Gingerbread Houses and the Date That Inspired Them

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Over. The. Cough.

The holiday season is upon us and Meghan and I seemed to be clinging onto our figurative sanities recently. Marshall and Adelaide have both been going back and forth with colds and an awful cough. You know the one, right? The cough that makes it sound like their chests are about to burst through their throats at any given moment. Well, in our cases, when our kids do have a bad cough, it sometimes ends up with vomit. Details aside, it’s safe to say that we’ve reached somewhat of a breaking point recently where each cough seemed to cause a head tilt and eye twitch in both of us. Clearly, the kids can’t help it. Does it make it any easier? Not a single bit.

Inspired from a Date Night Out

The proverbial dust seemed to settle last week and their coughs have become miniscule (*knock on wood*). So, we were absolutely thrilled to have a date night on Saturday night. Let’s just say we were happy that Nana and Pop Rod could watch the kids for us. As we’ve mentioned before, finding time for date nights is not always the easiest. This happened to be our first since August – and it was glorious! Meghan and I went to our favorite restaurant (*cough* – State Fare – *cough*). We had an amazing time listening to some live music, eating some delicious food, and enjoying a couple of cocktails. It felt so good to be able to sit back and just laugh and have fun with the woman I love. Needless to say, at the end of the meal, we felt reenergized. And, as a parent, you can probably guess what happened next. We ordered Disney+ and watched Home Alone. That’s right! My parents gave us money, so we could buy the kids Disney+ for their Christmas gifts. Let’s be clear – this is an amazing gift. So, we decided to order it a tad earlier and watch something to get a good laugh.

via GIPHY

So, we were able to laugh, talk about future plans when we win the lottery, and just enjoy time to ourselves knowing we didn’t have to worry about that cough. Okay, we also watched 10 Things I Hate About You. No, the kids do not know we have Disney+ yet, but they’ll get early access next weekend. This will let them see their gift before seeing Grandma and Grandpa, so they can thank them when we visit. Oh, by the way, we totally high-fived when we thought about the idea of getting Disney+ a bit early. No shame whatsoever.

Gingerbread House Fun

So, I’m sharing a little bit about our date night, because it definitely helps us to be better parents. On our date night, we thought, “Let’s let them build their own gingerbread houses.” We knew it was going to be messy. We knew it wasn’t going to be perfect. But, we also want to make sure our kids can be kids and just have fun. So, before picking the kids up, we made a stop to pick up a couple of gingerbread house supplies. Those supplies look something like this: graham crackers, marshmallow fluff, gum drops, gummy bears, and two kinds of M&Ms. They were so excited when we told them. We made sure to let them know ahead of time, “It’s okay if it doesn’t work. It’s okay if they don’t stay standing. Just have fun.”

We prefaced this to help alleviate any tension, if and when the cookie crumbles. Well, there were a couple of tears. But, the four of us working together on a fun project led to plenty of smiles on their faces. And that’s the whole point! Meghan and I want to be amazing parents – and it’s a hard thing to accomplish. We feel beaten down when they get sick. We feel guilty when we have to enforce rules. It’s not easy. What’s easily the best thing is being able to make our kids smile and laugh. When Meghan and I go on a date, it makes it easier to think of these fun projects. Yes, “tis the season,” but as a parent, not everything is crystal clear – even during the holidays.

Sharing Our Gingerbread House Pictures

So, if you can, take a step back and find time to decompress. It immediately led to a fun family activity. And, there’s not much else to say about it, except to show pictures of our “gingerbread houses.” Oh, and get Disney+. That stuff is awesome.