date night

Chad and I had a pretty active social life before Bear was born, but for the last five months, we've been laying low. But as he's gotten a little older, I've been making an effort to say "yes" to more invitations, to plan nights out for us away from the house, and to make sure that we get some alone time.

Before our baby was born, I thought I'd be fine with a night here and there when I didn't put him to sleep, or leaving him behind for a few days of vacation. I wouldn't be the parent who couldn't let go, I figured. A little alone time is healthy for all of us.

But you know what I didn't expect?

It's hard.

Not because I feel guilty for leaving him, although there's some of that too.

But because I miss him so much.

Chad and I had two nights out last weekend -- really fun and cool events, and I was thrilled to get to both of them. But no matter how much fun the event is, it's hard to kiss your baby good-bye. It's hard to miss out on putting him to bed, and those last snuggles before he goes to sleep. (It's especially hard to do it two nights in a row.)

I feel strongly that it's ok to take time for yourself as parents, and it was a blast to get my hair done and get dressed up and have a glass of wine and be adults for a few hours. But man... I missed that baby.

On the other hand, a night that ends like this ain't bad:

Yes, that's a homemade chocolate chip cookie. They were our favors at the end of the night, and I brought home three. I was seriously that girl stuffing chocolate chip cookies into my clutch. (Can you really blame me?)

And just because this was such a glamorous evening, I couldn't resist showing you guys the black tie event that we went to. This was an event space in downtown Houston, teeming with flowers and lights for a Mardi Gras-themed benefit for the Children's Museum, a fabulous, eductational, fun spot that Bear and I already love:

What a night. But, you know what?

The best part was getting home.