Dr. Seuss Twin Baby Shower (Siobhan)

~Twins Baby Shower~

 This past weekend Grandma, Steph, Elim and I threw Mom a Dr. Seuss themed baby shower. It was so much fun to put together, and we took lots of pictures to share with you.

Our decorations were all Dr. Seuss themed! We hung these Thing 1 and Thing 2 onesies on the wall with colored twine and mini clothespins.

 We printed out Dr. Seuss quotes and framed them and put Dr. Seuss books out for decoration.

 Our color scheme was red, white, and blue.

Elim made this adorable 'Double the Fun' banner, and we hung up red tissue paper balls that we bought at Walmart.

We set up a book signing table, where guests could sign the Cat in the Hat book and leave messages inside for the twins.

We bought and printed out these adorable Diaper Raffle Tickets. We put them inside the invitations, and we also printed out extra and put them on a table in case people forgot them.

Our two big prizes were a movie basket and a tea basket. Our movie basket had candy (whoppers, swedish fish, and sour patch kids), soda, popcorn, and redbox gift cards. Our tea basket had a mug, assorted teas, and Milano cookies. Our movie basket prize was for the diaper raffle, and our tea basket prize was for the Dr. Seuss matching game.

 While Mom was opening presents we set a timer. Every 6-7 minutes we would give out one of our centerpieces as a prize. We bought jars from Walmart and filled them with America Mix skittles.

 Grandma picked some Dr. Seuss books and made a Dr. Seuss matching game. To win the game you had to correctly match the most Dr. Seuss quotes with the correct books.

Our food was so much fun to put together! We kept everything Dr. Seuss themed.

 We bought a fishbowl and filled it with goldfish. We used a fish net to serve them in.

 Of course we had to have 'green eggs and ham,' so we made deviled eggs and colored them green with Wilton neon green coloring. Grandma made her delicious ham salad sandwiches to go with them.

 We played off the 'Hop on Pop' book by serving 'Hop on Popcorn.' This was dark chocolate peanut butter drizzled popcorn from Sam's Club.

 I made a tiered cake with my cake pans that I got for Christmas. It was my first tiered cake, and I love how it turned out! I dyed the layers of the cake various bright colors and I tried a new flavoring in my frosting: vanilla custard buttercream. It was delicious! I love the Wilton Treatology Flavor System! It has so many amazing flavorings. I did the different layers white and blue, adding borders, shaggy mums, and two little Thing 1 and Thing 2 cake toppers that Elim made for me.

We registered Mom on Amazon. Shaila loved helping Mom open her gifts!

Krista did an amazing job with coordinating everything. She wrote a devotional for Mom, which I've included below.

Some thoughts as you prepare to welcome your twin boys into your big, wonderful family…

I was excited to be asked to do this devotional in theory, but then as the time drew closer, I got a little intimidated. I realized that it was going to be impossible for me to say anything to Megan that she doesn’t already know and put into practice 1,000 times better than I ever could! She is organized and disciplined and wise.

She has a daily schedule that she actually sticks to – something I never managed to do. Her marker board looks like she’s running a small country singlehandedly, which she essentially is. She homeschools practically every grade simultaneously, preschool through 11^th, and keeps every kid busy and challenged. They’re all turning out so smart that I’m afraid to get into a conversation with any but the youngest three for fear I won’t be able to keep up intellectually.

She provides meals and snacks for her kids every single day that look like something you’d be served at a fancy day spa – all the food groups well represented and beautifully displayed on 6 little plates. She even keeps all those little people hydrated with a row of color coded water bottles in a rack on her counter, always at the ready.

She coordinates each child’s involvement in a sport, music lessons, or whatever interest they have, and totes them around to practices and lessons.

On top of all she does for her own family, she still makes meals for other families when the need arises. And honestly, it’s worth having major surgery or some kind of crisis just to get a sympathy meal from Megan!!

The only thing Megan isn’t really great at is cutting herself some slack and taking a load off her feet. Recently I went with her to one of her doctor’s appointments. I tried to be stern with her on the ride home about forcing herself to rest a bit. I told her if I was pregnant with twins and already had 6 kids to care for, I’d cut the school year short and call it good enough. I’d also proclaim it “Cereal and Toaster Waffle Month” and only prepare one meal a day. She listened very sweetly, but I knew that there was no way that was going to happen.

