By the time Friday rolled around I had received invitations from quite a few girlfriends to go out that night for happy hour and partying. To tell you the truth, under normal circumstances I would have jumped at the first opportunity to do so, but this week was different. I had put in more hours at work than I usually did and hardly got a chance to see the kids and spend any time with them. I was also dog tired so there is no way that I would have enjoyed myself with my eyes all bloodshot and me feeling fatigued.
So this weekend I opted to spend it at home. No hanging out with the girlfriends, and no kicking it with the man. I was planning to devote my entire downtime this weekend to the girls.
We did not do much, and to tell you the truth it was the most relaxing time I've had with them in a long time. I took them to the dentist today, which was great for them because there is a playscape there and they get free toys and a goodie bag to take home.
After that we went grocery shopping. The younger one was not too thrilled but the older one enjoyed it because she got to pick out her favorite snacks. On our way home I asked what they wanted for dinner and was told that they wanted mac and cheese.
Made them some mac and cheese with their favorite chicken nuggets and they ate happily then went down to their playroom. I thought they would be buzzing around me because they missed me all week but that was not the case. So I just hung out in the kitchen with my mother and just chatted away as we made and ate dinner together. We rarely eat together at the dining table but after the week I had I felt it was important to do so. The kids played through much of the evening til nightfall. I had borrowed a few DVD's from the library for them so I asked what they wanted to watch. The Little Mermaid was requested and we had snacks and cuddled in their bed until I was asleep. I don't know what time they went to sleep but I know I was knocked out way before they were. Tomorrow I am keeping a low profile also. We are baking cookies and having a tea party this afternoon.
These activities can be very mundane to some, and cut into some valuable time that we could be using to do other chores or make extra money, but we owe it to our kids to spend some time with them. Yes, the Wii is nice, but it's nicer if you play it with your children sometimes. It's not the quantity of time you spend with your kids but the quality. My kids' father is not actively in their lives right now, not due to our separation but because he lives in a different time zone, so I owe it to the girls to be there for them whenever I can. It is very difficult to balance work and family life in today's world but we should always strive to budget our time accordingly.
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