Date Night! {How To Help Marriage Survive Autism Parenting}

The Chef looked creepy but he was very nice!

     Something I hear a lot of talk about on blogs & in research articles is the divorce rate among parents of special needs kids.  That's scary, not really for me, but just in general! I say "not really for me" not because our marriage is so great but because we are both very aware that I married way outside of my league & will never have a chance at a woman near as hot as my wife is. That being said she is also my best friend & the only person who could put up with three boys & a husband with his own unique set of creepy neuroses! Sometime I think that the only time we argue is over autism! That sounds worse than it really is. Jayden has always been & will probably always be an attached at the hip daddy's boy & as a result I am 90% of the time a push over with him! As a coupled result I have to watch myself because I don't want the other two boys to ever feel like they are 2nd to anyone & with Jayden being in home school now I know it sometimes seems to them that Jayden doesn't have to do the same things as them. The younger two are 4 & 6 so it's not really an issue but good habits breed good habits so I really try my best to do 1 on 1 stuff with all three & a lot of stuff as a family as well. All that kid love balancing, homeschooling, me working at the hospital & at the photography studio, Sam photographing & editing, cooking, cleaning, shopping, & all the other stuff that day to day life involves boils down to about an hour or less a couple days a week after the kids are in bed to hang out together. It's very easy for you spouse to take a backseat to life & then your in a rut! We have been to the Zoo, Science Museum, & to the park but my wife & I haven't been out on a date night in....yeah, that long! So when we both had a feeling like we really wanted to spend some time together but also found that there was no way we were finding a baby sitter even for a few hours things looked like a wash out! That's when the boys & I put our heads together!
     We hit Wal-Mart hard picking out flowers, candles, movies, candy & a quick stop off at Chilies we came back ready to work. When all was said & done I took my wife outside, rang the door bell & a very classy waiter opened the door to seat us!

Our Table At The Fancy Restaurant

Custom Made Menu, FANCY!

Hells Kitchen Much!?!?

Our Waiter {He said this was his "Fancy" face} :)

This guy looks like he is trying hard for a tip!

Our Dinner By Candle Light

Special Movie Tickets {The Theatre Attendant Would Not Allow Photographs!}

To The Movies For Bags Of Popcorn, Candy, & Friends!

    This worked out great except for two small hitches.

1. My date wore Yoga pants to a super classy restaurant.
2. The movie theatre attendant got a little sick from the candy & McDonalds he ate earlier in the day & threw up on my & my date just a little bit.

     The second one is my fault a bit, not only because I took him to McDonalds & gave him candy but because I totally thought he was just being a whiner & told him to suck it up only to have him throw up on us as we walked into the "Restaurant", apparently the bar in the restaurant doesn't ID because that kid looked young! All in all a great night & a epic win for the men in the house as all the thought that went into the night spurred tears from mom!