Birthday Baby Shower Part 1

I have OFFICIALLY caught up with my events!!!  Yipee!!  lol.  It took a while for me to get to this point.  Looking back on the events in my life has helped me tremendously.  Sometimes you have to realize how far you've come to the point where you are NOW.  Currently, my mom has been expressing to me that she is suffering from some memory loss.  I tried to write it off as something that will pass.  Since her husband's passing, I simply assumed she was going through the hardships.  But now I am fearing it might be more than that.  We had a good talk and I did advise her to see a doctor whenever she gets a chance.  She is looking forward to retiring around her birthday in September.  Even though I'm worried about her well being, it's nice to hear that she is welcoming this next transition in her life.
Around the holidays, I found out that my dad and his wife weren't in good terms.  My other two aunts have been having problems with their husbands too.  I hate seeing them go through this because they are all older.  Yes couples fight but this has been going on for YEARS.  So much friction, yet they put up with it for the sake of the marriage.  It terrifies me.
It bummed me out because I want to see them happy.  I want them to love one another and grow old peacefully.  Hearing some of the fights they're having breaks my heart.  Seeing the sadness in their eyes proves to me there's something terribly wrong.  And then there's my mom.  I may have a problem over thinking but I do appreciate the time I have now being single.  I am drama-free.
Of course, coming home to an empty apartment is an adjustment, but blogging has helped me sort out my thoughts.  I look into the future of my family members and worry about the decisions they've made.  Then I look into the present with all of my friends settling down and hope they're making the right decisions for their future families.  There is simply no way to predict how things will turn out.  You have to take a chance in life and in love and hope for the best. 
My friend had her baby shower this past Saturday.  Leading up to that day was pretty hectic.  I had to catch up on my work since I was pretty wiped out from the weekend before.  I was in charge of some of the games.  I printed up some activities for us to do in case we get a little quiet in there.  I was all set!
I woke up around 9am to do a quick clean up of my apartment since I knew I was going to be out all day.  Then I slowly got ready.  My friend wanted us to be at the restaurant around 11:30am to help set up.  The funny thing about this day was the weather.  It was unseasonably warm.  In the upper 40s.  If I would have known how warm it was going to be, I would have worn a dress, but instead I wore what I had planned all along.  A black sweater with an attached cape and faux leather panel leggings.  I was hot!!  Not to mention, the shower was being held at Quartino's restaurant.  Part of the table arrangements were 5 head candlestick candles and votives  displayed throughout the area.  There was even a fire place on!!  Go figure!
We did our best to setup the tables before the guests started arriving.  We had the upstairs area from 1-4pm.  The mom-to-be had a decorating table so people could paint and decorate baby onesies and wooden blocks for her future son.  That was a pretty fun idea!  Everyone enjoyed decorating.  We also got a chance to play bin-the-baby-in-the-belly with the cutout babies I printed out.  We enjoyed playing it from the last baby shower we attended, and as usual, it was a hit.
Time flew by quickly!  The staff at the restaurant reminded us that we had the room until 4pm and it was a Saturday after all.  They needed to clean up right away, so we didn't have time to linger around.  My friends wanted to grab drinks afterwards, but we opted to meet up later on.  My feet were killing me.  I went home and passed out for over an hour.  Next thing you know, it was time to get back up again.  This cycle needs to stop, I swear!  lol.  I agreed to it because the mom-to-be was celebrating her birthday as well.  It fell earlier that Tuesday.  They were also hosting some friends who flew into Chicago for this shower, so off we went at it again.  Stay tuned for part 2!   

Baby blue cake! 

Decorating table...

 We hung up the onesies as part of the decorations.  People would grab a onesie and make their way to the decorating table..

Quartino provided a buffet for the party.  There was margarita pizza as well...

Wishes for baby on a onesie!

Pin-the-baby-in-the-belly!

Time to measure the belly...





The mommy-to-be wore baby blue!  I wish I wore something more colorful but I assumed it was going to be freezing since it usually is in January.  Regardless, this shower was in River North after all, so I kind of fit in.  LMAO

B is for BABY SHOWER!!

During Memorial Weekend my friend had a baby shower.  I haven't seen all of my friends in a while.  As we get older we get more busy, but it's times like these that bring us all together.  I love it!  The shower was held at a golf resort in Evanston.  It was perfect because it was not far from the city and had plenty of parking for everyone.  Hey in Chicago, that's a big deal.  lol.  Everyone had a specific task in participating in the shower.  I was in charge of the games the kids will play.  My friend made this shower kid-friendly since most of her friends are moms.  That way no one had to find a sitter on the day of.  I found most of the games on Pinterest, (a God send) and luckily the kids had fun!  They were mostly based off the game minute-to-win-it.  I also bought some prizes from the dollar store to give away. 
In the end, we had a great time and the kids enjoyed themselves too.  I can't believe how fast time flies!  My friend gave birth to her son in July! 


Pretty setting!



Treats for everyone!



The beautiful mother-to-be!

One of the games I found on Pinterest.  In one minute try to scoop up as many cotton balls as you can into a bowl on your head.  Blind fold of course. 

Another minute-to-win-it game.  Post as many post-its on someone for a minute.  Who ever has the most post-its on their body wins!  Remember, sometimes they don't stick as easily...



Me with my friend's baby girl who was born back in January!

Baby Shower Bonanza!

We welcomed November to a baby shower for our friend!  Believe it or not, she planned her own baby shower, but if you knew her, you would understand.  She is the definition of a true planner!  She rented a room upstairs at a pizzeria which also included a bar and a couple of flat screens for the Bulls game.  Nowadays, most baby showers are co-ed, and sometimes children are invited too!  It's a time where friends and family come together to catch up, and people have a hard time getting a sitter as well.  With all of that in mind, trying to keep the festivities joyfully for the length of time you have the space can be a tricky thing.  That's where the games come in...
First up, trying to figure out what type of baby food it is.  There are so many variations of baby food out there!  Every guest where to check-in and try to guess what they were looking at.  NO TASTING ALLOWED!!!
You can't have a baby shower without trying to guess the size of her baby bump!  This game is infamous, and a fun way of getting a prize to whoever gets the closest estimate.  Remember to bring extra yarn or ribbon!
To spice things up, we had a couples race where one sits on a chair and the other stands in front of them blindfolded.  Once the clock starts ticking, the one standing has to feed the one sitting baby food and whoever finishes first wins.  NO HELPING!!  And bring extra bibs so there's no food falling all over the place...
I was still in love with my headpiece from Claire's so I wore that with a tunic and black skinny pants.  The headpiece looks better with my hair curly and I got lots of compliments on it.  I like funky accessories to spice up a look!
We had a good time at the shower and even continued at the bar next door for some dancing and fun.  One of our good friends is having her baby shower coming up this Memorial Weekend, so I'm excited about that too.  I have the responsibility of thinking up games to play at this shower, so I'll share with you what I came up with.  Planning a party is hard work!