We rush to get in the shower. Rush breakfast down. Rush to get to work/play/school/drop-in/grocery store. Rush to tweet while the kid’s show is on. Rush to make dinner. Rush to clean up dinner. Rush to bed.

And one day (and we all come to that day) it hits us and we ask ourselves “where did my life go?!” Date night is an important pause for parents. Time to focus on YOUR interests. To de-stress. To reconnect. To grow adult relationships. It’s important to take time for yourself.

“Date night” doesn’t necessarily have to be with a spouse (there are many single, divorced, widowed, not-looking-right-now parents out in the world). “Date night” can be a night out with a friend, group meeting, French lesson, etc. Date night can be whatever you want it to be.

Consider these date night ideas:

* Makin’ bacon! (not the slang definition). Spend an evening cooking together. It can be fun and also a tangible activity. Either out at a meal assembly kitchen, community kitchen or at home.

* Movie night. What was the last movie that you saw? (Please note: Disney and Pixar films do not count). The Oscars are a good starting point of date-night-worthy films.

* Makin’ bacon! (yes the slang definition). Your sex life didn’t die the moment you gave birth. Intimacy is a good thing.

* Join a class together. A weekly class is something you put on the calendar. (hello?! If it’s on the calendar it's an obligation – you have to go).

* Book club. A monthly book club meeting is a great social outing (plus, it makes you feel like you know something greater than Yo Gabba Gabba).

* Reservations for 2 please. A grown-up dinner, out in the world, can rejuvenate the soul. (Please refrain from reaching over and cutting your date’s green beans)

* A walk to remember. Go out for a walk together – in the city or on a trail. Build energy from the open environment around you.

* Cha-Ching – go shopping. Any parent who has shopped with whiny kids knows what a pleasure it is to shop with just non-whiny grown-ups.

* Live tonight. Whether it be community theatre, the national ballet or a concert – live events are fun.

* Uncork a bottle. Go to a wine tasting or screw off – if need be – at home (I meant the bottle).

Not taking time to re-connect with a “date” can be very negative. It can nurture frustration, animosity, depression and anxiety in yourself and in those closest to you.

It is a wonderful thing to be a parent but bigger than that – you are a PERSON - someone who needs and deserves attention and focus from another grown-up. You need it for mental stimulation, for energy, for support and for entertainment.

Date night won’t happen unless you make it happen. Call the grandparents/aunt/friend/neighbour/sitter and schedule a date. Choose an idea (bookmark this page for reference). Invite your date out. Give yourself permission to abandon the laundry basket. Make you next date night a big #Win.

About the Author Caroline Fernandez lives, writes and does laundry in Toronto, ON. Her writing has been widely published in Canadian magazines for both children and adult markets. Her web credits include many parenting, eco living and lifestyle articles. Profile | Website | Follow her on Twitter

The Basics

Canada’s Food Guide recommends kids (for example: aged 4-8) should have approximately 5 servings of fruits and vegetables. 4 servings of grain products. 2 servings of milk and alternatives. 1 serving of meat and alternatives.

Breakfast for Dinner

Breakfast fuels your family’s bodies for the day, so it is the perfect switch-up to fuel the evening’s activities. Milk is almost always in the fridge making it convenient. It is interesting to note that chocolate milk is equal to white milk in terms of proteins, vitamins and minerals.

Breakfast for dinner meals are quick to make, easy to eat and full of goodness. Warm milk on cooked oatmeal is nourishing and a comfort food. Hot chocolate, scrambled eggs, whole grain toast followed by a fruit hit all food groups. Omelets, BLT sandwiches and French toast are also some great breakfast for dinner meals.

Slow Cooker

Raise your hand if you have a croc pot? Place cut vegetables, liquid, spices and meat (vegetarian options are also available) in the morning, turn the device on and it will cook unattended until you return home.

It is also a budget-saver as most inexpensive cuts of meat are tough yet when slow cooked they tenderize.

