Last night, my husband and I had the opportunity to have a 'date night.' I can't remember the last time we had a chance to go out without the big kids tagging along. Their grandmother took them to a party at our local library, leaving Baby C with us for whatever type of outing we chose to have. We talked about going out for dinner, where we might go, and which places would be best suited for a toddler to join us. Ah, date night... the very idea of it almost sounded too good to be true.

When I got to thinking about going out, I remembered that we really needed to purchase the utility sink we'd been eyeing for some time. We're adding it to our laundry/mudroom, which is being tiled this weekend. We mostly need it because our kitchen sink is ripped out (a gorgeous new one is sitting prettily in our garage), and we need to have access to a sink other than our bathroom sinks (which are also soon to be replaced by new ones). We're still doing construction in the house, and while we are extremely close to moving in, we still won't have a fully functional kitchen for a little while. The utility sink will be a true need for us- at least for a couple of months, while our kitchen s reconstructed and put together.

So, we kissed the big kids goodbye on Friday night, loaded the babe in her car seat, and headed down the road to Costco. The forty-minute drive gave us a chance to talk, which was wonderful. Baby C fell asleep, so we had an uninterrupted conversation, which almost never happens anymore. We chatted about the kids (of course), work, summer schedules, upcoming trips, and vacations, and worked through some details we needed to talk about for our house.

When we got to Costco, instead of the usual corraling of kids, yelling at them to stop touching everything, reminding them to stay with us, asking Bean not to dance and twirl in the middle of a busy shopping cart intersection, and uttering the phrase 'If you ask me for ONE MORE THING...,' we meandered through the store. Instead of the kids asking 'Can we have this?' we fell into a rhythm of singsong... 'Oh, we totally need one of these!' 

We perused new washers and dryers, dreamed up ideas for our unique patio space and untouched backyard, and yes, we got the utility sink. We grabbed some non-perishable grocery items, decided I would have to make another trip next week for perishables, and called it a night. We could have gone out to dinner from there, but it was time for Baby C to eat, and loading the car, finding someplace else to eat, waiting in line for a table, etc., just seemed like more trouble than it was worth. So, we headed to the $1.99/slice pizza window and ate a quick and easy dinner at Costco for less than $10.00. Look, it's not my favorite. Sacha thinks Costco lunch or dinner is the jam, and so do our kids. They see signs for pizza and hotdogs and all I see in my head is a night filled with indigestion and regret, but I digress.

We ate, loaded the car, headed home, and still had time to watch an episode of Bluey with Baby C before getting her settled into bed for the night. It's the best date night I can remember having in a very long time, and I'm grateful that last night's date night was a trip to Costco and more.

What did your last date night look like?