Shower Time!!!

"The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other's life. Rarely do members of one family grow up under the same roof."

 ~ Richard Bach

I had to post this picture to start off this post.  The 17 yr. old attached to me is my niece...the one who dubbed the baby "Produce"...and is one of the coolest kids I know.  She was "talking" to the baby, as she does EVERY time she sees me.  In fact, she will see me, get a big smile on her face, open her arms wide, and go straight for my uterus....I'm literally just the transport system for her "little buddy".  I'm sure you can tell by her skin tone and hair color that she probably isn't related by blood, but is, in fact, technically Hubby's niece by blood...mine by heart and love (and marriage).  This weekend was one filled with the family described in the quote...MY family...not all of blood, but of TOTAL respect and JOY.

My mom and sister put together an amazing shower that had me smiling from ear to ear all weekend!!  My Nina (Godmother) was their partner in crime, and dad did a lot of "heavy lifting".  Hubby worked REAL hard last week to get the house and yard ready for the party, too.  I do have to admit, however, that today I had a bit of a "Baby Shower hangover" and after showering this morning just put on fresh jammies to hang out in all day (thanks, Nina, for the new jammies!!).  As I mentioned before, it followed the wedding movie-theme.  The invites were ordered from Storkie.com and had a fast turn-around between ordering and them being delivered.  (The picture is obviously just an example of the style)

We held a diaper raffle, so for each pack of diapers a guest would bring, they would get a raffle ticket...the more diapers they brought, the more entries into the raffle.  We raffled off a $50 gift card to Costco.  Not too shabby, I must say...I wish WE could have won!!  As each guest came in, turned in their diapers, and got their raffle ticket(s), they would also be shown a tray full of various items.  They were given 10 seconds to look at the tray.  It was for a game later.  I'm sure most of you who have attended a baby shower are familiar with this game.  Just before the cake and gifts they were given 1 minute to write down as many of the items as they could remember.

We played a total of 4 games and gave away movie passes as prizes.  They were wrapped in white, red, or yellow tissue paper and placed in a popcorn bag.  Other games included "Name the Celebrity", "Baby Talk", and Name the "Baby Movie".  For "Name the Celebrity", I made a collage of images of 30 celebrities as babies.  Guests had 15 minutes to try to name as many as they could.  For "Baby Talk", I would read a movie quote that contained the word "Baby" or a word related to baby and the guests would then have 10 seconds to write down the name of the movie.  For example:  "Nobody puts Baby in a corner."  The guests would then have 10 seconds to figure out and put down the movie Dirty Dancing.  The final game the guests had 1 minute to write down as many movie titles they could think of that contained the word "Baby".  Hubby and I came up with 17, but I found 38 online for the answer key.

The cake was AMAZING!!!  A good friend owns Bella Cakes, and let me tell you...SHE ROCKS!!!!  She made it look like a popcorn tub...filled with "popcorn" (white chocolate).  So adorable....and was also accompanied with four different flavors of cupcakes:  Chocolate-espresso (with organic espresso beans), Chocolate-coconut, Chocolate-peanut butter, and Chocolate-raspberry.  Yummmmmmm......

Mom passed out "Advice for mom" cards for guests to fill out for me and favors that were mini popcorn boxes that said "About to Pop".  They were filled with root beer flavored and popcorn flavored jelly-bellies and chocolate covered raisins....Movie snack essentials.  Popcorn bowls filled with popcorn FROM the movie theater were put on tables instead of chips.

The best part of the day was WHO was at the shower.  My family.  Not the kind I was born into, but the kind that has been formed throughout my life.  These are the people who have been there for me through thick and thin...at every stage of my life...the family I married into...even friends I haven't seen in a long time, but have kept in touch with because they ARE my family.  It truly showed that not only have they been and will be there for me throughout my life, but they will be there for Taz as well.  A lot of them were asking how I was holding up with the bed rest because "That so isn't you to have to sit still and not do things."  See...they KNOW me.  It was reflected also in the types of gifts I received for Taz...organic clothing...natural baby products, etc.

It was truly a day of celebration for Taz's upcoming arrival.  Actually, it was the entire weekend.....I had an aunt who couldn't make it Saturday so she visited me on Friday, and another (the one who gifted me with the Faith Cross) who visited Sunday.  I am overcome with the feeling of love and support.  I can carry this on as I approach the last few weeks of this part of the journey.  Thank you, my family (including my out-of-towners...Tucson...Oklahoma...Nebraska...Northern California...and "Kool-Aid drinkers").  I know with having you in our lives, there is nothing we can't do!!  Taz is one loved child already!!!