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I am fortunate enough to belong to a group of women who have started making ‘Mommies’ Night Out’ (aka MNO) a monthly ritual. Last night was our 3rd or 4th time to get together and it was an incredible night!!

Our girl night consists of eating out at a restaurant that DOESN’T have an indoor playground, splurging on desserts, and enjoying conversation with other adults without the constant interruption of peas flying, juice cups crashing to the floor, and potty-training toddlers needing to go the restroom every 30 seconds.

At last night’s MNO, one of our Mommies (my wonderful sis-in-law) provided us conversation-starter questions that we wound up answering for most of the evening. Some were thought-provoking, some were funny, some were practical, and some of them made us squirm before answering. It was a GREAT way for us all to get to know one another on a more intimate level than before, allow some of us newer mommies to glean from some of the more experienced ones, and at the same time, it made room for ‘newcomers’ and old friends alike to learn more about eachother. (*See below for the great list of questions that Tiffany came up with for us. At times we didn’t like her very much for asking the questions, but in the end we all were grateful for the questions and the discussions they started.)

Even though we ALWAYS seem to wind up shutting the place down at the end of our lady night (we’ve even had waiters putting up tables and chairs and mopping around us), last night seemed to be even more special. I love the way that some relationships that were started, some established and others deepened last night and I think we all walked away wishing we could do a MNO once a week and not just once a month.

All I know is that I am grateful for the group of women friends that are in my life to help me keep my balance as I journey along this unknown road of parenthood. They keep me sane, help me to laugh at myself, teach me how to be a better mom (by example and direct instruction), give me practical advice (“You get what you get, and you don’t throw a fit”), and just generally make me feel like I’m not alone on the journey. So my deepest appreciation goes out to those 10 women from last night for their honesty, vulnerability, advice (can’t wait to try the ‘whining room’ idea) and concern, and to the countless others that have stood by me along the way.

Call it hormones if you’d like, but I think I’m in love!

**Here’s the list of questions Tiffany came up with for our lady’s night out. Enjoy!
1. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be and why?
2. If you could change one thing to make your life or daily routine easier, what would it be?
3. Spank or Time-Out?
4. At what age did you potty train, and what method did you use, or do you plan to use if you haven’t potty trained yet?
5. What is your daily routine in detail?
6. If someone were to stop by unannounced at 8 am, what would you be doing? How about noon?
7. What has been your toughest obstacle to overcome as a mother?
8. Has your child done anything in public that made you want to crawl under a rock? What was it?
9. Public, private, or home school?
10. What is your biggest accomplishment in life so far as a mommy?
11. If you had to do it over, is there anything you would change about the way you have raised your children so far?