Our Perfect Summer Night

Yesterday was a pretty good day all around. I had Moms Group/Fight Club and Norrin and Henry managed to avoid killing each other. Norrin ran off a lot of energy and I had a good time talking with Amy, as always. However, it was our evening that was utterly perfect. Todd came home and took Norrin out back for a swim while I made dinner. By that point the evening air wasn't quite as humid as it had been all day and we decided to eat outside. I made spaghetti with faux chicken and marinara sauce...and it turned out pretty darn good. In fact, Norrin insisted on helping me finish half my bowl :). I loved sitting there in our Adirondack chairs with my child on my lap and my husband next to me. It was really how I wish every day could be. After dinner, Norrin and Da did some sidewalk chalk art while I read (I'm reading the Harry Potter books now and so far, they're pretty good). After another half an hour outside, we got into the car and drove to Petrucci's for ice cream. I got a chocolate ice cream with cherries blended in, Todd got a chocolate ice cream cone and we got Norrin a small bowl of vanilla ice cream. Norrin insisted on a bite of his ice cream followed by a bite of Da's ice cream. When we got back to the house, we took a walk around the block. It was about nine o'clock and we had most of the walk to ourselves. I was surprised and grateful for how few people were out...it made our walk so serene. After our walk, there was some painting to do at the art table, followed by a little Wow Wow Wubbzy, tooth brushing, face washing and bedtime. Like all of our truly great days, I don't have a single photo. I always think about it after the fact, wish I had taken at least one photo to remember the day, but, as usual, I'm just so into the flurry of activities that the camera is forgotten. Norrin slept in this morning and I got in some significant reading and knitting time. Since it was raining, we went to the mall. We played in Barnes and Noble, ran around the mall, said hi to the animals in the pet store, climbed on the massage chairs, walked all the way around the fountain several times and left it all kicking and screaming. Now its nap time. The bigger the fight to get into the car seat, the harder that child will sleep. His two favorite phrases are currently "Mine!" (thanks, Mom) and "Here you go"...leave it to my child to pick two very opposite things to say. He's still refusing to take a bath even though he willingly dumps water over his own head in the pool. I've resorted to sponge baths and its kind of what I would imagine its like to wrestle a greased pig. But that's our life in a nutshell at this point. I work this weekend...and next weekend. Thank goodness I have days like this with my family...something to get me through the work day.