Date Night!

Date Night Selfie

Alex has had my pretty much unshared attention for most of his days. Since he was born, Jenna has spent the day at daycare and now she has camp til 4:30.  But his nights have almost always been shared, and by shared I mean he gets the sh** end of the stick.  By the time I pick up Jenna, I want to hear about her day and spend time with her and being that Alex has me all day, Jenna tends to win the attention in the afternoon/evening hours.

But the other night, I had a night alone with my little man.  Mike was away on business and Jenna had a 'big girl sleepover' at Grandma and Papa's.  This left me with Alex...He woke up from his nap and for the first time we weren't running to go pick  his sister up.  We got to just hang out and play without any distractions.  We had dinner together and he got to take a long bath without the company of his big sister.  He got to pick out his books before bed (Jenna usually has an opinion about what we read to him) and he got some extra snuggles before bed, instead of some rushed kisses as we prep Jenna for her long, drawn out bedtime routine.

It was nice...it was quiet...and best of all? My night responsibilities ended at 7:00...a good two hours earlier than normal. Best.date.ever.

You call that Well-Adjusted?!?

This weekend, we had a babysitter for the first time.  For those that know me well, this is kind of shocking, since I am pretty willing to leave my kid home while we go out - but in truth for the last 2+ years, she's been left with only family members, with the exception of one time (thanks, Kelli & Tara!)

So, needless to say, we were a little nervous apprehensive about the evening.  We stayed close to home (just in case...) and only went out for a couple of hours.

When our babysitter arrived, I gave her all the important information and then I gave her the list of "what to do when we leave and she cries." This included: ice pops, nail polish, beach balls and Dora band aids - I wanted to make sure she had an arsenal of super-fun things to distract J from her parents departure.  (I was especially worried about the actual act of leaving since Mike had just walked in from work and we were literally going to just head back out - so no time with Daddy).

I told J we were about to leave - and she started to pout, so I said to her "go ask A-- if she'll give you an ice pop" - cue distraction.  We left and from outside the apartment we didn't hear anything.  And when we got home, the babysitter said that she literally did not cry at all.  Awesome! We have such a well-adjusted little girl - woo hoo!!

And then the babysitter left.  Cue WATERWORKS!! Seriously?!? You don't shed a tear for us, but for brand new cool, young babysitter, you cry?!?  So well adjusted my ass.

Husband & Wife Time

This weekend Mike and I went out for dinner and Jenna slept at Grandma and Papa's house. 

It was AMAZING!

Little J hasn't slept out in a couple of months - most babysitting has been at our house with us coming home late.  So I was a little nervous about the overnight.  I knew she would (eventually) fall asleep for them and I knew that they would never let her cry but I didn't want them to be up all night either - I would feel horrible. 

So we took her over there around 4 ish and hung out for a while.  We figured this would give her a better transition.  I told them I probably wouldn't call but to call me if they needed anything.  We heard her cry for a second when we walked out but according to them it was the only time she cried.

We went home, got dressed (I wore heels!!) and headed out.  Mike had been working all week on finding a place for us that I would like. We started out at a champagne bar which was a great place, super cozy and it wasn't too crowded since it was before dinner.  Then we went to a great Tapas restaurant.  I'm not a super fancy person and we love Tapas, so this was PERFECT.  We got to just talk and hang out.  It felt like we were dating again, which was awesome.  And even better, we got to come home to an empty apartment and sleep as late as we wanted.  It was like we got to remember why we're married all over again. 

When we got Jenna in the morning, my parents (truthfully) said she was great, fell asleep in my mom's arms  around 8, slept in the pack n play til around 4, then slept in bed with them til 7:30.  They had a blast and so did Jenna. 

I'm thinking we need to do this more often....

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Babysitting

Just had a conversation with my hubby re: babysitters...

We have a baby who goes to sleep (pretty consistently) around 7:00.  She also (pretty consistently) sleeps until 6:00.  I know I know - we are very lucky.
Here's the catch - we were invited to a friend's house for dinner Friday night - we're talking BBQ!! To apartment dwellers like ourselves, this is awesome! Our friends have a kid who also goes to sleep around that time, but of course he'll be upstairs in his room, sleeping while we have dinner/drinks. 
Now J is not wonderful about falling asleep outside her normal routine (I guess that's the catch with consistency - you can't be inconsistent!!)
So I ask my parents to babysit Friday night so we can have a night out.  No big deal.  Grandma and Papa are happy to do it - Mom will come over early, hang out with J and then help me put her to bed...When hubby gets home, we'll go out.

I'm excited - I call Mike and his response?!!? "I don't think it's fair to make them just sit in our house while she sleeps."  Ummm that's what babysitters do! What are we supposed to do? Keep her up so they can have some quality time with her even though that probably means a very cranky baby on Saturday?  He said we'll discuss it later.

I think he's nuts. I'm going to win. I would like a night out with some friends.  Mike loves to BBQ. I think this is a no-brainer...

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