The day that felt like a Hallmark ad

11/52
Project 52: Date Nights logo

  • A superb, thoughtful husband.
  • A pair of delightful children.
  • Rockford was in charge of planning this week’s date, and it was one of the nicest days I’ve ever had. We took Poppy to a friend’s birthday party in the morning, and I had an appointment for a haircut at noon. After that, we went grocery shopping and then came home.

    (I know this doesn’t really sound like a date, but it was kind of an all-day plan. And it wasn’t a just-the-two-of-us date. But it was a super day. Just hang in there with me.)

    After Rockford put away all the groceries (like I said: superb husband), he loaded the kids back into the car and told me I was staying home, “to take a nap or go to the library or the bookstore or a coffee shop or something. Whatever you want to do.” Being the stay-at-home, homeschooling mother of a 2.75-year-old Thank You partyand a 5-year-old, I don’t spend much time alone. This was an unexpected treat. So I sat at home and savored the silence for awhile, then I went to the library and leisurely browsed. It was lovely.

    And then! Then I came home and opened the door, and it was quiet. There were small rumblings upstairs, but it was mostly quiet, and there was no one in sight. As I walked into the kitchen and spotted flowers, a balloon and a cake that said “Thank You Mommy,” a thunderous flurry of little feet (and a pair of big feet) pounded down the stairs, and a little blonde whirlwind grabbed me and yelled, “Surprise! It’s ‘Thank You, Mommy’ Day’!” And I smiled so much my face hurt. Not only did I get flowers, a balloon and a cake, Poppy had also picked out a video game she thought I’d enjoy and a fancy pink party dress* that Poppy and I saw a few weeks ago.

    We played “Cooking Mama: Cook Off” for awhile, then we headed downtown where we walked around for awhile before having dinner. The weather was beautiful, downtown was lively, and I was reminded that I’ve been blessed with an amazingly wonderful family.

    *She wanted me to buy it then, because “Mommy, you need a pink dress!” But where am I going to wear a pink party dress? It is so pink. If I think of a place to wear it, I’ll be asking you for shoe advice. Anyway, they went to get it, and it had been marked down 50 percent. And it was already on clearance. So good bargain hunting, li’l P!

    Wednesday might be Car Picnic night

    menubutton

    Monday: Ginger chicken stir-fry.

    Tuesday: Grilled Italian sausages and mac & cheese.

    Instead of letting one kid pick the kids’ night menu, I just picked something Pete loved to go with something Poppy loves.

    Wednesday: Quiche.

    After a good long time spent fretting that we weren’t getting involved at church, I finally signed up for a Wednesday night class. It starts this week, and I’m kind of nervous. I’m not great at meeting people, and I still don’t really know anyone there. What does that have to do with quiche? It means I made it on Sunday, it’s in the fridge and it’s going to be quick and easy.

    Thursday: Breakfast for dinner.

    Yes, we’re having eggs for dinner two days in a row! There won’t be cheese Thursday, though, which makes all the difference.

    Friday: Pizza.

    Her navigational skills already exceed her mother’s

    Our “Five in a Row” book this week was “Follow the Drinking Gourd,” a story about the Underground Railroad. I was somewhat hesitant to discuss slavery with a 5-year-old. But discuss it we did. I tried to emphasize the kindness and humanity of those who helped rather than talking all that much about what the slaves were escaping.

    We ended up not doing many of the FIAR-suggested activities this week. Here’s what we did do:
    Continue reading Her navigational skills already exceed her mother’s