This morning I went downstairs and was greeted by a scene from the movie The Hangover.  Thankfully, all of Nicky’s friends were gone, but their detritus told a sad tale.  I could see from the pulled-out hide-a-bed that someone had the brief idea of sleeping it off, but then they must’ve changed their minds.

Every frozen Costco hors d’oeuvres was eaten.  This included boxes of shrimp nests, calamari, Mexican, Indian and Chinese foods, as well as a Delissio pizza.  Every cup and glass in the house was downstairs, as were two of the kitchen chairs.  It must’ve been quite a crowd down there at one time.

Of course I was in bed, fast asleep.  The dogs and I keep opposite hours to the children, and it’s a system that works well for us.  I go to bed at 9:00 and get up at 5:00.  The kids go to bed at 3:00 and get up at 1:00, so it means the core overlap is kept to just a few hours, and that way familiarity doesn’t breed contempt.

A few days before Christmas Luke and Nicky both had friends over, and it was a cookie fest.  I was pretty upset by that one, as they got into my sister-in-law Wendy’s shortbread and cheese cookies.  I’d had one of each, and the rest were devoured by the locusts in the basement.

I have no-one to blame but myself, as I’ve always been overindulgent with the kids.  Just before Christmas I was in the licquor store line-up, when I said to people in line, “Oh darn it, I forgot to get stocking stuffers for the children” and left the line.

I started to browse through those tiny bottles of hard licquor they keep near the till.  The customer who’d been ahead of me said, “You buy stocking stuffers for your children in the licquor store??” and I explained that the ‘children’ were actually 21 and 24 years of age.  That kind of eased the concerns of the cashier and customer, who were both laughing at my choice of gifts.

The good news from all of the children’s consumption is the amount of cash I stand to gain at the licquor store from their empties.  They’re far too flush with money and too pressed for time to take in their empties, but I have neither of those concerns.

I have a filled stamp book from Value Village, meaning I have 30% off on my next purchase.  With the $12 or $15 from the empties, plus the discount, I figure I’ll likely be coming home with either a designer coat or shoes.  What a great day I have ahead of me!

I don’t think I can say the same for Nicky, though, judging from the package of Gravol I found on the table downstairs.  If you don’t know, it’s an excellent way to stave off certain death if you’ve over-indulged.  Trust me, I know.