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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With four little ones, dates are rare for us. We like to eat somewhere we’d never take our kids! Downtown Denver works for us…then a stroll down 16th Street and into the Tattered Cover Bookstore for a cup of coffee and to look at books.
Rose´s last blog post…Apple Tasting
Our favorite date night we’ve had lately is planting a garden together after the kids were in bed. We had to use a flood light to see what we were doing! We had some good laughs, did something to move forward in our family’s goals and ended with a water fight of love
Date night is having a nice dinner. It gives us time to talk about where we are going and what each other needs and what are our common goals as a family.
just talk about whatever as we walk places like Barnes & Noble sipping coffee or Home Depot planning our next project.
We’re pretty boring I suppose but we usually will go out for dinner and a movie when we can get away.
My favourite date idea would be to get all dressed up and go to a fancy restaurant which has a great view of the city.
Dominique´s last blog post…Weekend Linky Love- Managing your Finances
One of our favorite date nights is to hang out on our backyard patio in the dark, just enjoying a beer and getting a chance to actually talk. With 2 boys, 3.5 and 5, talking is limited for the grown-ups. We get a chance to catch up on things and see what is going on with each other.
Carrie´s last blog post…Preschool Graduation 2009
In-House: junk food and board games after the little one is in bed
Out: anything! movies, live entertainment (plays, sketch comedy show), walks, even just shopping – anything that gets us out of the house together!
We participate in a Parents’ Night Out group with our church. Our favorite way to spend the evening … drop the kids off and then hightail it back home to once again have a kid-free house to ourselves!
The hubby and I are fairly simple people and we much prefer a quiet evening focused on each other to paying money to sit side-by-side while we focus on something else (like a movie or a play). So date night for us will usually involve something like cooking dinner together and then snuggling on the couch and chatting all evening.
But we did have one really good date idea that worked out great. We don’t get to use it very often, but it’s really special when we do. We call it the “midnight picnic.” We pack up a picnic, but we don’t leave until 8-9pm (obviously, this is really only good in the summer). We then go down to our local beach and sit on the sand, listening to the waves, talking, and having a picnic. It’s very nice because we’re both introverts, so midnight picnics don’t have the drawback of having noisy people all around tossing frisbees and such.
We enjoy going out to eat, but we have noticed that we actually prefer a morning or afternoon date that we can just spend at a coffeehouse, talking, reading, writing. We are close, the kid distractions are not there, and we can enjoy the luxury of lingering over coffee and snacks.
We love to go on picnics together. I will pack up a lunch and we will go to a nice park , or off to DC to sit on the mall. Anything outdoors especially in fall or spring
Laura´s last blog post…7 weeks, and growing
We usually curl up on the couch or on the deck together after the kiddos are in bed. We sometimes go out when my parents are in town to babysit – typically it is dinner out and a trip to Target or Home Depot.
We love to do a lunch date. My husband has a flexible schedule so sometimes he is off during the week. We take advantage of our kids being at school and grab lunch or head to a movie. The best part is food and movies are cheaper in the middle of the day and no need for a babysitter.
whitney´s last blog post…May BAM
Most of our dates these days involve watching a movie or show together on the computer in bed after the kid is asleep… I think what we really enjoy, however, is discovering something new together – a new path, a new restaurant, a new part of town, a new country
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Date night….so rare in these parts. Favourite one so far is hot chocolate in Barnes and Noble. Just chatting and people watching. It was relaxing.
Melitsa´s last blog post…Going on a car trip?
Date time is way to few and far between, unfortunately. We do need to make more of a point to do it! Right now, our current dates consist of any time that Grandma can watch the children for us to get away! This usually lands us at the grocery store or clothes shopping, but at least we are doing it together and alone. Sad, I know, but maybe this book would help us with this
Going out to eat, and having some adult conversation that doesn’t involve wiping anyone’s nose, or having food thrown at me!
Hrm…maybe it’s not officially a “date,” but I love it when we go out to eat as a family (to an actual restaurant – fast food doesn’t count). We don’t do it often and the kids are little enough still (2 yr and 5 mo) that we can still have relatively “adult” conversation without a whole lot of interruption. Plus, when they’re behaving, they’re often quite entertaining. And there’s nothing better than seeing my husband interact with our kids. He usually ends up getting a treat when we get home. ;p
Princess Leia´s last blog post…Creepy Crawly
Rock climbing then pub grub and microbrews!
