Happy Birthday!! (Now Go Enjoy your Prom...)

Happy Birthday, Trevor!
Spring is serious birthday time in our family, and today is no exception. Besides me, my mom, two of my uncles, my new niece!, my daughter, my father-in law and my brother-in-law, my husband also has a spring birthday.  And today is his day.  

I couldn't let this day go by without a little shout out in a blog post to my own and only, but "Happy Birthday, Trevor" doesn't really constitute an entire post.  And it doesn't really relate all that much to my experiences and adventures as a mom, which is what this blog is all about.  What's a girl to do?  

So here is my solution:  write a birthday blog post for my husband, recapping my very favorite memory, selected from the past 13 birthdays of his that I've been around for, which just so happens to have a little Motherhood tie in.  Here goes...  

Travel Back with Me to 2010...
My due date for our 2nd child, my now three-year-old daughter, was exactly five days after my husband's 30th birthday.  I was faced with a minor dilemma about what to do for this momentous occasion of my husband entering his 30's.  This was a fairly big birthday, as far as birthdays go, and not one to just let "slip by."  A few months out, the wheels started turning...  

Do I have a surprise party?  What if the surprise is that I'm in the hospital having a baby when all our friends and family show up at our house?  Do I plan a day for him to go golfing with some of his buddies?  What if they have to call him in off the water hazard at the 15th hole because my water just broke?  Do I try to do something before his birthday and before Baby is born?  What if I'm put on bed rest?  What if I'm so humongous and exhausted and uncomfortable I fall asleep at 8:07pm at a party I'm hosting?  (Um, did I mention I'm a little bit of a worrier?)

Fortunately, a great friend of ours saved the day on this one.  He actually called me and asked if I had plans for Trevor's 30th birthday.  Yes, but no, but I've tried to play through every scenario and I've come up with...nothing.  I think he could hear the desperation in my voice.  Brilliant friend with equally brilliant idea to the rescue!  Here was his pitch: I tell Trevor we're going out for dinner.  I tell him I've made reservations at a Japanese Steak House.  The surprise part is when we get there, 3 other couples will be waiting for us when we walk in the lobby.  If for some reason we have to take a detour, say, to the hospital, not a huge deal, as we only have to let 6 people know, and they get to stay and have a great dinner anyway.  Like I said, brilliant.

What We Weren't Expecting...But We Were All Expecting...
We arrived at the restaurant as planned.  My husband was surprised as he slowly figured out it wasn't just a coincidence our friends were also there.  We waited for our table.  We talked.  We chatted.  We laughed.  We began to notice a couple people looking at us.  And then a few more.  And then we noticed just about everyone in the lobby had looked over our way at some point.  That's when we realized it.  All 4 of the women in our group were noticeably pregnant, and due within about 4 months of each other, with me leading the pack at T minus 5 days from my due date.  Oh, what a sight we were.  

Then it got even better.

We were escorted to our table.  (I'm pretty sure I waddled, but whatever...)  Now, if you've ever been to Japanese Steak House-style restaurant where they cook your food right at your table, you know you end up sharing your meal with complete and total strangers in order to fill a table that surrounds a flat top grill.  So who does the 30th birthday group with 4 pregnant women get seated with?  Who else but a bunch of high school kids out for dinner before their prom?  Why not, right?  

My first thought...Where is Ashton Kutcher?  Are we on 'Punk'd' right now?  (Who am I kidding...that show had been off the air for years by 2010...)

My second thought...Really?  I already feel like I'm the size of a house and now I have to eat this meal sitting next to teenage girls in formal wear and heels?  I'm pretty sure I can't see my feet anymore at this stage in the game.  And I can't even have a drink to ease the pain...

My third thought...They must think we are all insane.  Like pregnant women travel in packs or we have started some sort of strange pregnancy club or the Japanese Steak House now hosts Lamaze classes on Saturday nights or something.

My fourth thought...We have quite possibly helped to prevent some poor choices from being made later in their evening by scaring the crap out of them with our 100% pregnancy rate over at our end of the table.

My fifth thought...Man, I'm hungry.  It's been at least 47 minutes since I last ate.  Let's eat!

We left dinner, and hit a couple more spots before we called it a night.  We were like a traveling circus.  Every single place we went, people would stare in amazement or confusion or disbelief as we walked by.  So.  Much.  Fun.  I'm serious here, people.  It was so funny to see people's reactions, and honestly, when you're that pregnant, who would you rather be around than other pregnant women?  

As far as birthdays go, nothing says "Happy 30th Birthday" like a night out with 4 pregnant women and some teenage kids on their way to prom.  No surprise party.  No golf outing.  But it did turn out to be a memorable evening, shared with amazing friends.  And their babies-to-be.

Happy Birthday, Trevor.  You are an incredible man, husband and father.  Every year on this day I say a special prayer to thank God that you were born.  And that you picked me.  And that my kids have such an amazing guy to call "Dad."  And that I get to make yet another German Chocolate cake.  Through your constant encouragement and support, You Are (helping me to be) a Good Mom.