A Pink or Blue Party

I posted last time about my big Saturday at a blog conference. It was quite the busy day, but the weekend wasn’t over. On Sunday was Charlene’s big Gender Reveal party. A great idea for a second baby. Charlene got an ultrasound and told the tech to keep the gender secret. The tech wrote the gender down and Charlene brought it to a bakery where they’d make special cupcakes with either pink or blue filling. Even Charlene didn’t know what it would be! Such a fun idea for a baby shower for baby #2.

I guessed girl, since Charlene has a boy about Graham’s age and this way our babies would match. Also because she has a torpedo belly, which means girl in my book.

Now when I’m going to an all-day blog conference with a baby in tow, I don’t spend much time on my outfit. I have exactly one pair of jeans that fit. I have some v-neck tops that make for easier feeding. End of story.

But for a party? I had to go to my closet. And what I found there was very, very sad.

Maternity dresses made me look pregnant. I already have the post-baby belly, but I don’t want it to look like a pre-baby belly. My selection of tops is limited since my nursing bras are not made to be hidden well. Nothing too tight, nothing too loose, and not much to work with. What was a girl to do?

After trying on literally everything, I settled on a cardigan (unbuttoned), a ruffly maternity tank I bought for work, and a skirt with an elastic waistband. (Thank you for the elastic, Old Navy!!!)

Since I had only limited control of my clothes, I decided that I would at least look cute from the neck up. I showered. I put on makeup. (For the conference, I only did absolute bare minimum.) And I pulled out a new hairstyle:

 

 

 

The sock bun, passed down to me by my mother. (Or rather, my mother’s pinterest board.) (The Bug just walked by the screen while I had this picture up and said, “Mommy!” Not exactly, kid, but thanks.)

This was my first effort with the sock bun and as I am hairdo challenged I was worried, but it worked like a champ. I got it on the first try. My hair was a little curly and wet, but it still did the trick.

Can you tell I’m happy to be out of the house? I may not be the height of style but I felt good and that’s the most important thing, right?

In the spirit of the evening, I wore a pink cardigan and blue earrings. Charlene had pink and blue necklaces out so we could wear our votes.

It was great to see more of my blogging friends. And I was surprised at how much suspense was in the air as we waited for the big surprise.

And I was right! Girl!

It was a special night. And not just because we got to share Charlene’s good news and hang with friends. I also got to finally meet one of my blogging idols: Melanie, The Coupon Goddess. It’s thanks to Melanie that I started couponing, got a binder, etc. I’m not as good at it as she is, of course. I’ve read her blog faithfully and have always been bummed that we haven’t been to any of the same events so far.

It was a good deal for both of us. I got to meet Melanie and Melanie got to meet Tessa. (Tessa seemed pretty happy about the deal, too.)

I also FINALLY got a chance to see Cindy, the woman behind the scenes at Isis Parenting, who I’ve worked with for months via email and Twitter. Technically this was not the first time we met. 

That was February, 2011, at my very first blogger event with the Boston Parent Bloggers. So many of them are now my friends even though I was super shy and barely spoke to anyone that first night. Cindy and I are RIGHT BY EACH OTHER in the picture (she’s on the far left in the back row, I am in the pink sweater just in front of her) so clearly our relationship was meant to be, right?

I look at this picture and smile. A year ago my life was so different. Graham was just diagnosed. I was out of work. I didn’t know anyone in Boston. Now Graham is doing amazing, I am happily home with two (!!) kids and I have friends. And the friends part is basically all thanks to this blog. Oh, blog, I do love you.

Thanks to Rebecca Deaton Photography for the beautiful pictures. A big thanks to the great sponsors of Charlene’s party: Magic Beans, Punchbowl, Tiny Love, Spa Week, Sage Spoonfuls, Happy Baby, Goldenview Ultrasound, GUND, MAM, Peapod, and Treat Cupcake Bar. You can get all the info on them from Charlene’s post.