Date Night? Hardly.

On Saturday, the kids’ Nana came down and picked them up after Jingle’s basketball game (by the way, have you ever seen 5 year-olds play basketball?  It’s joyful) and whisked them away for the night.  Mr. Mingle and I had all of Saturday afternoon, evening, and a large part of Sunday all to ourselves.  Oh my, oh my – what to do?!?  How about we go to a movie and dinner? No?  Hmm.. how about we get out of town for the night? No? Hmm.. how about we fix up the kids room to move Savvy out of our room and into Jingle’s room?  OKAY!

 Kids Room  - BEFORE

We knew heading into the weekend, that even though the kids were out of town, our time spent would largely be spent on them.  However, we went into the events with gusto and enjoyed the time together even if there was some work involved.  As soon as Nana took the kids we hopped on BART and headed out to the East Bay to meet up with my mom and borrow her (big-ass) truck.  Then Mr. Mingle and I headed another hour east to Antioch where we picked up a used bunk bed that we’d found online for a fraction of the price we’d pay new elsewhere.    We got a loft bed that sat on top of a dresser and desk combo, and an unattached bottom bed  that could go under (in a perpendicular fashion) or be placed elsewhere.  After stopping for a quick snack, we headed back to the City with our new beds, and it was already 7pm by the time we got home.  Fortunately the rain held off until just as we got the things in the door.

We then headed out to Lowe’s for a few hardware pieces, and also to our favorite Indian restaurant for take-out.  If the kids were out, at least we were going to treat ourselves to something they would not eat.  Now… back to Lowe’s.  We have never been there just once.   We always either forget something, or we get the wrong size of something, or we just have no clue of what we need in the first place.  This time around was no exception.  Luckily we brought the sample screws and dowels, so at least we got the right size, but we did not get enough.  Still, we were able to get most of the bed set up last night.

At one point, Mr. Mingle says “Can you imagine if the kids were here while we were doing this?”  And I laughed.  Because I could imagine it, very well.  We would have got a fraction of the tasks accomplished.  Between Jingle wanting to “help” all the time, and asking a billion questions along the way, to Savvy pulling Daddy away to play all the time, we would have been lucky to successfully unload the car, let alone get anything in the bedroom.  Mama would have been frustrated, Daddy would have been frazzled and who knows what that room would look like.  But, they weren’t there, so by late Saturday night we had the new bed set up and the room cleaned out enough to bring at least some of Savvy’s stuff in.   We’re not yet certain of what to do about her dresser.  Some of our plans will need to wait until I’m employed again.

 AFTER (pre-IKEA)

Note all of the animals on the bench in front of the window

Today, we did do one thing that we never ever get to do with children and that is.. sleep in. (what were you thinking??).  Sleep sleep sleep.   I cursed my cat last night who kept waking me up and wanted to shout “What are you doing?? The kids are gone, LET ME SLEEP!!!” But a) she’s a cat and b) she’s like 15 years old and we treat her with the respect she deserves after living through all the changes she’s seen in her life.  But… I did get to sleep in, and she finally agreed to sleep on top of the covers and not below them.

Once we did further clean-up on the room, we made our second trip to Lowe’s for the additional parts, and then drove to pick the kids up.  We had decided to transition Jingle’s toddler bed over to Savvy instead of using the new twin bed that came with the loft so that we only needed to buy one mattress and it didn’t take up as much space in the already crowded room.  Since we still needed one twin mattress, and some new bed linens, we had ‘big plans’ to take the kids to IKEA so they could help pick things out.  Oh my god.  That was the perfect example of why we would not have gotten anything done if they had been home all weekend.   Have you been to the IKEA children’s section with children??   Iwantthis Iwantthis Iwantthis Iwantthis Iwantthis Iwantthis Iwantthis Iwantthis Iwantthis Iwantthis Iwantthis Iwantthis Iwantthis Iwantthis.  Sadly the one thing that we really did want, a new duvet cover for Savvy (so she doesn’t have to have everything hand-me-down),  was sold out.  But, she’s easy.  We got her a big pink pillow instead and told her we’d come back for her princess cover and she was okay.   

One other reason we went to IKEA was because that was where we originally got the todder bed, and needed some replacement hardware.  After getting through the entire store, we learned that you have to go to Returns to see about hardware pieces.  Mr. Mingle stood in the purchase line with the kids and I went to Returns.  I had to pick a number and got ‘46’.  They were currently on ‘18’. Oh hell no.    We will go back to Lowes if we have to, then wait another hour plus with the kids at IKEA!

We get home and sure enough, Jingle wants to help.   Mind you, everyone was also crazy hungry.   And if your last name is Mingle, and you are hungry, that is ‘crazy with a Capital C’.   So, I worked quickly to get dinner on the table while Mr. Mingle did the final hardware installs on the bed railings.  After dinner we all worked to get the new linens on the bed and the kids were excited.  I had placed some of Savvy’s animals out on a bench seat all cutesy-like to show her that it was now her room too, but when we got home she and her brother quickly threw all those animals into a new under-the-bed storage unit we bought from IKEA.  Oh well, out of sight, out of mind.

Since she was now in a big-girl bed, Savvy wanted to read to herself tonight and did not want Mama to read.  She pretty much kicked me out.  Jingle wanted to read to himself too, but he’s at a stage where he is learning to read and wants one of us close by to help with the words.   So, Mr. Mingle helped him through his books and then both kids went to bed.  Jingle fell asleep instantly.  Savvy on the other hand continued to chatter to her animals for a long time. I went in to quiet her down a few times, but by 10:30 she still was not asleep.  In the end, we both decided she might want to go back to her crib tonight.  She is now asleep.

Post IKEA run

Note - no animals on the bench and Savvy is in bed reading to herself on her new pillow.

 

This was not a date night weekend, but it was the most productive weekend we’ve had in ages.  Perhaps since either kid was born.  We may have spent a lot of time driving and working, but it also gave us a chance to just hang out and talk without constant kid interruptions.  And, in some ways, that was just as enjoyable, if not more so, then a dinner and a movie.  And now, ultimately, we will get our room to ourselves again…