My perfect 12th Anniversary

Eric and I will have been married for 12 years on May 30th. Wow--time flies! We made plans early in the week to have a "just-the-two-of-us" date night that wouldn't end until Saturday at noon (thanks to Eric's parents). We tentatively planned to go to dinner and a movie. But as the week went on I just wasn't feeling it. What movies are out right now that I want to see? None. We started looking at other things we could do in our area. Comedy clubs? Renaissance Festival? Eh...not so much. The closer we got to Friday the less I was feeling our big date.

Today I was finally honest with myself. Really, there was nothing I wanted to do more than have a night out with the kids--go to a cheap(er) place to eat and then head to the dollar movie where we could watch "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" together. Oh, and I wanted to shop for a better shelf and organizational stuff for our homeschool supplies next year. I sheepishly asked Eric if he was okay with it. He was totally on the same page. We very rarely get a whole night to ourselves, and neither of us wanted to "waste" it going to a movie or doing something else we really didn't want to do! We'll save that date night for another time!

I picked up Eric and off we went to Lowe's. We scored some awesome storage cubbies--one for each child's books, and a smaller one for each "pair" of kids' smaller manipulatives (crayons, erasers, counters, etc.). No shelf, but LOVE the cubbies and they were a great price too!

Then it was off to Coney Islander for dinner. This one had just opened, so they were giving away these silly paper hats, which the kiddos loved. Score! Freebies!

We still had an hour to kill before the movie so it was off to Wal-Mart to buy our "illegal" candy for the movie, look for a shelf, and generally waste time. Kendi is VERY into Dora right now. I think all kids go through the Dora stage, don't they? We scored a few Dora books for her upcoming birthday, and she was presented with her very own pair of Dora PJ's to celebrate the fact that she is pretty much now potty trained (haven't tested overnights yet)!

Then it was off to the theatre. I'm telling you, I get such a high out of hearing "That will be $12.00"--for six people--when we go to the cheap movies! Man! That's cheaper than ONE 3-d movie ticket! AND the movie was very cute (read the books first in order to appreciate). SCORE!

It was 8:45 by the time we were out of the theatre. Just feels wrong to be home before dark on family date night--especially on 12th anniversary family date night! I was still on the hunt for the elusive perfect homeschool shelf. Ross Dress For Less was open until 9:30. They have shelves and stuff (I thought). No shelves, but I hit the mother load of skirts!!! Since April I have sort of made a transition where I were long skirts pretty much every day. If I've got to be this heavy, at least I can dress more womanly. I feel better in these skirts. But it's not so easy to find long skirts in the stores. I found FOUR tonight (all for under $10 each)! AND I found a modest bathing suit that I might actually feel comfortable enough to wear to the neighbor's pool (they give us free reign at their pool, but I hardly ever go because I hate getting into a bathing suit). Anyway, SCORE at Ross!

After that it was a stop for milk, and then home. I don't know...to me it felt like the perfect night. We spent $50 for six people to go to dinner and a movie rather than $100 (or more) for 2 people to go to dinner and a movie. And I got to enjoy my kids all night. Sometimes it's just awesome to think about how far we've come, Eric and I. Four children are forever ours. A few years into our marriage we were so distraught because "we couldn't have children." Pah! We've shown "them" (whoever "them" is).

Sometimes it feels way crazy in our family. [I know you folks with 12-25 kids are laughing at me now.] Sometimes I do feel like I just want to GET AWAY. But most of the time I would rather be no place else than hanging out with my family. That's the perfect way to spend my 12th anniversary.

Anita