In every relationship it is important to spend some personal time alone with your spouse. Just spending the time alone that starts right after the kids bedtime and ends when you both fall asleep just doesn't cut it after awhile.
There is a lot of planning and money that goes into a night out once there are kids involved. First your kids have to get old enough that you feel comfortable leaving them in someone else's care. Then you have to set a date and find a sitter. Finding a sitter can be a daunting task once you have a toddler and twins, as it takes a lot to be able to keep up with all of them at once. (and as much as some people think "oh it can't be that hard" they change their minds in a short time) If you are lucky a family member will take on the babies for a little while, but most of the time there is a fee rather it is family or not. So now your dates cost twice as much as they did before, because you have to pay to be able to leave without your kids and then you have to pay to have some fun.
Now we haven't gotten this luxury more than twice in almost a year, (It would have been three times if one of our sitters hadn't backed out at the last minute) and we found that once we got out without the kids its was weird not having them around. We really didn't know what to do with ourselves and even came home early the first time. The next time we get to go out, I plan on actually creating a plan for our evening before we leave the house, that way it's not just dinner and a couple of drinks and a lot of asking each other "What should we do now?" Don't get me wrong I have enjoyed getting away from the chaos that seems to be our life with kids, but I wanna really go out and enjoy myself.
What would you say your best date night was after you had kids?
There is a lot of planning and money that goes into a night out once there are kids involved. First your kids have to get old enough that you feel comfortable leaving them in someone else's care. Then you have to set a date and find a sitter. Finding a sitter can be a daunting task once you have a toddler and twins, as it takes a lot to be able to keep up with all of them at once. (and as much as some people think "oh it can't be that hard" they change their minds in a short time) If you are lucky a family member will take on the babies for a little while, but most of the time there is a fee rather it is family or not. So now your dates cost twice as much as they did before, because you have to pay to be able to leave without your kids and then you have to pay to have some fun.
Now we haven't gotten this luxury more than twice in almost a year, (It would have been three times if one of our sitters hadn't backed out at the last minute) and we found that once we got out without the kids its was weird not having them around. We really didn't know what to do with ourselves and even came home early the first time. The next time we get to go out, I plan on actually creating a plan for our evening before we leave the house, that way it's not just dinner and a couple of drinks and a lot of asking each other "What should we do now?" Don't get me wrong I have enjoyed getting away from the chaos that seems to be our life with kids, but I wanna really go out and enjoy myself.
What would you say your best date night was after you had kids?
The main idea is to find people that you can swap date nights with, you watch their kids then they watch yours the next time. No money involved just their time.
ReplyDeleteI know that Mike and I enjoy watching tv alone in a wuiet house, so if the sitter can take your kids at their house that is even better. We also enjoy just going to get coffee and talking in a quiet place since our house never is.
(Mike and I could be your sitter couple) (BTW this is Elizabeth (Wilburn) Smith)
TV time- What is that lol- By the time I usually get to sit down and watch something I am typically ready to pass out - I love the idea of swapping nights off with another couple and you guys would be perfect since we are so close :) -- Thanks so much for checking out my blog!
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