25 Tips on how to Stay Married

I found this online one day and was looking through my computer this morning and found it. It's probably the best advice I have ever been given.

25 Tips on how to Stay Married:

1. Always put him/her first - before work, friends, even your favorite sport. Act as if they're the best thing that ever happened to you, because we all know they are.

2. Keep no secrets. Pool your money. Allow nothing and no one to come between you.

3. Pick your fights with care. Play fair. Show some class. Hurtful words can be forgiven, but they're hard to forget.

4. Fall in love again every day. Kiss him.her in taxis. Flirt with him/her at parties. Tell her/him she's beautiful/handsome. Then tell them again.

5. Never miss an anniversary or a birthday or a chance to make a memory. Memories may not seem important now, but one day they'll be gold.

6. Never give him/her a practical gift. If they really wants a Shop-Vac, let them pick it out themself.

7. Go to church together, and pray every day for each other and your marriage.

8. Pay your bills on time and make sure you each have a living will, a durable power of attorney and life insurance, lest, God forbid, you need them.

9. Love their parents as your own, but don't ask them for money. Never criticize their family or friends. On their birthday, send flowers to their mother with a note saying, "Thank you for giving birth to the love of my life."

10. Always listen to their heart; if you're wrong, say you're sorry; if you're right, shut up.

11. Don't half-tie the knot; plan to stay married forever.

12. Never go to bed mad; talk until you're over it, or you forget why you were mad.

13. Laugh together a lot. If you can laugh at yourselves, you'll have plenty to laugh about.

14. Never criticize, correct or interrupt them in public; try not to do it in private either.

15. Remember that people are the least lovable when they are most in need of love.

16. Never fall for the myth of perfectionism; it's a lie.

17. When you don't like each other, remember that you love each other; pray for the "good days" to return and they will.

18. Tell the truth, only the truth, with great kindness.

19. Kiss at least 10 seconds a day, all at once or spread out.

20. Memorize all their favorite things and amaze them with how very well you know him/her.

21. Examine your relationship as often as you change the oil in your car; keep steering it on a path you both want it to go.

22. Be content with what you have materially, honest about where you are emotionally, and never stop growing spiritually.

23. Never raise your voice unless you're on fire. Whisper when you argue.

24. Be both friends and lovers; in a blackout, light a candle, then make your own sparks.

25. Finally, be an interesting person, lead your own life. But always save your best for each other. In the end, you will know you were better together than you ever could've been apart.

Here's to happily ever after!

Hopefully you can all take a minute to write this down to use in your own marriage. I know, especially as a military wife, marriage definitely isn't easy. Every day is an adventure, but I happen to like it that way. :)

Quickie

A few pictures of my favorite people. LOVE THEM! Even if they drive me up a wall 75% of the time. :)

Never to late to make a resolution

This morning (which is 1-11-11!!! Too cool!) I decided to get a bit of a late start on a New Years Resolution. John and I both rarely floss. And by rarely, I mean "Oh no, I have to be at the dentist's in an hour! I need to floss!" So, my resolution is to floss at least 4 times a week, if not daily. So far, I've got a couple days in a row. And, I even flossed this morning too! Maybe I can even floss 2x a day! Doubtful, but, hey, I can have high hopes!
I'd also like to loose 20 lbs this year, but, Annie is quite at the age where I can go to the gym yet. She starts crying after about 10 minutes. Hence why, it's 20 lbs for the WHOLE year. Ha. Maybe once she starts walking (hard to believe that's right around the corner!!) I'll be able to get in 30 minutes of cardio. The family gym here has a cardio and weight room both with cool play structures. Tori loves them now, but, she used to HATE the gym. So, fingers crossed Annie learns to have fun too.
How is everyone else fairing with their resolutions? Anyone already given up? Ha. Usually, it's about now that I decide whatever I wanted to do isn't going to happen. Ha. Maybe starting late will help? Who knows!

And so it begins...

Well, today I started listing everything we own on the local classifieds. Everything from baby items to our 60 gallon aquarium has to be sold. Japan isn't known for having massive amounts of space and storage. It looks like we'll be downsizing from about 2800 sq ft to about 1000 sq ft, give or take a couple hundred. AHH!
So far, nothing is sold, so, hopefully people will get interested soon. The extra money would be nice to start buying storage bins and packing away things we'll put in our storage unit.
www.Organize.com will be shortly receiving direct deposits from the Air Force since I have a feeling all their space saving things will be extremely handy. Especially since the girls will be sharing a bedroom from the sounds of things. I'd like to color code everything, have one girl have pink storage bins, and another purple, or whatever colors are available in mass quantities. Ha. But, who knows.
If anyone has storage ideas, hints on shared bedrooms, or a method that works well with garage sales, let me know. As soon as spring hits, we will start the numerous garage sales.
One step at a time... breathing...

3 years and counting!

