Hey y’all!

Man, I have seriously been slacking on my blog lol! I feel like this is the first post I’ve done in FOREVER! Well maybe because it has been lol.

ANYWAY!

As y’all know I have been super busy (what’s new) with homeschooling, being a wife, being a parent and doing miscellaneous work on Instagram and other social platforms. Blogging has kinda taken a backseat and even though I just  celebrated my 3rd blogiversary, I don’t feel as proud of it as I once did. I feel like I have abandoned my creative little aesthetic filled blog because of this thing called life.

WELL.....

I’m determined to keep it going! Blogging brought so much joy into my life and it’s time I start putting it into the forefront of my responsibilities! 

With all dat being said lol, the past few weeks I have been taking note of the time I spend with my girls. What are we doing? Are we enjoying each other? Am I actually going into their “world” instead of always bringing them into mine? My second oldest is the one that really made me start to wonder and take note of the things we do and don’t do. Quick story time! We were sitting at the local mom hub (Chick Fil A) and as Italy (youngest) and I were talking about doing our nails, Thailand had a look of almost neglect that I wasn’t talking about doing hers. I noticed her reaction and I asked her if she wanted to do hers as well. I was surprised at how much joy that instantly brought her! We chatted a bit more and long story short, she loves all the girly things that I do with Italy.. she just never “talks about it”. I felt soo bad! How could I let my baby feel like this? Then... to top it off, my step daughter Phoenix is about to be a TEENAGER!!! Her days of cuddling up to me are pretty much gone... cue to violins please!

I have girls at different stages in their life, different interests and different personalities. I had to make sure that I would do anything and everything possible to keep our bond strong and really see who they are outside of being my little babies.

So, that inspired this post! Fun, simple mother/daughter bonding ideas that will allow you to strengthen and develop the love between you both!

1. Brunch Dates- Or dinner, or lunch... my house is a brunch house sooo yea lol. Having intimate dates over a meal is one of the best ways to start conversations. You find out things they like, don’t like, their quirky eating habits and really whatever you want to talk about! Food always brings people together! I try to have dates with my girls as much as I can afford lol.

2. Spa Day- So my girls and I have started a new tradition every Friday evening as soon as the sun sets for our weekly Sabbath. Every Friday evening, we sport a new face mask! Walmart has some cheap ones that are surprisingly good! If you missed my post on frugal beauty finds, you can check it out HERE! We have so much fun picking them out and of course laughing at how silly we look! Spa day also consists of doing nails from time to time!

3. Movies-  Going to the movies is one of our FAVES! We love the build up of going and talking about how much we loved (or hated) it. The movies is a great way to get to know your kiddo and bond over similarities. You learn what makes them laugh, cry or inspires them.

4. Shopping- Weather you are window shopping or buying everything in sight, going shopping can really strengthen a mother daughter relationship. You get to learn their style, what colors they like, what fads they’re into and of course talk!

5. Games- My second oldest loves video games. She is always getting active with Just Dance on the Wii and of  course she wants the whole family to play! It took me a while to put aside my tiredness and actually play along. I needed to put that effort in to make sure I was bonding with her in her world, not just mine.

6. Baking- Every kid at some point loves to make messes in the kitchen! I let my kiddos from time to time get in there and get messy, but as my schedule has begun to fill, their time in the kitchen is a lot more limited than I would like. We do have special traditions though that allow us to definitely get that bonding time in the kitchen together.

7.Art Projects- Look, I have always loved art. Painting, creating sketching and all that. But I SUCK at it lol. My step daughter is an amazing artist and I truly love to see her work! I am amazed at her attention to details and how she challenges herself to get better. But now that she’s older and our time together is limited, I plan on doing more with her when it comes to art. I want to again step into her world and not just bring her into mine.

8. Mini Makeovers-  My youngest is probably the MOST like me lol. She loves makeup, dressing up and being a complete DIVA lol. There have been several times where we had bonding time playing in my makeup and then trying not to forget it was on my face before I left the house lol. We even made a video last year! You can laugh along HERE!

9. Bible Study- Bible study is fairly new for our kids so we are still trying to get into a rhythm, but studying together not only strengthens our bond, but it strengthens our love and faith in Jesus. We purchased our kids their own Bible a little while ago and Thai brings it with her EVERYWHERE!

10. Pajama Party- There are times when just cuddling on the couch or in the bed is enough! There have been several times where the girls would come into my room at night and just talk. It was the best! One of my favorite pajama party memories was when my Sweet P was around 7 or 8. She came into my room late one night and and wanted to call her mom. She had been staying with us for the summer and she missed her. She sat on my bed and talked with her for about 5-7 minutes and then got off. When she got off the phone, I expected her to go to bed but she didn’t. She stayed in my room and we started to talk about mother daughter relationships and how it's so important to keep the line of communication open. We talked about how hard it was to have two homes, we talked about how she felt about me and me being with her dad. She told me hen that she was happy I was her step mom and that she loved me a lot. We sat up all night in our pjs and watched one of my favorite movies.... The Cheetah Girls! Right before it was over, Thailand came in to join the fun and watch another movie! It was everything I have always wanted!

11. Going to the Park- We are homeschoolers so the park is like our gym time lol. I love playing with the kiddos, snapping photos of them and just letting them run wiled! Italy loves to find random objects and bring them to me. One of our favorite parks even has a little library! We pick out books from time to time and spend a little time reading them in the park!

12. Tell Jokes- Laughter is just as powerful as food! Telling jokes allows both of you to open up and laugh at silly things. I really believe that every time your child laughs with you, their love grows too!

There are so many ways to bond with your daughter so this list will be ever growing! We all want our daughters to grow into being our BFFs and once they are older and can really make their own decisions, they will definitely want to be yours too!

What are some of your favorite bonding activities? Let me know in the comments below so I can add them!