Yesterday, Laila and I had a mommy daughter date! It was an amazing afternoon, from beginning to end, I couldn't have asked for a better time!
We started our day by going to a playdate to decorate heart shaped Valentine's Day cookies. The kids all played and enjoyed themselves while all the moms stood around and talked. It's always a nice break when we find time to attend one of those, I'm glad we went. We came home to drop off our goodies and to switch cars, and off we went!
Our first stop was the Circle K on the corner, we grabbed an extra large diet soda to share during the drive into town. With our Taylor Swift cd on blast, we were well on our way! I had messaged Dustin and made plans to deliver him lunch and pay him a quick visit, but wanted to keep it a surprise for Laila, so we went and had our lunch first.
Laila chose Applebee's, one of her favorite restaurants, and already knew what she wanted to order before we sat down! When we walked inside, she told the hostess we had a party of two, and asked me to sit next to her so we could share our appetizer. The waitress came and Laila ordered a lemonade (extra rare, considering it's not diet!) and asked for a cup of lemons. After squeezing all five lemons in her lemonade, she declared it perfect and was ready to order.
I was so impressed, she ordered the spinach and artichoke dip, and then for our entree she picked the oriental chicken salad with additional dressing on the side. Before the waitress walked off, I asked her if they could split it into two plates, one much smaller than the other, so Laila felt like she got her very own food. I didn't want her to feel like they were treating her like a child, she certainly was acting like a little lady! I was so proud to be sitting with her, chatting about school, friends, music, and all the things best friends talk about.
Everything was delicious, she was so stuffed she didn't even ask for dessert! We packaged up our leftovers and waited to pay. When the check came, I handed Laila our gift card, and extra money to pay the bill. She was so proud to pay for our lunch, she told everyone thank you and goodbye. Some days she truly amazes me with how grown up she is becoming.
Throughout lunch, I was texting Dustin, trying to figure out where to pick up his lunch from, and what he would like to eat. Laila was being nosy and asking lots of questions, and I did my best to keep her satisfied with my answers. I told her daddy was going to have a cheeseburger and fries, and she said it sounded like he was going to have a good lunch, but not as good as ours. We headed into Tempe next to pick up Dustin's food. As soon as we pulled into the drive through, Laila knew we were picking up food for daddy, and was she ever excited! She couldn't wait, asking every 15 seconds why the car in front of us was so slow, and when she would see daddy. When we finally made it to the police station, she wanted to carry daddy his lunch, until she saw he was waiting outside-then I got stuck with the hard job of carrying a bag of food while she ran through the parking lot and jumped in his arms. Watching that never gets old.
Dustin was able to take a short break and visit with me and Laila, and the police department was kind enough to let us make a pit stop. We left shortly after arriving and went onto the best part of our trip: shopping! I had redeemed a few gift cards through our bank from a rewards program they offered, and thought this would be a great time to use them. Laila was in desperate need of summer clothes, most of what she owns are school uniforms, dance attire, or play clothes. She happily agreed she needed new shirts for our trip home at the end of May, and off we went on our shopping spree. Old Navy was our first of two stops, and we made out like bandits! I was able to purchase her five new shirts, a skirt, and two pairs of flip flops, and also buy myself four shirts-the best part: we still had money leftover! We tried everything on in a large dressing room, sizing up each item we chose to make sure they were just right.
Old Navy just happens to be in the same plaza as Laila's favorite store ever: Justice! When she realized we were going there next, she was so thrilled. I was positive I would never get tired of hearing how this was the best day she'd ever had. In Justice, we shopped and shopped and shopped until I thought I was going to drop! Our taste in shirts is very different, it was hard to find something we agreed on, but of course, we did. Laila decided instead of spending all of her hard earned money on one shirt (to me, that store is rather expensive), she would pick something from the clearance section and pick a few items. We ended up leaving with a tank top with cute sparkles on it, a package of 6 glitter hair clips, and black crackle nail polish (yes, I'm wearing it right now-but in my defense, so is Laila, Kenadi, and my bestie Ashley). Laila decided it was time for a smoothie and fries before we head home.
Laila and I found a McDonalds nearby, grabbed an iced tea, a large order of french fries, and a mango pineapple smoothie. All I could hear from the back seat was slurping and munching, and a few giggles in between bites. We headed home after a long day of girl time, and I felt refreshed! Laila and I have always had a special bond, she's my oldest, my first baby, and my most independent-in other words, it hasn't always been an easy bond to forge. I find myself feeling like my relationship with her is strained, tough even at times, and this was just the right medicine. I didn't feel like we were taking time to get to know each other, I already know her: I felt like we really took the time to let loose, relax, and enjoy each other. And with as many times as she said it, I think she felt that way too.
