Family Dinner

It's Day number 3 of #31days over at www.thenester.com.

I decided to focus on the little things I'm doing every day that make a difference in the lives of my girls. Even if the things themselves don't feel like much, over time, they add up to relationship, and create family togetherness, and shape character. 

Day 3: We eat family dinners around the table together.  In this society of go, go, go and do more, more, more -- I fight to keep dinner time sacred.

Oh we don't eat around the table every night together (just last night we ate in the car on the way to decorate the cubicle.) and often Friday nights you can find us eating pizza while watching a video (we just finished Back to the Future series!).

But not eating around the table is the exception rather than the norm.  

And our meals aren't gourmet by any means. This week it was sloppy joes, chinese takeout, and hot dogs. Don't judge. Cooking is not really my thing, and while we aren't super healthy eaters, we try to eat a balanced meal most nights with veggies/fruit thrown in.  Some weeks we eat better than others.  This week, not so much.

But that time around the table, it's sacred. It's connecting, laughing, sharing our days, discussing family matters, making plans together.  Most days it doesn't feel like much, but I know in my heart that this time shared is worth keeping a priority.

I wonder, do you think our society would have stronger families, stronger marriages, if the family dinner time was kept a priority in every family? Something to think about.  

Mike's Cubicle Meets 3 Girls

Day 2 of #31 Days over at www.thenester.com.  Writing for 31 Days on one topic: Interacting with My Girls (it's the little every day things!)

Day 2: We accomplish projects together. After all, we are a family, and we share things as a family.  Mike's work is doing a cubicle decorating contest this month, so tonight the girls and I went up with him and decorated his cubicle.  The girls pinned each and everyone of those leaves to the leaf pile at the bottom (150 of them!)!

All the pictures are each and every Halloween we've been able to share with them!! 12 fun, fun years!

Aren't they so cute! :) 

The above pictures is of the girls attempting to recreate old Halloween pictures they thought were funny...this was all their idea and I love their silliness! How'd they do? 

 I love that they love completing projects with us and are laughing and smiling at the end!  Family togetherness, there's nothing as sweet! 

31 Day Challenge

There's this "31 Day Challenge" going on this month over at The Nester's place (It's BIG and looks FUN, check it out!). I've been going back and forth on whether or not I should just go for it! So, I'm writing this first post and plan to just go for it!  

I've decided that I want to do it because...

1. I haven't been blogging very much. Hardly been writing at all.  Perhaps a focused topic for 31 days with give me the accountability I need to get motivated again. 
2. I think it will provide me with a good opportunity to refocus some of my energy and attention in this area I feel like I've been becoming a bit 'lazy' and 'comfortable' in.  

So the topic I want to focus on this month is: Investing in my Girls. (They are currently 10 and 12 years old.)

You see, I know my days with them are numbered. I even have their 18th birthday in my countdown app. A reminder to me that yes, my days with them will not last forever.  And yet sometimes in the day to day of living, I forget that the little things I choose to do (or not do) make a difference.  Parenting is about all those little choices in the everyday-ness of living. 

This isn't about me doing things right. Ask my girls, I do a gazillion things wrong.  I'm trying to figure out this mothering thing. Many people tell me I'm a good mom. Some days I believe that. Some days I don't. But it's not about what everyone else thinks.  Several months ago I won a copy of Jill Savage's book, No More Perfect Moms. I still haven't read it, but I plan to finally read that book this month too. 

So tonight, as I reflect, what actions did I actually do today that invested into my girls? 

Today, it is this: I took time and played a game with them.  Here's the deal...

This evening, after working all day, then going the grocery store, I wanted to just lay on the couch and catch up on facebook, but I could tell the girls were bored.  So, I offered to play a game with them.  They chose Scrabble Slam.  We played 4-5 rounds of it.  (sidenote: we got this game 2 years ago and we had to 'take it easy' on them then.  Now, they are hard to beat when I'm trying my hardest!)

Playing games with my girls is fun, besides it builds relationships...interacting together, competing, laughing (at dad's word 'fart'). 

We don't play games every day, but we do try to keep these favorites nearby, so we can play often... Scrabble, Scrabble Slam, Yahtzee, Apples to Apples Jr., Who-what-Where, and Banagrams

What games do you play together as a family?