Sickness, Christmas Gifts, 8 Years, Girls Day

{one} I have been sick for 3 weeks....I just can't seem to shake it! It started as what felt like the flu, but I hit some home remedies hard and felt mostly better the next day, then it just turned into the cold gunk. Then other members of the family started getting it, then it moved into my chest and I barely had a voice, then more people in the family got it, then it started to feel like the flu again for a couple days, then it all moved into my head and has been there for a week or so. Have you ever had a cold that lasted 3 weeks? When are you supposed to go get checked? I mean, there's nothing they can do for a cold anyway, right, so.....? Now we have 2 kids on antibiotics-one for an ear infection, and one for an eye infection. Did you know you can get cellulitis of the eye?! Well, you can. And I am SO glad I took her in, because the Dr. said that it often gets bad enough that you have to get on IV antibiotics. So we are praying that clears up quickly. We also had a kid swallow a Lego this week. Of course it happened past 7 p.m. when all the Dr's close, so to the ER we went for x-rays. We called, and they said we had to come in because it could have cut a hole in the esophagus on the way down, so that's really what they were checking for. Luckily it didn't. The Lego itself just passes, which we are still waiting for.....That visit is also how we found out about the ear infection, so I guess it saved me another trip to the Dr ;) My oldest also had an appointment with a cardiologist at the beginning of the month. All was well, praise Jesus. So moral of this story is that I have basically been living at doctors offices/hospitals this month. It figures. We had a pretty low key year in terms of sickness and injury, so of course it would all hit the last month of the year, right?  {two} Today I realized that we have a few large things that need to be put together for the kids for Christmas. I mean, I KNEW we had them, but Christmas really snuck up on me! Anyone else? This month has absolutely flown by, and here we are, 5 days out from Christmas! I'm trying to figure out how exactly to do this, because I know based on the Amazon reviews, that one of the items (a play kitchen) took people 4+ hours to put together. So I don't want to save it for Christmas Eve, but how do you start it and hide it until then? I am really excited for Christmas this year. The whole "large family Christmas" thing seems like it will be really fun. And insane. But the memories of wrapping paper flying everywhere and squeals of delight from 4 little ones seeing their new stuff will be so worth it! I can't wait! What are you getting your kids for Christmas? Are you done shopping? Do you ever have those years where you just KNOW your kids will absolutely love their gifts? Most years I feel like they'll be really excited and really enjoy what they got, but this year I just can't wait to see their faces. Maybe it's because they're getting older and actually have ideas of what they want going for awhile, but I just really think they are going to be so excited and that makes me so excited!  {three} Today is our 8 year anniversary! 8 years seems really long! It is very hard to believe that it has been almost a decade! This morning I was thinking that probably within a few more years, everything from our wedding and the photos will start looking so outdated. Right?! It seems like usually when you look back at things from 10+ years they look really old. 

{four} I took my girls out for a girls day on Saturday. They were supposed to have dress rehearsal for their nativity play, but that got cancelled, along with church on Sunday, because it was -30 F with the windchill. NEGATIVE THIRTY DEGREES, GUYS. So I took them out and surprised them with a girls day and it was so much fun! I have been missing them lately. We had my dad, step mom and sister in town over Thanksgiving, then a few days later my mom came, then we've all been battling the sickness off and on and I feel like I just haven't connected with them enough lately. We got donuts first (of course), then we went to see Moana.

 It was super cute and we all enjoyed it. I had one or both girls on my lap for the entire movie, so it was pretty much the best!

 When we came out, it was snowing pretty good, so we went and got lunch at Noodles and Co. I think this was actually my favorite part of the day. We just ate and chatted about the movie and Christmas and whatever their little hearts desired. They seemed so grown up to just sit and have conversations with me over lunch and it was so bittersweet. I love watching them grow. (Also, can I just pause to say that things like going out to eat or to a movie seem SO easy with just my big girls without two wild toddlers in tow! There is no time to pause and chat when we are out with all 4!) After lunch, the snow was still really coming down, but we needed to get the girls gifts for Daddy and brothers, so we braved several stores. I think 5 actually before we all had cold wet feet and and were tired of snow blowing in our faces! It was such a great day, and I think all of our cups were full by the end of it! I could tell by all of the lap sitting, hugging and holding that they requested, that I wasn't the only one who had felt like we haven't connected enough lately. 

