Spend Time with The One You Love

Although it is not always easy, one of the most important things to keep a marriage healthy and happy, if you have 1 child or 10, is to make sure you have quality time with that special someone. Scott and I have been very fortunate in that area. Although we don't get many nights out as a couple for dinner and a movie, we have taken several trips, sans kids! Some of the trips have just been to the beach or mountains a few hours away...

Scott and me at The Grove Park Inn in Asheville , NC

...or in Hawaii...

2006, 24 weeks pregnant with twins

...or Paris.

Where ever we manage to go, we have always come home refreshed and ready to tackle anything. So go now, and schedule a date! Seriously! Even if it is just at the local sports bar and have appetizer and a drink.

Quality Time

As a mother of 5 I am often asked how I get enough quality time with each of my children. To me, this is a no brainer. We just make sure we take time out to spend one-on-one time with each of our children. If you watch Jon & Kate Plus Eight, you may have realized that they have also started this. One of the twins wanted her ears pierced, so they took her to the mall then to lunch and dessert. One of the sextuplets likes animals, so they took him to a wild animal park. Whether it be something extravagant, like a concert or sporting event:

Scott was able to take Chris and Jess to "The Swamp" at UF.

I took Jess to see "High School Musical on Ice"

or something as simple as going to Wal-Mart or the mall,

the kids have always enjoyed their one-on-one time.

It doesn't matter if you have 1 child or 10, quality, one-on-on time is very important for each of them. Make sure you take time out and get that time. It also doesn't matter the age. At 19 months, Sean and Owen still enjoy getting that time. And I love the feeling of being able to take just one of them to the grocery store.