Intentional Couple Time - Part 3: Dates? Real Dates? Together? No kids?

In the last 9 months, though probably much longer, we have gone out just the two of us, once. It's kinda sad, and needs to change. Our relationship as a couple is important, and should go beyond discussing finances, passing out sleeping in the same bed, and raising three little kids together.

We are trying to be more intentional about our time in the evening, but post-bedtime-dates while we are shooing kids back to bed for the first half and talking while in zombie state only goes so far. Our answer? Going out on real, out-of-the-house DATES. Preferably early enough in the evening we are awake enough to converse.

Just... gotta figure out how to do it.

I know we aren't the only couple who struggles with this, so I thought it'd be prudent to write out our process of making it happen. First, we need to figure out WHY we aren't doing it, even though we'd like to.

Why we aren't going out on dates:

• It takes forethought and fore-planning. A lot of forethought. Deciding what we want to do, budgeting for it, planning babysitting. It makes my brain hurt just trying to make it work. Then there is the fact that I keep getting sick and have to change plans so frequently. Making plans seems all the more exhausting as it's not un-likely we will have to change them. 
• Eating out is expensive, and I am not really sure what else to do. 
• Eating out is not only expensive, but basically impossible for me.  There are two places I know I can go, and chipotle ain't romantic.  
• Babysitting? We don't have family nearby, so that means hiring. Honestly, I wouldn't even know who to call to babysit our kids. We aren't in a area now where we know everybody's younger teenage sisters.
• Babysitting? There is exchanging babysitting with friends, but last time we tried that I got sick for a few weeks and couldn't return the favor. I am hesitant to try again.
• It's really hard to budget for them. I know dates aren't about the money, but I honestly don't know what to do without spending quite a bit.
• We're busy, and an evening away from the house means an evening we aren't able to try and keep from drowning in to-dos. 

Great. That was not encouraging. Tomorrow Mark and I are going to go back through our excuses (via e-mail... cause that's how we communicate right now), and figure out how to do them. Somehow. Someway. Someday. Soon.