Coach's birthday was Friday. A few days a week he works until 7 or 8, so since his bday landed on a Friday when he's done with work around 3:00 - the possibilities were endless.
Who am I kidding? Have we met? We're not exactly the type to paint the town red. So endless isn't the right word, but we could make plans. Ed called weeks ago and asked if he was expected to be home for Dad's bday. We're not huge celebrators of birthdays (* I don't think I've ever shared how Coach's 50th was derailed, maybe I'll explain that scenario in an upcoming post, if anyone is interested), so I said that he could probably just stay in the city.
As the 15th drew near, I contemplated inviting friends to meet us for dinner and/or drinks. Should I invite his sister and her husband (they live about 30 minutes north)? And if I did that, should I invite his brother and his wife (they live about 45 minutes north - not far from Kari from A Graceful Life). Coach does not like surprises and we are going to see his sibs on Thanksgiving. If we lived closer, we'd hang out with them a ton as we all have a great time together.
I finally asked: preference?
Dinner here with as many of the kids as we can get to show up.
Um, I reached out to Ed. "Can you come home?" He'd made plans to join his girlfriend's family for her sister's bday dinner, but he said he could skip, no big deal. Lad said he'd come after work. Reg was driving home from Indiana, because
1. he didn't have a game on Saturday and didn't have to be at practice till Sunday, and
2. (most importantly) he was out of home-cooked meals.
I decided to make Coach's favorite (of my recipes): lasagna. I made a small sized GF version, **says the happy camper who is only half-assing the low FODMAP diet right now and living to tell about it**. Plus, his favorite: Cherry Dessert. The lasagna recipe is involved, so it's a time commitment.
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| Dinner leftovers shoved to the edge of the island so I could continue my mission. |
I wanted to surprise him, but it's hard to find a big enough window to accomplish that. We have four fridges, so the hiding I could handle. Thursday evening as I raced around the kitchen, I anticipated Coach walking in the door and seeing me/smelling his fav, but he ended up working longer than expected. So I texted Curly when I was wrapping up: "Come to the kitchen rn!" Curly raced one tray down to the basement fridge and as I was handing off tray #2, Coach walked in. There were pots and pans everywhere and our house smelled like an Italian restaurant. Busted. It's fine. He was still thrilled.
Rae woke up puking early Friday morning, so she was stuck in her room and missed the dinner. I made enough lasagna to have Lad, Ed, and Reg take some back to their respective houses/apartments. After dinner, Reg sent a picture of the lasagna to his roommate from Italy.
Coach doesn't usually want gifts, but everyone makes him a card. Curly presented Coach with a sketch she did in art. She brought in a photo of Coach when he was like 9 or 10, maybe. It turned out amazing. She said when kids at school saw what she was working on, they asked if she was drawing Reg. (he just graduated last year, so many of her classmates know him. Reg definitely has the Shenanigan look).
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| Quite the likeness, right? |
Rae gave Coach a card the next day (see: puke above). She wrote him a note full of gratitude for how he's become the father figure she never had. It was incredibly heartfelt and touching. She gifted me with a moving note on Mother's Day that made me cry. This adoption thing isn't easy, and can be downright exhausting. Then there are moments like a thoughtful note that mean so much, and it renews our energy and serves as a great incentive to keep it up.
Between the sketch, the limited puking, the lasagna, three boys coming home (6 out of 8 kids home ain't all bad), and Rae's note, I'd say Coach had a pretty decent day.
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We had so many other things happen this weekend, I'll share soon. How was your weekend? Do you like surprises? Has anyone ever thrown you a surprise party? What's your favorite b-day meal? Do you prefer to stay in or go out?
10 comments:
We raked over the weekend. Our back yard was drowning in leaves, so my boys at home helped fill up 15 lawn bags. Still plenty of leaves left, but at least we can see the grass again. Not much else as my husband was working.
No surprises for me, and I do not like eating out, so birthday at home with kids sounds perfect. I'd love to hear about Coach's 50th birthday (or lack thereof).
That sounds like a lovely birthday. I hate surprises and I don't like being sung to so I like my birthday to just be like a regular day. I want to go for a hike and I want to have dinner with my friends and family and it doesn't matter if it's out or at home but I want it to be very low-key.
I’m not big on being the center of attention but my husband threw me a surprise party when I turned fifty and it was wonderful. Otherwise, I’m like Coach, have the kids and grandkids over and celebrate at home.
Curly is very talented! I’m glad the sickness didn’t make the rounds.
That is a fantastic likeness! I hope your daughter can do something with her artistic talents.
I'm not a fan of surprises; I have a touchy history with them. Besides, planning is not my husband's strong suit. Either is keeping a secret.
Sounds perfect! If your lasagna is "unauthentic" then mine would be downright ridiculous (I make a fake "ricotta" out of tofu, ha!) To answer your question- I would much rather stay in than go out. And- I don't think I would like a surprise party. But I don't know that for sure because no one has ever thrown one for me (they know me well.) Happy Birthday to Coach!
Curly's drawing is amazing! She is very talented.
I make lasagna for New Years. It's become tradition. The leftovers freeze really well, so I freeze individual portions for the times that I feel like I have nothing to pack for lunch. I use jarred sauce and the recipe on the oven ready noodles box from Kroger, so my lasagna probably doesn't pass inspection with authentic Italian Grandma's either!
For a home cooked birthday meal, I'd pick something with mashed potatoes. I hate peeling potatoes so they are a special occasion treat! If going out to eat and money is no object, I'd pick hibachi.
Wow - that drawing is incredible. I am such a bad draw-er and I really wish it was one of my skill sets because it strikes me as so creative. Wouldn't it be lovely to just...sit down and sketch? Maybe I should just sit down and sketch even though things don't really look that good. Also, I suppose they never WILL look good if I don't take the time to sketch. A loose "goal" for 2025 perhaps?
Any puke is too much puke, but I'm glad it was limited.
I love lasagne but find it such a chore to make, I rarely do it. I like a simple, saucy lasagne. I really should make one soon.
My favourite birthday meal would be sushi with unbaked cherry cheesecake for dessert!
Weekend was BUSY. We went to a party on Friday night to watch the Tyson fight (I haven't been to a Fight Night party since 1997). That went late. Saturday we went to a music festival that ran from 2:30 PM to 11:30 PM. Sunday I was exhausted and slept most of the day on the couch.
Lasagna is a full day process. I make my own meat sauce, which in itself is a 4-6 hour production. But I'll make a bunch at once, because lasagna freezes wonderfully. My mother's lasagna is a crime against lasagna- she uses cottage cheese.
Sounds like a perfect birthday for Coach! So glad the kids could make it home.
I've had exactly ONE surprise party when I turned 40. But, my husband knows me well enough that it wasn't a blowout - it was just a few of my favorite people.
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