The Adventure Of Our First (Frugal) Night Out Since Having Twins

Yes, you read that correctly.  Mr. Smith and I finally attempted a date night out of the house about seven months after having the twins.  We kept it a frugal date night, but it was quite the adventure.  I hope that we won’t wait so long to go out again, but it probably won’t be next weekend either.

A few weeks ago, I decided that it was time.  It’s been so nice being home more with my new job, with more time to spend with my husband and kids, but we really needed some adult time.

Mr. Smith and I have been reluctant towards going out because of the babysitting issue.  We don’t get a lot of help from our small families when it comes to the kids, and five of them can be very overwhelming – even when both of us are here at home.  The solution?  We hired a girl from down the street to babysit on a night that my mother was available to come over as well.  Grandma oversaw things and took primary responsibility for the babies, while our neighbor kept the older kids entertained.

You would think that coordinating everything from bottles to schedules, would be the hardest part of going on  a date, right?  Think again.  We swear the universe just did’t want us to go out that night.  First, there was a small snowstorm.  My mother wanted to cancel on us because she was scared to drive.  Mr. Smith must have seen a devastated look on my face during that phone call, because he immediately announced that he would go pick her up, and off he went.  Finally, Grandma and the babysitter had arrived.  We were running a little late, but not a huge deal.

Our big night out was just going to involve checking out a local, free Christmas light display and using a gift card afterwards for a couple of drinks and an appetizer.  I had the brilliant idea to bring some spiked hot chocolate along for our walk outside looking at the lights.  Now, I suspect that it’s not just our kids who tend to “perform” when visitors come to the house, so it was no surprise that the kids were literally bouncing off the walls as we were trying to discuss feeding schedules and bedtimes.  Always a multitasker, I was also trying to prepare our hot chocolate and get going on our already-late date.  It still seems absolutely ridiculous, but I actually ended up pouring boiling water on my thumb.

Mr. Smith asked if we should just stay home as I was soaking my poor thumb in some cold water.  I told him, “Absolutely not!”  We had been looking forward to this date for weeks.  He finished preparing our hot chocolate, I grabbed an ice pack, and we were on our way . . . or so we thought.

We had almost made it out of the neighborhood, and then the brake line on my car broke.  Seriously.  You just can’t make this up.

Fortunately, my father-in-law (and his car) live three houses down from us.  We finally headed out, a little more than an hour after the babysitter arrived at our house.  It was a pretty cold night, but that meant we had the light display to enjoy mostly on our own.  We decided not to go out for that drink and appetizer afterwards.  It was a pretty exhausting day, the babysitter’s clock had been running for a while already, we were a bit concerned about how my mother was faring with the twins, and my thumb felt like it was on fire.  It was fun and relaxing once we got there, but What A Crazy Night!

Mr. Smith and I can be a bit judgmental about parents who go out partying all of the time.  We usually prefer family adventures, where we can include our kids in on the fun.  However, there is something to be said for being able to set your own pace and not have to bring along a diaper bag full of “supplies.”  Also, it was really nice to have one of Mr. Smith’s arms around me for a little while – arms that are usually monopolized by one of our children.  We were just us for a little while and, despite all of the craziness of the night, it was great.

My thumb is still a little sore, but doesn’t seem to be too scarred.   I will say that hot chocolate with Vanilla Baileys is really, really good – just please be careful in the kitchen, my friends.