5 Rules for Date Night

Ok. So I used to be a pretty good "dater" once upon a time. I mean, I'd show up looking stunning, make good conversation, provide my undivided attention, etc. So how is it that I can completely miss the mark on dates with my hubby?

Several years ago, we decided to start a bi-weekly "date night." It sounded like a great idea, and certainly something we could get some excitement out of. However, those first few date nights were anything but exciting; really, more like business meetings sometimes. Eventually (and unfortunately) those became a thing of the past.

With that said, my husband and I have decided to start our date nights again, starting tonight.  We have tickets to Cirque Du Soleil, So what's gonna be different now from our last dating series, you ask? Well, I am proposing the following set of rules, yes RULES for our date nights:

Rule #1: Pre-set a Date, Time, and Dress Code

Date and time are pretty self explanatory, but the dress code thing is crucial in our marriage. I love to dress up, he loves to dress down. In the past, we could never get the wardrobes to match on our dates. I don't mean his and her jumpsuits matching. More like I'm wearing a short black cocktail dress and heels, he's wearing a Lakers jersey, jeans and sneakers. I understand the need for comfort, but can we at least switch up our Sunday Couch Potato look? This is a date, dress to impress!

Rule # 2: Lighten up the conversation

Date night dinner conversations should be at least fun, if not romantic. I get the fact that we are no longer trying to get to know each other, but work, bills, household chores, and lingering arguments should NEVER be date night conversations.


Rule # 3: Ditch the cell phone

...or at least limit the use to emergencies only. I am most guilty of using my cell phone at inappropriate times. Setting appointments, Facebook, and text messaging need to be put on hold while on a date. Since our daughters will be with a babysitter, it's not smart to turn the cell phone off, but the babysitter should be the only one who gets an answered call!  Sorry, Mom! 


Rule # 4: Treat it like it will be the last date for a while

This one is probably the most important one because...well...this might be the last date for while. Bi-weekly dates are an ideal, but when there are kids involved, you know anything can hinder your plans at anytime.


Rule # 5: The date doesn't end at the front door

Let this be one perk of being married - there's never a dilemma as to whether or not to let him in at the end of the date. Go ahead and finish off the date through the next morning! Wake up the next day gleaming over how great the date was and talking about how much you look forward to the next..for old times sake. Then...back to reality!

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Giveaway - WeeHands Online Sign Language Class

Have you ever thought about communicating with your baby before they could talk? Sure, we can talk to babies, but they can't talk back to us, they can't communicate, or can they? I have read about and seen the benefits of signing with young children before they can communicate verbally. In fact, I taught Leila a few words in sign language when she was a baby and it was really great having her communicate things to me, such as when she was hungry. 

I always wanted to expand my knowledge, but didn't have a way to do so.  I was only recently introduced to the WeeHands Online Sign Language Class  and as I learn more about it, I am thrilled I have the opportunity to share this great giveaway with you!

One person will win a spot in this Online Sign Language Class!

To find out more details about the self paced class you can go to the WeeHands Site, you can also read this review of my experience in this class.

You can also check out WeeHands on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest, 

plus they have a YouTube channel.

This giveaway is opened worldwide and ends on December 8th.

To enter, please use the Rafflecopter form below. 

Please make sure you actually complete each task before clicking enter. 

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3 stages of LIFE #WordlessWednesday

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Should you teach your kids to fight back or play by the rules?

A couple of weeks ago, I picked up my 3 1/2 year old from pre-school and on our ride home, she mentioned that one of the kids at school hit her in her stomach. I did the right thing first and asked her if it was an accident and if he said sorry. The answer was no. Without even thinking, I asked, “Well, Leila, did you hit him back??! She replied, “No. I don’t want to hit him back.” “Why not?” Then she replies with what I thought to be the most poignant answer, “Because, if I hit him back, then we are fighting. And fighting is bad.” Point taken.

So a few days later, she comes home with Daddy and says that her arm was hurting. Why? Because {insert kid’s name here} hit her again. Daddy’s response, “Well , did you hit him back??!” She gives him a similar answer to the first, only he doesn’t take it. He insists that she needs to fight back and even goes so far as to give her a quick boxing lesson! I don’t say anything to him because I actually agree with his reasoning. Of course, I don’t want my kid to be the class bully, but I don’t want her being the one getting beat up on either and it is essential to teach her how to defend herself.

Let me just state, that this was not the first time. Her teachers know what’s going on and do their best to keep in under control. But let’s face it, some kids are just bullies and since they can’t be disciplined but so much by the teachers, we need to equip our kids on how to deal with them.

