Monday, July 20, 2009
Weekendedness
I had a great weekend. I didn't travel or do anything exotic, I simply enjoyed spending time with my husband and daughter. Making it better was the amazingly cool weather we've been having. July and 72 degrees!? A miracle.Friday night was date night for Huz and I. While we had plans to go to dinner and see Harry Potter, we ended up just doing dinner because of the time. (When you have a toddler alarm clock that, lately, has been going off at 5:45a.m., you aren't inclined to stay out past midnight). And that's okay. Dinner at Brick Tops was wonderful. We enjoyed cocktails at the bar, some fresh guacamole as an appetizer, halibut with lump crab and butter herb sauce with pureed Parmesan cauliflower for me, and steak frites for Huz. We laughed, flirted, and enjoyed our time without a toddler to run after. We used to take dates for granted, but no longer.
Saturday was Claire and Mommy day, as that's Huz's library day to research and write. He rode off on his bicycle to Vanderbilt as Claire and I took off in the car with jogging stroller in the trunk to go for a run in a local park. Such mild weather makes for a happy running mom, even if she has to push nearly 50 lbs in front of her (~23 pounds of kid and probably as much for the stroller). We relaxed in the grass after our few miles out on the trail and while I did sit ups on the sidewalk, Claire decided it would be fun to climb aboard and ride on my stomach. I persisted in my workout and got called a "dedicated mother" by some passersby. We went home and I tried out a kid-carrying backpack for the first time. While Claire rode I clipped some weeds in the yard. Then we fed our out-of-town friends' cats and picked up some burgers for a front yard picnic. After Claire's 2 1/2 nap, we headed off to a girlfriend's "Blessingway." (Have you heard of this? I hadn't either, but it's basically an alternative to a baby shower - one without gifts that focuses instead on friendship, community, and well wishes/prayers for the mother and father to be. This particular friend plans to have this child (her 2nd) at home with a midwife. So she needs these well wishes and prayers! I took lots of photos during the proceedings which included making a bead necklace for her and painting her round stomach with henna. I'll show some after I process them.)
Sunday was family day. After church and a THREE hour nap (!!) we went on a family hike at Lake Radnor. Something really touched me on this hike, other than Claire running madly down the forest path with pure glee. It was when she looked behind her at one point and called out "Daddy!?" and his response was "I'm right here, Claire. I'm always right here." It was beautiful to me because it's true. He is always right here - for her, for me. He's faithful and dedicated and I fell in love with him all over again at that moment. After getting back home and getting the kiddo in bed, Huz and I enjoyed a lovely dinner out on the cool patio. Candles flickered as we ate meatball and zucchini kebabs, polished off a bottle of red Zin, and dove into dessert. It was a great time of bonding and connecting as a couple.
Random video taken on my phone.
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