We recently reached a significant milestone. RR had a playdate. It’s not surprising that it hasn’t happened until now. She hasn’t been a play-wither, just a play-nearer. She also sleeps all afternoon on weekends which doesn’t leave a lot of time for hanging out with friends. And frankly, I sometimes just want to stay in my house with my family.
But RR’s friend Jane has a little brother due in a few weeks and so we offered to take her for a couple of hours. Our intentions were really just to give her mom a break but it turned out that there are hidden benefits to playdates! We kept the girls a couple weekends ago and then on Sunday we dropped RR off at Jane’s house for two full hours of uninterrupted time alone. Had I known this mutual babysitting would happen I’d have started having kids over long ago!
I admit, I was worried she’d be a disaster at her friend’s house. Much like Jane’s mom was worried she’d be a disaster at our house. We’re playdate novices, you can tell. As it turned out, Jane has plenty of exciting toys and RR reportedly behaved well. I’ll bet she behaved well, our house is apparently a toy desert compared to other houses.
And what, you ask, did Debra and I do with our two delightful child-free hours? We had a delicious brunch at a place primarily known for its expansive whiskey selection. I’m not sure why they aren’t known for their ham biscuits though. Tell you what, bring your kids here, we’ll go in on some sort of professional sitter and we’ll ditch the kids and have absolutely delicious biscuits and gravy, grits and pancakes, ham and coffee. Hell, cut loose, have a bloody mary.
And then we went grocery shopping. Sure, there are all sorts of fun things we could have done but shopping with RR is still not for the weak of heart (yes, I know that was in 2011. no, she is still that same kid.). Next time we’re staying home, if you know what I mean. Or at least eating some more cornbread and apple butter with our coffee.
Filed under: Fourth Year | Tagged: babies like links right?, best baby ever, everyone else, M/D |
Counting Chickens 
Love the playdate. Love the sleepover even more. When you have just one child, when they have a sleepover means you get a date night AND the next morning.
Now THAT’S a silver lining.
Truth: play dates can make you sane. Just when you can’t handle one more request for A) play with me with this mini little lego and build something that is totally not in your wheelhouse, please, mama? B) I’ve read all the books, C) any other moment that occurs after too many hours with the same people, a play date shows up and saves the day–everyone is entertained, there is lots of new to talk about at dinner, etc. Hooray for RR being old enough to have them now!
It’s like a whole new world. Amazing.
Said brunch place is fab. I forgive you for not texting so I could come down to meet you. It goes with http://redrowfarm.com/ and what you really want is an invite down to the farm for brunch. Or, at least, that’s what I want.
A) I did not know that and now I want an invite too. And B) you would not have wanted to hear us tell each other about our favorite relationship moments. That sounds like a lot less fun than it actually was. Anyway, next time we’ll TOTALLY call you.
[…] My wife wrote about RR’s recently play date. What she failed to mention, though, is where the play date took place made our house look like prison. We dropped RR off at Jane’s house, where, as soon as we walked in, there was an entire room gated off and covered in primary colored cushiony alphabet letter flooring, with wall-to-wall toys and bookcases full of FUN. A tent, a tunnel, a battery-powered thing that played songs and used air to pop up little plastic balls. Behold, the play room. […]