Day Date!

My hubby and I had a day out with no kids this weekend, for the first time since 5 was born. It was so much fun! We were gone for most of the day, and it was so incredibly nice to be able to have an entire conversation with each other without being interrupted with "Mommy!" or "Daddy!" a million times. We went to Wine in the Woods and had a great time!

Although we were getting a day out to ourselves, it was still a lot of work to get things together for the kids for the day. We planned on leaving by 11:30, so getting ready started right after breakfast. I don't like leaving my house a mess when other people are coming over, so I wanted to clean up the breakfast dishes and straighten up a little. I had to get myself ready, which included the inner battle with myself over what to wear while criticising my body in everything I put on it. I guess that's the problem with not every really having to go anywhere - I'm fine with wearing yoga pants or old lacrosse shorts and tee shirts every day. When I have to get dressed in something else, it is always ugly. My husband reminds me, "You've had 5 kids, and given birth three times in the past three years. Give yourself a break.". One of the many endless reasons why I love him. I settled on a sundress that I felt only slightly whalish in and flip flops because I knew we'd be walking a lot. Then I started my list of 'instructions' for the kids. They aren't really instructions, but sort of a guide to who needs what and when. I filled three juice cups and three milk cups, one for each of the middle boys, lined and put together the bottles for 5, and listed what everyone would eat for lunch. I also listed whose diapers are where and when to change them, give them naps, etc. It's funny how much you take your own routine for granted until you have to list out everything you do in order for someone else to take over. I'm not worried about things not getting done right or anything like that. It's just that I know how much work it is to take care of all five of them at the same time. I like to try to make things easier for anyone helping us.

Once we gave my dad the low-down on what to do for everyone, we hit the road. Princess and Pirate were excited to have someone else to play with them all day. My husband and I were both really surprised to see Trouble standing at the front door crying when we were driving away. I never really think of him getting emotional about stuff like that, but he was really sad that we left.

When we got to the festival, we felt special because my aunt had hooked us up with VIP passes, so we got to go into the VIP tent. We were given gift bags with some awesome cooking supplies from Wegmans. The VIP section was catered, so we could go to the food tables and get anything and not have to wait in line. The wine sampling table also didn't have lines like the tents throughout the other parts of the festival. So, we got free food, free wine samples, free giveaway bags, tables to sit at to eat and drink, and we didn't have to stand in line for food, wine, or the bathrooms. Yes, VIP is the way to go! We also walked around the festival and checked out all the vendors. We were able to sit and talk, eat, drink, and really enjoy ourselves. Is it bad that I didn't miss the kids or call to check in on them? Is it wrong that we were watching other parents chase their kids around and calling them suckers? It doesn't mean that we don't love our kids. We just knew that we get these opportunities very rarely, so we should have fun. For the record, way back when we only had two kids, we did take them to festivals and stuff. I think we even took three kids to a couple events like that. Donkey hasn't been to anything fun, and 5 doesn't stand a chance. Going places for the entire day to something like a festival is just too tough with five kids. And if we have the chance to go alone, we're taking it!

We aren't really wine drinkers, so we just had a few samples. (A beer festival would have been a different story!) Plus, whenever I go somewhere and I can have drinks, it's always in the back of my mind that I have kids at home I'm going to have to take care of when I get back, so I know I can't get all wasted. That would have been fun though! When we got done at the festival, we went to a nearby restaurant and got a little something to eat. Clearly we're more into food than wine! When we got home, the kids were just finishing dinner. Princess and Pirate came running out to the car all excited to see us. Donkey and Trouble were just as excited when we got in the house. It was a nice feeling to be missed. We must have been on a high from being gone all day because we had the genius idea to load everyone up and take them out for ice cream. The kids were very excited, and actually very well behaved! It ended up being a great day all around!