What I've Learned In My 7 Years of Marriage

Seven years isn't a long time compared to say, 20, 30, or 40, but it's a long time for me. It's the longest relationship I've ever had. I've learned a lot in 7 years, some silly things, and some really important things. I've learned what works for us and what doesn't. In fact, I'm still learning. But, I wanted to share with y'all what I've learned (learnt?) this far.

Forget the whole "don't go to bed angry" nonsense. 

I go to bed angry all the time, and you know what happens? 9 times out of 10, everything's fine in the morning. We aren't piping mad anymore, and we're able to look back on our argument and discuss it without harsh emotions. Then we're able to laugh it off and move on.

That being sad, never sleep on the couch because you're pissed.

Even if I'm seeing red because I'm so angry, I still sleep in the bed with B. It seems to help with the cool down period, and we wake up cuddled up in the morning. Which makes it even harder to be mad about anything.

Fight fair.

Here's what I mean, no ugly name calling, no throwing each other's past in the other person's face. When I'm fightin' mad, I'm mean as hell. I'm an ugly fighter, I hit below the belt and kick you when you're down. I've really worked to keep this in check, and I still have to remind myself to be nice when we're arguing.

Ogle them.

I think my husband is hot, and apparently other women do too, because they flirt and stare with him when we're out in public. And if they can, I can too, right? I check him out when he's standing across the room at parties, I flirt with him while we're grocery shopping, I compliment his butt handsomeness when we're hanging out. In short, I give him attention, and he gives it in return. It's good to know that your partner still thinks you're hot stuff.

Give them some space.

B and I both like to spend as much time together, seeing as how he works 6 days a week, but we also know that we need our space too. We normally kind of veg out at night once M goes to bed. He sits on his end of the couch, and I sit on mine. He plays on his phone, I read blogs and catch up on email, and we'll have the tv on in the background. We're still together, but doing our own thing. We also take a day or two each month to go do our own thing. One of us will hang out with M for awhile while the other goes to get their hair cut or something like that.

You can't change their family, and they can't either.

I'm going to let you in on a little secret. B and I both come from.... "difficult families". Our families have caused a lot of arguments between us, which is absolutely ridiculous. We have no control over our families. It's ok to not like your in-laws. There's no rule that says you have to be their best friend. But here's the thing, they're your significant other's family, and they'll always be there. If you don't like being around them, talk to your partner about it, but understand that asking them to cut ties, or not go around them, is unfair. It's best just to suck it up, bite your tongue, and get it over with. Cause moaning and groaning about it ain't gonna help anything.

Now, let it be known that I am certainly no marriage counselor. But, if you need more advice, please feel free to email me with any questions. Be sure and provide your PayPal account so I can invoice you for my time. No, seriously, my advice is free. Mostly because you can't charge for a service like that if you aren't licensed.

Do you have any relationship advice to share? 

Tomorrow Bri from Diary of a Mad Housewife and I are hosting a new link-up! It's a one time only, guilty pleasures link-up. All about things that are no good for us, but totally worth it. I hope you'll come link up with us! 

Let's be friends! 

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Seven Years

Seven years ago I woke up at 5 in the morning with a million butterflies in my stomach. "Today's the day," I thought. It was a big day for me. I was both equally nervous and excited. In 9 hours I would walk down the aisle and marry my best friend.

Let me back up here. B and I had been engaged a total of 5 months. In fact, just 4 days shy of 5 months. We'd only been together for 11 months. We had quite the whirlwind romance. When we had first started planning our wedding, we knew we didn't want a long engagement, so we had set a date for September. Then, as we planned, things started to get out of control. Our small, intimate, less than 100 guests wedding, turned into a 300+ guest circus. People we didn't even know were being invited. Friends of the family who we'd only met once as a kid, distant family we hadn't seen in years. We had to choose a different location because our guest list had grown so much.

