Who are you again? Oh, right, the father of my children

After a long week of vacation - plus the Fourth of July holiday - I'm able to reflect on how nice it was to just be with my little family, Jeremy included. My girlfriend at work said the same thing - she just came back from a trip out west, and she said she not only enjoyed spending time with her toddler son but also with her husband, whom she has missed.

And, yes, we're both talking about the guys who sleep beside us at night and whom we pass in the bathroom in the morning and whom we see over our kids' heads as we are prodding our children to eat their meals, brush their teeth, or please, just go to the bathroom!

Two working parents plus kids = chaos most days. I think the most meaningful conversations I've had with Jeremy during the workdays have occurred as we leave the house together in the morning and we walk down Chicago's Halsted Street - at least until he catches the bus or I head into the L station.

One of my favorite memories from our trip last week was being able to go out for a drink in Sag Harbor after dinner with Jeremy's parents and uncle. We were by ourselves, in an open-air restaurant with live music and salty breezes. We actually could talk about what we wanted for our family and where we see ourselves in a few years. We've even developed our mission statement for our kids: To have the ability to see the world through others' eyes. (but that's another blog post for another time...)

So I'm trying to think about some ideas to reconnect besides the typical date night idea. Please share your ideas for reconnecting with your significant other!