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Patience: December 2008 Archives
Amber writes...
I'm helping host a baby shower for a friend in her late 30's. I'm hoping one (or more) of the supersisters might have some creative ideas about baby shower themes or activities? Any great baby shower stories or things you would have appreciated?
Whenever I think about a baby shower, I always envision the movie Lady and the Tramp, with Darling's friends chatting about names and booties while Jim Dear and his friends pass around cigars. It's a rite-of-passage for every mother to be. It can be fun, meaningful, a nice gathering of support and love to welcome a new little person into the world.
Here are a few ideas for you Amber:
The Traditional shower- Tea and tiny cucumber sandwiches, pretty punch and cake served on china. Each guests can bring a baby picture and everyone can write down their guesses with the winner receiving a beautiful orchid or other enchanting potted plant. You might want to buy a leather bound journal and go around the room with each person offering their one bit of sage advice about babies and parenting. Add the amount of children and years of parenting represented in the room. Ask a crafty friend to sew that number of fabric squares together making a small baby blanket to be presented to the mother when the baby is born.
The Sweet and Sassy Onesie party- Onesies never go out of style and are always needed. Ask each guest to bring a sweet, sassy or artsy onesie as part of their baby gift. Hang the onesies on a clothes line against a wall, use bright and colorful clothespins. Vote on your favorite with the winner receiving a Starbucks card. Serve fun food that can be dipped or go all out and rent a chocolate fountain. Here is a great place to start looking for the perfect onesie. Finish the night with every guest signing a tiny white onesie with fabric markers. Messages of love and fun start before the babe is even born.
The Book Baby party- This is a great party for the mom-to-be who has everything. Ask every guest to bring a baby board book or their favorite children's literature. Take turns passing the books around. Have a short reading from a humorous parenting memoir or blog. Operating Instructions by Anne Lamott is a great start. Eat panninis, serve coffee and tea, and have decadent chocolate cake for dessert. Guess the baby's due date, weight, height with a promise of a Barnes & Noble gift card mailed to the winner in the baby announcement. Another group gift idea- Gather money for a candid photo session for the new family right after birth.
The Blessingway- A blessingway, rooted in a Native American tradition, is a way to honor the mother and encourage her before she gives birth. You can give a very pregnant woman a soothing foot bath with herbs and flowers. Ask each guest to bring a bead that can represent a blessing for the mom, string them together to make a necklace reminding her of the care and love surrounding her. Serve veggies and hummus, berries, fruit smoothies, a light cake and herbal teas. Shower the mom with gifts just for her, dark chocolate, nice pajamas, lotions, candles, etc. Light candles and make the space dreamy. It's a lovely way to invite a woman into the tribe of motherhood.
The Grandmother Shower- My mom has been invited to a few grandmother showers. The to be grandmother (usually with her first grandchild) and her friends get together to celebrate the upcoming event. The attendees give gifts of books, photo albums, some baby equipment and other memory making kind of gifts. Advice is exchanged along with funny grandparenting stories. The mother to be may or may not attend.
The Diaper and Dinner shower- This shower is for the frequent flyers, you know the ones who are on their 2nd, 3rd or even 4th baby. Everyone brings a package of diapers and a casserole that can be freezed or signs up for a date to bring a meal. I hear they are all the rage and deeply appreciated the second go around.
Well, hope that helps Amber. We need more ideas! Please share your best baby shower themes and party plans in the comments.
The big Christmas morning surprise: A Wii
The kids: excited beyond belief. Jack, in particular, was delirious
The Wii nickname: This started quite a discussion amongst our family members. We thought the Wii should be named the Wiigado after our last name Salgado. Jack disagreed.
"I think we should name it God because it IS Christmas and that's what Christmas is all about. You know, God the baby and everything." he insisted.
"Huh, that's true." I said. (actually considering the idea)
"We can NOT name the Wii GOD." Jorge said under his breath.
Wiigado won, although I think the Wii will be worshiped for a while.
It feels like everyone is cutting back this year, holding everything a little closer. Let's just say you could ask for anything, what would make your grown up Christmas list?
I'd have to say mine would be a mix of world peace with a magazine subscription thrown in just to make it interesting. How do kids always know what they want? and aren't afraid to ask. Maybe they are just better at dreaming than we are.
Do you want to try today? Here's mine.
A grown up Christmas list:
a vegetarian magazine subscription
a new start for our country where we all feel invested and can make a difference
a stellar year in my kindness work
a macro lens for my camera
guerrilla goodness moo cards
to know my neighbors better
lots of berries of every kind
the perfect pair of jeans
Okay, it's your turn to make a list in the comments. You can even be slick and leave the Supersisters page up so wandering family members and fellow gift givers can see. Do it, it's fun!
Whoever decided that the mother should be granted responsibility for all of Christmas, I would like to strangle him. If this is just a law of the universe, I would like to protest. Would any one else like to stage a rally, a sit-in perhaps?
Shopping for presents, sending packages, creating memories, crafting meaningful gifts, parades and tree lightings, packing for a trip on top of laundry, dishes, vacuuming, and the icing on the cake, perfectly timed pink eye for 3 out of 6 family members. Why is it that there is always one moment during a holiday where all of it depends on you? and for that, you rant and rave for help or cry or wish you had some other position in your family. I pick Lucy's, she seems to be having the best time and is the most age appropriate ego centric.
I would be very happy to take lots of baths, play puppy dog and watch an ungodly amount of Martha Speaks.
