Date Night

Last week was a pretty rough week for the Allie and Avery, I thought, given they had to spend most of their days pent up in a stuffy loft with me all day while I worked. There's not much in the way of playground or stuff to do outside, and even had there been, Houston weather deteriorated into storms each day anyway. Work-wise (or trying to find work) it was pretty busy for me, and I had several proposals that needed to be completed for upcoming meetings, which meant the girls were on their own for the most part.

I didn't like the idea of just propping them in front of the TV all day so I tried to break things up with a few activities here and there along with playing some games together. Still, it was boring for them. On one of the days I was particularly busy which corresponded to how bummed out they were because plans to sleep over with relatives had fallen through. I felt bad they had me as a consolation prize, so I made them a deal that if I could get a few things done we would go on a "Date Night" with just the three of us.

"Ewwww, gross!" Allie proclaimed. "We're not going to marry you."

Apparently, Allie had some rather antiquated views on dating, as this was not the response I was expecting. "No, silly. It's pretend date where we all dress up and go out to dinner together." The girls' expressions remained unmoved. "You get to wear make-up."

"Yay!" And they were off to prepare for their date... for the next six hours.

I got the idea from my dad who used to take my three sisters out, and now continues that tradition by taking out his granddaughters. I told Ashley about it later over the phone, and she wanted to know where the four of were going to eat. I almost felt bad explaining to her it would be just Allie, Avery and I, but she said she understood even though she seemed to pout all evening.

Once mamma got home she helped the girls get ready while I put on the outfit the girls picked out for me. Once ready, we took pictures and headed out the door to Ziggy's. Ziggy's is a nice little restaurant with healthy food and an laid-back atmosphere perfect for hyped-up kids.

Allie and Avery were a mixture of giggly and inquisitive. Most of the night was a bevy of questions.

"Why do boys pull out our chairs?"

"Why do we put a napkin in our laps?"

"Why should boys hold open the door for us?"

Of course Avery, always comfortable in any social setting, let forth a thunderous belch rattling glasses on several of the surrounding tables.

"You definitely don't burp on dates, Avery." I explained in a matter-of-fact tone without sounding parental.

"But why?" She was genuinely perplexed, "There's bubbles in my Sprite."

This was latter followed up with an announcement to everyone in earshot that the ketchup was "farting" as I squeezed the bottle over her fries. Oh well, if this means Avery acts herself on all her dates that's not a bad thing - and it will probably scare a few unwanted suitors off making my life easier.

After dinner, we all went to get ice cream. Allie, however, had not stopped trying to make sense of the whole "date night" concept.

"Why are you taking us on a date again?"

"Because sometime daddies and step-daddies need to take their girls out so they can dressed up and feel special." I kind of wanted to get into her thought process. "You like to dress up right?"

"Ya," she answered, and then she thought for a moment. "I like to dress up but we're not going to date the boys." By which she meant my boys, Noah, Harrison and Sawyer.

"Yes, I know. You have a boyfriend," I teased. "You love Landon and you write songs about him and you are only going to go on dates with him."

She started giggling, "Yes," then added, "And we're still not going to marry you."

I guess I'll get over the rejection... somehow [sigh].