Top Ten Reasons to Date Your Spouse Frequently!

Coaching Tips for Your Marriage

as found on:  Romance Your Wife



1. Marriage Relationships are Dynamic.
They are alive and always changing. They need to be fed and stimulated to stay alive.

2. There is always something new about your spouse.
Dating is a good way to create a safe environment. Your spouse is more likely to let you know "what's new!"

3. Invest in the future.
Just like a savings account--it is easier to add a little to an existing account and watch it grow than to start a new one from scratch. That's because the interest grows exponentially over time.

4. You Got Married Because You Dated!
It only stands to reason that a good way to stay married is to keep dating.

5. Marriage can be Compared to a Set of Tires.
During the course of driving, there is always wear and tear. Dating serves to maintain alignment, balance and pressure. When done well, your marriage will last a lifetime.

6. Dating is an Opportunity to Focus.
Day in and day out, distractions pull your attention away from your spouse. Dates help refocus on the person at the top of your priority list.

7. Remember the Good Times!
A good date will often bring up pre-marriage memories. Recalling memories can generate anticipation for your next meeting.

8. Create Your Future.
Dates lay the framework for future family gatherings. Great dates attract your spouse and family to want to spend time with you.

9. Laughter is the Best Medicine.
Reader's Digest says so! It must be true. Laughing together makes it possible to hurt together when you must.

10. Remind Your Spouse, "I Love You!"
There are many ways to say, "I love you!" A date is one of the special ways to honor your spouse.

Thank You

I wanted to thank Janis at Moody Publishers for donating some great books to be used as prizes for our couples.

Several years ago I had the opportunity to see Dr. Gary Chapman speak at a convention.  I loved his presentation and bought several of his books while there.  Some of my favorites are:

The Five Love Languages Series
The Family You've Always Wanted
The Love Talks Series

Be sure to check out his website as well! 

Penelope and Morty March Date

It was Morty's birthday on March 3rd so we headed out to celebrate!! We went to a restaurant that we had never been to called Galleria de Paco. The owner painted a replica of the Sistine Chapel on the ceiling and walls using spray paint. It was pretty amazing. We had drinks before dinner in the Catacomb Lounge and they put dry ice packets in the cocktails for that smokey effect!
After dinner we went to the casino and the black jack dealer stole all my money.
We are looking forward to April date night!

Wedding Fun

This video came across the internet a few years ago, as well as being featured on The Today Show and Good Morning America. I giggled and watched it several times when it came out, in awe of their creativity for their wedding. We would have loved to have done something like this at our wedding. What a fun way to head into your new life together- full of love and laughter.

As I watched it again just now, I still thought it was a fantastic idea and I love the way that they whole wedding party is so into the dance.

If you haven't seen this yet- take some time to watch it and I'm sure it will make you smile.

You can check out their website here

You can make a donation to help end domestic violence here.

March Prize Question

Hi everyone!  I hope you have your plans made for your March date night.  Ours is scheduled for Friday night.  I've got more prizes to give away this month!  Matt and I will do another amazing video drawing to choose the winner for you! I know everyone was so entertained by our last vlog.  You have until March 31st to leave your comment on this post for your entry.  Winners will be drawn on April 1st~ and that's no joke!

Here is how to enter~

Comment on this post with a response from both Husband AND Wife to this question:

What is something you have learned about married life that you didn't know before you tied the knot! 

Thanks for playing along and good luck!

Date Night Jar

Jennifer at Life in the Green House posted a super cute idea on her blog.  I think I might make one of these for my little brown house :)

Using popsicle sticks and mason jars she made her own version of the Date Night in a Jar found here. 

It's color coded, easy to make, and takes the guess work out of  the "what are we going to do for our next date" question.

She has some fantastic ideas from at-home dates to dates that need advance planning.  Some of my favorites are: window shopping for the home, take out and board games, and the Chopped Challenge. 

Be sure to take some time and explore her blog...there is some yummy stuff on there!!!