One night B and I were talking about our future, and how out of hand our wedding plans had gotten. I wish I could tell how it happened, but it was such a blur, I don't really remember. We decided, on a whim, to somewhat elope the following Saturday and then move the next day from Texas to Alabama. Don't ask me why Alabama, I really don't know. So, we called our immediate family, told them we were getting married the next weekend, and to be there or be square. And with that, I walked down the aisle on Saturday, June 24, 2006 and said I do to the love of my life, with a total of 14 guests in attendance.

Seven years have passed since then. I look back and think about how we were just kids. So young and hopeful for our lives together. We had no plans, just a love for each other. So much has happened in the last seven years. We've moved all around (back and forth to Alabama twice!), we've changed jobs, we've fought like crazy and made up, we've had a beautiful daughter, and we've loved each other like crazy. I look back at that day and it's hard to recognize that 20 year old girl with the million butterflies in her stomach. I've changed and grown so much. And so has B, he's become a wonderful man, husband, and father. Through everything that we've gone through in the last seven years, I wouldn't change a thing, otherwise we wouldn't be us.

B, I love you so much. You've helped me become the woman I am today, and I don't know what I'd do without you. You're such an amazing husband, and an even more amazing father. M and I couldn't ask for better. Thanks for putting up with me this long! LOL Here's to seven more years of me and you, babe, and many more after that.

{Semi} Wordless Wednesday

A few weeks ago we met up with the lovely Mallorie from Home is With You to take some family photos for our Christmas card. I knew she was an amazing photographer, but I had no idea I'd love the photos as much as I do!

Thank you so much to Mallorie for capturing these sweet shots!! 

Happy Wednesday, my loves, and don't forget, the 12 Days of Christmas Giveaway starts tomorrow!! 

"I feel like I've found my other half..."

I heard something on one of the talk shows this morning that kind of concerned me. They were talking about what Anne Hathaway said in her latest interview with Glamour magazine. When asked how she was liking married life, she replied,

"It’s wonderful. I feel like I've found my other half, and I’m so excited about getting to love him for the rest of our lives."

 And she is apparently receiving a lot of flack around the blogosphere about it. The show reported that a lot of bloggers are criticizing her for not considering herself as a whole person without him, and for not having any self worth without a man.

Now, maybe I'm the only one, but I don't see it like that. In fact, I know exactly where Anne is coming from. My husband is my other half. I was always my own person, and I still am, but when I met him, I knew that he was the piece of my soul that had been missing.

Honestly, I think everyone has a small hole in their soul. Maybe a significant other isn't the missing piece. Maybe it's a best friend, maybe it's a pet, I don't know. I just feel like there comes a point in your life that you meet someone (or something!) and you just know that they complete you. You were missing something before then, and suddenly, you're whole.

So, I agree with Anne Hathaway, and I'm glad that she's found her missing piece, because life is so much better once you've found yours.

Daycare Cuties

It breaks my heart to admit this, but my sweet baby girl has a.... boyfriend.

They are in the same class at daycare and are absolutely crazy about each other. They're stuck like glue whenever she's at school, and when she isn't with him, she's talking about him. So, even though I hate it, I knew I had to do something cute for Valentine's Day, so you can imagine my delight when I got an email from Tiny Prints about their Valentine's cards. Let me tell y'all, these things are adorable. Now, I saw this a few weeks ago, I immediately loved the idea, so when I saw this print, 

 I knew it was the card we needed to hand out along with the "bear hugs" to M's class and her little sweetie. But, Tiny Prints has many other designs to choose from, and their prices are extremely reasonable. Plus, you can find them on Twitter, Facebook, and even Pinterest! So if you're in the need for any Valentine Cards or any Valentines Day Greeting Cards, or really any kind of card, be sure and check them out!   *Obviously, this is a Tiny Prints sponsored post, and I'm receiving 50 free classroom Valentine's cards in exchange for my post. But, I should also tell you that these opinons are strictly mine, and I've worked with Tiny Prints before and loved them, so why wouldn't I order M's Valentine's cards from them!?