Thanking those who make date-night possible

You can't appreciate the awesome-ness that is "Date Night" until you have a kid. After all, when you're single, or even half of a footloose and fancy-free DINK (Dual-Income-No-Kid) couple, EVERY night is potentially date night.

Long day at work? Let's go to the bar down the street and have a happy hour cocktail. Don't feel like cooking? We can grab a bite to eat at one of our favorite neighborhood restaurants. Gloomy and rainy Saturday afternoon? Time to go see a movie!

That's was our life B.S. -- Before Scott.

Once you have a baby, everything changes. Sure, you can bring your kid to a bar or tote him to a five-star restaurant to celebrate a major milestone, but doing so probably won't win you any parenting awards or popularity contests with your fellow diners.

And let's face it -- date night IS important. We love our Tanker dearly -- in a way I could never begin to put into words...and yes, sometimes, its hard for me to leave him in the care of others, and not be around for his bedtime.

But Jim and I have also come to realize that those few evenings away from the Munchkin (we try to schedule one every 4-6 weeks) are critical to our sanity, well-being and the overall health of our relationship.

We've also learned that planning them... well, that's a major logistical operation that requires weeks of forethought.

Mommy and Daddy dressed up for a night on the town. I realize now that Scott doesn't appear overly excited by the idea.

We're fortunate - we have a LOT of family in the greater Phoenix area. And this blog is, in many ways, an ode to them. Because without a stable of able and willing babysitters, we'd never leave the house.

Scott has two doting grandparents that live within five minutes of him. They are first on speed dial when Jim and I need a couple of hours to ourselves. My folks have watched Scott in a pinch when he's sick and we've had "can't miss' meetings at work or just need a nap after two or three consecutive sleepless nights with a croupy baby, as well as on regularly scheduled Saturday nights.

We book them, whenever possible, 3-5 weeks in advance.

Scott loves hanging with Grandma and Grandpa when Mommy and Daddy go out for the night

But let's face it, my folks have lives too. Last weekend, Jim and I had a chef's wine pairing dinner that we had been looking forward to for weeks. Grandma and Grandpa Richardson were out of town, so I called my cousin and asked if she'd watch Scott. She and her fiance kindly said yes.

As it turned out, they had their work cut out for them. Scott developed a stomach bug and a fever, and threw up on his pajamas and security blanket while we were gone, but Katie handled the unexpected development like a champ. (And even said she'd babysit for us again!)

The Tanker hams it up with Katie & Ethan. He threw up on them later, but I am sure it wasn't personal.

It's only been six days since our last date night, but Jim and I have already lined up Mom and Dad for our next evening out in early May. 

You can never plan these things too early, you know.