What Makes Our Marriage 'Easy'

Last night it was Jay's turn to have a bad dream. As I curled up close, listening to his heart beat, and as he derived comfort simply by being close,  I thought about how lucky I am to have somebody that loves me so much. A man that works so hard to provide for us, then comes home and truly enjoys spending time with us. That led me to thinking about people asking how our marriage is so happy and good. I used to laugh off that question, saying I didn't know, but I thanked God for it. I started to look for exactly what it is that makes us different from so many other couples.
First is being thankful. I thank God every single day, normally multiple times, for my husband, my life, and my family. Looking back at my choices before I met my husband, I know it's not a life I have earned. It is not something I take for granted. I make a point of thanking him for being wonderful, and letting our kids see and hear how much I appreciate what he does. He does the same. Neither of us expects the other to say thank you, but saying or doing little things to let the other person know they are appreciated is huge.
Second is not looking at what's in it for me, but looking what I can do for my husband and our family. Our marriage is not born of selfishness. Sure, there is give and take, but neither of us is looking for what our the other is doing for us. We are looking at what we can do for each other. When the day is through, I often ask myself if I did enough. Sure, the house isn't spotless, there are a dozen things left on my to do list, and my laundry room is bursting with loads waiting to be done. That's not what I'm asking, though. Did I do enough? Did I say I love you often enough, and did I show it in obvious ways? Are my kids tucked into bed, full of the knowledge that they are loved, since loving them goes hand in hand with loving my husband? Did I tell my husband how much I love him, and did I do enough to show him how much he means to me? Is there any chance any of them could question how much I care? If I don't wake up, did I give all of myself in a way that they will never have to doubt how I felt? If the answer to that is ever no, that will be the day I failed as a mother and a wife. I strive to fill their lives and hearts with joy, and I don't count their faults or what more they could have done. In turn, they do the same. In giving ourselves so fully, we also receive amazing love and happiness.
Third, we don't fight. Yes, we do have disagreements. We talk about it, if needed, we step away and revisit it. On occasion (especially when I'm pregnant,) I get mad, sometimes I yell, always he laughs, which makes me madder. He'll make me laugh, which will make me mad that I'm laughing, until finally, I just give in to the knowledge that he's right. Maybe not about the topic, but about it not being something worth fighting over. It really doesn't matter what the issue is. It is never worth fighting over. It is not worth hurting each other. It is not worth hard feelings. We compromise where we can and forgive when it is needed. Arguing and holding on something that steals our peace and joy is not worth it.
Probably the biggest thing is realizing we are not the only people in this marriage. From the start, it was my husband, me, and God. He has always been there, and we have always strived to serve Him. In loving each other in the way that God has planned, we are able to love fully and without reservation. We are able to keep perspective and continue to serve God and each other. Our marriage has added four people to it, and will have a fifth additional person in May. Marriage is not about one person, or even two. It encompasses so much more than that, and bringing all of the pieces into a marriage makes it whole.
Is our marriage perfect? No. We are by nature imperfect, but our marriage is perfectly suited to us. In serving and showing our love, it comes easily most of the time. In living our lives the way God means for us to, we are more easily able to follow the path, not only of a fulfilling life, but also of fulfilling and happy marriage.

Woo Hoo For New Clothes!

Crowdtap and Old Navy hooked me up again! This time around, they sent a coupon to go get an Activewear top and bottom free, as well as a coupon for a friend. For this awesome opportunity, I took Jennie. It's always fun to get away with her for a few hours! It's even more fun, when I know it will be for Old Navy Activewear. I don't think either of us will forget the way the epic Activewear shirt didn't fit her a couple years ago. She literally got stuck in it. We were both laughing so hard, we were crying. Want to know my guilty secret? I kind of hoped for a repeat. We also both LOVE Old Navy Activewear. She owned at least one outfit prior to this, and I already had one pair of pants and 4 or 5 shirts from last season. This was the first time either of us had gone back in for Activewear this season, and we were not disappointed!

Let's start with selection. Sometimes I'm disappointed by my Old Navy's selection, like with the tees last time, but this time... Our local Old Navy's Activewear selection ROCKS!

You can't even see all the tops in this picture! There were too many other choices in the way! There were at least double the colors you can see, plus other styles.

More of the sports bra type of person? They have that covered, too.

And bottoms? Tons! There were some hanging on the wall, plus racks of them. I was really excited to see everything from yoga pants, to compression capris, all the way down to biking shorts. The shorts had some super cute colors, too.

After going through everything in the section, Jennie ended up with two tops and a bottom to try on. I had three tops and four bottoms. There are a bunch more I liked, but they were on clearance, so didn't count for this particular coupon. Woah! Wait! Already on clearance! You'd better hurry if you see anything you like, because at least in our store, if you wait very long, that means you aren't getting any of these.

I always keep clothes I haven't tried on the middle hook of the dressing room. Since they have three hooks, I like to take advantage and keep organized. What I want to keep, I move to the left hook. What doesn't work for me, I move to the right. So, after shoving all of the clothes on the middle hook, I was ready to go!

My first outfit was a gray top and black pair of yoga pants. I really wasn't sure I would like the style of the shirt, because it's not my normal workout type of top. It was looser and styled very differently than anything I've tried before. At the same time, that's half the fun of getting to go shopping with Crowdtap and Old Navy. I always try to step out of my comfort zone and at least try something new.

The pants felt awesome! The shirt felt nice, but I just wasn't really thrilled with the way it looked on me. The pants went to the left, the shirt to the right, and I moved on to the next outfit.

