Happiness

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!

A MissNowMrs Proposal Story!

Are you ready for a MissNowMrs proposal story? Everyone loves a creative proposal story….it warms your heart and makes you remember how special love is. Now if that proposal story involves your business, that makes it even more special! We have a great proposal story to share with you that involves a MissNowMrs name change gift card and the adorable couple in the photo!

So we were writing out MissNowMrs gift card messages earlier this week and I saw one that said “I would like you to be Mrs. Smith*. Love, Grant.” This first thought that sprang into my mind was “Is this a proposal?!”. So, we emailed Grant and he did indeed mail one of our gift cards to his girlfriend asking her to become his wife.

Can you imagine her curiosity as she found the blue swirly envelope we mail our cards in along with a stack of her regular mail, bills and catalogs? I wish there was a hidden camera to record her reaction as she read Grant’s proposal and our gift card fell into her lap!

Kudos to Grant for such a sweet and creative way to ask the woman he loves to become his wife! We love when fiances send gift cards to their significant others to save them time and hassle on their transition from Miss to Mrs., but this is by far our favorite gift card gifting to date.

Do you know anyone that gave their fiance one of our cards? We’d love to hear and share the story with our readers. We’d also love to hear about your own proposal stories.

*Name has been changed to protect the couples’ privacy

Your Holiday, My Holiday, Our Holiday?

Your holiday, my holiday, our holiday? These are questions all newlyweds face. Passover and Easter are right around the corner. Do you know what your holiday plans are? Hopefully the answer is “yes”. As a newlywed couple it’s really important to discuss the holiday, who you’ll see and what the expectations of each family are. Communication and prior planning are the best ways to avoid disappointing both families and your spouse. Below are a few of the most common holiday scenarios and some suggestions to make them successful!

In-Law Holiday

Are you spending quality time with your in-laws this weekend? There are a few things you can do to make the holiday go smoothly. First, get the scoop from your spouse. What does his family typically do (it helps to know if you’re expected to play flag football or croquette) and pack accordingly. Also, email or call his mom to ask if you can bring something. If she says no, be sure to bring a hostess gift of flowers or chocolates! You can also score family bonus points by bringing something for your new nieces and nephews.

The Holidays with Your Family

Preparing to spend time with your folks? Talk to your spouse about what your family traditions are and ask what his favorite part of the holidays are. You can ask your parents to add a favorite dish or activity to make him feel included.

Holidays at Both Family’s Houses

If you live close to both sets of your parents and they can be flexible on meal times, this may be the best way to begin your holidays together. Brunch with your family and dinner with his gives you the best of both worlds and satisfies both families, but be aware that you may be setting the expectation that you’ll do double holidays for eternity!

Combined Family Holiday at Your House

Hosting a holiday as newlyweds is a great way for your families to get to know each other post-wedding. Just be sure to talk to both sides and make sure that they’re okay with spending time as a group. The first celebration will be the biggest adjustment for all of you (especially if you are a mixed religion couple), but if you can incorporate traditions from both sides and let both moms bring something for the meal you’re on the road to a successful event. Don’t forget to add a tradition or dish that is totally yours!

Just the Two of You

Too far away to spend Passover or Easter with your families? Consider the weekend as a great way to spend time together as a couple and create a memorable holiday and possibly some traditions. You could go out for a meal or make your own elaborate feast. Making Easter baskets for each other can also be fun!

Party of 2 + Friends

Spending the holidays away from family and know a few other people who are too? Host a holiday brunch and have each guest bring a component. You’ll all bond over a meal and not feel like you missed out on the holiday hubbub that families share. Feel free to be creative when planning your holiday event, I often host an Easterita (pastel colored margaritas) party in the evening for friends and neighbors to unwind after time spent with their families!

However you spend the coming weekend, be grateful that you have a loving spouse to share the holidays with. We’d love to hear your plans in a comment!

Unplug to Reconnect!

It’s time to unplug to reconnect. Now that you’re settling into the newlywed life, do you ever feel like you don’t have time to talk or connect with your spouse the way you did before you said “I do”? Balancing jobs, a new marriage, family obligations and all the other joys of life can make for a grueling schedule.

My suggestion to you? Take an evening or weekend and unplug so you can reconnect. Turn off your phones & computers and sign off of all your online vices (from Facebook to shopping). Having uninterrupted time together is precious.

So you’re unplugged and staring at each other…now what? Take a walk through your neighborhood or a park and hold hands. You can talk, or not. Just being together is a good thing! Do activities that you love to do, but never have time for. Restaurant hop and have an appetizer at a few places, discover a museum or get a couples massage.

