Pretend parents

A part of our Christmas gift to my sister, bro-in law and Shan's brother and sister in law, was two date nights for each couple, as they very much deserve a fun night out on the town.

We have babysat for our nieces and nephews many times before of course, but we are wanting to do this a lot more often so the parents can get a fun little break.



Yesterday, we got the chance to babysit Samuel and Abigail, my sister's kids:














of course that isn't them, but I'm not going to post a real picture, because my blog is very much public.
As we were getting ready for the day, we decided to take these cute kiddos to Target and Chipotle, two of their fave places (I know, they are awesome, as its some of my favorites too). I joked to my husband that this would be good practice taking them out, as someday, we will hopefully have little babies of our own (no, I ain't preggo). We joked with Sam we would be his pretend parents for the night.

Our afternoon/night went beautifully. My sister's kids are just fab. They are really good, very well behaved kids. Sam who is 7, was very helpful and so sweet with his little sister, Miss Abb. Abby, who is a year and a half was a cut up the whole time, making her Uncle and Aunties laugh and laugh. Both kids were so behaved in the store and at dinner. Sis, if you are reading this, you and Ben are doing a great job, they are doing you proud! At dinner, we were impressed how Abby was so good at feeding herself. Overall, what a fun time.

One thing I learned from our little adventure, it sure as heck isn't the same doing shopping with kiddos!!! DO NOT GET ME WRONG, the kids were marvelous, but I just couldn't take off and do my own thing as I would if I were alone. Also, you can't diddy daddle and take hours, as kids get antsy. I told my sister this, and she laughed and agreed. She basically said as a parent, you can't always leisurely shop as you once could (uh oh for me, as I am the Queen of leisurely shopping) and you need to get in and the show on the road.

I guess bottom line, I better savor my alone time before the kiddos come!!!!

However, I did learn that it is fun as well to shop with kids. Sam was so funny, sneakily leading us to the toy area to point out the desired toys he wants, Abby was super cute helping me pick out lotion. It was cute having the kids point out things they liked and having them be willing participants of their crazy Aunties' photoshoot in target, LOL. My hub had a blast racing the cart up the down the aisles with them (good idea? Hmmm LOL) but the kids had so much fun, so I guess that is what matters!!

Overall, we had a great time being "pretend parents". Thanks Sam and Abby for the super fun time!!