date night

painted frame and glass

This was a big deal folks.  Justin and I hadn't been on a date, just the two of us since our anniversary dinner June 27, 2011. (our anniversary is actually the 26th but in the chaos of returning to the States on R&R we forgot our anniversary!  Looked at the date that day and said oh my goodness, it's our anniversary.  I cried, Justin convinced me it wasn't a bad omen just too much going on.  Hence dinner the next night.)

We haven't gone out just the two of us since being in Ethiopia.  We used to go out every Friday night in the Philippines but we were so spoiled with having Cora live with us that it wasn't a big deal.  She was already there anyway. We haven't asked Eneye to stay in the evening because I would feel bad keeping her from her own family in the evenings. Especially with Tutu not feeling well lately.  Married, kid-less but kid loving, friends of ours offered a while ago to watch the girls for us and we finally took them up on their offer this past Saturday night.  I put on a dress.  Justin wore my favorite cologne. This was a big deal folks!

I won't deny that I was nervous about leaving Ashlynn with a stranger (to her that is) to put her to bed.  It was the first night she didn't have me to cuddle with and nurse her before bed so I knew she'd put up a bit of a fight.  It was also the first time Justin and I might have been a bit nervous about how Addie and Bella would behave for our friends.  As parents you always hope your children be on their best behavior when interacting with other adults.  We insisted the girls recite the two family rules (rule #1-manners, rule #2-have fun) before we left for the evening.  Ashlynn pouted a bit as I handed her off to Lindsey.  All the instructions were explained and we drove away giggling like teenagers.

We enjoyed a lovely dinner of homemade pasta at Bruno's.  It was so nice to sit and have an adult conversation with my husband without being interrupted a million times by little girl questions, spilled food, potty breaks, or a fussy baby.  We felt light as air not weighed down by carrying the kids and all their gear.  There was no highly orchestrated execution of getting meals arranged, food cut up and distributed.  We just sat down and ordered a beer and food and talked.  It was lovely.

mask by Addie

After dinner we went to Addie's preschool, Head to Toe, for an Art Auction.  The school was beautifully set up like an art gallery displaying the children's art work from the semester.  It was a silent auction for all the parents so we could bid on anything we wanted.  We of course bid on everything that Addie made individually but we also bid on and won a group piece the toddlers made (none of the toddler parents were there to bid).  It's lovely and I plan on displaying it in the stairwell.  We were especially impressed with some of Addie's painting and her bead work.  She's been exposed to a wonderful art program at school.  The head art teacher has a degree in fine arts and runs a very thoughtfully designed program for the kids.

beaded necklace

beaded necklace

"Gabi" mixed media patchwork collage made by the toddler class at Head to Toe

individual patches decorated with fabric, ribbons, noodles, paper, foil, ric rac

Date night was a success.  We got a glowing report from the babysitters regarding the girls behavior complete with funny anecdotes from the evening. They said Adelaide was a huge help with both of her sisters.  Both the big girls went to bed without a hitch and only minimal screaming came from Ashlynn before she put herself to sleep.  She woke up about 30 minutes after we returned home and when I lifted her from her crib and tucked her in my arms I heard her audibly sigh with the relief of having her Mama home.  Addie and Bella were extra excited to see us in the morning. We were really proud of them for being so good.  Our friends gave us the best compliment of all when they said they hoped their own kids some day can be like ours.  Isn't that nice?  The real success from date night was how rejuvenated Justin and I felt after having some time alone.  It really recharged my batteries.  I guess I didn't realize how empty the cell was getting!