I put Ranch dressing on my Ranch dressing

So last night The Suze and Robin took The Meemz to Broadway Diner aka Boston Diner for dinner.  We all know that The Meemz loves Ranch dressing and I do mean LOVES.  I'm pretty sure she'd eat it with a spoon if you let her.  Heck, she might do that behind our backs- you never know.  As a testament to that love, here is what TM ordered:

Appetizer: Home Fries w/ Cheese and a side of Ranch

Entree: Lasagna.  She told the waiter that she did not want the marinara sauce on that, but she did want a side of Ranch.  What?  How the heck do you make lasagna without marinara   I mean, I know it can be done with bechamel or some other sauce but this is a diner folks so we know they're not getting fancy with the lasagna.  Robin pointed out to her that you can't really make lasagna without the marinara and she said that she knew what she wanted to do so just bring her the lasagna and the Ranch.  Ooook...Not sure I want to know what kind of taste sensation she created with that.  Also, a salad with (you guessed it!) Ranch.

Dessert: Strawberry Cheesecake (not sure if there was a side of Ranch here but I sincerely hope not)

Just for your general information and possible amusement, here is a list of other things that are better with Ranch, according to The Meemz:

Hot Dogs (I know, right?)
Baked Potatoes
Pizza
Fried Cheese
Ice Cream
French Fries
Ranch Dressing
Lasagna (?)
Salad (duh)
Burgers
PB&J Sammiches
Chicken Wings
Bloomin' Onion
Onion Rings
Ranch Dressing
Frosted Flakes
Ribs
Hushpuppies
Chicken Fingers
Steak

Ok, so some of the things on that list might not be true but you get the idea.  The Meemz is Ranch dressing's biggest fan.  If there was a Ranch dressing fan club, she'd be president and vice president.  Come to think of it, I should see if there is a Ranch fan club for her to join...

Meemz Update

I know it's been quite a while since I posted but as most of you know, The Meemz has been in the hospital for quite some time.


She is back home now and seems to be doing really well. She is still getting her strength back but she is definitely much improved.  She went to see "Always, Patsy Cline" on Sunday with Robin, The Suze and me. We had a nice time and she really enjoyed the show.  She kept a running commentary to The Suze about who sang each song they played before the show and during intermission.  She's so knowledgeable about old school country music.


Nothing too exciting has happened since she went home, but I'm sure that will change once The Meemz has her strength back.  


In the meantime, I will give you this fun little memory.


A couple of years ago, The Suze thought it was a good idea for The Meemz to say the blessing at Thanksgiving dinner.  Wrong.  I think the whole speech blessing took up about 15 minutes and only centered on Thanksgiving or anything even remotely related to it for oh....3 minutes.  If I remember correctly the Pledge of Allegiance found its way in there....

A Picture is Worth 2000 Words

So, we've all heard the phrase "a picture is worth a thousand words" but it takes on a whole new meaning when The Meemz gives you a picture.  When she gives you a picture, it is worth at least TWO thousand words.  You have the picture itself which is worth 1,000 but what pushes it up to the 2,000 mark is the amount information that The Meemz includes on the back of the pictures.

Today Erin and Ken got a card from The Meemz and there were 4 pictures inside.  Each picture had all sorts of information included on the back, some that relates to the content of the picture and some that doesn't, at all. 

This is what the note in the card said:

April 26, 2012 -
Dear Folks,
Hope This finds all of you feeling. I especially hope "Memie's Sweet and handsome "Baby Boy", is feeling fine and candy, and keeping everyone on their toes about everything. (yes, candy, not dandy) [new paragraph] I'm sending you all some pictures for your family album.  I'm still working on My Albums.  I have about five More to go.  I have had fun looking at all the pictures, but sometimes, I have to stop and do something else for change.
Maia, I hope you are still having a lot of fun in school - Are you playing soccer right now, Do you think you can send me one of your school pictures from this year?
(this is inserted with a carat above)
I am so proud of you "For Being such a sweet and great "Big Sister to Dekle".We are still having cool Mornings and cool Nights here.  So most of us here are still wearing [underlined] "Jeans' [end underlining] and "Long Sleeves."  Marnie and I went out on Monday, and had to wear a [resume underlining] "Thick and Warm," sweater [end underlining] because it was so windy and down-right cold.  I have always dis-liked "Windy Weather The Least of all. (least is inserted with a carat above) [new paragraph] Wish all of you could be here Sunday to Celebrate your Dad's Birthday.  He hasn't decided yet what kind of cake he wants.  I am so proud of him for losing all that Weight.  He really looks great, and he says it really feels good, too. [new paragraph] Marnie, took me back to the doctor, Tuesday (of this week) this time it was my stomach.  I have to go back in a month.  I'm feeling better now.  I did good the first four months of year, but fell apart in May.

