For the Fellas

Looking for name change advice or some tips for newlywed life? The MissNowMrs experts have created state-specific name change articles and checklists for you. We’ve chronicled our recommendations for how to travel while changing your name AND how to handle voting during the transition.

We’ve also compiled our best guidance for how to handle difficult sister in laws, holidays as newlyweds, the ever-annoying baby questions, and much more. Why? Because, while we are name change experts, we’re also newlywed wives, moms, and sisters.

We hope our name change advice articles help smooth your transition to your new name, and a whole new phase of life. Congratulations and best wishes from the entire MissNowMrs team!

Football Sunday Fun-days Had By All

Heard of football Sunday fun-days? Are you a guy’s guy—meaning do you enjoy anything football related? Does your partner share your enthusiasm for the sport? I’ll bet that if she doesn’t you secretly wish that she did so you could watch the game(s) in peace every weekend (or at least once in a while)! Although there are some lucky couples that truly enjoy watching the game together and cheering for their favorite team; it’s not the norm. We’re hoping to change that for you with the following newlywed tips, so this Sunday you can enjoy every minute of the game uninterrupted by a nagging spouse!

Co-host a party: That’s right, I said party! Women love to be the perfect hostess and entertain guests. Perhaps if you say, “Hey honey, I was thinking we could have our friends over this weekend for the game. What do you think?” She will appreciate you considering what she wants to do and will most-likely say, “Great! I’ve been dying to make homemade chili and my buffalo chicken dip.” Maybe not in those words, but she will happily accept the challenge of hosting a get-together with friends (especially if other females will be there too). Here are some tailgating tips and recipes you might want to try!

Tell her to invite her girlfriends over: They could enjoy a glass (or three—wink, wink) of wine while discussing the latest trends in fashion, fitness or whatever suits them and you won’t have to miss a single play of the big game!

If all else fails, buy her a gift card to the spa or 2 tickets to the new chick flick so she and her BFF can enjoy the movie together while you celebrate every touchdown and sip on a few beers! Click here for the NFL schedule. Tell us how you enjoy your football Sundays…together or separate. If separate, what does your most special lady do while you watch the game?

5 Secrets to Separate Work From Play

Looking for the secrets to separate work from play? If you look like this during the workday, it’s quite possible that you’re bringing home a great deal of stress with you each evening. This stress can show up as muscle aches, a bad mood, headaches or difficulty sleeping. Nobody wants to come home to a cranky spouse, especially as a newlywed…so here are a few ways to help you separate work from play!

Rock Out On Your Commute – Create a playlist or CD of songs for your ride home from work. The songs should be high energy to help you vent your work emotions.
Write a List – Making a list of tomorrow’s to-do’s before you leave the office can help you stop thinking about work when you’re at home. While you’re writing the list, mentally acknowledge that your work day is done and you cannot do anything on your list until you go into work the next morning. This should allow you to relax and move into enjoying your evening.
Break a Sweat – Schedule a trip to the gym before you go home. Pumping iron or engaging in heart-pounding cardio is a fantastic way to forget about office woes. The bonus: endorphins will automatically make you feel better after a work-out and you’ll go home a happy newlywed!
Breathe Deeply – Give meditation a try. Project-meditation.org is a great resource to get you started. If the idea of trying to meditate just stresses you out, try lighting a lavender scented candle when you get home and let the aroma relax you.
Make Out- The next time you’re having a tough day at work, say hello to your honey at the end of the day with a full blown make-out session. After a few kisses I guarantee that you won’t be worried about the quarterly report that’s due next week!

Can you share any of your secrets to separate work from play? We’d love to hear your solutions, so please leave a comment!

Newlywed Grooming

We’ve all seen them, the completely mismatched couple. He or she is gorgeous, funny and well dressed, while their partner is frumpy, dumpy and sometimes even downright rude. While sometimes those mismatched relationships work out, no one wants to be the ugly duckling of their relationship. So how do you ensure that you’re well matched with your beautiful wife? Simple upkeep will go a long way to preserving your Prince Charming status.

Hair – Keeping up with monthly haircuts is an easy solution to looking nice. You can go somewhere fancy like the Men’s Grooming Lounge, where you can get a hair cut, color, highlights, massages and more, or be economical at the Hair Cuttery.
Nails – A basic rule of thumb is that your nails should never be longer than your partner’s. You could consider getting your nails done with your wife ( they are called manicures), but if that idea freaks you out, using clippers a few times a week should keep your nails neat.
Manscaping – We’ll leave the extent to which you impliment this up to you. Please know that most women truly appreciate some trimming at a minimum and we do shave our underarms, legs, etc as part of our routine upkeep. AskMen.com has a great article that outlines some of the finer details of manscaping.
Clothes – Wearing clean matching clothes is a married man must. You’re a grown man, so we’re betting you know the appropriate way to dress yourself. Be sure to reference our post on married man fashion for some great ideas.
Manners – Try to keep up the same level of etiquette as when you were dating. Being married is not an excuse to stop opening doors or start discussing bodily functions at dinner. If you think your wife would be offended by something, don’t say or do it in front of her.

