This giveaway is closed.
The next giveaway is from Simple Mom’s very own relationship columnist Corey Allan of Simple Marriage. He has recently written a fabulous e-book called “A Simple Marriage,” and I highly recommend it. My husband and I are enjoying working through this book slowly on our bi-monthly dates.
Corey has been married to his wife Pam for almost 16 years. Five years into their marriage, they had a serious discussion about the current state of things. It went something like “If some things don’t change between us, I don’t see us making it.”
This conversation set the stage for where they are today. He’s now a professional relationship coach and a marriage and family therapist living in the Dallas, TX area, and writes at Simple Marriage, a blog launched as a way to help people realize they could experience more in marriage, and then help them discover how to do it.
Here’s what you’ll get with Corey’s e-book:
- Some foundational principles that are present in every marriage and how to use these principles to your advantage.
- An understanding of where you currently are in your relationship.
- The tools and steps to help create the relationship you desire.
- All the motivation and energy necessary to create a marriage out of this world.
- A spouse who is totally on board and will fulfill your every wish and desire.
Okay, so the last two are a bit of a stretch.
This book is specifically written to assist you in experiencing more in marriage, with your current spouse.
Corey wants to give three Simple Mom readers a copy of his new e-book!
Here’s how to enter:
Leave a comment at this post, answering the following question: What’s one of your favorite date ideas with your spouse?
The giveaway is open worldwide, and it lasts until this Friday, May 29. I’ll draw the two winners this weekend.
I hope you win! Check back in a few hours another giveaway.
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Oooo! Date night! We love those! If it’s just the two of us, usually a nice quiet leisurely dinner with a bottle or two of wine. On the other end of the spectrum, we also like to pack it all up and head to the woods to go camping for a date-weekend. But the tot usually comes along on those. Still, great fun and a chance to get back to what really matters in life.
bdaiss´s last blog post…Just another Monday
Ooh, we’re lucky enough to be a metro ride from DC so a visit to the museums – alone so we can go where we want to – lunch and conversation at the fountain in the sculpture garden. Heavenly! xo-Mel
Mellie Lobdell´s last blog post…
I love to go to the park where he proposed and have a picnic, just the two of us.
Steph´s last blog post…Our Five Year Plan
We love to go out for supper and then browse Barnes & Noble and then to a coffee shop for more talking!
Working together on a project around the house. It seems we are always divided on what we’re doing when we are at home, so I know my husband would love that!
It’s the simple things that matter. Meal at a non-traditional restaurant and then either the museum or the bookstore. We have two young ones and what we really enjoy is the quiet and the “us-two” time.
Grace Hester Designs´s last blog post…REDUCED PRICE – My Daddy Is . . . 8 X 10 Modern Artwork in Black and Khaki Featuring Animal Traits – Father’s Day Gift
With little money to spend on dates out and a sitter, our favorite date night right now is to put the kids to bed and pull out a pint of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream to share while we watch a favorite program together or just sit and talk. It doesn’t get much more simple than that!
My husband and I like to go swing dancing. We started learning how to dance while dating because we were invited to a wedding with dancing at the reception. We kept it up over the 6 years we have been married.
We like to go for a hike and a swim. We pack whatever food we have around into a cooler, get our hiking clothes on, and hit the road. Trying a new place each time keeps it interesting. And the cost for us is only gas and the annual price of the state park sticker.
We love date night too. The best date we had was a photography “treasure hunt”. I made a list of 10 things we needed to photograph it was awesome. We roamed around a part of the city taking photos (a hobby we both enjoy), went for dinner once we finished the list and then home for coffee. It was great!
Sherri (Serene Journey)´s last blog post…8 Steps to Hosting a Party Everyone Enjoys – Including Yourself
We love to take walks and have the best talks when we do!
My favorite date recently was when my dh and I had my fil come over after our four children were in bed. We went to Wal-Mart to browse and then out to ice cream. It was simple and didn’t feel as formal as a real movie and dinner type date – it just felt like US. We chatted and laughed and – well, who can beat ice cream?
Emily´s last blog post…Coming up for air
Anything! Date nights are too few and far between!
I love to go out for coffee with my husband. Just something simple, but we sit and talk and I really enjoy the time with him!
My fav is going on walks looking at houses…dreaming of all the possiblilies of someday…and it helped us realize that sometimes the bigger house really isn’t what we want, if you know what i mean….
My favourite thing to do with my partner is to take a day, get out of the city and go walking in the bush just outside of the city.
Being just us for a couple of hours in a gorgeous setting is really brilliant, and we always come back feeling very zen about things
Elly´s last blog post…Teh Kitteh
Definitely going on a hike!!
date night? what’s that?
Lee-Ann´s last blog post…We need bees
We love to do dinner and a walk. So nice!
