Relationship

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!

Ways To Woo Your Wife This Fall

Are you looking for ways to woo your wife this fall? I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone say they hate the Fall, probably because it’s such a beautiful season no matter where you go! The cooler air is welcomed after an extremely hot summer and who wouldn’t appreciate the leaves changing to every shade of red, orange and yellow making any commute to work more enjoyable.

There are so many things to do in the Fall to enjoy the last few weeks before the temperature really drops and you and your sweetie are stuck inside for the Winter months. If you’re not the type who plans weekend getaways or date nights, your wife will truly be impressed and grateful that you took the time and effort to make plans for the two of you.

Here are a few things you can do to make the most out of the season:
Visit your local Pumpkin Patch: Now is the perfect time to pick out pumpkins and carve them for Halloween. If you and your partner are the competitive types you can have a contest to see whose pumpkin looks the best (have a neighbor or friend be the judge).

Enjoy a Wine Festival: Your local winery/vineyard may have a festival to celebrate the fall. Often times you pay a set price and enjoy the entire day sipping wine and listening to live bands or DJs. They even have vendors come in with food, unique art, jewelry and clothing. You could also bring a blanket and a cooler with your favorite wine pairing snacks; such as cheese, nuts, grapes and chocolate!

Attend a Fall Foliage Festival: I keep talking about the leaves and trees, but seriously…they’re beautiful! You and your spouse could walk hand-in-hand and spoil yourselves with all things Fall—hot apple cider, caramel apples, pumpkin pie or apple dumplings!

Spend a weekend at a Bed and Breakfast: There’s something about spending the night or weekend away from home that somehow brings out the romance in all of us. If you’re lucky enough to live near mountains this could be one of the best ideas for you as the view is always spectacular!
If you’re really feeling adventurous and want to plan a weekend away (far away), you may be interested in the Top 10 places to visit this Fall.

No matter what you do this Fall get out and enjoy it together! Tell us about your plans to woo your wife this fall, and inspire other couples with your ideas!

4 Best Newlywed Ways To Handle Annoying People

Need some newlywed ways to handle annoying people? We’ve covered the top 4 offenders and given you some solutions to tactfully tackle dealing with them.

The Neighbor that talks until he/she’s blue in the face. You and your spouse finally arrive at your house after your dreadful commute home from work and your neighbor is outside waiting to strike up a conversation that you know will last way longer than you have time or patience for. What do you do? You say, “I would love to catch up with you, but haven’t had anything to eat since noon, can we talk about this on the weekend?” or “I’ve been looking forward to spending time with my husband/wife all day, would you mind if we caught up at a different time?”

You can’t put them off forever, but it’s not rude to let someone know that you have had a day from …you know where…and would simply like to go inside and forget about it!

The House Guest that Never Leaves. Do you constantly have friends from high school or college over and they don’t know when to leave? Sure, you love catching up with old buddies and always enjoy laughing about the glory days, but at some point it’s time to say so long til next time. Try making plans for a specific time the day that you plan for your house guest to leave, such as dinner plans with local friends. The point is to have a specific end time in mind and stick to it. Discussing these plans with your house guest prior to them arriving is the best way not to offend anyone.

The Needy Sibling or Friend. Do you or your spouse have a brother, sister, or friend who relies on you for everything? I’m not talking about times that you should be there by there side (such as grieving, consoling them with a bad break-up or even a job loss). I’m talking about the individual that expects you to remember and remind them of important dates such as: Mom/Dad’s birthday, anniversaries, when their bills are due (or never has the money to pay them without borrowing the money from you).

If you grew up with a tight-knit family you know that it is never easy to say no to them for any reason, but there comes a time in life when you need to do what’s best for you and your new family…your spouse—and as a newlywed it is so important to put your spouse first to let them know that you value them and their role in your life. Tip: purchase a calendar and write all the important dates to be remembered in it and give it to your needy friend, and let them write their other obligations in it (such as bill due dates, etc.). After all, it really isn’t your responsibility to keep track of this for them anyway.

The Demanding Boss. Does your boss constantly pile more projects and responsibilities on your plate than any one human being should ever have to deal with at a time? Remember, you are one person and can only do what is humanly possible…one thing at a time! The best thing you can do is always be on time for work and know how you work best (i.e. make a checklist and tackle it in a timely manner—no, Twitter and Facebook are not acceptable unless your job is social media marketing…nice try though).

If the deadline is impossible for you to meet on your own consider asking a co-worker for assistance or sit-down with your boss and let him/her know that you are working on XYZ and would love to complete the task, but if the deadline can’t be pushed back it may be best for the project to be assigned to someone with fewer responsibilities. Any boss would prefer that you let them know of the issue instead of completing the task under par.

