Dating My Kids: Fun Run Date

This is the fourth installment of the Dating My Kids series.

Last year Clay and I signed our kids up for their first 5k. Hell, it was our first 5k! We decided on The Color Run, because, well, it's the happiest 5k on the planet. Can't beat that, right? And honestly, we had such a blast participating that we've made it into our annual thing. Last weekend was our second Color Run and it was every bit as much fun as our first. 

We got blasted with pink, then orange, then blue, then yellow (by yellow Em was over getting her picture taken). 

We still brought our wagon for the kids although they walked/ran much more this year. You can tell they're getting stronger. And although this 5k isn't timed, I swear we finished it faster than last year.

If you've never done a 5k before, you may be hesitant to sign your self up, let alone your children, but trust me, the Color Run is very family friendly. There are a ton of kids participating! It's not timed so you can walk the entire length if you'd like and you can bring strollers and wagons.  The volunteers throwing the color are very considerate of children- they'll throw as much color as the kids (and parents) are comfortable with, and you can always cover your and your children's faces with a bandana.

I promise you will feel amazing when you finish. Your entire family will. Narls kept saying over and over how this was the best day of his life, Em danced pretty much the entire time, and Clay & I could not stop smiling.

So go sign up! There are a bunch of variations popping up all over like Color Me Radd, the Color Vibe, etc. I cannot say if they're as family-friend as the Color Run, but it's worth a look. Your kids will thank you.

Dating My Kids: Movie and Dessert Date

 

This is the third installment of the Dating My Kids series.  And it's a classic!  There's a reason a reason a simple date like a trip to a resturant followed by a movie is such a good one: it's easy and fun.

Chips and queso for the parents, ice cream brownie dessert for the children, yummy deliciousness.

 

Clay and I were originally going to take our kids to the drive-in to catch Despicable Me 2, but we decided Narls and Em are still probably too young to watch a movie that late. I cannot wait until we do though, they're my favorite. I have such fond memories of many drive-in dates with my dad and brother.

 

Being huge minion fans, my family could not wait for this movie to come out. And it did not disappoint - it was silly happy fun, with such a great ending. Go see it! Your kiddos will thank you.

Dating My Kiddos: Theater

This is the second installment of the Dating My Kids series. I want to carve out special time with my kids, at least once a month, where we do something special and fun, where we can hang out with each other distraction-free. And by distractions, I mean technology basically: no ipad, no video games, no cellphone, no tv...

but theater, now that's totally approved.

 

Confession: I had never been to a theater until I started dating Clay. He took me to my first show, Les Miserables, and I've loved it ever since. I have amazing memories of seeing Chicago with my bestfriend, and Clay got me a trip to New York to see Phantom of the Opera on Broadway for Christmas a couple years ago. Good lord it was spectacular! This is something we both want our children to experience, and we've vowed to take them to at least one live show a year.

We are lucky that we have a beautiful auditorium within minutes of where we live that brings in many Broadway musicals and plays, so when we found out that Disney's Beauty and the Beast was coming, we knew it'd be perfect start to Narls and Em's theater experience. They're both huge Disney fans, and Beauty and the Beast is a big favorite in our house.

The show was absolutely beautiful. The acting was perfect, especially Gaston's character, and the singing and dancing scenes were exceptionally incredible. My kids were mesmerized. Clay and I were mesmerized.

That's not to say that this date didn't encounter its fair share of problems. First, both kids were scared of the large, dark theater. And by scared, I mean Em was crying, and she's been talking about going to this performance for months. It took a reassuring talk with her dad to convince her that there was nothing scary in there.

And as much as they enjoyed the show, they both got antsy near the end. During the last fifteen minutes, Clay and I were probably asked fifteen times when it would be over. Luckily there were cocktails during intermission.

Overall, I'd say for Emerson and Narls seeing their first full-length play at 4 and 6 years old, they did amazingly well.  They were scared of the Beast, they laughed at Gaston, their eyes never left Belle, and there were exclamations of "how did he do that?!" when the Beast turned back into the prince at the end of the show.

We talked about how we should clap at the end to let the actors know how much we enjoyed the play, we talked about how plays are different from movies on TV, how the story we saw was different than the book we read.

There were so many great opportunities to learn and spark curiosity and have fun together as a family at the theater. And believe me, having your daughter take your hand as you're walking out and tell you this was the best day of her life will make it one of the best of your life, too.

Dating My Kiddos: Pottery and Ceramics

Last week Narls asked me a question. It was after a series of other he questions he just finished asking me. I was only half-listening (less than that even, quarter-listening would be more accurate), focusing instead on my phone and catching up with my twitter stream. I mumbled a non-verbal sound of confirmation to his unheard question, and after a few beats of silence he asked me, “mumma, did you even hear what I asked you?”

I heard him then and I let out an appreciative laugh at my knowing boy, with his serious question asked in his child voice. I put my phone down and give him and his conversation my full attention.

I would be lying if I said that I’m a changed woman; that every conversation I have now with my children would always receive my full attention. I posted before about my struggles to remain present in every day moments. It’s hard. I’m human, and they’re young children with endless questions. I zone out for the sake of my sanity.

But I did use this opportunity to resolve to carve out time for my kids that is just theirs. Special time with no distractions. More than just playing with them in their rooms – which is important, don’t get me wrong – but an event that they can look forward to and get excited about. A “date”, if you will. And thus the idea of a series of monthly kiddo dates was born.

We had our first date a couple evenings ago at a new ceramics place that opened up in our mall. Narls and Emerson and I walked around the store, looking for our perfect pieces.

 

I let them have complete creative control. I chose a coffee mug, to which Em noted, “you love your coffee, don’t you mumma?” My son zoned in on a dog, which didn’t surprise me, and my daughter chose a cat over a fairy, which did surprise me. We chose the paint colors we wanted and talked about our favorite colors and how to mix colors to create other colors and why real cats aren’t blue and pink but it’s ok if ceramic cats are painted those colors.

I was nervous about their energetic, clumsy bodies in that fragile store, but we talked about the importance of being careful. In short, we talked about everything. And anything. Narls told me about his friend at school who has newborn baby kittens, and Em wondered if all these ceramic things come alive at night when the store is closed.

I smiled at their silly stores and patiently answered their questions. I took a few minutes to snap these pictures but I never picked up my phone or let my mind drift away from what was happening during this moment that I was spending with two of the most important people in my life.

We left with our items (well they did, I have to come back in a week to get mine), feeling proud and creative and happy and heard. I'd say that's a pretty successful first date.