Family Time

“Mom, come find me?”

The words I hear from my 4.5 year old as I wash the dishes in the kitchen. With a smirk on my face, I place my dish rag down and go on a child hunt. It is pretty easy to spot the little feet sticking out from under the curtains but I play the game and act as though I cannot find her. Delise, my 22 month old, has no trouble pointing out where her sister is hiding and the game is over. Annora comes out and, of course, wants to play again, again, and AGAIN! Trying to switch things up a bit, I excitedly recommend making a “fort!” Not the usual fort, but a “Mommy Table Fort!”

We get out ALL of the big blankets and start sliding the chairs out from under the dining room table. I must admit, our fort is IMPRESSIVE! We have height, space, pillows to sit on, dolls to entertain, etc. The fort is TOP NOTCH to any novice fort builder.

The hustle and bustle of the day begins at 7:00 AM in our household. Father’s Day was no different but Ben was already out the door and in the Ann Arbor, MI area before the girls uttered their first word for the day. I was in the basement working out when I heard:

“Happy Father’s Day to you,

Happy Father’s Day to you,

Happy Father’s Day dear Daddy,

Happy Father’s Day to yyyyoooouuu!!!”

Princess dresses, tiaras, musicals, The Little Mermaid, The Wiggles, Beauty and the Beast, Annie, Build a Bear, Rudy’s Hot Dogs, etc…Daddy can make a little girl’s dreams come true…or close to it!

It isn’t about how extravagant the daddy/Daughter date night is, it is all about the experience and bond that forms because of it.

I can remember the very FIRST daddy/ daughter date night. Annora was 2.5 years old and a HUGE fan of The Wiggles. I dressed her in all red (Simon Wiggle, the red wiggle, was her FAVORITE) and sent her and daddy to Canada to see the show. She had NO IDEA what she was about to do or what to expect. Sure I would have LOVED to go on the date with them, see Annora’s excitement as the crew entered the stage and she saw them live, be there when she met Simon Wiggle outside of his bus, etc.; but the experience she had with her daddy wouldn’t have been the same with me there. Instead, I was able to hear how wonderful the show was through her eyes. She was so excited to share EVERYTHING that happened and the fact that her daddy was there with her is something they have together…their little secret and bond that no one else was a part of. It was a beautiful thing to witness and from that point on, I made it a priority to send them on dates together regularly.

Tonight was a pretty easy evening of getting the kiddos to bed but Annora was extremely tired so she was acting a bit “silly.” Ben and I got slightly frustrated with her (she gets slap happy) which in turn caused us to be on edge with each other a bit. Read more

It’s that FRUSTRATING time for every parent…dinner time! I don’t know about you, but I have a difficult time stopping to just BREATHE at the dinner table. Annora sings at the top of her lungs with all of her heart, Delise throws food on the floor if she doesn’t like what’s being served and Mommy and Daddy just want peace and quiet after a long day! The only “easy” part (and I say that loosely) to mealtime is our prayer. It seems to be the one time where everyone can STOP and just sit for the 1-2 minutes we take to thank God for all He has provided for us.

Can anyone else relate? I am guessing we are not the only family with table time quarrels.

Have you ever read this book? I SERIOUSLY cry…maybe SOB…EVERY.SINGLE.TIME I read this book to the girls. In fact…it takes SUPER MOMMY STRENGTH to actually get through the whole book. I read this book (among MANY) to the girls today and then we went on a wagon ride through the Read more

Whoever said leaving your family for “me” time could be easy…is CLEARLY not being honest!

Oh my, oh my…I am leaving my babies and hubby for 5 days for a trip I earned through being a Beachbody coach. The planning process started about 3 weeks ago and now that the time is here…I am stressing even more. I don’t believe it is so much the fact that I am leaving them for 5 days…but more around the fact that there is more time spent in planning around the kiddos and their day than time actually spent on my own itinerary.

Nap time schedules, meal time, what the kiddos will eat for their meals, who has them while Ben is working, who will take them overnight so that they don’t have to wake up at 5 AM for church, who will take Annora to ballet class, who will babysit Delise while Ben does his Daddy/ daughter date night with Annora, etc., etc…PHEW! My head is spinning just typing it!