Well, since everyone else is doing it

I kind of glazed over it in my last post, but everyone else who went to PJs at TJ's wrote a recap, so I figure I should too. Because it was fun and TJ was a very generous hostess who showed us all a wonderful time.

So, Friday I got done with work and headed across the street to the airport to pick up Elise. We had fun chatting in the car as we headed toward TJ's house. When we got in touch with TJ outside the base to arrange the base access stuff, she asked if we could turn around and go grab a few girls at a nearby outdoor mall, because she could only sign on so many cars and blah blah blah so we needed to carpool. So Elise and I picked up Stephanie, Megan (who doesn't blog but does Tweet), and Laura and headed back.

The rest of the evening was spent meeting and greeting as more people arrived. The bloggers attending aren't in my usual blog social circle, but I'd checked them out to know who they all were. Even so, I quickly realized I hadn't read enough. That or I am even worse with remembering names and details than I usually am. Anyway, I met Linnea, Noemi, Diane, Lara, Jess, Jessica, Kammah, Erin, and two of TJ's aunts. TJ put out a sandwich spread and enough soda for a small army, along with a WALL of CANDY. Organized candy. Seriously, brilliant. She used a show organizer on her laundry room door and stuffed it with goodies. Dan can never find out about it because he'll want one. We chatted and played with babies (TJ's Penny, Erin's Lorelai, Jessica's Callum) and hung out before heading home (or to hotels) for the night.

I got up bright and early Saturday (because I have dogs who don't sleep for shit because OMG, they might miss a meal) and picked up a few girls and headed back to TJ's for breakfast. Ladies trickled in all morning, including a new arrival, Andrea and her daughter, Alli. The babies played on the floor while we chatted. After a while, a few of us headed off to Target for general awesomeness shopping and to buy pajamas for the PJ party that evening. I had to leave to go shadow a lia sophia show (although I got hopelessly lost, burst into tears, and ended up giving up and going home for a nap) and a few girls went to get pedicures while TJ turned the house into a true pajama party.

I have to say this about TJ real quick. She really is awesome. I enjoy her company very much and am glad we've become friends. She's funny in a sarcastic way I can appreciate, wicked clever in both her writing and her conversation, and incredibly kind. She truly just wanted everyone to have a good time. She took a lot of effort in planning to get the most out of our very minimal registration "fee" (for lack of a better word, because I think we all would have coughed up more for the experience). She kept us in good snacks, great company, and gracious hospitality all weekend.

So, with all that in mind, she also had a vision for this party. She and I met up after she came home from the Blathering, and as she was hatching her idea for her own gathering, she truly wanted a middle school-esque girlfest PJ party. Like old school, from back when we'd stay up late with girlfriends eating popcorn and candy until we got sick, whispering about boys and watching movies. She had a VISION. And that vision included a BED. At a pajama party. It's so obvious, yet so brilliant that she actually hauled out a bed while most of the girls were gone (I came back to help turn the house from "hang out all day" space to "this is where the party's happening space), set it up in the living room, made it up with blankets and pillows, and set the scene. She had hot pink and black streamers and party decor. Everyone (including Kara, who hadn't been able to make it to the Friday night meet-and-greet) descended on Kelly's house in their cute pajamas and warm fuzzy socks. We had pizza, "Big" and "Dirty Dancing" going in the background, root beer floats, and a lot of great conversation. We piled on the bed or sat on couches or the floor, played with little ones, and just talked all night.

I'll be honest, being with that many people at once for a whole day is breeding grounds for sensory overload for me. But it was precisely what I didn't even know I needed. It really was great and very memorable. There were ladies from so many different places and backgrounds to meet and get to know and share with. I spend just about every evening hanging out with at least one guy (Dan, obvs, and possibly the roommate or one of Dan's coworkers), so having girl time was a breath of fresh air. And it didn't matter that I didn't relate to all of their experiences because we were all there for one reason - to just have fun and enjoy something totally new. As tired as I was on Sunday from all the fun, it was a happy and satisfied tired.

So, in summation, I'd definitely recommend attending a blog gathering should you ever have the opportunity. And it doesn't matter that it's not a gathering of your "usual" bloggers, because they can become part of your blog circle. It's an experience you won't regret - I can assure you that the 15 ladies who spent Saturday night in PJs with me would agree with you :)