placed on mom immediately after birth if at all possible. The sister-in-law won lip balms and fancy soaps. I will say, mom got one right, grandma got one or two right; even M's son got an answer right, probably in the "Baby Animals" category. M's daughter freaked all of us out when she took a stab at the $500 question in the "All About Mom" category--what is M's favorite adult beverage? Uh...you're 9...why do you feel you know this answer? I think it's because at grandma's house--and that's probably her dad's mom, not my aunt--there was strawberry margarita mix in the fridge, not hiding behind anything, and her mom asked to have some. Well, it's actually vodka cranberry. My mom was stunned to discover her niece and nephews drink. I mean, J2 and MK had a full bar cart in their dining room (the other sign they're millennials--this is the stuff I see on Apartment Therapy).
Without her brother there, my mom got to see the kids just as themselves. He's...kind of intense. He wants to be in control at all times, and he's an anxious person, so I'm sure the events of the past few weeks and even yesterday itself were ratcheting things up for him. However, we all managed to have a good time. Mom was like, I've never seen them without at least one of their parents present! It was pretty awesome, to be honest. I missed having my aunt there, and I'm sure it killed her to only be able to watch it on a screen, but it went really well. J2 and MK were wonderful hosts and her mom was a big help, too.
Right after the game, it was time to open presents. We didn't get very far before my camera battery died, and when I went to change it out, the little door flap would not stay closed. The plastic piece that held it in place broke off. I was still able to use the camera, thankfully, but that was a bummer and possibly a sign that my camera's days are becoming numbered. That's sad for me. Anyway, due to where M was sitting--in the corner of the sectional couch, so that the Zoom people could see what she was opening--I ended up sliding under the TV on the floor to take whatever pictures I could. (The camera was set up on top of the TV. Have I mentioned that J2 works in IT?) I was also pretty close to the gifts, so while M's daughter was grabbing some of them...and saving all the tissue paper...I would grab some and hand them over as well. Their tradition is not to name the people who give the gifts, so that nobody is embarrassed if their gift is somewhat plain or not as expensive as other gifts, so for the most part we don't know who gave what. However, a couple gifts were clear--the one that came from grandma was in Babies R Us paper, and that store doesn't exist anymore; mom just had the paper available. MK was like, I've totally done that, too! And MK knitted a beautiful blanket and M had to tell everyone about it, with the caveat that normally she wouldn't say, but she just had to acknowledge the person who put in all the hard work. (MK was like, I watch a lot of TV. I just sat there and put it together while doing that.) The totes were saved for last, where M showed the gifts that had gone to the house, and she was like, you know I hate surprises, so I opened them as they came, heh. It was around this time that her dad showed up and placed two bags on the floor near me. I didn't know what they were, and M was starting to say thank you to everyone who attended, both in-person and online; they ended up being gifts for the kids. Whoops. She finished her speech and I think maybe the kids opened their gifts while the Zoom meeting was still going, but after that it ended. At that point the kids got gifts from their parents, including Lego sets, which M's daughter absolutely badgered her parents to open up because she was bored, but both M and her husband were firm with their "no"s. My uncle had shown up to drop off the food and didn't stay long, though he was there long enough to reconnect my aunt to the party by herself, without all the other Zoom people, so that she could say hello to us. I was helping clean up a bit and she saw me pop up from the corner of the screen. She looked pretty good, actually, but we know she likes to hide any pain or discomfort. Earlier, just as the Zoom was getting started, I'd said to M, the last two times you had a kid, your mom has had surgery! She was like, I know! No more kids!
The two she has currently are amusing, though. They both had to show me the Legos, first the daughter (who called me "Aunt Jennifer"), pointing out the various things in the Lego Friends treehouse she'd just gotten, along with a second Lego Friends set that was smaller, and then the Lego City set her brother got. I'd like to know what city that is, because there was a palm tree, two monkeys, a banana, and a lobster in that set. Miami? Then M's son had to show me the set, and this part was hysterical to me, because for the first couple years of his life, this child did not talk. Now, this child did not stop talking, and he went on and on about the sets, chattering away--and proving to me what boys find amusing at all ages: His Lego set included poop. I suppose it's for the monkeys to fling at each other? No, but seriously, pictured on the box was a small brown swirl of something. Lego makes its own poop. It could be combined with the daughter's set, as her treehouse has a bathroom complete with toilet. Scandalous. But, again, everyone poops.
