Love + Marriage

My husband and I recently enjoyed a three-day getaway to an all-inclusive resort in Jamaica, alone. Since neither of us had traveled to an all-inclusive resort we decided to take a trip in February and enjoy a few days...

My husband tries to make a date out of everything. Going grocery shopping? Date night. Getting taxes done? Date night. Trip to the local hardware and home improvement store? Definitely a date night…. according to my husband. These aren't...

First comes love, then comes marriage… 16 years ago on a warm Mother’s Day in rural Wisconsin, I took my wedding vows. And let me tell you I was a nervous wreck! I was 21 years old, 7 months...

I am an imperfect stepmom! I think all stepmoms are imperfect, just as are parents, but there seems to be more of an eye on stepparents because someone else’s children are our responsibility at times. No stepmom is the same...

Un-perfect Mom but not unfit... I have never been ordinary, regular, or the same as everyone else. And I was ALWAYS proud of that!! To me perfection is BORING! And that is most definitely not who or what I...

I knew that marrying someone with children and becoming a step-mom would add an interesting twist to the holidays. I grew up in a blended family and had the typical Christmas Eve with my dad, Christmas day with my...

During the Christmas season, I decided to shower my husband with “25 Days of I Love You's” to make him feel extra special. I did something similar for the fourteen days leading up to Valentine’s Day a few years ago (prior to having kids) so I thought I would try something similar. Even though Christmas is over, Valentine’s Day will be here soon so I thought I would share this idea. This is easily adaptable for a birthday, any holiday, or just because!

We make fun of it because it’s based on very unrealistic expectations. 25 pre-screened, gorgeous (but mostly crazy) people are all competing for a potential mate that they’ve never met. The show takes place in an elegant mansion stocked with endless amounts of booze, and features outings to exotic locations no regular people can afford. The extravagant dates feature helicopter rides, hot tub soaks with champagne, and tropical beach frolics. To put this into perspective, my husband and I met in a dive bar in college and our first date was at Starbucks. Honestly, if given the opportunity to go on the dates featured in this show, I could temporarily fall in love with a scarecrow. Not only is it unrealistic, but it sets the couple up for failure. I propose they try these 18 alternative dates. It may ruin the show, but it would be entertaining.

Every now and then I get asked if I would marry my husband again if I knew then what I know now regarding step-parenting. Yes! However, I would not have said ‘yes’ a few years ago, which was a couple of...

My relationship with my in-laws has been and continues to be a positive experience. They are my second set of parents that I never expected. I call them Mom & Dad. Like many relationships, we don’t agree on everything and that’s ok. I respect that they may have different ideas or opinions on things than I do. Life would be boring if we all thought and acted alike.