Not Your Average GNO's . . .

I was invited to a GNO. For those not hip or not into Hannah Montana (that would be me on both counts!!), GNO is Girl's Night Out. Ok, who wouldn't LOVE a Girl's Night Out with your friends. Dressing up, having a cocktail and going somewhere chi-chi (not sure that's a real word but I really like the sound it makes plus, you get my point!). I was excited. However, this GNO had a twist. It was really for one of my daughters. There goes my cocktail! Would this include me watching kids run around the McDonald's playground? Do I have to go to Chuck E. Cheese and watch parents fight over tickets they can cash in for plastic teeth? While my daughter, Olivia, might think it a blast, I will pass. Well thankfully for me, this GNO was many, many many notches above those. So, what's the plan you ask? We decided on dinner at a historic luxury hotel, the Renaissance Vinoy. Built in 1925, the hotel has a timeless elegance to it but would it be still standing after our girls invaded it?? We met at 5:30 for an early dinner. The girls ages ranged from 6 to 10 so an early dinner would make sure all invited were in bed in a timely manner (mommies included). They had two tables set up, one for the six moms and one for eight young ladies. The girls looked great in their Sunday best and were excited to order for themselves. One mom was a hoverer but the rest of us just went with the flow. Olivia ordered off the kid's menu, corn dog, fries and taking advantage of mom not being there - a Pepsi! Little bugger! She isn't usually allowed soda, at least caffeinated ones, but this was her order on a special night. (On a side note: I did limit her to one. I need her to go to sleep as much as I need to go to sleep!!). She didn't want to try anything off the main menu and considering the kids' menu prices were $4.50 for dinner, plus drink and Jell-O, no complaints here! This was a fairly new group of friends for us, most of the girls go to the same school but the moms only knew each other at Shannon's mom or Ashlee's mom - now we actually have a name to go with the face! We ordered a couple of bottles of wine (I think I could really like this group) and got to know each other. The talk started with teachers, the school, PTA but then segued in to travel, careers and at one point, we were talking about literature!!! How did that happen?? It was nice to have meaningful adult conversation. Our girls sat like little angels and had their own conversations. We didn't eavesdrop (much) but did catch wind over what they were going to be for Halloween and the scuttlebutt on the new Gifted teacher (nice but a little bossy, in case you were wondering). After dinner and some pictures in the lobby, we took a walk to the park. This park is beautiful and on the water. The girls went a little crazy and ran around but they earned it. While there, the park has some beautiful Banyan Trees. In one of the trees, one of the little girls found a Geocaching box. The girls were fascinated by it. It's a box hidden throughout cities that you sign the little book and can take a trinket but you have to leave something of equal value. The girls were fascinated by it. After they all signed the book, they fell in love with a pink gemstone bracelet in the box. I figured someone would snatch it up but none of them wanted to part with anything they had so it went back in the box which went back in the tree. I was the lucky mom (because I am tall) who had the privilege of removing it and returning it back to the tree and I have the ant bites to prove it!! (If you want more information on Geocaching, you can go to www.geocaching.com). After a little more playing, telling of ghost stories (we had done a ghost tour with Girl Scouts the previous year) and running to our cars to add more money to the meters when we saw that little golf cart cop go by, we headed to the Gelato store. Before we knew it, the time was almost 9:30 and slowly creeping up on my bedtime! Time for this GNO to END. As we climbed into our car, my daughter told me she had a fantastic time and can't wait for her next GNO. I couldn't agree with her more!