Whew!

Christmas is already a memory; Julie & Co. are safely back in Boston; Aimee & Co. are having a bit of a nightmarish trip in Gulf Shores.....hoping that 2013 has a bit more fun stuff in store for the BlingClan than 2012 did!!!!!

Yesterday, Julie and Scott had a bit (apologies for using 'bit' three times already, but I seem to be stuck on that three letter word today) of an unexpected adventure on their way home.  It seems their Southwest flight was on an 'older' piece of equipment and could not take off with the full complement of fuel yesterday, due to weather conditions.  Therefore, they had to make an unforseen stop in Detroit for fuel to get them to Boston, so their arrival at home was several hours later than originally anticipated.  Phooey!  BUT, they are home safely, and that is all that matters.  :) The week they were here passed in the blink of an eye, but Julie has shared that they are planning on returning to Chicago in a month or so, and will be celebrating Stella's first birthday here!!!!  How fun!  Stay tuned for details to follow.

Aimee and Matt have been having what seems to me to be a Trip From Hell......first, not-so-hot weather, a stuffy toddler, and car problems on the way to Gulf Shores, and then, once they arrived there, even MORE car problems (oh, no worries, they are going to be fixed, but not without the outlay of a serious chunk of change), and a less-than-fun episode of Payton puking up pesto-laced pizza all over their hotel room.  Thankfully, no trip to the ER was required, but Payton's accidental ingestion of nut-topped pizza was not in the plans, I am sure.  Poor baby.  Thank heavens his body understands how to get the 'bad stuff' out before anything too terrible transpires.  I am hoping that at least the weather warms up a bit before they have to come back North, so that there will be at least a small bright spot in all of this.  (Of course, getting to spend time with some family is also a part of this, and, I am sure, a bright spot of its own.)

Kate and Brent are planning a fun New Year's Eve mystery dinner, and have borrowed some just-sitting-around artwork from the BlingMansion as props.  I guess costumes are required as well, and poor TommyBoy is stressing about what to wear.  Can't wait to see the pictures and hear who solves the mystery first, KK!  :)

Speaking of Miss KK, she and I had a fun little shopping excursion yesterday to return boots.  I'm happy to report that she found a pair that she just loves, and is looking forward to tons of snow this winter so she gets lots and lots of use out of them.  Okay, I confess, she said no such thing.  She's just excited about wearing her new boots, no snow required, although Mother Nature is gifting us with some pretty flakes this morning here in the Chicago area.  I'm hoping they melt after an hour of looking pretty, but we shall see.  It's awfully dark and dreary here today.

Had a bit of a TommyBoy scare last night.  (Not the first, and, I'm sure, sadly, not the last.)  As KK and I went off merrily shopping, TommyBoy set off to treat Katie with some delicious lunch from China Wok.  I did ask him what time he would be home, and he did confess he did not know.  I, in true Mom fashion, did ask him to text me later to let me know what his plans were, and he did mumble something about seeing a movie, so that was that.  KK and I shopped; TommyBoy went about his day; and all was fine until around 7:30 that evening, when I decided I'd been Nice Mom long enough and tried to contact my baby boy via text message.  Truth is, TommyBoy is generally extremely prompt in replying to my texts, and that is why, when half an hour had passed and I'd heard nothing, I grew a teeny bit concerned.  (And angry at myself for not checking in with him earlier)  Hence my next text, and the eight after that, stretching over the span of an hour and a half.  At this point, as you can imagine, I was getting a bit more concerned, and BlingDaddy had enquired as to the whereabouts of his son, and everything was upped to a whole new level of stress.  Long story short (after my going so far as to text both Katie, Katie's mom, and making an unanswered phone call to Katie's HOUSE), it was discovered that TommyBoy was safe and sound, seeing a movie (and I've already forgotten the title of it!) with Katie and her mom, like the good little boy he is.  ;)  Just a taste of what is to come for the rest of you, when you are the parents of teens.....just can't wait, can you?

Once again, I will make the pledge to be a more consistent Blogger in 2013.  Let's see if I actually Walk the Walk in the coming year!