Consistent Date Nights

My husband and I have not always been great about having a consistent date night. It can be really hard depending on what season of life you are in. However, I am starting to see more and more just how important it is to be consistent with it, no matter what season or place in life you are at!  "Consistent" is going to look different for everyone. Maybe you have a standing date with your babysitter every Wednesday night. Possibly you do every other week or a few times a month, or maybe the last Friday of the month is your night. Pick what feels comfortable to you and schedule it in! For us, it is every other Thursday. My in-laws take the girls and we have date night. Sometimes we go out to dinner or to a movie, other times we just go on a long walk and get uninterrupted talk time which everyone with toddlers knows is priceless (!), and sometimes we do stuff around the house together, like yard work or hanging doors--you know, fun stuff like that ;) It's not always glamorous, but for us, it's the time spent together that is important.  When we had babies, we didn't get out for dates nearly as frequently. I was nursing, pregnant, or both for about 3 1/2 years straight and it just felt like too much work to get out for a date when I had to work around a baby who wouldn't take a bottle for anything, extreme pregnancy nausea, and all of that. Looking back now, I wish we would have made the time for each other. The baby would have been fine without nursing for the 3 hours that we were gone. The fresh air might have made me feel a little better, or at least I could have indulged some dessert cravings. It would have been really good for us in that crazy season of life, and in the future, we definitely plan to make it a priority as we add more little ones and keep our standing twice monthly date nights.  While family dates or dates in the home after the kids go to bed can be really great, and they are amazing options, I do really think it is important to get some time together without the kids to nurture your marriage. The most important earthly relationship you have! Some practical ways to do this would be: 

• decide how often you want to set a consistent date night. Maybe you want to shoot for once a month and if you get some bonus, unplanned dates in there, then great! 
• find someone who can babysit consistently. You can definitely do it with multiple people, but if you are hesitant about leaving the kids, having one person who knows them and their routine well helps a lot! 
• put it on the calendar and don't break the "appointment". Even if you are tired. Even if you had a rough week. Even if your sitter cancels (find someone else!). Hopefully the date will refresh both of you, and it doesn't have to take a long time. Go out for an hour and a half and then come back refreshed and ready for the week ahead! 

Do you get a consistent date night with your spouse? Why or why not? 

How to Date Your Spouse...When You Can't Afford It

Raise your hand if you desperately need a date night with your honey, but are dreading how expensive it's going to be. Yeah, there are lots of us out there! 

I will be the first to admit that my husband and I need to be better about dating. It's so easy to get caught up in the hubbub of life and not take focused time for each other. Then when you add kids to the mix, there's a whole other dimension there. Not to mention the added expense of child care! Here are a few tips I have for dating on the cheap.

 Let's get the babysitting thing out of the way. I know that we are extremely blessed in this area, and not everyone has these options, but I honestly cannot think of a single time in almost 3 years of parenting that I have paid someone to watch my kids. We are constantly blessed with friends and family who want to watch our girls. But that hasn't stopped us from getting creative. If you don't have people around who can sit for you, try to swap child care with another couple! We have done this with another family several times and it's so much fun! We will watch their kids for an evening or event, and then they return the favor another time. This way, two couples get date nights, it's free, and the kids have a blast, too! If that's still not an option for you, see tip #2. 

Stay in. There are so many fun things you can do for date night's in. I think the big difference is that you are being intentional about spending that quality time together. I know my husband and I can spend 3 nights a week together and hardly connect sometimes. It's all about taking the time to focus on one another. We've decided to make it a point to have one night a week where we either go out on a date, OR after our kids go to bed, we put aside computers, phones and other people to spend time with each other.

{Check out some awesome at-home date ideas from The Dating Divas}

Head outdoors. Isn't there just something about the great outdoors that can make a date extra special? It just never feels like an ordinary date when you are outside. At least for us! The really great thing about outdoor dates is that they are often free or really cheap! Here are a few ideas for dating outside: pack a picnic and eat it in a park, or grab take out and go find a picnic table or throw down a blanket in the park; build a fire, roast marshmallows and just enjoy being together; star gaze; go on a hike; borrow kayaks or a canoe from a friend and head to a local lake; head out on a long bike ride; check out a farmer's market; find a concert in a park. 

Ask for gift cards or memberships as Christmas and birthday gifts. I feel like my husband and I are constantly scratching our heads when our parents are asking us for gift ideas. Asking for gift cards to go out to dinner, tickets to a concert or event, a membership to a museum you like, or a coupon book for places around town would be an easy way to save on dates, or go on them for free! What could be a better gift than spending time with your love?!

Skip dinner, get dessert. I can't take credit for this tip, as it is something a friend shared with me years ago. If you don't want to spend a ton of money on dinner, but still want to go out, get dressed up and go to a fancier restaurant for dessert! Most of the time, my husband and I share dessert if we get it, because we can't ever eat a whole one ourselves, so we save even more when we do this. Before we had kids, sometimes we would go out for appetizers and dessert instead of dinner. Somehow it made it more fun to eat spinach artichoke dip and cheesecake for dinner! 

What are some ways you save on date nights? They can get expensive really easily!