Date Nights

My husband and I have recently begun trying for regular date nights. We're aiming for about once a week. That pretty much means that instead of engaging in independent pursuits for an hour or so after putting the children to bed and before falling asleep exhausted we are trying to spend a couple of hours together. We've been picking out a movie to watch. We watched Salt and Knight and Day. Knight and Day was surprisingly enjoyable. Salt was fine although not spectacular. Last night we rewatched the first Bourne movie which we hadn't seen in years.

My first rule for picking out a movie is that I absolutely do not want it to make me cry. When I only get a couple of hours a week to escape into a fantasy world the last thing I want is to spend the experience getting put through an emotional wringer. That rules out dramas, war, romances, and most romantic comedies. I'm also not a huge fan of horror. That pretty much leaves action, action/comedies, and some sci-fi/fantasies. Given that I've seen about five non-children's movies in the last five years, that leaves plenty of movies to choose from.

It isn't exactly high-class entertainment or an elaborate "date", but it is some uninterrupted time spent snuggled up next to my favorite person in the world. That's all I need to make me happy.

The Weekly Review: Week 66

This week's weekly review format will be slightly different. I'm going to highlight several memorable events searching for my favorite one.

1. Taking my daughter to school I discovered that all the other children were dressed in swim clothes while she was not. The school had announced the splash day on Wednesday. We aren't there on Wednesdays. It all worked out though. I just told them to let her play in her clothes and then change her into her spare clothes afterward. -- Not my favorite event of the week.
2. Michael, now being four years old, is eligible to go on field trips at school this summer. This week was his very first field trip - to the zoo. He was so excited about riding the bus with his friends and wearing the special shirts and going to the zoo with his teachers. It was such a shame that he also got his very first bee sting on the trip. -- Also not my favorite event of the week.
3. There was the delightful morning that started off with laundering one puke-soaked and one urine-soaked set of sheets. -- Do you really need to ask if that one was my favorite?
4. Leaving for school one morning our little escape-artist feline managed to sneak into the garage. I went ahead and buckled the children into their car seats hoping she'd choose to wander voluntarily back into the house. Nope. Then, as I oh-so-casually approached her she darted right under the minivan well out of reach. I spent the next 10 minutes waving a broom under first the front of the minivan, and then the back of the minivan, and then the front, and then the back while listening to the children giggle hysterically in the car. Did I mention the garage was really, really hot? -- Not really a great candidate for my favorite event, however I can see how the children thought it was funny in retrospect.
5. And then there was the lovely dinner with my friend of nearly 18 years and husband of eight years on our wedding anniversary. I am so fortunate. -- Definitely the highlight of the week.

And the Giveaway Winner is...

Commenter #3, Jen P. who is going to use the Artic Practice app at home with her daughter. Congratulations to Jen and thank you to everyone who participated. Next week I'll be doing another review of two great Learning Fundamentals Speech Apps and hosting another giveaway.

(Jen, please contact me via email so I can arrange getting you a code to redeem your free app. You can find my email address here.)