The Baby Shower

Sorry for not being about the last few days, but we had the baby shower on Saturday and I was busy in the lead up to the shower and plain bloody exhausted the day after!!!

Anyhow it went off without a hitch and dd loved it.  The theme of the shower was "Sugar and Spice."

Dd  mother-in-law is the Principal of a private school so we used one of the rooms at the school.  Here is a photo of the food.

Dd best friend who was the creative genius behind the shower, also made the cake.  I did most of the sweet things, and dd mother-in-law did most of the savory things.

Dd best friend also made the three diaper cakes.  They were stunning.  On this table also was the Wishes for Baby cards and book.

This is the "wishes for baby" cards that you fill in and they go into the pink book above.  Its a lovely keepsake and the pages were made using a Cricut.

Here is the table with the favours on it.

Inside the boxes were a sugar cookie (you can sort of see a couple at the side of the photo) which dd best friend made, along with Butter Chicken spice mix and recipe for the butter chicken.  Hence the sugar and spice theme. Our little Princess' mother put the spice mix together and we used her recipe for the chicken.  I should post the recipe as everyone loves it........well except me as I don't like anything with spice in it.

On this table you can see three of the prizes.  Also the Price is Right game, where you had to guess the total price of the various items.  Ds girlfriend won that game.

Here we had the diaper changing game.  The doll on the far right is Annabelle and she will be 47 years old next March; yes she is my doll.  My cousin's daughter got second prize in that game.  My step-mother won another of the prizes and my niece won another prize......and no it wasn't fixed!!!

In the centre of the tables were these flower arrangements along with two dishes of candy.  For the spice red hot tamales, and for the sugar chocolates.

This was another of the interesting facts that was framed on some of the tables.

Dd got so many gifts it was over whelming I think.  The baby will not need any clothes for the first six months of her life.  She is a very lucky little girl.  We had around 40 people there which was nice and I think from what I could gather everyone had a good time.  So all we have to do now is wait for our little Sweet pea to pop out and pray and hope she is a she, otherwise if she is a he, he is going to be wearing a lot of pink and purple things for the first six months of his life!!!!

I did manage to get the quilt finished.

I also got a pillow made out of the scraps.

I still have the crib skirt to do and a tab top valance for the nursery.  Does anyone have a link to an easy pattern for a tab top valance?

End of August already?

Where on earth did the month go to?  Have to admit I am not a fan of  July and August as I am drained with the heat and humidity. 

Mind you August was a great month for us personally as we paid off our mortgage.  We'll start to see the benefits of that in a month or so time, when things settle down.

Meanwhile I am so looking forward to the cooler Fall weather.  I am REALLY looking forward to the first frost; in the hopes I can stop taking bloody allergy pills!!!  Never had a summer like this one before for bad allergies.
I had an appointment for another lot of nerve testing on my hands and the conclusion is I need to see a specialist who deals with arthritis.  As we all know there is very little you can do with arthritis but live with it and keep moving the affected part (s) of you body to stop them seizing up.

September is going to be a good and busy month.  We have our vacation, the baby shower, sorting and tidying ready for the winter and of course we hope cooler temperatures.  It's also the start of Fall Fair season:

Do you look forward to September?

More photos from the baby shower.......

This time I am going to show you photos of games and details of the baby shower.  The first photo is one of the favours we gave out along with the tea cup, saucer, plate and spoon.

Inside the box was this, a small tin of loose leaf tea and a package of three filters to put the tea in; and all were packaged inside the green bag:

One of the games was disgusting if you ask me!!!  It was the dirty diaper game:

This is what was inside of the diaper:

This was the form we had to fill out, yes the diapers were filled with melted chocolate bars, still disgusting if you ask me:

Just for your info, only one person actually got two right, and they won.

Another game was the baby version of "The Price is Right,"

There were four items and you had to guess the price of each one and whoever got to the closest total price won:

Dd mother-in-law won that game, and we gave "R" all four of the items to take home.  The other game we played was guess how many candies were in the baby bottle.  As there were around 50 people at the shower we thought these type of games were easier to play, than group games.

