Date night

A week ago, Jeff and I had the opportunity to go out for the evening. I was writing an article on a local musician and needed to watch him perform, and so we turned my "research" into a date night.

Last night, we again went out for dinner. This time with the kids. What a difference those two extra personalities can make.

AJ, as always when cloth napkins are available, had to be napkin man.


And Sydney... was Sydney: playing hide-and-seek under the table, charming the other diners as she galloped to the bathroom. She wasn't misbehaving. She's just a toddler, and some crayons and coloring page will only hold her attention for so long.


Earlier in the evening, while I was getting ready to go to dinner, Sydney sat deeply engrossed in an episode of Dora. To eliminate what would have no doubt been a loud protest when I turned off the TV, I told her that Daddy and Mommy were going on a date, and if she hurried, she and AJ could come with us. Boy, can that little girl move!

She hopped off the bed, "I want to go, too!"

I also told her she needed to let Mommy brush her hair because you have to look nice when you go out on a date. With barely a whimper, she let me do that too.

This might be one of my best spin jobs yet!

There were plenty of other families with young children at the restaurant, so we were hardly alone. A child at a table across the room let out a loud burp. Thankfully it was not our child. Though AJ managed to rouse more chuckles by loudly asking, "Who did that?"

And as we were leaving, we passed a father and son (who was probably just a little older than AJ) sharing some quality time in their mini-van as the boy threw some sort of temper tantrum.

I guess my kids aren't so bad after all.