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August 22, 2019|

Tips for Making Date Night and Connecting Fun for Your Husband Too

It might surprise you to hear that one of the questions I get more than any other is, “how can I get my husband on board with date night and connecting?” Maybe it doesn’t surprise you, because maybe that’s a question that you have. I know that it’s one I still have on a regular basis. Does the word date night make your husband groan? Do you feel like you’re the one always planning date nights? Are you the one always initiating the connecting moments in your marriage? You’re not alone!

August 20, 2019|

4 Date Ideas for the Back to School Season

I've seen many parents express on social media that it's a bittersweet feeling sending their kiddos back to school. Most moms are excited to get back to their regular routine. But many parents are going to miss the late nights, summer fun, and unlimited time together. As school starts and you get back into your routines, I want to challenge you to get back into your date night routine as well! Here are a few ideas of dates to plan over the next week or two just for the occasion.

August 15, 2019|

The Best Gluten Free Snack Ideas and Meal Options for Celiac Disease

It’s been almost six months since we started incorporating gluten free foods into our house, and I can honestly say that it has been a million times easier than I thought it would be! I’ve been grateful for family and friends who eat gluten free and have shared their methods and favorite foods. We’ve done a lot of research, joined groups on social media, found some great websites and experimented with different foods until we found the ones that my husband enjoyed.

August 14, 2019|

Tips for a Healthy Pregnancy with Gestational Diabetes + Healthy Meal and Snack Ideas for Gestational Diabetes

When I was pregnant with my first baby, my biggest struggle came when I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes. Some women cry when their regular clothes don't fit anymore, I cried when my carb intake became drastically limited. I realized just how many high carb foods I enjoy and wasn’t sure what I was going to eat every day. I knew going into that pregnancy that I was at risk for GD because I was pre-diabetic, a little overweight and have a family history of Type II diabetes, but getting that confirmation that I indeed had it was rough for me. I'm here to tell you that I survived and that six weeks postpartum, I was healthier than I'd been when I first got pregnant!

August 13, 2019|

How to Support a Spouse with Dietary Restrictions

I know so many people with spouse’s who have a dietary restrictions. Whether those restrictions are due to an illness, food allergy, or even just personal preference, it’s so important to be supportive of your spouse! Don’t just stand by and let them figure things out on their own, be by their side through all of it. You don’t have to necessarily take on the same restrictions as a way of supporting them, although some might choose to do that. I hope that these suggestions will help you and your family navigate those restrictions and show your spouse that they are a priority to you and that you’re there for them, no matter what they’re going through!

August 8, 2019|

Step Back and Let Your Spouse Plan Something

Whether you’re struggling with letting your spouse surprise you, plan date night every once in a while or have more say in more of the business side of your marriage like having a say in the budget or doing household things their own way, this post is for you! The tips below are things that I’ve done myself and am still working on every single day. I want to stop stealing my husband’s joy in surprising me! And I know that because I have taken over planning so many things that were originally delegated to him has deflated his motivation to even try to make those plans when I agree that I’ll be hands off and let something be his responsibility. We can work on this together!

August 6, 2019|

4 Ways to Learn from Other Married Couples Around You

I am constantly looking for couples around me, to interact with and learn from! I wanted to share with you, a few ways that you can make your marriage relationship even stronger by learning from other couples around you! I hope that this post will help you recognize the good marriage habits that others have, and how you can incorporate them in your own lives.

August 1, 2019|

Super Simple Date Idea – Discover a New Restaurant Together

When I started my local date night blog a couple of years ago, one of my biggest goals was to start exploring more together. Discover fun new things we loved to do and eat at restaurants we never knew about or have been wanting to try but hadn’t yet. We still frequent our longtime favorite places to eat and go back to the new ones we’ve discovered often, but continuing to discover new foods and eateries that we love together has been a lot of fun! Going out to eat is a date night staple, why not make a point to try someplace new every so often? I’m setting a goal, right now, to plan a date to eat somewhere new for date night at least once a month. That way we can still enjoy our favorites, but get out and discover new restaurants together as well.