Double Batch and Freeze

When you make your next chicken soup or lasagna - double the batch and freeze a family-sized serving for dinner impossible night. Soups and casseroles lend themselves well to freezing.

Tomato sauce is also a perfect freezer food for dinner impossible night. Simply defrost the sauce (and no need to think about this hours before hand – the microwave can defrost it in minutes) and boil salted water for pasta. Delicious, quick and hearty!

Kid Menu

Dinner doesn’t always have to be a big meal. Reference a children’s menu and find some interesting dinner ideas: grilled cheese & carrot sticks, chicken fingers & homemade fries, cheese and chicken quesadillas.

Ask your kids for their favourite kid menu meals…they are almost always quick and easy.

Dinner can be a challenge some nights of the week but it is not impossible. Keep it simple, healthy and smart. In other words, don’t try out a new recipe when you are rushing to get to karate class – keep dinners on activity nights tried and true favourites. Remember preferred foods go down quickest so bring on the grilled cheese and make dinner possible!

About the Author Caroline Fernandez lives, writes and does laundry in Toronto, ON. Her writing has been widely published in Canadian magazines for both children and adult markets. Her web credits include many parenting, eco living and lifestyle articles. Profile | Website | Follow her on Twitter

Write your own Song, Play or Movie – Engage your kids in a creative process by helping them to create a performance piece, whatever their preference is. If you have access to a video camera, record it for future enjoyment or send copies to grandparents.

Camp or Picnic in your Backyard – Pretend that you are somewhere else entirely to enhance the experience of the backyard outdoor fun. For a picnic, pack food, utensils, drinks and blanket. For camping, bring everything you'd take if you were actually going away. Consider packing everything in the car, driving around the block, then drive back home to “arrive” at your destination spot.

Plan a Scavenger Hunt – A wonderful activity that can be done outside or inside, a scavenger hunt can take many forms and cover many themes. Consider a nature hunt, a book hunt, or even a dollar store hunt. Older children may appreciate a list of objects to search for, while younger kids can join in the fun by finding items of all one color or that begin with a certain letter.

Create a Time Capsule – Have each member gather special mementos, photographs, letters, and artwork. Interview each member and compile a list of everyone's favorites. Children may enjoy also tracing their hands and feet to compare later. For added protection, consider copying photographs onto acid-free paper and storing objects in plastic bags before placing into the capsule. Your capsule itself can be anything your choose, from an old show box to a plastic waterproof tub. Choose a date to open the capsule, whether it be 1 year, 5 years or 10, and prepare to enjoy great memories when that day arrives.

Create an Obstacle Course – Set up a backyard obstacle course with cardboard boxes, planters or outdoor furniture. if you have a large enough team, you could turn the course into a relay race. Add a level of challenge by having kids also kick a ball through the course. Use a stopwatch to time each members as they run through.

Investigate the Backyard or Nearby park – Pretend you are geologists, archaeologists or even aliens visiting earth for the first time. Use small magnifying glasses to look closely at plants, bugs, rocks, and dirt. Get children to write or draw what they find in a field notebook. Gather everyone together for a snack afterwards to share what each child found.

Celebrate Nature with Crafts – Nature is full of ideas for making kid-friendly crafts. Use crayons to create leaf or bark rubbings. If you have a sunny day available, make sun prints. Have children place sticks, leaves or other objects on top of dark or brightly colored construction paper and put in a dry sunny spot. In a few hours, they'll have their very own sun print. Press some leaves of flowers or make a rock garden.

As you can see from these family activities, a budget doesn't have to mean boring. Adventures can be found anywhere as long as you remember to look at things with a creative and playful attitude. Take a cue from your kids – relax and have some fun!

I start off every month with great intentions, and I always start running out of money before payday. My priorities are a little screwed up, but my bills are nearly always paid on time, and we’re never at risk of going without anything we need. But, I have no qualms about spending money on things we don’t need, too. Like Starbucks.

Usually we’re comfortable. But then we moved to a new, bigger, more expensive place that really shows off my decades-old furniture and calls for colour. Namely, I’m broke, I’ve got bills and I covet for my new home.

