party planning

the first week of january is nearing its end, and it is a reminder of how much time i have left to plan. about THREE MONTHS to be exact! what am i talking about? dray's first birthday lah, what else! =)

i'm still torn about the venue lah. tsk.

on one hand, i'd really like to have it at home, like we did the wedding ceremony and his one month party. but if experience has taught us anything, there's that small problem of not having enough seating space for everyone, so people will end up standing around, eating. and while it was fine for the wedding cos it was a cocktail reception, and the one month cos we staggered guests arrivals, i'd really like for people to be comfortable on dray's birthday.

so noel and i decided to have it at a chalet. i really like the idea, cos then i'd be able to rent toys for the kids, and the adults have a lot of space to relax and chill out. i'm just a little concerned about the travelling and distance for our guests, but...like noel said, if it really means a lot to them, they'd make the effort to come. i guess he's right in that aspect.

also, my guest list is fast nearing a hundred (and that is MY friends only, hee) that it is becoming more and more obvious having it at home is not an option. noel is nagging like an old woman about me inviting so many people, but helloooo...it's dray's first birthday? what's wrong with having my entire phonebook and 3/4 of my facebook friends list (not to mention the mommy forums, the friends i make online, etc) present?

men!

noel is saying he wants to keep the guest list to under fifty. *slaps forehead* it got me so annoyed, because then WHY ON EARTH would we want to do it in a chalet if its under fifty? we might as well save us all the trouble and do it at home! defeats the purpose right! ish!!

i don't know lah...should we just do it at home and somehow find a solution to the space constraint, or go ahead and have a proper party at a chalet?

it IS dray's first, and the firsts are always worth a lot of attention!
thoughts, anyone?

on to another subject: the bugaboo.

noel and i went and put ourselves back into the headache we were in but got out of in the first place when it came to deciding which stroller to get. heh. i got too many conflicting replies from mothercare with regards to the status of the bugaboo bee, that i was this close to getting the cameleon instead. i even watched the video online on how to handle the cameleon, and convinced myself that i'd be able to manage with removing the seat from the chassis and then folding the chassis...WITH dray in tow and possibly three hundred shopping bags as well. AND the cab driver sitting, waiting patiently. tee hee.

the online reviews from bugaboo users claiming that most of their kids outgrew the bee much too quickly (the seat became snug after less than a year for their kids) didn't help either. it was said that the cameleon would be worth the extra 800 bucks and the you-definitely-need-a-degree-for two step folding technique.

so yeah, noel and i were back in the headache of considering still waiting for the bee, or just getting the cameleon. in the end we decided it's really not realistic to have to deal with the mechanics of collapsing the cameleon, and much more sensible to get the bee cos its much lighter and easier to collapse. and who are we kidding? dray's still on the small side, so i don't reckon he'll outgrow the bee as fast as the parents were saying. heh...

and maybe when he's much older and able to STAND while i deal with my shopping bags and the stroller, we'll get the cameleon, cos at least i am able to properly deal with it with two free hands.

back to the conflicting replies from mothercare. the staff at centerpoint told me there's no news about when the bee is arriving. i then happened to be at marina square, and out of boredeom just enquired with the staff there, for pure fun. to my horror, there were actually FIVE bees sitting pretty in the damned warehouse! so i called the staff at parkway (cos i left my name and made a reservation with them) to check if one was already reserved for me, and guess what? they said, that the bee still hasn't arrived and will only be available in february. wtf!

i got so annoyed, because i am pretty sure it is already in the warehouse. the staff at marina personally called and checked with the warehouse for me! someone out there is certainly standing in between me and the bee! grrr...

so i contacted mothercare's marketing side and liaised with one of the marketing staff that attended to me previously with regards to our baby planet, and got her to reserve one bee for us.

this story ends with one bugaboo bee in black being despatched to mothercare centerpoint this week, and we will be collecting the bee this weekend!! yey!! *dances*

i had it despatched to centerpoint on purpose, so i can chastise the staff there for telling me its not available and that i'll have to wait. heh..and THEN i'll bring it to parkway and push it all around the store!!! lol...

oh i'm so excited! i'm finally getting the bee!

*yawns*

oh my, it's noon...but i really wanna get back to bed! i was up till 4 this morning and had to drag myself out of bed at ten to prepare a cake that was being collected by one of my customers. i think i deserve a short nap! i'm gonna have to make a trip out today to get some man u baby stuff for a new order, so i think i should get some shut eye.

let me know your thoughts on the birthday thing ya!
ta for now!