Our PB&J Adventure Book

Date Night!

A dinner for two, a night on the town... or a childless Target run. Today's post is all about DATE NIGHT!

Date Night Definition

With Valentines Day just passing us, it got me thinking about all the new ways we celebrate "romance" now as parents. Spoiler alert: It's definitely different than back when we were two young college kids, but the amount of love still remains.

Then: Back in 2008 during our first Valentine's together.

Now: 2020, 12 years later, still my forever Valentine.

Before and After

Pre-Ben PB&J had all sorts of date nights from fancy dinners for two to nights out on the town. Post Ben PB&J have had to adjust our nights out to more family friendly times or be flexible for when the grandparents can come over. While we may not have date nights like we used to, there's still much fun to be had in this post baby Ben/Parenthood date night life!

Pre-Parenthood PB&J date style. 😂

So many couple say that it's important to take time as a couple to still "date" each other and find ways to connect. After some reflection, here's what I found works for us as a couple!

Here's a few types of "date nights" we've managed to pull off since becoming parents:

Movie Night!

This was one that we used to do a lot, especially by attending later night screenings. Now we have to adjust to earlier evening matinees to be home in time for Ben's good night, but a movie is still movie and a great way to escape the responsibilities of parenthood for two or so hours!

Dinners at Home

While this may not seem like a typical "date night" for us it totally works! Once in a while Ben will visit with his grandma and grandpa nearby and stay until after dinner, which in turn frees up that evening time for me and PB. He'll pick up a meal on the way home and have an hour or so to just eat a meal together without all the distractions that comes with Ben around, plus get to catch up on our day together.

Fancy Nights

Every once in a while we'll have a reason to get dressed up and be fancy. PB's work parties, friend's birthdays, holiday stuff, weddings, special events, etc. While these may seem like obligatory events, they're actually fun date nights for us since we get to get dressed up and celebrate a fun occasion

One Off Adventures 

While this one is one of the more rare types of PB&J date nights, we welcome them. It's the "one off" type of date. A special concert, an invite to an event or more recently, a friends and family screening at Pixar!

Our recent "Pixar" date night!

Childless Target Runs

This may be our most common "date night". Getting to have a few hours to run errands together, grab a boba milk tea, and just do normal things together as a duo is more than enough for us. It may seem simplistic, but it's "us".

Romance, Redefined

As you can see our definition of "date night" is far from some grand, romantic adventure but in the little ways PB and I can connect together in these new times of parenthood. The bottom line is knowing that we don't need the most exciting, big or romantic things to make our version of date nights work. The love is always there in whatever we do, whether a movie on the couch or a Target run. As long as we still find the joy with being with each other it works! 💜