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Thursday, June 16, 2011

Dating Evolution

My husband and I used to date: restaurants, movies, dancing, hiking, skiing--we did it!  I remember those days, a little.  Dating is more sporadic now.  We do embark on a dating adventure a couple times a year, usually when my parents come to visit.  I know the husband would like to get out a little more.

It's my fault.  Using a babysitter scares me.  I'm not afraid of what she'd do to my children.  I'm worried about what my children would do to her!  I can't even handle my kids, so a teenager???

Last Saturday, I was in and out of the house gardening.  My husband was also working outside.  I sensed my kids were up to no good.  I heard them talking about a tea party and noticed they were lurking around the kitchen.

Dani, the ringleader, finally came up to the two of us, just begging to show us what she, Evie, and Mase had put together.  I dragged my feet a little, afraid of the damage.  Sometimes I have to prepare myself first.

We slowly opened the door to our bedroom.  Dani yelled, "Surprise!" while all of the kids started giddily jumping up and down!  They had planned a date for us.
The food spread was quite extensive: fruit, marshmallows, graham crackers, torn-up bread, and watered-down orange juice.  They had  even filled some salt and pepper shakers with brown sugar to sprinkle in our drinks.  My mommy heart just melted. 

Then my children did something truly touching.  They left, only to the backyard, but it was still so sweet.

I made sure to give my husband a big kiss in front of Evie on their way out.  Apparently we don't do this enough.  She is always fascinated.  "Oh, Dani!!! Did you see that!?!  Mom and Dad kissed!  On the lips!"

It was a wonderful date.  We talked, we laughed, we attempted to drink the "orange juice".   Then, our five minutes of date time were up.  The kids stormed back in, devouring all of the marshmallows, bread, and graham crackers.  The fruit wasn't as big of a hit, so my husband threw it into the blender and made smoothies for the kids, which they also devoured.

With those results, I'm sure we can expect another child-planned date any day now.

Grateful Mom Goal of the Month:  My parents are visiting soon, but I want to plan a night out before then.  Maybe I'll hire two babysitters.

Labels: ,

40 Comments:

At June 16, 2011 at 7:27 AM , Blogger Rochelle@AFamilyofLooneys said...

What a sweet thing your kids did for you. I feel the same way about a babysitter. I shudder at my kids would do to one :-)

 
At June 16, 2011 at 7:35 AM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Cute photos!

 
At June 16, 2011 at 7:43 AM , Anonymous Amanda @ Gratefully Growing in Grace said...

This made me get tears in my eyes. How sweet! I feel the same about a babysitter. Sometimes handling bedtime by myself when my husband is gone is a big deal... how could someone else do it?

 
At June 16, 2011 at 7:44 AM , Blogger m&msmommy said...

That is absolutely SOOO sweet! You have to store those super sweet moments in your memory bank at all times to redeem them on their bad days! ;)

Adorable pics!

 
At June 16, 2011 at 7:46 AM , Blogger Unknown said...

Truly priceless!! Just great!!! I love that they did that for you!!

 
At June 16, 2011 at 8:19 AM , Blogger Jenny Lynn said...

That was sweet of you children. It shows that they are thoughtful. I can remember being in the same position as you are about baby sitters and going out. We started having date night at home. We order take-out from our favorite place & either watch a movie or play cards.

 
At June 16, 2011 at 8:22 AM , Blogger Unknown said...

so cute :) my 4 crazies actually do better for a sitter than they do for me, you might be surprised!

 
At June 16, 2011 at 8:37 AM , Blogger Ashley from Sloanbook said...

Oh my gosh this is the cutest thing ever!!!! Wow. I'm sure you loved it! What cute kids! And thanks for following :) It means a lot! Have a great day!
www.sloanbook.com

 
At June 16, 2011 at 8:45 AM , Blogger Melissa said...

That HAS to be one of the sweetest stories ever! Thank you for sharing! I'm sure it was one of the most memorable dates. :)

 
At June 16, 2011 at 8:46 AM , Anonymous Jenny said...

That is beautiful! What sweet kids.

 
At June 16, 2011 at 8:55 AM , Anonymous Cori Beach said...