I love going to the zoo! It’s outdoors and you can hold hands and take goofy pictures and there is always something to look at and talk about, what’s not to love? For a more everyday type of date we love walking the dog together in the evening.
A favorite date is just going out to dinner at a not very kid friendly restaurant.
Our favorite is going out for a leisurly supper, buying movie tickets & then hanging out at Chapters until it’s time for the movie to start.
I am totally happy going to Chick-fil-A for a date! Just hanging out is the important part!
T´s last blog post…Swagbucks Giveaway!
I love our theme nights, where we see a movie and then make a dinner that does along with the theme – so Angels and Demons/old world pizza and wine. Or Slumdog Millionaire/ chicken tikka and chai tea. On nights we’re lazy, we can go out to a restaurant.
date night? what’s that. I’m going to be reading the comments to get some ideas.
One of my favorite dates is just finding a nice place to walk. When we walk together, we seem to talk a lot more than we do anywhere else. It gets us focused back on each other, and the topics range far from the kids (what we mostly talk about day-to-day).
Gina´s last blog post…Happy Memorial Day
As we have 2 small children we have a stay at home date, we turn off the TV & phones so we can focus on each other. We talk & talk, really connecting. If it has been a while since we have had a date we don’t communicate as well in day to day life, so we try to make date night a priority each week.
We like to go to a local ice cream shop and order something and sit on the swinging benches they have attached to cords in the ceiling. We play board games (that they provide at each table) and gently rock and talk.
We have 5 little ones so the most creative we get right now is movie and a dinner. It’s relaxing to just get away for a little while.
Jonathan
Our favorite date night plan is to go to a hockey game but since the season is over, we go out to eat and then to the bookstore.
ThereO´s last blog post…Singing the Blues…
We have a little, local Italian restaurant that we love to go to, hang out on the patio, order appetizers and glasses of wine, and just relax!
wow. a date with my hubby. so not common in our house. a simple dinner out or a movie or a picnic or just about anything. i would LOVE to win this ebook!
Date night? When we actually have one of those, we usually try to enjoy a nice dinner out and maybe a movie.
We love to go to a place called the Holly Hotel. It is so romantic and the food is wonderful. That is my favorite date:)
Beth
Michigan
We love going to coffee shops and just being. At the moment we have no one to watch the boys so we settle for early morning (3am) time together before we start our day. It is nice just to have time together without little ones.
Jessica Brammer´s last blog post…Finding Favor with Every Man
A cuppa and breakfast on the deck on Saturday mornings. Hopefully the baby is still in bed and we can chat for ages. If the weather isn’t great we like breaky in bed. Another good one is packing a picnic and going somewhere nice.
We have a fun ice cream store that we like to go and share some ice cream.
dates w/ my hubby… anything. it’s so rare, that we just enjoy anytime being alone!
We like bike rides. Another good option is the little wine bar near our house where we can go and relax with a glass of wine in a romantic atmosphere for not very much money.
anja´s last blog post…Bike and Bus with Kids
Oooh, I would think I will have to buy the ebook if I don’t win! I think my and my DH could use a little something? right now..
Here is an idea I have had for AWHILE for me and my hubby.. take dance lessons together! Salsa, waltz, tango.. I think that would be so much fun!
Lisa´s last blog post…craft hope
Date night, what’s that? lol Seriously, we have 3 kids ages 3, 2, and 8 weeks old, so right now our dates nights are few and far between. My Mom will watch the girls for us every once in awhile so we can have a few hours alone, and that is pure BLISS!
We love watching a movie, eatting popcorn and having a glass of wine. All after the kids are in bed!
Our favorite “date night” is a glass of wine with some good cheese and bread, eaten at the coffee table in the living room. Somehow, not eating at the dining room table makes it special!
A “picnic” on the living room floor after the kids are asleep! Think tea and dessert spread out on an old, comfy quilt.
Well, since we have an 8 month old baby, our current date nights consist of running to the store after he’s in bed to pick-up whatever we happen to need while our neighbor sits in our house. We end off our romantic adventure with an ice-cream from McDonald’s (in the Wal-Mart). It’s simple, but fun, especially for a stay-at-home mom who doesn’t get out much!
Beth@RedandHoney´s last blog post…Would You Call This Desperate?
Let’s see…for date nights/days we like to go hiking, play some tennis or watch a movie. Drives are always good too!
Thanks for the chance at winning!
Mmm… a nice long walk into town for gelati and wine!
Dinner at our favorite restaurant and shopping without the kids (I’m easy to please!).
We really enjoy going to the book store as a date. We get to browse in relative silence in our own sections. Often we’ll go out for hot chocolate or smoothies afterward. Simple and cheap!
