Thoughts for Thursday!

Hi!! Happy Thursday!!

It has been a "short" week for us due to being off school this past Monday and I am so excited the weekend ALREADY right around the corner!

So- at the beginning of this year, Aaron and I were talking about ways we could start spending some one-on-one time with each of our kiddos.  We occasionally will take one of the kids out on their own for a "date"- but that is not consistent.  

And while its fun to take one child out- we wanted a set-up to where BOTH of us could participate in the special time spent with each of our kids.

Well- I somehow stumbled upon this blog post-How To Make Each Child Feel Important (In a Large Family)- written by Becky who blogs at Your Modern Family and it described how Becky and her husband spend one-on-one time with each of their kids.

What they do is each month on the kid's birth "date"- if your child is born on the 3rd- that would be their "date" every month- that child gets to stay up 20-30 minutes later with mommy and daddy. The child can choose what they are going to do- play a game, read a book, or just talk! NO TECHNOLOGY is allowed- so no watching a show or playing on the iPad!  

They also take a couple minutes during the special one-on-one time to let the child know 2 specific things they love about her and they pray for their child- WITH their child. I love the idea of your child hearing specifically what you are praying about for him or her!

And then- she totally brings up the fact that her other kids aren't overly excited that their sibling gets to have that special time with mommy and daddy- even though- they will get their date that month too :) I love that she brings this up- because it is definitely what happens in our house!! And I love her solution- the other kids have to go to bed- but they can read or play quietly in their beds until their sibling comes up to bed after her "date."

Aaron and I both agreed this was a "system" that could really work for us and the kids and decided to give it a try!!

Aaron was traveling A LOT in January- so we weren't able to start our "dates" with the kids until this month.

Celine's birthday "date" comes first in the month- so we had her date this past weekend.

We told the girls about the monthly dates earlier in the week and then mentioned Celine's date several more times- just so there was no confusion or hurt feelings on the actual night of her date.  My other daughters did really well and went right to their bedrooms- which I am so thankful for- because it could have easily turned into something not pretty- HA! 

And Celine headed downstairs with Aaron and I!

She picked to play "go-fish" and then she wanted to play "Cranium." 

Oh my goodness- we had SO MUCH FUN! Celine is almost 4 and at this ridiculously cute age. Please note her pajamas that night were a gymnastic leotard and a tutu. That is just how she rolls :)

Aside from the obvious fact- that we LOVED getting a little special time with just Celine- here are a couple other reasons why I love this date night "system"- 

1) Aaron and I can BOTH spend time with our child! 

2) We are in the comfort of our own home and we don't have to worry about any "logistics."   

3) Our date night cost nothing! While this might not be a factor for many people- for us- it is. We are a large family living on a resident's salary and we really have to conscientious of our budget. I really loved that our date was not about getting a treat- but instead- totally about quality time with one another!

The two older girls' dates are coming up next weekend and they are SO excited!

For now- because James is still so young- he is not participating in date night. Aaron and I actually spend about 30 minutes every night of one-on-one time with him while the girls watch a show before bedtime- so that works out really nicely for us to get some time with him in that way!

So what do you think? Are you looking to get into a more consistent routine of spending one-on-one time with your kiddos? Do you already do something like this?

I know for us- with the new baby coming (SOON! about 10 more weeks to go!), we wanted to have something established that the girls could count on and look forward to- especially in those first couple of months where our every day routine is a little different than usual :)

Definitely share your thoughts with me- I always love hearing what you have to say!!

Hope you have the BEST day!!

I am linking up with Annie and Natalie today!