Disclaimer: I received free products in order to host the Disney Side @Home Celebration. The opinions expressed here are my own.

When last we left off (this post), my DisneySide @Home Celebration planning was in full swing. The party day finally arrived and it was a gorgeous warm and sunny Saturday!  When I jumped out of bed at 6 am, I still had a million things to do – cooking, cleaning, and the finishing touches on the decorations were all on my list.  The party was scheduled for 4 pm, so I knew I had plenty of time to pull it all together.  Raymond was on hand to help and Megan would be over in the early afternoon to pitch in.  Ah, the best laid plans…

Before I get to the challenging part of the story, let me go over the menu:

• Chicken and Sausage Gumbo
• Shrimp Etouffee
• Sweet and Spicy Meatballs
• Rice (for all of the above)
• Shrimp Dip / potato chips
• Tortilla Rollups (store bought) and Dip
• Chicken Salad + mini croissants
• Mickey-shaped King Cake
• Mickey Cupcakes with cream cheese icing and white chocolate-dipped Nilla Wafers for “Ears” (with Mardi Gras colored sprinkles)
• White Chocolate Dipped:  Strawberries, pretzels, & chocolate Pirouette cookies
• Mickey-shaped Rice Krispies Treats
• Mixed Nuts
• Cheese Straws

So, back to the getting ready part.  Everything was going along swimmingly!  Cooking – cupcakes: check, Rice Krispies treats: check, chocolate-covered everything: A-Okay!Raymond ran errands for ice and some gift-bag/prize package supplements, Megan arrived and was working on her assignments (bathroom cleaning and balcony decorating) – then…I was walking down the stairs, wearing my usual “at home” outfit of baggie lounge pants, tee-shirt, and fluffy socks…talking to Raymond, picking a bit of dried chocolate (from all the dipping) off of the inside of my left wrist and…as the stairs turn, with my warm and cozy socks…my feet just flew out from under me!  I ended up really hurting my right forearm and lower back, but also, as I flung out my arms to save myself, I hit my left hand against the railing and ripped the fingernail loose on my middle finger.  So, trying to recover my equilibrium, I’m clutching my left hand (bleeding a lot) and sitting on the stairs rocking back and forth in pain – feeling sorry for Raymond at the bottom of the stairs and Megan at the top, who witnessed the entire incident!

I was frustrated as I realized how much still needed to be done!  Raymond and Megan looked so horrified – I got up (I may have sobbed for about 10 seconds) and decided it was time to shower and get ready for the party so I’d still have time to cook the gumbo and etouffee.  It’s funny now, but as I was trying to get into the shower, I was fighting not to pass out – for a few minutes, I thought I might have broken my arm.  Aside from a big bruise, I’m absolutely fine,  I just wasted a ton of party prep time falling, stopping the bleeding, lying dizzily on the floor with my feet up…you get the idea.

Right on time, the guests started to arrive!  Megan was on the balcony throwing Mardi Gras beads, the food, decorations, and prize bags were ready.  The party was a huge success!  We played Disney Trivia for entries into drawings for the 10 prize packages and that went really well.  Guests (around 35 of us) ranged in age from a couple of months old to 60+!  The food, decorations, and treats were a hit!  I had a blast with my family and friends showing our DisneySide in true Louisiana Mardi Gras fashion!

I’d like to thank MomSelect and DisneyParks and everyone who worked on packing the #DisneySide @Home Celebration boxes!