A while back we started “cheap dates.” The concept is that we take turns planning a night out for under $10. It forced us to get really creative (and, in turn, sometimes even romantic!). They’re my favorite types of date nights!
ErinW´s last blog post…Memory Lane Monday
Dinner and then the bookstore.
My husband and I try to alternate responsibility for dates. We live in Chicago which has 70+ different neighborhoods. For a typical date, one of us will pick a neighborhood and find a few fun places to explore and/or eat at. Then we take the bus there and discover new places to enjoy together.
hey, we live in Chicago too. Thank you & what a GREAT idea….maybe the hubby and I will try that this summer with neighborhood festivals!!
Chicago food + summer festivals = GOOD times
We love to go to a jazz club in Brisbane- it’s a little out of the way, but has great memories and is such a treat!
Otherwise we like to mix it up- bowling, movies, dinner, even just snuggling on the couch with our Puppy, a good movie, and some good wine and cheese is a good date night for us!
Talia´s last blog post…Gardening & Birthdays…
Grocery Shopping. Fortino’s has a pizza bar (pop + pizza $6.99) so we share that and then shop. We always did it before our littles came along and have kept it up thought it is a little more challenging with a two year old and a baby. We try to have other dates as well but this one is a constant. I guess it’s more a family date now. It does count though right
Ok, my husband & I aren’t speaking to each other….our marriage is in the ditch…:(
I love our weekend getaways to Atlantic City. We don’t gamble; we enjoy the shows and the boardwalk.
I love breakfast dates… they are cheaper than dinner and there’s never a wait!
Sheila´s last blog post…Thank God for Synonyms
a long walk downtown and stop fr a drink before we head home for a movie with popcorn
We don’t have any kids so we have date night every week on Tuesdays. We have moved to a new area so we try a new restaurant every week, and if there is a movie we want to see it is what we call in Australia ‘tight arse tuesday’
Movies are definitely part of our date nights. We used to go the movies all the time before we had kids, so they are a rare treat (in the theater) for us now. We also usually enjoy a meal and drinks somewhere either before or after the movie.
Mama Bird´s last blog post…Monday Link Love: I Love Long Weekends!
sunset kayaking and ice cream on the way home!
Dinner and a walk along the river…. maybe some kissing too.
A great date would be dinner at a quaint local place..any meal w ithout a baby to wrangle is a novelty. This would be a great book to check out.
I prefer a nice dinner out at a very unfamily friendly place!
My hubbie is currently in Iraq, but since I’ve won a Panasonic 50″ plasma tv while he was gone I suppose we’ll enjoy movie at home date nights often once he is home!
We haven’t had a date night since our daughter was born 16 months ago… oops. I think sushi and a walk by the beach sounds great, though.
Katherine´s last blog post…Motherhood/Earthquake
We like to play tennis.
Favorite date night? Taco friday + double feature at the drive in, or checking out open houses
Hmmm, what are they again??? Haven’t had a lot of time to ourselves since baby no.2 arrived 6 mths ago. But I would love to just go out to dinner and actually talk!
At this point in our lives, date night is far and few since we have two little kiddos running around, schooling, and so much more on our plate. But we do try our best to spend time with each other, even if it means doing the simple things. Letting things go and just sitting around catching up with each other. Snuggling to a movie.
This year we’ve decided to try something new for each of our date nights, and that’s what I like best. Going out to dinner is nice, but I enjoy doing something different each time much more
Basically we’re currently getting one child-free date a year: our anniversary. We usually go out to eat and see a movie. Not very exciting, but it’s SO nice to have it just be the two of us.
We have regularly scheduled date night (had to put it on the Outlook calendar!) every 3 weeks, and the natural pattern that emerged is that we take turns choosing what to do. My husband’s nights usually involve a movie out, and mine tend to incorporate shopping somewhere I don’t usually get to go
My husband and I don’t date in the normal sense of the world. We have a ‘date’ almost everynight. We found a game that we both like to play and that’s what we do almost everynight. it sounds so silly, but it really has brought us closer together. I don’t resent his time on the computer and away from me b/c now we are both doing it together and it gives us something common together. Otherwise my husband and I are pretty different when it comes to our likes, and would never agree on any kind of date.
We rarely get a real date night out (new baby at home)… but one of my favorite things these days is a Sunday night driving home from a weekend away, kids asleep in the back of the car. We put our music on (or no music – but definitely not kids music!) and talk and talk all the way home.
Just watching a movie at home with popcorn! We also like to go window shopping together-it’s so much more relaxing than the rush of errands and to-dos.
Book store and then ice cream!
We used to enjoy rock climbing together – before kids! I think it would be fun to do that again – it seems like everything we do now “think how much fun the kids would have doing it”!
