Mommy & Son Dates

Now that Oliver Beckett Photography is pretty much a thing of the past, our weekends and evenings are a little more open & we have started filling those with fun family outings. We also thought it would be a good time to give each of the kids a little one on one time with each of us so we decided I'd take turns taking the boys on date nights. Not only would they each get to spend that one on one time with each of us, it would also give me a chance to teach the boys some chivalry.

One of the very first things that caught my eye with Justin was his chivalry. How he would aways open every single door for me. How he would always walk on the street side of the sidewalk with me.  He would come to the door to pick me up. Insist that I order first and almost always picking up the check---unless I had chicken strips and then I was on my own. 

Backstory--I ate chicken fingers everywhere we went. I knew that I liked them and I didn't want to order something I wasn't sure about so I went with what I knew. Justin wanted me to venture out and try new things & I have him to thank for my expanded but yet still limited pallet. 

In our house we are VERY big on manners. If we don't hear please the first go around or the boys don't catch it on their own, they often don't get what they were asking for. We say "thank you" almost more times a day than we say "I love you" which is an awful lot. We have the boys open doors for us. We ask that they put their dishes away when they are finished with their meal. We insist that they ask to be excused from the table. We ask for a lot but all of these things have been something they have done from the beginning, thanks to our amazing Ms. Brenda. 

Let's face it, we live in a ME world & that is not what we want for our boys which brings me back to our date nights.

While I take one of boys out, well they take me out on a date, the other stays at home and gets to either cook with dad or they get to go out and eat too. Each boy gets to pick the activity and where we want to eat from a few suggestions I give---movies, bowling, miniature golf, etc. Once it's decided they pick me up at the door. They open the car door for me----and then I open theirs and get them buckled in. They open the restaurant door. They pull my chair out first and then find theirs. They place a napkin (even if at a fast food restaurant) on their lap. They pay---with our card. They hold my hand---I am their mother, so that's fine. We talk about walking on the street side but of course, we don't have them do that just yet because its still my job to protect them. & when we get home, they open my car door again and walk me to the front door. 

It's going to take effort and practice on our part but that's okay. Our boys will know what it means to be good men. To respect the women in their lives and their elders. All while spending some one on one time with us. Win. Win. Win.