All Things Bavarian, Except for the Italian

Tomorrow afternoon, Prince Charming and I are heading off into the sunset. Just the two of us.

We're going to Leavenworth. Just the two of us.

When I left my job right before Sleeping Beauty was born, I was gifted with a two-nights' stay at a B&B in Leavenworth. We're finally going to be able to use it. Just the two of us.

Prince Charming and I have never left the girls overnight before. Cinderella, twice, but those were leadership retreats through our church. And she was older. Sleeping Beauty has never been left behind before overnight.

Yes, I'm totally nervous about leaving her. She's my cuddle-bug. Her napping is all wacky lately. She's got some intestinal yuckies going on (sorry mom-in-law).

But the screaming (mostly in play; rarely in anger)? The bad napping? The nasty poopies? I can do without all of those for two days.

It's time for a break, just the two of us.

So, we're going to Leavenworth tomorrow. And hopefully we'll get to enjoy some good Italian food while we're there.

A Perfect Evening

102 degrees with really low humidity.

No clouds in a gorgeous blue sky.

No wind.

Freshly mowed grass.

A gigantic inflatable water slide.

A small, plastic toddler slide.

A kiddie pool full of cold water.

A tankini bottom that still fits despite my burgeoning belly.

Shade.

Childish laughter.

Girlish squeals.

An impromptu picnic outside on beach towels.

More water play.

An ice cream cone packed tight.

Air drying.

Air conditioning.

Dry clothes.

A squeaky, antique rocking chair.

A cuddle with my 15 month old.

A conversation with my 4 year old.

An evening with my husband.

The knowledge that there will be no rock crushing at 7:00 in the morning.

Queen for Half an Hour

While I was in Seattle last week, my wonderful dad treated me to a pedicure.

Ahh! Bliss!

I needed it so badly! I get terrible summer feet from walking around barefoot, plus I still had paint on my feet from painting my bedroom with chocolate.

I love pedicures!

I was feeling so pampered, so relaxed, so Queenly!

Until the lady ran her fingernail right down the middle of my foot.

Just thinking about it sends shivers down my spine.

Have I mentioned before how extremely ticklish I am? No? I'm VERY ticklish!

Sigh.

There went my relaxation. After that, I was wary of being tickled again. So wary, I couldn't fully relax again.

Oh well. I still enjoyed my pedicure, still felt like a Queen for half an hour, and now I have sexy red toenails.

In fall.

It's only 60 degrees out during the day. It's definitely not sandal-weather out here anymore. No one will see my sexy red toenails.

But me.

And Prince Charming.

I suppose that's all that really matters. Just knowing they're there makes me smile to myself and say, "I have sexy red toenails under those socks and slippers!"

It makes an otherwise dreary day seem so much brighter.

Date Night Revisited

As I mentioned in my previous post, Prince Charming and I had a date last Saturday night. It wasn't much, but it was 1 1/2 hours without the girls.

That alone is a record.

We've gone hours without Cinderella, or two hours without Sleeping Beauty. We've gone to church without the girls when my parents last visited, but never this much time without either girl and JUST THE TWO OF US!

It was nice!

We dropped them off at our pastor's house and spent half and hour talking to him and his wife. We went out and had barbecue and watched some of the Husky game on TV. Then we went to B 'n R for ice cream.

That's it.

By 8:00, we were back at our pastor's house, where we sat around talking until 10:00. That was a mistake; Sleeping Beauty was exhausted. It was a nice visit, but for her sake, we shouldn't have stayed that long.

That was it. That was our date.

It wasn't much, but it was time without the girls.

It was nice enough to make me want to do it again really soon.

It was also nice enough that I can wait awhile until we do it again. I can live on the memories for awhile quite happily.

And yes, I felt like a Queen. With barbecue sauce on my face.

Tonight, I AM the Queen!

Prince Charming is taking me on a date tonight! Yippee!

We didn't really date when we were "dating."

We definitely don't date now that we're married.

But, tonight, we have a date. He surprised me by setting everything up without my knowing about it. He even arranged child care in advance (thank God for our pastor and his wife!).

For two hours tonight (Only two hours, you ask? I'm a nursing mom.) I can forget about the fact that I got very little sleep last night.

I can forget about the fact that Sleeping Beauty flat out refused to take a nap today.

I can enjoy uninterrupted time with my husband instead of being interrupted with Cinderella's incessant chatter.

Two hours with just me and Prince Charming.

Sigh...Perfect!

I'm not sure what we're going to do. I know it'll involve an inexpensive dinner (we're on a tight budget). It might involve watching some more episodes of the first season of Heroes (we borrowed it from a coworker; we don't have television).

All I know is, leaving the house or staying home, I'M GOING ON A DATE!

Without my kids!

Yea!

I feel like the Queen! The Queen of a very poor kingdom, but a Queen nonetheless.