Dd came up with this idea.  Everyone got a piece of card with "wishes for Baby," and had to fill it out and it was put into a binder for "R" to keep.

Dd best friend made this banner, you had to see it in person to see the detail, it was just gorgeous.

One of the diaper name tags had a sticker in it and they won a prize, everyone loved this idea as well.

Finally here is a photo of "R" in front of all her presents, she got a lot.

I have some more of the Indian baby shower which I'll share with you later in the week.

Baby shower photos (photo heavy)

I may split these up over a couple of days as there are a number of photos.

Here we are, dd, "R" and me........I am truly shocked I am actually smiling.  Hard to believe "R" is seven months pregnant there!!!

Lets look at the food:

This was the cold drink dd provided:

These are the cookies that dd best friend made, they were stunning; and she put a lot of work into them.

I purchased a small 5" cake for "R" to take home with her:

Another photo of the cupcake tree and cake:

A photo of the sandwiches and other things on the table:

This is a photo of the room we held the event in:

Can't believe it's already been a year.........

Since dd and son-in-law got married can you?  It has gone fast.

Happy Anniversary to both of you!   This is what we bought them:

Paper is the first anniversary traditional gift, but someone told me a clock was the modern first anniversary gift, so I got them a clock for their kitchen.

Also yesterday was the baby shower.  I only have a couple of photos to show you, as I never got a chance to take photos.  I will ask "R" to send me hers, as I know she took photos of everything.  People started turning up before we were completely set up!!!  Only because I threatened "R's" close friends with the naughty step if they weren't on time!!!  Yes, I did!!!!

In this box are the chocolate caramel cupcakes, the mini chocolate cupcakes and the lemon cranberry loaves.

In this box are the lemon cupcakes, filled with lemon curd.

In this box are the butterfly buns, they have raspberry jam in them:

In this one are the pumpkin spice cupcakes:

This is the one photograph I managed to take at the actual shower:

As you can see people had enjoyed the food at that point!!  The biggest success were the scone's with the clotted cream and jam.  Dd loose leaf tea went down really well as well.  Again I will share photos when I get them and explain more.

Will admit to being pooped but pleased that "R" thoroughly enjoyed it and there were a great mix of people there.  Plus she got a huge pile of gifts, which I have yet to see!!

Let the prep begin............

It's the baby shower(s) weekend so busy, busy around here.  I had to start on the preparation on Friday afternoon, as with having the Indian Shower on Saturday and our shower on Sunday there isn't time to do it all in one day.

These photos were taken on Friday.  Underneath all that stuff is my kitchen table:

First change of plan was to make Rice Krispie Squares instead of the chocolate krispie thingy's.  Mine always look as though someone went crazy with the toppings!!  They have hundred's and thousand's on the top of them, along with toffee bits and chocolate:

Now the peanut butter cookies, I have been using the same Fannie Farmer recipe for 20+ years, so can do it in my sleep.  However on Friday I kept burning the bums of the cookies.  It's always the same when you want things to be perfect.

Wasn't much better with the Chocolate Chip ones either:

I was lucky on Friday as there was no tax on anything at Zehrs.  So I saved nearly $4 on the 6 bunches of flowers I bought.  Then doing my regular shopping saved some money there as well.

It snowed on and off all day with us on Friday, but we were lucky as it melted as fast as it fell.

I will remember to take plenty of photos with our outfits on, on Saturday as is should be a sight to see!!

It's all in the details,

as dd says.  So guess what I was doing Sunday afternoon?  Ripping off the labels on water bottles to add our own customized labels for the baby shower.  Even dh raised his eyebrows; but as I said it's all in the details!!

One of my goals for 2013 is to learn to crochet, as I love grannie squares.  So on Sunday night I thought I would go on You Tube and see what I could learn.  Well after about 20 minutes I had mastered the slip knot thingy that starts you off.  Then I got totally lost and confused when we had to start doing a chain?  So I can see this is going to take a bit more work than I thought.  Although I think some smoother wool/yarn would help as I am using Martha Stewart Alpaca Blend which is a #5 bulky (?) whatever that means?  I was using a 6.5 mm or K hook with it.