Next came dinner--sausages, salad, mostaccioli, and chicken. (I'm really disturbed that spell check does not recognize "mostaccioli" as a word.) I had the former two and joined M's husband at a small table in the backyard. There's a small deck but a good-sized patio, and enough seats that a good portion of the party sat outside. Mom asked me if I thought the AC was on in the house; I wasn't warm--despite wearing jeans--but then again I spent part of the party sitting on the floor. Heat rises. I was perfectly comfortable. We were talking about work, as M had taken a job at her husband's company at the beginning of the year, not knowing she was already pregnant, so that became a joke with everybody. When people see her, they ask, are you pregnant? She answers, no, just fat. (And believe me, girl has never been fat.) He works in manufacturing; the company makes cans, like for food and beverages. It's not too different from when I was a receptionist for the plastic manufacturing company, only he works with aluminum and is a machinist. She's working in accounts payable. Mom asked her if she liked it and M does because it's quiet, heh. Mom had done something similar when she worked for Aunt Jo back in the day (ironically, for a company with "aluminum" in its name), but mom was in high school and found it boring at the time. It's a little different for a 30-something woman with two kids and a third on the way. She does plan to go back to work after her leave. Her MIL was funny; with my uncle not there, she wanted to hear any funny stories we could tell about him. Mom had a great one from his childhood. My uncle has an unusual/uncommon first name, and he was about 8 when the family moved to the house I'd know as my grandparents' house. He told the kids in the neighborhood his name was Tom. Grandma would answer the door and when the kids would ask, is Tom home? Grandma would go, there's no Tom here; you must be thinking of the previous family. Then my uncle would appear in the background and the kids would point and go, there he is! Or, when mom would answer the door, she'd go, "His name is *uncle* and he's not home!" and then slam the door. She was in high school by then and acted like it. I shared how when M was a baby, she didn't have hair for a while, and my uncle had said he liked her that way and hoped she wouldn't grow hair. (M is perfectly happy she did not stay bald.)
During gifts, toward the end, M's son kept saying to people that he had a surprise to show them. They'd have to go to another room to see it. Since I was taking pictures, I didn't go, but I found out that he'd taken some of the metal streamers and tied up MK's mom in the living room! Holy cow. It was determined that it kept him busy and out of everyone's hair, so she didn't mind. ...And then he asked to tie *me* up in the living room. I had to help him untangle the streamers first. This...this seems backwards for some reason, but he's still 4 and doesn't have the dexterity yet. His father came into the room at one point and M's son was like, oh, I'm just kidding, I like to kid around! (That's not how he phrased it but I can't think of the word--similar to tease, maybe.) I did say to his dad, you know, if he's still tying women up in 15-20 years, I'd be concerned. So then his dad leaves, and M's son goes, yeah, I wasn't kidding, I'm tying you up. And he did. But again, he's not quite 5. He hasn't perfected this skill, though I will say he was getting a bit tight with the ankle ties, and then he also started to tie them into my shoelaces. Uh, no. But he took them off and it was okay. Still...hmm.
(Dateline, I'll be expecting your call.)
It was around then that the party was winding down. Wait a sec, I didn't even have cake yet! I did get a picture of it, at least, but there was already a piece missing; my uncle had taken it back home for my aunt. And by the time I was untied, all the cake was gone. It wasn't very big, so that actually was fine. I had a cupcake instead. My aunt doesn't want anyone to go hungry and had ordered way too much food, so by this time J2, MK, and MK's mom were busy putting together plates of food for people to take home. Grandma got one and we took three, plus a random piece of leftover cake (a slice not taken) for my dad. He'd requested cake. :) Grandma wanted coffee, and mom said she'd have some too, so MK made a pot; this was the point where she discovered her carafe was a 14-cup, not a 12-cup. Oh, that's amusing. However, it was very TV show-like, as it turned out grandma only had a sip or two before mom confiscated her cup. Grandma gestures while she talks, and uses the hand holding the hot beverage to do so, and it was driving mom nuts. Mom put it on the table in front of her, but on today's phone call grandma was like, I didn't know where it disappeared to! Oh well. My aunt had bought "mums for the mums," meaning the grandmothers, so M's mother- and grandmother-in-law were given plants when they left. When mom and I were about to leave, MK said, wait! This is for you! This is for the grandmas! And handed mom one of the plants. My grandma was in the bathroom at the time and I had to ask, wait, was this really for my mom, or is it for grandma? Because we're not taking her home. ...Poor MK; she felt really bad about that. She was like, I just gave you a gift and now I have to take it back! My mom completely understood and was fine. Plus, if grandma didn't want them, mom would take them, but grandma was happy to get the pot of flowers.
