Marriage

This is marriage central. Here is where you’ll find all of the articles regarding relationships, both before and after kids. If you’re looking for date night ideas, how to work together as a team, or how to manage other aspects of married life, this is where you’ll find it.

How to Make Your Family Feel Loved with Small Surprises!

A Better Life Lived Posted on by

There are all kinds of ways to make your family feel loved. Telling them you love them, hugs and kisses, and spending quality time with them are some of the most obvious ones. But I think that small gestures, surprises, are the best way to make your family feel loved. Why a surprise gesture is the best way to make your loved ones feel MORE loved! Once a week, I get to pick up Zach from school. Normally, his Dad picks him up after work. But on my off day, I pick him up early so he doesn’t have to go to childcare after. Since he’s little, he’s only there a few hours. Which means I have just enough time … More…

Why We Need to Teach our Kids Marriage Takes Work

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A marriage takes work. Sometimes it takes a lot of work. All relationships do! Expecting relationships to just be perfect and lovely all the time is not the way to produce any healthy relationship, especially a marriage. That’s why it’s critical we teach our children this as they grow. Otherwise, they may not know. I know that may sound silly but it’s true. Our world is full of images and stories of perfect marriages and perfect relationships. Social media highlight reels, celebrity breakups, and TV shows like The Bachelor all peddle this storyline. They all perpetuate the false idea that relationships are magical and nothing but joy and excitement filled. If they aren’t, then there is something wrong and the … More…

Why You Should Take an Annual Vacation Without Kids!

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If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you know I’m in love with my family. I am all about spending as much time as possible with them. So it might sound a little strange when I say that you should take a vacation without kids every year. Obviously, I love the idea of an annual family vacation (family cruise vacations just happen to be my favorite). But I think it’s also really important that you take a mini-vacation without your kids. Every year. It doesn’t have to be something expensive or fancy, or really far away. Although it certainly can be! It just needs to be a little extended trip that gives you enough time and space to … More…

Why You Need to Plan a Date Night After Kids

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Before you had kids, you never really had to think about “scheduling” time with your spouse, right? You just…did things together. Well, now you do! Because if you don’t schedule that time, just like any other goal, it just won’t happen. I know it sounds weird to plan a date night, but it really is so critical to the health of your relationship with your spouse. Scheduling date nights allows you to make space to be a couple, which is impossible to do with the kids. Life before kids vs life after kids Picture this: You and your spouse roll out of bed around 9:30 and casually make your way to the kitchen. You whip up an amazing breakfast together, … More…

The Best Cheap, Fall Date Idea for Couples!

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Have you ever gone apple picking with your spouse? I don’t mean with the kids, as a family. I mean just the two of you. If not, you should! There are tons of reasons why apple picking is the perfect fall date idea for couples! Why apple picking makes the best fall date idea for couples I am all about cheap date ideas for married couples. But I think they are even better when they are tied in to the season. Fall is a beautiful time of the year in many parts of the U.S. This makes it a great time to get outdoors with loved ones and enjoy the colors, crisp air, and tastes and scents of the season. … More…

20 Cheap Ways to Celebrate an Anniversary

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Maybe you’ve been married for 15 years. Maybe it’s only been four or five. Either way, after a few years, and all of the chaos that comes with kids, homes, work and well, life, it becomes easy to overlook certain things. One of those things is celebrating special occasions like anniversaries. Especially if money is tight, too. That’s why I’ve compiled this list of cheap ways to celebrate an anniversary! Why it’s important to celebrate anniversaries Just like anything important, a relationship needs nurturing. There are lots of ways to do this, of course. And throughout the year, we should be actively finding ways to connect with our spouse. An anniversary is different. It’s a special day and should be … More…

How to make time with family a top priority

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Family is important. It’s one of the most important things in life. Yet we constantly find ourselves wishing we had more time because we don’t spend enough time with our families. Why is that? It sometimes seems like everything urgent in life rushes in and crowds out the important stuff. We struggle to make time with family a top priority. That’s why we have to schedule family time in order to protect it as one of our core priorities. I’ve always been very family focused. Even as a little girl, I could never imagine moving too far away from my close-knit community of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Anything less than twice weekly visits just seemed wrong. But as I … More…