10 November 2008

Date #9: In Which Nothing of Much Note Happens; Plus: Random Updates

Last Friday night, Mr. Coffee finally got home from his latest two-week business trip. He checked in with me right away and confirmed what we had discussed before we left: a date for Sunday night. Since my mom was around to watch Maddie and Riley, I went over to Mr. Coffee's house for an early dinner. He was exhausted from his trip and was still adjusting to U.S. time, and I was exhausted from dealing with sick kids and being out late at a concert on Saturday night,* so it was a pretty low-key evening, which suited me just fine.

He usually has me call when I arrive at his place, and then he comes down to walk me up from the car. This time, he was watching for me, and as I pulled into my parking spot, the door to his building opened, and there he was. Very sweet.

He always serves awesome snacks. Every time I'm over, he has some new, delicious cheese I've never heard of, plus an array of other goodies.

He has a fireplace. I love fireplaces. I was very, very happy to sit in front of the fireplace, drink some good wine, eat some great snacks, and get caught up on an eventful two weeks.

He showed me pictures from this past trip, during which he celebrated his birthday and his company hosted a massive party for him. It was fun to put his travels in context.

He had downloaded a "virtual zoo" onto his iPhone thinking that Maddie and Riley would enjoy looking at the photos and touching the animals to hear what sound they make. I doubt he imagined how much fun the two of us would have quizzing each other on the animal sounds. I got hyena! I rule!

This is going to sound really odd, but he smells so good. Not like cologne or anything, just the way he smells is the best scent ever. I've had friends tell me that they love the way their significant other smells, but it's never really made sense to me until dating Mr. Coffee. Now it makes perfect sense. He smells divine. He probably thinks I'm nuts because I'm always sniffing him.

The last time I was over, I had teasingly given him a hard time about the fact that the water in his shower didn't get hot enough for my taste. Last night he told me that before he left on his trip, the building maintenance guys came and adjusted the water so that it would get hotter for me. I did not try it out last night, but maybe next time.

I was sent home with a big bag of chocolate for Maddie, Riley, and me. Yum.

We discussed seeing each other during the week this week; he'll know more about his schedule once he's back in the office today. I told him I was free on Tuesday or Thursday evenings. His ever-so-charming and totally-correct-but-just-so-slightly-off reply was, "I'll commit that to memory." I love how he says these things that are not wrong, but not exactly what a native English speaker would say. 

Here's hoping for a midweek rendez-vous.

********************************
I reread my Brain Dump post this morning and realized that I'd made a massive mistake in the first line. For all you interpreters out there, this one would have been classified as a Major Meaning Error. In my first sentence, when I said that everything is crappy in the middle of the night when your children are sleeping, what I meant is that it's crappy when they AREN'T sleeping. 

Sorry for any confusion. I've corrected the post.

But speaking of that post, I love the idea of screaming and yelling in my car. Awesome. Will have to implement that, perhaps during my commute.

Also speaking of that post, the sleeping is getting better. Both kids are feeling much better, coughing less, sleeping more. As with last weekend when I was sick on the farm trip, I'm feeling both grateful that my mom has been here to help and a little bummed that there has been illness to deal with during her stay. 

We've made the most of things, though. Mom and I took the kids to IKEA yesterday morning, which was a hoot. We got there just at the cafeteria opened and had free breakfast. Yum! Maddie ate enough eggs to turn her into a chicken, and Riley enjoyed feeding himself applesauce with an oversized spoon, the only one we could find. Then we hit the children's area where Maddie discovered this chair:
She hopped right in and said, "I in my office! Riley, you see my office?" She loved it. She and Riley each got one for Christmas, along with some kid-size kitchen utensils and a little doll bed. Yay! We got an ice cream cone on the way out, too, which Riley ate with his usual unswavering concentration. Maddie and Riley have mentioned the glory of our IKEA trip too many times to count since we got home.

We've also done lots of playing and lots of eating. Other than the illness, we had a good weekend all around. Tonight we're going out for dinner, then tomorrow we have to say goodbye to my mom. Waaaa!