All in all, we had a really nice time, and it was great to spend time with the family. This was the first party that was almost pre-pandemic-like; not a single person wore a mask. Even me. I had one in my purse, though, and I wasn't sure if I'd wear it in the house or not, but I didn't. We heard from grandma today that she got home just fine, and she's like, *uncle* is such a good driver! He hasn't lost his driving skills! I don't feel anxious when I ride with him! Uh...not sure how to take that... I mean, grandma was basically falling asleep in the car on the way up there, so I don't think she was anxious with me. And I don't know why she would think my uncle would lose his driving skills because he works from home now. He still drives. He still goes places. He just takes the tollway; that's really the only difference between us. But she had a good time, and that's what makes us happy. M insisted on getting a picture of the four of us, her, me, mom, and grandma, and she sent that to her dad who in turn sent it to mom, who shared it with me. We probably should've gotten her daughter in there, but oh well. The daughter-to-be is in the picture.
Finally, speaking of pictures. I wanted to make a pit stop before we left, but someone with a tiny voice was in the powder room off the kitchen. We thought it was M's son, but a few minutes later someone said goodbye to him in the other room. Wait a sec, if he's over there, who's in the potty? ...*Daughter*? Are you in there? Yes! came the little voice. She finished right after and I got to do my business, and as I washed my hands I looked at the pictures on the wall. Oh, gosh, they're funny--cats and birds dressed like fancy humans. Mom reminded me that MK works for a vet. Oh, that's great. We took our leave shortly after, and discovered our route home was pretty straightforward; get back to 62, then take that to Randall. The hardest part was turning onto the street to get back to 62, as it's very hilly and cars kept coming at inopportune intervals. Oh, and while sitting outside, I kept hearing music. I asked if there was a high school nearby and J2 said he thought it was mariachi music as there are a lot of Hispanic families in the neighborhood. I thought to look it up and Dundee-Crown HS is not that far away. I'm pretty sure I was hearing marching band practice.
Edit 9-13-22: Part 2, now with more candy
...Guess what it was. Yes, it was, in fact, the turn lane to get onto 355, but since mother insisted, I'd gone there instead of to the right, and then mom was insistent that I could just make my way over into the other lane. Mind you, at this point there is a construction gap two lanes wide. She went, look, those people are going across the lanes! Mom, that's because they're from westbound North Avenue and they're turning onto southbound 355. (The "you idiot" was silent.) There was no safe way for me to get into the straight lanes. I was forced to turn. Mind you, 355 is still a tollway at that point; I do not have an I-Pass. So, yeah, I'm a scofflaw.
It doesn't take much for my mother and me to have words. I think we'd already had some contentiousness prior to that, but there were choice words said around that time, and of course I now had to figure out how to get to grandma's from there. The first exit--close enough that I never had to leave the lane for the entrance ramp--was to Army Trail Road. I got off there and momentarily went, now what? I don't know where to go offhand from that point. At least the next light was Route 53, so I went, screw it, I'm driving back down to North Avenue, and the rest of the way was fine. Grandma had called a little earlier and I'd said we'd be there between 2:15-2:30, which was exactly right, even with the detour. We went up to her place and set up her new toaster and coffee pot, and we all had bathroom breaks, and then we set about the second leg of the trip.
