Since Little One's birth, I have not spent much time away from her. Because she was a preemie and had to stay in the NICU for the first two months of her life, we were separated from the beginning. Most moms get to hold their babies as soon as they are born. Most moms get to take their babies home soon after delivering them. This was not the case with Little One and me. Since she was a preemie, we weren't able to be together like that in the beginning. I pretty much vowed that because of that, I never ever wanted to be without her again.

Fast forward eight months, and I think I'm ready for a tiny break. I did leave her at home one evening last week when my SIL (Hubby's middle sister), my niece (The Teenager) and my friend (Gadget Girl) and I went to see Pirates of Penzance. Yes, I know I saw it already, but the Burns' Wharf Theatre Players are so good! The performance was wonderful! I promised Gadget Girl that I'd see it with her. Anyway, Little One stayed at home with Hubby and Younger Niece. I have to admit that it was sooooooooo difficult to be away from my baby for the evening. I kept thinking of her and it felt weird to not have her with me.

Tonight, Gadget Girl, Lele (my SIL), my Mom and I went on a girls' night. We left all the babies with the boys for the evening so we could have a baby-free dinner and some adult conversation (conversation that does not involve spit up, poop, and all that fun stuff).
We went to The School House Restaurant in Providence Bay. The School House is a quiet, quaint little restaurant. Formerly an actual school house, it was transformed into a restaurant. It's wise to make a reservation, because seating is limited.
The School House is one of my Mom's favourite restaurants on the Island.
For starters, Lele had the goat cheese (above). She said it was delicious.
Gadget Girl had the Caesar Salad. Mom and I had crab cakes. The crab cakes were the perfect blend or sweet and savory.
For my main dish, I had the stuffed chicken breast. It stuffed with spinach and goat cheese, and placed on top of a bed of vegetables (baby potatoes, asparagus, carrot and yellow zucchini).

Lele had the maple salmon. She was raving about her dish the entire time. The maple added a lovely sweetness to the salmon. This too was served over veggies.
Gadget Girl ordered the Fettucine Alfredo. It doesn't look very impressive from the photo, but Gadget Girl said it was really good. Perhaps a little garnish would have added to the dish, but Gadget Girl insisted that a good dish needs no garnish :)
Mom ordered the lamb. She was ooooh-ing and ahhhh-ing the entire time. Mom loves lamb and since she doesn't get to eat it often, it was such a treat for her to have it tonight.
The School House has amazing desserts (not that any of us really needed dessert!).
Mom, Lele, and I had the B52 Creme Brulee and Gadget Girl had the Strawberry Shortcake. The creme brulee at the School House was different from others I've had. The top was entirely caramelized. When Lele received hers and went to get a spoonful, she tapped the top of her creme brulee and said, "I think my creme brulee is made of glass!" :) Too funny! Once we broke through the hard caramel layer, what awaited for us was a slice of heaven.
Gadget Girl's strawberry shortcake (above).

After our delicious meal (and lots of crazy laughs!), we really needed to take a stroll on the boardwalk. Providence Bay has stretches upon stretches of beautiful white sand and the boardwalk is perfect for an after dinner walk. Of course, we happened to bump into people we know! This is the Island, after all! It's pretty hard to not bump into people you know!

**This post was originally written on 7/29/09, but it's been a busy week and I'm only now catching up on posts.**