Well, better [carat] (- Close For now -).  Take care and God Bless,
then, written above God Bless
- Memie-"

the inside flap of the envelope says
- P.S. -
Please give "my Love" To Joyce and Dan.  I think of them often, and pray for them - every day.  Give Maia, and Dekle - [underlined] "Big Hugs and [end underline] Kisses", from me.  I have suprises (yes, she spelled it that way) For them, When I see them in June.  Time for me to go to Lunch.
"Love and Hugs,"

"- Memie" -

then, on the left side where you put down the flap it says
"Give My Love to Casey.:
"

Picture #1:  Erin on Mr. Clippety-Clop in the living room of Moe & Suze's first house.

"-Christmas 1983-"
-"Susi's" and Moe's House-"
-"Locke Court-"
"Erin - e - Michele Skaff"

('1-L-92)
the L is cursive

"-Parents-"
"-Michael Moses Skaff-"
("-Moe-")
"-Grand Parents-"
"-Mitchel and Lucille
"-Lucy"-
"-and-" "-Skaff-"
"Richard Nelson Dekle"
"and"
"-Evonda B. Dekle"-

**Notice that The Suze did not make the list of parents.  I'm pretty sure she's Erin's mom....

Picture #2:  Erin in front of a tree in her flower girl dress at Jeff & Lenora's wedding

  

 "-Erin Michele Skaff-"
"-Picture made in Virginia-She was a Flower Girl-" in Lenora and Jeff's Wedding-"

Picture #3: The Meemz

Evonda Bielling Dekle
Became Dekle -11-06-1953
Birthday 02-02-1935-

Picture made at FHA Convention in Tallahassee Florida, at the Florida State University - - May - "1951" "My First Evening Dress Bought For me By J.L. and Eloise Summers "My Sister and Her First Husband and The Father of Jesse - "Her only Child."(all that was written in pencil and everything starting with "My First..." is underlined in blue pen) Then, squeezed in between the line that says By J.L. and Eloise Summers and the line that says "My Sister and Her First is "Color-Light Green", which is also written in blue pen then, underneath all that it says, in blue pen, -She Lost 2 Little Girls Babies, Both born pre-mature-Had -RH - Factor - Which - -

Picture #4: Papa's first truck & camper

(all of the following is underlined until I say otherwise)
"Our First Truck and First Camper-"
Bough In October - 1996 - at - Giant Recreation World - In Lake Park, "Georgia" -
(end underlining) then, on the same line:  "Picture made "In October (resume underlining) "1996"- "at "The Ponderosa, - Lake City, Fla"- then, (wedged above the word Ponderosa) it says: "Deke Rd."- (end underlining) Turn Left on Dekle "RD" - (resume underlining) off of Hwy "100-" (end underlining) "To Go To 21 - Miles "Lake Butler" - Take From Lake City -(symbol I can't decipher) Then From Lake Butler City To Lake (i think...) Billey
15 Miles - and From Starke - Starke Florida -Starke To Kingsley Lake -" 7 Miles - Lake Butler

Starke - Starkes or Starke - Gainesvilles 21 miles -

Eh...thanks?

A few weeks ago, we (Mr. Moe, The Suze, Robin, Lenora, Faith and myself) made the trip to St. Louis to see Dekle baptised.  The Meemz was unable to go with us (because she said she couldn't count on anyone to help her carry her O2 tank) but she did send goodie bags for Maia Ling and Dekle.  Oh the goodie bags...

In Maia's bag, we found the following:

• Several partial sheets of hole reinforcers ("Why does she keep sending me these?"- Maia Ling)
• Several sheets of note paper with the top left corner cut out
• A handful of unwrapped, neon-colored straws
• A small bag of Lay's
• A 'rose" made of 2 Hershey kisses (no idea how old this was)
• A plastic sleeve from what we think was a notepad
• 2 business cards from Dogwood with copious amounts of change taped to it
• A spiral notepad with all of the pages removed
• The cardboard backing from a notepad
• The "Monday's Child" poem (see below if you don't know what the F this is)
• There were also 2 bags of Cheetos in the bag, but they might have been eaten by The Suze and I....
• A Christmas card (her second one) that was written in February

Coolest kid on the planet.  Fa sho.

