By Friday night I am spent. A long week at work, kid's activities that spill over into our Saturdays so I know that tomorrow is looking busy already. Fridays are the one night I don't want to think about washing dishes, cleaning the house, worrying about what I am going to make for dinner, if there is even food in the house or kids whining that they don't want to eat what there is for dinner. So instead of worrying about any of this I instituted Friday, Family Pizza Night. Whether we are home in Northville or on vacation in the UP say in Marquette my kids insist on finding a pizza joint!

Kids love PIZZA! It is the biggest treat for them to go out to dinner because we only make time for this on Friday nights. So after a long week I know when I pull in the driveway there will be a Caravan of kids waiting for me to venture out for pizza. This is my favorite time of the entire week - pizza dinner with my family. So if your family is anything at all like ours you might think about instituting your own special night of the week. The family bonding we do over pizza on Friday nights is beyond comparison.

Kids tend to talk when they are happy and pizza night makes them happy. They will begin to tell you all about their week. Who did what during class, what girls wore what brands, yes some of it is just the stuff of preteens but what are family has found is that these Friday night pizza nights have allowed us to have some of the more serious topics. Pizza night allowed us to information that our daughter keeps private thinking she will get someone in trouble if she "tells". Pizza night is not like "telling" it is having a conversation with mom and dad where the information about kids smoking and talking about drugs comes out. It allows us to keep the lines of communication open with her so for us pizza night with her is our moment in the week to find out all the things that are going through her head.

I am so thankful for Pizza night in my home. Take my suggestion and add a pizza night, or whatever food night your kids love, to your family's routine. You will find out more about what is going on in your child's head then you ever thought was going on and it is the prefect non-threatening time to do just that - Pizza night.