10.26.2006

Brides and babies

Many, many years ago when I was a blushing bride, one of my bridal showers was shared with a pregnant co-worker. It was a funny mix of people and emotions...I remember opening a gift, suprised to find lingerie inside, and then a few seconds later even more surprised when my co-worker said, "That [pointing to my lingerie] leads to this" as she brandished her new bib. Not what I wanted to think about four weeks before my wedding...I remember thinking, "I'll die if I get pregnant! That would be horrible!" My how times have changed...

I took this trip down memory lane as an intro to this post which will largely focus on brides (Janelle - my best friend from college) and babies.
First Janelle -
Two weeks ago my other best friend from college Katie and I hosted a lingerie shower and bachelorette party for Janelle in Charlotte. We had a blast and it was a) my first night EVER to not put Charlie to bed and b) my first time "out" since becoming a mom. I was definitely a little rusty - I wore a turtlenck and jeans (as compared to Katie and Janelle's cute little tanks tops); a man walked by, apparently looked at my um, "bottom" (according to Katie) and I panicked, backing furiously into a wall; I only ordered 2 drinks for the entire 9 or so hours we were out; I complained about the smoke all night long and I began yawning at promptly 10pm (I didn't get to go to bed until 2am). Katie and I came up with some "tasks" for Janelle to perform throughout the night, my favorite being the one where she was supposed to jump in and play an instrument with a band. Since we ended up at a club with a DJ, Katie and I had to "help" her with this one - we coerced the DJ to play "Like a Virgin" and announce her name. Oh - and the 3 of us danced in the cage during the song. :) Don't believe me? See below...




And isn't Janelle just so cute in her paper veil? For you Covenant folks out there, the big day is November 18!


All in all, it was a great night - the food was fabulous (probably the best mexicon food I've ever had), the club was fun (crazy '80's dance party) and the girls were really fun (some I knew, some I didn't). I enjoyed my time away from the demands of motherhood but I also found myself thankful for where I am today...being a wife and mom - cooking, cleaning, general caretaking - and realized that I wouldn't trade it for the wild and crazy fun of single life for a single minute!

Now babies:

Last night I spent an hour or so after Charlie went to bed searching boxes in the garage for my china. I am so sad to say that my beautiful Lenox Pearl Platinum china has been sitting in boxes in the garage since we moved, along with all my various other treasured kitchen "essentials." I did this because tomorrow I'm hosting a baby shower at my house for a friend in my small group. I am so excited to put my china to good use. And now Ryan can't say that I never use it. I bought a set of those china storage bags/boxes at Bed, Bath and Beyond today, and plan to use them to store the china in the linen closet, so hopefully I'll use my china more now that it's packed in boxes. I'll have to take a picture of my set-up before the shower tomorrow. I'm sure you are all dying to see.

Now I must get to work. Get to work on my "real" job, which is not party planning, unfortunately. I worked until 1am last night, am working now and will likely not be finished until 1am tonight. But that's another post...

2 comments:

WASPy Girl said...

Hi Emily. I'm up late working too. I liked your post. I'm actually writing a similar one but it has taken forever to get around to putting the finishing touches on it. I want to see your china all set up for tomorrow. Take a picture. I love looking at china. I have some of those china storage things. They are actually very handy, since we don't have room for all of those bulky boxes in my closet. My sisters and I are getting my Mom a set of china (per her request) over the next couple of holidays. It's "Bellina" by Lenox. Very pretty. She's never had a nice set. Do you have fancy crystal too? If so, what kind?

We're still praying for Charlie. Josh prayed for him in our small group the other night. Poor little guy!

Anonymous said...

I'm trying to think who that baby shower must have been for...was it Sarah?

Those pictures look like a blast...but isn't it weird to get to that point in life where you're actually happy to go to bed before midnight and to not be the one partying?

I'm still just so ecstatic for Janelle.