Should I ask him to meet me for dinner one night? Drinks? Where to go from here?
Doesn't sound to me like inviting him out on a date is the thing to do right now, but that's your call. I wouldn't react in any way to his negative comments...much easier to do if you're not trying to talk about the R yourself.
Perhaps you could get involved with something at church that would help you meet some other women and you could go out to dinner or something for a girls' night (nothing wild!) with them, ask him to watch the kids (since he's been going off for weekends leaving you to hold down the fort).
