Five Guilty Mommy Pleasures

Last night, I went to the movies.  By myself. At 10:35 PM.  It was probably the single, most relaxing experience I have had in months.  It made me realize that we mommies have to carve out time to indulge ourselves in our guilty pleasures.  And we can sometimes find them in strange places.  With that in mind, I started thinking about the things I like to do, so that next time I can find a little free time, I will know how to use it.

1) Going solo to the movies.  Let's face it.  Watching a movie is really not a social experience anyway. Unless you are, like, fifteen and sitting in the back row, but I am a little past that now.  It is liberating to show up at the theater and get as much popcorn, candy and soda as you wish, without being judged by your companion.  Assuming, of course, you can second-mortgage the house to pay for the stuff.  And then drift into the anonymity of a dark theater.  No pressure to offer your opinions on the previews.  No obligation to glance poignantly at anyone during special moments of a film.  Going to the late show on a Sunday night offers even more solitude. Perhaps even an empty theater if you are lucky.  Then you can watch the movie like it is your own private showing, as if you were Annie or something.

2) Hitting the drive-through on my way home with the kids asleep in the car.  I sit in the driveway and eat in relative peace. Sure, the food is not so great, but when you do not have to catch flying sippy cups, or force feed broccoli, it seems like ambrosia. Now that I can stream Netflix on my phone, I can even catch a movie at the same time.

3) Ikea's Småland (otherwise known as free babysitting for your 37"-54", potty-trained child for 60-90 minutes).  I also try to time this to coincide with The Baby's nap so I can sit in the restaurant with a coffee and a good book, while Little Diva bosses around plays with kids her own size for a while. Show up there while they are having the Kids Eat Free promotion, and you can get a free meal out of it.

4) The extra long shower.  Actually, Sweet Hubby taught me this one.  Apparently, the longer it takes to bathe yourself each day, the longer you can escape from the children and enjoy relative tranquility while your spouse deals with breakfast and arguments over watching Elmo vs. Barbie.  Special tip: the roar of the hair dryer drowns out crying, whining and the Barney song.

5) Grocery shopping alone. Until I had to shop with two kiddos in tow, I never realized that doing shopping by yourself can very refreshing. It is also usually much less expensive when you do not have to pick up the random box of Teddy Grahams and the six pack of Organic Chocolate Milk because of the cute cow on the package. I also actually enjoy being able to keep a running tally of my costs and sort through coupons as I go, and having The Baby within arms reach makes that impossible.

So that is pretty much it. As you can see, my life is filled with thrills and adventure.  I would love to hear how others get their guilty pleasure so I can add it to my arsenal.