This morning I had a double baby shower at my house for Lindsay (my sister-in-law) and Ashley (AJ’s Mommy).
But before I share pictures, I must give some background to the title. A while back when JC and Lindsay were pregnant with Eli, they had gone out to dinner with David and Ashley and had talked about baby names. It turned out that they had the exact same taste in baby names. In fact, they both thought it was funny that they both planned on using Tessa if they had a baby girl at some point. I don’t think that they thought that much more about it until. . .
Fast forward a year and a half, and both of them are pregnant at once. And, to make it more complex, David and Ashley aren’t finding out if it’s a boy or a girl. So you know, there had to be that awkward conversation:
“Are you okay if there are two Tessas?”
“Yes, I’m okay. Are you sure you’re okay if there are two Tessas?”
JC and Lindsay are definitely having a girl and due on 8/1, and David and Ashley are due 6/1. So there will potentially be two Tessas, two months apart.
I can hear the nursery workers at Church grumbling now.
And Ali – she is going to be one confused toddler – there might be “Cousin Tessa” and “AJ’s Little Sister Tessa.”
However, as fun as that would be, I have a pretty strong feeling that Ashley is having a boy, so I personally think that the Tessa count will stay at one.
The last tea or shower that I had at my house was exactly 11 Months ago for Eli. He was born the very next day, 8 weeks early. So of course there was a bit of chatter about my seeming knack for sending pregnant women into labor with my parties. However, hopefully no one will be having a baby tomorrow.
Speaking of, here are the lovely Mothers-to-be:
And here is me with them. After everyone left, I was going through all of my pictures. I looked at this picture and gasped and ran to a mirror to see if I really looked like Tammy Faye Bakker. It didn’t look like it in the mirror, but cameras never lie, so I don’t know. I had been running behind and was rushing to get ready (my hostesses were already arriving!!) and so I barely looked in the mirror after putting on my makeup. I REALLLY hope that my makeup didn’t look as garish in person as it does in this picture, but if it did, I can only chalk it up to revenge from the lady I made fun of last week.
Yikes.
On to prettier topics, here was our brunch spread, with MUCH thanks to my AMAZING hostesses, April, Jennifer, Christie, and my Mom:
We had Cheese Danish, Chocolate Mousse Cake, Quiche, Bacon and Cream Cheese Crescent rolls, Muffins, Chocolate Chip fruit dip and fruit. . . wow they are all good cooks!!
I made my Chocolate Chip Espresso Bean Cookies and smoothies (instead of punch). So I started out with this fruit (plus 8 quarts of Strawberries and a few pounds of Grapes that were in the fridge):
Juiced it that morning, and then blended it with ice and a bit of sugar to make these:
(Kiwi-Pear-Green Grape and Strawberry-Tangerine-Red Grape)
I was SO nervous about my smoothie idea since I’ve only made smoothies like, twice. Ever.
What if it doesn’t work? What if they melt too quickly? What if they turn brown? What if they don’t pour well? What if I don’t make enough? What if I make too much?
But it actually went well!! I made TEN full blender batches of smoothies (approximately 5 gallons), used every bit of the juice I had made that morning, and had about half a pitcher left after all was said and done. I have no idea how it worked out so smoothly (ha – no pun intended) – it must have been beginner’s luck.
Oh – the Green smoothie DID turn brown – but it was right after everyone left!! Yes, that could ONLY have been luck.
Of course, there were tons of adorable presents.
And onlookers watching with baited breath:
Our two LifeGroup Attendees, Amy and Becca, were excited to pose for a picture. So I took a couple, then of course they wanted to see them. However, when I downloaded my pictures, there was mysteriously only ONE picture of them left. Someone was weeding through my pictures. . . .so I suppose, here is the “Amy and Becca APPROVED picture”:
Now maybe one of them will quit fussing that I never talk about her on my blog.
You know who you are.
So I suppose you’re wondering where Ali and AJ were for all of the hubub? They went out to lunch at a quiet cafe and chatted about the new sibling and cousins-to-be.
Or maybe their Daddies took them to McWane Center. One or the other.
So funny Rachel. The shower was awesome and the smoothies were so yummy!! Hats off to you for all your hard smoothy work!
Looks like everyone had a good time. That it went well.
I’m glad the smoothies went well. I bet that was delicious. :)
That food – and the smoothies – look delicious!
The smoothies were delicious! I had to have a glass of each, just to make sure ;). Thanks for throwing such an awesome shower, Rach! I had a blast!
Looks like you all had a great time! I don’t think your makeup looked bad, you must looked flushed, like you had been very busy before everyone got there.
Wow, what a shower! You went all out and I’m sure they are so thankful for all your work.
You did a great job. Mom
It sounds like a great party for both mommies-2-b. Wasn’t AJ’s mom the one who did the whole “jean” shopping thing with you?
The smoothies looked yummy as usual. I have a couple of questions. How long does it take to juice that much fruit? and would putting some lemon juice help to stop it from turning brown?
Keep us posted about whether or not there are one or two Tessas.
Thanks everyone!!
Carol, to answer your array of questions:
1. No, it wasn’t Ashley who did Mom Jeans with me. That was Lydia. We’re all in the same small group and Sunday School class, though.
2. I juiced all the fruit that morning. The actual juicing goes really quickly – you just stick it in and it comes out juice. It’s just the prep that takes a bit of time, and mainly the kiwis, because they take a bit to peel. Oh and the tangerines. But everything else (pears, etc) you just stick in whole and it comes out liquid. It didn’t take too long!
3. Yes, I put lemon juice in it, but apparently just enough to keep it from turning brown until after the party. Next time I’ll try more!
4.I will definitely let you know about the Tessa Turnout!!
So funny about the names. Lauren Barnett and I had to have that conversation about the name Averi. We had both picked that name if we had a girl and were only due a couple mos. apart. It turned out that I had the girl and she had the boy:)
THe shower was so fun! I enjoyed catching up with everyone!
And you makeup was fine…I didnt notice anything in particular!
Congratulations!!! Sounds like the party was definitely a success. And 5 gallons of smoothies??? Girl, that is a lot of juicing!!! Good job!!
Your shower looks like it was a success! Your spread looked yummy!!!!! Good job buddy!
I meant to tell you that cameras DO lie! Or at least, they better or not only am I going to continue to be VERY selective about having my pic taken, but I am never going out in public again! And I WANT A JUICER!