Date Night with Kids

Since Finley can't be left in the care of a non-health care professional for more than a couple hours, Date Night has become something of a challenge for Gavin and I. Last night, we tried a new concept: We'll put the boys to bed and have Date Night at home. We planned to make fondue and watch The Dark Knight (finally...I think we're the only people who didn't see it in theaters) and just snuggle on the couch and hang out. I even had a cup of coffee to ensure that I'd still be awake for the movie (I'm rarely awake past 10...this was going to be difficult)

We threw the boys in the bathtub at 7:30, read stories, got the last glass of water, snuggled for a little while and came downstairs to set up our fondue and movie! Woo hoo! A little quiet time for Mommy and Daddy! By 8, the movie was in, the fondue was melted and we were set to go!

Here's how it went down:
8:00: Opening credits roll. First apple goes into the cheese. First sip of beer (Gavin) and vodka tonic (Amy)
8:05: Shaw starts crying upstairs. It turns out that he left his favorite dinosaur downstairs. Hit pause.
8:06: Dinosaur Crisis averted. Hit Play.
8:12: Finley starts crying. Crap. We forgot that he was due to eat at 8. Hit pause.
8:25: Finley is fed and is no longer showing any interest in sleep. Bring him downstairs and set him up with toys. Hit Play.
8:45: Finley starts crying and eye-rubbing. Yeah! He's tired! Hit pause.
8:55: Come back downstairs with Finley who is again giggling and playful. Hit play.
9:00: Remember that Finley still needs his breathing treatment. Dang, that thing is loud. Hit pause.
9:05: Breathing treatment completed. Hit play.
9:40: Finley is actually, genuinely tired at this point. Time to snuggle him to sleep! Hit Pause!
9:41: Shaw is awake and crying again. Call Gavin to take Finley on while I get Shaw settled down.
9:50: Finley is asleep and in bed. Shaw is not.
10:00: Shaw is asleep. Finally. Hit the damn Play button.
11:00: Is it time to feed Finley again already? We don't have a bottle ready, do we? $^%&! Hit friggin' Pause. AGAIN.
11:15: Finley is fed. Hit Play.
11:40: How flippin' long is this movie?! I haven't been awake this late in months...maybe years.
12:10: Yeah! We made it through an entire movie! We still have to make bottles for tonight, don't we? Well that was lousy planning on our part.
12:30: Should we end Date Night with a make-out session or get an extra 20 minutes of sleep?
12:31: Zzzzzzzzzz.....

Obviously, Date Night is a work in progress.