“I booked your mom this evening!” “Um, for a date night?” I replied. “Eeeeekkkkk!!!!” I was dressed with my hair in a bun, no makeup on, I was working on getting the laundry done, I had on an outfit that looked straight out of the 80’s and TIME WAS TICKING! […]
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.
I am one of those mommy’s that gets family pictures done ALL.THE.TIME. Every 6 months or so I am scheduling the good ole family photos because right now in this stage of life, our girls are sprouting like weeds, changing before our eyes, and quite frankly I don’t want to miss any of it. I would say I am a bit extreme when it comes to putting the good old smile to the test.
I remember the day we brought our firstborn daughter home from the hospital. She was perfect, GORGEOUS, and sweet as pie. She had the tiniest fingers and toes and made the cutest sounds when she slept. When we got home, we set her carefully on our big, brown oversized couch and stared with awe, wonder, and FRIGHT! Ben and I looked at each other and we could tell what the other was thinking…NOW WHAT?!?
Researching what options Ben and I have as far as Annora’s schooling goes is darn INTIMIDATING! There is homeschooling, private school, charter school, good ole fashioned public school, private tutors, Montessori, yada, yada, yada! Honestly, the list goes on…
Last year I found myself frantically struggling to figure out the BEST option for her. She has a heart of GOLD, gets easily intimidated by others, has a hard time with mathematical concepts, LOVES people and making new friends, can’t get enough books, and LOVES singing and acting out musicals.
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. […]
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.
Toddler obstacle courses??? YES PLEASE!!!
If it weren’t socially awkward to run my way through a toddler obstacle course, I would have done so yesterday! My girls had SOOO MUCH FUN interacting with other kids and joining in on the festivities of make-believe car washes, bean bag tosses, dancing, puppet shows, bubbles and obstacle courses! Our 45 minutes was jam-packed with gross motor fantasticness (I know I just made my own word up…it was “word making” worthy)!
All the fun aside, I submerge my girls in gross motor rich environments for a much deeper reason. Both of my girls were born with Hypotonia (low muscle tone) that makes them appear like Gumby (OOBER flexible). They contort themselves this way and that. To the naked eye, it is cool and neat to see them that flexible. To Mommy and Daddy, it has been a series of interventions and environmental exposure to teach them motor planning and gross motor awareness.
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 […]
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!