Steph & Craig Date Night March

My month to plan. February and March have been incredibly hectic, Craig had to be gone a lot so we decided to keep our March date at home. I googled some date night questions and we went through about 25 of them. You could tell that the questions aimed for early daters and not married folk, one of the questions asked "Are you a virgin?", we don't think we are, but I was anxiously awaiting Craig's answer. I don't think we learned anything new with the questions, it is always fun just to go through them. We also painted each other's toe nails. My hubby's a good sport. I told him that I read that it's very romantic to do this, so what the heck. I chose a nice black for him so it leaned a little bit more Rock Star. He went with a chocolate brown for me. Lesson learned, it is actually easier to paint my own toes, than it is to paint someone elses. They were not as smooth as I would have liked. You can imagine the horror in the morning when the boy's saw Craig's toenails, Sawyer actually teared up. He thought Dad's toenails would be like that forever. We ended the little date by doing portraits of one another in crayon. I love doing artwork, but portraits are quite obviously not my thing. Craig turned out a little bit like Randy Jackson. I looked much like Pippy Longstocking. It was a hoot. We really had a nice time focusing on us here at home. I am telling you, we are always in different directions when we are here, so spending time together on the couch, minus children (they were in bed), tv, or phones was great! We are really looking forward to April or May's date, a little get away, just trying to nail down dates!

February Date Night - Jason and Mindy

Does one need to visit Europe to experience the finest Italian food around, or to see the latest in landscape design trends? No way! As our February date proved, you can find all of that in Omaha.

We celebrated Valentine's Day a few days early to try to beat some of the usual holiday rush. We always like to try new places whenever we can, so I surprised Mindy and made reservations at Lo Sole Mio in South Omaha. The place was pretty packed, but according to the reviews I had read online, this is a pretty popular place. The food was amazing and the portions were so huge that our leftovers fed our family for 3 days. Great experience!

After dinner, Mindy and I decided to pay the Omaha Home and Garden Show a visit. It doesn't really scream romance, but when you have three kids and quiet moments are rarely shared, any time spent together is special. We visited some booths, sampled some delicious toffee covered peanuts and learned a few interesting facts about food co-ops in Nebraska. We were only there for an hour and a half, but thoroughly had a good time.

The weather that night was freezing cold, so we headed for home to warm up and called it a night. Project 2*12 date night number two = SUCCESS!

Daniel & Katie February Date

We opted for a stay at home date, might not seem exciting but we had a great time! Kids went to Grandpa & Grandma's house on Feb 16 and we had a great adults only evening. Daniel made an excellent meal for us consisting of Filet Mingon with merlot sauce, twice baked potatoes, salad, and Moscato wine. It was one of the best meals I have ever had. We enjoyed conversation and we talked about our future and vacations we wanted to take. After we ate we curled up on the couch and watched Pride and Prejudice (one of Katie's favorites.) One of the most romantic evenings to date. Daniel even bought flowers and lit candles. We have been making plans for our March date already, can't wait!!!