*My Favorite Anon.: Are you reading? Did you notice that I went out without the kids TWO NIGHTS IN A ROW! Quick, call Child Protective Services! 

37 comments:

Liz Jimenez said...

I loved that chair! I was so close to buying it the last time we went to IKEA... :-)

Anonymous said...

Don't worry -- I'm sure your favorite Anon is reading your blog intently and just waiting for the chance to pounce! What a turd.

Yay for IKEA! So glad you guys had fun. And yay for Mr. Coffee!

amber said...

i always think the kids section of ikea looks like it'd be a blast if i was a bit smaller and a bit younger. nice to hear madie and riley took full advantage of it!

also, nice to hear that the latest date with mr. coffee went well.

Anonymous said...

Wow! I would think there isn't even a need for "the talk" if he's having maintenance guys come and adjust the water for you.

You scored with Christmas presents. I'm sure you'll get them lots and lots more,(it's hard not to,isn't it?) but I bet those chairs will be big faves on Christmas morning.

Nancy said...

What an awesome chair!! And man - we so need to venture out to IKEA.

Go Mr. Coffee - what a gem :) Too cute that he had the water adjusted just for you :)

Glad everyone is feeling better!

Anonymous said...

I would have guessed that Mr. Coffee smelled of, um, coffee.

Mama Mama Quite Contrary said...

Glad everyone is on the mend. Looking forward to your midweek rendezvous. (You'd think it was MY date!)

Pam said...

"I'll commit that to memory". Awwwww, so sweet. Also very sweet having the water heater turned up for you.
Glad the kiddos are better.
Pam

Kori said...

LOL on the cooment to anon!

Emily said...

Snick,
By the way, I read that first line from your post multiple times, trying to figure out if you meant sleeping or not sleeping ... because for me, though it SUCKS when kids aren't sleeping, sometimes it sucks more when you are awake when your kids are not and your mind entertains all kinds of dark thoughts. So I thought that your brain dump was coming after a long night of kids being awake, but now they were asleep, and .... anyway, just wanted to say that it seems to work both ways. :)
Emily

Rachel said...

Sounds like fun all around. I love how kid-friendly Ikea is. What an adorable chair! But I can never get out of there without spending an arm and a leg.

Anonymous said...

~ giggles and giggles at *comment to anon ~

That's the cutest little chair and I'm thrilled that things are so lovely with Mr. Coffee.

Astrogirl426 said...

We have that chair too - the boy LOVES it. He loves to play hide-and-seek in it and pull down the shade and pretend you cant see him. And the spinning!! Woot!

Robin M Anderson said...

Sounds like an amazing weekend all around! Glad you had two nights off, I'm so jealous but know that you deserve them so much more!!!!!! I want those chairs from my office! Way to go M&R. As an aside i must saw that I like Mr. Coffee more and more each week. i imagine I'm not the only one.

Anonymous said...

He sounds really really really nice. I mean, really really really REALLY nice. I'm so *glad* for you :)

Shelley

Anonymous said...

I love reading the way you write about Mr. Coffee!

Molly said...

My son LOVES Ikea too. He goes to the kids section and "goes to sleep" in each little individual kids bed. Also the combo of cafe and shopping is Euro genius.

As to being out two nights in a row... THAT'S WHAT GRANDPARENTS ARE FOR? What part of this don't people understand?! Ha.

Ian Newbold said...

Reads like a top date to me. And I'm delighted your kids are on the mend.

Anonymous said...

i agree with s_ivan.. I imagine Mr. Coffee to smell like coffee!

BrooklynGirl said...

We have one of those chairs too--the kids are OBSESSED with it. I think we're going to have to get a second one to stop the arguments....

Sharon Bartlett said...

We bought all three of our grandsons one of those chairs from Ikea a couple years ago for Christmas. I can tell you, those chairs are INDESTRUCTIBLE! Your kids will enjoy them for years to come.

Keen said...

