I do SO many things wrong as a mom. I hope these date nights will have a positive impact on my children. Maybe when they think of their childhood they won't always remember all the yelling and screaming I do, but the good times we spent playing together and getting to know each other on these dates.
We started the dates this month. I took Dylan on a date and Jordan took Luke. Then next month we will swap.
Dylan's Date Night
When I told Dylan that we were going on a date, his face just lit up. He was so excited. When we were about to leave he took my hand and said "Let's go Mom". He never holds my hand. At that moment, I realized this date idea was wonderful.
I wouldn't tell Dylan what we were doing. It was a surprise. We have a budget of $10.00 to spend on our dates, so we have to get a little creative. First, I took Dylan to Chuck-E-Cheese to play on the games. He was REALLY excited when we pulled up into the parking lot of Chuck-E-Cheese. He has wanted to go there for such a long time. He kept telling me "Thanks Mom, I love Chuck -E-Cheese". He got $5.00 to spend on games. He held his tokens and ran from game to game. I just followed him and enjoyed watching him have so much fun.
(Let me tell you how much easier it is to manage your kids when their is just one of them. It was really enjoyable and I didn't have to break up fights or hear whining or crying and their wasn't any drama. Dylan was very good the whole time and we both enjoyed each other)
We then went to Krispy Kreme to get a FREE donut. Dylan loves donuts and was happy to get a treat. We then headed off to the dollar theatre (which is now $2.00 a person) to watch "Madagascar II" We got some popcorn and a drink for a 1.00 each (O.K I went over a dollar but I used all my change for the drink) and we then watched the movie.
Dylan really enjoyed spending time with just me, but he was also really excited to tell Luke about his night. He kept saying that he can't wait to tell Luke about this or that. It showed me that my boys really like some alone time with us but life is not complete unless they can share it with each other. Overall, the night turned out really well and I truly enjoyed myself with Dylan.
Luke's Night Out
Just a side note, I took Dylan on his date on a Tuesday night and Luke's date was on Thursday night. When Dylan and I went on our date, Luke FREAKED out. He wanted to go sooooo badly. He cried and threw a fit for about 20 minutes before we left and the tantrum continued for about an hour and a half after we left. Jordan was so fed up with his tantrum that he told Luke he had lost his date for Thursday night. The only way he would even consider taking him on a date is if he for good for 2 days. He had to clean and not whine and be a perfect angel. Guess what? Luke was REALLY good the next two days. It shows you that my kids can do anything they put their minds to if they feel it is worth it.
Luke also wanted to go to Chuck-E-Cheese because Dylan did. So, they went there and Luke was so overwhelmed with all the games that he didn't know what to do with himself. He would put a token into the machine and if the machine didn't start immediately he would leave and go to the next game. Jordan literally had to calm Luke down and tell him to breathe and relax. He just couldn't handle all the stimulation. After 15 minutes, he had burned through all his tokens. (Dylan played games for about an hour whereas Luke lasted 15 minutes) Jordan gave him a couple more tokens and then they left. They also went over to Krispy Kreme, but decided to go to DI instead of a movie. Luke got the rest of the money and got to buy a toy. (We do this Deseret Industries run quite often as a family. We go to DI and give the boys a dollar and they can pick out any toy that is a dollar or less)
Luke found ANOTHER ball (like he doesn't have a million already) at DI and came home really happy and excited. He couldn't wait to tell me and Dylan about his night.
I truly love my boys and am excited for our date nights each month.
