Party Planning...Sigh

I imagined that planning Mason's birthday party would be oodles of fun, but being in a state of limbo has thrown a wrench in our plans. Compounding the issue is my lack of commitment to a theme. I have thrown around dozens of potential themes (most with extravagant budgets), but I finally settled on a simple party in the park for our immediate family and a few friends (ahem...those of you who are familiar with my family will immediately recognize that just this basic guest list includes more than 40 people, so Mason's first birthday will not be a small, intimate affair). Big party, but laidback plans. I decided to save some of my more elaborate, expensive themes for future parties when Mason is able to be more involved.

So...the plan is to have an easy-breezy (early) Saturday afternoon party at the Red Barn (the pavilion at Everett Park back home). The kids have plenty of room and lots of playground equipment to explore, and Chris is planning to borrow the giant traveling grill from Tom to grill hotdogs and hamburgers (I'm happy to leave that in his oh-so-capable hands). I'm making the cake (Chris groaned when I showed him the picture of what I want to make--he dreads the meltdown I'll have if it doesn't turn out as I envision--hehe! He'd feel more pain if I had a pro do it and shelled out $300 for a sculpted cake), and we're keeping it simple gift-wise. Mason has soooo much already, and we have always agreed that we don't Mason to be one of those kids who expects gads of gifts for every holiday. I'm holding off on planning the party favors, decorations, etc., until we move back home next week, so I'll be able to devote more time and energy to making Mason's first birthday extra special then.

I ordered the CUTEST invitations (yay, tinyprints.com!), and those should be in next week, so I'll have to get on sending those out asap. I'm using the patterns from the invitations as my inspiration for the decorations and the birthday cake. Oh, and I bought a onesie and a bib for the birthday boy to wear months ago, so I guess I better find those and make sure they go with us to Maryville next Wednesday.

Poor Chris. He's so excited to have his family back together again, but he'll be less than enthused that a good portion of his time at night (and don't forget weekends!) will be consumed by party minutiae for the next few weeks. Sorry, babe, but you signed up for this!

How I Spend My Time Now

Sheepishly I must admit that I am among the world's worst packers. I am the girl who goes to the beach with eleven sweaters (just in case the beach is chilly at night), four books, and sunscreen in SPFs 5 to 100, but no bathing suit; the camping trip with no socks or matches but hiking boots to match every outfit. Thus, preparing to move all the possessions my family and I will need for basic everyday life for the next few months is quite a tall order for my poor self. I am fighting the urge to pack everything and leave my house with nice neat castles of laboriously stacked and labeled cardboard boxes, but it's hard. I love packing things up, but I do not love so much the realization (hypothetical as yet) that I have packed all of Mason's pajamas and every last pair of my contacts in a gigantic box on the bottom of the stack in the garage (knock on wood that my hypothetical doesn't become reality). So I am trying to make a list of everything that we will need and stick to it faithfully as I box up the unnecessaries permanently and pack up the necessaries in easily accessible bins and duffel bags. My goal this week is to get together all the things I can send back with Chris this weekend (we're switching vehicles so that I have the truck to bring back all the last-minute stuff and Mason's big items), but a number of things stand in my way:

1.) My organizational ADHD (I LOVE to organize, but I usually get distracted by all the cool things I uncover and end up moving on to another project prematurely...rinse, wash, and repeat.) Sidenote: interesting things I found last night include my social security card, a $20 Panera gift card from 2008, and my black Northface fleece. Not a bad score! Wonder what I'll find tonight?
2.) My sidekick who adores packing...er, unpacking. M thinks moving is a really fun new game I've come up with to entertain him. Example: I pack a dozen DVDs. M pulls out three and drops his pacifier in the box--what is to him, apparently, a fair trade. As M pushes the box flaps inside, I try to wedge a couple of Wii games in before he dives in headfirst. And so on in much the same fashion until I give up and let him climb the stairs.

I was determined to finish culling all my teaching materials today and condense my office supplies to a manageable box or two, but I was quickly distracted by one of the funniest websites I've ever seen: http://www.notwithoutmyhandbag.com/babynames/14.html. I googled bad baby names, inspired by a coworker who has suggested some truly awful names for her baby (currently in utero). In her defense, I will say that you must be immune to other peoples' opinions when you name a child, so as long as you and your husband adore a name, then you should shrug off everyone else's input (albeit, you must be prepared to someday defend yourself against a hormonal teenager who seeks revenge on parents who named her Agatha). If you can live with a name for countless future years and are okay with your beloved child living with that name as well, then go for it. But don't expect people to swoon with admiration when you propose the name Hanley for a boy or Henry for a girl. You SHOULD remember, however, that naming a child is not your opportunity to draw attention to yourself; it is a grave endeavor that should be approached with the utmost thought and selflessness, lest your child hate you forever. Oh, and the funny website definitely mocked the name Mason (excerpt: Mason is my 2 year old son's name. It is in the top 100 boy's names for 2001. I think it is a stong boy's name. Why would anyone make fun of it?
Response: Because they're opposed to his secret Masonic orders trying to overthrow the government, along with Ted Turner, the secret Catholic cultists in the Supreme Court, and the Anti-Defamation League. Duh! ). Haha! Well, my grandfather WAS a Mason, so there you go. I'm all about names with meaning.

Well, there you go...evidence of why packing is difficult for me: I am a tangential creature. Seriously, though, take a look at this website because it is a hoot!

It's a good thing Miriam and Jen are coming over to help me wrangle SuperBaby while I get a few things together. Whew!

Hmm...Spaghetti!

Just because these dinnertime pictures are soooo cute! This was Mason's first experience with spaghetti, finished off with raspberry yogurt (always a hit). You will not be surprised to learn that bathtime IMMEDIATELY followed dinner.

Photography Day 2

Miriam came over a couple of weeks ago, and we did a mini-Photography Day. Mason wasn't very cooperative, but we got a couple of good shots. He was 10 months in these pictures. I can't believe he turned 11 months old yesterday (Gramma's birthday! Happy Birthday, Gramma!).

Baby Birds

Last week we found a nest in one of our hanging ferns on the front porch. Mason couldn't figure out what was making all the noise, so I took down the plant so he could see the tiny birds. He was less than impressed.

Last Trip to Vanderbilt (God Willing)

One of Mason's medications can only be filled at the Vanderbilt Children's Hospital pharmacy, so Miriam rode with M and me to Nashville last Thursday to pick it up. Barring any unforeseen events, that should have been our final trip to VCH. In a way it was a little sad, but we will be so glad to be closer to Children's Hospital in Knoxville in case of an emergency. I will not miss the long commute into Nashville for medicine each month.

While we were there we took Mason up to the rooftop playground at VCH and snapped some pictures, and then we all walked over a few blocks to eat at Roly Poly. I am so STILL sad (years later) about the closing of the one on Ebenezer in K-town. Sigh. On a brighter note, M is all set up with Dr. Liske (his original cardiologist) again, so transferring him to a doctor back home was way easier than I thought it was going to be.

Future Rock Climber of America

Mason LOVES the stairs now, which is adorable...and exhausting. Chris put up the baby gate on Saturday, but it doesn't really fit well at the top, so Mason promptly figured out that he could knock it over. And then he used it like a climbing wall to get to the stairs. You know, you pray that your child will be smart, so I guess you can't complain when they show evidence, even when it means you will be spending a good portion of each day on the stairs with him. Sigh.