The great date

We passed a major test this Friday- going on a date night with all three kids. We packed up the boys and the stroller and headed to Ann Arbor. First we stopped to pick up a reward Mason earned for cleaning up the playroom in the basement. He chose Mousetrap, the board game. Then we parked downtown and walked around window shopping and people watching. We visited the M-Den and got Michigan shirts for the whole family (Blake's first!). The boys played with all of the Michigan souvenirs while Blake nursed in the M-Den dressing room, and then we headed over to the Blue Nile for dinner. The boys LOVED the restaurant, and quickly picked up the art of utensil-free dining. Sean and I were shocked (and a little embarrassed) by the amount of food that Mason and Ashton packed away. Because of the novel presentation and method of eating the boys ate things they never would have at home. They devoured cabbage, yellow split peas, lentils and lamb. They ate salad and green beans, potatoes and carrots. I'm tempted to let them eat with their hands at home, if it means they will be so enthusiastic about vegetables. We ate outside, enjoying the breeze and watching the boys play "waiter". Blake slept in the bassinet of the stroller through most of the meal. After dinner we walked to Ben & Jerry's and enjoyed some gourmet ice cream. Ash chose vanilla and Mason chose strawberry, leaving me to wonder whose kids they were. I tried a new flavor, coconut-seven layer bar, and Sean, not to be outdone, had a sundae with two different chocolaty scoops of ice cream. Blake nursed again at the ice cream shop, and I decided that Ann Arbor is the city to go to to feel comfortable as a nursing mother. We never got a second glance or heard any whispers- it was wonderful! After dessert we took our three tuckered-out little men home and tucked them right into bed. What a wonderful trip. We gained quite a bit of confidence from this outing- we can still go out as a family!
Saturday was a blur- farmers market, laundry and swimming for the bigs, napping and eating for Blake and I. Today we are lounging around with coffee and the newspaper, slowly making plans. Maybe golf for Sean and Mason, maybe a bike ride?