Adventures in Babysitting

Recently we’ve been making it a point to go out as adults on Saturday nights. It’s not that I haven’t enjoyed our Saturday night movie nights or family get togethers with people in similar stations. To dust off my “nicer” clothes (you know anything WITHOUT a spit-stain or an elastic band), squeeze my feet into uncomfortably tall shoes and have conversation with people that don’t pronounce really like wheely (or at least without a few drinks in them) is such a treat!

We have commissioned our fair share of family to babysit. This past weekend we had a gracious Aunt and Uncle team. Our parents have also been over-worked in this arena. We recently did the unbelievable and hired a paid babysitter for the first time EVER! My eldest making it to five years of age without ever being babysit by anyone other than friends or family!

Certainly my husband isn’t exactly spending the greatest amount of time with our kids these days. And he might be happy spending another couple years of Saturday evening fun and games. I, however, am not. I have graduated. I spend all week fighting them to go to bed, cleaning up from dinner and wiping their butts. Saturday night I want to experience what goes on everywhere else in the world and have a real bonafide life!

The craziest part is that I don’t think I have had an active adult social life in five years!!! Like I said, we’ve been blessed to have family help out for weddings that have come up, birthday parties that we didn’t want to miss or the occasional date night. The ability to make plans with a couple for no other reason than to spend time with them, has not happened since I was pregnant with Drew.

I have learned that we pretty much could pay for college in the price that babysitters go for. I have also learned that cheap labor, like family, is worth way more than the love that they have for these monsters. But the feeling of not having to put out friends and family and still put my mom hat on the hook for a night is priceless!