In Dekle's bag, we found this:

• A tube of toothpaste
• A mini bottle of baby powder
• A comb
• A 'rose" made of 2 Hershey kisses
• A business card from Dogwood with approximately $3 in change taped to it
• A travel sized bottle of baby shampoo
• A stuffed pink giraffe with hearts on it (girly?)
• A texture blanket that says "I love my daddy"
• Cuff links that belonged to Papa

Cutest Baby EVER

What baby doesn't need a tube of toothpaste?  And a comb of course for all the hair he has...   And every little girl loves used notepads and hole reinforcers...

Monday's Child-

Mondays child is fair of face,

Tuesdays child is full of grace,
Wednesdays child is full of woe,
Thursdays child has far to go,
Fridays child is loving and giving,
Saturdays child works hard for his living,
And the child that is born on the Sabbath day
Is bonny and blithe, and good and gay.

The Meemz loves this poem for some reason.  I've seen it several times in the past few years, each time written out by The Meemz.

Christmas in April

The date:  April 10, 2012
The place:  Casa de Erin and Tim(Ken) Timmons, St. Louis
The event:  Christmas

Yes, you read that correctly.  Christmas occurred in April this year for Erin and Ken, more specifically for Maia Ling.  On April 10th, ML received her 3rd Christmas card from The Meemz.  Who doesn't love a Christmas card?  This particular card was addressed to Erin, Ken, Mamie Ling and The Suze.  Not sure how The Suze fits in there, but she loves Christmas too so I'm sure she didn't mind.  Included with the card were some incorrectly labeled family photos (you know how the Meemz loves to write on pictures) and an incomplete note to Erin that was written on a post-it.  Oh Meemz...

Info-mercials are Highly Dangerous.

I've said it before and I'll say it again-  The Meemz TV viewing should be strictly monitored.  Here is yet another example why:

A couple weeks ago The Meemz told The Suze about a product she'd seen on TV that is meant to help short people keep their shirts pulled down. Now, let me just say (as a short person) that my height in no way affects my ability to keep my shirt pulled down.  That's entirely related to the fit.  Anywho- she tells TS about the product and wants her to order it but then can't find the number.  So, TS thinks that if she doesn't mention it again, TM will forget. 

Oh. No.  That is NOT what's going to happen.

What IS going to happen is that TM is going to continue to tell TS that she needs said product and that it is only $10.99 so she really needs TS to order it for her.  The Suze says to the The Meemz that she didn't know she had such difficulty keeping her shirts pulled down and The Meemz says, "Well, I don't like to complain about every little thing."  Really...................

So, I was curious about this miracle product so I did a little Google research today and here's what I found:

1. The product is called the "Trendy Top Tee"
2. It comes in both black and white
3. It is available for purchase on the As Seen On TV Website for the bargain price of $10.99 (+ $6.95 shipping & handling)
4. It will put a stop to your muffin top.
5. Prevents peekaboo panties
6. Makes the wearer look both chic and lean
7. The Trendy Top Tee is super comfy

I think we all need one.

See for yourself here

Just your typical family dinner..

On Saturday night Mr. Moe made pizza for The Meemz.  She LOVES pizza, almost as much as she loves fried cheese, ranch dressing and the FBI.  It was an entertaining evening to say the least. 

The night started off pretty well, we were Skyping with Erin, Dekle and Maia Ling when the Meemz got there.  I was surprised at how quickly she adapted to Skype. She does yell when she's talking to them, but that's ok.  After we finished our Skype date with The Timmons family, it was time for The Meemz and Robin to open belated birthday presents.  You have to be very patient with The Meemz when she is opening presents because she gets distracted very easily and it is necessary to call her back to the task at hand which is not telling a story about something that never happened.

One of the cards that Robin got had a joke about spray tan booths on it.  This prompted TM to start talking about how no one in our family has ever been to a spray tan booth except for me.  What?  When did I ever go to a spray tan booth?  The answer is NEVER.  I have never in my life had a spray tan.  A point that I was forced to argue with TM.  I know it's a ludicrous thing to argue about but I just couldn't help it.  Of course, she would not listen to me and instead said that I have a very short memory just like my mother.  That's her explanation when you dare to disagree with her version of events or history- you MUST have a short memory because she remembers everything perfectly, down to the very last detail in fact. 

