Bien Fiesta!

After spending a long, boring eight hours at work, I was no longer in the mood for a party.  Sure, it was Cinco de Mayo and for as long as I can remember, we celebrated.  Sometimes when the kids were littler, we’d go out to our favorite Mexican restaurant.  But, usually, as the token Mexicans, we hosted the Fiesta.  Over the years, the friends and family that attend has changed.  Some years, like this year, it was just me and the kids. Regardless of the guest list, Cinco de Mayo is always a big deal.

But this year, I just wasn’t feeling it.  My sister was sending me snapchats all day long of her fiesta preparations.  I thought this would get me a little more pumped but it actually caused me to stress out a little more.  I had purchased all the ingredients to make enough food for a small Mexican village, but the time and effort to actually make it was in short supply.  For a minute, I considered ditching my menu and just taking the kids out to our favorite Mexican restaurant.  One glance at my bi-weekly budget quickly nixed that notion.

So, when I got home, I knew I had to put on my party pants.

The kids were very content playing in the back yard and Grace was more than content in her afternoon siesta.  Once I got the meat cooked up and the homemade salsa, guacamole and cheese dip prepared, I needed to get creative.

Tuesdays are often “Taco Tuesdays.”  Especially when it coincides with “Payroll Tuesday.”   Since Cinco de Mayo also fell on our “Taco Tuesday” I knew I needed to do something special to really celebrate Cinco de Mayo.

I poured myself a Mango Margarita, took a couple deep breaths and channeled my inner creative mind.

The hardest part of a Mexican Fiesta is plating the food.  So many different menu items can be created out of the same ingredients just in a different way.  That’s when the idea came to me. 

Since the budget didn’t allow for us to go out to eat, I would bring the restaurant to us.

I had to think back to a million years ago when I hosted, bussed, waitressed and managed a Mexican restaurant.  But I was confidient that I still had the skills.

At 6:30pm, the kids were seated at an outdoor patio table with a beautiful view of the “Mexican” Koi Pond. In the background, was a lovely mix of Mexican music (thanks to the “Cinco de Mayo” station I found on Pandora). I proceeded to get into character.  I had my waitress apron tied around my waist, my notebook for order taking, freshly rolled silverware on the red and white checkered linen draped table.  With tray in hand, I delivered chips and salsa and took their drink orders.

It took a little while for the kids to play along.  They first and foremost wanted to challenge me by asking, no wait, demanding, things they knew we didn’t have.  Lesson learned.  Before returning with their drinks, I wrote up an appetizer menu giving them three options.  They could each pick one.  I gave them a few minutes to review the menu and gave myself a few minutes to down my first margarita.  When I returned to the table, they were ready with their first order: 2 Cheese Dips, Nachos and Guacamole.  After placing their orders, I gave them a run-down of the “specials” for Cinco de Mayo.  They could each order a maximum of 3 items.  Their choices were tacos, burritos, nachos or quesadillas.  It really took me back to my waitressing days when I had to go through all the questions that come along with a Mexican food order.  One taco…beef, chicken or fish?  One burrito, beef, chicken or bean?  Cheese on top?  Sour Cream?  Quesadilla…cheese, chicken or beef? Peppers? And so on and so on.

Once I got the orders down, I went back to the kitchen and poured myself another margarita.  Now this was getting fun!  I seriously forgot how many things you have to have going at once to produce four plates.  But, I was up for the challenge.  Within 20 minutes, all orders were made, plated and ready to present to the table.  And I’ll be darned if this waitress/cook got Every. Single. Order. RIGHT!!!!

Yes, yes…I know….it’s the little things.

While they dined, I made my way back to the kitchen to clean up.  Not only did I clean up the rest of the margaritas, I also got the kitchen cleaned and dishes washed before they finished their meals.  Eva was kind enough to help clear the plates afterwards and Layla and Grace retreated to the basement for some TV time.  Alex spent the evening “working out” in the back yard.

Finally, at 10pm after all the kids were showered and in bed, I realized I never ate!  So, from the kitchen I retrieved some crumbled chips and guacamole.  My, my was it delicious.

So, I know this whole event was a little overboard, but my hope is that it created a memory for them.  That one day they will be able to tell their kids about this experience or at least be able to remember that their mom was not just insane, but pretty fun too!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!!!