{Our wedding day – July 21, 2001}
Scott and I celebrated 12 years of marriage on Sunday and enjoyed a lovely day of relaxing with the kids (is that an oxymoron??) and then a nice quiet dinner with just the two of us (thanks to my fab in-laws for free babysitting!).
{Last night’s celebration of being married 12 years to the date!}
Here are 12 things I’ve learned in the dozen years of being married…
1. LISTEN to your spouse. Don’t always talk over them, you might learn something.
2. Love your spouse the way YOU would want to be loved.
3. Have DATE NIGHTS. Even if they are just at home after the kids go to bed (put them to bed early!), crack open a bottle of wine, turn off the TV + the iPhones, and catch up and chat! We can rarely afford to get babysitters every week with 3 kids, but some of my favorite nights have been right at home in our den or on our back porch.
4. LEARN from your parents and his parents relationships. You can take away from the good AND the not-so-good.
5. This might sound super materialistic, but keep up your APPEARANCE. Just because you’re now married, doesn’t mean you can let it all go! I want my hubby to be proud of me (and vice versa,) so working out, getting a regular hair cut, putting on a cute outfit, and concealer + lipgloss is a must!
6. If you’re a newlywed, GET A PET. Our dog Sophie (who is now 11 years old) was the best practice before having children on how to take care of and nurture another living being. Fish don’t count – ha!!
7. SHARE A MEAL when at a restaurant. It’s a small way to learn how to agree on something, to keep the weight off as we get older, and to keep your total bill down!
8. Know how your spouse takes their morning COFFEE. My hubby usually makes my coffee and brings it to me before the kids wake up and it’s a great way to start the day knowing he has already thought about me and is taking care of my caffeine fix!!
9. Keep up with OUTSIDE FRIENDSHIPS. As important as the two of you are together, it’s important to also have a great friend base outside of each other to lean on.
10. LAUGH together. Life with 3 kids is pretty stressful, but can also be such a joy if we make the effort to laugh off the struggles and tiredness and make an effort to find the funny in everyday life.
These of course are personal reasons of why I love being married to him and why each year gets better and better for us. I’m no marriage counselor by any stretch, so these are things that work for us and not necessarily for any other couple, but thought they’d be fun to share!
Here’s to many many more years!!! I love you Scott.
Follow along with me!