July 25, 2019|

Momiform vs. Date Night Outfit

My daily routine could contain any number of potential activities. House projects or cleaning, playing with the kids or going on an adventure out of the house, teaching a class or manning a booth at an open house, out to dinner with friends or on a date with my husband. I’m going to be totally honest, I often change outfits two or three times a day because of the different things that I have going on or because I got splashed with mud while the kids were in the backyard. The most common reason that I change my clothes during the day is when I’m going out on a date with my husband. I go from the clothes that I wear to mom to an outfit that says, “date night is special”.

July 18, 2019|

Why I Love Promptly Journals

A year ago, I got my first Promptly Journal, the Love Story one, to start recording memories from earlier years of marriage and our dating days. A few months later, I purchased a childhood journal for each of our kids. I’ve spent time every Sunday afternoon this year, filling out those journals and getting caught up to the point that we are at now. Every week as I write, I find myself loving Promptly Journals even more! If my house were to catch on fire, those books would be one of the first things I’d grab (after my children of course) because I treasure them, and the things that I’ve written in them, so much.

July 16, 2019|

The Importance of Relationship Education Before and During Marriage

I feel strongly about relationship education both before marriage and throughout. I wish that I’d known more about marriage education when we were engaged so that we would have been motivated to take some classes before tying the knot. Now that I do know about it, I seek opportunities to participate as often as possible.

July 9, 2019|

Dear Anxiety Medication, Thank You!

A year ago, I was diagnosed with anxiety and started taking medication. Up until that point, I’d spent the year focusing on becoming the best version of myself through self care and rediscovering who I am as an individual. Having a more positive attitude and taking care of my own needs before anyone else’s had made a huge difference. But I can honestly say that adding a tiny white pill to my morning routine has made the biggest difference when combined with all of the efforts that I was making and continue to make.

July 2, 2019|

Staying Committed Through Hard Times in Your Marriage

When I look back on our eight years of marriage, I see lots of good times, adventures and memories. But I also see trials and struggles and rough patches. No marriage is without its struggles, whether you are going through something individually or facing a trial as a couple. When I look at those harder times in our lives, I realize that those are the things things that have brought us closer and defined us as a couple. The reason the difficult phases of our life have brought us closer is because we have been intentional with our relationship during that time and determined not to let them drive us apart.

June 27, 2019|

Super Simple Date Idea – Sunset Date Night

After our hike, I couldn’t help but think how everyone deserved to watch the sun set in a similar way. We are blessed to live right next to the mountains, so we are able to hike in a variety of places and enjoy amazing views of the valley below and the sun setting in the distance. I realize that not everyone lives so close to the mountains, so I wanted to share a few suggestions for where you can watch the sun set together and how to make your date extra romantic.

June 25, 2019|

Connecting Through Cooking Together as a Couple

I am a huge advocate for family meal time and we have a goal to sit together around the kitchen table, out on the deck, or on a picnic blanket every night for dinner to eat with our kids. But I’m also a big fan of sharing a meal together, just the two of you, every once in a while. I know a lot of couples go out to dinner for date night once a week, but some aren’t able to go out every week and others don’t go out to eat because of budget, food sensitivities or because they choose to use their date night time participating in an activity instead of eating together.

June 6, 2019|

Places of Significance Date Night Idea for Married Couples

A few years ago, a friend of mine told me about a date she’d been on with her husband that sounded like a lot of fun! She said that for their anniversary, she and her husband had visited a variety of places that had significance in their relationship. This would make a great anniversary celebration, but I also think that it could be a fun idea to do for one of your regular, weekly date nights every once in a while.

May 30, 2019|

Tips and Tricks for Cooking Ribs on the Grill

We started our rib cooking journey out on the grill but just recently perfected this recipe and learned a few new tricks within the last year. The taste of smoked ribs is great, but they take all day and lots of attention, which we don’t always have to give when we’re in the mood for ribs. I love how quickly our ribs cook on the grill and that we can enjoy them all summer long without heating up our oven or the house!

May 23, 2019|

The Beauty of Creating Date Night, In the Moment

A few years ago we realized that by making our every day routines a little extra special sometimes, we were sort of turning them into a date! For example, sitting on the couch together, drinking hot chocolate or eating ice cream and talking at the end of a long day, instead of ignoring each other and spending time on your phone turns your nightly wind down into a mini date. I call these extra special or spontaneous dates, “date moments” and I think they’re a great way to date your spouse on a daily basis or when you feel like you don’t have time to get out for a date. There’s always time for date night, you might just need to be creative with what date night looks like! If you have five minutes, you can date your spouse!

