Birthdays for me are pretty low key, in general.  With my kids being young and my husband being the kind of guy he is, nothing "big" really gets planned for me.  My dh gets me a gift, a cake, and take-out, which is really great and I am quite happy.

My friends, however, actually planned a surprise party for me.  One calls me on the day we usually go to her house for art class and, sounding a bit desperate, asks me to come to her house an hour early so we can talk.  At first I declined because of some difficulties I've had with my oldest ds focusing on his work.  But knowing she's had some rough spots as of late I decided it was best we go.

My kids and I walk in the door to streamers and balloons, and my middle ds asks, "Who's birthday is it?"

I weakly reply, "I think it's mine," as we enter the house.  My friend and her kids all shout, "Surprise!" and sing Happy Birthday.  It was wonderful!   The other 4 ladies showed up after I did, since I am not usually the promptest of people (what an understatement that is...)  And they all pitched in to get me the new release of William Bennett's America: The Last Great Hope, Volume II that was released just yesterday!  While the book is great, I am much more touched by the fuss everyone made over me.  Usually my mom is the only one that does that--as she wonderfully did again this year.