Dh had an appointment at the hospital on Monday to see the surgeon who did the scope on his right knee.  Was told his knee is as good as it's going to be and to use his left knee to kneel on!  Anyhow the MRI on his left knee shows the same problem, torn meniscus and arthritis.  He can have it operated on whenever he wants, but after what has happened with his right knee, he told the surgeon he'll wait until he can't stand the pain no more and then he'll have it operated on.

Anyhow why I am even mentioning this is I wanted to share something we found out today.  Whenever we have an appointment at the fracture clinic we they are always running a couple of hours behind schedule which is bloody annoying.  Found out why the surgeon we saw on Monday had 70 patients booked in between the hours of 8am until 12 noon.  Yes you read right 70.  One that's just bloody ridiculous and bloody greedy, as no doubt he gets paid for every patient he sees.

Baby Shower prep.......

On Sunday I had the dishwasher on THREE times washing all the china for the baby shower.  Wanted to do it on a weekend, when the hydro is cheap through the day.  I rarely use my dishwasher, so I bet the poor thing is exhausted from all the use now!!

I also sat down and finalized my menu and printed out some recipes I would be using, and a shopping list of things that I have to buy.

We're having afternoon tea, so it's not like we have to feed the guests a full meal.  Here is my menu plan:

Egg & mayo sandwiches on white bread
Ham and mustard sandwiches on brown bread
Tuna & mayo sandwiches on brown bread
Cream cheese & cucumber sandwiches on white bread
Scones with raspberry jam and mock clotted cream. (I have used both the scone and cream recipe before with good results)

Peanut butter cookies
Choc-chip cookies
Sugar cookies
Chocolate and caramel cupcakes
Lemon cupcakes
Spice cupcakes
Fairy/Butterfly buns
Lemon Bars
Lemon Cranberry loaf
Marshmallow Crispie Bar

Tea: various loose leaf teas, or P.G. Tips, served with milk, sugar or lemon slices
Coffee: served with half and half and sugar (if needed)
Juice
Water

The only thing I am not making are the sugar cookies, as dd best friend is making "fancy" baby themed ones, I hope; that's what I told her to do!  I am using cake mixes for the cupcakes due to time constraints, but "tarting" them up to make them special.  I am not 100% about the lemon bars; if I have time I will make them, if not it's not a big thing.

I think I am feeding 55, so as long as I do most of the baking and prep the day before (after I have come back from the Indian baby shower), everything should be fine.  The one thing I do have to do the day of, is make the scones as they are best fresh.  I will also make the sandwiches and decorate all the cupcakes.  There will be two dozen of each of the four flavours, so I think we'll be eating cupcakes for a while afterwards!!!!

I have the flowers to organize and a small cake to sort out for the top of the cupcake tree for the parents-to-be to take home with them.  Otherwise I think I am all sorted?????

Ever wonder why your fresh/real Christmas Tree never lasts long?

Well I know; I just wish I had, had a camera with me.  We passed a big field of Christmas trees on Saturday and a lot were cut, wrapped and stacked ready for the Christmas market.  It's only the middle of October for goodness sake.  I'll stick with my artificial one thank you.

On Saturday ds and son-in-law ran up the CN Tower to raise money for charity.  As per this article there are: 1776 steps to main deck level (1135 ft), 2579 to Sky pod (1465 ft). 

I don't know if they went to the main deck level or beyond.  Anyhow son-in-law did it in under 25 minutes and I think ds was 28 minutes, not 100% sure though.  As I said to dh if it were me I would still be climbing up those stairs.  Mind you I wouldn't go up the CN Tower even if you paid me.  The last time I was up there I discovered I was afraid of heights!!!  And those glass floors don't excite me either!!  

We spent Saturday at dd and son-in-law's house as dh went to give them a hand to install their new kitchen. Must say it's very nice and very bright and clean.  It's pretty plain and is off white.  They got it at Lowes and is made by a Canadian Company, but I can't remember the name; but constructed very well.  

