Nothing to fear, my dear…

So, I'm a couple of days overdue on the birthday drama update. The surprise was…in a word (or three)…so much FUN!

I was in complete knots for the entire day and into the evening. We dropped off the kids with our much loved and very able babysitter at 5:30. I knew that we had until 6:45 to be at what Richard vaguely referred to as "an appointment." So, to kill a bit of time, I suggested we head over to the jewelry store to have my watch battery replace. And, what stop at the jewelry store would be complete without sending the ol' wedding ring through the super jammy jam shine-it-up machine….which has amazing powers when it comes to removing all manner of dirt, kid spit, hamburger meat and whatever else might be lodged in the prongs of your true love's most prized gift.

I also had a bit of b-day cash in my pocket and what better place to spend it than the jewelry store? But, I quickly realized that I really should have been at Claire's in the mall if I expected to buy anything with my birthday cash. Who knew little tiny bracelets were so stinking expensive? I didn't. I left with one ticking watch and one now-sparkling wedding ring.

On the way to "an appointment," Richard got a call on his cell. I could tell instantly he was nervous. He told the person on the phone that we stopped at the jewelry store and immediately I was suspicious. Who in the world would CARE?? He hung up the phone and I gunned him with my first question. Was that Natalie K???? Uhh…stammer….uhh….no….it was Nonna's. AH – HA!!! We were headed to Nonna's…love that restaurant. They said our table wouldn't be ready for 20 minutes. I asked why they couldn't just give us another table, but Rich told me they were saving a special table…which I could have believed because I have a favorite table there. It looks over into the kitchen…

So, with another 20 minutes to spare, we looked around in a downtown boutique and I managed to buy a pair of jeans with some of my b-day money! Woo Hoo. Thanks Mom and Pop!

FINALLY, we got to Nonna's, and sure enough, the hostess asked if we were here for "the party"….I looked up and there were some of my dear, dear friends up there waiting! It was so great. Dan, Heather, Natalie and Rae-Ann all came to celebrate with me. There were balloons, cards, gifts and lots of laughter! It was such a great night and I felt so loved. Thankfully, there was no singing or dancing, but I did nearly try on a bathrobe at the table. J Had to be there!! There was much funny conversation on topics ranging from American Idol to the hunky pics on Richard's blog to Spanakopita (only Rae-Ann can pronounce it correctly) to what in the world would happen if the birthday balloon and it's super blow pop weight were to fall down to the seating area below. I'm telling you, we were out of our minds with hilarity!

The children survived despite having donuts at the sitter's at 8:30pm and not getting to sleep until 10pm! But, they had great fun too. They were happy that I had a surprise party and were only slightly sad that they couldn't have come. But, we're going to celebrate this weekend with family cake baking!