I tried to find Bible verses to cobble together to write a devotional building a case for laziness, but it was harder than I thought it would be.

---

As I prayed about what I could possibly share that would encourage Megan, a song popped into my head that was popular when I was in high school. I hadn’t thought about it in years, but there it was, running through my mind and distracting me. But then, as I tried unsuccessfully to ignore it, I realized actually this might be just the thing for this devotional… Its message is simple, but actually solidly biblical.

I’m going to play a little bit of it just to get it stuck in your head now as well. It’s only fair…

[Bobby McFerrin: “Don’t Worry; Be Happy”]

It goes on for 5 minutes, but you get the idea.

----

From this simple little song, I’m going to make two simple little points, which seems appropriate because this is a shower for twins.

Point #1: Nothing steals a mother’s joy like worry.

Point #2: Nothing steals a child’s joy like an unhappy mamma.

In other words: Don’t worry; Be Happy.

There is actually a “Don’t worry Be happy” chapter in the Bible: Luke 12. That’s where we’re going to spend a few minutes today.

Don’t Worry

 [Luke 12:22-34]

This passage is incredibly practical, since many hours of each day are devoted to the feeding, changing, and clothing of little children. Worrying about tending to their needs is a huge part of what we do as mothers. Feeding them is an obvious concern. (Although, I think the phrase “don’t worry about what you eat” builds a strong case for Waffle and Cereal Month.)

Clothing them is a full time job. We need to keep track of the laundry to make sure they have clean clothes when they need them. We have to keep checking their sneakers to make sure their toes aren’t pressing against the ends. We have to make sure everyone has winter boots. We feel guilty that we can’t afford to get everyone ice skates or roller blades. 

But this passage provides the simple basis for not worrying. The basis is another set of twin statements:

1.       Don’t worry because you don’t actually control anything.

2.       Don’t worry because God actually DOES control everything.

It was a huge relief to me when I finally realized that I have no control over anything. Paul wrote, “One plants, another waters, but God gives the increase.” We can faithfully do our part in any endeavor, but the outcome is always completely and entirely up to God. We can budget our money carefully and never waste a cent on anything frivolous, but our savings can still get sucked dry by an unexpected car or appliance repair. We can pump our kids with vitamins and use sanitizing wipes on the handles of our shopping carts to keep them healthy, but that’s not going to keep them from taking a tumble and needing stitches. We can make them brush and floss so they never get a cavity, but we can’t keep them from needing braces. We can teach them the Scriptures diligently and discipline them faithfully, but that’s not going to guarantee they always make the best and wisest choices in life.

·         Knowing that I do not control anything frees me to relax, do my best, and leave all the outcomes entirely in God’s hands.

·         Knowing I don’t control anything means I can’t take credit for my children’s successes, but that’s a small price to pay for knowing that I also do not have to take the blame for their failures.

·         I plant. I water. But the outcome is God’s responsibility. Their successes are for His glory. Their failures are His to redeem.

So Point #1: Nothing steals a mother’s joy like worry.

The overarching assurance of the passage is this:

·         God knows exactly what we need.

·         God will provide exactly what we need.

·         And God “delights” to give us His kingdom!

Those are three great reasons not to worry.

Be Happy

Point #2: Nothing steals our children’s joy like an unhappy mamma.

We’ve all seen the t-shirts and bumper stickers that say, “If mamma ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.” That’s such a true statement… I know if I am stressed out, my kids are also stressed out. They fret and worry about me and feel like the ground beneath them is not quite stable until they see that I’m stable again. They need me to be happy.

So if I’m going to be happy even when there is a whole lot of crazy going on around me, I’m going to need a pretty good reason to be.

This same chapter in Luke gives us that reason.

[Luke 12:35-38]

“Those slaves the master will find alert when he comes will be blessed… If he comes in the middle of the night or even near dawn, and finds them alert, those slaves are blest.”

The word “blessed” here means “happy, fortunate, well off.” So, those who are faithfully doing what God has called them to do at all hours of the day and night (which Megan has been doing without a doubt for about 17 years now…) are to be HAPPY.

