Do you like your husband enough to...

Our dusting of snow is melting in Georgia!

It was a great deal of fun while it was here!

Now, we have no snow & lots of freezing weather!

Goodbye snow!

Hee Hee. You didn't know what I was going to say. I like these husband posts such as this one here. My husband always gets nervous when I write about him. I love it when someone we know comes up to him and asks him a question from something I have written on the blog. See, if he would just read it, then he would know when I wrote about him! Well, I am going to stick to my rule of not writing anything negative about him! However, (again...giggle, giggle) I have to ask, "Do you like your husband enough to....voluntarily spend time with him?"

Yes, I mean a date, and after children it is really...I mean really...difficult to find time to make a date with your husband! Once you add in babysitters, food, planning, and entertainment and so on, you are too tired...and too broke...to really enjoy yourself. Then, you probably sit across from each other talking about your kids! We are all mentally broken. Our minds are short circuited because we become so accustomed to not having dates with one another that when we do...we do not know what to do or how to enjoy it! Now, considering the divorce rate is at 50 percent (that's half...for the non-math people including me!), we have to make ourselves divorce proof! It's way easier to just have the mindset to get through it. However, that seems the quickest way to be living in the same house but going in two different directions.

Part of being a good mama is making sure your marriage is solid...which takes knowing each other and sharing time with one another. This is the hardest part for me in my world. I can focus on my children, but I struggle when I have to focus just on my husband. Where do I find the time? Better yet, where do I find the energy? I do not have the answers, yet I know that it needs to be a priority. If I have extra money...can I just buy something crafty and fun and skip the date. If I have extra time for a date, can I just sleep instead? I am always in need of sleep.

Hmmm...Where are my priorities? Where are yours? When is the last time you have been on a date with your hubby? A real date. You planned it. You looked your best. You focused on each other. Don't ask me...I can't remember! Hopefully, you can! This was one of mine and Robert's New Year's resolutions or family goals...however you want to say it. We did several "date" inspired activities last year in our young married Sunday School class so we knew this was an area we were lacking. We also made finding a babysitter a priority because this is a big deterrent from our date opportunities! Then, I found this blog site. This mom at simply modern mom has made a goal of 52 dates with her husband this year. She even has a nifty section for ideas and a contract. Redbook magazine also featured "Date Nights In" in their most recent issue. Hmmm....is someone trying to tell us something?!;) I was very inpired by the Redbook suggestions because they were date nights that followed all of our rules, yet they were dates that were frugal and did not require actually going out. I think a combination of "date nights in" and special date nights out would be a great scenerio. We altered our plan a bit to incorporate our other marriage resolutions or goals such as being more appreciative of one another and finding creative ways to "express" our love and/or appreciation. It's often easy to forget to appreciate those that are closest to us!

I am trying to consciously make myself find an appreciative comment to my husband...even if he isn't doing it right or as quickly as I would like him to...I need to remember that he is trying! I am trying to focus on us and our relationship...as much as everything else in our world. It really helps that we are alternating planning the dates...that doesn't leave all the planning to one individual. In addition, planning the dates inside rather than not always going out makes you be really creative!

Happy marriage=happy family! I encourage you to make some relationship goals too! Let me know if you have any creative ideas...I can always use them when it's my turn to plan!8)