Dating my Husband {giveaway}

A few weeks ago, I got all dolled up. We’re talking the whole nine yards: I took a shower, put on clean clothes, swapped out my glasses for contacts, put makeup on my bare face, and—wait for it—I curled my hair. This night was a big deal; it was our first night away from the baby. For the first time in 10 months, my husband and I went out to nice dinner AND a movie, alone, just the two of us. It may not seem like a big deal to you, but it was for us.

Before I had a baby, I vowed I’d never be one of those couples who’d let their child consume their life. The plan was to go out on one date a month, at least…to keep the spark alive between us. It was just the two of us for so long before Julia, that we need to remember who we were as a couple. There are babysitters out there for a reason, so there should be no reason why we couldn’t have one night to ourselves.

Those are all the things I told myself before we had Julia. But once again, life threw a curve ball, and it turns out that getting out and dating your husband after having a baby is actually much easier said than done. Granted, we were in the middle of a fairly large move with no family around—perhaps if we lived in the same place and knew people or had family to help, it wouldn’t have taken us 10 months to leave her for the first time.

But go out we did, and when I wasn’t thinking about her and trying to keep my hands off my phone (to see/hear/read updates about her), I truly enjoyed our time alone. Sure, we have our nights together after she goes to bed, but it’s not the same as a date. You have to put thought and effort into going out as a couple, and I really want to do that more often.

Luckily, with Valentine’s Day less than a month a way, I have the perfect plan: a love coupon book! Okay, to be honest, I remember making coupon books for my parents’ birthdays when I was a little girl. They were the perfect way to get them something without having to actually get them something. Well, this is the same idea. The lovely folks over at Datevitation let me create my own coupon book, and I have to tell you that it was seriously a lot of fun to make, and now (well, on Valentine’s Day, when I actually give this to my husband) we’ll have five date ideas all ready for us.

Before I show you the book I made, here are some quick facts about Datevitation:

• More than 500 date ideas in their database. Sure, they have the old standby of going out for dinner and a movie, but then it goes above and beyond that with awesome and creative ideas! Take a look and I bet you’ll get hooked just looking for ideas!
• It’s all about customization. Not only can you write in your own text for the date (don’t worry, they give you great text to begin with, so you can leave it as is if you’d like), but you can also add a bit more fun by customizing the stick people and have them portray you! 
• It’s not just for “man and wife.” If you want to get your kids in on the fun (like for Mother’s/Father’s Day *hint hint*, they have boys and girls, or if you’re from a same-sex partnership, you can go that route, too.

Okay, here’s a peek at the book I made for my husband. Upon reflection, the dates I picked aren’t as fun as skydiving (a real date in their database!), and some of them don’t actually get us out of the house, but I truly want to do these things, so I kept it a little more realistic for now.

Now for the fun part: books start at $25, but as a special treat for you guys, use the code “JESSICALYNN” and get $10 off your order, plus free shipping (total value of $13.50). That means you can get your loved one a one-of-a-kind gift for Valentine’s Day* starting at $15!

And, since the folks over at Datevitation are awesome, they’re giving one of you a FREE book! Enter the prompts below and one winner will be picked on January 27.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*The order cut-off date for guaranteed Valentine’s Day deliver is February 3, so don’t delay!