May 21, 2019|

8 Ideas for Short Date Nights Out

When we go out on a date, we're generally gone for a few hours and our date nights at home are at least two hours long. But there are some stages and situations in life when you might only have 30 minutes or less to spend together. And honestly, I think that couples would go on dates more often if they didn’t feel the need to make every one a long event. So I’m here to tell you that your date nights can be short! They can be less than an hour or even less than half an hour. In case you needed that permission, I’m giving it to you.

May 14, 2019|

3 Tips to Help You Date Your Spouse Daily

If you don't continue your pursuit after marriage, you'll wake up one day and find that you've become roommates, business partners or just a really good parenting team. Your "partnership" and your family was built on that friendship and romance, and you must continue to build that relationship throughout the rest of your lives if you want it to last. There are simple things that you can do every single day to make your marriage a priority and continue to date your spouse.

May 10, 2019|

6 Ways to Spice Up Date Night for Empty Nesters

The reality is, a lot of couples get caught up in life and lose their relationship in the process, very unintentionally. In every stage of life, you have responsibilities and challenges that need your attention. It happens almost naturally, that you start to function as business partners and parenting partners and put your romantic partner roles on the back burner while you work together to keep your family and your lives on track. Unless you are intentionally making each other a priority every single day, you will need to reconnect and rediscover your relationship after the kids move out and it’s just the two of you again. And then after retirement, you’ll have even more adjusting to do as you work to find a new dynamic and balance between your time together and your own hobbies and pursuits.

May 9, 2019|

4 Ways to Spice Up Date Night for Parents of Teenagers

Having teenagers in your house can be a stressful and busy time of life. Embrace that stage of your parenting and find ways to have fun together through it! Gross your kids out and make sure they see that you love each other and that your marriage is and always will be a priority, no matter what other demands you have on your time. Stay involved in your teenager’s lives and stay involved in each other’s lives. Your family will be stronger and your teens might be embarrassed by you in the moment, but they’ll be grateful for your example and involvement for the rest of their lives!

May 8, 2019|

6 Ways to Spice Up Date Night for Parents with School Age Kids

Even though this isn’t a stage of marriage that we’re familiar with yet, I hope that the ideas listed below will help you find more time for date night and quality time as a couple. Your children are watching you and looking to you for an example of what a healthy marriage looks like. Show them that your marriage is important to you by making date night and time together a priority on a regular basis. They might push back a bit in the moment, but by maintaining your boundaries, the foundation of your family will stay strong and your kids will remember the care that you gave your marriage as they grow older.

May 7, 2019|

7 Ways to Spice Up Date Night for New Parents

My goal is to help every couple make their marriage a priority throughout every stage of life, even those early parenting days when it feels like you don’t even have a second to take care of yourself, let alone your marriage. Making our romantic relationship a priority is something that has helped us connect as a couple and be more intentional together in our parenting over the last few years. I hope that the date night ideas below will provide you with opportunities to connect and keep your relationship as husband and wife alive so that you don’t lose it to your roles as partners in parenting from the beginning.

May 6, 2019|

6 Ways to Spice Up Date Night for Newlyweds

Dating each other and finding opportunities to have fun together is just as important, if not more, now that you are married. By making date night a habit, you will set your marriage up for success from day one! It will be easier to make that time for each other throughout every stage of life if it’s something that has been a priority to both of you since the beginning.

April 16, 2019|

5 Tips for Parents of Young Kids Who Want to Get Out More for Date Night

A year ago, I published a mini series all about babysitters in celebration of Date Your Mate Month (May). I talk to a lot of couples in the same stage of life that we are, who find it hard to get out for date night because they aren’t able to find childcare or they have kids who struggle when they leave. I wanted to put those posts all in one place so that you can save one post and come back to find all of the information you might need at some point in time. Click the title at the top of each paragraph description to reach the full post with all of the tips that were shared. I hope you’ll find this mini series as helpful as so many parents did last year!

March 26, 2019|

Should You Take Your Disagreement to Social Media?

