Sheer Brilliance

In our house, we have a brilliant system.

The idea really came from my parents, so actually they're the brilliant ones. (Mom, Dad, bask in the glory! This is the reward for all of the rebellious teenage attitudes. You are now the smartest two people on the planet!)

This sytem involves something called "Mom's Night OFF."

Here's how our week day schedule goes:
Monday night - Dad's night off.
Tuesday night - My Mary Kay night, so Danny and Dad hang out, while Mom is out with the girls making mula.
Wednesday night - Date night.
Thursday night - Mom's night off!! (Do you hear the angels singing?)
Friday night - Family night.

(Ok, I should put Dad's Night Off in bold and underline and highlight as well. But WHOSE blog is this, anyway?)

On Mom's Night Off, I get an evening to do, well... Anything I want. No work. No diaper changes. No cooking dinner. (In fact, it's cooked for me.) No crying baby. No baby at all if I need a break. But if I want to cuddle him to my heart's content, I can! Alejandro is totally in charge. He brings Danny to me when he needs to eat and then I am free again. He does the burping, the putting to bed, the getting him up, and all! It's fabulous.

Don't get me wrong. I LOVE my little boy, and I totally love spending my time with him. But I am a much better mom when I get a night off.

This I learned, because when I was a little girl, my parents had a similar rule. After 8 p.m., Mom was off duty and Dad put us to bed. It made for great Daddy-bonding time. He made a total game out of putting us to bed, and some of my favorite childhood memories were of bedtimes with Dad. It also made for a sane, happy, more rested Mom. And it also made for a household that was equally parented.

Dad's night off is equally as fabulous for him. He gets to do nothing but hole up in the garage and do, um... guy stuff - whatever that is - for a night, if he wants. So he gets his much-needed cave-time.

And the cool thing is that if we want to spend our night off with each other, we can. And often, we do. But if we don't want to, it's totally ok. In fact, often times, Alejandro will say, "Are you sure you want to do ______? Don't you want to just relax and get together with a girlfriend?" I love that my husband says this to me!

Now girls, if ya'll decide to implement this brilliant little system in your own homes, there is a catch to it. And that is that the nights that you're off and Dad's on duty and in charge, you have to let him be in charge. I found it difficult at first not to tell him that the diaper was on wrong and would surely leak. (After all, what do I care? He's the one who had to clean it up anyway. He learned just like I did.) ...and it was tough not to tell him exactly how Danny likes to be put to bed. (He figured that out too. And by the way, now Danny can be put to bed by more than just me! And in more than one way.) And when Danny cried, it was hard not to tell him why he was crying (because usually I did know) and let him figure it out. (And he did figure it out, and now knows Danny's cries and coos and noises just about as well as I do.) ...But if you can let go, I promise, it is totally worth it.

So anyway, last night, being my night off, went like this:

I made some phone calls I wanted to make and felt productive, in my pajamas. Alejandro brought Danny to me and I nursed him, in my pajamas. Then we had a delicious Costa Rican dinner, cooked by Alejandro - I was still in my pajamas. Then I blogged to my heart's content. You guessed it - in my pajamas. And finally, early to bed to cuddle with Alejandro, and have a glass of wine.

See how great this is people!?

I'm telling you. You have to try it in your house. I insist.