Date Night (or lack thereof)

People are always telling me that I should get a babysitter and go out on a date with Mark, just the two of us.

While I like the idea of getting some time to just hang out with Mark, is it wrong that I would actually rather just hang out with Annelise? I work all day, come home, and sometimes she's sleeping, or I'm exhausted and just want to chill. So sometimes I only get to see her for a few hours a day. I like getting to hang out with my daughter. She needs more time with me! I get jealous that Mark gets to hang out with her all day, even though I know that can be extremely tiring, too. So yeah, I like my daughter and watching her grow. (I also secretly get paranoid that she won't know me as well if I don't spend the maximum amount of time possible with her...)

On the other hand, I do miss the times when Mark and I were completely able to do anything we wanted, without having to worry about Annelise. We can't just head out to Target to check out the videos on sale, or a game store to see if there are any new games we'd like to get. Or just driving out to Denny's or Panera or Jason's Deli... We're not fancy folks. But now we have to plan every outing to anywhere based on Annelise's schedule. No impulse trips anymore. One of us usually ends up going out to get food, order it in, or (gasp!) make something at home, and we just watch movies and play with Annelise at home.

But I'm not complaining, just stating how things are. This is our life as a family, and it's pretty great. :)