And a Partridge in a Pear Tree

11 visiting family members.  4 large canines.  1 baby shower.  And a partridge in a pear tree.

Let the holiday chaos commence.

Thankfully, JD and I (and my increasingly large belly) do not have to travel anywhere this year.  We have family travelling to visit us from Ohio, Michigan, and Georgia!  It worked out this way mostly because his grandma and mom are throwing me a baby shower the weekend after Christmas.  Planning the shower around Christmas just seemed like the easiest way to ensure that out of town family could attend.  Also, my mom is going to do a beautiful classic Pooh mural in the nursery (beyond excited about this), so this visit will give her time to complete that as well.

I’ve gone through various stages as we prepare to host 11 family members at our house this week (they’ll be filtering in and out, so we won’t have all 11 at once, but we will have 7 at one point, plus one extra dog, on top of our own crazy mutts, because my mom’s dog can’t be kenneled).  At first, I was just relieved that we didn’t have to travel, and that we found a time that worked for everyone for the shower.  Important events are hard to plan when your family is so far away! 

After Thanksgiving, I reached a level of panic when I realized that we had a series of things to do in preparation.  Our house was in disarray as we moved things around and prepped the nursery.  Both the second and third bedrooms needed to be painted, and we had to move, box up, or donate most of what was already in those rooms.  This was on top of the usual Christmas preparations such as shopping, wrapping, parties, meal planning… all with an increasing belly, decreasing stamina, and a husband who is working 50% of the time I’m home and available to do these things.  I also didn’t know where we were going to put everyone once they arrived.  Our house isn’t THAT big.  We have 1 guest bed and a couch, but other than that, we’ll have to rely on air mattresses.

We managed to get everything taken care of and I think I have a menu/sleeping plan that will accommodate everyone next week.  Now, I’m finally in a place where I’m SUPER excited to have so much family here, most of whom haven’t seen me since my belly really started to take shape and she started moving enough for people to feel it.  It will be a wonderful, long overdue visit.  Happy chaos J