It sounds lame, but with a 3 year old who despises babysitters and a 9 month old who won’t take a bottle, we really just enjoy watching a movie at home or catching up on episodes of out favorite tv shows. Everyone keeps telling us we need to get out, like or marriage will crumble in a month if we don’t. We are happy. We are in love. And we know one day our kids will be fine with a babysitter if we keep trying and then we can go out.
whitney´s last blog post…chariot
Mini-golf!
Emily´s last blog post…Another One Bites the Dust
We don’t do anything super special – date nights are relatively new in our house. We just ensure that we put our little guy to bed, cook ourselves a nice meal, and enjoy a bottle of wine – and the TV is OFF! Music is on to set the mood… We make sure we talk about more than just our son too!
Our favorite date night is to take our child to a grandparents and order pizza and eat on the floor in the living room, while watching a movie. It’s not often we get the house to ourselves!
One of our favorite dates is to go exploring a new area of the city and eat at a new restaurant.
Minnesotamom´s last blog post…PB Grahams
dinner and a movie… we’re both suckers for the movie theater!
brandiandboys´s last blog post…Sheila’s Story…
One of our favorite dates is to stay at home, cook a meal, listen to music, and drink wine. We either get a sitter or have the kids stay upstairs.
Going out for breakfast is one of our favorite dates. It’s cheaper than dinner and satisfies his need for sameness (scrambled eggs w/ home fries and toast can be gotten anywhere!) and my need for trying out new places/specials. We’re already looking forward to July though, when the two older kids (then 7 and 3) will be away for the week, and we’ll just have the baby.
Date nights are more of a priority for us since having our first child last year. We’re always open to new ideas, so I’ve enjoyed reading everyone’s comments. One of our favorites is perusing the local bookstore and reading magazines together. We ended most of our subscriptions to save money and reduce clutter, so catching up on our favorites together over a cup of tea or coffee is almost like a vacation!
We love to go to exotic, new places to eat. We love to try different foods but are limited by our location and selection at the supermarket! So it would be great to be in a big city by ourselves and eat out!
sylviarj at yahoo dot com
Our favorite date night is popcorn, candy, and a movie at home. Boring, I know, but we love it.
Elizabeth´s last blog post…An Oklahoma Shrimp Boil
One of our favorite things to do is fish. Fishing is how we began dating in high school. Our first kiss was in the middle of fishing, lol.
I just like it when my husband plans something. It can be anything! It can be staying at home after the baby is asleep and eating spaghetti he made– it doesn’t matter so long as he was thoughtful.
Hiking a mountain in the Adirondacks or getting Chinese take-out and watching a romantic comedy after the kids go to bed.
Tracy´s last blog post…And now for a completely gratuitous post….
Honestly, something very simple. Either a walk on the back at dusk or just staying home, eating in and listening to music.
Our fav date is going to dancing lessons together. We started going for our wedding and enjoyed being together so much that we’re still going 5 years later.
I read Corey’s blog and it is very good. A free copy of his book would be awesome!
My favorite date: a picnic. Nothing but us, a blanket, good food and wine. In fact, we are sorely overdue!
i like staying home, putting the kids to bed, and spending time sitting together, cuddling, talking and sometimes reading to each other
Something very simple — just a dinner with the two of us, doesn’t matter where, as long as it’s quiet and the kids are packed off to a babysitter.
Whatever “out” includes, the best part is coming home to our empty house, assuming MIL has our 6 yr old, and having outrageous LOUD sex.
My husband and I love to try local (non-chain) restaurants. We also just enjoy making our own gourmet meal at home, eating two helpings of dessert and just focusing on each other.
Stacie@HobbitDoor´s last blog post…Laughter is an abs workout, right?
One of my favorite date ideas for me and my spouse is to order up one of our favorite sub sandwich’s, throw it and some drinks and chips in a backpack and take a hike out by the river not too far away from our house and have lunch along the way. It gives us time to talk, it’s cheap, and it gets us some exercise!
It has been so great to read all of these date night ideas! We don’t have many date nights these days but I think it would be so fun to just be at home together without the kids!
Dinner and a movie at home.
We enjoy just going to the park for a long walk.
Our favorite thing to do is to send all of our children to friends’ houses on a Friday night, and bring home take-out and watch a new release movie. It’s not expensive, we get cuddle time, and the kids get fun-time with friends. It works for everybody!!
I like restaurant hopping. One place for drinks/apps, another for dinner, and a third for dessert!
