We have been trying to accomplish all of the great things off of our summertime list this summer and we had a major event to accomplish… a trip to Chicago’s Field Museum. Last week, they offered a free admission day so we made plans to make our trip that day.
When I say we though, I mean my husband & Ethan. The guys wanted to do this trip alone without any girls ruining all their fun so they headed their together for a full day of fun in the prehistoric world. They took the South Shore train to their destination and enjoyed a guy’s day together.
When Ethan walked in and saw Sue the amazing T-Rex he said, “I have been waiting my whole life for this moment.” Ryan sent me updates via text message about all the fun they were having and he took tons of pictures of all of Ethan’s favorite moments from the museum.
Meanwhile, Emily & I had a wonderful girl’s day. We played outside, I sat at her mini-picnic bench and shared a peanut butter & jelly sandwich with her, we snuggled, we laughed, and we went to my mom’s birthday dinner celebration. We sent dad messages about what we were up to and…well, we couldn’t stop smiling. Every once in awhile, Emily would look at me and say, “Where did Ethan go?” and I would remind her that he & daddy had a special day together.
When my husband got home we both remarked that we need to do that more often. We both felt a bond with each child deepen during that day and it was great to be able to devote our undivided attention to each of them.
Do you do dates with your children? How do you manage to make quality time for each child individually? I would love to get some ideas for things we could do with the kids in the future!
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18 Responses to “Dad’s Day Out & Mom’s Day In”
sounds and looks like you had a fabulous time!
when i was growing up, my mom was single and she watched me and my five cousins. she had a rule that between 7 and 9 no one picke dup the phone, for any reason. she spent that time partly with one of us and the rest of it with the rest of it. while it sounds kind of silly to ignore the phone, the one thing i remember growing up so distinctly was that i would watch the clock for 7 p.m. because i knew i would be able to get her attention, and if it was my night for one on one time, i knew i woudl really have her attention. i also knew i could get the attention of one of my cousins more easily because along with no phone, there was no tv or computer during those times.
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this weekend, my husband is taking my son to a Boy Scout reunion weekend while my daughter and I have a mommy-daughter weekend, spending lots of time eating out, scrapbooking, watching Law & Order on DVD, and just hanging out. This is our 3rd year doing it, and we love it! Both kids look forward to it all year.
Alice
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One of my dad’s favorite things is his daily coffee shop trips, so it was always so exciting to have a date there with dad. I was one of 5 kids, so the time alone, where I could order my own mug of hot chocolate and just sit and talk was such fun.
Now I have a coffee junkie as a husband, and he takes our girls individually to Starbucks or Panera and lets them choose a breakfast treat. They can’t stop talking about their time when they get home.
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I have two boys, ages 5 and 1.5. My husband and I are just now making more of an effort to spend quality one-on-one time with each of our sons. You are right, it is such a good feeling to feel that bond that sometimes gets lost in the shuffle of parenting two little ones. My husband takes my older son fishing quite often. I have plans this coming weekend to take him out for lunch – - a huge treat because we rarely eat out – - and then shopping for his school supplies. Our little one loves individual attention in any form, be it reading books, running around, whatever. I’m glad you posted about this today!
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We do a date night, and we alternate children and alternate who’s going out and who’s staying in. The child who goes out gets some $$ to budget for his date, and those that stay in aren’t allowed to use any money.
It’s good for so many reasons, and the kids really look forward to it.
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Growing up, I mostly remember that my dad worked… a LOT. But every Saturday morning, he would rise early to run errands– go to the bank, pick up dry cleaning, stop at the hardware store, and always wind up at this tiny local supermarket for a donut. There were three kids and my dad would alternate which of us he’d take. I would always SO look forward to hearing him whisper at my doorway in the dim morning light, “Jessie… want to run to town?”
Carrying on, I find that I often take one of our kids with me and the other stays with Daddy. It’s amazing how my focus can multiply with only that one child with me! We’ve been know to pop into Starbucks for a latte (me) and organic milk (kiddo). Sometimes we go visit the pet store (for my kitten-lovin’ son and my snake lovin’ daughter!… it’s nice to be able to specifically tailor these “mini-trips” to the individual child, even if they’re just little things.
