Hosting Mother's Day

Mother's Day was approaching really fast so I got on the phone and called my grandmother to hash out some plans.  I offered up my place to host as long as everyone brought food like we usually do.  Ben and I sat down and created a menu that was diverse and easy for everyone to rally behind.  We just hoped the weather was alright and cooperated.

During the week we communicated to everyone what was happening, what time everyone was coming over and who is bringing what.  I assigned everyone some food to bring and tried to make it even as possible.  Everything was set and as far as I knew everyone was going to come.

That Saturday we cleaned the house and put everything away while Ben worked on some of his homework as well.  I wanted most of it done the day before so we only had minor things to do on Sunday before everyone got there.  The goal was to worry about the food rather than the house.  We decided to have bbq chicken, veggies, fruit, beans, potato salad, deviled eggs, chips and a dessert.  I asked Trish to make a dessert and she chose to make her angel food cake strawberry Jell-O.  Mom brought veggies and potato salad, Grammie and Grandpa brought the chicken, Grandma brought deviled eggs and a fruit salad, we provided the bbq sauce and the beans.  I had everyone bring their own drinks.

Since Doug and Erika couldn't come I had this great idea to get them to send me a written note over text so I could put it in the cards for Mother's Day.  It took a lot of convincing and reminding but they both eventually got them to me.

Everyone showed up around 2.  We should have started the chicken sooner than we did but oh well.  Ben was in charge of the grill while I got everything else ready and entertained people.  I showed my grandparents, aunts and uncle my microburst video on my phone.  They couldn't believe it and the noises that came out of them while they watched were priceless.

Of course when we put the chicken on the grill it started pouring down rain and we didn't have any cover.  Ben had to use an umbrella while he grilled.  No rain before and no rain after.  It must have known when it was time to cook the food.  In the meantime, I put all the food out on the buffet tables, got the plates, cups and silverware out.

About an hour later (I know we should have started it sooner) the food was finally ready.  We all sat at the table, which was pretty snuggy, enjoyed our food and visited.  Of course Grammie was the last one done eating because she likes to visit...and we also reminded her by cracking a few jokes.  We talked about various things from jobs, to places we were going to go this summer, yard work, the weather, sports and even some inappropriate stuff for the dinner table.

We got everything cleaned up and had gift and card exchanges for all the mothers and a small birthday party for Tracy because her birthday was two days away.  There were a lot of flowers including my cool jars I painted a few months ago and added flowers and dirt.  I gave mom a jar of her chocolate chewies because I thought she'd appreciate them more than flowers.  Grammie bought some red clown noses from Walgreens.  I guess it is a fund raiser to end child poverty.  We all took turns wearing them and taking pictures with them.  Sometimes it was hard not laughing when we tried taking the pictures.

We all got together for a group photo because it's something I've been doing for a few years after I got a selfie stick.  Selfie sticks are kinda dumb but I like the angles it is able to get because a normal selfie limits you're space to add a bunch of people in your shot.

Everyone thanked me for hosting and told me the food turned out great.  I thanked them back for coming over and hanging out.  We all hoped the next get together there would be more people to enjoy the day with.  Until the next time!

Next Adventure:  Hanging Out on Ruston Way