Big night out

Brent and I went for a night out Sat.
It is truly a feast or famine situation. 46 saturday nights a year, we're sitting in, or a big night at Micky D's.
This saturday... We're invited to my bosses house for a party
It's Ben's open arms swim night at the YMCA
Our neighbors invite us to an all expense paid night at Harrah's..

What the F*

My mom came over to babysit and she was meeting this challenge with a very positive attitude. Well... that didn't last long.
Ben started crying when we left and never recovered until he went to bed. He refused to walk upstairs, and my mother can't carry him... They were both left traumatized. All this in 2.5 hours.
Is the answer.. don't leave him, or leave him more often?
I don't think our babysitters will last too long.

We went to the party, which is a 45 minute drive. Brent is not a drinker, so designated driver is no big deal. I did ask on the way home (we left at 11) if he wanted to stop close to home and get a beer. His answer was "we have a lot to do tomorow (I was cooking passover). We reminised about the times when it DID NOT MATTER what was planned for the next day, we could go out, tear it up, and still get her done.
Then we started thinking how old we were when we did that, and decided that indeed, it was a good idea to go home, get in bed, and rest for the coming day.
Getting old is a bitch!!!