One of our favorites is sending the kids to grandmas house and watching one of our favorite movies on our big screen tv and eating thai food take out for dinner. There’s nothing better than being cozy on the couch and having a fire in the fireplace if it’s winter time.
We met working at Barnes and Noble, so it’s one of our favorite places to go for date night. Ice cream is always involved too..
Sarah´s last blog post…My day with Georgie
We just came up with this one and are going to try it this week on his birthday: We live with my mom in a townhome and our complex has a pool and hot tub. So, after we put the babies to bed, we’re going to give Nona the baby monitor and walk over for a swim and soak before bed. I can’t wait!
We love to pack a pinic lunch or dinner and go walk at a park by the water or go out sailing.
My recent favorite date experiences was that we put the kids in the strollers and had lunch on cement slab in our backyard. We were supposed to get a shed and can’t afford one right now so we put some chairs up and a little table and had ravioli and baby food and french bread pizza in the yard.
We like to sneak out to a local dive and pretend like we’re carefree for a couple of hours whenever we can get a sitter!
We love to go to the beach, or venture to the next big city near us and go exploring, maybe find some fun shops and restaurants!
we recently went on our first “date” since our second son was born a year ago — we went to see star trek (excellent movie, btw). It was a lot of fun, snuggling in the seats and sharing popcorn. But I would love to go to the local beach and have a picnic at sunset and just enjoy the quiet with him. Then go for an ice cream cone at our favorite home-made ice cream store.
We have just recently re-instated date nights. My son just turned 7 months and we had our first late night date night while a friend sat at home while our littles slept. We went to a (cheap) date night at Carinos and then just sat in a parking lot and TALKED!! It seems we don’t do that as much as we do unless we set aside time to do it.
Our favorite date ritual is to take the day off from work on our anniversary (but still take the kids to daycare) and spend the ENTIRE day together (and still pick the kids up early for a family dinner out). Last year we went for a hike in the morning and then to a movie in the afternoon, but its really the guilt free time together without the added pressure of babysitting costs (we’re already paying for the daycare and its part of the kids routine).
We don’t have family or access to many babysitters where we live. To give us some time together I started doing “dessert date” after the kids were in bed. Usually I’ll make something special for dessert and we’ll sit at our kitchen table with candles lit and talk over dessert. Sometimes I’ll come up with odd questions, type them up and put them in a bowl. We’ll take turns picking one to answer.
Just walking and talking.. isn’t that the best!
Helen Munzer´s last blog post…Why?
I would love to win this book. I have enjoyed reading his posts on your site and am also a subscriber to his site.
Ashley P´s last blog post…Sending my 2yo to college…
sorry… I forgot to include the date idea… I enjoy going out to breakfast with my hubbie… we used to have a Friday morning breakfast date when we were first married – he would come home from work about the time I left for school (he worked 3rds, I went to school from 8-12 and worked from 1-8)… it was one of our favorite times together.
Ashley P´s last blog post…Sending my 2yo to college…
Ahh a date sounds so nice… I think it would be fun for him to come pick me up (ring the doorbell and all) with a small bouquet of flowers, open my car door and take me to a restaurant of his choosing for a romantic meal. Oh how I miss the days when he really TRIED to whoo me.
One of my favorite ways to enjoy my husband’s company is to encourage him to ‘practice’ his bass guitar. He plays in the church band, so it’s great music, and he gets such joy out of playing, and I love to watch him since he has so little time to indulge in his music. It’s like a private concert. Followed up by some hot tub time!
Date nights–
Kids in bed, movie and popcorn.
Once our baby is a little older-a weekend-long date is most definitely in order!
Shab´s last blog post…Photos of the month
We like to take a walk together or go out to dinner together.
It doesn’t have to be much, anymore. Just time alone after the kids are in bed, with our favorite Thai takeout and a bottle of wine, and lots of uninterrupted conversation. Great way to reconnect after a busy week–and much better than an expensive night on the town!
Any sort of alone time with husband is a favorite!
My idea of a favorite date night would be anything that even resembles a “date.” I am not picky here, really.
On Mondays a little Mexican food restaurant near us has half-price margaritas all night. We love to sit and talk over a chips and salsa and a couple of yummy frozen drinks.
Stacey´s last blog post…Just For Giggles
On random nights, we break out the candles and have dinner by candle-light.
local coffee shop and scrabble. My hubby beats me everytime, but the mocha & laughter is so worth it!!
Dinner and a movie. Cliche, but it really gives you that “Official Date” feeling, which is kind of nice!
