Dating the Kids: Date 2, Kiddo #1 ~ Coffee before school

She went for the iced coffee & I went for a white mocha

My eldest had the dumbest schedule last week because the schools were doing the State's standardized testing last week. She's in 7th grade and didn't have as many tests as the 8th graders and therefore, the school didn't want them there until almost two hours after school began. It really wouldn't be that big of a deal except I needed one kiddo at school by 8:15, the 7th grade to her school by 9:35 and my kiddo with a broken leg needed to get to school to do testing at 12:30 pm and then pick her up at 2:30, get the 7th grader at 3:00 and the last kiddo at 3:30. 

The first day of this, I ran back and forth. The second day and told my 7th grader she was just going to have to go to study hall after I dropped off her sister at 8:15, I could not waste gas doing all that driving. The third day, I decided I would take my 7th grader out for coffee after her sister was dropped off at 8:15 and that would give us a little more than an hour to chat over coffee.

We got coffee and sat in Starbucks (my least favorite coffee place in the world but the closest to the schools). There were probably three or four other parents and kids from her school doing the very same thing. It was just perfect. We sat at a table and talked about everything: friends, homework, boys (yep...but just the one that counts), dating, careers and just life. We talked about our best friends moving away and cried a bit. We talked about my mom (who was very close to my eldest when she passed away 3 years ago) and cried a bit more. We talked about horses, she wants to jump horses and do barrel races for a living. We talked about what subjects may be very important for that kind of job to include the one she hates right now, Latin. She talked, I listened and then I talked and she listened and the we both just chatted.

It had been far too long since her and I had that kind of talk. I learned a lot about her that I didn't know (new information in a pre-teen world changes so quickly). I learned about new friends. I learned about the boy she likes (though I already knew who he was). I learned about some of her fears. It might have been the best date every. I can't wait till we have another. An hour over coffee can make a world of difference in a mother/daughter relationship during the teen years.

Dating the Kids: Date 1 Kiddo #4 ~ The Salon

Dates have been difficult this year. We have four kids and our third one broke her leg at the very beginning of February. She's in a full leg cast. Because of this, she isn't able to go school or really anywhere. She and I are prisoners to the house. It makes going out on dates difficult and really going out at all. She did finally decide this past weekend she'd getting along well enough to go to her grandparents. That meant this past Saturday, we actually had a day when just our youngest was home.

Kiddo #4 is a 10 year girl. She's our youngest. She has very fine, soft, fly-away hair. I have been cutting the girls hair for years. It's just a straight cut so nothing to it. Well, that wasn't working anymore for her. She needed body and layers and was ready for a more grown up style. That was feeling a little beyond what I was comfortable doing.

Well, it was time to take her to the salon. On Saturday, I planned some time to do that. I didn't make an appointment because I wasn't completely sure exactly what time we would be able to go. We stopped by a couple place with nothing available so we headed to the mall.

We went to a couple places and found a place that could get cut her hair in just under two hours away. That meant we needed to "kill" some time. The date was to be a hair style and a coffee but once we got to the mall, she changed her mind and decided on Orange Julius. We got our drinks and notice my brother, sister-in-law & my nephew where there getting lunch at the food court. We joined them and chatted while they eat and we drank our not-so-wonderful drinks (next time we'll stick with coffee).

Then we walked around the mall a bit and went into store she liked. We looked at purses and jewelry and other such stuff. We found some interesting snacks we like (didn't buy them but now we know where to get them). Then it was time to head to the salon. Her stylist's name was Star. She was wonderful. It was a match made in heaven and Star even gave Kiddo #4 a free bow barrette for her new style. I'm not sure she could have smiled any bigger.

It was a good day. I even made an appointment for eight weeks out, so we already have another date on the books (but hopefully another one in between). Hopefully when kiddo #3 gets her cast off, I'll be able to go on more dates with the kids. Until then, we'll squeeze dates in when we can.

The Salon.

Getting the hair cut.

Getting the style. 

The cute free bow