After that little moment and the present opening, TM started passing out the "gifts" that she had brought with her.  Here is a picture of mine:

(I don't know why this won't rotate properly!)

(Cough drops, Life Savers, Mints, Scope, Lotion & Condition and a bar of soap that smelled like evil)

The Meemz also had a copy of the People commemorative issues on Whitney Houston for me to read but she also insisted that I give it back.  I don't read People magazine or anything that contains celebrity crap really.  I declined to read the issue so she is just going to send it to Erin so she can read it.  I know Erin can hardly wait!! 

I also got an envelope full of pictures. all with a great deal of information on the back, of course.  Most of the pictures are of family but there are a few that I'm not sure why I got.  Like the picture of the little girl that Memie used to baby sit when I was in elementary school.  Not sure what to do with that.....  The Meemz had also raided the fruit bowl at Dogwood which I don't think she's supposed to do...  She offered me some oranges but I had to decline for obvious reasons.  Mr. Moe took the fruit off her hands.  Apparently she also tried to give him a book but my mom slipped it back into The Meemz' bag when she wasn't looking.  We think that book actually belongs to the Dogwood library.  TM is a bit of a klepto sometimes.  Ha!!

My favorite part of the evening was the completely fictitious story she told me about myself.  It went a little something like this:

TM:  Now Lindsay your birthday is in June, right?

L:  Yes ma'am.

TM:  It's on the first day of summer, right?

L:  Sure.  (Really my birthday is on the second day of summer but I was not about to argue that point when I'd already argued about the spray tan)

TM:  When you were a little girl, you looked so cute in your little sailor dress and hat and you would come to me and say, "Memie, is my birthday really on the first day of summer?" And I would say, "Yes it really is." And then your Papa would say to you, "Your birthday is not on the first day of summer, mine is." And then you would get all upset and some to me and say, "Memie, Papa said that his birthday is on the first day of summer!" 

L:  *Blank stare and deafening blinking*

TM:  When you came to me and said that I would tell you to tell your Papa that his birthday is not on the first day of summer, it is on September 10th and to quit telling stories.  Then, you would go tell him what I said and he would say, "Your Memie thinks that she knows everything."

L:  I'm sure he did..... 

Oh that Meemz...

As I told you all in my last blog, The Meemz is feeling much better. Not only is she feeling better, she is going mach 2 with her hair on fire. (That is a direct quote from Mr. Moe) 

Last week The Suze was in St. Louis taking care of Erin and Dekle so Robin was left to tend to TM on her own.  Her week was far from dull.  First, she called Robin to read her a list of dog names that she had some up with.  She insisted that Robin tell her what her favorite name would be if, just IF, she decided to get another dog.  We all know that there is not a snowball's chance in hell of TM ever getting another pet but apparently she does not know that. 

Then, later in the week, Robin went to pick TM up so that they would go get their nails done.  TM knew Robin was coming so of course Robin expected that she would be dressed and ready to go when she got there.  Boy was she wrong!  She walked into the room and there sat The Meemz wearing a pull-over sweater, all of her jewelry and not another stitch of clothing.  She did have a photo album spread out in her lap, but that's all.  The conversation went something like this....

Robin:  Mom!  Why aren't you wearing any pants??
The Meemz:  You sound just like your sister!  (in a very accusing tone)
Robin:  Why aren't you wearing any pants?
The Meemz:  Well, I had an accident and I was going to put on some clean pants, but I just really needed to see about this photo album.
Robin:  Ooohh.....

It took The Meemz an hour to get fully dressed.  There were far too many other things she needed to tend do that were much more pressing than being fully clothed.

Happy Valentine's Day from The Meemz! (And McElvis)

You guys are going to be SO jealous when you find out what The Meemz got to do for Valentine's Day!  She got to attend her second live performance from the one and only...MCELVIS!  I know- jealous does not even begin to describe what you're feeling right now.  The Suze and Robin were lucky enough to attend too but I have a feeling that McElvis only had eyes for The Meemz. How could he not when she was looking so stylin' in her sunglasses and black velvet baseball hat.  I wish I had that much style...

A picture really is worth a thousand words...

You'll all be happy to know that The Meemz is feeling much better!  She even went to Red Lobster with The Suze and Robin last week for her birthday.  She loves Red Lobster, but not as much as she loves the FBI. 

