Mommy Fun: A Dr. Seuss Playdate and Mini Baby Shower

I'm involved in a really great ministry called MOPS, Mothers Of Pre-Schoolers.  I'm a second generation MOPS participant, and since I'd heard my mom talk about it over the years, I joined when I was pregnant with my first child.  I have had the absolute joy of being a discussion group leader for the past few years, which means it is my job to make friends with the moms at my table.  What a great job! 

As I get to know them, I learn from them and grow as a mom, and we live out Proverbs 27:17: As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.  Every year, I am so blessed by the moms at my table.

But I digress. 

This year, my table is all about the babies.  One mom had her baby two weeks ago and another is ready to pop as we speak.  For each of these moms, we had a playdate right before her baby was due, and we all enjoyed bringing baby gifts for the new baby.  Even though neither is a first child, it is just so fun to celebrate these new little ones.  Babies are such a blessing.

Now if I really had it together, we'd do these playdates/baby showers a little earlier, instead of right before the poor mom is about to deliver. 

But I don't have it together and I'm really not sure what together looks like anymore. 

So both of these moms have been gracious enough to join us and not be frustrated that I couldn't put something together any sooner.

This time, I planned it about 4 days before the actual playdate/shower.  And then I found out the day I'd planned it was Dr. Seuss's birthday, so I was inspired. 

I borrowed books and a table cloth from friends and here is what I threw together at the last minute.

Homemade cupcakes, a few stuffed animals, classic Dr. Seuss books, a fun tablecloth, a small bowl of goldfish, and a big bowl of mandarins made for a festive party.

I made the little cupcake toppers when I was stuck in bed with bronchitis.  All of your favorite characters were there.  Isabelle loved spotting Thing 1 and Thing 2, Horton, Sam I Am, and The Cat in the Hat.

Nothing elaborate, but the playdate met two of my favorite qualifications: Fun and FREE.

Have I mentioned that even as a child, I couldn't stand The Cat in the Hat?  Only a super mean person would go in someone's house and make a such a mess.

We all had a great time at the playdate and I can't wait to do another playdate with these ladies.  I don't know what we enjoyed more:  ooh-ing and aaah-ing at all the sweet baby clothes, making over the 2 week old and 10 week old babies who were with us, or swapping funny nursing and baby stories.  These moms are so fun. 

It really was an ideal group.  It was only the ladies at our table and since I know them so well, I decided to skip the mopping and vacuuming and go to sleep instead of worrying about impressing them with any pretense of cleanliness.  The living room and dining room were picked up, so that's all that really mattered.  It's so nice to not worry about having a super clean house.  Moms of pre-schoolers understand mess. 

And Izzy was so excited about our Dr. Seuss party.  She kept saying that we were going to "take a baby shower" on Friday.  By Friday morning, she had morphed it and was saying that we would "take a baby bath."  Crazy girl. 

My main goals were to have a fun time together and make the expectant mom feel loved.  If the table looked cute, then that was just icing on the cake. 

Is there anything better than having a solid group of mom friends to spur you on when you're in the trenches of motherhood?  I really don't think so!