Description

On the heels of their return from their first eight-day family vacation in Europe, Garrett and Danielle delve into the spectacular topic that tends to come from sex: Parenting. In today's episode, the White's take us behind the scenes and give us a peek into what it looks like to manage their household, they give us tips for finding the perfect-for-your-family babysitter or nanny, and share stories of the magical and not so magical moments in Europe.

Every week married couple Danielle and Garrett J White share insights and perspectives from within their own lives regarding the following topics discussed each month:

Week 1: Sex

Week 2: Money

Week 3: Parenting

Week 4: Communication

In This Week's Podcast…. PARENTING

Point #1: It Takes a Village

• Garrett: Let's talk about communicating instructions to people who take care of the kids. This is one of the big things about parenting. Most women have a big-time struggle with leaving their kids with anyone. In fact, we have tons of friends who will only go on a Date Night if a family member can watch their children. Danielle is at the top of the list when it comes to anxiety surrounding this issue.
• Danielle: When we go on vacation, I still get nervous. Like every mom, I start thinking thoughts like, "Oh my God, what if the plane goes down!? " Ultimately, you can't live your life like that. You can't not go anywhere or not do anything, or even not go on a date. I came to the place where I refused to let that hold me hostage. And I felt like I was being held hostage by my own anxiety and choice. Like anything, the more you do it and the more you surrender to it, the more it becomes less scary.

Ladies, how do you feel about babysitters watching your children?

Point #2: Finding That Magical Connection

• Garrett: Outside of our family watching the kids, we would never go out because we didn't have a babysitter. I was more concerned about having a babysitter so that we could connect. I knew if we didn't connect and spend time together, which is Danielle's love language, there was no chance for sex and connection to take place, which is what I wanted. So, I found a resource to help us find someone: care.com.
• Danielle: After going through a few people that weren't a good fit, I remembered that when I hire someone at my salon, instead of sending me their resume, I ask them to send me a video of why they think they're a good fit for our salon. So that's what I decided to do with care.com. Before we did that, we received over 100 emails in response to our ad. Once we asked for a video, we only received one response, which was from the girl we hired.

What are you looking for in someone who watches your children? What's important to you?

Point #3: Topnotch Pay for a Topnotch Experience

• Danielle:  You can't expect to have someone delivering you a topnotch experience if you're only willing to pay them an hourly rate. With Tori, our nanny, I told her we're going to be paying her well, and what I really want her focus to be on is our kids. You think you're hiring somebody to be a mom, but really you're just hiring somebody to take care of your kids and to make sure they're feeling loved.
• Garrett: I'm willing to pay someone a salary just to guarantee we have two date nights every week. I talked Danielle off the ledge many times about going into the game of salary. This person needs a guarantee. They need to feel like they matter and that they count in the equation. I watch a lot of couples expect the world out of someone but give them no guarantees in return.

How do you feel about the idea of a salary vs hourly rate for your nanny or babysitter?

Point #4: Happy Wife, Happy Life

• Danielle: Like most women, when I work I just want to come home to a clean house. So the days I work behind the chair are the days I have my cleaner come in. It alleviates a lot of stress for me. Some people might think it's ridiculous to pay a housecleaner to come twice a week, but if you look at the overall picture, and if it makes you a happier person, it's totally worth it.
• Garrett: I needed for Danielle not to be stressful. She used to be stressed out all the time about the cleaning. It would affect our intimacy and our communication, and we'd fight over all sorts of shit. I got to the point where I thought this is not worth it. Having a cleaner come in twice a week? Totally worth it.

Gentlemen, how are your expectations creating more stress for your wife?

Point #5: Creating Memories

• Danielle: I had an amazing experience with my kids. Time is a big thing for me. Vacations are important. There are little moments and experiences that you have on vacation that you can't have at home. To me, it's really important and it's the one thing I fought for in our marriage. Vacations create a lot of quality time and memories with family where sometimes it feels like you're in a dream or a fairytale.
• And then there are moments when you're traveling with kids and you say you're never fucking bringing them anywhere, ever again! These stupid assholes don't appreciate it! It's a weird balance of oh my God, life's amazing, we're in a movie and, we're never bringing the kids again on another vacation! Still, the good memories outweigh the bad.

What are your thoughts about taking family vacations?

Communication Challenge:

What are your love languages? If you haven't read the book, grab a copy and begin reading it together. If you have read it, what are you doing to meet each other's love language?

Date Night Topic:

Have a conversation about where the two of you are going for your next Sexcation.

Quote of the Week:

"We pulled off the herculean effort of all time. We not only went to Europe for the first time on vacation, we also did something a little out of the ordinary for us: we took our children."

—Garrett J White

"Ladies, sometimes you just have to put your foot down for what you want when it comes to making family memories for life. And just remind yourself when you're on that vacation – and sometimes forcing fun with your kids – that you're building memories."

—Danielle K White