"Date Night" & other activities for you and your little man!

Life is busy, and I know that mine certainly qualifies! Especially as a single mom, the days are just filled with "to-do" lists, and not enough "doers" to do them :-)! However, even in the chaos, I know that time is so valuable. I do my best to stay in the present and value each minute of this life with my little man, as someday he won't be so little anymore.

On Friday nights, I have done my best to have "date night" with my little guy. Of course as he has gotten older, he prefers to call it "food night" as the thought of date night with his mother just isn't "cool"! I set aside a few hours to take him somewhere special. It may be Dairy Queen, McDonalds, or even the local Mexican restaurant. However, there have also been times we just pile up on the couch, popcorn in hand, and watch a great family movie together. Either way, it is our time, uninterrupted by life's demands, and the very special time that he will remember always.

The following list includes other special activities you can do that are affordable (or free) and that your little guy will love:

* Light sparklers and run around the yard, or a park together!

* Meet him for lunch at his school.

* Have a picnic together.

* Be "Archaeologists" and scout for special rocks, leaves, insects, etc., in your yard, at the beach or a park.

* Take a bike ride.

* Dance together! We have our own routine that we have done since he was 2 years old. We often add to it and break it out when the moment strikes us!

* Speaking of dance... we dance to Michael Jackson on the Wii game! We LOVE this and completely laugh at ourselves :-)!!

* Do artwork together, build something, put a puzzle together.

* Bake a cake, make cookies, or let him help you prepare dinner.

* Volunteer together (Nursing Home, Soup Kitchen, Animal Shelter, etc.) which is especially good for teaching him the value of giving back.

* Sing Karaoke together!

* Walk with him to school or just anywhere that is peaceful and talk about what you see along the way.

* Go to a museum or a craft fair and let him tell you about the things he would like to create himself. Help him achieve those things if possible.

* Plant a garden. Let him pick out what to plant (vegetables, flowers) and let him manage them as they grow.

* Build a birdhouse. We have loved this! Each year we welcome new little bird families and love to see the creation of life!

* If you can, build a backyard swing for two. We have one that we have enjoyed so much. We read, we watch wildlife, or just have great talks together.

* Read about history and explain to him how far we have come...and how far we have yet to go!

* Have a yard sale and let him make his own money by gathering his unwanted toys to sell, and by selling lemonade.

* Build a scrapbook or a collage of your lives. Let him help you cut pictures from magazines and your own photos.

* Take an overnight roadtrip to somewhere special, or, just a daytrip. We have gone strawberry picking, or to the zoo, to a sporting event, or monster trucks!

Hope these help you create special memories and also help you slow down in this hectic world! I know they have certainly helped me!

Fighting "The Boogie Man"!

I remember having many fears as a child. The nighttime magnified those fears, and added new ones! My son reminds me of these terrors as he deals with his own. Of course as an adult, I often want to laugh these fears away and simply tell him it's all in his imagination. However, they are very real to him. Thus, they are very real to me too.

There are several things that I have done to combat "The Boogie Man". My favorite one of all came from www.inkgarden.com. I was able to create a sweet pillowcase with the both of us on it. My little boy cherishes this pillowcase as he feels so much more secure knowing mommy is right there. Have someone take a similar photograph of you and your loved one, then make a pillow out of it!

Nightlights are a must! I actually have them in most rooms of our house. Definitely one in his room. They take the edge off of the darkness and light his way to the bathroom in the middle of the night. I also open the blinds and drapes to let the moon shine in. And yes, I close his closet door so the "Boogie Man" can't come out from in there :-).

The arsenal of stuffed animals are beside his bed. He calls them "his little family" :-). I include them all in our prayer time before he nods off to sleep, and I hug them all too. He surrounds himself with them and even sleeps directly on top of his favorite...a giant brown bear he calls "Bearie"!

I have checked on him every night since he moved to his own room. I give him kisses, pull the blankets back onto him on chilly nights, and off of him on warm ones. I also whisper directly into his ear. I just feel like there is a part of him that actually hears me subliminally :-). I tell him how much I love him, what a gift he is, how smart he is, and that I will always be there... no matter what.

Lastly, on very scary nights (thunderstorms, bad dreams, growing pains in his legs, etc), he absolutely knows there is an extra soft place to land right in Mommie's bed!