I know that many think Valentine’s day is just a day created by Hallmark. Others think it’s a cheesy holiday for saps. Say what you will, I’ll jump at a chance for a date night with my hubby. And I don’t mind a sweet card and some cinnamon heart candy either.
But, after having kids, Scott and I found it rather difficult to go out for Valentine’s day. Since we don’t hire babysitters, we typically rely on friends or grandparents for babysitting and you can’t ask another couple to babysit for you on Valentine’s Day. So, for a few years we just did an in home date night after putting the little one (and then ones) to bed.
But, then one year we got an idea that we both LOVED and a tradition was born.
We decided to celebrate Valentine’s day on the 7th instead of the 14th. This way, we weren’t asking anyone to skip out on their own Valentine’s plans. And the best part is, it also frees us up to babysit for a friend so that they can go out on Valentine’s day. We love it!
This year we babysat for our very dear friends. Since we had 5 young ones at our house on Valentine’s night, we decided to throw them their own party. We had heart shaped meatballs and spaghetti for dinner.
Then we did a fun painting craft after dinner. I asked the kids their favorite craft and they told me painting. So, I found these wooden hearts at Michael’s for $1 each. Throw in some acrylic paint and some old tee shirts and we were set for fun!
We topped the evening off with a heart shaped cake. (check out the recipe here…it was so fun to make). Mental note: need 2 tubs of icing next time!
Unfortunately, we weren’t able to go out on the 7th due to one of our many snowstorms this month. But, we do have plans to go out tonight and I am greatly looking forward to a nice evening out with my man!
Celebrating Valentine’s day, not on Valentine’s day so that we can babysit for our friends is a tradition that totally works for us. Visit here or here for more fun picture posts!
We have had a wonderful couple of days here at the circus celebrating Jesus’ birthday. We decided to spread the celebrating out over several days rather than cram it all into one day. On Christmas Eve we went to the Children’s service at our church at 4:30. Then we went to Boston Market for our now traditional Christmas Eve dinner before heading back to church for the candlelight service at 6:30. We then went home to change into our Christmas pj’s, read Luke 2, put up our advent calendar piece, and leave cookies and milk for Santa. Christmas morning we had both sets of grandparents here, Great Grandpa, Aunt Karen and baby Eli. The kids were up a little after 7 and the revelry began shortly after. We took our time opening presents and enjoying our time together. We then had a pot luck brunch followed by more playtime. On the 26th the gang all came back for a more formal Christmas dinner followed by birthday cake and ice cream for baby Jesus and some game playing with Aunt Karen’s Wii. I really appreciated getting to spread the celebration out over several days rather than try to rush it and cram it all in on one day. I am also so thankful for our extended family. It’s now Sunday night and I am looking forward to having Scott home for the entire week. We hope to enjoy some great family time as well as tackle some projects around the house.
Hope you all had a wonderful and merry Christmas!
My husband is a genius.
Pure genius, I tell you.
We were sitting around the table the other day at dinner. Nothing out of the ordinary. The kids were complaining about eating their green beans. Like I said, nothing unusual.
Then Scott asked my son, “Do you know why parents raise kids?”
“Because their fast.”
Pause…Confusion…
“No, not race, raise, as in, why do they have kids and help them grow up?”
(Ok, I have no idea where Scott is going with this and what it has to do with beans).
Then my son throws a zinger, to what Scott was posing as a facetious question.
“So they will bring glory to God.”
(OK seriously, what do you say to that?)
Pause…regroup…eat a few more bites of dinner…time for a different approach
(I still have no idea where Scott is going with this).
“You know something parents really love about kids?”
“What?”
“Their ears”
(What the heck Scott?)
“Parents love to eat their kids ears.” Scott then pretends to reach over and take a bite of his ear.
My son giggles.
Scott goes on to say that ears are really best when kids reach about 8 or 9. Those are the best ears. It’ll only be a few years and his ears will be ready. My son covers his ears and giggles.
(I have no idea where Scott is going with this).
Scott goes on to say that when kids eat their vegetables it makes them taste really bad. Parents don’t like ears with vegetables in them.
The kids each take a bite of their green beans.
(What a genius!)
Much giggles and veggie eating and pretending to chew ears ensues from here.
I wonder if it will really last though.
2 days later I’m serving up some stir fry. The kids see a bunch of veggies in the pan and start to complain. I remind them that these will be perfect for keeping Daddy from eating their ears. Seriously, their smiles are huge and they can’t wait to eat their veggies.
We sit down for dinner tonight and do you know what my kids eat first?
Their vegetables.
“Daddy, look, I just ate 3 peppers, bet you won’t like my ears now?”
Daddy pretends to be distraught over this, “Nooo, not veggies…. please no!”
The kids giggle and continue to devour their veggies.
At the end of dinner, Daddy says, “Mommy, please don’t make vegetables for dinner tomorrow.”
My son says, “Mom, can we have broccoli tomorrow?” (My kids HATE broccoli). I ask the kids if they really want broccoli. My son gives an enthusiastic yes while my daughter says, “I really want green beans!” (their second least favorite veggie).
Didn’t I tell you he was smart? He never ceases to amaze me. I have no idea how long this will last, but I will gladly put up with the cannibal talk around the table as long as my kids willingly eat their veggies without complaint.
Dinner time….the family all gathered around the table, enjoying a delicious meal, talking about the day, laughing and enjoying one another…statistics say that families that consistently eat dinner together tend to raise healthier, more well behaved children, then families that don’t. So, what are we doing wrong?
More often than not the Circus Family eats breakfast and dinner together as a family. More often than not our dinner “hour” is more like a dinner hour and a half. I wish I could say it as because of our scintillating conversations. However, my kids are what I fear the slooooowest eaters on the eastern seaboard. (unless it’s dessert or some other food they particularly enjoy). But give them chicken and you can pretty much forget about doing anything other than getting ready for bed after dinner that night.
This causes great frustration to my husband and I. The kids and I typically wait for Scott to get home so we can eat together. This means we usually sit down around 6:00 for dinner. If the kids stretch things out the average 1.5 hrs than we aren’t getting up till around 7:30. Leaving us no time for that walk around the neighborhood, or trip to the park after dinner. It’s usually just time for a little playing on the floor and then teeth brushing, fluoride, and bedtime stories. Scott would love to have more time to spend playing with the kids rather than watching them stare at their plates.
We have tried various tactics to shorten the time around the table. They have worked to various degrees. My question for you all, is “how long?”
How long does dinner typically take your family? Am I alone on this or is it merely par for the course at this stage of our family life?
