Surprise Party....Surprise YOU are the Hostess!

Last Thursday morning phone call from Grandparents (my parents) saying they were coming for a visit on Saturday. They travel so much now that they are retired that we go through Grandparent withdrawal.

Late Thursday night call from Uncle Lewie (my big brother) saying he is traveling with our parents and we will see him Saturday....and many more people are coming. I ask "Is there a holiday I don not know about?" and he responds "We are celebrating Dad's birthday early." Um, big party at my house. Out of state over night guests too. Why was I not given an invitation or at least told about this sooner?

Call Auntie D thinking she knew all about it. She gets upset, yells a bit then says "No way are all of you getting together WITHOUT ME!" Lovely, I have now upset my sister. I don't think she heard that I did not know about the party until just now. I try to console myself by thinking at least I was not the only one who did not know.

I was so looking forward to a relaxing evening at home after a long day at the office. Now I have to get into high gear to prepare for a party. Household chores which are normally left for Saturday are moved up to tonight. Make sure all the guest towels and other such are ready. Figure out where everyone is going to sleep, seating chart, what foods to prepare and Bear proof the house.

I do have a dog but I have to make extra sure to Bear proof the house. Snow White has dozens and dozens of small toys and there are things about the house our dog knows not to touch. Think of it as your own baby in the house and then another Mom brings her baby over who has many allergies and a cronic illness. You just have to be extra careful insuring your house will not have any ill affect on that baby.

All the craft projects must be boxed up and put on a high shelf in the basement. Oh and the laundry room...nothing should be on the floor...nothing! Did I ever mention my laundry room runs the full length of my house? It is the laundry room and the storage area for all sewing, arts, crafts, out of season clothing, important papers, doll house everything, holiday decorations for every holiday, the old computer and sooooo much more.

Ok on with Friday. My sister calls to say she took Monday off and can spend the weekend with us and Bear is coming. His coming is really exciting for us since it will be the first time Bear and Pup will meet! Yeah! Down side is I have to be entertaining all weekend and I was not planning on doing a whole lot this weekend. Plus side is I get to have my sister here in person with me for a whole weekend!

I call a few people to see if they can bring a small dish, soda, cups or anything. It turns out they told Uncle Lewie they would try to come. They expressed how much they truly wanted to come but they had made family weekend plans already. Sheew! That was such a load off my mind! Now it was down to a reasonable number that I could handle for a last minute party.

Friday night ...Auntie D calls to say her yahoo directions are not making sense. The website cannot locate her house or mine but has some really crazy back roads map across three states! I tell her to use Mapquest but she gets the same results. I try my computer but ...Electrical issues make that impossible. Just then I realize it is after 9pm and she has not started her traveling.

She calls me back later from a Walmart store. Her car is packed and she is attempting to purchase a $450 GPS system for her car. The only place open right now is Walmart and they are giving her some sort of run around about matching the price of a competitor. She says she will call me back later. It is now after 10 pm. I am still trying to get the house in pristine order.

Around midnight she calls to say it would have been a blast to come but she is just too worn out and would spend most of her weekend traveling if she did come. I tell her it is quit alright. We will see her for a week during the Thanksgiving holiday. I give up on Bear proofing the house and go to bed.

Birght and early Saturday morning I realize I have forgotten a few VERY important things! I needed to go shopping! I made sure to wait until the local bakery opened and had enough time to put out fresh pumpkin pies. I do not know why but every year my Dad wants pumpkin pie instead of birthday cake. It has been like this all of my life. On my way out the door Uncle Lewie calls to say they are on their way. I know I have approximately 2 hours before they arrive. I pick up the pies, ice cream, sherbert (Dad's favorite!) lunch items and snaks. I now have 1 hour to find a present, shower (yeah eww but I was pressed for time!), lay everything out strategicly so Grandpa (my Dad) is surprised!

My mind is drawing a complete blank as to what to get him for a present! I knew exactly what I wanted to get him but I thought I had a lot more time. Thinking about his new house and how he said he wants his "office " to look...Navy/Nuatical theme. I remember needing a boat photo for my blog and where I found it (A.C. Moores crafts store). I picked up a wooden framed mirror in the shape of a boat and wooden shelf in the shape of a boat. He would love it and I needed something quick.

I knew I had blue and white paint at home since I had just pained a my little wooden boat. I rush home before the ice cream and sherbert melted in to puddles. Took my shower, set up for the party and then painted the mirror and shelf. Since I used acrylic paint I knew it would dry quickly. I had just enough time to wash the bits of paint off of my hands before they arrived. Sheew! I left the mirror and shelf to dry in the family room while we all caught up and then had the party.