Thankfully, getting to Algonquin was FAR easier and less stressful. I'd come up with the most straightforward route I could: Irving to York to Algonquin Road, IL 62. Algonquin Road isn't a very main street east of that point, and I didn't want to have to wend my way around the airport to find it. Irving is the main road south of O'Hare, and I'd ridden on it countless times in my youth visiting my aunt and uncle's house. It's surreal to realize a place I'd spent so much time in my childhood is now asphalt and concrete, surrounded by a fence, with piles of dirt nearby. But Irving moves pretty quickly in that area, and York is industrial so it wasn't terribly busy on a Saturday. I'd been joking that it was 30 miles along Algonquin to get to J2's house. Mom took that as gospel. Well, not quite, but it was just over a half-hour on 62 to get up there. I was impressed by how pleasant of a ride it was--it's not overrun by strip malls the way Golf Road/58 and Higgins/72 are, and there are forest preserves and other green spaces, and we had a beautiful day, so it was really nice. Mom also thinks that it was an off-time, so that people weren't really out shopping, and it was too late for lunch and too early for dinner, and that's why traffic wasn't too bad. Whatever the reason, it worked in our favor. By the time we arrived, I'd driven about 75 miles all told.
(We're also really pleased the shower wasn't today, because it has rained and downright poured for much of the day. Today was the Bears' season opener at Soldier Field and they had to squeegee the new Bermuda grass turf before the game started. Didn't matter; the field was so flooded by the end of it that the players were playing Slip 'n' Slide to celebrate the win.)
I found the house pretty easily and got greeted by M's son, who is almost 5. The baby is due on his birthday. M doesn't think she'll go that far, because at her doctor's appointment on Friday, she was told the doctor could feel the baby's head and she's already dilated to 1.5 cm. Sitting is uncomfortable. I get that--having spent 3 hours in a car to that point, with an already-sore hip thanks to work, I needed to get out and move. I'd pulled into the driveway so grandma wouldn't have too far to walk, and I got to stay there; deluxe. Pretty much everyone was already there by that point, though a non-staying guest came by to drop off a gift. A number of people had already sent stuff to M's house and she'd brought along three totes of items to show off when the newer gifts were opened.
Who all was there:
M, her husband, her daughter, her son
J2 and his wife, MK
J1
M's husband's sister (also a J!), mom, and grandma
The husband's cousin and her daughter, maybe?
MK's mom, helping with the party
And me, mom, and grandma
I'm trying to think if anyone else was there. My uncle made a couple of appearances but didn't stay. My aunt had stayed home, between her wrist and her cold, and my uncle was there during the Zoom portion of the shower, but he came and dropped off the food, went back home, then returned toward the end to come pick up grandma. I'm very thankful I didn't have to do the reverse drive to get her home, though if needed, we could've made it happen.
J2 and MK's house is cute. Mom said it reminded her of our old house, though it's a little bigger and has an attached garage. They are very millennial; I say that because the living room is full of plants. And a cat stand. J1 said the cat is not social and would be spending the party upstairs, away from everyone; makes sense. I'd gone back to the wedding post to see how I'd referred to everyone and the cat had gotten mentioned at the ceremony, so this was really MK's cat. The house was pretty well decorated, with metallic streamers covering the doorways and balloons taped to the ceiling. There were even fun toothpicks in some of the food. M's daughter was passing around a tray of little cucumber sandwiches and I asked if she'd helped to make them; she went, I put the toothpicks in. Hey, at 9, they still put her to work.
The party started at 4, and miraculously we made it a little beforehand. Grandma immediately sat on the couch in the living room, directly under a trailing plant; a leaf kept brushing her head. We were talking to J1 for a bit and it turns out he has a house as well; he lives in the next town over, not far from his sister. The kids did good. And I'm sure my aunt and uncle like having everyone in close proximity.
The Zoom portion of the party started about 4:30. J2 was the moderator of sorts and was up in one of the bedrooms, with a pink party background. This was for one of the baby games--Baby Jeopardy. J2 and MK came up with six categories, with five questions per category, just like the first round of Jeopardy. They did not require for us to answer in the form of a question, thankfully; they decided that would be too hard to enforce. J1 was tasked with keeping score. If somebody answered incorrectly, he did not subtract points, at least. I had to laugh because M's mother-in-law and grandmother-in-law had positioned themselves at the kitchen table just outside the view of the camera on purpose; however, I wanted to play, so I sat on a chair behind the couch. MK was our clicker-person; there was a button to select on screen to raise one's hand to be chosen to speak/answer. Having never Zoomed before, this is probably stuff most people know, but it was novel to me.
