|date night|

everyone said that things would change when the baby came...  some meaning it to be an exciting time in our lives, some said it as an ominous warning. 

 

of course things change.  the incredible thing is that things haven't changed all that much.  i mean, we do miss sleeping in on the weekends, but we still make weekend breakfast and read the paper... we just do it a little earlier (or later).

 

we don't go out, now.  we usually take turns running out to the store if we need something.  we don't pick up and go like before, but we never really went out much -just shopping on the weekends, and restaurants for lunch or dinner.  and we weren't socialites, so we're not missing out on parties or gatherings.  so, really, not much has changed.  in fact, staying in has saved us literally hundreds of dollars over the past few months...  home grown lunches and dinners!  i suppose that's the biggest change -the budgeting.  but i view it as a challenge; it will be fun.  in reality, we are so incredibly fortunate. 

 

so, over the past 8 weeks, we have been doing "dinner dates".  we would eat dinner and watch BBC america.  we're in love with gordon ramsey!  (he's not really a jerk...  he's just passionate -and brilliant.)  just the act of us sitting down together to do something was great for our relationship.  even if it was just eating dinner together and watching a TV show.  (what would we do with DVR?!) 

 

but, tonight, we are actually going to have a real date night!  matt's mom is staying with us for the week to see the baby.  she wants us to go out and have dinner tonight while she watches madeline.  i'm a little worried, since madeline is fussy at night -i don't really want to leave her.  but at the same time, i feel like we should do it. 

 

the thing i miss most:  weekend shopping.  we used to go grocery shopping together at costco.  i think that was one of my favorite things to do together.  i'd try to convince matt why we needed a giant jar of capers or bag of dates.  we'd make impulse purchases together....  just walking up and down the aisles, browsing.  i miss the togetherness, and i miss the impulse purchases.  but we have new things to do (like making freeze ahead meals, and shopping frugally) which are just as fun.

 

i'm nervous about date night tonight.  i am trying to think of it as a stepping stone for me...  eventually, we will have to leave her at daycare.  so this is like practicing leaving her with someone...  at least it is family.