Our favorite date is going for coffee and then to the book store. We gather books and sit at a table looking/talking/discussing. It’s such a cheap date night that we can do it spur of the moment and it’s such a nice adult night.
PS~Erin´s last blog post…Organizing Recipes (and a late meal plan thrown in)
Although the movies are a sure bet, we once went to a cliff that overlooks our local Lake Austin. It was beautiful and very peaceful. Then it was back to our rambunctious boys!
Anything that’s just the two of us and is relaxing without having to do anything. One thing we used to do often is a dinner out then relaxing together at Barnes & Noble.
I love it when we just sit down together with a glass of wine and play board games when the kids are asleep.
We like to snuggle up together with a show and either a bowl of ice cream or a bowl of popcorn. But I’ve liked the ideas listed here–we definitely need to incorporate some of them!
Kristi´s last blog post…Something Divine
It sounds awful, but I don’t really have a date night with my spouse. Obviously I really need that book!
My favorite date is just to go to Barnes & Noble and sit in the comfy chairs with my husband and read books while we talk about what we’re reading or which books we want to add to our Christmas list.
Heidi´s last blog post…Getting Better
My favorite date night activity is drinking wine and cooking dinner together, followed by cuddling on the sofa and watching a movie.
kati´s last blog post…a review or two
We do date night with another couple with children as well. When it’s our turn, and theykids are at the other families house, we have lately been just enjoying a leisurely dinner at home. Without our 2 year old and 5 year old, a relaxing dinner at home with my husband is just right (and we like to splurge on a nice bottle of wine since we aren’t spending $ eating out!)
My hubby is so great about planning unique things, and one of my favorites is a scavenger hunt. I had me go all over our city finding clues, then I found him with a picnic dinner on a mountain over looking the city. He’s so romantic =)
I know this is nothing special for many, but I just love to go to a nice restaurant and then a movie. We both love to go to the movie theater. Thank you for the opportunity.
We go to the Drive-In. We eat there and talk, before the movies. We each get to pick 1 movie, (as long as they aren’t both the 1st or 2nd). It gives us a chance to see and enjoy what the other likes.
For us, the best is going on a nice long drive to wherever and deciding along the way what sounds like a fun thing to do.
A relaxing dinner and a nice long walk on the beach.
Ruth´s last blog post…Three Months
Coffee for me, ice cream for him at our favorite coffee house followed by a trip to Barnes and Noble or a walk at the park.
It doesn’t matter what we do before, we always end our date night at a local frozen custard shop that we both love to enjoy together. We started this pre-kids and anytime we get a date night out, we always make time to get dessert and sit on our favorite bench nearby. It makes both of us smile!
Being alone together in a musuem or art gallery. Some place where we can look at delicate things together without children.
Honestly, these days it’s just going somewhere without the kids – getting him (& his attention) all to myself is such a treat. Besides that, all I request is some good food (that I didn’t have to cook).
I love lying in the backyard on a quilt looking at the stars after we’ve put our little one to bed. It is quiet, and we can still hear the baby monitor through the open door, so there’s no need for a sitter.
Charissa´s last blog post…The Night Watchman: Book Review
date night at Barnes and Noble. lots of things to read and discuss together. Starbucks is attached via a walk way – so there’s always something great to sip on too.
I love date nights where we go for a walk to the movie theater, grab coffee or a treat along the way there or back, and enjoy an evening out together!
Getting take out and eating it outside somewhere!
Just being alone in our home is wooonderful!
I love exploring in a new City – must mean we are on vacation with someone to watch the kiddo! At home, a long drive in the car gets us our best conversation.
With little kids at home, we typically do movie night or take out sushi to eat after the kids are asleep, but when we do get a sitter we love going out for wings and a beer where we can be loud and silly and make each other laugh instead of having to whisper in a stuffy restaurant.
Michelle´s last blog post…Spring Cleaning Wrap-Up
Picnicking and playing pitch and catch.
Our favorite date idea is to grab a picnic type meal and take it to the park near the airport and enjoy the river while watching the planes come in right over our heads.
Amy´s last blog post…Becoming a big boy
my choice would be a long dinner, followed by bookstore browsing or walking around the lake.
A bike ride. We used to bike all the time, we’ve toured Yellowstone National Park and the Oregon coast together. Our little one isn’t big enough for her trailer yet…and with spring here, I’d love for the two of us to get on our bikes and sweat, and ride.
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