The game was pretty fun, and the party collectively was the "living room"; the others who joined us remotely were seen by their names. It was honestly nice to see everyone's names written out, truthfully. I've encountered some of them before. I have to say, most of them participated in the game, which was pretty awesome, but the advantage definitely went to the people at the party. One of the categories was "All About Mom," meaning trivia about M, and I got the $400 answer: This was M's birth weight. My hand shot up immediately--no one else dared to answer; I imagine my aunt and uncle were waiting to see if anyone else could do it--and I was told I could just give the poundage. Nope, I know it exactly: 8 lbs, 13 oz. Everyone was like, wow, how did you know that??? She was my first cousin on this side of the family! I was very excited that she was born. I think I got three or four correct, including a scandalous one in the "Kids Book Quotes" category. I don't recall the quote, but I knew it was from Everyone Poops. Long afterward, MK and her mom were like, this is a great book for little kids! But the subject matter must've been taboo for my cousins and it was not a book they'd read when they were little. I told them how I'd worked in a bookstore and my first manager made me sit down and read it, not even kidding. They found that really amusing. However, I was not the winner; I came in second. M's sister-in-law beat me by $100, I think it was, in part because she's a nurse in pediatrics and knew some of the weirder answers in the "Baby Facts" category, including, what body part are babies born without? Turns out it's kneecaps, and they don't develop until about the age of 2. And the first sense a baby develops took four tries to get a correct guess--it's touch, hence why the baby is placed on mom immediately after birth if at all possible. The sister-in-law won lip balms and fancy soaps. I will say, mom got one right, grandma got one or two right; even M's son got an answer right, probably in the "Baby Animals" category. M's daughter freaked all of us out when she took a stab at the $500 question in the "All About Mom" category--what is M's favorite adult beverage? Uh...you're 9...why do you feel you know this answer? I think it's because at grandma's house--and that's probably her dad's mom, not my aunt--there was strawberry margarita mix in the fridge, not hiding behind anything, and her mom asked to have some. Well, it's actually vodka cranberry. My mom was stunned to discover her niece and nephews drink. I mean, J2 and MK had a full bar cart in their dining room (the other sign they're millennials--this is the stuff I see on Apartment Therapy).
Without her brother there, my mom got to see the kids just as themselves. He's...kind of intense. He wants to be in control at all times, and he's an anxious person, so I'm sure the events of the past few weeks and even yesterday itself were ratcheting things up for him. However, we all managed to have a good time. Mom was like, I've never seen them without at least one of their parents present! It was pretty awesome, to be honest. I missed having my aunt there, and I'm sure it killed her to only be able to watch it on a screen, but it went really well. J2 and MK were wonderful hosts and her mom was a big help, too.
Right after the game, it was time to open presents. We didn't get very far before my camera battery died, and when I went to change it out, the little door flap would not stay closed. The plastic piece that held it in place broke off. I was still able to use the camera, thankfully, but that was a bummer and possibly a sign that my camera's days are becoming numbered. That's sad for me. Anyway, due to where M was sitting--in the corner of the sectional couch, so that the Zoom people could see what she was opening--I ended up sliding under the TV on the floor to take whatever pictures I could. (The camera was set up on top of the TV. Have I mentioned that J2 works in IT?) I was also pretty close to the gifts, so while M's daughter was grabbing some of them...and saving all the tissue paper...I would grab some and hand them over as well. Their tradition is not to name the people who give the gifts, so that nobody is embarrassed if their gift is somewhat plain or not as expensive as other gifts, so for the most part we don't know who gave what. However, a couple gifts were clear--the one that came from grandma was in Babies R Us paper, and that store doesn't exist anymore; mom just had the paper available. MK was like, I've totally done that, too! And MK knitted a beautiful blanket and M had to tell everyone about it, with the caveat that normally she wouldn't say, but she just had to acknowledge the person who put in all the hard work. (MK was like, I watch a lot of TV. I just sat there and put it together while doing that.) The totes were saved for last, where M showed the gifts that had gone to the house, and she was like, you know I hate surprises, so I opened them as they came, heh. It was around this time that her dad showed up and placed two bags on the floor near me. I didn't know what they were, and M was starting to say thank you to everyone who attended, both in-person and online; they ended up being gifts for the kids. Whoops. She finished her speech and I think maybe the kids opened their gifts while the Zoom meeting was still going, but after that it ended. At that point the kids got gifts from their parents, including Lego sets, which M's daughter absolutely badgered her parents to open up because she was bored, but both M and her husband were firm with their "no"s. My uncle had shown up to drop off the food and didn't stay long, though he was there long enough to reconnect my aunt to the party by herself, without all the other Zoom people, so that she could say hello to us. I was helping clean up a bit and she saw me pop up from the corner of the screen. She looked pretty good, actually, but we know she likes to hide any pain or discomfort. Earlier, just as the Zoom was getting started, I'd said to M, the last two times you had a kid, your mom has had surgery! She was like, I know! No more kids!