I LOVE those pics… and I adored that quote from your son. Makes all the planning totally worthwhile, doesn’t it?
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My dad used to take one of us on an outing each month. There were four of us old enough to go, so we went three times a year. We usually got to pick where we went, so we could go to a restaurant, a movie, anywhere we wanted. We felt so special to go on a “date” with our daddy!
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I just love to hear about everyone’s dates. I think the dad stuff stuck out for me more because my dad also worked a lot and that was special time for us. I even remember when my dad took me to Burger King and let me get my first combo meal (a big deal when you have three kids to feed) and I didn’t have to share it. He also took me to the symphony and movies. My favorite trips though were the two of us going to the library. We had a weekly date and I looked forward to that all week long
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Amy even though my daughters are adults with own families we still have mother daughter outings. Last Tuesday my youngest daughter and I made a day of shopping, having a late lunch at our favorite Italian restraunt and then on to more shopping. I do this with my oldest daughter on occasion but with the new baby its not as often or we take Siah with us but then we spend more time trying to entertain her to keep her from melting down. But your children never get to old to have quality one on one time
Vicki(wheezymom)
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I love doing these sort of days. My hubby takes the 3 year old to the park and I am able to spend some quality time with the baby, something that has suffered since I stopped nursing.
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My 12 year old daughter, Alana and I went to the Creation Museum near Cincinnati, Ohio last month for an extended weekend away. We live in Northern Illinois, so we had plenty of alone time in the car. If anyone lives relatively close to this museum, I would highly recommend it. It is basically a walk through the Bible.
To spend alone time with my son, who is 13, I go outside after supper with him and play basketball with him. We play Pig or Horse. My son learned quickly that this wasn’t one of my strongest areas. So, instead of playing Pig, the words are getting longer and longer. haha
Take Care,
Jodi
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My husband takes our 5 year old and his father to a minor league baseball game for Father’s Day. Next year the youngest will join them (and I’ll get a lovely day to myself!)
On the weekends we often divide and conquer to run errands. We give the older one the choice of which parent he wants to accompany, and the other one gets the toddler. They both enjoy the undivided attention.
I was going to take my oldest to the 4th of July fireworks but they were postponed due to rain, and then we ended up swimming in the lake near a friend’s house on the rain date and he was too tired to go. We went last year, just the two of us, and we had a blast. I think I’m more disappointed than he is that we didn’t get to do that this year.
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I try to have a special day with each kid (or at least half a day) once a month. It really is fun and a great way to bond to spend that one on one time together. The kids love the extra focus and attention.
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We talk about doing this and have to a certain extent. Once Wren starts school, I will definitely have to have dates with him since I wont be seeing him as much! I think we are going to split up this weekend because we have two events going on, so Violet would go with her dad and Wren with me. Could work out well!
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Oh what a classic of a time. Dad’s day out? Mom’s day in? SOUNDS DIVINE! I am ALL over that. I remember seeing something like this on Jon and kate and thinking – OH YEAH.
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What a fun day. Thanks for your blog.
With 5 kids it's hard to get alone and/or to get "out." So, time together includes makin' homemade pizza with one, snuggling in a "fort" with another to read a book, running to the post office & library with a little one, walking to the resale shop at the corner with one of my older girls… just using regular events is usually how I connect with my kids one-on-one.
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How fun!
We do dates with our kids too. My husband will take out our daughter to lunch. I will take our son to the playground. My son is 1 and LOVES to do simple one-on-one things w/ my husband. i.e. go on a trip to the hardware store. Our kids really look forward to family time, but also one-on-one parent time. Naomi
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Ethan comes up with some of the best quotes! Sounds like everyone had a great time, and it is so nice to be able to split up and give each child some one on one time!
I remember looking so forward to alone time especially with my Dad since he was a CPA and was at work such long hours during tax season. My mom and I usually bonded while we were shopping-always fun! Then when I was away at college, my Dad wrote me the best letters, I still have them in a memory box.
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