The Meemz also loves pictures and photo albums.  She loves to write short novels on the backs of pictures.  Just the other day I got some mail from TM that consisted of 4 snap shots, each with a great deal of information written on the back.  The best part is that the information is not always correct.  For instance, one of the pictures she sent me is a picture taken of Papa and me at their 40th anniversary party.  According to TM that picture was taken on Easter at their house in The Woods.  In reality, that picture was taken in December 2003.  TM and Papa moved out of their house in The Woods when I was maybe 4 or 5.  I'm 22 in this picture.  Yep.

To my knowledge the information on the other pictures was correct, but still entertaining.  One of the pictures was of The Suze when she was about 2.  I learned not only where the picture was taken (Nanny & Papaw's house on Fitzgerald Street), but also who made the doll she's holding in the picture (Aunt Marg) and what that person called The Suze (My Sweet Little Susie).  I also learned the dolls' name- Peggy. You can't put a price tag on that kind of background info.  It is priceless. 

On more than one occasion TM has pulled all of her photo albums out and had the pictures spread all over the floor of her apartment at Dogwood.  She says that she is "organizing" them.  Sure you are Meemz...

The Meemz also likes to make little notations in cookbooks and novels.  She thinks it is quite important that everyone know who gave her each recipe and if she has made any changes to it since she started using it.  It is also very important to know who gave novels to whom and in what year this was done.  It's really great when a recipe is from another family member because then The Meemz puts not only their name but also their familial title.  For example- This recipe was given to me by my sister-in-law, Vivian Dekle.  Just in case any of us forgets who Aunt Vivian is. 

What's your middle name? And how do you spell that?

When Erin & I were little and still living in Pensacola, Papa and The Meemz would come visit fairly often.  The drive from Lake City to Pensacola was nothing compared to the ridiculous trek from Lake City to TN.   Anywho- this was in the early 90s before bi-polar was really understood at all and The Meemz doctors had not yet found a good mix of her meds to keep her on any kind of even keel.  As a result, the cycles The Meemz went through were fairly extreme, even more so than the ones she goes through now I think.

One of the things the Meemz would fixate on when she was up was lists.  She dearly loved making lists of anything and everything.  Middle names, family members, things she "needed" to buy, types of celery, etc.  Ok, not really the types of celery but you get the idea.  Erin and I were both in middle school at this point, I was in the 6th grade and Erin was in 8th and of course we talked non-stop about all of the fascinating things that were going on in middle school and of course mentioned our friends by name frequently.  Any time that TM was around for one of these scintillating tales, she would stop us each time we mentioned someone and ask us what their middle name was and how they spelled it.  Then she would add it to her list.  I'm not entirely sure what she did with the lists of middle names but I know that she made several of them over the years.  She made lists of our friends middle names, middle names of family members and maybe even middle names of celebrities.  (TM likes to keep up on celebrity "news" you know)

Meemz would also get on organizing jags.  I use the word 'organizing' very loosely here because more often than not, no one could find anything after TM had finished with her organization.  On one particular occasion, TM decided that she needed to reorganize our kitchen.  All of it.  At 3:00 a.m.  Mr. Moe & The Suze were asleep, as most people would be at 3:00 a.m., when they were awakened by a lot of racket coming from the kitchen.  Their room was closest to the kitchen so there was no way they were going to sleep through this.  Mr. Moe got up and went to check things out.  When he came back, his conversation with The Suze went something like this:

TS:  What in the world is making all that racket?
MM:  Your mother.
TS:  What? 
MM:  Your mother.
TS:  Why?  What is she doing in there?
MM:  Cleaning out our cabinets.  All of them.
TS:  Are you serious?
MM:  Can I make this stuff up?

The Meemz has gotten off her organizing kick in recent years but she will still make the odd list here and there.  If you go to her apartment and really look around, you can find all kinds of lists which are highly entertaining.  You can tell that she's talking out loud while she writes them because a lot of them read like a conversation.  There is usually some type of commentary included as well.  Makes for a fascinating read.  Trust me.

Health Tips from The Meemz

If you are one of the many who suffers from migraines, try taping magnets to your forehead.  The Meemz swears that it works.

Where gallbladders are concerned, sometimes you just get a bad one.

Everyone needs a Murine Ear Wax Removal System.

Immodium is your best friend.

