10 Things that Changed our Marriage

Today we've been married 10 years, so I thought I would share 10 things that have changed our marriage over the years.

1. Making time to connect - weekly date nights are our favorite

2. Learning their Love Language - physical touch does not come natural to me, but understanding the importance of it for Adam sure helps!

3. Grace - Growing my relationship with God has made this easier, but it's important to remember to give your spouse {everyone!} a little more grace.  Most of the time, people don't do things to hurt/annoy/upset you but that can be easy to forget sometimes.

4. Remembering what you loved about each other when you were dating - man, these days are full!  It's important for me to step back and remember why I chose Adam to be my partner to begin with.

5. Giving each other space - It's important for each of us to have our 'thing' -- I love reading, napping, or walking when I need some space, but Adam recharges in the complete opposite way -- he likes to catch up with friends or host family.

6. Doing something small every day to make them smile - a text message, a smack on the booty, or just a favorite meal.  Don't forget to keep your spouses' needs fresh in your mind.

7. Dreaming together - one of our favorite things to do.  Adam is naturally better at this than me, but I love to dream about the next 5, 10, 25 years when the time is right.  What can I say, I'm a very practical person! ;)  Adam is naturally the dreamer in our house!

8. Apologizing - Whew...this is probably where I've grown the most in the last 10 years.  I just didn't grow up in a house were we apologized.  It was more of a give them space until they can just move forward.  Adam has really taught me how to apologize -- and mean it! ;)

9. Talking about the little things - Adam is really good at this too.  I think being a night owl helps him to want to chat after work.  I'm drained, and kind of over talking to people by the time he gets home, so I really have to remind myself to chat about all the little details.  They do matter!

10. Not giving up!  In 10 years, we've had our ups and downs but it's so important to just keep giving it your best.  Communicate when you're frustrated.  Ask for help when you need it.  My mom said it best when she said, "someone always has to be in love"  It's best when you both are, but lets be honest -- it ebbs and flows.  As long as one of you are in love at all times, you're good to go! :)

Grapevine, TX {Have you been there?!}

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In a few months, I'll be headed to Grapevine, Texas for a work conference.  Of course, the first thing I did when I heard I had to go was Google the city.  So I know they have a large, nice mall and a few wineries.  And I'm hoping to find a real ranch to ride horses at.  I'm thrilled about all of that, but whenever I travel, I always like to ask you guys for the real 'must do's' of the city.

So, I'll be in Grapevine, Texas, in January, with no car.  What do I need to do/see?  Best restaurants?  Local businesses that are to die for?  Also, I'll {hopefully} be traveling with my mom, so anything girly is very welcomed! :)  

Our hotel is set, so recommendations won't be necessary.  Also, feel free to email me with any suggestions/recommendations. Thanks!!

Chicago {advice needed!}

Our summer has been so incredibly busy that I almost forgot we planned a trip to Chicago!  

I've done the whole downtown {shopping and theater} thing a few times before.  This trip is about my hubby.  He is a die hard Cubs fan who has yet to go to Wrigley Field {or Chicago for that matter}.  So this tip we're staying near Wrigley and doing {mostly} things he might be interested in.  So...I need suggestions for things to do near Wrigley Field.  

We'll be there for a long weekend, with my sisters and their men, and without our children.  Have you done any fun activities in Chicago?  Any awesome restaurants/bars you recommend?  

[Baby Gear:Feeding]

If you're not expecting...you'll probably want to skip this post. But I've had a lot of people ask me what we love, what we got but never use, etc. So here's the obligatory 'new mama blogger' series! :)
[See Baby Gear:Basics and Baby Gear:Newborn and Baby Gear:Teething for the beginning of this series]
Top 5 things to purchase for feeding your baby...

[High Chair] I originally posted about it here.  I love this thing.  So portable & easy to clean!  Plus your baby can sit right beside you at the table, not in the corner by herself!  You may want a Bumbo to start.

[Baby Bjorn Bib] There are hundreds of different bibs out there to choose from.  It doesn't necessarily have to be a 'Baby Bjorn' one, but I strongly recommend a plasticy type of one.  The cloth ones just absorb [read: stain] a lot.  I know they're less cute, but they're so easy to clean.  Plus they have a little tray at the bottom to catch all some of your baby's mess.  I like the Baby Bjorn one specifically because it's a little more firm and they can't play with it as much.

[Metal Spoons] I love these little spoons.  They are cheap and turn white to indicate if the food is to warm.  Call me old school, I much prefer the metal handle over plastic.













[Containers] We make our own baby food, so we use lots of containers!  We use these tray to freeze the baby food.  After they're frozen, we throw them in a large ziplock for the most space effective storage.  The day before she eats we put a little frozen food pod into a sealable container in the refridgerator so it's ready to go for the next day.

[Beaba Babycook Food Maker] As I mentioned, we make our own baby food.  We have only used the prepackaged food twice [while traveling long distances] and Jordyn struggled to eat it.  I think it was just too runny of a texture for her.  I have to admit I was not interested in making her food, but this was something my husband wanted and fully took responsibility for.  So, we started...and now, we LOVE it!  I would never go back to the packaged stuff unless we really had to for some reason.  You can control the consistancy of the food and it's really, really simple to make.  If you're on the line, I say GO FOR IT! :)  Oh, and this one is great, although I've never used another one so I don't have anything to compare it to!

All photos/links from Amazon website. Nobody sponsored this post.  Just chatting from one mom to another!

A Tidbit For New Mamas [vol.3]

Two words for you...
TAKE CALCIUM!

Was I bold enough?  Nobody told me this and boy am I paying for it now [literally!].  I went in for a cleaning 2 weeks before J was born...perfect, no cavities.  I went back last week for my cleaning [5 1/2 mo. later] and BAM...FIVE [yep, 5] cavities!  So invest in some calcium supplements to save yourself $1000, Novocaine, & another afternoon at the dentist. 

When they say babies take all of your nutrients, apparently this is what they mean...and they're right! 


Click here view tidbits 1 & 2