tomorrow night

...is date night!

babysitter?  check.

activity?  check.

art exhibits in down town Ogden!  i love art!  Zach and I fell in love over art.  we had a gen. ed. art class together.  good times.

looking forward to tomorrow.  what are you going to do?

date night baby!

this week is my date night to plan.  we are doing the parade thing with family...so, i'm going to use them for a babysitter.

we'll do the parade, take the kids back to my parents and then walk to Dairy Queen.  there is nothing quite like a blizzard...unless its a blizzard with zach!

what are you doing?

here we go!

it feels good to be blogging some apples again!  here are some ideas for the week!

*flip a coin for who's planning date night for the week (that includes getting the sitter)

*do they have something big going on? -with work, with the kids?  make a point to ask them about it and give them your undivided attention while they are talking.

*make a meal that you have together even more special by making the table and food look that way.  go the extra mile and put a note under their plate or use special dishes.

*when you meet after some time a part, be sure to say something positive first. ie. "i'm glad you're home.", "i've looked forward to you coming home all day", "i've missed you", "thanks for working so hard", "having you home is a breath of fresh air".  ONLY say things if you mean it!  BUT, there is always something nice you can say!...think first.

*put a note in a random place that says something specific you love/appreciate about them. (on their steering wheel, bathroom mirror, shower wall, in their shoe..etc.)

*next time you are watching t.v. together, ask them if they'd like a foot, back, shoulder massage while you watch.

*ask them if they need you to do anything for them that day or this week.  then do it!

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!  HERE'S TO A HEALTHIER MARRIAGE!

Party on Baby!

Do me a favor?...and you and go on a date! Please!

A date is something with just the two of you. If you can have someone come over for a half hour and the two of you can go window shopping at the mall or visit a widow in your ward...it is just nice to do something together.

If you must stay at home which happens more than Zach and I would like then call it a date. Start at 8 and end at 10. Play a game of Sequence, Speed or slap jack. Pop some popcorn and try throwing it in each others mouths or have a contest to see who can throw up their own and catch the most. After you are sure the kids are sound a sleep bundle yourselves up and go for a short walk outside and enjoy the silence and the company.

do a date! have a party! happy friday to ya!

good times, good times.

it is time to plan that date! What will you do?

First. Get a sitter. If you can't, call a friend and swap. There are two nights in a weekend. Invite your spouse. Go. Have some good times.

Go sledding. Come back and have cocoa. You don't have to be gone long to come back refreshed.

What are your favorite winter dates?

decide.

If you decide to do something, the chances of you doing it are higher than if you didn't decide.

We learned this on Christmas. We visited both our families. We just didn't decide when we were going to leave my parents house to go to his. Yeah, we stayed at my parents longer than we should have but we never decided on a time to leave.

Thinking about this we had to say, "huh, it sure would have helped if we'd made a decision.".

Is there something you and your spouse want to do? have you mentioned it to each other and haven't decided how you're going to get it done? want to go on a great vacation? go to the Temple more? date night every week or month? family prayer and scripture study?

Answer these questions:
who is in charge of planning?
who gets the sitter?
who calls the family together?
what time?
what day?
when do we start?

Write it down! Put it on the calendar! Do it!

In the beginning...RESERVED

Well if the Bible talks about "the beginning" so often then well, maybe what happens in the beginning is important. In the beginning, there was a plan and the plan was carried out.

It is the beginning of a new month. School just started and schedules are reinstated. It's the perfect time to pull out the calendar and RESERVE the days we want as a couple, family, etc. Mostly as a couple though-(this is a marriage blog :))

How many dates do you want out of the house?...with a babysitter? Do you want to go to the Temple? The R.S. meeting is this month(I know this isn't a couple thing but I'm super excited so Zach should be too!) What else do you want to do? Daddy daughter dates, Mother son, Family outings? Put it on the calendar and start calling the sitters! There is your apple!

It's going to be a great month! I love this time of year!!!

don't get out much?

This is just my opinion. I think that what you do for your date isn't as important as having a date. Stated plainly, don't stress so much about what you are going to do. Just figure out how you are going to get out of your house with just the two of you!

Here are two suggestions:

Babysitter swap. If you have friends that live close by that have kids close to the same age as your kids, then take turns watching the kids. My older sister does this and it works well. Three couples each take a turn every three months. So, when it is my sisters month, the other two couples bring their kids over to her house and they talk off and do their date for a couple hours. My sister just orders pizza and the kids have a party. The kids love it, the parents get out once a month, so everybody wins!

If you have no other way to sneak an overnighter in every now and again, you could enlist these same friends for help. An overnighter could be at your own house. Yes, it is totally different being at your house without the kids there! Amazing the difference. :)

Maybe do the babysitter swap for a while, let the kids get used to the friends houses. After some time, and you all feel comfortable, just go over there at bedtime, put your kids to bed and then go home without any kids! Come back in the morning and pick them up! Obviously, this will only work if your kids sleep through the night. We do want to keep our friends. :)

These dates are definitely deposits in the love bank! Make a date out, AT LEAST once a month, a priority!

Get a sitter!

I've mentioned the book "Marriage Fitness" by Mort Fertel, I have really liked this book. I read recently some suggestions for date night. He suggested being religious about it. If you'd like to go out weekly, once a month or twice a month, hire a babysitter. Don't call them every week, just have them booked for how often you'd like to go out. They just come, no extra effort to find one at the last minute!

Now, I know we only pay a babysitter once in a while because we have family close and they love our kids. So whoever watches them, friends, family or girls in your neighborhood-just talk to them and have them put it on their calendar for the "third Friday" every month. It is pretty hard to find an excuse not to go out when you know the babysitter is on their way!