What's the solution to the Christmas meltdown my friends? Phone calls to fellow supersisters to trade holiday horror responsibility stories, being pissy with your safest person (which is my husband), chex mix, and hiding for a while. Reading Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree or deciding if these are my biggest problems in my life than it can't be all that bad after all.
Have you had a Christmas meltdown yet this season or better yet, how do handle the curse of all of Christmas responsibility? plan ahead? don't have a baby 12 weeks before Christmas?
"Mom, I just want to go to Gina's house and have coffee." Lucy said on the way to pick up the boys from school. "And we can do cheers with our coffee."
The plan is a repeat performance of the gathering that morning which consisted of lattes, kids vanilla creamers, scones, babies and girlfriends. I too am wishing we could go for a second round.
I've been blissfully ignoring responsibilities to prop up babies and make funny faces in hopes of capturing the shot of baby friendship in my lens. It's a friendship starting with mothers that spills over to children.The kind where soulsisters shrink each other about marriage woes and talk extensively about how to hide postpartum fat while kids make glorious messes with watering cans. We dream up kindness schemes together and delight in each other's children. We hold the space for pain, hope, light and truth. We are in it together.
I'm starting to wonder how I ever did it without them. How do we live life carrying it all, it's just too much. We all need a tribe, a crew, a supersister somewhere.
Feel free to gush about the people by your side who make life lovely in the comments. Tell us what you love best about your supersister/brother.
We laid in bed staring at the ceiling early on a Saturday morning, every child still asleep.
"Do you wanna go...? I didn't even get to finish the sentence.
"No." he said quickly. We looked at each other with relief.
It was the morning of the local Christmas parade on a very cold and windy morning. The whole idea of dragging four kids out to sit in the cold for 3 hours sounded like a Christmas magic death wish.
We ended up making a fire, surfing the internet together while various children climbed in and out of our bed. It was blissful. Sometimes I wonder what we are thinking when we drag our kids to a hundred holiday events. Our happiest moments seem to be in a more low key setting: trimming the tree, wrapping presents, watching holiday movies together, just shootin' the breeze. There is so much anticipation and hype around the holidays but I think sometimes we might miss the point all together.
So here is a Supersister Holiday Challenge for my family and yours: Skip some event and replace it with something fun at home. Deciding the level of holiday intensity is up to you, some families still need to "do something" while others are happy to be quiet in a room together. I think we are going to play a new brain game Josiah and Jorge are currently obsessed with.
Got any suggestions for home and hearth family fun? Let us know in the comments.
Having a lazy Saturday morning when you should be doing the holiday madness? Why not veg out over some our favorite Supersisters around the net.
I love just gazing at Geninne's birds, her house is even dreamier. They are a family full of artists too.
Need a little dancing this holiday season? Kristin Cummings, the anxiety superhero danced her way through a rough postpartum with a little help from Stevie Wonder.
It might be time to snuggle with little people and a good book. Check out the handy dandy holiday bookfinder on our very own and beloved pbsparents.org.
Cookies, cookies anyone? I think these snickerdoodles look positively scrumptious and perfect for Hanukkah or other holiday celebrations. I love how Lolo is representing for all the veggies in the world.
It's tree trimming time my friends. Lifenut reminisces about smelly trees and shows us the beauty of a true family tree.
Don't forget to leave us links your favorite holiday happenings in the comments
This is the Christmas...
where 75% of the ornaments are hung at the eye level of a three year old Lucy.
when your 8 year old soaks up every holiday experience and tells you 1,000 times: "We are having a nice time huh mom?"
the magic of Santa is burned into a 5 year old dreamy boy's heart.
when you hold your tiny baby and think she must be as perfect as the baby Jesus himself.
when you are tired, tired, tired.
where you decide to go everywhere in your pajamas and a fleece pullover.
you are only mildly aware of how far behind you are with all there is to do.
you think about when exactly will you ever send Christmas cards.
when you decide everything is exactly as it should be and all is well.
What is this the Christmas/Hanukkah (or holiday) of for you my friend? Tell us in the comments.
It was the night before Marmie (my mom) was to return home to Miami after 6 days of grandparenting bliss. The boys were holding each other and crying in their bunk beds. It was so bad that Jorge climbed up into the top bunk to console them, it was quite a scene. My mom could barely stand it.
"It's okay mom, they'll be fine.", I assured her. It gets a little worse each time, the happiness of being together and the sadness of living so far apart.
"Well Marmie, we're comin' to your house for Christmas." Jorge said after 45 minutes of getting them settled and to sleep.
We all laughed only to find out later he actually promised this, and we did in fact have to travel with three small children and an infant 1200 miles. Driving of course, because who can afford that many plane tickets? Even though this is probably a terrible idea I was secretly very excited. I'm going home for Christmas.
So now the countdown begins. The kids pretty much talk about it everyday. Josiah asks exactly how long we will be staying (he's asked this about 100 times). Jack talks about swimming on Christmas day as my parents live in Miami. Lucy suggests we go to Marmie and father's house for Christmas pretty much every other day but she insists that TODAY is Christmas and we must leave right away. Lyra now only cries half the time when she is in the car and usually when the car is stopped. This fits perfectly into Jorge's plan of driving straight thru while we pee in bottles in the backseat.
What love. I guess there is something about older people in your life. Like Santa they listen to your biggest dream. They put dollars or coins in your birthday cards. They spend time with you and are delighted by everything you do. They give good advice. They love you with no agenda.
So Christmas, bring your joy, we'll soak it up...especially the old people.
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