My Surprise Birthday Party!

I had one of the best birthdays, if not THE best birthday, ever this year.  It was on a Monday, so we didn't do much to celebrate, and that was fine by me.  I don't like birthdays that much and am never offended if no one makes a big deal out of it.  Furthermore, my mom came over a few days before my birthday and stayed with the boys after they were in bed so that Carlos and I could get Mexican food.  That in itself was a great birthday present!  On the day of, she also came over with mac and cheese, pork roast, cupcakes, and a Home Depot gift card.  My dad came over before my birthday with a beautiful Talbot's jacket and shirt.  So I felt more than enough birthday love.

The weekend after my birthday rolled around and I had already forgotten about my birthday.  But Carlos had invited my family over to celebrate my birthday.  I was expecting my mom and dad, my Auntie Mimi, and my Nana.  Carlos cooked fajitas all Saturday morning, and my parents came over a little before everyone else was supposed to arrive to help me with the boys.  When I saw how much food Carlos was cooking, I wondered if something was up, but he was insistent that he had only invited family.  He ALWAYS cooks too much food and he also made up some excuse about having to cook for a pot luck at Meditech on Monday too, so I didn't think more of it.

At noon, our good friends Nick and Lorna showed up.  They are not technically blood/family, but they are just as good as family.  There are LOTS of Paones and significant others, so I figured that's why Carlos had cooked so much food.  That was a nice surprise!

But then the doorbell rang again and it was my friend Kelly from Harvard with her husband Brendon.  Pretty soon the doorbell rang again, and again, and again, and there was Charlie and Mike, more Paones, people from Carlos's work (Mary Luz, Lina, Prima, Primo, Oriana, Estelle, Susan), and even Judy one of our NICU nurses!!!!  There was so much food: chicken fajitas, salad, mac and cheese, salsa and chips, rice, black beans, plenty of good beer, and a GORGEOUS cake that had guava paste in it.  My favorite!

My mom and dad took care of the boys so that Carlos and I could enjoy the company, and we gave house tours and tried to chat with everyone.  The only bad thing about groups that big is that you don't get to talk to everyone as much as you'd like.

All-in-all, it was an amazing day for me.  I felt so blessed to be surrounded by friends and family.


Here are Lexi and the boys manning the door, waiting for guests to arrive!