It seemed like a good idea at the time.

Tim and I had plans to go out with some friends Saturday night and needed a babysitter, so we did the only thing that made sense - called Grammy and convinced her to drive four and a half hours, by herself, through a hurricane, to sit in our apartment while Alex is sound asleep in his bed, only to turn around and head all the way back home the following day.

What? What do you mean that's the most ridiculous, unreasonable, and utterly senseless thing you've ever heard? And that we should be ashamed for taking advantage of our Grammy by bribing her with a few hours of quality time with Alex, knowing that she couldn't possibly resist such an offer, and allowing her to risk life and limb to drive here through pouring rain and gale force winds???

Yeah, I guess you kind of have a point...

Anyway, Grammy made it here in one piece Saturday afternoon, just before Alex ate dinner, had a bath, and went to bed. So they got a little time together while Tim and I got ready for our date.

As far as our date goes, we had reservations for 9 at 9 at 9. No, seriously. Nine of us were going to be eating at N9ne Steakhouse at 9pm. Until I started to write this, I didn't realize how funny that sounds. The food was good - not great but good. I had seared tuna and Tim had steak. Truthfully, I think the appetizers and sides were better than the main course. Real hoity-toity stuff like Kobe tartare and fried gnocchi in white truffle cream sauce and lobster mashed potatoes and oh so fancy mac and cheese. I think next time I would skip the entree and stick with the "a la carte" menu.

We got back pretty late and somehow managed not to wake Grammy up. Alex got up around 7 and we had a leisurely breakfast before church. We have found a place we really like called Park Cities Baptist Church, where we attend the contemporary service that starts at 9:20. Alex hangs out in the nursery, and supposedly he isn't crazy about us handing him over to strangers and then taking off. He's not shy, he will go to just about anyone, and he will jump right in whenever other kids are involved. However, mom or dad is usually in sight when that happens, which is not the case when we drop him off at the nursery and then run off without him. He'll get used to it, I'm sure, especially since he will eventually be going to Mother's Day Out in the same place with the same kids.

So after a great church service, Grammy hightailed it to the nursery to get Alex while Timothy and I struggled to keep up. He was happy to see us and discover that we had not abandoned him (permanently, at least). We took the scenic route to lunch and ended up at Pappadeaux, where we sat on the patio and enjoyed the most beautiful day all year while eating some amazing seafood and the best caesar salad I've ever had. Even Alex got in on the action and had some shrimp, bread, and yes, some french fries covered liberally in ketchup.



We had to exercise some serious restraint and turn down homemade banana pudding served in a mason jar, since we had all stuffed ourselves so full that we would've made ourselves sick. Alex needed a nap and Grammy needed to head home, so that's basically where this story ends.

In conclusion, we all had a fun weekend and it was so nice to get to go out with a bunch of grown-ups because, sincerely, I can't remember the last time that happened. But we plan for it to happen more often. Fortunately (who am I kidding, unfortunately) for Grammy, TK has provided us with an extensive list naming Chi Omega girls from SMU who regularly babysit attorneys' kids, including their contact info and availabilities, so we will probably call on one of them next time we need a night out. Unless Grammy beats them to it, that is.