Everyone Loves Jewelry (Or should at least)

One of The Meemz' favorite things is jewelry.  Any kind of jewelry, especially holiday themed jewelry.  She loves it dearly and does not understand people who don't share her love.  I am one of those people.  I have long been a source of concern to The Meemz because I don't really care for jewelry.  I almost never wear any and what I do wear is very small and very simple.  The Meemz' has been on a campaign to get me more jewelry for many years but I have not been converted, much to her chagrin.

On any given day, even if she doesn't leave her room, The Meemz will have on 11 rings (at the same time), 8 or 9 bracelets, a watch (or two) and 5 or 6 necklaces.  She will also have on earrings and sometimes will have a pin or two on the shoulder (yes, the shoulder) of her shirt or sweater.  Once I asked her why she had 2 rings on some of her fingers.  Apparently it was a silly question.  The Meemz answer was that some of her rings won't stay on unless she has another ring on top.  Her tone suggested that I should have been able to figure this out on my own....

Once when my sister, Erin, took the Meemz shopping they ended up in the JC Penney jewelry department.  For the Meemz, jewelry from JC Penney and/or Belk is equivalent to jewelry from Tiffany and/or Harry Winston.  The Meemz started look at necklaces and asked Erin what she thought about one in particular.  Erin didn't really care for the necklace but said it was nice anyway, just because that is much easier.  Little did Erin know that The Meemz was picking the necklace out for her.  Erin doesn't wear necklaces, never really has.  She told The Meemz that she doesn't really like necklaces and as you can imagine, that did not go over well.  The Meemz was hell bent on buying some jewelry though, so she bought herself another watch.  When The Suze asked her about the watch later, The Meemz said that Erin told her to buy it because she deserved it.  Sure Meemz, sure she did.....

One Easter the Meemz decided that she wanted to buy birthstone watches for all of her granddaughters.  Oh lawd...  She already had it picked out.  It looked something like this:

Pretty, isn't it?  It's ok, you can say no.  We all did.  Luckily for me, The Suze reminded the Meemz of my aversion to jewelry so I didn't get a watch.  However, Erin, Chelsea, Caitlin and Chan all got one.  And were they ever excited about their watches...  Erin's didn't fit, or so she said, so the Meemz said she would wear that one too.  Of course she bought one for herself too.  The Meemz loves any birthstone-themed piece of jewelry. 

The Meemz will still give me jewelry periodically.  Mostly pieces of her own that she doesn't wear anymore and they all seem to have some kind of story attached......  According to The Meemz, every piece of jewelry she owns is a family heirloom.  We don't actually have any family heirlooms, not that I'm aware of anyway, and if we did I doubt they would be from Belk or JC Penney.  Just saying.

The Meemz does have some very nice pieces of jewelry, mostly stuff that Papa bought her.  One piece is diamond tennis bracelet.  You'd never know that's what it is though because it is so caked with lotion that you can't actually see the diamonds.  I know The Suze and Robin have both tried to clean it, so has Erin but there's just no hope for it.

P.S.  Last Mother's Day the Meemz got a balance bracelet.  She could not stop talking about how beautiful it was. 

P.P.S.  The balance bracelet does not work.  Don't fall for it!

Christmas with The Meemz

When Erin and I were little girls, we not only got stockings from our parents at Christmas, we also got stockings from Meemz & Papa.  Now, most of us would expect things like candy and toys in our stocking at ages 5-7 but if your stocking was being filled by The Meemz you were in a rude awakening.  Instead of candy in our stockings, Erin and I found boxes of Jello.  Instead of toys, we found coupons that Meemz had clipped out of the paper.  We also go toothbrushes, boxes of Chicklets gum and packs of Kleenex.  What 5 year old doesn't love coupons?

The Meemz was also very concerned about the way presents were opened.  Now, most of you know that The Suze likes to save ribbons, the nice, wired kind that she buys holds up well and can easily be reused.  The Meemz, however, was a big fan of the classic 80s bows.  The stick-on kind that came in a bag of about 20 and cost maybe $2.  You had to save those.  She really preferred that you save the wrapping paper too.  Don't rip the paper whatever you do!!  A very realistic request for a kid on Christmas...

Once presents were opened and it came time to eat Christmas lunch or dinner, The Meemz absolutely INSISTED that Erin and I wear our "housecoats" (that's a robe) while we eat.  Heaven forbid we eat in our Christmas dresses!  Only heathens eat without their housecoats on!