Date Night!

I had an impromptu date night with my hubby tonight, and it was awesome!  (tonight meaning Thursday, it's still Thursday to my night-owl self!).  We have been (well, really HE has been) working every night faithfully to get our swing set (or "sing set" as Carson calls it-so cute!) done.  I have been the tool fetcher, parts holder, kid distracter, etc. etc. through the process!   It has been quite the job, and we were both excited to finally see the light at the end of the tunnel tonight.  He got home and worked on it and put the finishing touches on-the roof, attached the sliding board, and a few other minor things.  It is done!  Except for the stuff I bought extra- like the fireman pole!  I don't know how we are going to figure that thing out!  It was spur of the moment, but I asked him if he wanted to go out if we could get a sitter.  Dumb question-of course he did!  Ha!  I had it in the back of my mind all day because he worked SO hard on the swing set, and was on call for two weeks straight for work before jumping into this big project.  My mom was gracious enough to come at a moment's notice and watch the kiddos.  I LOVE when my mom babysits.  Here's why- I came home to three bathed and PJ'ed kids, and ALL of my laundry folded and dishes done.  It helps me SO much.  I had already vacuumed the whole house today and cleaned the kids' rooms, so now we are going into the weekend nice and clean.  I love that!  Anyway, I obviously had too much caffeine at dinner- I'm rambling!  Dustin and I took our time getting showers and then headed out to dinner.  One of our favorite Mexican restaurants just reopened this week after having burned down months ago.  We got there at 7:30, and it was swamped.  We decided to head to Walmart and get what we needed there first and come back.  We strolled through the store at a leisurely pace, which was nice all by itself.  I am usually pushing a cart full of kids and going so fast I could qualify for a Nascar race to try to get done before someone has a meltdown.  I didn't even have to park by the cart return tonight!  It really is the little things that make us happy, isn't it?  We got the random things we needed- a Woody Halloween costume for Carson, supplies for me to make Henry's costume- a cow, safety pins, zip ties, some random tool-y items Dustin wanted to reinforce the swing set, and when we got home I realized he bought a mouse in distress animal call.  Talk about random things!  I think the mouse is for predator hunting maybe??  We headed back to the restaurant and had a nice dinner- we ate slow and enjoyed talking.  It's funny how you mostly talk about the kids when you aren't with them.  I miss them like crazy when they aren't with us, but I end up feeling SO refreshed after a date night.  Our waitress asked when we were bringing the kids in, she asked if we were coming Sunday.  That was our usual day because kids ate free.  I don't know if they are still running that deal or not.  It felt tacky to ask!  Ha!  I will find out though.  :-)  On a side note, it seems like we always get seated by the funniest people who are funny but aren't trying to be funny at all.  It ends up causing lots of laughs and makes for an interesting time.  We also talked about expanding our flock (of chickens, not children!) and adding a cow or two.  A girl can dream!  :-)  Anyway, it was an awesome night and we both commented it felt like when we were dating.  I think maybe because it was a much later date than we usually go on anymore.  We used to be night owls when we were dating and kept late/random hours!  I recommend regular date nights to everyone.  It's just important for your sanity!
Oh, and as I was laying in bed with Emilynn as she was falling asleep, she kept saying she wanted to go to the Mexican restaurant.  She finally said, "It's a real shame you won't take me to the Mexican restaurant."  A real shame!  She's hilarious.  We NEVER know what she'll say.  I love that girl, she keeps me on my toes for sure!