January: Irvine Spectrum. We were unaware that visiting the Irvine Spectrum on a Friday night, we would be among the oldest people in the crowd. Since it was my birthday, we bought me a new diaper bag (which I still love) and ate some Japanese food.
February: Brunch @ Coffee, Tea and Tulips. In February, Gavin researched well reviewed brunch restaurants nearby and we ended up here. I've walked past it a bunch of times because it's in the Micheal's shopping center. The food was good, and we had a great time watching the worst rain storm of the season.
March: Barnes and Noble. We realized that one of the things we don't ever do anymore is browse. With a toddler in tow, shopping is more about survival than enjoyment. Since we are still doing on book club, we thought it would be a nice date to just go and wander around a book store and get ideas and hang out. Strangely, we didn't buy any books. I'm sure that's at least partially due to our reliance on e-books and audio books, but we both picked up a few good ideas.
April: Home Date
When I sat down to look at our April Calendar, a date night was looking a little difficult to fit in. Our normal date night sitter (Grandma) is off on an exotic two week vacation, and we had several NOT date night activities (like doing our taxes and church services) that we were already using a babysitter, so I decided it was time to pull out a home date night.
I decided the key to making a home date night successful was to make sure it didn't feel too ordinary. For me, that mostly means special music, special lighting, and forgoing our normal evening routines (that's the hardest one!) It also means setting aside the time beforehand to get things planned and ready. While it didn't take too long, I think the extra planning helped make it feel like an event instead of just an evening at home. (Although both are nice!)
We fed Colin and put him down and then made our dinner of Salmon and Mashed potatos. We had a great time cooking and eating together.
The original plan was a movie, but I am self aware enough to realize there was no way I was going to be able to stay awake for a movie, so we played a game instead. We bought some of our favorite candy and played "Pandemic" It's a cooperative game and we had a great time.
I am so grateful for the relationship I have with my husband. Having children, especially the long road to get here, has been challenging on our marriage, and I'm so glad we both still have the love and energy to put in to making this stage of marriage sustainable, but also fun. I love you, Gavin!
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