Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler Parents? Quick question.

Any ballpark dollar figures for a night out with significant other, including a sitter for Dick and Jane?

Whenever the wife and I go out and leave the kids with a sitter, it usually goes like this:

$100.00 Bill from the Keg
$5.00 per hour for the sitter. Normally hits 4 hours and we give a little more as we always have someone within the family watch the kids.

With misc charges and everything all in, we usually hit $150.00 or so..............but then again, my wife loves the casino. So when we make a pit stop there, that $150.00 has doubled and then some!

Ballpark figure for us would also be about $150 or so. With 15 month old twins and a 5 year old we generally try and get a pair of sitters and also pay around $5/hour for each. (Some nights they also get extra combat pay!) We can also go to extremes depending on the occasion and easily spend $150 on a restaraunt.

Usually about 12.00 an hour for 2 kids. 20.00 for two tix to movies and a drink or popcorn. And anywhere from 25.00 to 75.00 for dinner depending on restaurant. We usually do not go fancy highend. So generally speaking we don't get out much. Just order some take out, get the kids to bed early. Open a bottle of wine, light some candles, put on some nice music and see what develops. Be careful this has been known to lead to higher sitter rates.

You people leave your children with others and engage only adults in conversation and activities?!?!

We've got to try that some time.

Priceless!

The Wife and I discussed the costs incured for a night out back in 1980 when we had three kids:

Buck an hour for a sitter.

$4 each for theater tickets.

$35 to $65 for dinner.

The cost to go out now; with four little ones in '05:

No idea


Going to the theater is now "Take-Out" And it Sounds Great! Thanx to Y'all

OK you guys are scaring me!

It is just four months till the first one is born and already I am thinking... gotta do it now. .. such as

Stay out late
Have many adventures
Spend it while I've got it
Get the sleep now while I can (contradiction I know)
Golf, SCUBA, Party, Vacation, Relax, Be spontaneous. . ..

Did I miss something








STOP SCARING ME!!!!!

Also SUPER excited and really looking forward to being a dad.

OK now I am scaring myself. ARGGGG

Tom, I completely hear you, man. I completely hear you.

sssutherland, congrats! Kids are awesome. And no, you don't have to give up ALL that stuff - just most of it! (A minivan now sits where a convertible once did ) Plus, it's amazing the number of bodily fluids that don't even phase you after a while! Friends without kids just run screaming as you wipe it off on your jeans!! HaHa! (Honestly though, a bed full of puke is still pretty tough to deal with at 3:00am.)

Amie, I have no idea as I am in the same boat as Tom. The kids come everywhere with us. Although I did take her overnight to see MamaMia once. $200 for tickets. $160 for the room. $300 on food. $0.00 to my parents for taking the kids. Curious - are you doing research for possible future plans??