Date Night

Bob and I went out on a date last night. It was a really good one. We went to Wild Abandon on Belmont. We even had a coupon out of the Chinook Book so we saved $25! Next we went to a wine bar here in the neighborhood and finished off at Chameleon. That was great. The funniest part was, Bob moved the car while I paid the bill at the wine bar. I told him I'd just meet him at Chameleon which was only a block away. When I arrived I pretended that I didn't know him. I walked up, extended my hand and said, "Hi, I'm Heather" and he responded in kind with his name and such. He tells me later that he told the bartender that he was meeting a blind date there. It was like we had one mind. It was funny....we kept it going the whole time there.

This morning to Bob let me sleep in. To me that is the greatest thing, I LOVE sleeping in. He got up and took Coulter to his soccer game. I was in bed so long that the neighbor (who always makes too much food on a Saturday morning) made breakfast for Sophia and Kees and then brought me breakfast in bed at 10am. How great is that? Yes, she just came in the front door, up the stairs and into my room. That is a great neighbor and good friend. I loved it.

The day was a good one. Sophia had a soccer game. Kees came and played on the play structure while I chatted. Sophia scored a goal. Coulter went to a birthday party. We all had a nice day.

One of the things that Bob and I talked about last night is that we wanted to implement Family Date Night (FDN). This night would incorporate our family, fun and civility. We decided that FDN could only be our family, no buddies, and would be at most once a month....probably once ever other month. Good.

This afternoon we sat the kids down and talked about FDN. We said this would be a fun thing that could only be with our family, that it would be fun and there would be NO whining. If people mis-behaved, whined or complained FDN would cease immediately and we would go home. We all needed to do this together to make it a success and to make it fun. Everyone agreed to the rules.

Next we told the kids what we wanted our first date night to be....BIG AL'S. Blanks stares....... We explained that first we would bowl, we would have food somewhere along the way and that we would play video games too. Everyone was on board. Hooray!!!!! As we were getting ready to walk out the door Sophia got a call from a buddy for a sleep over. Ordinarily she would have freaked out and wanted to go. This time (and I had picked up the phone and was just listening in) she said, "Thanks, but I can't tonight." That is a big deal when most of the time she would have dumped us in a flash. She didn't ask me, didn't want to go didn't even flinch. WOW....we have struck gold. I was thrilled.

We left the house about 5 and went straight over to Big Al's. We played 2 games with just the 5 of us. We ordered a pitcher of root beer, a pitcher of beer, onion rings, a HUGE hot dog, a quesadilla, and a soft pretzel. I was not going to ruin it by making sure they ate well. I didn't care and let them eat what they wanted. They were so happy! The bowling was great.

The kids all had bumpers....Kees and Coulter tied. Sophia "beat" me....I let her win and Bob accidentally won. Really! He bowled between his legs and got a strike! Go figure. The best part of it all was watching the boys. Coulter would throw the ball....really threw it. No matter how many pins went down he would throw his hands up in the air and yell...."Yeah!" and smile from ear to ear. He was just happy the ball reached the end! It was so cute. Wouldn't we all be better to have his positive attitude? Everything is "alright" in Coulter's World. Kees would throw the ball and then sit on his knees while the ball bounced back and forth on the bumpers. Too cute. Sophia became competitive.....oh development! But we all smiled and laughed a lot and really just enjoyed each others company. It was bliss....I don't know how else to explain it...just bliss. I tickled the kids between frames. We drank TONS of root beer and laughed a lot. Now THAT is a good night.

Next video games..... I got each of the kids a d $5.00 card and Bob a $10.00 card. Why skimp on the little stuff? We blew about $30 on video games. So fun.... We all played to our hearts content and then were ready to go... We left at almost 9. Kees melted down because he wanted a prize he couldn't have but it was 9.....after a really full day.....He was tired! Sophia and Coulter were great.

So we had a great FDN.... We'll be doing it again. A few we have involve dinner and ballet, dinner and a movie, and camping. We'll continue FDN as long as everyone cooperates. I am looking forward to it...