The fact that you’re reading an article about newlywed grooming speaks volumes about the great guy you are. Whatever your personal style may be, the point is to make sure you keep up with grooming, even after you’re married.

New Wife, New Life: New Wardrobe?

The saying goes, “Don’t Judge a Book by its Cover;” but we know that unfortunately it can be hard not to! I was recently hanging clean laundry up in our walk-in closet, when I realized that some of my husband’s clothes looked seriously faded and old. I thought to myself, “He is in desperate need of new shirts!”

I bet if you took a look at what you’re wearing right now or thought about what you enjoy wearing, you too could find a good excuse for some new attire. It’s a fact, men do not like to go shopping like women do; which is fine, but there comes a time when you NEED to purchase yourself some new stuff—and I’m not referring to electronics or the latest video game (nice try though)! After work or on the weekends, you have your go-to outfits of t-shirts and jeans or maybe a pair of sweat pants or mesh shorts that you choose to wear as often as possible.

Chances are that you have a specific dress code required for work, whether it’s a suit and tie or uniform of some sort; which means that the last thing you want is a “uniform” or “dress code” for your home life. That’s not what I’m alluding to here at all, so no need to worry! I am, however; suggesting that it might be time to donate some of your go-to t-shirts such as: your FBI (Female Body Inspector) t-shirt, your I heart Atari t-shirt and your VANS sneakers to a teenage boy in need of your old wardrobe. While these items are a token of your youth, they don’t exactly spell-out mature, sophisticated, married man.

If you can’t imagine getting rid of your favorite childhood t-shirts [that somehow miraculously still fit you], then perhaps you should limit how often you wear them (i.e. wear them only to bed, to the gym, or better yet, put them away for when you have a son someday). Your wife loves you and has vowed to love you “til death do you part,” so she’ll no doubt still love you in your Superman t-shirt and jeans—but do her a favor and put on a nice button down shirt, polo or sweater when her family or friends stop by—she’ll greatly appreciate your effort!

And if you don’t, you may find that your favorite t-shirt has mysteriously disappeared. Gentlemen, please do your ladies a favor and get shopping! Check out your local Outlets for bargain prices on your favorite brands. Women LOVE shopping, so I’m sure your wife will have no problem being your Personal Shopper—just say the word and fork over the credit card!

What is/was your favorite piece of clothing to wear (i.e. t-shirt, sweatshirt, etc.)? What does/did it say and why is/was it your favorite? Share your stories of Batman Boxers or Thunder Cats sweatshirts that your wife had no choice, but to hide from you! Please leave your comments below and enjoy a laugh with us!

5 Signs Your Newlywed Husband is in a Bromance

Is your husband in a bromance? Does he have a guy friend that he is unusually close to? He’s always talking to him or about him and reminiscing about times they’ve had together—if so, it is very likely that you’re man is part of a bromance! Some of you may be thinking, a what?! Urban Dictionary’s definition of a Bromance is a close relationship between two males to such a point where they seem like a couple.

They are more common today than ever before due to the growing number of men (and women) waiting longer to get married—and staying single. Bromances are typically between 2 heterosexual males who have known each other for a long time (since childhood or college) and may even share a bond like brothers often do.

You may recognize some of the following celebrity bromances: Brad Pitt and George Clooney, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, P. Diddy and Notorious B.I.G. (in the early 90’s). Most guys tend to have at least one best friend or co-worker they really enjoy hanging out with/being around, so there’s no need to get upset or feel jealous. Although, these negative feelings are understandable if your spouse does any of the following:

5 signs your man is part of a bromance:

He talks to his bro more often than he talks to you or anyone else and they have so many inside jokes that to you it sounds like they’re speaking a different language.
He tells you (and anyone else who will listen) the story about that “one time…” over and over again!
He tells you that he’s going to run your thoughts/ideas on a big life decision (i.e. buying a house, changing your career or starting a family) by his friend to see if HE thinks it’s a good idea.
He spends more time/effort making plans for his man date than he does planning a date night for the two of you.
He tries to include his friend in any plans you’ve made including: dinner dates, concerts, cocktail parties, vacations, etc.

If any of the above mentioned signs struck a cord with you, you’re not alone! Hey ladies, you may have a girlfriend, sister or co-worker you enjoy being with too—so try not to judge! However, in all seriousness if your man is focused more on his bromance than on romancing you it could cause some bumps in your marriage.

It is best to sit down with your husband and communicate with him about how you feel in this situation. Allow him to explain to you why his buddy means so much to him (if you don’t already know the reason(s)). After all, it’s sweet that a he feels so strongly about his friendship and shows how loyal and sensitive he can be. Perhaps he just needs to be reminded that the two of you are in a union and need to spend quality time together—alone!

So tell us ladies, has your husband brought his man crush along to your romantic Valentine’s Day dinner date or something worse? Come on, we know you have stories of a Bromance between your spouse and his BFF, so please don’t keep them inside…share them with us and other readers!