This time around, I grabbed the blue top, which was the same style as the gray, and a pair of compression pants. I really like compression pants for working out, because they hold in problem areas. There's nothing worse than really getting into a workout, and having a stretch or move not work, because 'mommy apron' slaps you in the face. I really liked the fit of the shirt, and the color worked for me! The pants didn't. They don't look bad in the pictures, but believe me, they did in the store! They also hugged weird in a few places. That may well have to do with the weight I've put on recently, but for this trip, they went on the right hook.

Moving on, I came to this really cute pair of capris. I'm not normally a fan, because they're never the right length on me. I'm just short of 5'5", and normally, they come too low. This pair came to a great length for me! Unfortunately, I wasn't fond of the way they accentuated my 'spare tire.' They went to the right, and I managed to convince myself to take off the top, since I did have another one to try on, and put it on the right.

I'm not going to lie. I had a ton of fun with this last outfit. I loved the fit, and when I was going all ninja in the dressing room and checking myself out, I kept hearing a tune in my head. 'She's a brick... house.' I'm really glad they don't have cameras in the dressing room, because that would have been really embarrassing. After posing my heart out, I put the whole outfit on the left hook.

Before leaving the dressing room to go to the register, I pulled out my coupon and wallet. That's when it hit me, I had forgotten to put my new Old Navy credit card in my wallet, after the old one stopped working. I had to try really hard to narrow it down to one outfit. It was made a bit easier with the knowledge I would be going back for the other. The final winner?

I ended up with the blue top and the first pair of pants. I will go get my ninja outfit very soon, because I would be heartbroken if it sold out before I got it!

What about Jennie? Where was she during all of this? Well, she wouldn't come out with her first top. She was not a fan of the way it looked on her, but she did like the bottoms and second shirt she picked out. The rest of the time, she explored the store with her boyfriend, who is visiting from the UK. He found a pair of men's Activewear shorts he really liked.

All in all, we had a great trip. There was a big selection to choose from, and the company was great! The cashier wasn't as excited as some are, but he was friendly enough, as well. Thank you again, Old Navy and Crowdtap! We both love our new outfits! And Old Navy, Jennie's boyfriend loves his new shorts!

I have a really bad habit of disappearing for long periods of time, don't I? Well, it's about time for a blogging streak again! Of course, I never know where the day is going to take me, and I never know what I'm going to blog about until I sit down and do it. Today, you get toilet paper and wet wipes.

I know what you're thinking. Why in the world would I want to talk about how you wipe yourself? Well, there are two reasons today. First, Crowdtap and Cottonelle were kind enough to send me very generous samples of Cottonelle's 'Clean Routine' products. Have you seen the commercials? The ones that ask how things like washing your car without water is different than wiping without wet wipes? They sent me an 18 pack of toilet paper and a little container of wet wipes for me, plus 4 packs of toilet paper and small packs of wipes for two friends. I'd like to tell you what I think about the samples.

Reason two is facebook doesn't like me very much. I originally wrote my review on a picture there, and it disappeared. I wrote it and reposted the picture, and it disappeared again. Now I'm going to share here instead! Really, it's kind of cool, because I love to write, and on this blog, I have a better opportunity to write as much as I want.

So, what did I think? Let me explain in pictures.

First, how does the roll start? With four kids now, three of which are no longer in diapers, this is really important, because if it starts hard, we end up with even more waste. Considering my 3 year old, JJ, went through a phase, where he would take a roll off the holder, wipe, and throw the entire thing in, we wasted more than enough for this lifetime...

Yes... I do have four brands of toilet paper in my house right now. I'm a bargain shopper, ok? So, what did it come down to? Cottonelle, Charmin Ultra Soft, and Quilted Nothern Ultra Plush all started at least pretty easily. Scott Extra Soft... By about layer 2 or 3, you'll get it going.
Durability was also put to the test, as I wrote on the rolls, so I didn't remember which was which. Charmin Ultra Soft and Quilted Nothern Ultra Plush both tore like crazy. Scott didn't, but it's also super thin, so you need more to keep from plunging through, especially if you're wiping a little bum. The Cottonelle held up best for the durability test. It's not as soft as the Charmin or Quilted Northern, but we found it comfortable.

So, the next thing. How much do you get on the roll? The Charmin and Scott were disqualified from this example, because they were triple rolls. Here's a comparison of the Cottonelle v the Quilted Nothern. I think the Cottonelle actually has a little more.

Back to the whole waste thing. I go nuts when I get to the bottom of a roll, and a round or two sticks to the cardboard in the center. It wastes toilet paper, and it's annoying to get off, so I can use the cardboard for crafts with the kids. I was excited to see the Cottonelle cardboard totally clean at the end. No comparison here, because I didn't have rolls for all of them.

We also had the child-friendliness test.  This is my adorable four year old, who has recently decided she WILL wipe on her own, and nobody can even be in the bathroom with her. By her age, one would expect them to pretty much have the wiping thing down. She does a pretty good job, but once in a while, she misses some. Wet wipes were a big thing to try with her, but would they be easy enough? My concern was how most wipes stick together, and it's hard to use them one-handed. These weren't. They were easy to separate with just a one-handed tug.

So, what is the overall review? Besides what I posted above, the system was actually really nice. Since we've been using the whole system, I haven't noticed streaky underwear. Personally, I feel cleaner after using wet wipes, too. We have already purchased more of the wipes, while on sale and with coupons, of course! The toilet paper that was given to us wasn't quite as soft as others we've tried, but it wasn't scratchy either. We liked it, but it's not something I'll go out of the way to pay more for. The whole system is well worth trying, especially if you can get a deal on it! Regardless of which toilet paper you find fits with your family, I would really recommend the wet wipes above any other brand.