It gets better as the kids get older.
My kids are of an age now when they can stay at home alone for a while, and they have their own interests (the youngest is 9) so I can have more social life now. I get together with friends for lunch, have poker night, go to a book club, etc. I think parents do a huge disservice to their kids by making everything in life about the kids. Kids need to learn a more balanced approach, and that they are not the center of the universe.