Date Nights and Boredom Busters!

So I guess yet again it has been a long time since I updated the blog.  Luckily I am now on bed rest so I have plenty of time to update this thing!  I think I am going to make it a weekly goal to post something every week even if it is short.  I know no one really reads this but, it's a good way to journal our family activities.

So first for the fast update on our family.  Rian is now 6 and almost done with kindergarten!  I can't believe my little girl is getting so big!    Maddox is now 5 and can't wait to start kindergarten this august.  He loves doing everything Rian does, and feels very left out when she gets to do new things, like school, and he does not.  So I can't wait for him to figure out school is not as fun as it looks!  Just kidding I know he will love it.  Paxton is 2 now!  He talks so much and is such a smart little boy.  He was trying to potty train himself, because he sees Maddox doing it.  Once I got pregnant that slowed him down.  Now he has to remind me daily that he is my baby.   Brock has had his own practice up and running now for almost seven months!  It is going great and he loves what he does.  Here is a quick link to his site in case your curious at what he does. www.johansenwellness.com He really is an amazing doctor and I can't be more proud of him.  I am almost 35 weeks pregnant with our 4th and final baby!  Her name will be Paisley Grace.  I am so excited that it is a girl.  It just makes things so perfect with 2 boys and 2 girls!  I also am in love with her name.  Paisley I have always loved, and Grace is after my great grandma grace.  She was an amazing woman and I love and miss her very much.  She was so full of spunk, I hope Paisley can be like her.

Now on to the title of my post!  Since I have been put on bed rest for the past month and a half, and still have a month and one week left, I have been extremely bored.  Not only am I bored but the kids are bored too!  I have also been feeling very un-connected with the hubby.  Not because he is not around or helping me out.  We do watch a movie or show or two nearly everyday.  But I think it is because we have not been able to have our regular dates!  Watching movies while fun, is not fun EVERY day.

Then it got me thinking about after I do have the baby and can go out again.  How often do we do the same date of dinner and a movie, or just dinner?  Too often mainly because we simply are too tired to come up with creative ideas.

  I also then thought of the kids and how bored they are.  I am so tired of hearing "Mom! I'm sooo bored!"  Normally I take the kids out of the house nearly every day, and do something fun.  trip to the dollar store, park, chick fil a, friends houses, pools etc.  Now that I can't they get bored fast.  I have had lost of help and support from the ladies in my ward taking the kids a couple times a week to play.  That is a big help.  But what about the rest of the time?  I need to come up with something fast!

So I decided to do some research on these two things.  I keep coming across these, and I LOVE them!

How brilliant is this!  Then I thought I need things to fill them with... This task seemed a little, ok a ton, overwhelming.  So I decided to search the internet and find ideas and write down some of my favorites, tweak some to fit us, and then eventually with the creative juices flowing came up with a few of my own!  

I cannot wait to try these out.  I liked the idea of color coding the date jar.  One color for at home dates one color for inexpensive dates, and one color for more expensive ones.  I might try to incorporate this idea into the kids boredom jar as well.  

Follow these links to find my ideas that you can print!  

Date Night Jar

Kids Boredom Jar

Now all I need o do is make the jars!