Printables Archives - Page 9 of 9 - The Chaos and the Clutter

My kids have been talking almost non-stop about the new Monsters Inc. movie coming out soon called Monsters University. They loved the first Monsters movie and really want to see this one. I thought it would be fun to do a whole monster theme unit with them. I have all kinds of ideas planned for next week…crafts, fun food and some learning activities all with the theme of monsters.

I made some monster themed printable sheets for my kids and decided to share them with you too in case any of your kids might like to get in on the monster fun! I of course made cute monsters that look like they are friendly, not scary monsters that kids would want to run and hide from!

If you are linking to these printables or sending friends over to nab them, please link to this page, not directly to the pdf file. Thanks!

For more fun monster-themed ideas, you may be interested in following my Monsters Board on Pinterest.

I hope you and your kids enjoy your Monster Printables!

Total11.9K
Facebook18
Twitter0
Pinterest11.9K
Mix
Yummly0

With Valentine’s Day approaching, I thought it might be an opportune time to talk about something I’ve become quite passionate about…dating your spouse.

The Importance of Dating in Marriage

For many, many years, my husband and I did not go on dates regularly. We went out just the two of us usually on our Anniversary and sometimes on our birthdays. I guess we figured that since we were already married, we didn’t need to date anymore. We were so wrong. With the pressures of our life as parents, we needed to date each other more than ever.

If you think of a marriage relationship as being like a car, consider regular dating like doing maintenance, changing the oil, getting tune-ups. If you don’t do maintenance, you could be heading towards a breakdown.

Regular dating creates shared experiences, improves communication, helps you to grow together and feel like a team. It also sends powerful messages to your children about the importance of your spouse and putting work into your relationship. This will help your kids to have more successful marriages themselves. We have discovered many times how much it means to our kids for us to date each other.

Dating Without Breaking the Bank

There was a point in our marriage when the lack of maintenance caught up to us and stressful life circumstances took a toll. One of the things we decided to do to salvage our relationship was to implement date night. At that point, given the circumstances, we began dating at least once a week. Obviously, if all of those dates were dinner and a movie, we would have run out of money quickly, so we got creative!

Creative Date Night ideas for couples. These are fun suggestions and most are inexpensive or free. Sometimes the dates that are the most memorable are the ones that cost nothing or very little. I am including a printable list of over 60 Date Night Ideas.

I would encourage you to give some a try. You could even cut the ideas into strips of paper and pull one out next date night for a real adventure!

Create a Rich History

When your dates are things that create a shared experience, you have more to draw on as a couple in hard times. You feel like a team, have inside jokes, have more to talk about, and get to know each other in a different way.

We found that once we started dating again, we laughed more and got along better. Some of our more creative dates have included doing olive oil and vinegar tasting at Evoolution, walking around the beautiful Legislature grounds in summer, eating from food trucks while listening to live music in the city square, going to the Italian market, touring Showhomes to look at wall colours and bathroom designs, and going indoor rock climbing which was not only a shared experience, but also a good trust building exercise.