We Should Date More

I'm a bit embarrassed to admit that Andy and I, against everything advised for a healthy marriage once kids are in the picture, do not go on dates quite enough.

We finally set up a trade with the Smiths (who also have one kid who Jordan loves hanging out with and yes, it only took us 9 months!) last Saturday.  As Andy went to drop off Jordan at their house while I finished dinner and showered (so I could doll up for my big date!), I stopped to count how many dates we had on our own (not double, not group, just us two) and sadly, I could count it on one hand.

This was our fourth date in the almost two years we have been with child.

Our first was dinner for our one year anniversary at Umami Burger but we rushed back as soon as we could since Jordan was still eating about every 3 hours and was not taking the bottle (he was about two months old).

Our second was an Indian buffet for lunch and Avengers in old town Monrovia while my mom watched Jordan at home.  He was taking the super expensive organic premade formula at this point, so the date was more leisurely and less stressful.

Our third date was to watch Skyfall in downtown Spokane while my mom visited and put Jordan to sleep.  To date, we have not trusted anyone to put Jordan to sleep besides his grandparents.  I know, we are huge wimps but ... oh well.

In reality, I don't feel like we're missing out.  It was really fun and refreshing to have a dinner without taking turns to feed Jordan or make sure he was eating something (he's not the world's best eater), to have my door opened for me everytime we got in and out of the car, to venture off to Best Buy holding hands and checking out the free Kinect dance game (okay, we played it - and I beat Andy!), and then using our free rewards check of $30 to buy DVDs (for Andy and Jordan) and some sour strips for me, but it wasn't anymore fun than lounging at home in our PJs catching up on TV shows we love or hanging out once Jordan is asleep.  Or anymore fun than going out as a family to wherever we may go. Maybe I'm just a homebody, maybe I'm just not that exciting of a person, either way, it was great but not something I am craving more of right away.  I'm actually looking forward to more double or group dates with other couples sans kids or seeing our friends in March with our kids along as well.

Or maybe I'm just being naive since being in Utah will give us more chances to date.  Either way, we should date more.  But maybe our dates could be at home in our PJs lounging.  If that counts, we have dated a ton!!!

Our fancy date at home dinner consisted of pork chops with apple slathered in syrup and wine over cheesy zucchini rice in our fanciest dinnerware and battery operated candles.  Soooo delicious and romantic!  I'm glad dinner came out great for our date because we are cutting back on eating out until our vacation the end of March, but you just never know with a new recipe done the first time.   

Also our first time having fro-yo in Spokane.  To be honest, it's not that fun eating fro-yo with Andy since he doesn't enjoy it as much as me.  And, I think I'm still a Pinkberry snob.  The different flavors are just too much and Pinkberry is the OG of all fro-yos to me.  I also think fro-yo is much more enjoyable with my girlfriends or my sister-in-law and nieces who truly appreciate how delicious it is.  With Andy, we may have to just stick to the ice creams and 21 Choices.