What a sweet sweet story! My kids have done something similar but not with real food, mostly with play do! ha ha :) not as appetizing I assure you.

 
At June 16, 2011 at 9:51 AM , Blogger Life by Cynthia said...

I love it! This is the best post that I have read all week! Great kids! Oooh...you kissed on the LIPS! Thank you for sharing.

Cynthia

 
At June 16, 2011 at 9:52 AM , Blogger Unknown said...

That is the sweetest thing ever! Those are the moments when everything is worth it. Good one kids!
And I have found, that my kids are usually really well behaved for someone else. Even a teenager! Good luck with a baby sitter!

 
At June 16, 2011 at 10:04 AM , Blogger John said...

That is so sweet that the kids knew what you needed even when you were hesitant to do it for yourself because of them.

Before our day of built in babysitters, I had the same worries as you. We did find 2 things that worked best and had a weekly date. 1. We cleaned the house and put the kids to bed, then got the babysitter and went out for a late date at like 9 or 10. 2.We gave the kids an easy dinner, put them to bed, got ourselves some take out and a movie and snuggled together on the couch. Granted, we already stay up late, but it worked. And even now, if we leave for a date before the little kids bedtime, we pay our girls. Otherwise they do it for free.

 
At June 16, 2011 at 10:08 AM , Blogger Vivian said...

So glad you got your well deserved date. I try to be constantly aware that the affection my husband and I do for each other is giving a sense of security to my children..like yours...they love when we finally kiss.. :)

 
At June 16, 2011 at 11:02 AM , Blogger Mom of 12 said...

That is so cute! I love it when the kids are old enough to be actual babysitters to the little ones. Life is so much easier then. You know...I have VERY experienced sitters here.
Sandy

 
At June 16, 2011 at 11:41 AM , Blogger Jaclyn M said...

I have told you before, and I'm saying it again. I can handle your kids just fine. Please bring them over and let them play and go out! They would have a great time, and my kids would LOVE it!!!

 
At June 16, 2011 at 11:51 AM , Blogger Irish Italian Blessings said...

Ok that is seriously the sweetest thing ever!!! I would be totally happy with the spread too, I love marshmellows :) I rarely use a babysitter also, I'm a little too controlling to leave one with my child...I would probably scare her enough that she would never want to come back!

 
At June 16, 2011 at 12:01 PM , Blogger The Lymans said...

I'm sure they cleaned everything up for you after your date was over too :) That was so incredibly sweet and creative. We don't ever get babysitters either. There is not enough money or treats in the world to compensate them for that job!!

 
At June 16, 2011 at 12:20 PM , Blogger LaVonne said...

My husband and I don't get to go on dates very often. I never let our Princess stay with a baby sitter. We have trust issues :)

When my parents can watch her, we take advantage of it.

Blessings and Happy Weekend!

 
At June 16, 2011 at 3:09 PM , Blogger M and D said...

I love moments that melt my mommy-heart. Sometimes the days get so long and you just hold on for moments like this. Have your kids ever thought of starting of restuarant? Those are some great culinary skills ;-).

 
At June 16, 2011 at 3:13 PM , Anonymous cam - bibs & baubles said...

aww... that was the sweetest. your kids are awesome. my mommy heart melted and they're not my kids!

 
At June 16, 2011 at 4:17 PM , Blogger Donna said...

I can't believe your kids did that for you! How sweet! I miss going out with my husband too, and I'm also scared to hire a babysitter!

 
At June 16, 2011 at 4:29 PM , Blogger Victoria said...

This totally made my day! That's the best kind of date. Perhaps you should plan a date with the kids too. ;) I'm blessed to have local family so date nights are far more common, but it's a special thing and I hope you and your husband can arrange to have them more often.

 
At June 16, 2011 at 4:58 PM , Blogger Jessica said...

Your children are adorable setting up a date for you and your husband and giving you some privacy.

 
At June 16, 2011 at 5:31 PM , Blogger Sandra Tyler said...

That's too adorable! How sweet! Especially the kissing part; my older son would have NONE of that. He can't stand when Daddy gets anywhere near Mommy: "STOP that, Daddy!"

