We were on our honeymoon when my favorite Francofile told us that she was expecting. I know what you're thinking and, yes, there is WiFi in Tahiti! She was my former roommate, one of my bridesmaids and, the nosy bunch we all are, had been noticed not drinking during our reception. Since I was the bride, these observations were shared with me later: "I KNEW something was up with her!" my seven other attendants said when I relayed the news.
Fast-forward to an epic group text conversation with my
other former roommate and I asking her every possible question about babies, timelines and emotional state of mind and you'll get to the point where we forcefully gave her no other option than to throw her a baby shower. We left nothing up to chance. When your family is 5,000 miles over oceans and continents and your husband's family is in the Bay Area, you get to let us adopt you. Besides, we kind of owe her since we made it our mission to find her an American man to keep her on our soil. More on that another time.
I've always remembered that part in
Stepmom where Julia Roberts is driving around trying to pick up her bf/fiancés kid from a birthday party and doesn't know which house to go to. She's on the phone with Susan Sarandon who's like "Just look for the house with the balloons." I had to be that house.
Raz's and my new home has a great big family room in a converted two car garage. It's huge. Like we had to get inches added to our custom sectional set to arrive at the end of the month huge. Once Raz and I moved in, we decided we'd be having lots of parties in that room, so we were thrilled to host.
My co-host (and aforementioned former roommate), Katharina, and I decided on a blue and gold theme. From there, she got busy finding baby shower cookie cutters and I went nuts at Target and Hobby Lobby. We also worked with our honoree's husband to surprise her with a maternity photo shoot in the meantime.
I'd never ordered balloons before and the chick at Safeway I called the day before did not appreciate my
Stepmom story as much as I needed her to, but I forgave her because she's young. It's getting to the point where I'm really starting to age myself.
Harrison was thrilled to see his first balloons. He has had quite an exciting few months of wrapping paper.
Aside from my outside-the-house directional balloons, I had to put my creative genius to work on the 21 remaining helium beauties.
Clearly having a hard time keeping the balloons off my hair.
My great grandmother's buffet is our favorite piece of furniture. We decorated it for Christmas and had fun with it for this event, too.
Two words: MIMOSA BAR.
I put the nice champs in the bucket. Cooks was in reserve. You never know how wild these things are gonna get, especially when your husbro is knocking back beers with the other dudes in attendance.
Kat knows how to emboss. I need to add this skill to my resume.
For being our first, the shower went off without a hitch. Do I want to host a bunch of boys again? No. I want tea cups and happy tears and pretty things. But I did enjoy this new take on an old tradition and loved celebrating a person who deserves it so fantastically.
My life is one big baby shower right now, so my gold and blue party fixings (including blue fluffy balls we hung from the ceiling that just did not photograph well at all. Yes, blue balls) will likely get reused sooner than later. And, for the first time in recent memory, I don't hate it. We're, like, basically adults now.
Can't have a shower without a diaper cake. Thanks, CWoomie!
Babies! Everywhere!
Also, TBND has been alive for a little over a year now. Thank you to everyone who has followed and supported. The journey is ever-evolving and I appreciate your openness to my major stream-of-consciousness storytelling/ranting/life journaling.
