Date Nights: 2 and 3 of 12

I had written all about our February date night, and then completely neglected to publish it, so I’ll roll the recaps of the past two dates into one. Let’s face it, the recapping is purely for the purpose of actually remembering that we did these things come December, when I’m sure I got cheated out of a date night.

February’s date night was brought to us courtesy of my brother, who bought everyone tickets to see Ovo by Cirque du Soleil for Christmas. The bonus was that this was the weekend before Valentine’s Day, so I could pretend like we had actual plans other than ravioli and cupcakes.

Because my parents hate to drive in LA, we took a limo. It was… crowded, but at least we weren’t dealing with traffic.

We had dinner at The Ivy at the Shore, which was good. I had a very good blood orange bellini and talked so much that I don’t remember my dinner. Let’s hear it for not having to cut up anyone’s food! They served mashed cauliflower with my steak, which I found odd. I like cauliflower, so that was fine, but anyone who likes to pretend that this is an acceptable substitute for mashed potatoes has clearly lost their mind.

After dinner we walked to the show. Last summer we saw Iris at the Kodak Theater, which we all really liked, but I think Ovo was even better. I’m a fan of the Cirque shows. I think the Vegas shows are the best, and if you’re going to see one show ever, I would recommend “O” at the Bellagio any day. Ovo was held in a tent in the parking lot of the Santa Monica pier and I felt mildly claustrophobic as I was touching both my mother and my husband through the duration of the show, but fortunately the show totally held my attention enough that I was distracted from our close quarters.

We didn’t make it home to relieve our babysitter – my sainted friend, and her equally saintly sister – until after midnight. I think it took me a full week to recover from the loss of sleep.

Which brings us to March. After two late nights, and two Sunday mornings where we would have paid our children in ponies and bars of gold to sleep for an extra thirty minutes, a daytime date sounded like the perfect thing. Fortunately, my mother-in-law was coming over for Bub’s t-ball game and she offered to stay with the kids after the game. So, at the very date-like hour of 10:30am, we were off.

We shopped. I bought these shorts, but what I really wanted were these shoes. I bought this shirt, too, and when I picked it up, my husband raised an eyebrow and asked if I didn’t already have something like that. I mean… he might have a point.

We had lunch, and looked at hotels and bed and breakfasts for our summer vacation. (Maine! I think. More on this, soon.)

And then we went to Target, which isn’t as sad as it sounds. We needed groceries, but also picked up Easter gifts. Bub’s basket is completely taken care of, and I had to stop my husband from buying more. It’s possible he’s reliving his childhood through our son, but there are worse things than a dad who’s charmed by the Target toy aisle.

We also restocked our candy counter, which was probably the highlight of the day.

We came home to one napping child, and one thoroughly exhausted from the constant attention of a grandparent, so the day was a win all the way around.