Over-Showered!

Whew! It sure has been a while! Friday I took it easy and then went to a fabulous dinner with Mr Pug. In fact, I got my potato skins appetizer! (Don't judge!) We stopped by Kroger on the way home (an area grocery store... who else has Kroger?) since we were making a few things for the baby shower on Saturday.

Baby shower? What? You must be confused! Since..... I don't think I filled you all in. Mr Pug's step sister (FMIL's partner's daughter) J is pregnant... with twins! She's due about a month before our wedding (February 10) and lives in DC with her husband T. They just were told "no traveling after October!" which ruined all plans for holiday baby showers back in Indiana. So, FMIL arranged a shower for J and then one for us as well. On the same day. Last minute? Ummmm definitely. Invites were sent out about two weeks prior. But our friends are cool and we knew it would be fun. I hope you are all still with us... moving on :)

After buying a few foodables, I ran out to Target. I had to buy a dress (last minute much?) and J's baby gifts. (ps... baby registries are HARD. It took me over an hour to buy the correct onesies.) I then ran over to Sun Tan City where I had a free sunless tan. I had never done it before, and felt supremely unprepared after watching the video. There are about 3 too many poses involved. I mentioned not wanting to end up like Ross from Friends and the attendant said "everyone mentions that!"

(I really hope you all have seen that episode. If not... youtube it immediately!)

Turns out I spray tan crazy awesomely well! I came home, made a cake for the shower, and went to bed around midnight. I was very happy with the results when I woke up on Saturday at 7 am. We went to FMIL's at 10:30 to help set up and prepare the food. J's shower started at 1pm. We started by saying hi to Webster, FMIL's shih tzu.

Don't be fooled... he's pure evil. I'm lucky to still have a nose after a petting-incident-gone-wrong.

I had a punch recipe ready to prepare (caffeine free for the mom-to-be!) and FMIL had promised she had a punchbowl and "tons of pitchers." Oh really? Check out the pathetic pitcher army....

Something made for brandy or a similar spirit, something that was tarnished and pitted inside and used for flowers most of the year, a pretty glass one that was chipped along the lip, and ONE usable one- very purple.

We used the purple one for pink lemonade, then luckily had a neighbor bring over her punchbowl to borrow. All was not lost!

J and T had a great time seeing family and friends and opening gifts. Their faces were priceless!

(The above one was a set of hand-knitted sweaters... truly adorable.)

Baby clothes? They're ridiculously cute. Check out the booties on this one:

The newly soon-to-be parents fit in some time to test out bath towels on Webster...

We then got to enjoy the cake I made! The shower theme was "Two Peas in a Pod" so that's what I went for with the cake.

They took a normal pic too, but I love this one of them.

The inside of the cake was pink and blue checkerboard. I intended to do a tutorial, but since I started at almost 11pm, I figured... if you want to make a checkerboard cake, you can buy the kit and follow their instructions! (ps... it's SUPER easy.) J & T's doctor said that one is definitely a girl and the other is a girl too... they "think." So I still went with pink and blue, just in case!

FMIL got a few things from Panera, but Mr Pug and I made pigs in a blanket and our famous buffalo chicken dip, as well as all the drinks and desserts. I still managed to keep busy with dishes!

Mr Pug and I tried to take a cute picture but couldn't get our act together...

Yea I was not pleased. Anyway, what do you think of my "tan?"

Here I am with the beautiful mom-to-be! I hope all goes well and they will be able to make it out here in March- all FOUR of them!

Unfortunately, FMIL and FMIL's partner failed to tell J & T about OUR shower. Which left them apologizing for their lack of gift and early departure! Of course, the best gift was just having the there. And lesson learned... planning showers 2 weeks out isn't easy.

Our pals arrived around 6pm, and FFIL and his sister and her husband came as well. FFIL and FMIL don't talk at all- so it was WONDERFUL that they were all able to get along and enjoy the party. I told FMIL that on a scale of 1-10, the night was an 11! Our friends came ready to eat and hang out, and we had lots of great laughs. Many brought us wonderful bottles of wines, and even a few gifts! (Since our registry is decidedly sucky, we really don't expect gifts anywhere at all.) They included a great glass platter with our last initial, a marriage book, and a COLTS T-SHIRT FOR A PUG!!!!! We are so lucky to have such thoughtful and caring friends.

After the party we all went out for drinks at the bar Mr Pug and I met at. (Not on purpose though! It's a great bar in general!) Unfortunately I woke up Sunday with a massive headache- a product of a slight hangover, falling asleep with my glasses on, and major teeth grinding and jaw clenching. I spent the day on the couch crying instead of recapping- so my apologizes, blog friends!

We are so lucky to have such great family and friends. This shower-full day was a test in my patience and ability to "let it go" (as my mom says.... it's what I need to work on!) I didn't worry myself over tiny details and instead just went for it and had fun. Mr Pug is good at helping me do that! What have your showers been like? How did you deal with difficult family dynamics? And are any other relatives celebrating something as well- like a wedding, birth, move, graduation, or pregnancy? Did you incorporate their celebrations with yours at all?

Hope you're all having a great week!