Baby Shower

Hum-de-dum....

I don't know why I always feel so awkward coming back here; it's like, I feel as if I should explain myself, but also, it's so typical of me to disappear for months at a time, so do I really need to explain anything?  I'm pretty sure you understood the first 43 times I apologized for being a flaky blogger.  Oh, great--now I want pastry.

We are anticipating Little Man's arrival in approximately 31 days, 6 hours, 59 minutes, and 31 seconds...but who's counting?  Oh, yes--we are.  (In case you're just stepping in here, I am not expecting Little Man; Sister-in-Law is, but since we're all slightly baby-crazy...well, you know. :-D)

We're at that point where her due date feels SO close, and yet still SO far away; it's hard to know what to do with ourselves (because it's all about us, isn't it? Sit down, DoRé.).  A good way to pass the time (and resist the urge to sit around staring at her belly, watching for every little kick and punt and end zone dance he does in there) was to throw Mama and Daddy a baby shower, à la Where the Wild Things Are. 

The invitations.

Inside.

Envelopes. Cute, yes?  

Pinterest.  Always Pinterest.

Come on in!

Gorgeous sign one of their friends made
to use in baby's room.

The "guest book."  We asked each guest
to sign their name around the inside
perimeter of the star, filling it all the way
in to the center.  I guess we didn't get a shot
of the finished star...

Max's tent, and one really cute kiddo.

Covered the canopy posts with some greenery.

Sailboat centerpieces,
and some really cute pennant banners.

Close up of the sailboats.  My Mister learned that "crafting"
looks just like "scale-modeling" sometimes.

The menu.

The food line.

The dessert table.

This cake was a joint effort by my girls; 

a great first effort in making a cake for a 

gathering like this!

(usually, they reserve their creations 

for family only. ;-9)

Mama-to-be!

  Look at that glorious belly.

Daddy-to-be. 

(I'm afraid he'll always be 3 years old 

in my head.  I'll need to work that out.)

Is it game time?

Yes, it is.

Mama's holding her own.

Good job, ladies!

But, of course, the real magic happens 

when you make grown men carry baby dolls around.

Take your positions....

...and, GO!

Pretty good, guys!

(But, I'm super glad those aren't real babies.)

I love how the clothesline eventually becomes DoRé-friendly.

Showered.

Lots of fun stuff!

Josh, practicing.

Kiana, loving.

Brothers, chilling.

Shelley, sparkling.

Look at this gorgeous girl. 

One of Kamu's 6 older girl cousins.  

(Good luck, little man!)

Baby girl is D-O-N-E, done.  

(I LOL every time I look at this.)

"The Neighbors."
(Thanks for ALL your help!!!)

Kamuela's aunty, cousin, grammy, and mama!

With Kamuela's grandpa. :)

Baby Brother, and 

Party Helper Extraordinaire.

(I guess she's his girlfriend, too. :-9)

No caption needed.

Love.

So excited for these two!!!

It was a gorgeous, gorgeous Pacific northwest day--the sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and the sky kept her raindrop children home that day.  I'd be remiss if I did not express my deep appreciation for the many hands that made light work; I realize if I mention them all by name and missions accomplished, it will quickly become evident that my role in this whole production was simply being a Glorified List Maker.  

A huge Thank You! to everyone who took a moment to come and sit with Josh and Bethany a little while before they embark on their next great adventure, and to those who sent happy thoughts their way that day.

{All for now.}

:: twelve ::

(So, here's the deal:  You remember back in January, when I claimed I'd post a pic a day, and then failed not-so-epically, because we all know that that is my typical modus operandi?  Yeah, that.  Well, I'm not sure I should get any credit for this (I absolutely should), but despite the lack of evidence of life here on the blog, I still tried to take at least a pic, or a screen shot, or something that captured a moment in my day, and upload it to the drafts folder, so I'd have it there if I ever decided to show my face again. I started to sputter right around NFC championship time (I had a party to plan, duh), but I did surprisingly well with making sure I left my phone available for my children to hijack and use as their personal selfie-taking machine. :-p)

So, looking back, this is what I uploaded for January 12th.  If you'll recall, I was contemplating getting a jumpstart on my mid-life crisis, and, as such, was spending more time than usual at the gym, training.  I had some very specific goals that I hoped to accomplish:

1. Break my personal record for "Longest Talk Story Session after a Workout," and 
2. Discover the most perfect post-workout smoothie combination the YMCA's coffee shop has to offer.

Oh, and I guess I did want to be able to walk 3.1 miles before the sun went down.  Minor.

Anyway, one night, my Mister and I headed to the gym by ourselves, determined to get a quick workout in; we weren't quick enough, apparently, as this text evidences:

She's sassy, isn't she?  I guess she called, but my phone was hiding in my locker, so then she felt the need to resort to scathing text messages. 

But--never fear; I've been translating this girl's love language for 14 years, and she is clearly saying, "Mama, where are you?  I thought you would be home by now, and I'm a little worried about you.  I miss you; please call me ASAP, so I know you're safe, and so I can ask you to stop by the store and pick up some ice cream for us. I love you."

You see it, don't you?  Yeah, I thought so. :)

 {All for now.}

#tgifbf

...as in, Thank Goodness It's Flashback Friday.

(My teenager is adamant: "That's not a thing, Mom.")