Another option is to tackle a project that has been on your joint to-do list forever. Need to paint the kitchen? Go pick out paint colors and roll up your sleeves. Completing a task together is rewarding and has been shown to strengthen relationship bonds.

As your unplugged time draws to a close, talk about what you liked about uninterrupted time together. Did you both de-stress? Learn something you didn’t know about your spouse? Have mind-blowing sex? You may realize that the time you spent together makes it easier for you to handle your spouse’s or your own work travel. Whatever the positive outcomes were, make plans to unplug on a regular basis!

What do you do to unplug with your spouse? Have you seen it benefit you relationship and marriage? We’d love to hear about it in a comment!

3 Small Steps to a Better Marriage

Looking for steps to a better marriage? Has your marriage hit an unexpected slump? If so, now is not the time to give up. This is an opportunity to renew bonds and strengthen the relationship that led you down the aisle. All marriages hit rough patches. As people grow and change and meet different obstacles, new strains and stresses can be placed on a couple. While coping may be tough, these stressful times are what make your relationship stronger and help you get through even bigger challenges in years to come.

Actions Speak Louder than Words
When your relationship is feeling rocky, the first thing most women want to do is speak up about it, but that is not always the best thing to do. When tempers are already on a short leash because of earlier arguments, tension is high because of outside stresses, or communication has simply run dry, talking about it might add fuel to the fire. Consider instead the ways that you can say what you feel without opening your mouth (it helps to envision how to communicate with a cave man). Are you tired of fighting and just want your partner to know that you are willing to hold on? Then, perhaps the best way to say so is with an impromptu hug. Slow dancing, hand holding, rubbing shoulders, and other similar gestures have universal meaning and will very likely let him know what you’re feeling.

Offer a Helping Hand
Perhaps one of the reasons that your spouse has been in a bad mood recently has more to do with outside pressures that it has to do with you. Perhaps he or she just needs a helping hand. Marriage is about team work, so show that you understand by helping with a small task, chore, or just offering some insightful advice when he or she is talking about problems at work. Taking the trash out might seem like a small thing…but it may mean a great deal to your stressed out spouse! Knowing someone is in your corner can make any situation more bearable.

Create Love Tokens
Another great way to demonstrate your feelings without words is through small tokens. Handmade cards left in a place that he or she is sure to find them, lunch delivered to the office during the day, or even a message scribbled on the fogged over bathroom mirror are great wordless ways to show love and affection.

Taking the time to make another person know that you are thinking about him or her is the best way to show how much you care. However, these ‘gifts’ tend to lose their meaning when only given after a fight. These are the things that should be done now and then and consistently throughout a relationship. They don’t have to be frequent and might occasionally be used to say sorry after an argument, but let them maintain their intended meaning. If you’re looking for a more tangible love token, draw a heart on a stone. They can be put in a coat pocket, desk drawer or even passed back and forth between you two.

Talk to us newlyweds. Can you recommend any steps to a better marriage Did your spouse get the unspoken message you were trying to convey? We’d love to hear from you in a comment!

Newlywed New Years Resolutions

It’s time to make newlywed new years resolutions! Can you believe it’s a totally new year to be a newlywed?! Whether this will mark your first full year as a married couple, or if you’ve been married for a few years, New Year’s resolutions can be great for you and your marriage.

While it’s easy to make huge promises for the new year (like working out 7 days a week or climbing Mount Everest), I find making one or two small resolutions much more easy to implement throughout the entire year. Stumped on what resolutions to make for you and/or your marriage this year? Here are a few ideas to get you started…

Resolutions for Your Marriage:
Say one nice thing about your spouse every day.
Schedule a bi-weekly date night.
Surprise your hubby once a month (be it a home made dinner or naughty lingerie).
Try a new hobby out together.
Be the wife you always thought you be (patient, kind, giving, fun, etc.).
Say something positive before you say something negative about his work/family/friends.

Resolutions for You:
Reserve 30 minutes for “you” every day.
Try a new gym class or fitness craze (it’s a great way to meet new friends & zap holiday pounds).
Make a monthly girls night schedule with your friends.
Smile at people you don’t know.
Be nice to yourself (it sounds crazy, but not being so hard on yourself relieves tons of stress).
Save up, and buy yourself the fabulous bag you’ve been coveting!

Hopefully these ideas will act as springboards for your own 2012 resolutions. Did you make any newlywed new years resolutions you’d like to share with us? Leave a comment!