Ways to Make an Ordinary Night Extraordinary!

Morning everyone! I hope your Tuesday is off to a great start and that you get in a good run today.  Today’s post is sponsored by Blue Apron and the first 50 people to sign up will get $60 off their first 3 weeks of Blue Apron! Go HERE to get the offer. 

I am the world’s biggest creature of habit and I love my specific routines (morning running, I’m looking at you).   I seem to easily fall into doing the same thing day after day which is great for a lot of things but I love trying to find ways to switch things up in the evenings because it makes our time together as a family more fun and memorable.  I really want to hear some of the ways you guys turn ordinary events/days into extraordinary events/days too.   

Here are a few of ours:

*Karaoke.  This sure gets Andrew out of his comfort zone and gets the kids nice and hyper before bedtime but it really gets us out of the normal nighttime routine. 

*Living room forts are always a hit over here.  We will grab the laptop and watch a movie all together in them.

*Invite an elderly neighbor over.  We had our Finnish neighbor over the other night for dinner and she told us all about her background and history. It just turned a normal Wednesday night into so much more. 

*Picnic and a movie indoors!  We’ll get out a big blanket for the ground, turn on a movie and eat our dinner picnic style.  The kids love it and it’s a fun change from the table every night.  

*Stop and PLAY.  We all love it when we do active games after dinner like hide and go seek, four corners or freeze tag.  When my normal self tells me to clean and get things done, it just feels amazing to stop, play and move. Andrew also makes the best scavenger hunts for the kids which is so fun at night.  

*Sometimes we let the kids come up with a dinner idea and make their own meals.  They have so much fun with this one!

*Dessert first:).  One time I went to dinner with a big group and the person paying for the meal said we were going to do dessert FIRST.  I had never experienced such a great idea and loved having a brownie before my meal arrived.  The kids are big supporters of this one!

*This one is just for me but a bath at night with a good book makes a normally ordinary night the best because I’m so relaxed and taking time for me.  

*Go to the dollar store and give each person one dollar with the task of getting something for a different member of the family.  It’s so fun to see what everyone chooses and it’s cheap!

*One night we decided that we each needed to try something new and came up with so many fun things like a new food, new gymnastics move, new sport, new show, new word (for Skye;) etc to try!

*Blue Apron always takes an ordinary night at home to something much more special and delicious.  Blue Apron gets us in the kitchen together cooking up something new and delicious!  They make it possible to skip grocery shopping with Elsa (she prefers to go by Elsa these days;)!  Everything is delivered right to my door in a refrigerated box in all of the right proportions which I really love because it minimizes food waste.  

Every item that I have ever received from Blue Apron (going on 5.5 years now!) has been fresh and delicious.

Each week Blue Apron has ELEVEN recipes for you to choose from with so much variety!

For this delivery I chose the Spicy Chicken Stir-Fry with Carrots & Green Beans, Za’atar Chicken & Farro with Roasted Grapes, Onions & Brussels sprouts and the Tilapia Piccata with Orzo, Zucchini & Sweet Peppers.  All three meals were amazing and all three meals our kids ate and enjoyed.  

Each meal takes us anywhere between 20-40 minutes to make!  

If you are looking at our oven clock and wondering if we are really eating dinner at 4:30ish, it is correct.  WE LOVE early dinners on the nights that Andrew isn’t working. 

Caught Brooke stealing some of the chicken during the pictures.  After this meal she told me it was even way better than Panda Express which is saying A LOT because that is her favorite restaurant.

We always say a prayer before eating but Skye decided to say another one on her own.  

Five full bellies makes us very happy.  

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The first 50 people to sign up will get $60 off their first 3 weeks of Blue Apron! Go HERE to get the offer.  PS You can skip or cancel the service at any time!

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What are some things that you do to turn ordinary days into something a bit more special?

What time do you normally eat dinner?

-When Andrew is working we usually eat at around 7 but when he is not working we eat between 4:30-5:30!

Have you tried Blue Apron?  What meals have you loved the most?

Did you have Presidents Day off?  What did you do?