Around Valentine’s Day, thoughts turns to special date nights. Dinner tables with candlelight, heart-shaped boxes of chocolates and long-stemmed roses fit the bill. Those things are all really amazing, and definitely should be taken advantage of during this season of love, but what about the other 11 months of the year? Dave and I keep the romance and love alive in our relationship by having a regular, weekly date night. Each Saturday night is set aside for spending a few hours reconnecting. With three little kids, it might seem really tricky to pull ourselves away to spend time together, but having a weekly date night has been one of the most wonderful investments in each other, and in the foundation of our family. I have one huge piece of advice for anyone who wants to implement weekly dates into your schedule: Schedule a standing weekly babysitter.Having a babysitter already scheduled has made all the difference in our getting away each week. Starting in the summer, I asked one of our usual sitters if she’d be interested in planning on coming every Saturday night, and she loved the idea! It’s easy for her to know she has a babysitting gig ahead of time, and so easy for me to be able to plan on her. The kids know and love her, and she can walk in as we walk out because she knows the house and the routine so well. Rather than a “I’ll see if I can find someone to watch the kids…” our conversation changed to “What do we want to do this week?” Of course, it helps to be able to budget for the weekly babysitter as well. Some weeks paying her is the whole date night budget, so we plan a free activity like going on a hike or packing a picnic.

What we do doesn’t matter as much as our being together, without the kids, outside of the house. On an especially busy week, those three or four hours might be the only uninterrupted conversation time we have in seven days! And sometimes we choose to go to a movie and just hold hands while we watch and unwind. With the release of Vaseline Lip Therapy tins in the USA (they’ve been a staple in the U.K for years and are now available at Target stores nationwide), I’m excited to partner with to keep my lips moisturized and shiny for our Valentine’s Day date night, and every other weekly date night, too!

My beauty routine is generally super low key (read: shower every couple days, wash hair once weekly, a little makeup if I’m lucky.) I do always keep moisturizer on hand for my lips, and Dave even laughs when I pull lip balm out of every pocket or cabinet around the house and car–I love how these ones fit in my palm and slide into my pocket. I really love the simple, classic packaging of the new Vaseline tins, and the proven formulation that keeps my lips soft and naturally shiny. The rosy lips version is perfect for date night, with a soft pink tint and easy floral scent. The tins are also available in Original, Aloe, and Cocoa Butter, easy to grab on another weekly ritual, my trip to Target.
For my birthday yesterday, Dave surprised me with a weekend trip to Florida! So, we’ll be spending our Valentine’s Day date on the beach this year, and I’ll definitely have some Rosy Lips on my sun-kissed face. It’s so comforting to know that even after we’re back from a break and settled into our routine, that the schedule has space built in for us to strengthen our marriage every week on our date night.