Robyn & Josh February Date

Josh and I did not have a sitter for Valentine's Day so we celebrated on Thursday the 16th. Our daughters did not have school on Friday the 17th so my mother in law once again agreed to take them so we could have an overnight date. I had a last minute idea on the 15th to try Priceline to rent a hotel room.....it worked.....and it was CHEAP! I got us a room at the DoubleTree downtown for $40!! I LOVE Priceline! I did not tell Josh as I wanted to surprise him with the room. The next morning as he left for work I had to RAPIDLY pack both him and myself for an overnight trip before I had to leave for work......I literally had 30 minutes to accomplish this. (I ended up forgetting both deodorant and toothpaste for us BOTH....ugh!!!). I wasn't quite sure how or when I was going to surprise him and it ended up being a little lame. He sent me a text after work asking how late I would be working....I responded with "Meet me at the Doubletree, Room 1509". He showed up WAY before I was ready so the surprise wasn't as I had pictured it on a soap opera or movie.....lol! :) We decided to try Crave in Midtown for Happy Hour. It was ok but we both decided a little too upscale for us. Josh ate the garnish off my plate which we both assumed was salmon, however, it was shaved fresh ginger root! Funniest moment ever. We asked our server what it was when she returned.....he said it tasted like Pledge. We decided that we are small town people at heart and just prefer steak and potatoes, nothing fancy. After that, we tried out a bar adjoining the Cresent Moon called Max and Joe's. A gal I work with recommend a great Belgium beer called Duchesse de Bourgogne. It was fabulous! After just one drink, we called it an early night and headed back to our hotel room. We watched Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice while giving each other massages and drinking wine. We ended up both falling asleep without any FUN stuff.... :) We seem to have a pattern.... no kids=total relaxation+no sex. So much for trying to do something romantic. We could have done that at home. Good news is I only spent $40 on the room!

Lonnie and Monica~February Date

Our lives have been a little crazy lately so we kind of had to "make do" to fit a date in for February. We didn't cheat because there was a time when all three boys were babies..under 3years old and I was so excited to leave the house to go to what has become an annual event for Lonnie and I. Yes, we went to the Pheasants Forever Banquet. I started the day with a hair cut so I had Amy, my stylist, do it a little different for me to spice up the day. It was not a huge hit with my family but it looked nice. I also wore a new outfit ( a little hoochy mama for me but the hubby liked it.) It was a smidge over done compared to the others at the banquet....lots of camo, hunting lodge shirts, etc. We had a good time, the dinner was ok, we won a few door prizes too: hot sauce from the Lube, targets to shoot at and a set of rubber gloves "for field dressing" your deer and a fishing pole. I really am focused on our March date and can't wait for it to get here. Looking forward to telling you about it. And no it is not the NWTF Banquet...... but we will be attending that too because I am one lucky girl. :)

Amber & Matt - February Date

Wow, here it is the 6th and the dates for February are due by tomorrow!  I have wanted to sit down and write about our date several times but time has really gotten away from me.   Honestly, I also think I was hoping for another redo this month for our date.  We didn't get grouchy over Matt rushing me at Target this month, but our date was a little disappointing.

I reserved us a spot at the Date Night Challenge that was offered at our church (mentioned in this post).  I thought that we could go to this special event and get encouraged to continue on our date night journey, enjoy some desserts at the event, and then head out for some drinks together after.  What goes better with church then drinks, right??

Let me start with Matt worked Friday night from 11 PM- 7 AM.  When he got home, he showered, changed, and headed right out the door to help run a huge wrestling tournament at our local high school.  I headed off to a Scentsy event with some of the ladies on my team.  Around 5 PM, I met Matt at the high school and we headed home to change and head to the event.  (If you are following along closely, you will notice that Matt has not been to bed yet....)

We rushed our son to the babysitter (an overnight babysitter I might add) and headed to the church.  We got there right on time and got a front row seat.  I knew that the Date Night Challenged included some pre-recorded webcast stuff.... I just didn't know it was ALL pre-recorded webcast.  I was thinking it would be people talking then play a little clip etc. 

Oh boy.  Big fun with a tired guy here, let me tell you.  Matt was great the whole time, I knew he was tired but I think he tried to fake having fun because he knew how important our night was to me.  The (pre-recorded) comedian was pretty funny but that was our favorite part.  Honestly, I couldn't wait to get out of there so we could go have some fun together!   (Remember we were in the front row...it's not like we could sneak out early!)

Unfortunately, Matt was too tired to go out after and had been up over 24 hours.  So, we headed home, after a quick stop to pick up our little guy.

So, like I mentioned in the last post, we are trying to adjust to our new schedules with Matt's job.  Maybe we will need to do some day dates when he is not so tired or those weeknight dates when he is off.  No matter what, it's Matt's turn in March to do the planning!  I'm sure he will come up with something better than my last two ideas!!!