Now, as discussed in a previous blog (Shout Out! and a big Thank You! to my avid readers!), I do not want to know the gender until the day the little guy/ or girl is born. My husband, on the other hand, would like to go right this second to know as much as possible. I mean, he is the kind of impatient that loves knowing his Christmas presents early! No fun! So, as all good spouses do, we found a compromise. He really liked the idea of a Gender Reveal to our friends and family. His inspiration was from, none other than, Face Book pictures of other friends and acquaintances with a box of colored balloons (you release the balloons and put on your best surprised face!). Here is an example of how this works if you have no clue what I am talking about. (And please note, I do not own any of these pictures, I simply got them from Google Images for the sake of an example...)
I stay home now and so, although there is no shortage of laundry, dishes and other awful tasks, I have plenty of time on my hands to plan a big party for what ever occasion I can come up with. My husband and I love entertaining, whether it be a football game for the guys, a crazy Tacky Christmas Sweater party, or any reason in-between. So, I was not about to pass up such a fun, new, trendy party and settle for a box of balloons (No judgements if you've had this or done this; I have no excuses for small gestures- I don't work!). Instead, I have put my efforts into making this an unforgettable experience for our immediate families and very close friends. (Don't worry if you do not receive an invite for this one- it's going to be small. Instead, put that energy into messaging me your address on Face Book to ensure your shower invitation makes it to you!)
So by now, you should have figured out that even though we are 16 weeks, we do not know the gender yet. Our next appointment is October 23rd (we are off schedule because I insisted on coming in at 6 weeks), where we will have our 18 week, mega-ultrasound. It is scheduled for 45 minutes, then followed by a Dr. appointment for blood tests, routine check-up stuff, etc. During this 45-minute ultrasound, I've heard they will be taking measurements and checking for organ functions, etc. My thinking is, this is a long time for us to be staring at the monitor in awe and love, to not notice the parts, you know, the parts! We are going to do our best, though!
Then we will get our gender results sealed in an envelope and head to a local sweet shop. They are going to make <insert something sweet and pretty here> for us, masking the gender on the outside but hosting the giant surprise on the inside. We will pick them up on the morning of the party- November 3rd!
Decorations will be bare but there. I was thinking some cheesy, "It's a Boy" and "It's a Girl" junk, balloons with our baby pictures clipped to the bottom, and pink and blue tissue balls (of course!). We will also be playing with the old wives tales of pregnancy to help people place their bets boy or girl.
Here are some inspirational pics I found when trying to imagine this party. There were a lot of great things out there, but people, remember, we are on a teeny-tiny, one-person-income budget!
Let's talk food. I mean, come on, I am pregnant, and wherever there's a preggers, you can bet on food! The party is at noon so Dustin wanted to make his award-winning chili-n-fixins, and then of course, the sweet reveal dessert. But other than that, we will have a little "salty" cravings area and a little "sweet" cravings area featuring cravings that I've had, to snack on. Kinda redneck, but it will also be BYOB, since obviously I am not too hung up on getting all you crazy mo-fos drunk (Hello! It is a baby-centered party).
So I have a lot of work to do and on an extremely tight budget! But I cannot think of a better way to celebrate Baby Goley's every achievement than to start with finding out if it is a boy or a girl! I will be posting party pics on here after and dishing on all the good, bad and crazy in between. I solemnly swear to not leave out any details so that even if its ugly or embarrassing, it will be here, but you probably already knew that!
Shout-Out Section!
I would like to give a "Shout-Out" to Jillian Barnett for encouraging me to start a blog- Check hers out here!
A big "Thanks!" to Kim Dodez Guice for making the sweet invitations for this, helping me with details, and (ahead of time) for taking lots of great party pictures of the surprised faces and other fun details for readers!
And then, for all of my readers- Wow!, a big, humongous "Thanks!" for reading. It is your support and encouragement that makes me put these (9.75) fingers to the keyboard as often as I do. Now it is a challenge to bring you stories and information that you will like- I live for this challenge!
Wish we could be there. :(
ReplyDelete