Ain't no party like a West Coast party

What a whirlwind of a weekend! I am exhausted, and the time change certainly hasn't helped. But the past three days have been so much fun, finally a break from feeling overwhelmed and scattered. DH took Friday off to spend with me and Bean and help us get ready for the party. It was a gorgeous day in Seattle! We went out to lunch at a nearby diner claiming to have world famous garlic burgers. (You had me at "garlic.") While I still think that The Friendly Stop in Glendale, Ohio has the world's greatest garlic burgers, I suppose these were good enough to qualify for a top mention in the rankings. At home, DH was an invaluable help in cleaning and preparing for the party, I couldn't have done it without him.

Then on Saturday was the Big Day. The weather did a 180 from the beautiful skies the day before, it actually snowed! As an expected consequence of throwing a party during cold and flu season, we got a few calls in the morning from people canceling. We missed them -- poor Jen! -- but it did make for a more reasonably sized gathering. We had 22 people, 7 of them one year olds. It went by in a flash, but I think people had a good time. At least, they were polite enough to say so, and I'm willing enough to believe them.

Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of good pictures to share. Partly due to the fact that I was otherwise occupied and unable to man (woman?) the camera, so I had to rely on random guests to snap a few. And partly due to the fact that I don't have permission from the guests to post pictures of them, and I think photos of a bunch of people with giant yellow smiley faces pasted over their heads would just be creepy.

So here are a few shots of the decorations that I took to send to my Mom, whose presence was felt even if she wasn't there in person. If she had not mailed me all the fixins with fool-proof instructions, there's no way I would have hung personalized banners, decked out the high chair, rubber stamped blue swirls on the disposable plates, or wrapped plastic silverware in pretty napkins and tied tiny bows on each set.




Bean wore the cute shirt that Grandma M. got for him.



After a slow start with his very own giant cupcake cake -- I think he was more interested in why 20 people were standing around his high chair, gazing at him in anticipation -- Bean dug in and decimated it. He ended up with mittens of cake and icing on both of his hands, and he was kind enough to offer those to his mama to share.

Bean just loves his new toys. The school bus is a top favorite. The driver must be especially tasty, as Bean chews on him a lot. (At least, I think it's a him. It has a mustache. But DH says it has woman hips.)

Rounding out the weekend, today we had brunch with a friend of mine from way back in school -- if memory serves me (although it rarely does anymore, the wench), we became friends in kindergarten. We haven't seen each other since high school graduation more than 10 years ago. She is in town for a conference, and her hubby joined her so they could explore the city. DH and Bean and I enjoyed such a wonderful meal with them, getting caught up and remembering the past. We also had the most amazing meal, the best omelet I've had in my entire life. There's a reason why this restaurant was voted best brunch in Seattle. DH and I were surprised to fall in love with the sweet potato fries we ordered to occupy Bean, and my friend has promised to send her recipe for them. (Don't forget, K!) They are a fun couple, and we made our case for them to put Seattle on the list of cities they consider next year when her husband shops for jobs with his soon-to-be MBA. In fact, we think all of you should move here. Don't buy the it-rains-all-the-time story, this place is awesome. Did I mention the omelets?

Of course what I wasn't doing this weekend was hearing myself as a caller on the Suze Orman show. *sigh* At the last minute, they moved this week's show to next week in order to talk about the mortgage relief plan. At first I was super annoyed by this, because here I am looking foolish yet again, but I'm starting to think it's for the best. By the time my episode airs, I'll have cried wolf so many times that only my DH and parents will still be watching, thus reducing the severity and extent of my embarrassment. (Because although I think it's funny that I'll be on, it's really not one of my most shining moments.)

And last but not least, here's a 5-second clip of Bean "dancing" to the musical birthday card that his Great Grandma sent to him.