Blog From A Broad

showered

On Sunday (Mother's Day back home), Caroline and Tosha put together a wonderful baby shower for me - a very rare event in the UK, I might add. After reading whingey posts from American mothers-to-be on pregnancy web boards(yeah, I know I should really just avoid reading them from now on) about how "only" 20 people are coming to the shower, how they're "only" having one shower (apparently it's not that unusual to have several), and how they didn't get everything they wanted from the gift registry, I am actually very glad that this...erm...tradition hasn't made it over this side of the pond.

I decided to do a pamper day because we're all tired mums and deserve a little bit of massage and moisturising treatments. I booked a massage therapist called Elizabeth Hughes and a beauty therapist called Nicci Trudgeon (of Bliss pamper parties and Innerlather) who made us all glowy and relaxed during the afternoon. I made sushi and bought two of Tom's Cakes (v. proud of myself that I didn't eat them between buying them on Friday and the party on Sunday), and Caroline and Tosha brought a ton of other food including things for the Chocolate Fountain That Went Pfffft. Disappointingly, the fountain decided not to work but luckily I had a backup fondue pot. Conchita made a genuine Spanish tortilla (she's a real Spanish person, you know) which Jack devoured afterwards and for lunch today, and Liz made fairy cakes/cupcakes with her little girl Lucy for the shower. We lounged, we laughed, we ate. And ate.

We played some hilarious games such as Guess How Huge Lisa Is (guests had to estimate my belly circumference using a ribbon - some were close while others *cough cough Caroline* overestimated by about three feet), What's In the Bag? (have a feel around the inside of a bag and guess what's in it), Dummy Takeaway (we all wore dummies/pacifiers around our necks and if we said the word "baby" or crossed our legs, whoever caught us would take the dummy; person with the most dummies won), and my personal favourite Guess the Smeared Nappy Chocolate (Caroline melted five different varieties of chocolate bars in separate nappies, which actually wasn't as gross as it sounds.) My friend Liz took the nappies into her school the next day because she thought her pupils would appreciate that sort of humour.

Caroline got everyone to pin decorative fabric tags on a beautiful multicoloured blanket to create a handmade "Taggie" for Beanie that she's sewing together. I had to do everything I could to not blub like an idiot, I was so touched. She also got everyone to sign a pretty notebook for me, even a couple of girls who couldn't make it to the shower. I finally got a chance to read it after everyone went home and this time, I did blub like an idiot. My friends wrote such lovely things, I just couldn't hold back the tears.

It was a perfect day. Thank you so, so much.

Favour bag and contents (handmade soap and candle, courtesy of Nicci):


Me, glowing (mostly because of the flash):


The spread:


Playing the Guess the Chocolate Bar game:


My feet getting a pedicure: