Special Days

A few weeks after we moved here, I was telling Samantha and Spencer a "story from when I was little" as their bedtime story. I told them about a trip I took with some of my cousins, and how, in their family, they had Special Days. These cousins of mine had seven kids in their family. So, each day of the week it was someone's Special Day. That meant, the "Special" kid could pray or choose someone to pray at meals, sit in the front seat of the car, and pick a little "special" something he or she wanted to do (like, play with a friend, play his/her game of choice, eat some kind of treat, etc.)

Well. The idea was FASCINATING to my kiddos! And so... we now have "Special Days." Samantha's is Tuesday, and Spencer's is Thursday. At first, I kind of wondered, what did I get myself into?! But actually, it's been kind of fun. We don't really do that much stuff we wouldn't normally be doing already. But the kids look forward to it, and they feel like they're helping to make the plan for the day.

Here's some of the things we've done for Special Days...

-- Found a new park, with some VERY cool toys

Natalie's first swing ride... she was a BIG fan!

-- Walked to the bridge to see the turtle in our pond

He's kinda hard to see, but I promise, there's a HUGE turtle in that pond, about as big around as a large trash can lid. And he has a really long neck, too. I think you can mainly see his neck in this picture...

-- Rode our bikes at the beach

(my personal favorite, and probably theirs, too)

There's a great boardwalk, all along the beach near our house. Perfect for biking!

Oh, and, Samantha's friend from church gave her this little two-wheeler, no training wheels. She got on and had no trouble whatsoever riding it, from the very first try! Wow.

-- Took a "just for fun" bath in the middle of the day

(one of their last all-together baths... Samantha's starting to take them on her own now... growing up so fast. sniff sniff.)

-- Read extra stories together before bedtime

And, some other "Special Days" we didn't catch on film...

-- Walked to Dunkin Donuts for pink donuts with sprinkles

-- Played at McDonalds playland

-- Went to Central Park to play in the sandbox

-- Watched a movie in bed with mom, even staying up after bedtime

-- Went to the library

It's fun. And, actually, it kind of helps with some of the little sibling fights... "Spencer gets the red one, because it's his Special Day." "Samantha gets the last jelly bean, because it's her Special Day." "Spencer can go first, because it's his Special Day." "Samantha can choose which she wants, it's her Special Day."

I even claim my own Special Day, occasionally... I tell them we're going to go shopping and they have to be extra good even when we're just looking at boring mommy clothes and such, because it's my Special Day. They're very good about it, a nice surprise!

The only drawback is when we can't actually do what they'd like, for their Special Day. Like, umm... Spencer seems to think it's a "Make a Wish" list. Several times a day, I hear, "Mom. You know what, on my special day??Umm... go to McDonalds." Then five minutes later, again, "You know what on my Special Day? Umm... go to Wal-mart." And again, "Umm... watch Thomas the Train." And my favorite so far, "Ummm... go on an airplane." ha! We'll save that last one for a few months, eh?!

Anyway, Saturday is Brian's first Special Day: he starts a week of vacation! Yay!! Wish us luck, making it very extra Special!!