After a fab catch up with some lovely ladies this week, I’m evaluating the pros and cons of mummy going out out. Never has it taken so much organising to get a bunch of girls together but it’s definitely worth the effort. Here’s my list if you’re considering embarking on the military operation that is coordinating multiple busy calendars and arranging a mum meet up.
Pros:
- For one night I can be Amanda and not ‘Mummy’. Sometimes she gets a bit lost and so it’s nice to let her out once in a while.
- Mummy going out out doesn’t begin until about 9:30 so there is plenty of time to get little ones safely tucked up in bed.
- Everyone needs a night every so often to reconnect with friends. It may take months of back and forth planning but finally you get a date, location and time everyone can make and you just need to lock it down. It may mean you need to cram two months of gossip from 5 different people into a few hours but hey we’ll all just have to talk fast. Out out also means a chance to have fun with those elusive friends without children.
- Who doesn’t love to get dressed up. Generally, I don’t do make up so it’s fun to slip on the slap, and pop on some ankle aching heels.
- As nights out are such a rare occurance, I’ll happily work my way through the over priced cocktails menu and not give a damn. £7 for a drink…sure I’ll have three!
Cons:
- Attempting to squeeze what used to be a three hour prep session into 15 minutes. Gone are the days of leisurely choosing outfits, painting nails and spending about an hour in the shower. Those 15 minutes are also spread over an afternoon as you are constantly interrupted.
- Feeling old when you’re tired before you even arrive and worse when you see the young folk arriving as you leave. Surely I never went out that late.
- Pretending that just because you’ve gone out out that the early morning wake up call won’t happen.
- Trying to function on a hangover. Maybe mixing the wine, creamy cocktail and cider wasn’t such a good plan. I’m just so out of practise. “Maybe we should let Mummy rest” said no toddler ever.
- Finally…this is the killer. Not actually being able to take off the Mummy hat. However hard you try, you know in the back of your mind that if something were to happen, you’d need to be there. Once we have our little darlings, there is no off switch…not that I’d want one.
What’s the best and worth part about having an evening out as a parent? Share yours in the comments below.
You’ve listed the pros and cons perfectly. 9.30 is about the time I’m ready to come home though
Kudos to you for managing late nights!
Only now my girls sleep through. I wouldn’t have even considered if they were still getting up in the night.
I manage a meal out with a friend about once a month, but my days of going out out are behind me now! it’s so important to have time kid free, let your hair down and to be ‘you’ 🙂
Good for you. I should try and meet friends more often. Sometimes months go by and I don’t know how.
The mum guilt is a killer 🙁 wondering if the kids are ok, wondering if you should phone and check, wondering if it is time for bed yet…zzz… #blogstravaganza
I feel lucky that my pair go off easily now and so don’t even know I’m gone. I’ve got friends who would have to leave sobbing children. That must be so hard.
When we go out I always say to my other half ‘I don’t know about going out, I’m knackered!’ Thanks so much for sharing with #Blogstravaganza xx
Sometimes the idea of it is more fun than the actual reality lol
It’s so important to take time out to be ‘you’. I’m not very good at that but I am trying to get more dates in my diary with friends. Like you though, I never manage to fully remove my mind from little ones at home! Thank you for sharing with #Blogstravaganza
Think I need to book my friends in about a month in advance then maybe I’d see them more
#PostsFromThe Heart Oh wow I so concur with all of this!
Thanks for stopping by
I am totally with you on feeling tired before you even go out. Going out almost seems like a chore now lol.
#TriumphantTales
Once I’ve finally booked in a date, I try and forget about it as it all just seems so tiring. Love it when I’m out but it’s the bit before and after that’s the killer.
The hangover definitely puts me off going ‘out’ out these days. I just don’t know how people manage it! I also find getting ready impossible unless I have somebody else there to entertain my little one. #humpdaylinky
Luckily this time, Daddy was home and so i could disappear upstairs and chuck some make up on and faff with my hair.
I don’t work out of the house so I hate it when hub comes home and doesn’t want to go out! I love getting out to do ANYTHING. Even with the kids! #Humpdaylinky
We are so desperate the get out and they just want to stay in…don’t they know they’ll enjoy it when they are out!
A night out is certainly a rarity! But I like the thinking of not minding ordering expensive drinks because it is such a rare occasion.
Got to treat myself when the opportunity arises. It might be another six months before I have the chance to peruse a cocktail menu!
#humpdaylinky
After more than 18 years of mummy night outs I wouldn’t change a thing. They are an opportunity to be you the individual not the mum. They have renewed my sanity on many an occasion and despite struggling through many a morning after the night before they were always worth it. #PostsFromTheHeart
Absolutely. You just have to forget about the morning for a while.
The chance to feel attractive again…what a miracle a pair of heels can work! But I hear you on the hangover and early start, it almost makes you seriously consider whether you need that night out (answer is always yes, yes you do – it’s worth it!).
#postsfromtheheart
I agree…the chance for a night out doesn’t come along very often so you have to grab it when it does.
Yesterday we went to a wedding – all day long. Little Man stayed with Nannie & Grandad all day and night and I still didn’t switch off. Until I knew he was asleep in bed and then I relaxed a little bit. I was shattered by 9pm but carried on going until midnight but today I am SO tired. I just can’t do it like I used to. Thankfully I remembered to drink LOTS of water throughout the day and before bedtime. Today could have been a whole lot worse! Thanks so much for linking up to #TriumphantTales – hope to see you again on Tuesday!
I drink loads of water to minimise the after effects.You know how bad it could be and its just not worth it.
Just like you, i can never truly take off the Mummy hat !!! But I can slip it to one side and Conga like it’s 1989 ??????
They have no fear…snakes, spiders and bees. They love them all.
Yes, this sums it up perfectly! I went to a party Friday before last and couldn’t stop worrying about LO. It’s amazing how fast you learn to get ready once you have children! #PostsFromTheHeart
Speed dressing should be an Olympic sport
The killer for me is always the hangover. I literally cannot function the next day with all four of them screaming and crying and clambering all over me, it puts me right off the drink! #postsfromtheheart
If I stick to one drink, I’m usually pretty lucky and avoid much more than a headache.
This is a great post. I had my first alcoholic drink since 2012 last week – was a revelation!! lol 🙂 This Mum doesn’t get out very often clearly! #HumpDayLinky
What was your poison of choice?