Changes in Latitude, Changes in a Mama's Attitude!!!

We headed NORTH for our day spent away from our perceptive and spunky almost-six-year old daughter, our newly-turned happy-go-lucky four year old son and our comedic and energetic 15-month old toddler. And I am still trying to come down from my weekend high brought on by this fantastic day spent alone with my husband.

Ahhh, it felt so good! We spent the afternoon in Northampton, MA (by the way, this is the town where we were married over 7 years ago) browsing the shops, squeezing through clothing racks that were on display for the "sidewalk sales" and listening to an outdoor band . It was raining, and although my espadrilles got soggy, I didn't let the weather put a damper on our day out. One of the shops that I am still dreaming about was called "Essentials". It was totally "my kind of store" complete with pretty paper, baby accessories and clothing, European tableware and my favorite- oilcloth sold by the yard. Does anybody else out there get as excited by oilcloth as I do???

Of course, I did say that we were "browsing" so nothing made it's way into my bag and took up permanent residence in my home (only in my covetous dreams!).

Mike's "coveted item" was probably the GIANT slices (they were about 1/4 of a whole pizza) of fresh doughy pizza that were being sold and consumed in front of "Mimmo's" pizza shop. If we hadn't have had dinner plans I know a couple of those slices would have made their way into his mouth! (Oh well, just another example of how men and women are different. I don't think Mike would ever me writing about oilcloth and unusual baby bibs in his spare time).

The one thing that we did enjoy together and equally as much was our dinner at "Max's Tavern" in Springfield, MA. We were the early birds and although it was still sunny out, we were still treated to dimmed tavern-style chandeliers and a quiet booth where we could enjoy talking without being interrupted, nursed on or being needed to break up a sibling squabble. The food was amazingly yummy and we were so full afterwards that we didn't eat for the rest of the day.

Mike, my meat-and-potatoes kind of man ordered a prime rib steak with garlic mashed potatoes (oh, he started with a giant plate of onion rings and smoky ketchup) and enjoyed every last bite of it. Me on the other hand? I started with a Tuscan salad (mixed greens, grape tomatoes, calamata olives, whole roasted garlic, fresh mozzarella, warm polenta croutons and balsamic vinaigrette dressing) and enjoyed pan-seared sea scallops with spicy chili paste, cucumber squash risotto and Chinese long beans for my entree. This Tuscan salad is THE BEST SALAD that I've ever had. It is on my favorite's list (if I had one of those, for food and things. Perhaps if I were a food critic...).

Our date didn't stop there. We picked Elias up from my parents (bathed, PJ'd and bed-ready), and drove home to tuck him in. Sophia and Nicolas spent the night with Nannie and Grampie and enjoyed every sweet moment of their time there. And then we still had that night to relax, watch a movie and enjoy the stillness of the night.

It was just what the doctor ordered. Oh, and by the way, I am feeling MUCH better. It's amazing what a little decompression and a break from the norm can do for a body, mind and soul. I would HIGHLY recommend doing the same all you mamas out there!