Over the Moon for Under the Sea Whale of a Baby Shower

I had the pleasure of being a hostess for a baby shower of "One of my kids" this weekend. One of my friends boys, is all grown up, married and expecting their first baby. When one of "The Girlfriends" have a grand baby, I get as excited as I expect I will when I have a grand baby. The thing I enjoy most, is showering the people I love when they have a life changing event take place.
Along with 8 other women we put together "A Whale of a Baby Shower" for the sweet little couple. Mommy and Daddy are using a whale theme for the nursery so that's what we went with for the shower. Mommy's sister (soon to be a new aunt) made some adorable banners and wall hangings for the nursery which we used to decorate with. Back in the day, I

used to watch the Christopher Lowell decorating show, where he
preached the importance of lifts and levels in decorating. The Everything is a Dollar Store proved to be my new best friend when looking for a way to spice up the under the sea table. Using clear glass vases and clear plastic platters I made tiers for cupcakes, cookies, fruit and veggies. I filled the vases half way with blue play sand and a handful of seashells,
hot glued the platters to the vases and Wall Laa, we had pedestals and tiers for $2.00 each. When I want to do another themed party, I can just heat the hot glue, remove the sand and shells and refill the vases with something to go with the new theme. I pilfered a friends house for sea shells big
and small and a light house table for nothing but pure pleasure. I sprinkled broken sea glass around the table like confetti and that's all she wrote on decorating the under the sea table. Other hostesses brought whale shaped cookies and whale decorated cupcakes, both of which were too pretty to eat (well almost). The shower of gifts included a belly cast (courtesy of the hostesses), a daddy diaper bag so dad can preserve his manhood while still styling and profiling his chic self and a box o'bow ties because apparently someone expects this baby boy (who is already too big for his britches) to be an engineer ( God help us)!!!!  Seriously someone should of clued me into that little tidbit, I would have made a box o' pocket protectors to match the bow ties. In lieu of cards, we asked everyone to use a story book and write a sweet sentiment on inside cover. A basket of diapers were provided for each guest to write a little note on to make late night diaper changes a little more interesting. While the cute couple unwrapped their gifts, guest marked items off of their Baby Bingo cards. the one who had the most stickers won a gift from Bath and Body Works. We also played "The Price is Right" to see who had the most "How Much Does it Cost" knowledge. We had a Whale of a time whale of a good time showering this couple with love and good wishes. My theory on life is this.... If you want your life to be wonder filled, fill your life with wonderful people. The Smith family has filled my life with so many wonderful memories, a Whale of a baby shower was a way to give back just a smidge of the joy they have brought into my life.

The Language of Baby Love and Women

Our office gave a co-worker a baby shower this week. It's been a while since one of our own has had a baby, so we were all looking forward to it. The shower was held after lunch in the accounting meeting area. We all gathered with our pretty pink packages and anxiously awaited the arrival of the mommy to be. The majority of the women in the office are past the baby phase. Most are either raising teenagers or waiting for grandchildren. I'm not quite sure why, but none of the men showed up for the shower, which should probably be considered just plain rude :-) The mommy to be arrived in all her glory that comes with being pregnant. She is a beautiful lady. She seems excited about the big event, yet a little nervous since she has one other child and he is now 17. Yeah, that's a bit of a gap. A lot of things change in 17 years, especially baby equipment (that
could be taken more than one way LOL). She sat in the front and began to open the gifts. I wish I had the audio of the oohs and ahhh's said in unison every time she held up a darling outfit or a neat baby item. It sounded like a celestial song being sung in a language only understood by women. It's a language of excitement and joy created by the wonder of experiencing the sacredness of having held life within your womb. It's during times like this, when my mind goes back so many years ago.  I remember  waiting with anticipation for my little ones to arrive. I would sit in the empty nursery with a blanket or clothing, and imagine in a few short days the item being filled with a squirming bundle of beautiful joy. Oh how I miss those days.