Date Night - A definition

What qualifies a date?
As Valentine's Day approaches I've been asking myself what it really means to date your spouse. Before you got married dates were pretty obvious. But after getting married and starting a family the line starts to get a little fuzzy.

We would all agree that leaving the kids at home and going to dinner is obviously a date. But what if you're like us and don't have the money to go out to dinner much less hire a babysitter. That's when you have to get creative.

Joe and I go on a lot of "dates" which consist of sitting on the couch watching a movie, playing a board game or just talking after Jude has gone to bed. Even when he works long days, has class, tutors, has band practice and other obligations he will stay up late just to spend time with me. It could be bed cuddles just before bed where we talk about or day, stress and dreams. I think the key is being intentional.

One day I'd like to have money to go out to dinner, just the two of us but that day appears to be a long way off. So for this Valentine's day we'll be eating a big lunch between all 4 church services while the baby sleeps.

Well Hello There 29

Yesterday I celebrated my 29th birthday. Since I got my big present on Saturday we kept it kind of low key for my actual birthday.

During the day I hung out with Jude as usual. Then in the evening my parents came over and watched Jude so Joe and I could go out on a date. Because it was my birthday and Joe's birthday is exactly on week after mine and because I'm always signing up for free stuff. We ate dinner at Red Robin where we both had FREE Burgers! Neither of us had been there before so it was an adventure. The burgers were decent but still no match for MoJoe's or Raleigh Times.

Afterward we went to the Galaxy Cinema and saw Sunshine Cleaning. It was good but a bit sadder than I expected. However, I would still recommend you see it. We had one free movie ticket and got the other at the "member" price. So all together my birthday date was pretty economical. :) I think we probably spent about $15 (including the generous tip for the waitress) on an evening that would have otherwise cost almost $50.

Next week we'll celebrate Joe's birthday in a similar fashion... dinner and a movie... and of course we will use coupons!

Oh yeah Jude got me a present, via his father. I now have 3 new potted plants to add to my garden. Basil, Dill and a Banana Pepper.

Hooray for May Birthdays!

Date Night

I highly recommend all couples to take a regular date night. It's so easy to get caught up in the busyness of life that you forget to take time to appreciate your spouse.

Last night Joe and I went on our first date since our Anniversary date (which is really the only date we've taken since Jude was born). Our dear friend Andrea watched Jude while we went to a preview showing of James Bond: Quantum of Solace. The movie was pretty good, everything happens so quickly it's easy to get a little lost in the story but overall I'd see it again! I mean it is James Bond! One of the best parts was that it didn't cost us any money to see the movie. I got free tickets for the preview showing from the N&O. I knew how excited Joe was about seeing the movie that when I saw the giveaway for free tickets I knew I had to get them. I stood in line outside the N&O office for an hour on Monday and scored 2 tickets!

We had a great time talking in the car on our way to and from the theater. It's weird for me to ride in the car without Jude in the back. But I knew he was in good hands with Andrea. She's getting in a little practice before her little guy arrives the end of January. She said Jude was good, which I was worried he would be fussy and cry the whole time but he slept and ate and had fun with Andrea and baby U.

I'm looking forward to planning more date nights with Joe. It's nice to take a little break from life to be reminded how much I love that man!