Date Night!

Tonight is Date Night with Aaron! I'm excited. We share a babysitting co-op type thing with two other couples where we take turns taking each others kids for an overnight giving the parents a chance for a date night. We're on a three month rotation where each couple gets a date night and a babysitting night during those three months. It works out well and the kids enjoy getting to spend time at each other's houses for an overnight. And best of all, it helps us busy parents to take time and be together as grown-ups. Our last date night was our fishing date to get us out of our dating rut. I think tonight will probably be a more traditional date - mainly because we have a new favorite restaurant we really want to go to without our kids! It's a Chinese/Thai restaurant - very delicious! After we stuff ourselves with amazing Thai food, we'll probably head over to the bookstore and try not to lose ourselves within the world of books too much. Then we'll meander home to a quiet and empty house. Such simple pleasures!

Speaking of simple pleasures, the kids made a tent/fort in the livingroom yesterday after school. They had such fun and each one had their own little room within. I was able to enjoy several quiet hours to myself as each child was tucked away in their own little compartment with a book. They enjoyed their tent so much that they all begged to sleep in it last night. So they did. The tore it apart this morning and rebuilt part of it.

Another simple pleasure - for Aaron - pumpernickle bread. I thought that I hated the stuff. Aaron begged for me to make him some earlier this summer, so I found a recipe that looked decent and gave it a try (it has coffee and cocoa in it, so it was bound to be good). It turns out that I enjoy pumpernickle bread - only because the first two times I made it, I did not have caraway seeds to put in. I discovered that it is caraway seeds that I detest - not pumpernickle/rye breads. So yesterday, after purchasing said nasty seeds, I made some more bread for Aaron. One loaf contained those detestable seeds and the other load remained pure for my eating pleasure. Aaron was in heaven with his repugnant loaf of bread. The extreme amount of delight he expressed over this bread was enough to make me okay with making it again for him - besides, I have to do something with the nasty seeds that are lurking in my spice cabinet. He was also nearly beside himself when he realized I made zuppa tuscana (similar to the yummy cream based sausage/potato/kale soup at the Olive Garden - only healthier) to go with his beloved bread. I appreciate that he is so easy to please. It makes cooking such a delight to have an eager and responsive audience. : )