the suck up

yes, this is about my bro. he and his fam went to my mom's today to bask in the glow of the family : ) he did say her house was clean so i guess that's a plus. i asked him what kind of grease they had for dinner. the running joke is that our mom always makes something grease-filled when we're all there for dinner. i understand making something with hamburger--it's cheaper and easier to feed a lot of people that way--i don't have a problem with that part of it. my issues are twofold though. first, she doesn't drain the hamburger after she browns it, not only that but she just dumps it, grease and all, into whatever she's making. second, she needs some new recipes. we either have tacos, spaghetti or taco slop (my sil's term) frito pie (my term)--basically it's a hamburger/cheese mixture that you dump on fritos. i think i'll look for a ground beef cookbook for her for christmas. would that be mean?

so today i got out of the office around 1:30 and came home and cleaned until the hubs came home at 4. we had a little grown up time then went and picked the kids up from daycare and went to the grocery store.

he's now baking mini-cakes to take to mom's thanksgiving extravaganza tomorrow. he's also making some pudding pie things and cornbread stuffing. i'm making a pineapple casserole and bringing this broccoli salad stuff i got at costco.

here is the run down of who'll be there tomorrow. us and my bro's family, my sister and her two kids, the folks and then mom's sibs.

she's the oldest. then comes S and her husband R. i like them. they're the ones the kids stayed with for a week this summer when daycare was closed unexpectedly. S & R used to be harley people before they had my cousin (he's in college and didn't come down). she's a teacher and he's a.....something to do w/ surveying.

next comes C and her husband R. they have always been my faves since i was very young. C is 10 years older than me and was always the aunt i wish was my mom. she is so very crafty and can paint circles around anyone. she also tends to go through bouts of depression. she had been a hair dresser all of her life until my uncle lost his job in the plastics factory and she had to find something else. they both went back to school and now she works in a medical office and he works in a plant that makes contact lenses. they've had a rough life but they are really very good people. however, once she got a 9-5 job it put the brakes on her involvement w/ my kids. there for a while the girl (her favorite grand niece cos i'm her favorite niece) would spend a week during the summer w/ her. not possible now. their daughter C (her twin bro and his wife couldn't come) came w/out her husband. she's pregnant. this is mean, but these are two people who didn't need to breed. hell, they shouldn't even have gotten married.

lastly we have MB, the aunt closest to my age, i think she's about 46 or so. she took me to my first concert when i was in third grade--peter frampton. she's pretty much the holier than though stuck up one of the bunch, though she has her nice moments. her hubs and son stayed home for work but her daughter came. i think she's about 13 or so. my girl is excited to be around her but i'm afraid she'll be sadly disappointed. 13 year olds rarely want to hang with 10 year olds.

ok, i guess that's the lineup. i'm sure i'll have more to say tomorrow : )