The two she has currently are amusing, though. They both had to show me the Legos, first the daughter (who called me "Aunt Jennifer"), pointing out the various things in the Lego Friends treehouse she'd just gotten, along with a second Lego Friends set that was smaller, and then the Lego City set her brother got. I'd like to know what city that is, because there was a palm tree, two monkeys, a banana, and a lobster in that set. Miami? Then M's son had to show me the set, and this part was hysterical to me, because for the first couple years of his life, this child did not talk. Now, this child did not stop talking, and he went on and on about the sets, chattering away--and proving to me what boys find amusing at all ages: His Lego set included poop. I suppose it's for the monkeys to fling at each other? No, but seriously, pictured on the box was a small brown swirl of something. Lego makes its own poop. It could be combined with the daughter's set, as her treehouse has a bathroom complete with toilet. Scandalous. But, again, everyone poops.
Next came dinner--sausages, salad, mostaccioli, and chicken. (I'm really disturbed that spell check does not recognize "mostaccioli" as a word.) I had the former two and joined M's husband at a small table in the backyard. There's a small deck but a good-sized patio, and enough seats that a good portion of the party sat outside. Mom asked me if I thought the AC was on in the house; I wasn't warm--despite wearing jeans--but then again I spent part of the party sitting on the floor. Heat rises. I was perfectly comfortable. We were talking about work, as M had taken a job at her husband's company at the beginning of the year, not knowing she was already pregnant, so that became a joke with everybody. When people see her, they ask, are you pregnant? She answers, no, just fat. (And believe me, girl has never been fat.) He works in manufacturing; the company makes cans, like for food and beverages. It's not too different from when I was a receptionist for the plastic manufacturing company, only he works with aluminum and is a machinist. She's working in accounts payable. Mom asked her if she liked it and M does because it's quiet, heh. Mom had done something similar when she worked for Aunt Jo back in the day (ironically, for a company with "aluminum" in its name), but mom was in high school and found it boring at the time. It's a little different for a 30-something woman with two kids and a third on the way. She does plan to go back to work after her leave. Her MIL was funny; with my uncle not there, she wanted to hear any funny stories we could tell about him. Mom had a great one from his childhood. My uncle has an unusual/uncommon first name, and he was about 8 when the family moved to the house I'd know as my grandparents' house. He told the kids in the neighborhood his name was Tom. Grandma would answer the door and when the kids would ask, is Tom home? Grandma would go, there's no Tom here; you must be thinking of the previous family. Then my uncle would appear in the background and the kids would point and go, there he is! Or, when mom would answer the door, she'd go, "His name is *uncle* and he's not home!" and then slam the door. She was in high school by then and acted like it. I shared how when M was a baby, she didn't have hair for a while, and my uncle had said he liked her that way and hoped she wouldn't grow hair. (M is perfectly happy she did not stay bald.)
