Social Life Dilemma

I have all but realized that it is almost impossible for the parents of young children to have an active social life. The Husband and I find it increasingly hard to find a way for us to go out together (as in a couple) like adults without having to take out a second mortgage on the house.

I was an avid babysitter back in the day. I was always the person in my house with the disposable income because of this. It wasn't unusual for even my parents to ask to "borrow" some of my hard earned cash. I loved the freedom of making my own money and thought at many times like I was the richest 12-16 year old in the world. Had I known that the babysitting rate would skyrocket in the next decade, I would have seriously considered babysitting as a profession. I only made $3 an hour...I think I was robbed.

Nowadays, in order for The Husband and I to get some alone time out in the world, it costs us $10 a hour for someone to come and take care of the kiddos. And, I am not sure if that number goes up when you have more than one child. We haven't yet trusted The Girl to be watched by those outside of family and daycare. This means that if we stick with the current rate, to go out to just a movie (which we haven't done in a year), it would cost us at least $40. Throw dinner in there and we are talking $80. Ouch. So painful to the wallet.

Now that we are closer to some family, we are able to ask for some help in this arena. Unfortunately, it often feels like (to me at least) we only ask for relatives to come visit when we need a babysitter. Mom guilt kicking in I guess. I know of friends whose social lives haven't at all been affected by parenthood. Please share with me how you got so lucky.