DATE NIGHT!!!

So tonight was the first time we went our in our newly reappointed date night swap. No pics, sorry, so I'll make it brief.

I fed the boys dinner (tortellini) early, around 5:15. I was aiming to drop them off at the J house between 6-6:30. Art and I decided it would be a bad idea to pick him up from work just to ride to their house with the boys then have to say goodbye. Better to have them not see him at all. So fed the kids, got them in their pjs, and off we go. First non-family-sitting date night we've had in the 13 weeks we have been here. 13 weeks. That seems pretty long. Boys were excited, and well prepped on going to sleep at the J house. Z and W had strict instructions to help take care of Y if he got upset for any reason, or sad when it was time for bed.

Drop-off was easy peasy. Boys all kissed me goodbye, and I was off, no tears, no issues. Helps that they have been over to the J house many times. Our bible study group meets there. Off to pick up Art. As he gets into the car he announces that Apple is putting a damper on our evening...he is to attend a conference call at 9pm. What?!?! Oh no they did NOT (I can't pull that off can I?) interfere with MY date night. :)

Tonight's date night: low key, dinner only. Partially bc of the conference call and partially bc of it being the first time our kids have gone to sleep at someone else's house since January. (the report later was that they were SO EASY, and had zero issues going to sleep, were obedient, etc). Dinner at Red Pepper Grill. We had bought a Groupon for it in Feb. We had planned on using it when my Dad was here, then we did not, then thought we'd use it when Opa/Oma were here, but they encouraged us to go someplace nice that they would foot the bill for. So now is finally the time. SO GOOD! We will definitely go back there and get another Groupon next time it pops up. First of all, yes yes yes to complimentary chips and salsa. Nowhere in Evanston that we went had that. And the salsa was supremely good. I am embarrassed that we went through 3 baskets of chips. My rationale was that 1) the salsa was super yummy and 2) we would eat as much of the free stuff as possible which would enable us to eat less of our entree so we could take it home and eat it again for lunch. Brill! I got a steak burrito, Art got some sort of seafood burrito. LOVE LOVE that they give you a choice of black beans or refried beans, which most places do not. I detest refried beans. Unless there is enough cheese. A spoonful of cheese helps the medicine go down...no matter what Mary Poppins says.

We sat and chatted for a long time, during which Art went into a mini food coma from being so full, where all of his energy was diverted to digestion. he came out of it around the time we needed to head back home for his conference call. He could have taken it at a coffee shop, but I didn't think confidential work stuff should be so out in the open. Plus, I could watch an episode of Ugly Betty. :) Changed out of my cute skirt and top (and it must be mentioned, black w/ polka dots head band) into my velour pants and a sweatshirt. Lookin' good.

Oh the injustice, the call was cancelled and no one bothered to mention it to Art. He waited on the call for a good 10 minutes. Boo them. Finished UB and went to pick up the kids where we got a glowing report.

We have had better date nights, and honestly, we've had worse. But this one must be recorded as it was the first of our swap. Oh, I should also mention, for posterity, Zachary's response to finding a new family to date night swap with. Z: So these are our best friends here? M: They don't have to be. Mainly just W best friend so far, you can decide who you best friend is. Z: Well then these are the people we trust the most here? M: (not yet catching on) Well, we trust a lot of people here, but this is a family that is willing to do date nights the way we do. Not everyone is comfortable with their kids going to sleep at someone else's house" Z: Ok. But can't we EVER make friends with people who have a kid MY AGE?" Oh poor Zachy...he wants us to have friends with kids his age. We are working on it! Still does not change date night, but we'll trying.

We miss the M. family!! W said "date night at Tobin's is different from at Morgan's. I miss my best friend Morgan. But it is nice to have a new friend who likes dinosaurs" :)