Curiouser and curiouser.

I think the most curious aspect of Audra's Curious George birthday party is why I failed to get any pictures after weeks worth of preparation.

No big deal, though. One of the things I've been trying to do this year is let the little stuff go.

LET IT GO! LET IT GO! CAN'T HOLD IT BACK ANYMOOOOOOORE.*

You're welcome for that. And this.

Anyway, as you well know, I love planning parties for my kids. And friends. And anyone else who will let me. If event planning didn't require evenings and weekends, I'd be all over that job. But I am a detail-oriented control freak, and while that often results in nice-looking parties, it also results in anxiety and crazy making (for me and those who love me and especially those who live with me).

So. Even though I love it, it sometimes stresses me out. And that's stupid because birthdays are fun and parties are fun and no one cares about the exact angle of the drink bucket except me and I am honestly a bit of a whackadoodle. So I'm pushing myself to stop and walk away if party planning moves from love to stress.

I would say I did a pretty good job of that at this party. Almost everyone showed up before I was ready for them, which was no big deal. They wanted to help and I let them. In fact, the party started without me even realizing it, which is ultimately why I didn't get any pictures. It was just easy and fun and exactly what a kids birthday celebration should be.

I mean, I would have LIKED some pictures of everything looking perfect. But I guess if I had to choose I would rather just enjoy myself and my family and my friends and the ice cream sundae bar.

Because that happened, and it was glorious.

Unlike Audra's reaction to her party and everyone in attendance. Although her lack of reaction is sort of glorious in its own special way. 

It was fun. It was cute. Everyone crammed merrily into my tiny house and I got next to no pictures and my eye only twitched anxiously for a few seconds over the crooked drink bucket.

I'm breezy like that.

But I did try to recreate just a bit the next day. A tiny bit. I mean, it would be a real shame if Audra didn't have pictures of her second birthday party! Nevermind the fact that she isn't in any of them.

*Calvin's birthday is in two weeks. Guess what kind of party he's having?

Shower the people you love with love.

I posted this on Instagram last Friday night, and got some interesting responses.

Just to be perfectly clear: I'm not pregnant. But my sister-in-law is, and Nate and I are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our first nephew. Figured we may as well throw his mama a shower while we wait for his cute little face to show up.

I've decided throwing parties is similar to having kids, in that it seems like a really good idea until you go into labor. You kinda forget about the work. But then you do the work and the result is spectacular and you're like "I totally want to do that again!" even though you're hemorrhaging/staring at a mountain of dirty dishes.

Anyway, once I got through the shower labor (i.e. cleaning my house with two kids and a dog underfoot...oh, and did I mention I was in the middle of tagging all of my children's clothes and toys for a consignment sale at the same time? For the last two weeks my dining room has looked like a combination of the sorting counter at Once Upon a Child and the floor of a preschool classroom), it was so much fun. My dear friend Julie co-hosted and my mother-in-law and sweet friend Lisa helped, too, so I had very little to do with the food prep. Which is good, since we probably would have ended up eating a giant baby shower sub. Although my new-found mantra of "purchase all party food" did result in a pretty amazing order of mini s'mores cupcakes from Taste of Love bakery.

Since we all know parties require a theme these days, Jules and I decided on a woodland baby shower. But a slightly vintage one, because this is an Abby event and you know how I love a good Mason jar. Thanks to Julie's excellent collection of canning jars and vintage luncheon plates (complete with a spot to ash your cigarette!) and my extensive trolling of the Goodwill figurine shelves, we ended up with a sweet little party perfect for Mary and her baby boy.

 

I mean, seriously. Look at those figurines. Ugly in grandma's living room, but adorbs here.

 

Have you ever seen a prettier vegetable presentation? All Julie.

 

 In deep love with my chalkboard.

 

 If you think Vistaprint is only for people who want 100 free ugly business cards, you're wrong. They have cute and very inexpensive invitations. You may have to dig a bit to get past the 90s designs, but they're there. This one had a super cute back side, too.

 Nate's mom made her famous granola as favors. I cut pictures out of a Peter Rabbit treasury I got at Goodwill and tied them onto jelly jars. Fabric on top was leftover from Audra's embroidery hoops.

 Calvin and Nate went on a nature walk to collect branches for me, then I cut out those little leaves from paper leftover from my wedding. All about the recycling. And the hoarding, apparently, since I still have paper from my wedding.

 Cute mama-to-be with the beautiful quilt our mother-in-law made for baby Breyer. My kids each have one, too. They are so special!

 Julie, Mary, Me. B&W because we all look tired in color.

Loved showering sweet Mary with some love before she meets her little guy. She's worth the work. :)

Free to be you and me.

No better way to celebrate freedom than with friends who let you be who you really are...who don't care how messy your house is, how dirty your kids are, or whether you serve them leftovers on a major holiday.

Or who are maybe just too polite to say anything.

  

 

These two. Seriously.