But I need it to be, because I really want to jump back in here, but am apparently too lazy to write an actual post, so thank goodness there's an internet hashtag bandwagon for that.

(And, could someone please clarify for me exactly what the difference is between #tbt and #fbf?  I suspect #fbf was created by procrastinators who just couldn't get it together in time for #tbt.  Trust me--the struggle is real, my friends.  But I digress...)

Today, I'm flashing back a few years to the days when our house still oozed with the sweetness of three little girls; I didn't realize how much I'd miss all that stickiness:

 

 

And now, this is my life:

 

 ...offering comical perspectives on tourists. Even though, technically, they are tourists. 

I've done this before, 

and it's all in good fun, fellow tourist-types;

we embrace all kinds of ridiculous in this household.

(Just ask my kids about their mother.  Or maybe I'd rather you didn't.)

{All for now} 

:: eleven ::

So....this went out today:

I'll be honest here: we were totally caught off-guard. We opened it up, and took a collective gasp, looking at each other in wide-eyed bewilderment.  I think I was the first to break the stunned silence:

"Well, that's definitely not the font we thought they'd use..."

(Gotcha, didn't I? ;-9)

In case you don't know, the couple in that picture are not models in an advertisement for classy holiday cards; no, they are my brother and his lovely wife, on the verge of a new and very real adventure.   If you don't know how this family feels about babies, then it's safe to presume that you've never had the great pleasure of trying to wrestle your baby back out of the loving arms of any one of us--and we are four generations strong, so it's quite a workout for any new parent.  (I think I'm also getting to the root of why we are only ever invited anywhere once.)

To say we are excited about this impending arrival is putting it very mildly; not only are our "babies" 10-years-old, but he will be the first grandson/nephew/boy cousin for both the Recaido and the Joyce families.  Joshua has gifted our family with lots of "firsts" in recent years; it makes sense that he'd be the one to make my sister and I uncles for the first time!

Hahaha.

{All for now.}

:: ten ::

"Follow your heart."  

That sweet saying, popularized by indecisive dreamers everywhere (myself included), doesn't always guarantee bliss, I'm discovering.  Because sometimes your heart is a somewhat overenthusiastic monster truck fan , and Heart likes to coordinate annual excursions to Monster Jam at the Tacoma Dome, involving 85 of his closest friends, 3 slightly reluctant daughters, and 1 brother-in-law who ends up bailing--more on that in a minute. 

(And--that's 90 tickets, my friends. To Monster Jam.  In DoRe' Arnall's mailbox.Wha--?!)

I can't really hold my heart responsible for buying tickets to the Saturday evening show--there's no way Heart could have known that that would be the same day his beloved Seahawks faced the Panthers in the divisional round of the playoffs.  (And who doesn't remember sitting there at the end of Week 7, wondering if they'd even make it to playoffs this year?  Confession: this girl's confidence was slightly shaken.)  And, who could blame my heart's brother-in-law for quietly retreating from the original Saturday plan, hoping Heart wouldn't notice that he had opted instead for a ticket in the uppermost corners of CenturyLink? (Being married has had surprisingly little effect on brother-in-law's game attendance--it's quite impressive, really. :-p)

And so it is, and here I am, solitary, after sending my heart and our three daughters off to Monstertruckland.  Brother and Sister-in-law texted earlier with an invite to come hang with her and the crew there; I had to graciously decline, but only because I didn't really feel like putting pants on today. (C'mon now; you can't expect me to be married to Heart for 15 years and not adopt at least a few of his philosophies....) I'm kidding. I'm wearing the biggest, stretchiest pair of sweats my heart owns; now that feels like bliss.  

Kickoff is in less than an hour, game food is ready, and I made the tremendous effort of putting on my lucky socks, so I'm thinking we have a pretty good chance of winning today. 

Daddy and his girls.  Off they go!

My pre-game pep talk with the brother. 

It seems like he actually thought I was kidding?!?!

Game Changers

all for now...

{Go Hawks!}

*Post-game update: The socks worked.

:: nine::

It's Blue Friday, my friends!  

I'm not sure there's much more to be said, but in case you're not aware of this family's relationship with football, you'll find some enlightenment in this post.  I'll let that speak for itself; I need to save my voice for tomorrow. 

{Go Hawks!}

:: eight ::

i completed the day 2 workout for week 1 of the 5k your way walking training program; notice how i typed out everything in lower case to make it seem less official?  i wish the numbers weren't so tall. :)  

Because I recognize that committing to something like a training program, no matter how amateurish,  could seem to indicate intention to commit to something like the Hot Chocolate 15K/5K Event All of Your Friends Have Signed Up For, and I'm just not sure I'm ready for something like that.  

 Day 2 was literally a walk in the park, if the park looked like a track at the YMCA; but isn't that the least intelligent time to commit to something--when you think it's going to be easy?  Idk.  But right now I'm pretty sure that I think it's looking probable that I could definitely consider possibly trying to think about whether or not this is something I might do.   perhaps maybe.  (in lower case)  

Impressive--commitment-phobia at its finest.

{all for now}

  

:: seven ::

Oldest Daughter showed up for meeting dressed in exactly the opposite color scheme as her dear old mom:

Totally unintentional, supposedly.

I can't decide: is this just the most passive-aggresive form of teenage rebellion I've ever seen; or is she actually my photo-negative, silently acknowledging that she will someday develop into some version of me? 

Oh, dear. :-)

{All for now.}