It's a Date!

Last year, Mark and I dated our kids.  The second Friday of each month, we set aside as The Kid Date.  The child in question got to pick our activity for the evening, and we tried to be as accommodating as possible.  The purpose was to do fun stuff with our kids, and get to know them better; strengthening those familial bonds and whatnot.  

Sometimes weather was an issue.  Sometimes we had to get more creative, because the budget was an issue.  More than once, said Kid could not think of anything s/he wanted to do, so we ended up maybe going out to walk around the lake and watch the sun set, and learn how to skip rocks.  Anyway, it was usually enjoyable.  

At the time, we had six Kids.  That meant that every kid got two Dates last year.  And they had to wait six whole months between Dates.  This was antithetical to our "getting to know you" purposes, and anyway, it usually ended up with Mark and I talking to each other whilst the Kid was a third wheel.  Or we were working too hard to draw the Kid into conversation, and it felt a little like we were ganging up on him/her.  

This year, we decided to continue with The Kid Date concept, but with an upgrade, if you will.  The new plan is to Divide And Conquer.  Every other Thursday, Mark and I will each take one Kid, and go our separate ways.  This way, each one of our children will get a Kid Date every six weeks.  And it's one-on-one time, so no more of that "us against them".  And Mark and I aren't feeling possessive of our time together, because we won't be giving up a date night.  I see it as a win-win for everyone. 

This last Thursday was the maiden voyage of our New and Improved system.  Mark and Hyrum left around 6:30, and Lucy and I left around 7 o'clock.  I didn't know what the guys were up to, but Lucy and I left the house without much of an action plan.  After batting around a few ideas, we would go haunt clearance sales to see if we could find some pants for her.  You'd have to know Lucy: she spends SO MUCH time scampering around on her hands and knees, ALL of her jeans have holes in them.  And it's not like I don't do my best to keep her in unholy pants, because I do.  Anyway.

So, we went pants shopping.  We found some really good deals, and she had fun trying on things in the fitting room (we never do that, so it was exciting).  She made up her mind, and walked out with two new pairs of completely intact, un-handed-down pants for less that $10.  Plus a cute necklace she found on after-Christmas clearance for $1.25.  I'm telling you, this girl is a delightfully cheap date.  

Then, even though it's January, Lucy wanted to go for ice cream cones.  This is us, eating our ice cream cones  at the Dairy Queen.  Lucy's was so big (even though she got the medium), she couldn't finish it all.  So, we drove home, and she snuck into the house and privately shared it with Eliza, who was out-of-her-mind-thrilled with the unexpected treat.  I could have finished mine just fine, but chose not to - it being January and all.  I pulled Yvette aside and gave her the rest of mine.  

Ending on a sweet note

Yesterday, I overheard Yvette explaining her most recent picture to a little friend:  "This is a boy on his Kid Date.  A Kid Date is where it is night, and you get an ice cream cone."  

She will apparently be easy to thrill and amaze when her turn rolls around!