Making Time for Date Nights When you Have Littles

note: amazon links are affiliated

Life has just gotten busy here lately. Hubby's work, sickness, visitors, doctor visits, homeschool events, you name it! My husband told me the other day 'I miss you'. It really struck me, because even though we see each other every day, we haven't gotten to spend much time with each other.

I know this happens to so many of us, especially those with young kids. As the kids get older, I know it can be even more challenging, with extra curricular activities being added to the mix. With all the busyness of life, how can we make time for our spouse?


Set aside a day each month
One of my goals for this year, was to pick a day each month and set aside time to be with each other and plan a 'real' date night (or day). Sometimes this may mean fancy dinner or simply a movie and popcorn. We are very blessed to have family nearby to watch the little ones, and always seem happy (or at least I hope they are!) to let us have some time to ourselves.

Give your undivided attention
It's so easy to whip out your phone, but try to set it aside and really visit with your spouse! This is really the time where you can open up to your spouse and deepen your relationship. Remember, one day the kids will be gone, and it will be just you and your husband again. These moments are perfect for building on your relationship.

Be young again
While I like to think of myself as still young, things are just different now that we have little ones. When we are able to be 'childless' for an afternoon or evening, we go all out. Holding hands, him opening the door for me, go to our favorite bookstore without having to go to the toy section, and ending the date at our local coffee shop.

What are your top tips for having date nights with littles? If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, I'll be asking you to share your favorite date night ideas! Also, below in my suggestions, I am sharing my favorite books and resources for couples. I am also sharing a Dave Ramsey book, because having our finances in order has really helped us have peace as a couple, and money for date nights!

Adding Fun into my Homeschool Year: 2020 Goals

note: amazon links are affiliated

 Since starting preschool, I've always tried to make learning fun. We've played games, done puzzles and and art to promote learning. When we started kindergarten, I was really thankful for all the neat activities and ideas that The Playful Pioneers gave, which was perfect for a less than creative person like me. While the curriculum has been great, sometimes we still get bogged down with math facts and reading.


If you read my previous post on 2020 goals, you know that adding fun to our schooling was one of my family goals. This week I've really focused on that, and have loved the results! I am still needing to designate a night a week for game night, but adding games and fun to our schooling is a step in the right direction!

This Animal Snapshots game was a perfect cold and rainy afternoon game! Each picture is detailed and colorful and there are so many ways you can play this game. This time my son and I took turns picking a card and describing the animal (kind, color, climate, etc.) while the other guessed. Another way you can play is by asking the questions printed on the back, or by telling a story based on what you think is going on in the picture. My son was pretty good at this game, thanks to his love of the TV show, Wild Kratts!

The Melissa and Doug fishing game might be a touch too young for my son, as he has mastered both colors and numbers, but it was his choice and my 1 year old enjoyed it just as much as he did. Even though he had a good understanding of numbers and colors, it did help him with following the rules and being a good sport, which are also great things to know!

The final 'fun' thing we did was this Kumon telling time book. While still a workbook, the illustrations are so colorful, and the layout so engaging that here you are seeing my son work on it because he asked me if he could! He is learning a lot but having so much fun doing it!

You can check out these previous reviews of games and activities that we've enjoyed and continuing to enjoy, but this is a snapshot into what we've been doing this week to add fun to our homeschool year in 2020. Check next week to see how some of my other goals are going. 

You can also check out the Timberdoodle Winter Blog Hop that is going on right now to see other activities you can do during this season!

Goal Setting for Non-Planners

I am the opposite of Type A, and a go with the flow kind of a person. More gets accomplished the day before or 30 minutes before an assignment/project etc. than in the weeks I knew about it ahead of time. This is a weakness I've discovered about myself, and the best way to not be my normal self? Just do what needs to be done! I am hoping to be successful in implementing this philosophy in my goals for this year.

Winging my goals was also part of my normal routine, but something Dave Ramsey posted caught my attention 'Unwritten goals are just wishes'. Ouch. So instead of just wishing to accomplish some things this year, I am writing down specific, achievable goals. No fancy color coded planners, and my bullet journal has been sorely neglected. I just got out a plain notebook, wrote down my goals, and I'm allowing you to have a peak so I can have some accountability!

This year  I'm making goals for my:

Home: 
Declutter a little each day. Set aside at least 15 min each day to go through and declutter.
I am planning to redo the plan by Laura Noelle. I started the plan, life got in the way. If you would like to start your own 30 day journey, click this link to her plan! She has other great posts on minimalism. I also follow the Minimal Mom on Youtube, and she has fantastic videos on minimalism, and I feel like our personality types are similar!

1 complete load of laundry a day. Laundry has been my nemesis! I've tried all sorts of 'methods', but I believe the best method is to just do it!

Family:
Integrate more fun into learning. I'm not as creative or artsy as some, but I want to add more games and activities to our homeschooling. My specific goal is to do an educational game or science activity at least once a week.

Family game night. Designate one night a week as game night, and add special treats like popcorn to make it even more fun!

I wanted to add traveling to this goal list. With me giving birth during the summer, this may not happen as much this year. I would like to have one good family vacation this year, though!

Couple:
Make designated date night at least once a month. Having quality time as a couple is so important! Especially when thinking adding another little to the mix.

Personal:
Read more books! Designate 20  minutes during lunch to read. Rotate genres of book each time. I am also wanting to be on my phone less. I am hoping this will help!

We use the YouVersion app to complete our Bible reading goals. This year my husband and I are doing the chronological Bible in a year! We are also going through Dave Ramsey's Financial baby steps, and using it to help us reach our financial goals.

What are your goals this year? This month I'll be sharing how I'm implementing these goals in my home and family, so stay tuned!

My Very First Body Book: A Timberdoodle Review

I  am incredibly excited to be telling you about this wonderful book! From the first moments of my son opening up the Timberdoodle box, he excitedly squealed over the bright colors and immediately wanted me to read My Very First Body Book to him. 

We are big fans of Usborne books, and this was no exception.  This was a great addition to our curriculum this year, as we didn't have anything that was specifically 'health' related. 

Each page is filled with information on the human body and how it functions, but never feels too 'wordy', as it's broken up into sections. The formatting and bright illustrations helped keep my son's interest, the whole way through!

Something else I appreciated is that they kept the 'people' in the book very vague and a solid color. It never felt inappropriate or above a preschool/kindergartners level.

My son's favorite page? The one about pooping of course! This is done very well, and merely states matter of factly how our digestive system works. My son was mesmerized, but still giggled a little at the end. He is all boy!

The book covers the skeletal system, muscles, organs, how our body ages, and so much more, yet it stays within its 3+ level. This would be a great jumping point to get your kids interested in learning more about the human body.

Something else I appreciated about this book was that the pages were hard and almost indestructible. This is great when Baby Girl wants to look through the brightly illustrated pages too!





You can click here to see more details of this wonderful book. It is also part of the complete Preschool Curriculum that Timberdoodle puts together. I love that it puts the guess work out of making sure you've covered everything you are supposed to for that grade level. I have loved everything that Timberdoodle has recommended thus far!

I have also added a few items that I would recommend for continuing to study the human body. As usual, these links are affiliate. Anything you purchase I will get a small compensation.
Happy studying!