Spend time with my husband

but I think we’ve gotten the hang of this again.

We’ve got 4 non grandma babysitters, at least 2 of whom I think Q has a crush on, and all of whom I trust. I’m starting to feel like we aren’t trapped anymore.

We managed to cram the reluctant children into bed, from where they only interrupted the first 15 minutes of our dinner, and then fell silent. Had a nice dinner of take out food, then watched ‘Superbad’ which I was really unsure of, but since I love Michael Cera, I was willing to take a risk on. (Verdict: a real version of American Pie, emphasizing the bonds of friendship and coming of age, really a nice movie and terribly funny in bits, but with some typical teen cheesy stuff.) Then we sat and chatted till nearly midnight when I couldn’t keep my eyes open anymore. A really really lovely evening.

Today was a little harsh though. I had a writing morning (ie my mil takes the kids so I can write) but I was distracted and unproductive (approx 800 words) due to simply feeling sick. I’m still not sure what’s up with my body, and I’m mostly grateful that I made it through the rest of the day (thank you Thomas the Tank Engine!). I’ve really limited what I’ve eaten to stable non-risky foods (applesauce, toast, toasted cheese and only one piece of chocolate that I just ate since I felt suddenly indulgent). Hoping I’m not getting J’s onstage wife’s bug. It’ll be hard not to be pissed off at him.

no nausea etc in our household.

fingers crossed. I’d like a puke-free Valentine’s Day.

J’s 2nd play was this weekend. I saw 3 of the 4 shows- the final one was for today and was cancelled due to his costar developing a horrible virus.

Guess who’s been kissing her on stage?

I’ve got a da—ate.
I’ve got a da—ate.

I was ridiculously pleased when I realized that my mil is coming to babysit tomorrow night.

I haven’t the slightest idea what we’re going to do. But I’m pleased as punch about it.

We’re working out a schedule of work and babysitters and off time that will hopefully allow us to see more of each other through the next few weeks of intense rehearsals (starting Friday). We’re going to pay for child care on Mondays so J can work after rehearsals, and he’ll be off by 6, so I’ll see him. More importantly, he’s taking Saturdays off, so, outside of rehearsals (10:20 till early afternoon), I will see him. We can even go on dates. My eyes are tearing up.

We went on two dates this past week. Once out for dinner and attempted a bookstore, but we were so late in leaving, and since it was a Sunday, the place closed about 15 minutes after we got there. I grabbed the two closest books and used my gift card. Hopefully we’ll get back there soon.

Last night we went to see ‘Juno’. This is a FABULOUS film. So many layers, and such good acting that you forget that these people are actors. An incredibly real story. So now we actually have something to talk about. _{other than the kids} I’d forgotten that was an important role movies play in people’s lives.

The lack of sleep in the household meant that when we arrived in MA, all the adults could fantasize about was getting more sleep. Which the screaming baby tried to prevent.

The next day we managed to get a little time together, ate lunch, bought groceries at Trader Joes. But I’m still grumpy we missed out on a whole lovely afternoon we could’ve had.

I was hoping that when my parents were here we might take advantage of them to sneak in some couple time. I’m not going to count on it. If they do make it here, I’ll aim at recovering from sleep deprivation.

Had a fabulous time. Went on a date with J, leaving the kids in the capable hands of my mil. _{(Who was impressed by how fast they fell asleep. Too bad it’s 4:40 and I’ve been up for an hour trying to gently persuade N to go back to sleep.)} We managed to fit in dinner (ok food, nothing fabulous), a play (great acting, some bad directing choices which was good because it gave J something to rail against), and dessert after. We got back after midnight (sorry!) and I’m seriously screwed up on sleep now, but hopefully I’ll catch up tomorrow night.

It felt amazingly good to have unhurried time together.

Christmas shopped with J after work yesterday. Not a lot of time to do it, but it was fun to be with him. And I was happy that our opinions of presents for the kids was similar.

After we picked up the kids, we hit a pizza place with a serious model train set up. We’ve been there before, so we knew it would make Q happy and keep him busy. We got decent food and the opportunity to chat a bit. Was really nice to be together as a family.

Friday night we’re going to a play! Hopefully dinner first too- or else our stomachs will rumble all night. Mil will take over kid duty at 5, I have 30 minutes to shower and primp, then race over to pick up J. I might even wear make up. You never know…and I’m scheduled for a make up tutorial tomorrow night. (I’m bartering general computer knowledge for make up assistance. Amuses the heck out of me.)

Last night was my mil’s choir concert. We get a babysitter for these, since she’s our normal babysitter, so it’s a big deal and we try to plan ahead for months to make sure we can book the teenager we know. (our only non-related, non-friend-taking-pity-on-us babysitter.)

The concert was over about 9:30, and since my mil had assumed we couldn’t make the after party, we went ahead and the two of us went to a diner, had hot chocolate, lousy cake (seriously I don’t know why we ate it. we should have complained) and chatted. It was just really nice.

_{Sadly, I didn’t get home from dropping off the babysitter till 11:30, and the kids were up off and on all freaking night long. I need to get to bed earlier.}

More nights like that would be really sweet.

I realized this afternoon that J forgot (or the manager forgot) to get Friday off for the play at Yale. I’m resisting swearing and I hope he’s got it under control. I’m really counting on that being a true date: dinner, play, dressed up and flirting.