T, C, & C ...oh my....CONCLUSION

Welcome Back.

Note: Make sure you didn't miss part 4. It was posted this morning.

Our first 24 hours recap has almost come to the end. What else could possibly have happened in such a short time span?

As I sit here typing, I can understand how the writers and producers of the TV show Happy Days felt. I have "Jumped the Shark". But, I have signed a contract for 5 episodes of "T,C, & C....oh my....... " , so here I go.

We arrived, had unpacking issues, alcohol has been hidden, had toilet plunger near emergencies, made it through the mole emergency and have gone bowling. I fixed dinner.....slaved away for hours over Hot Pockets and Rammen noodles. By the time I cleaned up the kitchen (ok, I straightened it but will clean it tomorrow....really I will.) I was exhausted. I climbed the stairs to the bedroom and lay down in the bed.....reminding the kids to turn off the lights when they went to bed....if they went to bed.

Next morning when I wake up, every light in the house is still on,. The tv is on and there is a teenager sprawled out asleep on the sofa, one asleep in another bedroom and a 12 year old curled up next to me.

The kitchen, although it wasn't spotlessly clean when I went to bed, had been straighted the night before. Well, it now looked like a military group had posted command there and had to leave in the middle to go fight a war. It looks like the entire weeks worth of food has been eaten. Hhhmmm, how odd, the cans of veggies are still here.

Did they not know that the white rectangular object next to the refrigerator is called a trash can? Did they not know that Pizza Roles, Toquitoes and Hot Pockets are very hard to scrape off the plates if they aren't rinsed afterwards? Don't they even know that if you don't feel like putting dished in the dishwasher, that you can at least put them in the sink? Do they know that it isn't necessary to open every snack on the first day? Do I need to explain-again-the meaning and use of a "chip-clip"? Also, I KNOW I started out with a case of soft drinks AND a gallon pitcher of Tea, a gallon of milk and a pitcher of kool-aid and at least 12 water bottles. It doesn't bother me so much at the incredible decrease in available beverages but I am a bit annoyed at the number of half full drinks that are sitting around. There will be a discussion about that today when they wake up-----whenever that will be. On a brighter side, the hidden alcohol is all still intact......minus 2 glasses of wine....but that was for me.

Ok, even though this is about the next day, it is still in the first 24 hour period....although I must confess that by the end of this story we will have passed the 24 hour time frame. Just think of it as a Bonus Extra like they have on DVD's.

Everyone is awake, there have been discussions of picking up after yourself and not wasting and also the threat of "do you want to eat nothing but canned veggies the last 4 days we are here?"

The big boys want to go to the mall. Alberquando wants to stay here and play on the computer. Due to the car "mishaps" that recently took place, I need to chauffeur them. No problem. Alberquando and I drive them to the mall, listening to loud awful "grind core" music, laughing and talking. We drop them off and go home without incident.

When it's time to go back and pick them up I have no idea how I got there in the first place. (duh). I call JM and feeling rather foolish, ask him for directions to get back to the mall. (he drove last year). 2 turns. That's all. Turn left at the CVS and turn right on a street I'll just call Elm street. No problem. We drive and drive and drive. FINALLY, I see CVS but I have a yucky feeling that I've gone way too far. I turn left and end up at a dead end. I call JM. After much discussion, we realize that the CVS he was talking about had changed into a Walgreens since the last time we were here. So Alberquando and I back track. We drive and we drive and we drive....(kind of reminds me of "they rocked back and forth and back and forth"....ooopps, sorry, I said I wasn't going to talk about that anymore). We get to Walgreens and make the appropriate turn.

Then we drive looking for Elm street. We drive and we drive and we drive (ha). WHERE IS ELM STREET?!! I KNOW I didn't pass it. I KNOW that Elm Street is the correct name because it is one of the few things I did notice when I dropped them off earlier. I call JM again......(you're right "On Purpose", he is definitely being primed for major counseling). He can't figure out what I did wrong. So I back track AGAIN! Finally I turn down "Green Street" on a whim. 2 blocks later in the distance I see the mall!! I look at the street sign and of course now it says Elm Street. Only in my world does the street name change right in the middle from one name to another, (yes, I know this happens in other worlds also but this is my story so I can say that if I want to).

I am not normally normal. Opps, what I meant to say is I am not normally ditzy, dizzy, or airheaded but I felt completely foolish as I finally drove up and picked them up. (I'm just glad it wasn't late or that the mall had closed). That 20-25 minute round trip ended up taking about an hour and a half. I am exhausted....where did I hide that alcohol?

Well, my story is reaching the end. My 24 hour recap is almost over as is our week here. Soon it will be time to pack up and head across the country to make that 45 minute drive home.

Ladies and Gentlemen......Fonzie has jumped the shark!