Showers go green!

At the OB's office today, I happened upon an issue of this magazine. In it, there was an article about how to throw a Green Wedding. I'm long past that phase of life, but a friend of mine just offered to throw me a baby shower the other day. Wondering how I could incorporate a green concept into the little shindig, I Googled. This is what I found. Leave it to a celeb to do it first. Not that I thought I'd be the first, but you know...

The concept of a second baby shower is taboo to a lot of people. One of my friends in particular thinks it's just downright strange and not normal [direct quote], but I think she's warming to the idea a bit more since she's also expecting. Down here in the south it's commonplace to have a shower for nearly every child you have. I think people here just like to have a reason to get together and eat, actually. But to us, every child is a celebration -- and that's the way it should be. Now, I'm not saying you go out and have a huge bash for every successive child you shoot out of your hooha, but you know...a little acknowledgment for the kid is in order. I also don't think you should go and throw yourself a baby shower either. I mean, if it's your first -- go ahead. But when friends of mine started asking when my shower was going to be, I would just tell them flat out, I don't know. I'm not going to be like, "Hey buy me stuff..." And I still refuse to do that. Had my friend not offered the other day, I suppose I just flat out wouldn't be having a shower at all -- and that'd be fine too. So anyway, a second or successive baby shower is thrown on eggshells in my life, I suppose.

So anyway, thinking of ways to make my shower eco-friendly is just so darn exciting to me...but I feel like a few of the tips (like asking people to not wrap in wrapping paper) will just be a pain in their arse. I already feel a little awkward having this shower anyway, so I really don't want to ask too much of people. However, it's my shower and is it really being absolutely evil to be eco-friendly about it? I already feel a little like I may have to take the planning into my own hands. The friend that offered to throw it for me hasn't even responded to a email I sent her about it a few days back. Granted, she did tell me yesterday she in fact got the email. Her first offer was to throw the shower (which, she mentioned as "nothing big", fine in my book) the first weekend in June. I thought that was just a wee too soon, and have asked for second or third weekend options instead.

I guess what I'm getting at here is this: It's a second baby shower. It's not supposed to be anything big, so is it acceptable to have a theme like "eco-friendly"? And why do I feel like it will be putting my guests out. I don't want people to be like "She's so damn picky. Why's this a big deal?" But here's the thing: it is a big deal to me. Adrien wasn't a planned pregnancy...not that it means he was any less wanted than this baby is...but it is different. The shower I got for Adrien was not ideal (and I'm really trying not to come off as ungrateful). A friend of mine threw the part for me last time and it was held at my absolute least favorite restaurant. It was a "surprise" party (that I figured out) and I had zero say in what happened at it. My friend had some of those kitschy overdone shower games -- that I really detest -- and there was this creepy clown working at the restaurant that attempted to make me a balloon figurine of a pregnant woman...YES! Don't ask, it was the single most disturbing thing in my life so far [It came complete with fetus].

Blah, so anyway. Do you guys think it would be too much to have the whole shindig go down my way this time? I'm feeling a tad bit uneasy with my friend being as busy as she is and offering to throw this shower for me. I'm just so afraid that it's going to fall by the wayside and end up like my last shower. All I really want is one good, normal life experience.

But I don't want it to make me Miss Fussy-Ungrateful-Pants. Am I being that way?