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!

Newlywed New Years Resolutions II

Have you made any newlywed new years resolutions? While there’s great debate about whether anyone keeps the resolutions that they make, just the creation of a resolution can be helpful to a new marriage. If you haven’t made any resolutions with your spouse, here are a few resolutions that may be worth talking about:

1. Use Your Words – This is a cornerstone of my marriage. We promise to use our words to tell each other how we’re feeling and what we need. It keeps little things and annoyances from brewing into big things and arguments. If you and your spouse could use a little more communication, consider resolving to “use your words” in the new year.

2. Make Time – Every newlywed couple I know is juggling careers, families, friends, hobbies and figuring out how married life works. Making time once a week or twice a month to spend an entire day together without family, friends and cell phones will do wonders for your relationship. By scheduling “couple time” your making sure that your marriage remains a priority amongst the million other things clamoring for your attention!

3. Do Something Positive – Whether you join an indoor soccer league or soup kitchen, doing something positive and new in the new year is only going to benefit your marriage. You’ll have new experiences to talk about during dinner (instead of re-hashing work drama) and a new network of friends to explore. There’s also the great feeling of helping others or being part of a team to boost your mood.

If you’re unsure what new thing might work for you, check out www.charitynavigator.org, which helps people find the best charities in their cities.

Resolutions or not, this is going to be a great year for you as a newlywed! Do you have any newlywed new year resolutions that you made with your spouse? I’d love for you to share them in a comment!

If name change was one of your newlywed resolutions, MissNowMrs can help! Use our name change app or online service to save 13 hours of hassle.

Help Me Change My Name

Top 3 Newlywed Gift Ideas For Hard To Buy For Spouses

Hard to buy for spouses are the worst during the holidays. While there is so much anticipation to spend the holidays as a newlywed, there is also the feeling that you need to create the perfect moment/buy the perfect gift to treasure always (thanks Hallmark). Looking back at my first Christmas, there was definitely a good bit of (self inflicted) pressure to find just the right gift for my husband. I trolled the mall, braved Best Buy and even flipped through the seemingly thousands of catalogs that kept coming in the mail.

Are you feeling freaked out about what to get your spouse this holiday season? As the woman married to the man who has everything, I feel capable of giving you some ideas.

1. Hobby Subtlety: Does your spouse have a hobby? If so, don’t buy him the obvious (fishing flies for the fly fisherman)…go for something special like a monogrammed case to hold his fly collection or a special gear bag designed for his specific sport.

2. Photos: If you’re newlyweds, this is the one time you can give him an amazing photo of you two without being lame. This acrylic photo block is really cool and would look nice on any desk in any office.

3. Adventure: If you’re totally stumped on what to give him, consider some sort of adventure activity. Often Groupon or LivingSocial have local deals for skydiving, kayaking and race car driving. Can’t you hear him telling the guys at the office..”Oh yeah, I didn’t get a golf club this year. My wife got me passes to race Ferraris!”

So what did I get my husband for our first newlywed Christmas? This is terrible…I can’t remember! What I do remember was deciding to open our gifts for one another on Christmas Eve instead of during the big family hubub of Christmas Day. It has become a tradition to light a fire, pop a bottle of champagne and open our gifts privately.

Moral Of The Story: No matter what you end up buying your spouse, the time you spend together will end up being what you remember. Try not to over emphasize the gift…emphasize the love!

What are you all getting your hard to buy for spouses this year? We’d love to hear from you in a comment.

Kahnoodle: A Relationship App for Newlyweds

How do you feel about a relationship app? When you think of all of the time and effort you put into planning your wedding, it is kind of amazing that there isn’t much done to prep you for being a newlywed. Sure, you may have done some pre-marital counseling through your church or synagogue, but whats 3-5 hours versus the 12+ months of wedding planning?

Technology to the rescue! Kahnoodle is a free newlywed app that allows you to communicate what you need from your partner and give him/her kudos for the kind things they do. There’s a calendar feature/reminder that will keep you both from falling into a rut and even a challenge to keep their “love tank” full. I love that this app is fun and functional!

No one wants to sit down and write a list of what the want and with that their spouse would do for them…it’s tedious and can offend the other person. However, communication is key to a happy marriage. Using an app reminder to challenge both sides to step up their relationship game equals a fun way to keep your newlywed love on track.

Have you used Kahnoodle? We’d love to hear how it’s helped your relationship and what your favorite feature is! Also, if you’re into marriage apps, don’t miss the MissNowMrs app. It helps users streamline the 13 hour name change hassle into 13 minutes on their phones!

Help Me Change My Name

Love Is Spoken Here

Love Is Spoken Here. Every newlywed out there should hang this print near the entrance to their home as a reminder of how important love and loving words are. So much time and energy goes into day to day living (hello 60 hour work weeks), that it can be easy to forget the simple things like saying “I love you”.

Even if you don’t decorate your home with this quote, place it towards the front of your brain. The next time you’re crabby it can keep you from lashing out at your spouse and might even motivate you to engage in some random acts of love.

Get To Know Your In-Laws: 4 Tips You Need Now

Curious how to get to know your in-laws? One of the most important and potentially tedious relationships you’re likely to have, is with your in-laws. They’re not your parents, but now they’re family and very important to your spouse. Taking the time to get to know them as individuals (not just your in-laws) will help your relationship with them and your relationship with your partner for years to come.

Be Considerate

Everyone likes to be appreciated, so take your mother-in-law out to lunch for her birthday. Don’t forget a card and/or flowers on Mother’s Day or Father’s Day. While technically your husband should keep up with his family and you should keep up with yours…you may end up responsible for all parents appreciation. Better to be the one sending cards than letting your spouse forget and make both of you look bad! There are a number of creative ways you can show your respect, so take advantage of each one of those.

Think Outside the In-Law Part

Sure, they’re your partner’s parents, but you should think of them as your friends and/or mentors. Try to get involved with something they enjoy (like gardening or golf). Having a common interest will give you things to talk about during family dinners and holidays. The relationship you have will be an important part of your marriage, and a cue for how your spouse should treat your parents…so keep that in mind the next time you visit your in-laws.

Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff

There are bound to be differences between you and your in-laws, but if you don’t keep an open mind, you may not really see them for who they are. So maybe your mother in law has a few decorating opinions that aren’t in step with yours, just smile and try to understand her viewpoint. You aren’t obligated to make any of the changes she suggests. Listening will win you more points than arguing. Keep in mind that it takes some time to develop a relationship and understand each others boundaries. Proper communication will help you build a lasting relationship.

Time Will Tell

Rome and relationships weren’t built in a day. Try to give things a bit of extra time to gel, particularly if your new spouse was very close to his family. The closer they are, the more threatened they may feel by your presence, so be sure to be respectful and friendly, but try to give your in-laws a bit of extra space too. The relationship you build is essential to a happy marriage, so even if you don’t start off on the right foot, keep at it.

What tips do you think are the most important when getting to know your in-laws? We’d love for you to share in a comment.