When good plans fail.....eat Mexican

I had planned a surprise for Mikey T's birthday.  Have been thinking about it for weeks.  I was going to rent one of the gyms in town, and let Mikey T think a gym had become available for an extra Mighty Mighty Raptors practice (which is much needed, I might add. They are starting the season off...a little....um....slow)  All the basketball boyz were going to be there, except we would have a beautiful 34th birthday cake and pizza...lots of pizza...basketball boyz love pizza.  We would yell surprise and laugh and have fun. We would sing happy birthday and eat and they guys would all shoot basketball.  That is how I pictured it my head for weeks. 
Except, as it got closer, I was running out of options. Gyms all around town were not available ro CRAZY expensive.  That is fine, I thought.  I will find an outdoor goal with a covered patio where we can eat and laugh and sing and all that stuff mentioned before.  But, with every outdoor goal, I found a broken rim OR a sign that says "For residents only, tresspassing not allowed" (there are a lot of apartements in a college town). 
So, I changed my plan again. I would just invite the basketball boyz over to our house. We would eat and laugh and all that jazz, minus the basketball. But, there is no parking for 12 cars at my house. And we have nothing for 12 twelve-year old boys once the pizza is gone.
Sooooo, we decided to move it to Unc's house, where there are big screens and playstations.  Except, we would have to cut down the numbers to just a few basketball boyz, and who do we leave out? Who do we invite?  As the day loomed closer and closer, the plan fizzled out to four boys coming over to eat a pizza and play playstation.  And they didn't have rides, so we would have to go get them, and it was a Thursday and I was working late........plop. 
Thursday afternoon, the day of the birthday, there was no pizza. No gym and no cake. There was no big party and NO surprise.
Mikey T was over at Unc's house when I got off work and I called to see what he wanted to do? Could I at least cook his favorite meal?  He was at the pool and perfectly content to stay there.
Mom stepped in and decided that we would go to the Mexican place in town and at least have a birthday dinner. 

AHHHHAAAAAAAAAA, my chance at a surprise. When Emma Kate announced to the entire patronage that she needed to poo-poo (yes she still announces it...loudly), we snuck over to the waiter and told him about a birthday. He asked if it was for the "nina?" "Oh no," I told him, "the 34 year old man at our table!."

Ten minutes later, there were sombraros and drums and a loud rendition of Feliz Cumpleanos!!!  I HAD surprised him! Not the pizza-basketball-cake contraption I had envisioned, but a birthday surprise nonetheless.

Emma Kate was on her A-game, keeping us laughing with her little sayings and funny reactions. At one point Mike was leaning on her and she yelled at him to get off of her.  He said "But it's my birthday."  And she said "Happy Birthday, but I am not yo PRESENT," with attitude.

So, it was a successful birthday. It was not the super surprise I had in mind, but it was family and laughter and it was just right.

P.S. When you live in a college town where there are an unbalanced number of 21st birthdays celebrated, you don't get a free bowl of ice cream or flan. You get a tequila shot.  Probably why he asked if if was the "cumpleanos de la nina."