Saturday, November 08, 2014
Date Night Bliss
It's rare he and I get out alone, because we don't have family living anywhere close and these days it costs $10/hour for a sitter. By the time you have dinner and a movie, you've spent $40 just on the hired help! It's rather cost-prohibitive.
A family from school invited both our kiddos over for a sleep-over with their children (same ages, same genders). The fact that this fellow mom was willing to deal with 4 children all night and most of this morning with the sole intent of giving us a date night makes me feel as though I need to stop at a florist on the way to picking up the kids and bring her flowers to say, "Thanks!" That is no small feat.
Once we dropped the kids off, Hubby and I met some of his former co-workers at a small red-neck bar on the water, where we had a drink outdoors and said our goodbyes to a young man who was moving out-of-state for another job. We laughed a lot. Those co-workers are witty, sarcastic and oh-so-fun.
Next stop was the theater to see Interstellar. It's the movie about a group of space explorers who use a newly discovered wormhole to travel beyond our solar system in search of a planet that can sustain life, as humanity faces extinction on earth. Overall, it was an interesting and entertaining movie.
Our last stop before heading home was dinner at a quaint late-night eatery with good comfort food and a gregarious owner who was so interesting we invited her to pull up a chair and chat with us during our meal.
This morning, we awoke to silence. No child opening our bedroom door at 6:30 a.m. to see when we were getting up. No need to fix anyone breakfast. No pleading for t.v., playdates or leftover Halloween candy. No homework struggles. Just blissful silence. I laid in bed for a while and just soaked up the quiet, letting my own thoughts dance around my head for a while before getting up.
I don't have to get the kids for another 4 hours. I think I'll ignore the homework and work-related writing that's calling my name and indulge instead in a bubble bath and a good book.
When's the last time you had a date night?
Labels: babysitters, date night, Interstellar, kids, movies
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Date night...here we come!
For all of you who are parents, especially of little ones, when's the last time you and your spouse have had a date night?
Oronzo and I don't get out much, at least not without the kids (Snuggle Bug is now 4 and Boo is nearly 2).
As foster parents, there are stringent rules on who can babysit for us. Our sitters have to be over 18 years old. And they have to be finger printed and background checked through our licensing agency.
It's not easy finding sitters in normal circumstances but it's even tougher when you have to ask your potential sitter if they'd be okay going in to get finger-printed and fill out a form allowing our agency to do a background check on them.
Oronzo's mom and sister went through this process for us and we had one other sitter who's qualified as well. But, unfortunately, the times that these 3 people are available to sit for us are few and far between.
However, tonight Oronzo and I are going on a date night!! Oronzo's mom called earlier this week and offered to drive here (she lives 2 hours away) and babysit for us tonight. She misses seeing the kids and she knows we haven't been out without them for a while. I didn't think twice in accepting her offer!
Our date night tonight will consist of dinner and a movie, and maybe a trip to the bookstore so we can peruse books at our leisure while we drink espresso and hot chocolate in the bookstore cafe. We may even talk about something other than the kids!
I'm excited at the thought of ordering a meal that I like, not what I think the kids will eat with me (they still don't eat enough to order them their own meal). And I'll get to eat my food while it's hot instead of spending my meal time wiping little faces and hands, running interference in arguments, and trying to trick my kids into eating veggies!
I'm excited at the thought of seeing a movie that isn't rated G and isn't animated! We still have to see what's out there, it's been so long since we've looked at adult movies.
And I'm excited at sitting in a bookstore and not chasing after little ones. Who knows, I may even have time to purchase a book for me! :)
Can you tell I'm excited about this date night?! It's the little things in life. :)
Labels: date night, parenting
