Showered

Saturday the 21st was mine and Baby Vixen's baby shower.
(Again, here I am late to the post. Sorry, my only defense if that life has been crazy recently.)

Graciously hosted at my friend, Kim's, house, it was an afternoon of good food, good people, and good conversation.

Kim is an excellent cook and delivered 'on the money' for my "Ladies Brunch" theme: two different kinds of strata, fresh fruit, pastry hors d'oeuvres, and a Creme Brulee French Toast made with buttery croissants that is literally TO-DIE-FOR! I remember filling up my plate and thinking "I'll never eat all that," only to look down 15 minutes later to realize that I downed the lot. The room was filled with moans and groans of culinary ecstasy.



Thanks to my friend, Mala, who was also co-hosting with my other friends Joy and Linh, there was also my favorite cake to wash it all down with - White Chocolate Strawberry Mousse Cake from Ettores bakery here in Sacramento. I'm not a cake lover as a general rule, so the cakes that I DO like are a short list. I definitely appreciated Mala digging to find out what I liked and then delivering on it! Yumm!

White Chocolate Strawberry Mousse Cake

Meanwhile, Linh was responsible for saving the day with the favor cookies, lovingly researched by Kim some weeks prior but, unfortunately, not-so-lovingly delivered by the vendor two days before, who messed all but 6 of them up. You can see below the 6 they managed to deliver without damage. I felt so bad for Kim because it was such a great find and such a thoughtful addition to the day. I know how it feels when vendors let you down, especially at the last minute.


Joy was then left to schedule games - guess the babies and their parents and charades. Here she is participating in her own game. Such a good sport!



Although everyone's participation and gifts were very much appreciated, two things touched my heart most.

The first was my Mum who had never even heard of a Baby Shower until I mentioned them (they're only just gaining steam in the U.K.) but flew out on Friday and back on Sunday just to spend that special day with me. I was so glad to have her sitting beside me while I opened gifts and I know that she especially loved the mimosas (judging by how many glasses she had!) and seeing all my friends and their kids show up to celebrate the pending arrival of her first (and only) grandchild. It definitely wouldn't have been the same without her and I'm so lucky to have a Mum who will go the extra mile (or 6,000) for me.

Secondly was the surprise of my friend, Elena, showing up. Elena was the first friend I made in this country, back when I lived down in SoCal and was living a totally different life. She flew up for our wedding back in 2006, which I considered blessing enough, so I certainly was not expecting her to show up for the baby shower. BUT Hubby and Elena had been plotting for weeks. Hubby snuck out of the house early on Saturday morning, saying he had "something" to pick up for Kim and told me he would meet me at Kim's house. As Mum and I pulled up for the shower, he drove up behind us and Elena jumped out. I was totally surprised - and it's hard to surprise me so good job Elena and Hubby! I don't cry but I have to say that I had tears in my eyes. I couldn't believe she would fly up just for the day. I was so touched.

Back Row: Elena, the Bump, and Mum
Front Row: Elena's Butt, Creme Brule French Toast (both equally deserving of a mention)

After the shower Mum, Elena, and I went out to do a little bit of practical shopping: nursing bras (oooaaaah sexy) and nursing nightwear (are you drooling yet?) whereupon Elena was characteristically poorly behaved, asking the poor cashier at Motherhood Maternity if she was asking my mother to donate $1 toward a premature ejaculation or a premature birth fund. You can read her explanation from the horse's mouth on her website here. Gotta love her!

After dropping Elena off at the airport at approximately 6:30pm, our day was still not yet done. Mum was determined to be a part of purchasing the needed items off our baby registry before she left, so we headed off to Babies R Us, where we shopped until the place closed down at 9:30pm. Stroller, car seat, high-chair, swing, bottles, binkies, exersaucer, play mat, mobile, bath tub... you name it, if it was on the list, in stock, and needed, we bought it and loaded up Hubby's SUV from top to bottom. And, for those of you who know Mum, you'll be impressed to know that she even allowed Hubby and I to split the cost.

It was an exhausting couple of hours searching the store for all the registry items we needed. At one point I sat down in one of the aisles in exhaustion and frustration, my feet and back giving in on me, and laughing hysterically because it was almost 9:30pm, Hubby was running around chanting "shoot me in the head" and I couldn't find item # 76598172561 on the shelf. By the time we got home at around 10pm, we were all completely spent in every way possible.

Just 12 short hours later and Mum was jumping on the airport shuttle, back to San Francisco Airport and then on to the U.K. again. What a whirlwind trip!

Sunday afternoon Hubby and I spent putting together and away the new baby toys we had purchased which involved copious packages of D and C-type batteries (we need shares in Duracell immediately).

Fortunately, I had arranged for Monday to be a vacation day, anticipating the onset of post-party exhaustion. So I grabbed my Babies R Us gift certificate and (yes) head back to the store to buy some baby clothes, a task which I wanted to deliberate over vs. dragging Hubby around or trying to fit in at 9:30pm on a Sunday night. Baby was still in desperate need of onesies, socks, and other basics, so I had a great time dodging the torrential rain and picking out some cute stuff for baby's arrival.

And so, I think, we're almost there. If baby came tomorrow (fingers crossed this doesn't happen) I think we would be ready (at least practically speaking if not professionally and emotionally!)

Phew!

Looking at the nursery now and seeing the shelves and closets get a bit more stocked up, it's starting to feel a little more real. Last night I actually dreamed about our baby (without having a panic attack) and seeing him or her for the first time.

Just 6 weeks to go...