cake & babies & Kay & ouch
Saturday, August 25, 2007 at 11:54PM & bless you if you get through reading this entire post.
Saturday felt like a week. A good week, but a very full one.
And a one that made me look back at my former self in awe. I used to wear heels daily. Everywhere. People teased and offered sympathetic groans over my supposedly aching feet. But these *poor feet* never ached, so I shrugged off the hype, puzzled. Fast forward five years and two {giant} babies. I wore heels all day yesterday and honestly don't know if I'll ever recover. NOW I know what the groans were about. Now I see why people thought I was insane. And now I know that I will NEVER again do the all-day heel thing. But I'll still secretly ache for those days of being 6'2" in sexy heel boots.
Anyhow...I got up early and packed up for a long day away from my three lovelies. The BEST part of the day happened early when Jim saw me off with a garage jig. The boy has some serious moves! I don't think I stopped smiling all the way to his parents' house.
[Sidenote: throughout the day, people asked countless times if Jim was "babysitting" the boys. "Heck no! He's watching his own kids!" Dads don't *babysit* in my world. Of course, it helps that in my world, there is a Dad who is a better Mom than the Mom and whose boys view him in total adulation.]
First stop: in-laws. Kay was also hosting a shower, and I wasn't able to go (you're my #1, Ras!), but did do a drive-by cake decorating. This is seriously the best kind. She baked the cake (yellow, drenched in cream of coconut out of the oven, filled with pineapple whipped cream - divine!). The bride-to-be is having orange calla lilies at the wedding, so that is what I went for with my fondant.
We added the Alex & Brian, at first wondering if that was too cheesy, but - hello! - it's a wedding. It's supposed to be a little cheesy. And I was all for it once I imagined walking in to an "Amy & Jim" in orange buttercream delight. Sometimes cheesy works.
Next, it was off to Vella's parent's house. They very kindly offered their house as our shower spot (or was it Vel who offered for them??!). The shower was intimate & delightful. I always like food table pics, so here are a few.
Angie posing with food...but where's the bulging belly?!
34 weeks pregnant with twins. She looked so cute, *almost* making me want to be pregnant. She just found out that both babies weigh 4.5 pounds! Amazing little Sophia and Grace. Already 9 pounds in that belly.
And the waiting game is on.
I remember well the bittersweet days at pregnancy's end. Especially with Aidan, mostly because with him the "end" lasted overlong.
Due date: June 24.
Birth date: July 9.
And that is how you get a 10 pound baby, folks. Bake 'em long & large. As my days overdue turned into weeks overdue, U2's "With or Without You" became the theme song I'd belt to my belly. With the belly, without the baby, longing for the opposite.
Those last days waiting for your firstborn are definitely singular. Sitting quietly on the precipice of the greatest heaven-sent upheavael yet. Waiting to meet a tiny home-grown human who will change life forever. It brings a whole new dimension to wondrous.
And double that in Angie's case.
This girl is the queen of control. And order. Whose house makes "spotless" look dirty. Who still scrubs her floors on hands & knees. I'm mischieviously anxious to see her "order" edges soften as the chaos of two tiny bosses takes its bit of the control. And to see her melt into knowing that the chaos is 100% worth the love.
And....drumroll...my last stop of the day was a return to my first. Because I had to see Kay in her sexy new outfit. And it didn't disappoint.
She went shopping this week and bought this ensemble (jewelry, belt & all) with eyes closed, knowing she'd feel guilt if she glimpsed the total. So Jenna was there to count the cash. I loved it all, and was impressed when she conceded to my request for a "powerful" pose.
This is a woman who pioneered her way through raising six boys and one girl. Who never had a chance to spoil herself. Who was traumatized when gifted with a VW Bug on her 50th Birthday. I admire that hugely in this age of "yes, thank you and what else?" entitlement.
You look gorgeous, Kay! And I'll quietly hope that this is only the first of many splurges for yourself!
Well, my feet are still aching, but my sweet Jim didn't gripe when recovery from the week-long Saturday had me napping from 5 - 8:30 tonight, waking oh-so conveniently after the boys went down. It's so good for a mom in this stage to have a day away...where she feels useful in an adult setting. And comes home very grateful to be there. The blasted & blessed irony life.
Reader Comments (16)
The heels had me laughing, remember when you went on a walk in the forest with heels??? For cyring out loud, we were camping and you didn't have tennis shoes! I guess those days are over.
The cupcakes were amazing. People were scared to touch them at first ("Are we allowed to eat them?"). I took a couple extras home to Justin (one for Sunday breakfast, the other for Sunday lunch) and he was in heaven. I don't think you mentioned to everyone that they had filling in them too! How in the world you made them, I'll never know, but they were divine.
It was a fun day! Thanks for all your hard work.
You are really a talented cake decorater! I thought the flowers were real until you said 'fondant!' Impressive!
I'm with you on the "Babysitting" thing. Luckily for me, it bugs my husband too. His buddies say it and it irks him.
The food pictures are beautiful.
Angie's shower looked like a hit and LOVE Kay's new attire.
I must have missed your heel phase, because I don't remember many heels gracing 222. The drive-by cake is stunning, as is Kay in her new outfit. The outfit is great, but it's the look in her eye that's the clincher. Good for her!
The shower pictures look amazing. In that first picture of Angie I was wondering where she was storing those babies! She looks fantastic -- and 34 weeks and 4.5 lbs! That is really so great.
And, lastly, I am totally with you on the "babysitting" thing. What on earth?? I don't know why people ever say that!
I'm totally with you on the dad not babysitting his own kids. Randy and I discussed this before we even got married, I was adamant about it. Fortunately he is an awesome dad, and loves to spend time with the kids. They like him better than me for sure.
Your shower looks beautiful. Angie looks great, I can't believe she's having twins and looks so good. Impressive!
I'm surprised, as I'm planning a girlfriend-getaway to Chicago, at how many of my friends are feeling guilty leaving their husbands to 'babysit' while we are gone for 30 hours...what in the world?? It took both parents to make that baby. How that translates into 'babysitting' for the dad and 'child-raising' for the mom is beyond me! But I guess that is why we married 'child-raising' guys instead of 'babysitting' ones!
What a fun day - starting off with a jig in the garage! HA!
LOVING the cupcakes - I will have to look at previous posts to see if you wrote about what cupcakes they were. They are stunning! The shower looks amazing and those calla lilies! Beautiful!! So fun to have a nice long day to yourself and end it nicely with a nap!