Sunday, September 21, 2008

A Tale of Two Date Nights

As those of you who don't live in the same town as your peanut's grandparents/aunts/uncles/godparents/whatever can relate to, it's tough to find a good babysitter. Even tougher to pay the ransom going rate for a sitter these days. As a result, we just don't go out a lot. Date nights are, unfortunately, few and far between either out of sheer lack-of-going-out inertia or my inability to justify spending that much on top of dinner and a movie for a casual night out.

During our anniversary trip, the hubby and I agreed that we definitely need to prioritize the infamous date night. And although it's still fun to snuggle on the couch watching Netflix, it is a totally different story when you're out of the house without a diaper bag, coloring books and can order a serious cocktail, or several.

By sheer luck, we ended up doing a trade off with a girlfriend this weekend. She and her hubby wanted to see a friend's band. My hubby and I had been chatting about seeing the new Coen brothers movie. Friday night, I sat for them while they went out. Saturday, she sat for us while we went out.

And both nights were fantastic. Her little guy was a breeze and I spent an evening in a house where I had no laundry/dishes/unfinished tasks looming in my sight line and *gasp* read a book. Saturday, the hubby and I went to a local burger joint where kids under 18 aren't allowed inside and had a burger, a pitcher of beer and carefree conversation. And the movie was hilarious (even if the lovely Georgetown streets I love and a key location in the film weren't authentic).

Although I'm exhausted from two nights out, it was totally worth it. Quality time with myself one night, quality time with the hubby the next. And, to add a cherry to the top of my fun weekend sundae, the hubby took the peanut to do the grocery shopping this morning! How did a girl get to be so lucky?

4 comments:

Liz Jimenez said...

Nice! A fellow mom friend and I had talked about doing babysitting swaps like that. We must get on it... Especially now that the kids are older (hers almost 18mo, mine almost 14mo), it's a lot easier than in those crazy newborn days.

I also have no family or other available people to just pop over and babysit most of the time, so this would be a good way to go.

Beth Cotell said...

My girlfriend and I both have kids roughly the same age and they all love one anothers. So, we switch off all the time.

And when the kids are a little older, it gets a lot easier to do.

Glad you got to enjoy a night out with your husband...that's very important and it's good that you guys are prioritizing that.

Unknown said...

Dude, I now have a monthly baby-sitting swap arrangement, and it is life-alteringly awesome. I can't decide what I like better: the date night out with hubby or the peace and quiet of someone else's house after their kids are in bed.

Stephanie said...

Nights like that are super important. Maybe you guys could swap like that at least once a month. Glad you had a good weekend.