My parents gave us the gift of a few hours off today! After church, we brought the littles over to their house and got them settled. My mom had made them some lunch, and as soon as everyone was seated and content, we left to go get our own lunch, somewhere else.
We hit up Chianti, which I’ve mentioned a few times as one of my favorite places to eat. Not super expensive, delicious pasta, and close to our end of the city. Did I mention its delicious? Love it. We didn’t even have to wait for a spot. They just wiped off a booth for us and we were good to go! We ordered our usuals, and had a nice visit while we waited. It was in that conversation that we remembered our last trip to that restaurant.
I’ve been to Chianti a few times in the recent past, but the last time Brady and I went together was the day i was induced to have Laela. Gives me the shivers. I was induced in the morning, and had been sent home after things didn’t seem to take off. We were discouraged, so we grabbed Starbucks, went for a long walk, and decided to take advantage of the day by going on a date. To Chianti.
Brady and I came to this memory while sitting at the table this afternoon, while I had contraction after contraction. Its ok, I found humor in it rather than terror. It was a bit ominous though.
It turns out that its not easy to eat at a relaxed pace anymore! Our food was gone in no time, and we moved on to the next stop. Target. I know, its kind of lame to run errands on our date, but its surprisingly relaxing to run errands sans kiddos! We could hold hands and peruse, taking our time instead of chasing down little ones. We bought some new curtains for our bedroom for after its painted, some for the kids room too, and a few other little things, like a candy thermometer, a mop, a phone charger, and a couple of little kitchen utensils. All things we actually need in the near future. I really enjoyed buying the curtains and a few little cleaning things for getting the house ready to sell 🙂 It makes me really excited at the idea of settling into a new place too, and putting it all together. Yay!
We left Target and grabbed some Starbucks on our way out. We had been too full at the restaurant for dessert, but decided to get something yummy to snack on with our coffee. Everything in the display was a bit weird sounding except the chocolate caramel dipped pretzels, so we ordered two of those to go with our white chocolate mochas. I know, super healthy. With that order came more deja vu.
On induction day, we ordered Starbucks. Pumpkin spice lattes, and those same dang pretzels. I have to say, we never order treats from Starbucks. The coffee is treat enough. There has been only one other time that I’ve ordered more than just a coffee, and it was when I took Dekker on an extra special cookie date. But this stinking pretzel brought me back. It just felt kind of nerve wracking, and similar. But Brady dutifully reminded me that the lack of cervidil present helped a lot in knowing that I was not, in fact, about to go into labor.
We arrived back at my parents to a nice quiet house. The kids were starting to talk, but everyone had clearly rested and the party could begin again. We had a nice chill supper of breakfast together, where we all caught up on everything we hadn’t caught up on yet. Plans about moving and mortgage, painting and cleaning, etc. It was so nice to all be together in each others space again.
We stayed much later than normal, and the kids were shot, but we still ducked into a nearby town before heading home to pick up a new microwave. Our microwave is very much on the way out, and we’ll need to replace it before listing the place. However, over the range microwaves cost at least $300, which I hate shelling out right before we leave. But someone was selling a brand new, never touched, OTR microwave for $120. So we picked that up, grabbed some Tims, and drove home.
Both kids were awake the entire drive home, and Dekker fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow. Laela, on the other hand, is viciously overtired and has yet to lay down. But she’ll get there. Brady and I are anticipating a soak in the tub, and I know Brady is anticipating finally going snowboarding tomorrow! He’s been working his butt off here at home the last little while, and I know getting out of the house and doing something fun will really hit the spot for him. Our week is sure filling up with work and appointments, so this free day for him will be great, and might be the one and only chill, at home day for the kids and I.
So much leading up to such an incredible time in our life <3 A crazy time, but an incredible time!