Date Night Musings

Tonight my husband and I are enjoying a rare treat...a house without children!(THANKS MOM!) Some may call it date night. I call it FUN! So, you might be asking yourself why on earth am I blogging when I can be cuddling it up with my man? Well, this is our version or "date night". We are currently camped out on the couch watching Netflix documentaries and drinking a much deserved beer together. It really is magical.

As parents, I feel like a lot of us put pressure on ourselves to make "date night" a grand affair. Dinner, drinks, maybe a movie, and a little...well...you know. Oh yeah, and absolutely NO TALKING ABOUT THE KIDS! Right? Well, date night might look like that to some folks (celebrities and other people with nannies I assume) but for most of us it probably looks like this:

Dinner 
Tonight's dinner consisted of walking down to a local pizza joint with coupon in tow (because we're frugal, it's just how we roll). We get to said eatery only to find out the coupon was no longer being accepted but we stay anyway because I'm not walking back in the summer heat without food in my belly. Incidentally, the pizza was AH-MAZING. We then decided that this was OUR pizza place because if we brought our kids here they would just complain that the pizza was not to their liking. Kids are the worst sometimes...

Me and my AH-MAZING pizza from Mike's Pizza and Subs

Dessert
On our walk back home we stop at a local ice cream shop where my husband gets a bowl of Blue Moon ice cream and I awkwardly over share with the nice girl behind the counter by telling her that  I'm lactose intolerant which is basically saying "If I eat ice cream, I might poop my pants". You know...I never used to be lactose intolerant. It was an unpleasant side effect brought out by my first pregnancy and it never left. Did I mention kids are the worst sometimes?

Entertainment
So tonight's entertainment was our first viewing of Oz: The Great and Powerful. We did this to "pre-screen it for the kids"...oh, who am I kidding? Chris and I LOVE all things Oz related and were more than willing participants. Incidentally, we decided the girls are NOT ready to see it (it's kind of scary in some parts). Oh yeah, we also took time to make some mildly inappropriate jokes...something we NEVER get to do when the kids are around. Did you know my husband is HILARIOUS? I mean, I knew that was part of what I fell in love with but man, it's easy to forget when we're dealing with the rigors for parenthood.

I love being silly with my man

After the movie...
So this is where the...you know...comes in right? WRONG! After the movie, Chris proceeded to work on the patio (IT'S ALMOST DONE YA'LL!!) and I did dishes and general clean up. And now, we're watching Netflix, drinking a beer, and blogging all while enjoying each others' company. And frankly, I am a bit appalled that you think I would talk about something so private on my public blog...for shame, perverts.

There is no one I would rather share my popcorn (and kisses) with. 

Photo courtesy of Limelight Photography-Lauren Sterling

The thing I'm trying to say is don't put so much pressure on date night. The more you expect from it, the more awkward it will be. And lose the rule about not talking about your kids. By doing that, you miss out on a different way to enjoy your kids and their antics. That time they colored on your dining room wall (yeah...that happened) is ALWAYS funnier with a glass of pinot in your hand and the man you love sitting across from you.

Artwork courtesy of Carrigan Jean (FYI: WD40 works great for removing crayon from a dining room wall)

The time away from the kidlets is also a great time to regroup, restrategize, and revamp any parenting issues that may be causing problems. I'm not saying talk about your kids exclusively but believe me, the more you try to leave them out of the conversation, the more forced the evening will seem. All in all, have fun! I have laughed more tonight than I have all week. I really picked a good one.