Cheap Dates

The thing about my husband being on weekend call is that we never know how to plan. On call days he rounds on his patients at two hospitals, plus his four partners' patients. Additionally, he is responsible for whatever comes into the ER and follow up phone calls from current and former patients of anyone in his group. This means we can expect him to be absent from at least 6am to 4pm with a brief break if we are lucky before going back in for the night. This is the schedule for the 72 hours from Friday to Monday mornings every 5th weekend.

On these weekends, I try to keep our plans loose...but the reality is, as a Mama of little ones who no longer nap, you have to have something in your back pocket for the 12 hours of 'wake time.'

We had a teeball game this morning (that Daddy was able to squeeze in between morning rounds). By 10:15 he was back to work. We were invited to a Crawfish Broil this afternoon, so I optimistically scheduled a babysitter hoping we could make it. As the day went on, I knew the likelihood was very slim. So, on to Plan B...I kept the sitter and took each of the children on a solo date while Ms. Jean stayed behind with the other two.

Each date only amounted to about 40 minutes, but it was time very well spent. P chose to spend money he had saved for a hula hoop. His simple joy at this purchase was the highlight of my day. He hula hooped down the aisles of the store before his purchase and through the parking lot afterwards.

Next it was R's turn. Do you love his outfit or what? And the attitude he is wearing with it...Oh my!

He, too, decided he would like to go buy something with money he had saved...so off to the Dollar Tree we went. R actually asked me on the way if I thought Knowshon Moreno (a former UGA standout) would wear sunglasses like his. He purchased a police officer set. Lastly Ms. K and I set off for our adventure. Although she had initially said she wanted to go to the park, her jealousy over the boys' new treasures won out. Back to the dollar store we went to adopt a new baby doll.

I was much more intentional about individual time with my children when they were in church preschool a few mornings a week. Now that they are in school 5 days a week, I do not use afternoon sitters. My experience today was a great reminder that carving out one-on-one time with my children is more than worth the extra effort.

Babysitter $20
Cheap plastic toys $4.91 (of the children's money)
Time to devote to my kiddos, resulting in smiles like those above: Priceless