Date Night "Q"

                                                               

I was super excited for "Q" night.

#1.  I actually HAD an idea for "Q"!
 #2.  I actually managed to surprise hubby!!!!  (There are not enough exclamation marks in this world to describe how I feel about this incredible feat.  Somehow, he always figures out every birthday gift, every Christmas gift, and every everything I have ever tried to keep a secret.) 
We went to Chicago for this event--I bought tickets for a matinee show so we headed up early.  When we stopped for lunch I asked him if he knew yet where we were going he said,  "I have no idea!"  So, GPS in hand, we set out for the city.  I didn't tell him what we doing until we arrived at our destination and he could read the marquee.  

The Apollo Theatre is located in the Lincoln Park neighborhood and since we were a little early, we pulled right into the parking lot next to the theater.  (A big plus since parking can be such a pain in Chicago!)  We had heard about this show from friends in our small group a couple of years ago and I've always kept in the back of my mind, knowing it was something we would both enjoy.  If you don't know the story you can read about it here.  The theater itself is described as "intimate" and only seats 440 people--so every seat is pretty amazing and we just smiled, laughed and tapped our feet throughout the entire production.  We both love the music from this era and I didn't think we would be disappointed but you just never know. I am delighted to say we 100% loved every minute. We even learned a few things that we never knew before.  For example, did you know that Carl Perkins originally wrote and recorded the song, "Blue Suede Shoes"--Not Elvis Presley?  I had never even heard of Carl Perkins until I saw this show.  The cast members were so talented and we were completely mesmerized for the entire afternoon by the incredibly talented performers of this show. Because I want you to enjoy it as much as we did, I implore you to watch this clip from the David Letterman show.
Since Beautiful Daughter #2 and Son-in-Law #2 live close by, we topped our evening off by meeting them for dinner.  We went to On the Border where we each claimed we were going to order quesadillas in honor of "Q" night, but alas, that didn't happen because were all too tempted by the multitude of other options on the menu!  Wonderful afternoon and evening!  

*Date Night Disclaimer:  I am embarrassed to admit that this date night took place the end of October and we haven't been on a date since!  The holidays and a new placement from Lydia Home have kept us pretty busy.  Now that it's a new year, we plan to get our date nights back on track.....beginning with "R"----for Resolutions.  

Date Night "K"

"K" is for Krazy.  Yep.  That's what we are.  Even our house was nicknamed "Krazytown."
I know that fostering twins is not a date, but since everything in our life including Date Nights came to a screeching halt while we had those sweet little baby girls, we decided our "K" Date Night was really "K" Krazy Kid Month.  For sure it met one of the requirements of Date Night as in we constantly strived to put the other first (even when we were exhausted.)  I say when we were exhausted, not if, because from the moment those babies entered our home it seemed they never stopped moving, and therefore, neither did we!
Everyone loves babies, and everyone loves twins.  Yes, they are adorable.  But, may I state the obvious?  There are TWO of them!  Two that needed to be fed breakfast, lunch dinner, snacks... Two that needed to be held, kissed, and sometimes rocked before each nap and bedtime. Two that needed reassurance during the night.  Two whose feet and hands moved constantly. Two to bathe and in this case twice the screams when we washed their hair! Twice the diaper changes.  And my personal favorite--Two to wrestle into and out of car seats.  I know they are necessary but seriously, what is WITH all those buckles and straps?  And could someone pleeaaaaasssssseeee invent a car seat that can be faced forward so that when babies and toddlers need to be attended to it does not require the skill of an Olympic gymnast?

Having said that, we honestly enjoyed our time with the girls.  It was truly a blessing to be a part of their lives and to see the outpouring of support from our family and friends was amazing.  Within two days of bringing the twins home, Beautiful Daughter #1 and friends had located and delivered to us:
2 pack-n-plays, 2 high chairs, 2 baby gates, 1 double stroller, toys, clothing, blankets, bibs....all accompanied by genuine interest, concern, and prayers!

It took us awhile to get settled but eventually things calmed down (a little) and we did have respite care on three of the four weekends they were with us.  We took advantage of that time by doing a quick clean sweep of the house, running to the grocery store to reload, and yes, napping!  And best of all....relishing in knowing we would be getting an uninterrupted night's sleep.  The month sped by in a blur. Typically we awoke to soaking wet diapers, moved quickly on to breakfast, playtime, looking at books, lunch, nap, walks, looking at books, swim outings, trips to the park, looking at books, dinner, bottles, baths, and....bedtime!  When hubby came home from work, he spent hours playing with the girls and reading to them.

Did I mention how much these girls loved books?  Anyone who knows me knows how much I love to read.  Ever since I was a child one of my favorite places to go was to the library!  Take me to a bookstore and I'm in heaven....but I admit that I actually found myself stuffing books under our couch just to get a short reprieve!
It's been a long time since we've parented small children and wowser, did our bodies ever remind us of that!  Imagine coming downstairs with one baby, sprinting upstairs to get the other, only to find the first has climbed halfway back up and then multiply that fun little exercise x oh, 20-100 per day.  This particular exercise lessened considerably after acquiring the aforementioned baby gates.  Here's another fun one:  "Oh, I'll just carry them both at once."  Twenty one pounds perched on each hip?  That's forty-two pounds of extra weight to balance.  Ummm...that's a lot. Needless to say, that idea was used only in times of desperation.
And yes. I know. We're old.
But in my defense, in less than two hours they wore out our little 9 year old friend who came to help for a day.  In addition, my 11 and 14 year old nieces were in town visiting and they also wilted after one afternoon. I will forever be in awe of any parent of multiples.

