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First Friday #2

Posted by | April 02, 2011 | Uncategorized | 5 Comments

Melting Pot

Last night was our second J-M First Friday. It was Owen’s turn with Mommy. It was a fantastic night!!!! To be honest, I have a terrible cold/flu right now and going out to dinner was just about the last thing I should have been doing. But Owen was so looking forward to being able to do this; it was such a huge deal to him; and for Owen in particular the follow-through when we say we’ll do things is extremely important… and so I forced myself to rally for the occasion (something that – for better or for worse – I’m really good at), and Owen would never have known that I was feeling like crapola or that I could not taste a single thing that entered my mouth. Anyhoo…

I had thought hard about where to take Owen for our special Mother-Son Dinner-Date. I had picked the perfect place for Kyle when it was his turn, and so the pressure was on to pick an equally perfect place for Owen for our big night out. The place we went wound up being more than perfectly perfect for Owen. We had dinner at The Melting Pot. Honestly, this is a place that I’d never go to for my own sake (it just isn’t my kind of thing), and it really wouldn’t be the right choice for anyone in our family other than Owen. But for Owen??? PERFECT beyond perfect in every possible way. He loved that it was “fancy”; he loved that he was the only kid in the place; he loved that it was so different than any restaurant he’d ever imagined; he loved that there was a real working stove right in the center of our table; he loved dipping and stirring and cooking his own food; he loved experimenting with every one of the sauces and spices and condiments; he loved it all. It was really the perfect place for him. Most of all, though, he truly loved having his mommy all to himself. He just soaked it all up. At times he was bouncing up and down in his seat—so incredibly thrilled about the whole entire experience that he could barely contain himself. At other times he was practically in my lap, could not keep his hands off of me, just all over me with cuddles and hand-holding and lovey-dovey-ness (way more PDA than I’ve ever exhibited on any date in my entire life prior to that one!!!)… and he suggested that we sit next to each other on the same side of the booth (instead of across from each other), which we did, and which was something else I’ve never done on any other date or anything else in my entire life (sitting side-by-side, cuddling, in a booth). It was just a really fabulous First Friday #2.

A few things I want to remember— As we were getting ready to go out, Owen expressed to me that he wanted me to “dress up just like you do when you go on a date with Papi” (too cute); I did “dress up” and Owen was so thrilled with it; he then proceeded to go find his watch and his necklace that he got in Anguilla so that he could be “fancy” too (just too cute). When the server first came to the table to ask if we wanted a drink, Owen very confidently looked her in the eye and said, “Do you have pina coladas?” She said yes, and he proceeded to order a pina colada – which he loved. When the first pot of fondue came – cheese fondue, I think Owen began to fully realize what the whole night was going to be about, and the look on his face was priceless… there was a big pot of melted cheesy goodness with all sorts of things for him to spear with metal spears and dip in. It was a really great feeling to know that he totally ‘got it’ – that I had hand-picked this place especially for him. There is something really special about feeling so special for a night. I loved being able to give that to Owen last night. And it was last night that Owen tried duck for the first time. It was one of many things that we cooked for our entree fondue (along with shrimp, beef, pork, chicken, pot stickers, and a whole assortment of vegetables). Owen is such an adventurous eater and I love that about him. He did not like the duck too much but it was a big deal to him to be eating “a poor little ducky quack quack.” I must say that that has always sort of been my own reaction to eating duck too. The highlight was, of course, the chocolate fondue for dessert. Owen thought he had died and gone to heaven. The whole experience lasted a solid 2.5 hours and Owen soaked up every minute of it. So did I.

5 Comments

  • Shirley Stanton says:

    Love it!!!! What special memories you are building!! You are a great mom!!

  • Sarah says:

    I love this. I love your blog so much. I love your children and your family and the way you are raising them. I tear up at every blog post. They always make me so emotional. It is really beautiful what you are doing for your children. Thank you for the inspiration!!

  • Kate says:

    Heather, you’re a wonderful mother!! This does sound like the perfect place for Owen given his love for food and cooking! Sounds like a lot of fun!!! Hope you feel better soon.
    – Kate

  • Megan says:

    One on one dates are the best! So glad you had a great time- hope you are feeling all better soon!

  • Jennife says:

    I LOVED reading this post. It made me laugh so hard when you wrote about the “way more PDA than you’ve ever experienced”. I love how he just loved it so much. It made me think I should have “date nights” with my kids. I bet it will be something he will remember forever.

    Jennifer from CA

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