During gifts, toward the end, M's son kept saying to people that he had a surprise to show them. They'd have to go to another room to see it. Since I was taking pictures, I didn't go, but I found out that he'd taken some of the metal streamers and tied up MK's mom in the living room! Holy cow. It was determined that it kept him busy and out of everyone's hair, so she didn't mind. ...And then he asked to tie *me* up in the living room. I had to help him untangle the streamers first. This...this seems backwards for some reason, but he's still 4 and doesn't have the dexterity yet. His father came into the room at one point and M's son was like, oh, I'm just kidding, I like to kid around! (That's not how he phrased it but I can't think of the word--similar to tease, maybe.) I did say to his dad, you know, if he's still tying women up in 15-20 years, I'd be concerned. So then his dad leaves, and M's son goes, yeah, I wasn't kidding, I'm tying you up. And he did. But again, he's not quite 5. He hasn't perfected this skill, though I will say he was getting a bit tight with the ankle ties, and then he also started to tie them into my shoelaces. Uh, no. But he took them off and it was okay. Still...hmm.
(Dateline, I'll be expecting your call.)
It was around then that the party was winding down. Wait a sec, I didn't even have cake yet! I did get a picture of it, at least, but there was already a piece missing; my uncle had taken it back home for my aunt. And by the time I was untied, all the cake was gone. It wasn't very big, so that actually was fine. I had a cupcake instead. My aunt doesn't want anyone to go hungry and had ordered way too much food, so by this time J2, MK, and MK's mom were busy putting together plates of food for people to take home. Grandma got one and we took three, plus a random piece of leftover cake (a slice not taken) for my dad. He'd requested cake. :) Grandma wanted coffee, and mom said she'd have some too, so MK made a pot; this was the point where she discovered her carafe was a 14-cup, not a 12-cup. Oh, that's amusing. However, it was very TV show-like, as it turned out grandma only had a sip or two before mom confiscated her cup. Grandma gestures while she talks, and uses the hand holding the hot beverage to do so, and it was driving mom nuts. Mom put it on the table in front of her, but on today's phone call grandma was like, I didn't know where it disappeared to! Oh well. My aunt had bought "mums for the mums," meaning the grandmothers, so M's mother- and grandmother-in-law were given plants when they left. When mom and I were about to leave, MK said, wait! This is for you! This is for the grandmas! And handed mom one of the plants. My grandma was in the bathroom at the time and I had to ask, wait, was this really for my mom, or is it for grandma? Because we're not taking her home. ...Poor MK; she felt really bad about that. She was like, I just gave you a gift and now I have to take it back! My mom completely understood and was fine. Plus, if grandma didn't want them, mom would take them, but grandma was happy to get the pot of flowers.
All in all, we had a really nice time, and it was great to spend time with the family. This was the first party that was almost pre-pandemic-like; not a single person wore a mask. Even me. I had one in my purse, though, and I wasn't sure if I'd wear it in the house or not, but I didn't. We heard from grandma today that she got home just fine, and she's like, *uncle* is such a good driver! He hasn't lost his driving skills! I don't feel anxious when I ride with him! Uh...not sure how to take that... I mean, grandma was basically falling asleep in the car on the way up there, so I don't think she was anxious with me. And I don't know why she would think my uncle would lose his driving skills because he works from home now. He still drives. He still goes places. He just takes the tollway; that's really the only difference between us. But she had a good time, and that's what makes us happy. M insisted on getting a picture of the four of us, her, me, mom, and grandma, and she sent that to her dad who in turn sent it to mom, who shared it with me. We probably should've gotten her daughter in there, but oh well. The daughter-to-be is in the picture.
Finally, speaking of pictures. I wanted to make a pit stop before we left, but someone with a tiny voice was in the powder room off the kitchen. We thought it was M's son, but a few minutes later someone said goodbye to him in the other room. Wait a sec, if he's over there, who's in the potty? ...*Daughter*? Are you in there? Yes! came the little voice. She finished right after and I got to do my business, and as I washed my hands I looked at the pictures on the wall. Oh, gosh, they're funny--cats and birds dressed like fancy humans. Mom reminded me that MK works for a vet. Oh, that's great. We took our leave shortly after, and discovered our route home was pretty straightforward; get back to 62, then take that to Randall. The hardest part was turning onto the street to get back to 62, as it's very hilly and cars kept coming at inopportune intervals. Oh, and while sitting outside, I kept hearing music. I asked if there was a high school nearby and J2 said he thought it was mariachi music as there are a lot of Hispanic families in the neighborhood. I thought to look it up and Dundee-Crown HS is not that far away. I'm pretty sure I was hearing marching band practice.
Edit 9-13-22: Part 2, now with more candy