Date Night

My husband and I have a weekly date night.  We've been doing this for years.  We started this because the day-to-day business of being parents was wearing us out.  Though we love our children more than life itself, there is more to our lives than our children.  Unfortunately, there didn't seem to be enough time in the day (or enough red bull energy drinks in the world) that allowed us to be "just us"....the way we were before we became parents. So, we decided we needed a weekly date night to allow us to do just that....reconnect on a personal level.

We have set aside the same day each week for our date nights.  We do our best (and have been mostly successful) to make sure everything else (meetings, kids' extra curriculars, etc) happen around this date night.  To my surprise, my husband's work peers have been baffled by this idea of date night....including the married ones!

Really?  Is this really a foreign concept?  Well, dear reader, if it is a foreign concept to you as well, allow me to explain its significance.  I am a product of a divorce.  I do not have a memory of my parents going out together, just the two of them.  I had babysitters, but that was so both of my parents could work at night.  Looking back, I realize that my parents most likely never made time together.  I realize that they both worked hard to make sure our needs were met.  However, the most important need any child has is for their mother and father to have a strong marriage....to keep the family unit (ie the child's support system) together.  My father didn't seem interested in my mother's interests (I don't know if he even knew what her interests were) or vice versa.  They were not friends and that's one big reason, in my opinion, they divorced.

Divorce is not an option for me.  It's not that I'm necessarily against divorce.  I understand and have witnessed situations where divorce is the only option because of abuse.  This is not what I'm talking about.  Divorce due to growing apart is what I'm against.  I have told myself long ago that I was going to do my best to make sure my children did not have to endure what I endured with my parents' divorce.  Those who say the kids aren't affected by divorce are wrong.  They are affected.  I just decided that I would turn what was an awful experience into a learning experience in an effort to have a strong marriage and family.  So, when my husband and I started having children and feeling ourselves meeting every need of our children and not our own, we instituted date nights.

You don't have to spend money for date nights.  You can put the children to bed early at night and watch a movie or tv show together.  You can give your children an early supper, put them to bed and make a nice meal for just the two of you to enjoy.  The important thing here is to reconnect.  Keep in touch with the person you married.  He/She is growing and changing (everyone does) and just like you don't want to miss out on that with your children, you also don't want to miss out on that with your spouse.  Take an interest in what he/she does.  Ask about it.  You don't want to get to your "empty nest" years and realize you have no idea who the person you've lived with for so long is anymore. 

The best gift you can give your children is a strong marriage.  It's the foundation of the family.  With a strong foundation, anything built upon it will be able to weather any storms of life.

We have honey!

Here's a youtube video of the honey we've gotten from our bees.  It tastes oh so good!

click here to see the honey goodness

My Newest Endeavor

My daughter celebrated her 4th birthday on April 12th and wanted a Tinkerbell cake. Here it is:

Video of the Bees

Ok, so I'm a year late in posting the video. But here it is:

Busy Bees

Mountain Climbing

We took our annual trip to Disney World at the beginning of March and had a fabulous time.  My 6 year old son kept urging me to go with him on Big Thunder Mountain from the moment we entered the "Welcome to Walt Disney World" sign (better known to our family as the "Disney Bubble").  I told him I would think about it. I hate roller coasters and the thought of going on this one nearly gave me a panic attack.  But was I about to let my 6 year old down?  What kind of mother do you think I am????  Of course NOT!  He kept telling me I would have so much fun and not to worry because he'd be right beside me, holding my hand.  Ever so reluctantly, and yet determined to show my boys how to not only overcome your fears, but also look them square in the eye and say "I'm not afraid of YOU anymore," I walked to the entrance of Big Thunder Mountain.  I put on my brave face, heart pounding, hands trembling.  I swear to you, God is so awesome and good and places the people in your life just when you need them because there was this woman who was in the adjacent line with a little stuffed Minnie Mouse, using the stuffed Minnie to give everyone a "high five".  Most people would find this annoying, especially since she did this not once, not twice but quite a few times while we wound around, passing each other in line.  I, on the other hand, am not like most people and almost hugged the woman because each time I high fived that stuffed mouse, I felt like I'd be ok.  I finally got on the ride and actually enjoyed it.  I did scream and when I got off my legs felt like jell-o.  My 6 year old said "See, I told you you'd like it."  "What made you think I enjoyed it?", I teased, "I was screaming the whole time!"  He said "That was you enjoying it!"  The next day, we realized that my 3 year old daughter was tall enough to ride the ride, so all 5 of us rode it 3 times in a row.  My daughter LOVED it!  She even copied her 9 year old brother by putting her little hands in the air throughout the ride.  We had so much fun!  I'm so glad my 6 year old got me to "climb" that mountain!

The Scream

My oldest son brought home a piece of artwork he made in art class at school.  I thought it was so good that I wanted to include it on the blog.  His assignment was to create a drawing, using Edvard Munch's The Scream as inspiration.  Here's Munch's:

Here is my son's version:

His teacher printed out digital black and white photos of the students and they pasted the pictures on their paper, using oil pastels to emphasize the photos and create the background.  What do you think?