this is for inkling

I wasn't going to post again tonight. Really. Then I just could not deny the request of my friend who reminds me so much of a childhood heroine (Anne Shirley).

Oh, shoot, I just realized I was going to post about family, and that has the potential of making my red-headed friend miss hers even more. That certainly is not my intention. I just thought I would post about my day.

Actually, my blissful Friday started last night. Thursday nights are often our Friday nights, at least twice a month when hubby is off work. We went out for fajitas, where baby bear charmed our waitresses. We went to the restaurant where a "stranger" (i.e. non-family member or close friend) had first recognized my pregnancy without me saying something to clue them in when I was expecting Baby Bear. (Morning sickness made me lose weight before I started gaining.) Then we went to pick up some groceries for the weekend, specifically chicken for tonight's dinner.

My Mom and Brother-in-law have birthdays in January, and it's often difficult for us to get everyone together. It turned out that older brother and his wife didn't make it. Well, we had postponed their joint family birthday dinner once, and we figured if we didn't have it 2 months after the fact, it was not going to happen. My Mom is a wonderful hostess. She goes above and beyond, cooks too much food, and stuffs us silly when we meet at her house. She makes the best oven-roast beef and mashed potatoes, the best stuffing (as opposed to cornbread dressing that never soaks up the juices of the turkey), and does it with all her heart and strength. Unfortunately, this also means that she works too hard and doesn't relax enough when she has us over. So the birthday meal was at my house. I suppose one of these times we could go out for dinner together as a family. But with 2 toddlers between my sis and me, that could be challenging. You never know what mood evening will bring to toddlers. Instead of stressing one person (me) out over food, I chose to delegate. (And they volunteered to help.)
We had a birthday potluck, of sorts. My Dad made one of his salads. His salads are not your boring mixtures of iceberg, pre-shredded carrot, tomatoes, and maybe cheese on top. No, his dad was Italian, and their side of the family has a "family" salad. (Though I must mention that all of the siblings who make it, do it differently. Go figure.) Anyway, the salad my Dad brought tonight was complete with real lettuce and spinach, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, lemon juice, oil, seasonings, and probably feta cheese, though for some reason I can't remember if that was in it this time. It's very soggy, but very good... No additional dressing needed. Sis brought green bean casserole and the cake she baked, I supplied italian crock-pot chicken, rice, Breyer's French vanilla ice cream and drinks.

The toddlers played near eachother, and try as we might, teaching them to share is like teaching a true southerner to pronounce "pen" correctly. (hint: the short "e" sound is not the same is the short "i" sound). They really did pretty well, and no major fights broke out over any particular toy or sippy cup. Baby Bear kept trying to kiss her cousin, which resulted in her kissing her cousin's rear a couple of times. Oh, well.

Every time we have company, whether it be family or friends, I realize something about myself. I am a lot like my Mom. If left unchecked, I might have the urge to "get things done" and not sit down with company until the table is cleared. (She is getting better at this, and we do try to help out when we're at her house.) Tonight, I rinsed off the plates because I didn't want the food to eat away at the platinum trim on my china. (I think this is about the 7th time I've actually used any of my china since our wedding. Maybe. I don't have a china cabinet, so it's a small ordeal to take out of storage.) My family helped clear the table, too, and we sat and watched the girls play and chatted for a few minutes. Anyway, whenever I have company, I have to make myself relax, and I have no idea why. I mean, my family has known me... my whole life. (Well, my side.) They know my weaknesses, my strengths, my oddities (like the fact that all my white socks seem to be worn through and we have not replaced the not-darned things yet). Hubby helped me get the house ready enough, Baby Bear was glad to try to help him "bah-oom" the carpet, and we even got a 3 hour nap in. There was no reason for me to not relax... oh, well. Tonight I found myself with not a whole lot to say, just glad to have them there, to have my daughter and her younger cousin be able to spend time with one another (and the rest of us). I wonder when they will start truly remembering family gatherings.

I'll let my sister share the cake story on her blog, if she feels so led. It was yummy, that's what counts. Dad showed us some of the notecards he's made with prints of his paintings and photos, and now I'm pondering how to help him market his "little" retirement hobby.

Anyway, as I've said before... I feel blessed to have my family. Both sides. There may be a day when the distance is greater than 30 minutes to a few hours by car, so even if it takes 2 months to find a date that works, we will get together. And though today felt like a Saturday, it was really a Friday and two days of the weekend remain. It was a great way to start our weekend.