Some nights you just need to go on lockdown.

I enjoy going out. I enjoy date nights, movies, eating out at a restaurant, shopping (for food, not clothing) and hanging out with friends.

BUT, every now and then, I need to go on lockdown.

When Jalon and I were first married, we spent a few weekends on lockdown. We would lock up, shut the house down, pull out the couch bed and order take-out. Sometimes we would watch movies we rented and other times it was the Gilmore Girls on DVD. (Sorry about calling you out there Jalon. Nothing to be ashamed of! Gilmore Girls is a GREAT show!)

Sometimes we would do this for an entire weekend. Best memories ever. He's my best friend so this made it even more enjoyable.

I've also been known to do a snack night in conjunction with lockdown. What's a snack-night you ask? Well, let me tell you the rules of snack-night:

1. Appetizer style dinner consisting of whatever you happen to be craving at the moment. For example: Ham/cream cheese/pickle roll ups, pizza rolls, BBQ meatballs, taco dip, nachos, chili cheese dip, jalapeno poppers, onion rings, french fries, etc. This could go on all night. Or all weekend, depending on how much food you make. (If you anything like me, it's enough for a full week because I always make enough to feed a party of 500.)

2. Desserts HAVE to be involved. Or else you are disqualified. That's embarrassing. You can get DQ. Or a years supply of Little Debbie Snack Cakes (am I the only person that likes these?), there can be cookies, donuts, cake, pies, boxes and bags of candy...whatever. But the sugar has to be there or you'll go into a salt-shock after all those appetizers. It's all about balance here.

3. That's it. Besides eating it all. That's the fun part. Oh, and on snack night, calories do NOT count. After snack night is over, however, they come back full force. But for one night you get to pretend...makes it much more fun that way.

To go on lockdown, you really need to lockdown all aspects of your life for this one night.

I try not to go online, answer the phone or acknowledge that there's a world that exists outside my living room.

These were some of my favorite nights.

Now that we have kids, they are similar, but we call them "Family Night". Yeah...creative, I know.

Same idea though.

Usually it starts out with a movie choice from Redbox. This is usually an adult film (mind out of gutter, not that kind of adult film), but I do like Disney/Pixar, so sometimes it turns out to be a kids movie too. If we don't find a kids movie, we pop in one of the hundred Disney selections I have in stock. Which we've all seen a million times. Still...we make it fun. My favorite is Wall-E. Or Cinderella.  Lady and The Tramp will always be ruined for me, thanks to Evan. It was his favorite and we probably watched it twice a day for 2 years.

Then we argue over dinner. This takes awhile. I start on Jalon early, because we can never make a decision until it's 5 p.m. and the kids are screaming. Sometimes he will pick 3 and I'll pick one out of those that I like. Or the other way around. Or if we have a coupon, that's the winner. The fattier (is this a word?) our choice, the better. These are NOT the nights to make healthy decisions.

After those decisions have been made, it's lockdown time.

I sometimes even blow up the air mattress and bring it up stairs on the living room floor so we can pile on it to snuggle with blankets and pillows. The more lounging you do, the better you feel. It's like a contest to see who can be the most relaxed.

Shut the blinds, pop in the movie and you have family movie night.

Seriously, these are my most favorite nights. I look forward to these as much as I look forward to getting my hair done. Nothing is as relaxing or soothing as a night in with your kids and spouse.

I usually pick these nights when I'm feeling overwhelmed, tired out or stressed.

I'm not exactly sure Jalon feels the same way about them, but he rolls with it like a good husband. =)

He's one of the good ones. They are rare, come in all different shapes and sizes, but when you find one, keep him close. And fatten him up so no one else will take him away. =).

I've cleaned the house, did all that I needed to get the living room ready for lockdown, all we need now is the movie and food. I even have jammies on already.

I know, it's only 1 p.m. Don't care. Not even a little. I'm comfortable.

Jalon...not sure if you're reading this, but I'm craving burgers. I'll get the mattress ready, you pick the place we get the food from. Deal?

See the rest of you tomorrow!