Too Weird Not to Share

I love "planning" parties.  And by "planning," I don't mean doing any of the actual foot work.  I don't mean going to the store.   I certainly don't mean cooking for them, ha!  I sorta like crafting for them, but I hate the mess it leaves everywhere and that it can't all be finished in one afternoon.  By telling you all this, I'm preparing you for my confession:  I've been "planning" Evelyn's first birthday party for a couple months now.  Yeah, she's seven months old.

Long before Pinterest, I would bookmark ideas, links, etc.  I'd write and sketch things in a spiral note book that I'd lose long before the appropriate time to pull it out and start acting on those ideas.  It's just fun.  I love to live in the realm of ideas.  It's fairly maladaptive for the life of a stay-at-home mom, but were I an English professor, it'd be a definite strength.  I don't know that it's completely bad, because at a time in life where I don't have time, energy, or resources to have many hobbies, it makes a nice pseudo-hobby.

Evelyn's middle name was a source of much debate and thought in our house, no surprise there.  I loved the name Rose, and it sounded so perfect (to me) with Evelyn.  But, I mean, come on, "Rose?"  It's iconic, symbolic in world-literature--it's the name of a flower for crying out loud.  I worried it was a bit pretentious.  When I shared my concern with my husband, he did nothing to allay my worries.  Instead he told me, "Well, we're a little pretentious."  While I beg to differ, he backed up his assertion with the fact that he went to Duke Divinity School.  I had to agree.  He's a little pretentious.

He championed the name Rose from the moment I mentioned it to him.  He never let it die.  He never wavered.  I'm so glad he did, because I cannot make up my mind to save my life when I'm pregnant.  And, contrary to my delivery with Spencer, I did not take the next breath as a newly post-partum person and feel like myself again.  In fact, I'm still getting there.  It took a few weeks for me to settle in with the name we'd already given our daughter.  Yes, a few weeks once she was here.  I knew I could change it if I really wanted to, and I was not going to go the rest of my life knowing I "gave up" on her name because I felt so horrendous when I was supposed to be choosing it.

So, after a few weeks, I decided she was in fact, Evelyn Rose; and now I love it.  I know that repeated exposure to things can increase your affinity for things, and I'm sure that was a big part of my "attaching" to her name.  But I did always like it, I just had a hard time committing.  And I wanted to make sure it "fit" her.

Months ago, I decided her first birthday party would have to include roses.  Lots of them.  It'd be our "theme"--that and "Yea!!!  She's one!"  I have almost an entire set of "vintage" Bavaria china I collected through high school and college that I'm planning on pulling out that is flowery and girly. I can see it all in my head.  However, her birthday is towards the end of September, when everyone is ready for summer to go away, when orange and brown and pumpkins seem so festive.  I knew I'd be tempted to go that direction.  I've enjoyed throwing "harvest" parties around Halloween time, and I was hoping to do it again this year after taking last year off.  I figured I'd just make myself wait a month longer before pulling out the fall fun.  And sticking to the "rose" theme would help keep me on track.

Imagine my surprise when I was searching a fun party blog for inspiration.  I typed in "rose" first, and looked at a few entries.  Then, I decided I better search "roses," and you won't believe what popped up.  It was a "Vintage Pumpkin & Roses First Birthday Party."  Whoa.  That's kind of weird.  Obviously, I click on it.  It's cute, and I'm still thinking I'll omit the pumpkins for Evie's party.  I'm thinkin' all sorts of things when I scroll down through the pictures.  And then, it happens.  There is a sign with the turning-one-year-old's name on it.  Um, yeah, her name is Evelyn.

So much for attempting originality.  Both for Evie's name and her party.  It just goes to show what I've always insisted, you can try to be "original," but we're all such a product of our time it's frightening.