Date Nights

Since Brad went back to working the day shift the beginning of April we have been able to reinstate Date Nights with the kids. Brad told the girls in February that as soon as he was on days he wanted to take them each out separately for dinner.

When asked where they wanted to go, I think they both chose McDonald's. They obviously have expensive taste just like their mom. Brad told them he was thinking somewhere NOT fast food.

Amanda chose Texas Roadhouse and Alex chose Chili's. They both were very excited on the day of their date and came home wanting me to help them pick out a dress and do their hair. When Amanda came home she told me that it was such a fun night and she didn't want it to end. Brad asked me if that is how I felt when I was dating him.  I told him I still feel that way every day I'm with him. I don't think he was buying it!

Anyway, I can't tell you much more about their dates because I wasn't there. Just that they had a great time, the girls had big smiles before they left and when they came home and I was told that Daddy was quite the gentleman.

I, on the other hand, had the pleasure of spending my date nights with two of the most handsome little boys I know.  My first date was with Isaac. If any of you know Isaac and how he likes to dress, you know that he pretty much likes to wear comfy shorts/pants along with the most comfortable t-shirt he can find. Which means it usually has lots of stains, the shirt is usually navy and so are his shorts/pants. Not on date night. He wanted to wear his favorite "nice" shirt along with a pair of jeans that had no holes in them. We went bowling and then for ice cream at Dairy Queen. We had a lot of fun bowling, except for when he wasn't taking it that well that I was beating him. Since the bumpers were up it was kind of hard to just throw the ball in the gutter. I did try to aim for the side but ended up bowling my best game ever and even had a Turkey.  We had a lot of laughs and I love chatting with my "baby".

Joshua and I also went bowling but then hit Culver's for some ice cream afterwards. It still amazes me how completely different my kids are and especially Joshua and Isaac. While Isaac talks my ear off, Joshua is perfectly content to just spend time with me and not talk. In between his turn bowling he was often watching the Sox/Cubs game that was playing on the TV. Joshua says that he did beat me one game and he kind of did. We paid by the hour, so that means it just shuts off the lane when your time is up. He had finished bowling his 9th frame and I was in the middle of the 9th frame when it shut off so my score wasn't added yet. So the numbers on the board at the time were higher than mine.

If you don't do date nights with your kids, I recommend starting them. The joy and excitement of your kids when they get to enjoy a little one on one time with you is priceless. When you have multiple children they are always competing for attention, they love a little time of you just focusing on them. We try to give them a couple options of things to do so that they get to pick something they enjoy. We also like to switch it up by alternating between each child getting a turn with mom and dad and we also do group dates like Girls and Mom or Boys and Dad and then we like to throw in a big family date as well.

It doesn't have to be anything expensive. We've done big dates like Bulls games and Disney on Ice but we've also done small cheap dates that cost little to nothing. We've gone to the store and walked around the toy aisle, gone to Best Buy and checked out the video gaming systems and played them. We've gone to the park, gone to McDonald's for breakfast, ice cream, miniature golfing. You could even do something as simple as a walk around the block or going in a different room and just playing a game with one child and not letting anyone interrupt that time.

I often find coupons to make it even cheaper. Our bowling dates I had coupons for an hour of free bowling, so all we had to pay for was shoes. Take them out to eat on a Kids Eat Free night. Get creative and have fun but most of all just enjoy a little time with your children. Your children will treasure the memories for years to come and just like my children do.....they will be asking whose turn is next and where do they get to go!

Do you do date nights? If so, where do you like to go?