Have you ever been scrolling through social media and found yourself cringing at something that someone has chosen to share so publicly? I’m not talking about a controversial political post or some TMI story about their health or something disgusting a child has done. The type of posts I’m thinking of are those that share an argument or frustration that the poster has with their significant other. I most often see these in private social media groups but I’ve also seen them as a post in someone’s regular social media feed.

March 19, 2019|

Perfect Wife Perception

Four years of marriage me sometimes feels like a failure compared to first year of marriage me. I rarely if ever spend more than half an hour preparing dinner, the house always seems to have some sort of mess to clean up or project to be done and some weeks, even if I've planned something fun and exciting, we end up getting take out and watching something on Netflix for date night. When I think about how dedicated I was to my "wifely duties" in year one, I'm motivated to be better, but I also try to remind myself that those aren't the things that determine my worth as a wife. I've realized that there's more to being a good wife than cooking, cleaning and date night.

March 14, 2019|

Oven Baked Ribs and Homemade Drop Rolls – Date Night At Home Meal

We've gotten really good at grilling or smoking ribs, but during the colder months when we don't want to cook outside, we miss this recipe so I decided that this year we will make them four different ways (in the oven, crock-pot, grill and smoker) and share our technique for each of those with you!

March 12, 2019|

10+ Hobbies for Married Couples to do Together

You may sit down one day and realize that all of those interests that you once shared have gone out the window. If you feel like you "Netflix and chill" too often, and maybe even every night, the two of you might want to start seeking some new hobbies together. I'm a big fan of Netflix binges, so I'm not knocking that at all, but I am in favor of having a few different activities that you enjoy doing together as a couple. Throughout the course of your life, you find new hobbies and get rid of others, the same could be said about your marriage. As you shift into new stages of life, some of your shared activities may become interests and other things may become more interesting.

March 7, 2019|

7 Date Ideas to Enjoy in the Winter to Spring Transition

March and April are two of the hardest months for me because I feel like spring is constantly teasing us and I’m antsy for its arrival. I get eager for sunny days and warm summer nights. A lot of my favorite date night activities are summer ones, and I miss them during the other three seasons. While we wait for the sun to stick around more permanently and warmer temperatures, we still find ways to have fun together for date night.

January 30, 2019|

Everything You Need for a Romantic Dinner Date at Home

One of our favorite things about a date night out without the kids is enjoying a quiet and leisurely dinner together. It’s nice to be able to talk and connect with each other without interruption. We’ve also been known to wait until the kids are in bed to eat dinner on nights when we’re staying home for date night. We just really enjoy eating good food together and connecting while we do it. We’ve looked for ways to make our at home dinner dates just a little extra special and fun. By pulling out some nicer dishes and adding a few touches from the dollar store, we are able to create the perfect atmosphere for date night at home.

January 17, 2019|

Build Your Own Pizza Competition – At Home Date Night Idea

Pizza night is one of my favorite nights! Curling up with one of our favorite movies and that warm cheesy goodness is one of the best things ever! We found a way to put a little twist on our regular pizza night and turn it into a unique date night without spending too much money or getting too extravagant. If you’re up for a little friendly competition, this date night is for you! It’s fun, yummy, relaxing and perfect for a night at home after the kids are in bed.

January 15, 2019|

Redefining the Term ‘Homemaker’

I feel like the word homemaker invokes negative or uncomfortable feelings in today’s world. When you say 'homemaker’, I feel like today’s society automatically thinks of a very stereotypical definition. Being a homemaker is so much more than slaving over a hot stove all day, making dinner completely from scratch, running constant loads of laundry, and keeping the house clean. Any person can be a homemaker, and any woman, whether she works or stays home all day can be one as well.

January 10, 2019|

At Home Dates are Date Nights Too

When I talk to other couples about date night, something that I hear often is, “We haven’t been on a date in a while” followed by “With our schedules/kids/budget/etc. it just hasn’t been possible to get out of the house together.” I often have to keep myself calm during those interactions because I tend to want to turn Leslie Knope and excitedly yell that they don’t have to leave the house to make date night happen! Date night isn’t defined as time outside your house together, it’s any intentional time that you spend doing something outside of your normal routine together, with the goal of having fun and reconnecting as a couple.