Evidently we are Krazy, because, yes, we'd do it again.  Even willingly give up another Date Night.  Why?

We were so blessed.  Twice the smiles.  Twice the hugs.  Twice the snuggles.  On the topic of blessings it is not lost on me that for a long time my heart ached with the truth that my own children were all grown up, and because of Date Nights, especially Date Night "I," God made a way for both of us to once again enjoy the marvelous experience of loving and being loved by babies.  These girls will always have a place in our heart.
    Totally worth it.

ABC Date Nights "I"

So....I have mentioned that sometimes I cheat when thinking of ideas but when I think about it, it's not like we ever set a rule that stated our ideas must be completely our own.  So technically, I guess I don't really cheat.  Hitherto and henceforth, I'll call any idea(s) that I don't come up with all by myself "borrowed" or "adapted" instead of "cheating." In any event, the original idea for our "I" date night isn't mine!  
Sometimes, when I do have an idea, it just doesn't sound that fun at the time. For example, for the letter "I" I had considered going ice skating.  We actually have an indoor ice skating rink within minutes of us, but for some reason I just didn't wanna!  Which is weird, because I have always wanted to learn how to ice skate. Correction.  I've always wanted to learn how to ice skate without falling every 2.3 seconds.  I even own ice skates that were given to me for Christmas when I was a teenager!  My memories of that winter and trying to ice skate are pretty fuzzy but they pretty much all involve falling.  Over and over. Meanwhile, my siblings, who also received ice skates that Christmas, merrily skated all around me.  I have eleven siblings so that means at a minimum, at least four or five of them were already mastering a figure eight while I was still picking myself up from my one millionth fall.  To this day, I wonder why they all found it so easy and I was the token awkward one!?  In addition, hubby is a remarkably good teacher/coach in anything sports related so, in a way, it's odd to me that I didn't choose ice skating. Hmmm.  
Instead, I went looking to "borrow" an idea.  I frequently visit this website, The Romantic Vineyard, and came across a post for an I.Heart.List.  The basic idea of the I.Heart.List is to create a list of things we would love to do someday (much like a bucket list).  I was intrigued!  Ironically, the author of this post gives credit for the idea to another great date night website, Project 52: Date Nights. (guess I'm not the only one who borrows ideas!) Now that I have given proper acknowledgement to all, on with our "I" Date Night.   
I have always thought it would be fun to make homemade ice cream so it was at the top of my list for the night.  Beautiful Daughter #2 just happens to have a pretty fancy ice cream machine and I borrowed it from her.  Basically, you just mix the ingredients together and turn the machine on for twenty minutes!  After that, you freeze it for two hours and abracadabra--Ice Cream!  The actual process of making the ice cream was SO simple that I almost felt a little cheated out of the "homemade" part!  

While the ice cream was churning, we moved on to making Italian Four Cheese Margherita Pizza.  It was super easy and super delicious!  
After dinner, we went for a walk and when we returned, we started on our I.Heart.Lists. I found some prompts (by googling, of course) and we both proceeded to go through a list of questions.  We answered each question for ourselves and also what we thought the other person's answer would be.  For instance, one of the questions was "What have you always wanted to do but not done yet?"  For me, one of my answers was learn how to ice skate!  For hubby, it was oil painting....This was one of the easier questions.  Needless to say, some of the questions are pretty thought provoking and revealed some surprises about us!  I knew my hubby would enjoy antiquing across America but when one of the questions asked "what event would you want to witness in person?" I would have never guessed his answer!  Bear with me as I explain. We have welcomed into our family a single father and his daughter who have resettled here after years of living in a refugee camp in Kenya.  We enjoy spending time with them and helping them with a myriad of things that they wrestle with as they continue to adapt to life in America.  Eighteen years after our friend fled from his country, he discovered that his mother, brother and sister were okay and still living in Ethiopia.

I.Heart.List 2011

My unbelievably kind and caring hubby, in answer to the above question, wrote, "to see my friend reunite with his family."  Our lists revealed many things about each other but none were as revealing as the size of my hubby's heart! Granted some of the things we wrote were silly, and some were just big dreams but it really opened our eyes to so many possibilities and helped us to focus on how or if we were going to make any of those dreams come true! One of things that I included on my list was that I have always wanted was for us to consider becoming foster parents. A couple of months ago we had picked up an information packet at our church about becoming a Safe Family for Lydia Home.  After completing our I.Heart.Lists, we finally filled out our application form, and have now finished our home study and interview.  A few more steps and we will be approved! Another amazing blessing from God as we continue to look to Him for the next step in our marriage!

Oh, and I didn't forget the ice cream.  For a bonus we added some Reese's and Snickers to make it even better.  You can never go wrong with a little extra chocolate!  A great finish to a pretty wonderful night.