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Parents Gone Wild

July 13, 2011

25 Comments

Yesterday and today I’m recycling previous posts. I’m still busy packing and trying to get the family out of town Friday morning. This post was originally posted on the day my blog launched on January 2nd, 2011.

 

Being a parent, it’s rare to have free time. You love your kids, but you also miss the days of a couples only Saturday. Waking up and being lazy. Spending a day without managing tantrums, filling sippy cups & playing dinos for what you swear is the 108th time.

Recently, my parents took the kids for the weekend so we could get some Christmas shopping done. We also looked at it as a chance to rejoin the lazy weekenders club since discontinuing our membership in the fall of 2007.

We made a plan to do 10 items that day we can’t do when the toddlers are at home, toddling.

Buckle your seat belts kids, here’s where it gets out of control. This is our edition of Parents Gone Wild.

Agenda Item #1

Sleep in until 8am. Yes, 8am is the new 10 am in a parents world. At least in our world. I have no idea how I bred Lanagan who typically wakes before the sun even decides it’s an acceptable time to get up.

Agenda item #2

Wake up at 8am but (wait for it…) lazily lay in bed until 9am. Hold on, we get more crazy.

Agenda item #3

Go to breakfast at Toast in Birmingham and actually eat it while it was still hot!

Agenda item #4

Walk through a toy store without hearing “but i neeeeeeed this Mommy. I need it so bad. I can’t live without it.” Although, this one doesn’t really count. Charlie is a grown man stuck in a 7 year old’s body. He did beg for a few toys but he changed things up and called me Elena instead of Mommy.

Agenda item #5

Go for a Saturday drive and not answer the dreaded ‘”Are we there yet?” or sit listening to an episode of Blue Clues “Colors, colors everywhere” from the backseat.

Agenda item #6

Actually take in all the aisles in a gourmet market AND not have to reorganize every shelf the toddlers decided to destroy on their way through the store.

Agenda item #7

Wine tasting. Midday. While shopping.

Agenda item #8

Adult dinner out. Period.

Agenda item #9

Have a progresive dinner. We had appetizers at one restaurant, then entrees at another. When we moved restaurants all we had to take was ourselves. Not a diaper bag. Not a sippy cup. Not kiddy forks. Just us.

Agenda item #10

Turn our surrond sound, the now most underused piece of equipment in our house, up as loud as we wanted while watching a movie at 10pm & not worrying about waking the kids.

It was a great Saturday. One that let us reclaim a little bit of coupledom. Get back a sense of freedom that we don’t always feel anymore.

But more importantly, one that left us missing our kids like crazy. We are so thankful for the way they’ve not only changed, but enhanced, our Saturdays.

What are your favorite things to do when you have a kid-free weekend?

 

 

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The Babysitter Hierarchy

January 13, 2011

10 Comments

There’s nothing better than a good date night. A bottle of wine, some sushi, maybe a movie…I don’t know, I don’t know if we’ll have enough time. But before my husband and I can enjoy the festivities, we need to find a babysitter. And not just any babysitter. If we’re going out for a wild night, we’re going to need a Level 4 or Level 5.
I know what you’re thinking: “Elena, I didn’t know there was a complex algorithm for choosing the appropriate babysitter.” Oh, there is. I’ll let you in on our little ranking system:
Level 1: This is basically the bunny hill of babysitting. A warm body. Well, a warm body that we can trust not to burn the house down in our absence (and be able to grab the kids and run out of a burning house). We only use a Level 1 once the kids are in bed but the night is still young. You know, the time period between 8:00pm-9:30pm when parents go wild. This person does not need to have the skill set to administer a bottle, put together a sippy cup or change a diaper.
Level 2: The green cruiser — to continue with our ski run analogy. A smidge above the Level 1 warm body. This person can handle laying our children down in their baby jails for the night. But that’s about it. We can leave the house when the kids are prepped for bed. This sitter doesn’t play with matches and is capable lifting a 30 lb. kid into a crib.
Level 3: Level 3 is a bit more challenging. A blue ski run. One that burns the thighs just a little more. This person can change a diaper. However, they really only work well with a #1 diaper. They aren’t fit to handle a major #2 blowout. They can change the kids from their daytime clothes into pajamas. They can administer a bottle. They may even have the capability to heat a bottle and mix formula.
Level 4: This person is a really good babysitter, just not at the top of their game yet. A black diamond ski hill. A future Picabo Street. They are so close to expert level. They are trusted with feeding the kids food I prepared, changing the kids clothing and getting the kids ready & put down for bed. They can handle all stages of diapers my kids can throw at them.
Level 5: This person is the ultimate babysitter. A double black diamond. The hardest run out there. An expert. 100% competent to do the job my husband and I do. In some cases, possibly even more capable than us. A regular Mrs. Doubtfire in the making. They can make meals. They can clean up. They can change the diaper of a moving target. They can be in charge on a 24 hour basis. They are not checked in on by text messages every hour, on the hour (maybe just every other hour…). They are our person when we need to be away from the house for an extended period of time.
It’s tough to find a Level 5. In three years, many have tried but most have failed to achieve this coveted status. How do you figure out who to trust with your little munchkins?
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