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It’s Saturday Night And I Ain’t Got Nobody…

Okay, so the only part of that title that’s true is the Saturday night part, but I couldn’t resist.

I keep seeing all those tweets by the #magicalmoms and even though I’ve already been to a Disney Mom Blogger Mixer, I still get a little twinge of jealousy every time I think of how much fun they’re having down there.  Perhaps I should just turn off Twitter until they get home.  But I won’t because I’m a glutton for punishment.

So last night my husband and I decided to have a date night at Ikea because if you can’t be at Disney World, Ikea’s the next best thing.  And then we thought we’d make it even more enjoyable by dragging all three kids along with us.  Because really, WHAT is more romantic than walking the Yellow Cement Road with three sullen kids looking for cheap organizational solutions for the laundry room?  I know what you’re thinking, and no, you can not trade places with me.

On the way we decided to stop at a local restaurant for dinner because Ikea is quite a drive and we thought our romantic night out deserved better than Ikea fare.  Unfortunately my soggy tilapia probably wasn’t much of an improvement over what I might have had at the Ikea cafeteria, although I hardly ate any of it between trips to the ladies’ room with my daughter.  What is it about the bathroom that is so enticing to a 3-year-old?  When I told her to hurry up, that I didn’t want to spend my entire dinner in there, she responded with a curious, “Why not?”  As if to say, “I can’t imagine why you wouldn’t want to prolong this experience as long as possible?”

Finally we made it to the Swedish superstore, and after perusing every last organizational innovation with 3 bickering children and a wayward yellow cart (and yet another tour of the bathroom), we ended up purchasing the first thing we had seen upon entering the building two hours earlier — a white bookcase from the EXPEDIT series that we plan to mount on the wall.  The idea is that the orange walls will show from behind, although once I fill it with the junk that I ordinarily stash in the laundry room, I know I’ll be wishing we’d opted for those cabinets that I longingly caressed as we perused the kitchen section.  I just find it hard to justify spending $250 when something that costs $75 will do the trick.

Of course we had to stop for dollar ice creams on the way out, and then somehow we managed to heave-ho the 90-pound box into the minivan and slide it in-between the seats for the ride home.

Tonight we tried to top our enjoyment of last night, and I took the girls to my son’s baseball game.  It’s the first of his games this season I was able to attend, and I was reminded why I have been putting it off.  To the poor people sharing the bleachers with us, you have my utmost sympathy.  My nerves will never be the same again.

I did manage to see my son make a good hit that landed him on first, and I got a precious little wave out of him once he was safe on base.  I wonder how long it will be until he’s too cool to wave at his mama on the sidelines.  From there he stole second and then ran home when a team mate made a solid hit.

That and a few good plays when he was playing first base was all I got to see before I scooped up my grubby girls and took them home.  My 3-year-old was asleep before we were out of the parking lot, which explains her contrary behavior.  If I’m going to make it to any more games, we are going to have to reinstitute naptime — at least on game days.

So here I sit, another weekend half over, kids in their beds, and my pals on the Food Network calling my name.  That’s my kinda Saturday night.

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14 Responses

  1. Sounds like my kind of Saturday night, except my husband and I will be catching up on 2 weeks of Lost & The Office. And I’m very jealous about your Ikea – the nearest one is 5 hrs away and it’s been built up in my mind quite a bit since my last visit a few years ago…. Enjoy your night!

  2. I’m all green over those magical moms too. But at least you have IKEA. All I’ve got is Costco and we all know that place is loads of fun on Saturday afternoons. It’s tough to spot any deals through the black eyes I’m bound to get as those nuts shove their giganto carts into me.

    I’d rather be eating at California Grill…sigh.

  3. I know. I know. We got to go last year and it IS fun to hear what they are up to. I’m thankful for our experience but I’m jealous at theirs, too! Just so many good things. Someone send us again!

    Steph

  4. I have been off Twitter all weekend, partly for that reason. Jealousy is not a good thing!

    I love Ikea! It is bad that they built one two blocks from my work…very bad! I am there a lot. Boo’s new desk is going to be from there, along with her chair. I love their stuff.

  5. Love the yellow cement road! But not so much fun with kids in tow. I too am going for the colour showing behind the shelves look in our family room. It will be another few weeks before it arrives – we did look at some in Ikea, but thought we would avoid the additional strain and stress to our marriage of self-assembly furniture. So who assembles the furniture in your marriage? I (of course) read the instructions and give the orders, and my dh does the hard work.

  6. Well my single life was not more exciting. Went to Graduation yesterday morning, lunch, and the camera shop with a friend that bought my graduation gift, and then home to retire to the couch to watch movies.

    Definitely not the exciting single Saturday Night but a great one non the less! I love Ikea!

  7. JanMary, my husband reads the directions and assembles self-assembly furniture while I sit on the couch and watch TV with a glass of wine. It works out quite nicely, thanks! 😉

  8. I don’t miss the days of hours in the bathroom. I started answering my kids questions with an automatic “no, this restaurant/store does not have a bathroom!”

    We don’t have an Ikea around my area – I so wish there were. I’m sure my DH is happy there isn’t one around!

  9. Ha–this is funny.

    RE: the MagicalMoms, yes it’s always so sad to hear that we can’t go. I take comfort in knowing that we were FIRST.

    However, I seriously spent the best few days EVER with the Hidden Valley Ranch Love your Veggies people in Chicago at the Four Seasons hotel, so I’m not complaining.

    I met Amy, SelfishMom who went on the Disney cruise, and that actually did make me a bit sad. Sigh.

  10. i’m a little behind in my blog reading but i wanted to let you know i totally relate. my favorite “vacation” date is ikea (we go when my husband finishes a semester of school).

    we just had dinner at ihop and my daughter (of course) had to go to the bathroom. she acted like it was a great place to have a heart-to-heart conversation when all i could think of was my hashbrowns and eggs getting colder by the second…

    thanks for sharing.

  11. I do love IKEA! Though we do like to eat our dinner there – cheap food and the kiddo loves those meatballs. And we always get an ice cream on the way out too. In fact, I think we need to go again. The good thing for us is that our son just loves going there – even asks to – LOL.

    Sorry for all your bathroom tours! Not the most enjoyable place to be!

  12. I’ve never been to Ikea or Disney (though I hear they may be the same place), so your night was more exciting than mine!

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