"Meeting the Parents" went quite well, although there were SOME who had their doubts that it would. When Caitlin and Kevin rolled in Friday morning, I could tell that he seemed a bit stressed. I assured him that there would not be 100 family members standing around in the front yard where we would be roasting a goat for dinner when his parents arrived. He gave me a shaky smile as though he wasn't sure if I was telling the truth. I had also already been quizzed by my husband about my attire for the evening...ummm, yea; can you believe THAT?! (hmph!) I asked him WHAT exactly did he think I was planning to wear...a Homecoming dress?! GOSH, I'm no rookie. We were simply serving the parents gumbo at our house for dinner; I was wearing blue jeans, of course. My mother, who is only always concerned with my cleavage, agreed that Robby should have been concerned with my attire for the evening since I might possibly show too much cleavage...OH MY GOSH! What is it with these people...I'm only about to be a half a century old; I think I'm capable of dressing myself! Well, regardless of all the hoop-la over the "Meeting of the Parents" AND my attire, the evening went very well and Kevin's parents are really nice folks. After the evening was done, it was time to move on to the activities planned for the next day. And THAT'S when the REAL fun began!
Robby making the gumbo.
Ready to "Meet the Parents" for dinner.
Notice the cute gumbo bowl and alligator spoon!
When I have an event planned, there are a couple of things that I know for sure: 1. I am NOT going to get off course with the things I have on my list for the day AND 2. SOMETHING is definitely going to go wrong. Well, I got up early and knowing these two things, decided to at least get the day off to a right start since I did not know where it would end up later. I ate my breakfast and headed out for an hour run. Returning, both exhilarated and exhausted, I now felt I was equipped to handle whatever the day could potentially throw at me. First on the agenda: Taking the photographs for Caitlin and Kevin's "Save the Date" cards.
I instructed Caitlin to get ready for their photograph session with me while I got a shower. Everything was going pretty well UNTIL...Caitlin decided to try on her new dress that she was planning to wear to the party that evening. When she walked into the room, she announced in a panic that the dress was too big on her. She had tried it on the previous weekend and it had fit. Hmmm...I had not actually seen it on her and seriously doubted THAT, however, making alterations to a dress on the day of the event was NOT on my list. I matter of factly told her that she would just have to choose another one to wear for the evening, when Robby suddenly reared his head and said, "Bring me my a piece of chalk and a seam ripper." WHAT?! He informed me that HE was going to "fix" her dress for her. I told him that I didn't think that was a very good idea, considering the fact that he was planning to take the zipper out, move it over and put it back in...AND he had NEVER done such a thing before in his life! With confidence, he assured us that he could do it. Once again, I told Caitlin to have another selection picked out for the evening.
Robby trying to decided HOW to go about taking the dress apart.
While Robby continued to dissemble Caitlin's dress, I once again announced that I was off to get my shower so that I could stay on my self-imposed schedule and get those pictures taken. After getting out of the shower, however, I became quite side-tracked by attempting to get MY clothes for the party laid out. The immediate problem seemed to be that I couldn't find the black velvet pants I had planned to wear. I searched the closet in my room and then headed upstairs to the closet there. All the while, mumbling about not being able to find my pants. Ryan (the dental student...) is walking around shirtless, flossing his teeth and becoming quite amused that his dad is tearing his sister's dress apart and his mother is frantically searching for her missing pair of pants. Finally, I just give up on the pants and grab a black skirt from my closet, hoping it still fits since it's been about six years since I've worn it. Trying it on, I was happy to report that it still fit! WHEW!...Now, to just get out the new sequined top that I purchased the week before, dry my hair and I'm outta there to take the pictures. I run back to my closet and...CRAP! Now I can't find the stinkin' top! I come out of my bedroom again to report that I'm about to throw every last piece of clothes out of my closet because I'm not going ANYWHERE until I find that top. Ryan finds that even MORE amusing...while Robby continues to rip the dress apart and now Caitlin asks, (while sitting at the bar filling out the family tree in her bridal sign in book...) "Hey, are you ready to go?" I STOP, turn to her and answer her question with a question of my own. Pointing out that I am still wearing my red robe with the leopard print and my wet hair tied up in a towel turban-style..."Do I LOOK like I am ready to leave?!" (Ugh!!!) Ryan is rolling with laughter as he comments that he likes my new hair style. Luckily, I find my top, finish getting ready and leave for the photo session.
Robby DEEPER into the "Dress Project".
Caitlin filling out her "Family Tree".
Ryan...The ONLY one relaxing and enjoying the chaos!
Before we even get started taking the pictures, I let Caitlin know that I am only willing to devote one hour of my time to this project since I intend to eat lunch before I begin decorating for the party. She tells me this should be no problem because at some point during the morning she has already had Kevin painting the props they will use for the photographs AND out scouting for a place to actually take the pictures. OK, so we jump in the car and they tell me to head down the road toward the National Forest located near our home. We turn off on a side road, grab the props and begin to walk down a dirt path. "This won't be too bad," I think. That is UNTIL...they decided we should get off of the path to do some of the shots. Hurrying out of the house, I merely slipped on my flip-flops and while I didn't mind getting a little dirt on my feet, I DID mind getting poison ivy or snake bit. I mentioned this to them and they seemed to think I was being a little silly. I pointed out that there were PLENTY of poisonous snakes out there and I was beginning to itch as we spoke. We got the pictures taken within the one hour time slot that I had allotted and we then all took off to the club to eat lunch before the decorating began.
YEA, the woods were pretty...Pretty scary for me!
I threw down a scoop of tuna salad with some crackers before the others arrived to help me decorate the tables and then we all got to work. While directing people what to do and shaking my booty to the warming up of the band, I noticed Kevin following me around...OH MY GOSH! He was filming me on his phone! I said, "WHAT THE HECK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?! You're supposed to be kissing up to me; I'm about to be your "Mudder-in Law" (That's Cajun for mother-in-law..)! He laughed while I gave him the evil eye and threatened him. At last we were finished and could head home to rest for a while before dressing for the party.
The party went off well, with lots of family and friend in attendance to offer congratulations to the newly engaged couple. Robby impressed us all by completing the alterations on Caitlin's dress and she wore it to the party! The food was great, the band wonderful and by 11:00, we were cleaning up to head home. I could check another "wedding task" off of my list; the kids were "officially" engaged now. The next day, I hoped to catch up on my rest because the following week, Caitlin would be off for Thanksgiving break. We had an entire list of wedding stuff to get out of the way. OH...and let's not forget the 20 plus people I would be having over for Thanksgiving. Well, I suppose as my mama always says, "That's just the way the mop flops"...It's just another DAY IN THE LIFE OF A MOM!
8 of Caitlin's 9 Bridesmaids
Caitlin in her "fixed" dress and Me in my found top.
Caitlin and Kevin...Now "Officially" Engaged!
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