The Waiting Game

As expected, but not without some measure of anxiety, we made it through the last-minute 6-course meal with K's partner and his family (for the curious, we started with homemade samosas (mine,) moved on to a special basmati rice dish (mine,) zeera aloo (a potato dish, mine,) chicken korma (K's,) lamb karahi (K's,) tandoori chicken (K's - almost a disaster when the propane grill ran out of propane halfway through cooking, until I reminded him of the hugely expensive Green Egg - a smoker grill he bought at an auction last year - sitting on our patio,) and naan bread (the only thing not homemade, only because I didn't know we were supposed to be having it - silly me,) and finished with seviya (a traditional, creamy pudding, mine.) Since the guests were almost four hours late, we were finished in plenty of time, and I even had time for a shower!

Other than one little meltdown on my part when he informed me that he was going to go jogging and maybe for a massage while I worked (he had gotten up extra early to do most of his cooking, after all,) we made it through the day without much incident. For the record, I did manage to persuade him that going jogging and getting a massage while I worked were a really bad idea. To his credit, he cancelled both, was a great help with the children, and even offered to let me go for the massage. Of course, there was no time for any such thing.

My favorite quote of the evening came from K's partner, K2.

Addressing his mother while replacing her oxygen tank: "Well, Mom, the good news is that you've been out of oxygen for the past two hours and you didn't die."

Yeah, that might have ruined the evening, you think?

We also made it through the dinner I hosted for MY friends, and though the attendance dropped from 8 to 4 due to a virus going around, it was a very pleasant and relaxed evening. K took the children to Chuck E Cheese, and while it got a little hectic between their return home and bedtime, there was hardly a break in the conversation that somehow managed to go past midnight. We didn't even realize how late it was! I made my grandmother's wonderful 4-layer carrot cake, which kept me happy for several days afterward, too.

K's parents arrived last night, exhausted at the end of a 24-hour journey. They flew through Paris to avoid changing planes in the US (changing planes in the US for an international flight requires collecting your bags mid-trip, hauling them through customs, and re-checking them,) but their Paris flight was delayed. They missed the flight to Seattle, and ended up having to fly through Chicago and do the baggage thing anyway, arriving 8 1/2 hours later than originally planned. Although I can't help thinking 'better them than us' with our party of five, I do feel sympathetic toward them!

My nesting instincts have led to various tidying and cleaning projects, though most are misplaced and have nothing to do with the new baby. I spent the last two days cleaning and polishing the inside of my car, then rearranging seats for company. We'll have to rearrange one more time for the baby. I'm glad I insisted on the 8th seat for the minivan!

Now we're just waiting on the baby, hoping conditions will be favorable for an induction tomorrow, and trying to get last minute shopping and tidying done.