It’s the end of August and for me, it means two things…the end of maternity leave and the beginning of my tenth year in education. This year I’m in a new position in a new district. Long story short, I had an opportunity to jump to my dream job and I leapt! It seems like we just couldn’t make it through this year without changing everything. With all of the changes in our lives, date nights have become even more important, even if they look a little different right now.
The last few weeks have been a whirlwind of new teacher orientation, trainings, setting up two classrooms, and meeting new colleagues and families at two campuses. Even though my schedule has been crazy, I feel more invigorated and excited about this year than I have felt in the past few years.
Meanwhile the baby has started teething and we all know what a party that is… The exhaustion is real, y’all. Thus, I bring you what’s saving my life right now…our favorite at home date night!
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My Willow Breastpump
A breast pump? This is the first thing I’m going to share in a post about date nights? Yep! Since we are in the middle of second-new-parenthood, my before-bed pump has become part of our at-home date night routine. Not only has this pump made at-home date nights a lot easier, it has completely changed the way I view pumping at work and on the go when needed.
I didn’t pump at work last time around so I’m a complete newbie this time. I’m lucky that this year I was able to create my own schedule at work and build in pump breaks but I seriously don’t think I could actually do it if I had to use the big pump I have at home. The Willow wearable pump has been a lifesaver this week. I’ve been able to pump discreetly while setting up my room, and even in a few meetings!
TV Dates at Home
My husband and I both have pretty busy, sometimes stressful jobs so taking time together has always been important to us. Before we had kids our at home date nights consisted of playing board games after dinner but recently we don’t even have the brain power for that.
By the time both girls are in bed, we are ready to crash on the couch and enter a world that isn’t full of diapers and incessant “whys.” Usually this means binge watching a show we’ve seen a thousand times. Right now we’re working our way through “House.” We’ve also enjoyed “Bones” and “Alias”.
If we really want to kick our binge watching up a notch, we do it with…
Fresh Baked Chocolate Chip Cookies
I have been known to get a craving for chocolate chip cookies at 9 PM. Usually, no matter the time when that craving hits, I act upon it. This happens more often than you might think. Look, I won’t judge you if you don’t judge me. I mean it’s cookies…
Recently we’ve even taken our date night cookies up a notch. A few months ago we purchased two of these small cast iron skillets (do you see where I’m headed?). My wonderful husband discovered that 6 break-n-bake cookies will fit perfectly. Smush them together and bake until just set in the center and you’ve got a pizookie! We add a scoop of ice cream on top for the perfect shareable date night snack. Immaculate Baking Company has a great gluten free break-n-bake cookie dough, or I make this recipe ahead of time, keep it in the fridge and scoop as we need it.
Add all three of these together and you’ve got our typical at home date night. Will we get the energy to enjoy an actual date night again? Yes, absolutely! Once the girls are older and covid is under control… Until then, this will do. It’s the time and company that matter anyway.
What’s saving your life right now?
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