Date-Night Dreamin'

Let me tell you about this hot date my husband and I went on.

It was, um ....

It was, ah .....

.... errrr .....

Okay. It was so long ago I don't even remember. I know: pitiful. You wanna know how pitiful? I was excited for parent-teacher conferences this year (which was in October, mind you, and lasted all of thirty minutes) - because it meant that Curtis and I would actually get to go somewhere without hauling three kids around. No matter if it was Colin's elementary school and we were sitting in tiny chairs with our butts hanging over the edge and our knees up to our chins: it was half an hour of time I didn't have to chase anyone, threaten anyone, or remind someone for the umpteenth time that "things don't go in our noses." Just my man and me (.... well, and the first-grade teacher, but whatever). Tres romantique.

I'm well aware that all the relationship experts stress the importance of reconnecting through the occasional date night. But I don't think they mean once a year. I'm sure many of you can relate, though: first we have to find a babysitter, which can be next to impossible when you have three boys six and under (for some reason, people seem intimidated by this - hmm, think they've read my blog?). Once you find a sitter, you've got to schedule around the sitter's work/school/extracurricular activities, then make sure their free time meshes with yours. And then by the time you set aside the money to adequately pay the sitter for watching three kids, your date-night options are narrowed severely. To, like, dollar-menu-at-McDonalds-and-then-walking-around-Target status.

Date nights might work for some couples, but our money seems to go to boring things like groceries and utility bills and did you seriously just rip those brand-new jeans and outgrow those four-month-old shoes again?


Which is why I'm begging pleading groveling asking y'all for a huge favor.

Our local newspaper is having a "Cutest Couple" contest. And while I'm not sure how "cute" we are, I do think we're pretty deserving. The winners get a whole bunch of awesome stuff: a two-night stay (in a "fantasy suite," ooh-la-la) at a real live hotel, several dinners-for-two, and a free photography session, among other sweet prizes. (Also known as "stuff we'd never be able to have without winning some sort of contest.") Anybody can vote (once a day!), and seeing as it's only the second day of voting and we're already getting our arses handed to us, we need some help.

I'm not gonna lie: they don't make it easy to vote (of course). It's actually kind of a pain, which is why I will be eternally grateful for those of you who brave the voting process and give us a fighting chance for an actual date.

Anyway, if you're still with me (thanks), here's what you've got to do: find the photo of Curtis and me in the right-hand sidebar of the blog (the one that says "Vote for Me!" above it), then click the "Curtis and Rita" link right beneath the picture. It'll take you to the site, where you can vote. Every day if you want to! (Hey, if you take the time to do it once, you may as well do it again ... right?)

You could also click right here and it'll take you to the page; select "Vote," then "View Gallery"; we're on page 9.

So help a sista out, will ya? I could seriously use some quality time with the baby-daddy before our chaotic three-boy household becomes a massively chaotic four-boy household (and our chances for a date diminish even further). I will love you forever. And vote relentlessly for you in the contest of your choice if given the opportunity. I'm desperately in need of a fantasy suite in my life that's, well, more than just a fantasy.

Thanks a bazillion, y'all!