A Whole New Dating Standard

Now that Paul and I are parents, our "dating" life has taken a whole new form. Almost anytime we get out of the house we call it a "date" just because that is fairly unusual (for Leah and I, at least). But Saturday night, we really tried to make our evening more like a real date night. Of course, as a paranoid, first-time mother, we take Leah with us everywhere so right there the romance factor is limited. First we went to Applebees for dinner.

Right now I am going to interject with a story about Applebees: On a Friday night during the big snow storm, Paul and I used the snow and deserted streets as an excuse to finally try out this very expensive, upscale restaurant in our neighborhood - the O/8 Seafood Grill. I got a steak and Paul got halibut. My Microsoft discount card gave us 2-for-1 dinners but even so it was still pricey. We thought the food was pretty good but nothing amazing. Then about two days later we went to Applebees. I was craving steak again and got the Applebees Sirloin topped with parmesan and shrimp. IT. WAS. DELICIOUS. One of the best steaks I've had! Who knew?! So now we love Applebees and just embrace the trashy, chain-food nature of the whole thing. I mean, it's not like we're Olivia from the Upper East Side.

So back to the date: Applebees turned out to be an awesome choice. Per the previous story, we enjoyed their steak but even better was the noise level in the restaurant. It was just loud enough in there that when Leah started fussing, I didn't feel like I needed to grab her out of her seat right away to quiet her. No one even batted an eye - the TV's are blaring, the bar is full of noise and there are plenty of other kids. So once again, I am singing the praises of Applebees, of all places. This fits well with my new look - barely showered, slip-on shoes, and Paul's shirts. All class.

After that, we went to a free swing band concert by the Kings of Swing at Crossroads Mall. We actually loved this. The band was pretty good and played lots of old classics like Mack the Knife, Moon River, and more. Sadly Leah did not get to enjoy the concert since she slept through the whole thing. So Paul and I parked her stroller in a corner of the dance floor and danced in front of it for a few songs while she snoozed. Sure, everyone else on the dance floor was on Medicare but whatever. I bet, as a new Mom, I am using many of the same products from the drugstore that they are.

So we were pretty proud that we were still able to pull off dinner and dancing, even with a newborn. Too bad she wasn't conscious to be able to enjoy our sweet moves, but that's okay because everyone else did.