So now, are we becoming “Those Parents?” You know, the ones whose values differ from the school’s administration and teach their kids to break the rules in one way or another? Another quick example, we use the term “booty.” We’ve always used it in a playful way with the kids. All of a sudden, we become informed that, in her school, “Booty” is a bad word? What? I can understand the other “bad words” she could be using, but, “booty?” Hip hop has ruined the innocence of children!

Anyway, so just this morning, Leila tells me that she doesn’t want to go to school because the kids hit her. I ask her who and she runs down the list. Then, she pauses and says she will go to school. “And when they hit me, Mommy, I’m just going to hit them back like this…” And she even goes so far as to make a fist and show me a well formed jab-cross!

So now, am I probably going to get a phone call one of these days from her school? Yes. Will those kids try to beat up on her again? No! Are we sending her the wrong message? Maybe…maybe not? What are your thoughts on this?

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Join Me On My 90-Day Weight Loss Journey

So here's the deal: Ever since my daughter Samara was born, I've been dealing with a very real, struggle with my weight and body image. The most difficult part I experience is the fact that I'm not quite the typical weight loss candidate.  The Biggest Loser is not looking for people like me and it would be offensive to suggest otherwise.   In fact, dare I even utter the words, "I need to lose weight" in public! In lieu of support, I get a slew of rolled eyes, snickers, and "Oh please! You do not need to lose weight!"  My default response: "Yeah...well, you haven't seen me naked." That usually quiets them.

Ok, so here's my current Big Fat #- 135.  Yes, I get it.  To half of America, that's a goal weight, but to a 5 foot 3-ish woman with a slender build, that is still not a very comfortable number!  It keeps me from fitting into most of my clothes, from feeling confident wearing things like bathing suits and sleeveless tops, and most importantly, it keeps me from feeling as healthy as I could. I am not the worst eater in the world and yes, I do try to go to the gym whenever I can amidst my 2 young kids and full time job.  Truth be told,  I have managed to lose a good amount of my baby weight by doing just that. However, I realize that at at my age and life stage, I really could use a little boost to my weight loss to get rid of these final pounds that just won't go anywhere! 

I've shared earlier about me feeling out of control about many things, but this is something I can control.  Fortunately for me, I stumbled across a post by fellow blogger, Rude Mom, about a weight loss company seeking bloggers to try out their product and figured, why not?  I did a little more research about the products and found one designed just for me! No, the label does not say, "Eat all the pizza you want and lose weight." I'm still looking for that product!

The company is called Creative Bioscience.  They have a series of products for various stages and weight loss objectives, including the popular HCG drops.  What I found that most suited my needs were the African Mango Cleanse and the African Mango Lean, designed for dieters who are looking to release toxins in the body and with a weight loss goal of less than 20 lbs.  I know it would be unrealistic for me to aim for my high school weight -hell, mama has hips now-but to be able to lose and keep off these extra few lbs would be ideal.

So in the next few weeks, I'll be starting a 90 day weight loss journey.  Eating right and exercising will be essential and I'll be coupling that with my supplements from Creative Bioscience. And who better to have as accountability partners than all of my readers???

If any of my fellow bloggers would like to join me, you can apply here! If you do, please be sure to let me know that we're in this together!

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Melissa & Doug Terrific Twenty List and Giveaway

Need some help with your holiday shopping this year? Check out Melissa and Doug's “Terrific Twenty” list,  featuring some of the “best of the best” holiday gifts for the 2012!


I'll have the opportunity to offer one of my readers a chance to win (1) of these fabulous gifts, but I'll need your help choosing just one!  To enter, just check out the list HERE and leave a comment below telling us which of these is your favorite! 

For more chances to win, Melissa and Doug is also hosting a "20 Days of Terrific Twenty Giveaway" on their FB page and giving away one item EVERY DAY!  Be sure to check back often! 

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#MotivationMonday

Unfortunately, I can't remember whose FB post I found this on, but it really is a great reminder for the eternal procrastinator I once was.

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Mommy and Me time

Leila and I had a chance to see Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer this weekend at The Center for Puppetry Arts. After the show, we got to go to the arts and crafts room to make "our" own Hermey the Elf puppet.

Hosted by Krystyn at Really, Are You Serious?

