I’m forever blogging about my whirlwind romance with Craig. In just under three years together we’ll have notched up an impressive three pregnancies, (sadly only) two children and three house moves. To say that we live an unconventional life is an understatement.

For those who are unaware of our story, I can condense the entire thing into a couple of paragraphs.

We met back in 2000 in a pub (I wasn’t quite 18 yet but moving swiftly on…). Craig is 12 years older and I wasn’t for one second thinking we would up in a hospital delivery room together. I knew he quite fancied me but I was young, dare-I-say-it pretty and very ambitious. We were friends though and my group of girly friends had a few nights out on the town with his group of slightly greying ones.

At 19 I headed off to university in Chichester and lost touch with friends back in Reading. From there, I moved to London where I spent several years donning suits, working too hard and getting obliterated in bars. It was sometimes fun but often lonely and I made the decision to return to Reading in 2010. Just 5 months later I met up with Craig following a quick “how are you?” exchange on Facebook. He came over to my flat, cooked me a meal that must have seriously impressed me as we had a cheeky kiss.

Just two months later we were buying ovulation sticks, having tests for PCOS, and talking babies. One more month and I was carrying Dexter and beginning this blog. The rest, the miscarriage, my pregnancy with Mini Madam and all those horrid house moves followed in quick succession. And now, we’re planning a wedding.

Reading Festival 2011 - note the randoms in the background…

Despite cramming loads of life-changing experiences into our relationship, the one thing we haven’t really done is date. Before I got pregnant with Dexter we went to Reading Festival. But this, along with a few meals here and there, has been the sum total of ‘couple time’ we’ve had. Having been pregnant for the majority of our relationship so far, any dates we have squeezed in haven’t been the frivolous care-free kind that most couples will have to reflect upon.

But this is set to change.

As soon as Mini Madam is old enough to stay with grandparents overnight, we’ll be putting aside regular time for each other. That time will be spent ignoring the fact we have bills to pay and trying to forget that week’s parenting dilemma.

We’ve created a sort of bucket list of dream dates we want to crack on with before we say ‘I do’. This is pretty eclectic with things that are eye-wateringly expensive, to things that are free; things that we’ll do together by ourselves, and things we’ll invite our friends along to… a real mixed bag. Among the things to get excited about will be music concerts, spa days, rugby matches, going track-side at the F1, sky-diving, theme parks… all designed to whisk us away from our babies for a few precious hours.

The first one we’ve got our eye on is horse-racing. Both of us have been tons of times with friends and family, but never together. Although I’m more likely than Craig to spend big on the horses, it will be so nice to get dressed up and enjoy a few drinks in the sun. There aren’t many racecourses I haven’t been to - I used to live within walking distance of Goodwood, Newbury was our nearest course when I was growing up, we’ve both been to Ascot, Newcastle, Epsom, and Aintree on various hen/stag weekends … but Kempton Park is one neither of us have been to.

Kempton has some big meets over the next few months too with April, August and September looking to be particularly busy. We’ll probably aim to stay overnight somewhere so we can take advantage of some of the evening entertainment and Craig can have a cheeky beer. With adult tickets starting from £24 (early bird rates) and dinner packages from £85pp, it’s not a hugely expensive day out (before you factor in your bet money of course). For a full day of entertainment, it’s actually pretty good value.

In September there’s even a feature day with Dizzee Rascal taking to the stage in the evening. He wouldn’t necessarily be our top pick of acts to watch but I’m sure we can manage a bit of mum and dad dancing with the younger set after a few jugs of Pimms!

With quality hotels nearby such as the pretty Carlton Mitre, Harrisons and dozens of Heathrow hotels a short taxi ride away there’s also plenty of places to stopover and make a weekend of it whilst the kids are having fun with Nanny and Grandad.

So that will be our first date night together without our babies. Did you plan days out like this when you were nearing the end of your pregnancy?

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