Mommy-Daughter Lunch Date

Ever since school started, Erik and I have tried to make it a priority to get in consistent one-on-one time with our kiddos. At first, we designated Monday nights as "Date Night". After dinner each Monday, I'd take one girl off to do something fun and he'd take the other. The next week we'd switch. Even though it was a little rushed to squeeze in some quality time before bedtime, it was good to get that face time with each of them. We have a pretty strong conviction that our kids need that time with us consistently. We want them to feel special and know they can talk to us about anything, and we help maintain that through fun "dates".

Well, now that it's dark (and cold) by 5 p.m., neither one of us have wanted to even leave the house after dinner most nights. So our dates have kind of morphed into something less special. Erik has been able to hold some resemblance of a "date" by taking one girl into the hot tub each Monday, but my time has been gobbled up by after-dinner dishes and lunch prep. I was able to whip up some fun dessert with Kera this week while Lindsay was out in the hot tub with Erik, but it still wasn't super special.

So, I decided I needed to do something different. Thanks to my schedule/job, the majority of my free time exists between the hours of 8 a.m. and 3 p.m., so I can take some of that time and "spend" it on the girls. Once a month I am going to take each of them out to lunch for a special Mommy-Daughter Lunch Date. Their school has recess time and then actual lunch eating time that totals about 45 minutes, which is (barely) just enough time to pick them up and go to a local quick eat place for some fun lunch and good chatting.

Yesterday it was Lindsay's turn and we went to Pizza Hut. It's practically right across the street from the school and with their lunch buffet, I knew it would be quick enough. Also, it was the place Lindsay chose! So, we gobbled salad and pizza (next time I'm skipping the za and sticking with salad) and had a great chance to talk. Not only that, I gave Lindsay a cute little card of encouragement when I picked her up from school that told her how much I love her and what things I'm proud of her and stuff. It's pretty special to get picked up from school for lunch, so she was stoked. Kera's date will be Monday and she's so looking forward to it.

I think it's going to be a great way to get some good one-on-one time in with my girlies and it brightens my day to see their smiling face in the middle of it, too! :-)

How do you get quality time with your kids, one-on-one? Also, ever used one of those obscure/weird/high-scoring scrabble words anywhere else but the game? (Who can point out the one I used in this post??)