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Love, Peace, and a Pretty Sleek Car Seat! #GracoSafety

Last week, I had the chance to attend a Graco Safety event hosted by my fellow blogger, Meghan Cooper (JaMonkey).  It was truly a great event with some amazing bloggers in attendance; catered by the delicious TGIFridays and taking place in a meeting room at the wonderful Country Inn & Suites. I didn't get a chance to stay overnight at the hotel, but so regretted that immediately.  The staff was great and I promised to head back for an overnight stay in the near future!

It was my second event getting a chance to learn more about the newest infant carseat - the SnugRide Click Connect 40.  Of course, Samara is now almost 8 months old, so why would I now be interested in researching a car seat?

Well, first, of course, I'm always looking for an excuse to get out of the house and especially meet other bloggers.  :-)  Secondly, I'm a mom of kids in the 80th percentile plus, so Samara's long legs are already dangling out of her current seat.  Finally, and arguably most importantly, there have been some pretty interesting changes in the child safety world that parents need to be aware of. 

The American Academy of Pediatrics recently made the recommendation to keep all children in rear-facing car seats until the age of 2, reasons being that studies have found that children riding rear-facing to be five times safer than forward-facing.

The SnugRide Click Connect 40 is the only infant car seat that provides rear-facing protection for babies from birth to 2 years old or up to 40 pounds.  Here are just some of the most outstanding features of this product:

• 4 – 40 pound weight limit— a full 2 years
• Base adjusts with 8 recline positions for most leg room of any rear-facing car seat for baby comfort
• The Simply Safe Adjust™ harness systems allows parents to adjust the harness and headrest with just one hand to fit their baby’s height as their baby grows, all without having to rethread the harness for extra convenience. HOW COOL IS THIS??
• Click Connect™ attachment which allows parents to easily transition their babies from the car seat to the stroller through a simple, but secure, one-step “click.

We were given a FREE carseat at this event, so hubby and I have spent the last week playing around with all of the wonderful features of the carseat.  Samara is as snug as a bug in there and I'm pretty sure she's most impressed with her built in foot rest. Yes, you read that right - I said foot rest!  Cute, Cute, Cute!


The Graco SnugRide Click Connect 40 is currently available at BabiesRUs stores nationwide and online.   For more information, please visit http://www.gracosafety.com/

Just the facts:
The Graco SnugRide® Click Connect™ 40 – the first and only newborn to two-year infant car seat that actually grows with your baby from four pounds all the way up to 40 pounds. The car seat is designed for a parent on the go. The infant car seat can be easily removed from the base and used as a carrier when the infant is small, providing portability and convenience so you can easily move your infant in and out of the car without disturbing them. 

The American Academy of Pediatrics recently made the recommendation to keep all children in rear-facing car seats until the age of 2. Graco set out to make this product so parents can keep infants rear facing longer while still keeping them comfortable. 

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Graco. The opinions and text are all mine.

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Giveaway - Bellini Baby Gift Basket 11/1-11/15

Welcome to the Bellini Baby Gift Basket Giveaway

Hosted by Baby Costcutters

Bellini.com has exclusive baby baskets you will not find anywhere else! These high-end gift baskets are crafted from the all time favorite gifts for your little one. Each handcrafted basket can be designed for a boy, girl, neutral or even multiples. Sure to be the perfect unique baby shower gift! The Bellini Baby Basket says congratulations in style.

One lucky winner will receive a $150 Bellini Baby Gift Basket in your choice of gender. This giveaway ends Nov. 15, 2012 at 11:59pm est. Open only to the Continental US.

Good Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway Disclosure: I received no compensation for this publication. My opinions are my own and may differ from those of your own. Love, Peace, and Tiny Feet is not responsible for sponsor prize shipment.

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Buy My Turkey Giveaway Event! 11/1-11/14

 

Everyone could use a little extra help around the holidays, especially when it comes to those delicious dinners, so some of us bloggers have decided that we're going to lend a hand this year! We're going to buy someone's Thanksgiving Turkey. One lucky reader will receive a $25 Gift Card to Walmart** to purchase their Thanksgiving goodies, courtesy of Determined Momma & The Miracle Momma!

**Winner may choose alternative supermarket gift card or cash via Paypal.

Giveaway open to residents of the US through 11:59 PM EST on November 14th, 2012. Entering is easy. Just use the Rafflecopter form below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: Love, Peace and Tiny Feet was not compensated for participation in this giveaway event and is not responsible for winner selection or prize shipment. Winner will be contacted by host via email provided on Rafflecopter form and will have 48 hours to respond and claim prize. Substitute prizes can be provided based on availability and at sponsor’s discretion. Prizes sponsored by WhenWeWorkTogether.com and the Blogger’s Cupcake Cafe.

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