I know that saying “I’ll stick to this month’s budget” would be like asking Kanye to act respectfully at an awards show.

That’s why last month I devised a fool-proof, rule-breaking method for getting ahead. I’m sharing it in case someone you know hypothetically has problems sticking to her budget:

1. Create the next month’s budget before it starts, with every expected expense and source of income, including due dates.

2. On the first day of the month, pay all of your currently due bills, then withdrawal everything else in cash.

3. Freeze your credit cards right next to the toaster waffles.

4. Label an envelope for each of the expenses from your budget.

5. “Pay” the bills (envelopes) that will become due before next payday, including this pay period’s portion of groceries and rent/mortgage.

6. Sit back and think, “hey, it’s like I’m saving money, responsibly!” Blog, Facebook or Tweet about it.

7. Stick to the envelopes. You can’t touch any of them unless the bill is due, which is when you can pay it in cash or re-deposit the cash to your bank account and pay online/by cheque.

8. Get to the next payday and do it all again.

Some hints:

* For groceries: I tend to shop daily, so I “pay” several envelopes – one for every day – to keep my spending realistic.

* For debts: pay off the smallest debt, first. This motivates you because debts are erased faster than via small payments on higher balances.

* For savings: use an account that’s going to be a major pain to access (for withdrawals).

* For purchases: see if there is any way to pre-spend the money you’d ordinarily just blow (for example, I’ll be buying Ikea gift cards and pre-paid credit cards for furniture and painting supplies).

* For extra cash after the bills are paid: spend it on a goal now (debt reduction, savings, and/or purchases).

The beauty of this system is that I can’t shop with a frozen credit card, but it’s still there if an emergency comes up, and I can’t overspend, because I’ve already spent all of the extras. I have no choice but to stick to the budget.

The pain about it is that I can’t overspend and I really miss Starbucks.

About the Author Terra (aka Zoeyjane) is a single mom to a crazed nymph of a preschooler inVancouver. After rocking at making rich people more money, selling themshiny shoes and helping them deal with their unimpressed clients,something made her think parenthood might come easy. She’s sincelearned her lesson, with a lot of time outs along the way. When she’snot trying to get the yelling to stop and ignoring the jumping of achild high on agave syrup, she works from home as a freelance writerand small business consultant, blogs on various sites and remainsactive in social media. Profile | Her Main Site | Follow Her on Twitter

Then he went away a couple of times on some extended mission trips. It forced me to remember and get back in touch with myself. It was good for me even though I missed him terribly. It made me have to make some choices and decisions again without him. Anything of great importance, of course, I always tried to contact him or take his thoughts and possible opinions into consideration – that’s what you do in a marriage relationship! But all the other decisions that needed to be made… I had to make them on my own.

It was really tough at first. I stressed myself out trying to make the exact right decision. Then I slowly started to learn that it was okay if I made a wrong choice here and there. I mean, that’s what most people have to do along life’s way, right? They have to learn from their mistakes and misfire a few times so that they can gain more wisdom and discernment.

I learned that I have a mind of my own. I mean, I always knew that – but I learned how to get back in touch with my own heart and mind. I think that’s important for women. Marriage shouldn’t be a pull and tug kind of thing, but it should be one where you feel comfortable if your husband is unavailable or not around to be able to make informed and strategic decisions for your household.

If you – like me – have come to rely on your spouse so much that you can’t say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to anything without him; maybe it’s time that you re-learn how to make some small choices and decisions on your own again. Heaven forbid, something happen to him and you are at a complete loss of what to do in life!

You have something to add to you home, your marriage, and your life. It’s time to start seeing just what you can bring. I bet you’ll surprise yourself at just how much you have to offer.

About the Author Dionna Sanchez is the Founder of the EmphasisOnMoms.com ministry. Sign up for her free monthly newsletter for moms or visit her blog. Profile | Her Main Site | Follow Her on Twitter