Tonight Mylie and I got to go on a special date night. We have a point system set up, and after she earns 100 points, she gets to go out on a special date with the parent of her choice. We typically do simple dates, like going to the pet store, dollar store, or Wendy’s for a frosty. Tonight she got to go to Baskin Robbins for an extra special treat.

I also had a few things to pick up at Fred Meyer, so as an added incentive for tagging along through the grocery store, I offered to let her roam through the toy aisles and then have the ever-elusive horsey ride in the store’s foyer.

It all went well, as she’s generally a gem on date nights. Always on her best behavior and just fun to be around. But that horse thing. That’s another story. Maybe I’m just a tightwad, but that darn thing costs 50 cents now. I mean, it’s not like it’s improved from the days when I rode them for 25 cents a pop. There are definitely no added technologies, flashing lights or animatronics. In fact, from the shape of the horse and coin slot, I’d venture to say it was the SAME horse that was around 20 years ago. So why double the price? For 50 cents I’m expecting that thing to jump up and do a little dance, instead of slowly trotting back and forth. Even Mylie looked a little let down after the ride.

Then again, now as I’m proofreading, I do realize the ridiculousness of my rant. I mean, we are only talking 50 cents here. Perhaps it was just the straw that broke the [horse's] back, after I saw the current price of cheese and other staples. And I guess 50 cents still qualifies as a pretty cheap date night, all things considered. I’m telling you now though, once they take it up to 75 cents, I’m out!

And now we bring you back to your regularly scheduled programming with a little anecdote from our car ride today. As we were pulling out of our driveway, Mylie says:

“I’m a girl.”

Me: “Yes, you are. What makes you a girl?”

Mylie: “Because I can talk.”

Me: (laughing) “Why yes, I see how that makes you a girl. What makes Nolan a boy?”

Mylie: “Because he cries.”

Now, if that isn’t the best preschool explanation of the differences between boys and girls, I don’t know what is!

I’ve been tagged – with the same tag – by not one, but two people. For those of you without blogs of your own, a “tag” is where someone posts a tag on their blog with various information about themselves, and at the end of it tags you to do the same on yours.

Let me begin by saying, I rarely do these surveys. I’m the one that never sends the email back with the “Getting to Know Your Friends, Version 2008″ or anything similar. It’s not that I don’t enjoy reading everyone else’s. It’s just that when I’m done, I close them and move on, never to remember to go back and do my own.

The difference with tagging is, it’s kind of like having your house toilet papered back in Junior High or High School. It’s totally a pain when it happens, but it’s totally a sign of popularity, right? I mean, someone thought enough about you to know where you live, and to spend exorbitant amounts of energy on covering your house with toilet paper. Conversely, with blogging, someone cares enough about you to read your blog, know that you read theirs, so on and so-forth. Admit it, bloggers, there’s a certain, teeny tiny amount of disappointment when your name’s not on the tagged list (“Hey, why’d she tag them and not me?”) So, in such an instance, when I was tagged by two people (see how popular I am, see, see?), I could hardly let that opportunity slip by… even if it is a pain to clean up all the toilet paper…

8 Favorite TV Shows:

1. Gilmore Girls (favorite of all time)
2. Brothers and Sisters (favorite current)
3. Ghost Whisperer (except now I have to boycott it, because they killed Jim)
4. West Wing (because everybody should be that witty)
5. Alias (Hmmm, most of my favorites are no longer on…)
6. 24 (because Jack Bauer’s dreamy)
7. Studio 60 (because I love to pick shows that only make it for one season)
8. Everybody Loves Raymond (best sitcom of all time)

8 Things I Did Yesterday

1. Went to bed at 1am because my best friend from college was visiting.
2. Woke up WAY to early, because we both have kids, and regretted being up till 1am
3. Lazed around the house in our PJ’s and watched our kids dress up like princesses
4. Put on a movie for the kids so we could catch a nap, in between challenging each other on various iPhone games.
5. Ate lunch at the Costco Food Court – nothing like lunch for 6 people for 8 bucks.
6. Took our oldest children to dance class, and tried to keep the younger two from knocking down all the dance trophies in the lobby.
7. Got the kids down for a late nap after the friends left, took a look at my tornado-ed house, and promptly decided to take a nap instead of cleaning.
8. Talked the hubby into taking us out to dinner, since I was sleeping instead of getting dinner ready.

8 Things to Look Forward To

1. Owning my own business
2. Finding a schedule that works
3. When the days start getting longer again
4. When the rain stops
5. Kisses from my kids
6. Date nights
7. Nolan learning to walk
8. Moving to an earlier church schedule

8 Favorite Restaurants

1. Cafe Rio (but it’s not available here)
2. Costa Vida (because it’s a good substitute for #1, and because it’s a lot closer than Utah, and because kids eat free on Monday nights – can you say FHE?)
3. The Melting Pot (because you can’t go wrong with a pot of cheese)
4. Harbor Lights (in Tacoma, where Nick and I went on our first date)
5. The Lobster Shop (Tacoma, because my roommates and I once ordered every dessert on the menu)
6. Rodizio Grill (SLC, UT. Because, hey, it’s cool)
7. Boma – Flavors of Africa (Animal Kingdom, Disneyworld)
8. East & West Cafe (also Tacoma, hmmm, too bad only two of my favorites are actually located in the state in which I live. Guess the budget was a little more accomodating back before kids).

8 Things on My Wish List

1. All new joints (knees, hips, wrists)
2. A house with more bedrooms
3. Vacation to Belgium!
4. Vacation to Washington DC
5. Vacation to Hawaii
6. Vacation to Disneyworld (see favorite restaurants, #7)
7. Princess Palace Reunion
8. Be in a musical (okay, I know that’s random – it’s just been a really long time).

8 People I Tag to Play Next (or the 8 people I’m toilet-papering)

1. Tiffani
2. Dani
3. Kara
4. Margene
5. Shannon
6. Megan
7. Sharon
8. Suzanne