A favorite date night idea – eating a nice takeout dinner after the kids go to bed and then just sitting around talking. Sometimes it’s nice to not have to worry about going anywhere and it’s a lot cheaper to not have to pay a babysitter!
Clara S.´s last blog post…Belated Birthday
A picnic near the ocean!
we used to go for long walks before we had kids in the evenings in summer. i miss those nights a lot. those were great dates!
Heather Moll´s last blog post…I love Fridays!
We don’t get many date nights, but one thing that I would like to do for our next time would be to take a long walk before sunset and then finish the night off sitting on the roof watching the sunset. It sounds so romantic and look forward to suggesting it to my husband the next time we get our date night.
After many years of not going on dates or finding ways to connect . . . my husband and I are enjoying the fine art of dating once again! We’ve had some wonderful ones. We’ve had the opportunity to send the kids to Grandma’s and sneak away for a long weekend . . . but in tough financial times, we’ve gotten creative. We still send the kids to Grandma’s . . . but we come home and try to create a get-away atmosphere! It’s fun to think of ways to pamper each other!
Leslie´s last blog post…Random poolside conversation
One of our favorite date nights isn’t really at night. We occassionally will steal away for a late afternoon date before the kids are picked up from after school care. Our favorite Mexican food place has a gorgeous patio that is just perfect during the spring/summer.
We have a lot of fun doing yardwork together. I know – lame date idea, right? But the only time we really get to work on the yard together is when the kids aren’t around, so it winds up being a lot of fun. And a very productive date.
On the other hand… my favorite date is when DH gives me a massage. He’s a non-practicing massage therapist, so the massages are fabulous.
We are currently unable to have date nights…living in different states now…trying to move back to where we use to live. However, the economy has not allowed us to do so, hence the distance…sorry for the chagne in subject….one of the date nights I remember…walk on the beach and just watching the waves crash against the shore. It was so aggressive, yet so surreal to see God’s creation be so immense all at once! I miss my man! Love you honey!
I have to say we have been really slack with our date nights but are trying to be more dedicated this year. I do love going out to dinner, followed by a walk. Simple but we used to do it all the time before we had kids so it reminds me of when we first met.
Sandra from mum space´s last blog post…Berry baby cakes
We like to go out to eat without the kids so we can talk.
Christy@pipandsqueak´s last blog post…
Hmmm… I can’t remember what a date night is like
These days it’s dinner as a family, baby to bed and snuggling on the couch as we watch a movie. Perhaps those dreamy, elaborate date nights will return when the babe is a little older!
Jesica´s last blog post…Memorial Day – Linkage
I’d love to read this book. My husband and I do dinner and movie when we go out, but we also do date nights “in” where, after the kids are in bed, we make popcorn and orange juliuses and watch a movie snuggled on the couch. Very nice!
We like to go out to eat, sometimes it’s a nice restaurant, sometimes not. The most important thing is that we are able to just talk to each other without little hands trying to grab out attention. Then we love to go to the library and find wonderful books to read!
My husband and I enjoy just taking walks together. We like to go back to the park we went to the day we started dating and reminisce. It’s inexpensive and memorable.
Our “at-home” dates after the kids are in bed – a movie on the couch seem to be the most realistic these days. Nothing big, just a chance to reconnect.
We tend to keep things as simple as possible, since finances are usually a factor. We stop and grab a cup of coffee, then spend an hour or two either driving around (it’s amazing some of the conversations that flow smoothly when you’re in the car) or sitting by the lake, just enjoying the quiet.
Since it’s so simple, there’s little chance of expectations not being met, or the “date” not being a success. We always come home feeling recharged and closer.
we play sand volleyball every tuesday night (May – Sept)…have been for 3 years now with the same 2 couple. we LOVE it. Being active together is amazing…and knowing that we have that time together EVERY week is even more amazing!
We like the dinner and a movie thing too, although it’s not very creative. These days it seems that we have so many commitments that require us leaving the kids…it means we don’t get too many chances to have a night out for the two of us “just because”.
Jen´s last blog post…Easter Fun
A trip to the Bookstore is a great date. It always tells me what my husband is interested in by the books he looks at.
We just had a good “talk” last night and this book sounds like it might be a great thing for us. A fave date is going on a new hike. We love the outdoors and it’s wonderful to enjoy the beauty of the mountains when you are with someone you love.
Perfect date- well, since we have a 2 1/2 year old and a 6 month old- we haven’t gotten out much in the past 3 years.. I would have to say that just getting out to a coffee shop and being able to chat and play dominoes or cards would be perfect! (as long as I would win the game of dominoes (= )
We like to pull all the blankets from all over the house and stack them on top of each other in a giant cushy pile and lay on them and watch movies together, sometimes ending the evening with a little “dessert”.
Coralee´s last blog post…Abigail’s Dedication
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