Esfahan had earlier asked, if for his 10th birthday, he could hangout and chill with a few of his close friends from school. Hangout and chill...hmmm... Oh no, it finally hit me, my eldest son is all grown up!
I then asked him how many friends he had in mind. He said, just a few, eat, chill, maybe hangout at the arcade or catch a movie. Sigh... My eldest son has indeed grown up, he doesn't ask for a birthday party anymore, he just wants to hangout with his friends. Oh, how time flies. Before I know it, he's gonna be going to college, work and then move out and move into his own pad, then get married and have children! Hmmm, am I going to be the fab grandparent like my mom is? Hmmm... Ek, oh no, I shall not think of all this yet. Let's just take it one day at a time, let's just settle this matter at hand first, which was his 10th birthday :)
Well, exams were over, and he'd been working very hard at all his VO jobs, so I figured, let's just give him what he wants. So, on his actual birthday, 16 November 2011, he went to school with 10 invites for 10 of his closest classmates to celebrate his birthday with him on 19 November 2011. Why 10 kids? Err, coz I figured 10 was the only number I could manage! Hehe... I mean, let's face it, I'm not Nanny McPhee, and neither am I Oprah Winfrey, so, 10 seems a manageable enough number, and including Esfahan himself plus his 2 younger goons, there'd be 13 children, 13 energetic, active and fun loving kids for mommy and ayah to entertain and chaperon. Good enough, right?
So, anyway, the food and arcade parts were easy, but the trick was in firming up on the movie time. I couldn't finalise the movie 2 or 3 weeks earlier coz the schedules weren't out yet. Only during the week of his birthday did the schedules come out, and he really wanted to watch Puss In Boots. So, in his invite we put in the itinerary as starting at 12+pm, to catch Puss In Boots at 12.20pm, then lunch, then arcade then home. But as it turned out, most of his friends on his invite were involved in their school's Prize Giving Ceremony that day, where they were receiving certificates and trophies of achievements, so as much as they wanted to join Esfahan, they couldn't. Err, might I say that Esfahan was not selected to receive any certificate or trophy, hehe, but his ayah and I and he himself were happy with his overall grades and results; considering that he scored all As amidst his hectic schedule of voice overs, fardhu ain, horse riding, music, etc., it was okay, Alhamdulillah :)
So, I told Esfahan that if he wanted his friends to be with him, he will have to make some changes in his plans, which meant settling for another movie, ie Happy Feet 2, and shuffling his itinerary around. He thought for a while and said, okay, I want my friends more, we can watch Puss In Boots another time. And he said that since we were starting at 2pm instead of 12, then we should have lunch first, then arcade, and then movie at 4pm, so by 6pm his friends' parents can come by to fetch them home. Waaa, my son can figure all this out own his own?! He has indeed grown up.
And what fun he and his friends had! They were so cute! Well, Esfahan has told me not to call him cute, a girl can say he's cute, mommy cannot. Believe that? But I don't care, I spent 10 months walking around like a house carrying him, so I'll say he's cute whenever and wherever I want to, hehe... Anyway, only 7 of his friends were finally able to make it, and they enjoyed lunch at Popeyes, digging into the birthday cake, and just hanging out and chillin' at the arcade and movie. And I can definitely confirm that handling 350 shareholders and the media at a company's AGM is far easier than handling 10 kids on a birthday outing! :) ...Might I also add that Marrakesh fell into the shallow pool outside Popeyes, hehehe, luckily we had change in the car!
He wanted Jules Brownie for his birthday cake, so I decorated it with all the things he loves : Monopoly, The 39 Clues Janus Branch, jelly beans and jelly dinosaurs...
...Party pack filled with his favourite goodies too, Oreos, Mars bar, Skittle, Hersheys, Marvel Comics candy and a party popper. He wanted to date it as 16 instead of 19 November, so his friends will know his actual birthday :)
...For Lileen, it has to be sweetness of course...colourful Agar-agar Kering, in the wedding's Brown&Cream theme... 
...And for the special guests, something Sweet&Savoury...Agar-agar Kering alongside Crispy Anchovy/Prawn Chilli...
...And to all his teachers and caregivers, lots of love...from potty training to "never say never"&"everyday I'm shufflin" and "Mommy, the latest planet in our solar system is Sedna!" You guys are the best! XOX... chocolates in a cute assortment of wrappers...
...and of course, Mommy's signature ribbons... :)