The list of people could go on and on, right?! If you have an example of an “annoying person” (no names please) and advice on how you deal with them, share it with our other readers by commenting below.

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?

Newlyweds: 6 Tips to Bring Your Marriage Back to Life

Do you need a few tips to bring your marriage back to life? There are so many responsibilities in life that keep piling on your plate as you grow up, and may begin to interfere with your “alone” time with your spouse. Schedules can be so hectic that your marriage unintentionally is put on the back burner, causing frustration and tension to grow between the two of you, and your daily schedules may naturally become somewhat of a routine, and you simply go through the motions. If you have transitioned into parenthood, then you surely know that your life becomes kid-centric, as your attention, your emotion, and your everyday activities are focused on your little one now rather than each other.

If you’re experiencing this, you’re not alone, but the important thing is to recognize when your lifestyle is hurting your marriage, and then do something about it! Just as all things in life, it’s good to find a ‘healthy balance’ in all that you do.

Here are a few ideas to help keep your marriage alive and healthy:

*Surprise your spouse- who doesn’t love a surprise?! Sneak a note in your spouse’s lunch, or their brief case, just letting them know how much they are appreciated and loved!

*For parents – have a dinner date one night a week (after the kids are in bed) to relax together and enjoy one another’s company. Not a parent yet? You and your spouse could go out on a date once a week or as your schedules and budgets allow. Try going to a movie or dinner at your favorite restaurant.

*Day time chat- if you don’t normally communicate with your spouse during the work day, call, text, or write a quick email just to let the other one know that although you’re busy, you are still thinking of them, and while you’re at it you may want to even throw in some naughty comments that you wouldn’t say in front of the kiddos (however, keep the freaky emails to your personal email account, not your work email—otherwise you could find yourself in the HR Office or worse)!
*PDA’s – need I say more?

*Go for a walk with your spouse and hold hands. You will both benefit from the exercise, the physical connection and the uninterrupted adult conversation that distractions such as children, TV, internet, blackberries, iphones, etc. don’t permit!

*Think about what the two of you would do when you first got together…do it again! Sure you’re older and wiser, but you’re still a couple in-love…now show each other (and have some fun doing it)!
What have you done to rekindle your relationship? Our readers would love to know your tips and tricks to a happy and healthy relationship, so please leave a comment.

Marriage Advice: Heavy Topics Create Light Hearts

It’s time for a little marriage advice ladies. It took you (and your spouse, if you’re one of the lucky ones) your entire engagement to plan your wedding and less than a second to say “I DO.” Was there any time in there for you to have a serious conversation on what your expectations on marriage were and what makes up a successful marriage?

Couples often times spend so much time thinking about every last detail that goes into the perfect wedding that they forget that life as newlyweds (and the responsibilities that come with your new status as a married couple) begin the moment the wedding is over! Ok, maybe that was a bit over dramatic…but it certainly begins upon returning from your honeymoon.

It’s so important that prior to your marriage you discuss topics that will surely come up in your future. You may be thinking, well it’s too late now—we’re already married, but I’m hear to tell you that it’s not!

Here are important topics not to be taken lightly that the two of you as a couple should put some thought into:

What do we expect in terms of how our marriage will work?
This includes having a clear discussion on the following: When do we plan to start a family and how many children do we want? Will we have pets? Will we share household responsibilities such as: cooking, cleaning and paying the bills?

Do we understand each other’s communication style and how will we resolve conflict?
How will the two of you handle conflicts in your relationship? It’s not as easy as it was when you lived separately or when you were dating and you could hang up the phone and talk tomorrow. Discuss how the two of you will work together to resolve any issues that may arise in the future.

What do we expect from our sexual relationship?
This is some serious marriage advice. Discussions about what you need and expect sexually from your partner could definitely help alleviate future arguments!

Do we have a financial plan?
Remember that upon marrying someone, you acquire their debts (if they have any). You should definitely know each other’s credit history (i.e. credit score) as this will have a direct affect when you file for a loan to purchase a home or vehicle. If one of you has credit card debts or school loans, you will both be paying them off. You may also want to discuss whether or not you will have separate or joint bank accounts. It’s best to be upfront about finances because surprises are nice, but not when they come in the form of financial stress!

How will spirituality play a role in our marriage?
You will more-than-likely know whether or not your spouse has a spiritual background, but do you know if you believe the same things? Will you actively practice your religious beliefs as a couple? Having a belief system could help you both with any future struggles, although issues could arise if one of you is more spiritual than the other.

Discussing these tough topics may be awkward at first, but in the end these are some of the topics that can make or break a marriage. So, make it a point to sit down and communicate to benefit your married union, and it will only help you as you start a family and go through this crazy thing we called life…together!

What do you think of our marriage advice? Did you discuss any of these topics with your spouse? How did you feel afterward? Was it beneficial or a waste of time?