Yesterday John and I celebrated our 3 year wedding anniversary! Crazy how quickly it's gone by. We've done so much together that it seems like there is always something on the horizon to keep us busy, which always helps the time tick by faster. We've had 2 babies, purchased (and despised) a house, moved (twice, about to be a third time), gone through a deployment and numerous TDY's (Temporary Duty), and we're currently gearing up to move our family out of the country for at least 3 years. So, although it's only been 3 years, and feels like even less, we've accomplished a lot so far and have high hopes for the future!
I think the trick is planning ahead. Always having something to look forward to together. For us, it's the thought of having the ability to have adventures in Asia and Europe after our tour in Japan. And watching our children grow up into (fingers crossed) successful adults. Without that drive, I think married couples fail. That and knowing a marriage isn't like a rock to lean on, but more like a stream, bending and moving with what is in it's path. Things will be thrown in your way, and it's your job, together, to work it out and move on, and not look back.

On a completely different, and not so much wise note, check out the cake my WONDERFUL friend made for us! She had knee surgery on Thursday, and on Friday I found her baking in the kitchen making not only this cake, but 2 others!!! Crazy lady!

Thinking of Becoming a Parent?

I stole this off my friend Ashley Kelly's facebook page. I'm not sure where she found it, but, it's hilarious and needs to be spread around!

Thinking of becoming a parent? Do this 11 step program first!

Lesson 1

1. Go to the grocery store.

2. Arrange to have your salary paid directly to their head office.

3. Go home.

4. Pick up the paper.

5. Read it for the last time.

Lesson 2

Before you finally go ahead and have children, find a couple who already are parents and berate them about their...

1. Methods of discipline.

2. Lack of patience.

3. Appallingly low tolerance levels.

4. Allowing their children to run wild.

5. Suggest ways in which they might improve their child's breastfeeding, sleep habits, toilet training, table manners, and overall behavior.

Enjoy it because it will be the last time in your life you will have all the answers.

Lesson 3

A really good way to discover how the nights might feel...

1. Get home from work and immediately begin walking around the living room from 5PM to 10PM carrying a wet bag weighing approximately 8-12 pounds, with a radio turned to static (or some other obnoxious sound) playing loudly. (Eat cold food with one hand for dinner)

2. At 10PM, put the bag gently down, set the alarm for midnight, and go to sleep.

3. Get up at 12 and walk around the living room again, with the bag, until 1AM.

4. Set the alarm for 3AM.

5. As you can't get back to sleep, get up at 2AM and make a drink and watch an infomercial.

6. Go to bed at 2:45AM.

7. Get up at 3AM when the alarm goes off.

8. Sing songs quietly in the dark until 4AM.

9. Get up. Make breakfast. Get ready for work and go to work (work hard and be productive)

Repeat steps 1-9 each night. Keep this up for 3-5 years. Look cheerful and together.

Lesson 4

Can you stand the mess children make? T o find out...

1. Smear peanut butter onto the sofa and jam onto the curtains.

2. Hide a piece of raw chicken behind the stereo and leave it there all summer.

3. Stick your fingers in the flower bed.

4. Then rub them on the clean walls.

5. Take your favorite book, photo album, etc. Wreck it.

6. Spill milk on your new pillows. Cover the stains with crayons. How does that look?

Lesson 5

Dressing small children is not as easy as it seems.

1. Buy an octopus and a small bag made out of loose mesh.

2. Attempt to put the octopus into the bag so that none of the arms hang out.

Time allowed for this - all morning.

Lesson 6

Forget the BMW and buy a mini-van. And don't think that you can leave it out in the driveway spotless and shining. Family cars don't look like that.

1. Buy a chocolate ice cream cone and put it in the glove compartment.

Leave it there.

2. Get a dime. Stick it in the CD player.

3. Take a family size package of chocolate cookies. Mash them into the back seat. Sprinkle cheerios all over the floor, then smash them with your foot.

4. Run a garden rake along both sides of the car.

Lesson 7

Go to the local grocery store. Take with you the closest thing you can find to a pre-school child. (A full-grown goat is an excellent choice). If you intend to have more than one child, then definitely take more than one goat. Buy your week's groceries without letting the goats out of your sight. Pay for everything the goat eats or destroys. Until you can easily accomplish this, do not even contemplate having children.

Lesson 8

1. Hollow out a melon.

2. Make a small hole in the side.

3. Suspend it from the ceiling and swing it from side to side.

4. Now get a bowl of soggy Cheerios and attempt to spoon them into the swaying melon by pretending to be an airplane.

5. Continue until half the Cheerios are gone.

6. Tip half into your lap. The other half, just throw up in the air.

You are now ready to feed a nine- month-old baby.

Lesson 9

Learn the names of every character from Sesame Street , Barney, Disney, the Teletubbies, and Pokemon. Watch nothing else on TV but PBS, the Disney channel or Noggin for at least five years. (I know, you're thinking What's 'Noggin'?) Exactly the point.

Lesson 10

Make a recording of Fran Drescher saying 'mommy' repeatedly. (Important: no more than a four second delay between each 'mommy'; occasional crescendo to the level of a supersonic jet is required). Play this tape in your car everywhere you go for the next four years. You are now ready to take a long trip with a toddler.

Lesson 11

Start talking to an adult of your choice. Have someone else continually tug on your skirt hem, shirt- sleeve, or elbow while playing the 'mommy' tape made from Lesson 10 above. You are now ready to have a conversation with an adult while there is a child in the room.

This is all very tongue in cheek; anyone who is parent will say 'it's all worth it!' Share it with your friends, both those who do and don't have kids. I guarantee they'll get a chuckle out of it. Remember, a sense of humor is one of the most important things you'll need when you become a parent!