Here's how I got over the sitter fear; We went out to dinner, but very close by, and for no more than a couple of hours. And early, before their bedtime. And I just kept my cellphone next to my water glass...it never rang once.

 
At June 16, 2011 at 5:37 PM , Blogger We 2 Bees said...

That is so sweet of them! I can see how you feel a ton of emotions walking into the room.
I have babysitter fear as well, luckily family all lives close. But then I feel bad using them. You never win, although we do have a date night planned for this weekend it's been too long.

 
At June 16, 2011 at 6:12 PM , Blogger Unknown said...

How stinkin' sweet, they even left the room, awwww!! You must go out, you deserve it. The babysitters can handle it, just give them hazard pay. It will be fine. We love our babysitter, she has endured Brady spitting on her, and Shane just being horrible, but she comes back. Have a great weekend.

 
At June 16, 2011 at 8:07 PM , Blogger Shell said...

Aw, that is a sweet date!

I really think my boys would traumatize a babysitter.

 
At June 16, 2011 at 10:14 PM , Blogger Unknown said...

That is seriously the SWEETEST story! We just lost our wonderful babysitter, and it breaks my heart.

(I mean, we didn't physically lose her at the store or anything ... she just moved away.. yeah, I kill myself when I'm tired!)

 
At June 17, 2011 at 4:25 AM , Blogger VictoriaKP said...

What a great story! Reminds me of the time my kids made us "breakfast" the morning after Thanksgiving. The menu included grapes, honey roasted peanuts and leftover biscuits.

A good babysitter is worth her weight in gold! Keeping my fingers crossed that one comes your way.

 
At June 17, 2011 at 6:23 AM , Blogger I Am Not Superwoman said...

How sweet is that. Sometimes kids know best. My husband and I *try* to have date night at least every other week. Most of the time we are able to arrange it and we need it usually by then for our health. Luckily grandma lives close by so she is who takes care of them which is really fortunate although we have been entertaining hiring a babysitter but I, like you, am a bit hesitant. It is however very important to have quality time with your spouse. I think a lot of times are spouses get lost in the shuffle so to speak and we dont even realize it. You need it too; alone time with the hubby for your health and sanity (I am sure you already knew that though). Good luck with planning some date nights.

 
At June 17, 2011 at 9:24 AM , Blogger Karen Greenberg said...

I am so lucky that my parents live just three miles away from me. I have babysitters when I want. Unfortunately we just don't take advantage of that often enough. My husband pulls away and says, "It's too quiet. I miss the kids." We don't know what to do with our time away, either. Man, we are just REALLY boring! LOL

 
At June 17, 2011 at 9:54 AM , Blogger Joyti said...

Awww, how very sweet! What an adorable thing to do.
I hope you have more lovely dates in the future :)

 
At June 17, 2011 at 11:13 AM , Blogger The Home C.E.O. said...

what a great story!!!! i love it!!!

 
At June 17, 2011 at 12:16 PM , Blogger Saunders Crew said...

super sweet! my kids have done this for us. well the older 2 have done this for us before, the little ones thought they were included in the date thing.
i see those little redheads of yours ;-) luv it!

 
At June 17, 2011 at 3:05 PM , Blogger Cindi said...

What sweet and thoughtful children. We don't get out on dates much anymore either. We try to have evenings together occasionally. We'll feed the kids dinner and then put them to bed. Cook some steaks for ourselves and watch a movie.

I hope you are able to get out while you're parents are here. Good luck.

 
At June 19, 2011 at 10:28 PM , Blogger Just A Normal Mom said...

Very sweet story. I love that they came back and ate all the treats!
LOL I hope you get out for real, soon. Enjoy!

 
At June 22, 2011 at 10:10 AM , Blogger Danielle said...

Awwww, that is so sweet. Almost as sweet as your baby's little red head. :)

 
At June 24, 2011 at 11:18 PM , Blogger Charlotte said...

Very sweet. It's the thought that counts, right? We rarely had babysitters until our own kids turned 12. Now we go out all the time. It was worth the LONG wait.

 

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