Why? What is in store for them that they are to be so happy about??

“He [the Master! Jesus Himself!] will get ready, have them recline at the table, then come down and serve them.”

This is amazing enough – the idea of a master serving his servants. But the context makes it even more staggering. This is not just a master on an ordinary day. This is a master on his own wedding day! This is the bridegroom serving his servants at his own wedding!

This makes no sense at all. This is just plain GRACE.

This passage says we can be happy about our tireless, tiring service for two reasons:

1.       Every little thing we do in our lives is significant. Nothing is mundane. Nothing is pointless or wasted because we are told elsewhere that even the most ordinary things like eating and drinking can be done in a way that glorifies God (and therefore matters for eternity).

So, endlessly washing the same dishes, the same floors, the same clothes, and the same little bodies even though they all get dirty again and again is an eternally significant calling.

But we are given another reason far beyond that to be happy:

2.       The God we serve takes notice of our sleep deprived nights and early mornings of faithfulness and He appreciates it so much that He plans to honor us by serving us in return!

Jesus is going to force Megan to finally get off her feet and relax!! That makes ME happy just thinking about it!!

In summary:

·         DON’T WORRY!!

God delights to give us not just everything we need, but also His entire kingdom.

·         BE HAPPY!!

Jesus, the Lord and King of that kingdom, sees every little thing we do, and He is looking forward to the day when HE can serve those who have so faithfully served HIM during their lives. 

Krista followed the devotional with a parody of Dr. Seuss' Green Eggs and Ham.

I am Doc.

Doc I am.

That Doc I am,

That Doc I am

I do not like that Doc I am.

Do you like that ticking clock?

Do you like elastic socks?

I do not like them, Mr. Doc.

I do not like the ticking clock.

I do not like elastic socks.

Just get these babies out of me.

I’m getting tired, can’t you see?

What about those Braxton Hicks?

Do you like those bladder kicks?

Stepping stomping night and day?

Tell me, tell me. Have your say!

I do not like those Braxton Hicks.

I do not like those bladder kicks.

I do not like those stomping feet

Going crazy when I eat.

I’ve had it, had it. Can’t you see?

Now get these babies out of me!

I think I begin to see your plight.

Now tell me if I have this right.

That belly’s getting in your way?

You want those babies OUT you say?

Yes, I do. I want their birth.

I’m tired of my stretching girth.

I’m tired of my swollen feet.

Tired of watching what I eat.

I’m tired of this indigestion,

So if I might make a bold suggestion,

Get these babies out of me!

Hurry up now, one two three!!

THREE you say? But I digress…

You realize birthing’s quite a mess.

You really ought to have a plan.

So you don’t have them in the van.

You could have them near or far,

But best not have them in the car.

You could have them in the shower

Or at the library story hour.

You could have them after dark

Or at baseball practice in the park.

You could have them in a shop.

Look at you! You’re going to pop!

You could have them here or there.

You could have them anywhere!

I would gladly have them in the shower

Or give birth at story hour.

I would have them after dark

I would gladly drop them in the park.

I might have them in a shop.

Because you’re right, I’m going to pop!

Just listen up now, Mr. Doc.

It’s time for action. No more talk!

I will have them here or there.

I will have them anywhere!

I’ve had it, had it. Can’t you see?

Now get these babies out of me!

Ah, I begin to understand.

This thing is getting out of hand.

I understand just how you feel,

But listen and we’ll make a deal.

Hang in there three more weeks, let’s say,

I promise you, you’ll have your day!

You’ll carry babies One and Two

Comfortably OUTSIDE of you.

Can you ignore the ticking clock?

Will you just for Mr. Doc?

I suppose it’s what I’ll have to do.

I’ll hang in there for One and Two.

I’ll ignore the ticking clock.

Thank you, thank you, Mr. Doc.

 For favors I made vanilla and chocolate cake pops that I dipped in vanilla candy melts. I printed out these thing 1 and thing 2 labels to add to the bags.

Click here to see my Dr. Seuss baby shower board on Pinterest

We can't wait to meet 'Thing 1 and Thing 2!'