A Major Meaning Error! I totally noticed. Glad to know my training keeps me sharp. :-)

Around these parts, it's hard to say which place my boys love more passionately: Ikea or Costco. When we hit both in a weekend, they're in heaven.

Anonymous said...

Cheese + Wine + Fireplace

Equals: A perfect evening.

Glad things are going so well. Hope there's a mid-week repeat ...

xo leslie

Anonymous said...

I don't usually read the comments, so I didn't realize you had your own Personal Parent Police (PPP)...haha....someone gets upset because you leave your children sometimes? Good grief...wouldn't want to get them in on a bottle vs. breast debate!

And for Pete's sake: what nationality is Mr. Coffee? It's KILLING ME!

- A

mek said...

I always love your posts - but really what I am glad about this time around is the review of the egg chair. I have been back and forth about getting my daughter one for, um, 2.5 years - maybe I was even thinking about it before she was born. But, it sounds like a good idea. Now...if I can only sell my husband on the idea of two big christmas presents (already bought the Plan Toys dollhouse)...

Ms. Katee/e-polishblog said...

Just found your blog, I think it is lovely. I'll be back for more!

Anonymous said...

When your husband died, how were your sleep patterns? Did you require booze, pills, or anything else? I find myself waking up at all hours when I try to sleep, and most of my sleep consists of horrible nightmares. I'm actually to the point as to where I hate to sleep, and use it as an excuse to stay up for three days and nights trading foreign markets, then take 2 ambien and 3 Irish coffees to crash for 12 hours, then repeat the cycle. I know it's unhealthy, but until I'm cleared by the doctor to get back to surfing, I'll probably have sleep problems. I believe that the surfing will clear many of my psychological problems away, as the tides just wash them away. Surfing has gotten me through many problems before, and chances are that I will lick this sleep problem.

My son, who's in his second year at Yale has notified me that he won't be home for Christmas or Thanksgiving, as he has other plans in New York. He's hurting, too. Luckily, we both plod along, and will ultimately connect and embrace.

Jeff

Anonymous said...

Hey, Anon even two parent households need breaks from the kids. Get a life, anon.

You deserve to have fun and happiness-Snick

Anonymous said...

I like both Costco and Ikea, but they both have such high cover charges. :)

Rev Dr Mom said...

I get the smell thing...and yeah, I kind of miss it.

I think it is very sweet that Mr. Coffee always seems to remember Maddie and Riley, too.

Anonymous said...

I got the part of the not sleeping. Believe me I have lived the nonsleeping and after a while words just get a life of their own when trying to write..

Juicebox.mom said...

Well, I don't think i can beat the comment above; just wanted to say those Ikea chairs (offices)are so cool. I think I'm gonna have to get one for my daughter, I hope you get some commission. Take care

Charlie said...

That's so funny that your kids loved the IKEA trip. When my nephew was about 4 IKEA was the only place he ever asked to visit!

Christine said...

That was thoughtful. Glad to hear the kids are doing better. Boo is getting over the croup and a cold and still wakes up to cry and cough, and it sucks with just one. Hang in there.

PS My mom spent quite a bit of time in the kids' section of IKEA recently. I see my Christmas ahead.

Cat Seamstress said...

Hey Anon 02:54:

당신은 당신은 다는 것을 당신이 생각하는 것처럼 똑똑하지 않다. 당신은 무서운 사람이다.

:)

sunflowerchilde said...

Hi, I've never commented before, but I loved what you said about Mr. Coffee saying things that are not wrong, but aren't what a native English speaker would say. My husband is a native Italian speaker, and he does that ALL THE TIME. It's SO cute, I love it!

But now that we've been together 4 and a half years, I don't notice it so much anymore - the things he says sound perfectly normal to me, and sometimes now I say something that wouldn't be typical for a native English speaker, without even realizing it, because I've picked it up from him.

Ali said...

Ok Mr. Coffee is a dream. What a super nice guy. And the smell thing...you got me all dreamy over here. Can't wait for the next date!