Mom & Me Nights ... it works for me!

Welcome to Day 2 of the 31 Days Series It Works for Me!

Grocery shopping is a necessary evil that's turned into one of the most delightful chores on my list.  

Really! 

I'm not kidding!  

For ten years now we've turned the grocery run into a "date" night for me and one of the kids.  We rotate kids each week, so each kiddo has a night out with mom about once a month.  Okay, I'll be honest with you,  we don't  just go grocery shopping, we also go out to dinner, which I'm sure fuels their desire to spend the evening with Mom.  We also run any errands and do any special shopping they'd like to do.  

Sometimes we squeeze in a movie, too.  

We get the necessary done, but also make it fun - so they look forward to their turn.  I can't begin to convey how much I love that.  

On Ben's night out, we dine at Schlotzsky's 

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and make a trip to the pet store, art supply store, or maybe GameWorks for video games.

On Nathan's night out, it's (usually) Dickey's Barbeque

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and a trip to Guitar Center, where I stand around trying to look cool and

try not be the mom from That Seventy's Show.

On Abbie's night out, if I can talk her out of the Chinese Food buffet, it might be Olive Garden 

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and we make frequent trips to Justice to look at clothes, where I try not to let the repeating Justin Bieber videos take over my brain.

With Aaron it's Panda Chinese Buffet

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and ... well, I never do know what he's going to have up his sleeve.

We started Mom & Me when our eldest was nine.  We've been going to Schlotzsky's once a month (or thereabouts) for ten years, and we only strayed from the home of The Original twice.  

We try to be flexible, we really do, but that sandwich is serious.

The beauty of starting this weekly venture when the kids were young is that now it's a natural thing to do, and they look forward to their Mom & Me night (even though they're teenagers).  These evenings have been wonderful opportunities to chat, to laugh, and sometimes discuss things that are bothering them or that need to be discussed privately. 

I get to check in on how they feel life is going.  

It's a time they can count on to get undivided and special attention, 

and I get to spend time with one of my most favorite people on earth.  

We also get the grocery shopping done, did I mention that?  

But really the focus is on spending some regular one on one time with my kids... it works for me!