Mom's Night In

Last Saturday, Des had a long overdue night out with the guys... which, of course, left me home "alone" with our five little Cubs.  All things considered, I get out a fair bit  -- work dinners, book club and the occasional Girls Night Out satisfy my need for a break from the constant action in the Lyons Den.  This time it was his turn.  But things were NOT looking good at the beginning of my Mom's Night In.

I was bleeding (due to improper knife technique while making dinner), Liam was sporting a new black & blue egg on his head (due to a wooden block thrown at close proximity by Ciara), Ciara was pouting (due to the time-out she was in thanks to the aforementioned grievance) and the triplets were howling in their highchairs (due to a lack of nap, distaste for dinner or both).  As Des sauntered out the door, I had to muffle the primal scream inside that said "TAKE ME WITH YOU!"  I had to remember that this was his night out, my night in.

I'm quite pleased to report that it actually turned into quite a nice night.  The bleeding, pouting, and howling were relatively short-lived and all seemed well as five little Cubs took a bath, five little Cubs put on their PJs and five little Cubs snuggled into our bed for story time followed by a new episode of the Backyardigans -- my favorite of all the kid shows, so much so that I've been known to remark "but really, the music and choregraphy are great!"  Geez, whatever happened to my so-called life?  The answer, it seems, is not much.

By 8:30, they were all tucked into their cribs and beds while I pondered what might come next.  Hubby's gone, kids are asleep, now what?  A bubble bath? Good book?  Glass of wine?  I'm more prone to tackle "2010: the year in pictures" or "2011: regain control of our spending!"  -- both active items on my "to-do" list.  But, I refrained from these expected or obligatory options and instead did just this:

I heated up a Trader Joe's Mac & Cheese (quite tasty, I'd recommend it!), got a glass of apple cider (I'd had my daily quota of wine at a Christening earlier in the day), grabbed the pile of junk mail that grew over the week and got into bed with the remote control. With my better half out for the night, I was able to easily skip over FoxNews and anything sports related.  I loitered a bit on some reality shows and sitcom reruns until I found what I was looking for:  When Harry Met Sally.  A good reminder of how lucky I am to have found the guy to grow old with -- even if he won't eat mac & cheese in bed while watching cheesy 80s movies.  I think, after all, that's best left for a Mom's night in.  And, in case you don't have one of those on the horizon, well, here's the last few minutes -- the happy ending.  Because every Mom's night in deserves a happy ending.