While they were doing that I was putting together the favours for the baby shower.  I can't wait to show you what we are giving them, it is really nice, but bloody fiddly to do.  Luckily for me dd Martha was busy installing the kitchen so I wasn't "supervised!!"  Now for all my whining, I had to admit, dd has done an excellent job with all the details for this baby shower; she should be a party planner.  I can't wait to share photos of everything, only two more weeks.

No idea what to post about?

So I'll start writing and no doubt my fingers will type something?

Picked up my sari on Saturday for the Indian baby shower, which should be happening over Thanksgiving weekend......though not confirmed.  Will say it is very nice and luckily it was too long for me, so I have had to hitch it up, which hides more of my extra bits around my middle!!!!

The child/idiot proof way of attaching Velcro and hooks, works a charm as I can sort of put it on without any help.  Mind you I do have to wear my glasses, so I can see where the slots are to put the hooks.  "R" was also very happy with the way Reeka made the tops, and "R" is pretty fussy.

Poor "R" had some "bad" news at the doctors when they told her the baby is very small for the gestation period, and she will deliver a small baby, probably no more than six pounds, and she has to go see a dietitian.  She is 22 weeks and has only put on 10 lbs, and is barely showing at all. 

Now as I pointed out, would you rather try and push out a 10 lb baby naturally or a 6 lb baby?  Me personally a 6 pounder would suit me fine.  Also the more weight you put on the more you have to try and get rid off after the baby is born.

Here I am, dd is coming up 27 years of age and I'm still trying to lose the baby weight from when I had her!!!!  Incidentally, ds was only 6lbs 10 oz and I was the size of a beached whale.........I must had been carrying a lot of water with him.......yep that's the reason.

Dh is on vacation again this week, so today we are going to clean out the garage....something everyone should do when on vacation, right?  It's getting to the point that I should start parking my car in the garage, and at this moment, I'm having trouble getting my tractor in there for the mess.  So I will try and remember to take before and after photos.

Not sure what else we are going to do, as the weather is a bit iffy this week.

Hope you all have a good week.........and is it just me, or do you think this month is flying by?

Update on baby shower progress..

On Saturday we went down to dd and my job was to label the invitations.  Let's just say I didn't do the first one right..........well not to dd precise instructions!!!!  I swear one of these days my eyes are going to be stuck in the back of my head, the amount of times I roll my eyes at her.  I thought it was children/teens who did it to their parents not the other way around...LOL

Anyhow, here is a peek at the front of the invitation; can't show you the rest as there is too much information on it, that we don't need the Internet trolls to see!!!  Got the invitations from here.

Here is the back of it:

Had to buy cupcake liners as I am making 6 dozen cupcakes, three flavours.  So took advantage of a 50% off coupon at Michael's and dragged dh along for the hell of it.  He hates Michael's.  I thought I was safe with brown and cream ones......

I had to cut up these labels for the water bottles.........yes we are having personalized water bottle labels.......it's the little details dd says that matters!! Yes, but guess who has to remove the original labels from the water bottles and glue on these ones?  Yep, that would be me!!!

I picked up some more cups, saucers and tea plates.  I got these two for $1.75 for the pair:

I got this set for $5 and it includes 4 of cups, saucers, tea plates, dinner plates and bowls.

For the floral centre pieces on the tables, I have picked up 32 random glasses that I paid $4 for.  Will put them in threes on the table and pop flowers in each of them.

I'm not sure if I have told you this, but one of dd good friend's is getting married next year and they are having a garden party wedding.  So any china and glassware that is leftover I am giving to her for her wedding reception.  So nothing is going to waste and when she is finished with it, she will donate it back to the charity shop.

I hate to say for all my whining, dd should be a party planner as she thinks of everything, and she is right it's the little details that matter.  Right now dd and her best friend are into making felt flowers to go on the wrapping paper for presents as an extra bit of embelishment.............I know I should have named her Martha!!!!

Just published a couple of book reviews, here.