Date Night!

I know some of you saw the title of this post and thought of the 2010 comedy with Steve Carell and Tina Fey.  Sorry readers, this is not a movie review--it's an actual review of an actual date night.

That's right!  Date night (this past Saturday)!  One of the few that we've had since the baby was born and one that came right on the heels of the first week of Jon's OB rotation.  A much needed time to decompress and have some fun after a 72 hour work week.


It was glorious.  For three straight hours:

• Jon and I wore our semi-fancies and met our friends at a funky, local restaurant to hear a former colleague and his band perform everything from Dean Martin to Paul Simon to Amy Winehouse.  I know it doesn't sound like a complementary line-up, but it totally worked.  They were really fun to listen to and watch!

• We ate world-famous cheese dip and drank adult beverages.

• I hate to focus on the attire too much, but seriously, it was after 7:00 pm and I was wearing clothing that was both clean (free from baby-related stains) AND that had structure to flatter a figure, not a circus.

Topics of conversation on the way to and from dinner included:

• The potential pros and cons of transferring your consciousness into a robotic life form if future technology were to permit;
• How wild and great that it is that we're married with a precocious child;
• The speed at which an adult can metabolize alcohol;
• How much we love our friends;
• How to locate the best, free parking; 
• How full we were; etc.

I cannot tell you how much we love the date night.  It is such a great investment.  We highly recommend it.

Bagelversary

August 19th is a significant date in the Pagan piazza.  It marks the date of our first date--the safe, mid-day, "let's meet for lunch, how about bagels?" non-date of two high school friends reunited after graduating from college.

Bagelversary.

22 year old Jenn wore a casual red skirt and white T-shirt, so as to look cute, but not like a woman who was interested in pursuing any type of romantic relationship.  She maintained the same, flippy, retro haircut that she had in high school.

22 year old Jon, wore a relaxed pair of jeans and collared shirt with the sleeves rolled up.  He maintained the same spiky and provoked haircut that he had in high school.

22 year old Jenn would never have admitted it, but she thought that 22 year old Jon looked super handsome and that he smelled really good.  They hugged, exchanged pleasantries, ordered food, prayed over food (an act that pleasantly surprised each of them), and then chatted for an hour or so about what they had been up to for the last four years.

And then they parted, agreeing to meet up (Jon, correct me if my memory is failing me) again later that night so that Jenn could attempt to hustle Jon at pool.

They did, in fact, meet up again, but Jenn did not hustle Jon at pool.  Frankly, both Jenn and Jon played terribly, but that's not the point.  The point is, they navigated through the safe, bagel lunch, then dinner, then three games of pool, AND a late night viewing (at Jenn's insistence) of The Royal Tennenbaums--the movie that she had watched multiple times in college and had taken with her overseas to watch when she missed hearing English.

And now we're married.  With a baby:)

Take that, Jenn who attempted to simultaneously date and yet not date 22 year old Jon on the first bagelversary.

Sometimes I think it would be fun to write letters to the Jenn and Jon of five years ago, giving them little glimpses into the future and extending some perspective.  Something with the poetic depth of Conan O'Brian's In the Year 2000 sketches, combined with Rilke's wittiness and comedic timing.

Maybe for another post.

     

The Post With All the Mischief

I have to say, I'm happy to have a child that is active and curious.  


I'd much rather have a busy baby than a baby that didn't like to get into at least a little trouble every now and then.  I used to pray about this sort of thing before David was even born without really knowing what type of behavior his little personality would affect.  Ask and ye shall receive, right?  


Right.  Ten-fold.


Sure, our house is baby proofed, but we're still figuring out how to David-proof it.  


What I have learned in the process is that sometimes it's more fun to jump in the laundry pile and play in it than it is to fold the clothes in it.  Sometimes eating your food and wearing it are equally fun.  Let me illustrate:    

Have you heard that song, Merry Happy?  I'm going to compose a piece inspired by this little boy called, Busy Happy.

Contrary to guidance from the manufacturer, playing under large toys is always more fun.

At any given moment, some part of our house will need to be tidied.  I like to think that our kiddo is just a super-accomplished multi-tasker.

Case in point.

Also, the camera lens....

will always be more interesting than traditional toys.

Fairly sure that my son took to heart all of the dialogue he heard in utero while we watched Oceans 11.  He works quickly and with much charm and stealth.  David Ocean.

The contents of my purse are fair game and will likely end up in his mouth.  Although, last night, I saw that he had placed a piece of sausage in my purse.  Mischief or thoughtful gift?  

Our son is happiest without pants... 

while in motion... 

while exploring the dishwasher before one of us swoops in and snatches him away from it.

I know it sounds cliche, but striking that balance between organized wife and mother and rested/fun wife and mother can be a challenge.  All that said, yes, our house must be tidied.  Yes, there will always be domestic banalities.  But my latest strategy is to reserve the bulk of those for the weekend during the baby's nap time so that we can play.  

Breakfast Noms. Al Fresco, Please.

Recently the South has felt a little swampy.  


I'm talking, walk outside from a moderately air-conditioned building and your glasses fog up, humid.  So when we can, we try to take advantage of the early morning hours, while it's still reasonable outside.  One of our favorite early morning past times?  Breakfast on the back porch, where we can watch the bugs, birds, and squirrels!  Like a lot of little ones we know, I'm convinced our son could stay outside all day if we let him:

According to David, nothing enhances the flavor of a waffle like the fuzz from a felt blanket.

Right hand is for eating, left hand is for counter-balancing.

Moments before I maneuvered the camera away from the waffly clutches of this happy kiddo:)