Rhiannon's Baby Shower
Rhi had a baby shower today. It's her second one - first one was hosted by her mother - but I figure she's having twins, so two baby showers makes sense.
I was pretty late, even though Jeannie was kind enough to come into work early. I had to run home and wrap up a copy of The Cat and the Hat. See, the gift I had *actually* gotten for Rhi's belly bumps was two of these little outfits:
Thing One and Thing Two. She's having twins - of course I'm going to get them red coveralls and beanies with Dr. Seuss. (Man, I hope these kids are little blond angels with big blue eyes. Coming from a family of brunettes, one half of which is Chinese, the novelty of two Nordic-looking babes is almost too much excitement for me to bear. Anyway.) Since I ordered the outfits online, they naturally weren't here in time for me to wrap up. Thus the book.
Side note: Although almost every native-born American know Thing One and Thing Two and can identify them in a heartbeat, if the shower's attendees are any indication most adults have forgotten which Dr. Seuss book they appear in.
When I got to the baby shower, brother Jared (the oldest Buckley) was in front of the house talking on his cell phone. This was super lucky for me, because I had no idea where the apartment was. Jared hopped in the car and directed me to a place to park, and I arrived just in time to watch the last two baby games being played. One involved seeing who could pair up the most pairs of socks from a laundry bucket in thirty seconds; the other involved blindfolding a person and seeing how many cotton balls they could transport from one bowl to another with a plastic spoon. Baby shower games are so weird.
Rhi opened up her presents. She got tons of clothes; it seems that between the two showers she should have enough clothes her kids will never have to repeat an outfit! But I hear that babies soil clothes up really quickly, so they'll just have to constantly wash clothes and hope for the best. She also got three car seats - two for when the kids are bigger, one for bringing the kids home from the hospital - and an inflatable bath tub shaped like a duck. She also got bags and bags of little miscellaneous things, like diapers and car accessories.
Who was there? The two Buckley brothers, father-to-be Terry and Jared, the oldest. (Seanie was with his mother, decorating the house for Christmas.) Rhi's sister and mother. (I adore Rhi's mother; she's the cutest!) Some of Rhi's friends from high school, most of whom I've met at one party or another over the years. It was mostly women, of course. (Why is that an 'of course'? Why are baby showers predominantly female?)
While Rhi was opening her presents, a transformer across the street blew out. It sounded like gunshots, and we saw the flashes of light. Power wasn't effected at all, not across the street and not in the apartment. One of Rhi's friends had just left, and was right next to the tranformer. She got quite a scare, but was unharmed.
I ended up staying at the party 'til the bitter end. Part of me kept thinking, "I don't really know the hostess that well, so I should leave." But I was late, and I didn't want to seem like I was trying to squeeze in minimum baby time. Then another inner voice was like, "But all the family is still here, and I think I count as family now so I should help clean up." So I helped set the living room back in order and talked to Rhi about family stuff - specifically, the BIG contrast between the Buckley tribe and our own families. But the hostess and her husband had gone to high school with Rhi, Terry and Jared, so they had all known each other for years and years. It felt a little awkward being there, so I made my excuses and scooted out the door.
I was pretty late, even though Jeannie was kind enough to come into work early. I had to run home and wrap up a copy of The Cat and the Hat. See, the gift I had *actually* gotten for Rhi's belly bumps was two of these little outfits:
Thing One and Thing Two. She's having twins - of course I'm going to get them red coveralls and beanies with Dr. Seuss. (Man, I hope these kids are little blond angels with big blue eyes. Coming from a family of brunettes, one half of which is Chinese, the novelty of two Nordic-looking babes is almost too much excitement for me to bear. Anyway.) Since I ordered the outfits online, they naturally weren't here in time for me to wrap up. Thus the book.
Side note: Although almost every native-born American know Thing One and Thing Two and can identify them in a heartbeat, if the shower's attendees are any indication most adults have forgotten which Dr. Seuss book they appear in.
When I got to the baby shower, brother Jared (the oldest Buckley) was in front of the house talking on his cell phone. This was super lucky for me, because I had no idea where the apartment was. Jared hopped in the car and directed me to a place to park, and I arrived just in time to watch the last two baby games being played. One involved seeing who could pair up the most pairs of socks from a laundry bucket in thirty seconds; the other involved blindfolding a person and seeing how many cotton balls they could transport from one bowl to another with a plastic spoon. Baby shower games are so weird.
Rhi opened up her presents. She got tons of clothes; it seems that between the two showers she should have enough clothes her kids will never have to repeat an outfit! But I hear that babies soil clothes up really quickly, so they'll just have to constantly wash clothes and hope for the best. She also got three car seats - two for when the kids are bigger, one for bringing the kids home from the hospital - and an inflatable bath tub shaped like a duck. She also got bags and bags of little miscellaneous things, like diapers and car accessories.
Who was there? The two Buckley brothers, father-to-be Terry and Jared, the oldest. (Seanie was with his mother, decorating the house for Christmas.) Rhi's sister and mother. (I adore Rhi's mother; she's the cutest!) Some of Rhi's friends from high school, most of whom I've met at one party or another over the years. It was mostly women, of course. (Why is that an 'of course'? Why are baby showers predominantly female?)
While Rhi was opening her presents, a transformer across the street blew out. It sounded like gunshots, and we saw the flashes of light. Power wasn't effected at all, not across the street and not in the apartment. One of Rhi's friends had just left, and was right next to the tranformer. She got quite a scare, but was unharmed.
I ended up staying at the party 'til the bitter end. Part of me kept thinking, "I don't really know the hostess that well, so I should leave." But I was late, and I didn't want to seem like I was trying to squeeze in minimum baby time. Then another inner voice was like, "But all the family is still here, and I think I count as family now so I should help clean up." So I helped set the living room back in order and talked to Rhi about family stuff - specifically, the BIG contrast between the Buckley tribe and our own families. But the hostess and her husband had gone to high school with Rhi, Terry and Jared, so they had all known each other for years and years. It felt a little awkward being there, so I made my excuses and scooted out the door.