A Grateful Wife.

My name is Meghan, and I am the resident slacker wife.

(Hi, Meghan...)

In all seriousness, hello to all of our new readers and thanks for stopping by. It's been awhile since I've visited TWD, and there's a reason for that...

I am a mess. Between the end of the school year (I am a teacher), the mountains of papers to grade, internet troubles, planning several vacations and realizing that I am turning 30 next week - well, things have been a little hectic. And while this might be a little cheesy, I'd like to use this forum to thank my hubby for the fact that he hasn't committed me to the loony bin...yet. I think it's important to acknowledge the little things our loved ones do for us.

weheartit

So, hubster, thank you for:

* Buying me Skinny Cow ice cream and eating it with me while we watch "24" at a later hour since I didn't get home from work until 9:00.
* Making me a delicious, healthy, vegetarian meal each night AND cleaning up the kitchen because you know I had a long day.
* Getting rid of my old computer (she will be missed) and hooking me up with your Macbook. And being so patient as I adjust to the new intergalactic settings.
* Speaking of technology, thanks for always Photoshopping my nose in pictures. It makes a difference.
* Buying me flowers - just because.
* Buying me cupcakes - just because. Can you tell I am motivated by food?
* Letting me watch "Glee" and "Tori and Dean" even though you can't stand them.
* Getting up at 6:30 am on a Saturday with me to help me clean.
* Standing in the cold and wind for two hours, cheering me on in the half-marathon.
* Going on coffee dates with me each morning and helping me process the day ahead so I don't become overwhelmed.

I could go on and on and get all sappy and wish for rainbows and sparkles, but I'll leave it at that. Thanks for indulging me:) It's just so comforting that when life gets crazy, my hubby is right there to pick up the pieces and make me feel better.

Who are you grateful for these days? What little gestures do you appreciate?

Formspring Responses: Meghan

The lovely Krysten passed along your Formspring questions. Thanks for playing along, ladies! And hello to all of our new and lovely followers! I wish we could send you all presents filled with love and rainbows and sparkles.

Anyway, we thought it might be interesting to each take a stab at your questions, so here are my responses. Keep in mind that I am certainly no expert, and these are all merely my humble little opinions!

What would you do if you found out your husband had a made up online identity that he was using to flirt with other women and was getting off from this experience?

Umm, wow. I don't know how I'd respond! Chop off his cajones? Cry? Counseling? While there are a lot of factors here - the fact that he had to create an identity to fulfill a need indicates, in my opinion, a lack of self-esteem on his part. I hate when I hear about situations like this, because the wife/girlfriend is always left feeling inadequate or feels like they are to blame - when really, it's all about the men and their own issues.

How much would you charge for advertising/sponsors?

Of all the wives, I am the least qualified to answer this question. I don't even have sponsors on my personal blog, so I will divert this to Krysten and the Lauren's!

Can people apply to be regulars on The Wife Diaries?

Another great question! I think we're all still trying to figure out the direction we want TWD to take, and this is a fantastic idea to consider!

How long have each of you been married and what do each of your think is the ONE main key to a successful marriage??

I have been married for 9 months now, but I have lived with my husband for almost 4 years. If I had to choose one key ingredient to a successful marriage - it's to TALK! Whenever I am feeling stressed or frustrated, the best thing I can do is talk it out with my husband. He helps me see things from a different perspective, and I am not stuck wandering around with bottled up emotions.

I have not felt like 'makin' woopie' :) with my hub for a while now. We are both quite busy (though more he than I) and when it comes down to it I just don't feel like it. Am I the only one who feels like this? What have you done in a situation like this?

We live in such a fast-paced world that you'd be hard pressed NOT to find someone who has been in this situation, in my opinion. My job in particular eats up 12-13 hours of my day, so I know easy it is to come home, eat dinner, watch TV and fall asleep before 9:00! But even when you don't feel like it, I think it's important to take the time to get to know your husband in the biblical sense:) Hey, if you have to schedule it in, then do it! It will help "re-train" your brain...and other parts of the body!

How do you handle when someone from your husband's past comes back around...even if it is just a "friend" that may have been a little more than a friend at one point? Do you allow it? Do you have a hissy fit and say no way!! or what??

Umm, this question was made for me:) My husband's best friend is a female. When I first met her, I was so intimidated - she is smart, witty and full of style. It took me YEARS to adjust to her presence in his life. I think a lot of it had to do with a lack of confidence - once I felt confident in myself and our relationship, she slowly became a friend - now we travel, chat, shop, etc. I think in those situations it's best to remind yourself why you love your husband and remember that he chose you! Definitely communicate these concerns to him as well!

What was your favorite thing about your wedding?

The dance party that ensued when Toto's "Africa" was played? My sister's 7 minute maid of honor speech? Seeing my husband for the first time? The fact that he FORGOT TO TURN OFF HIS BLACKBERRY during our mass??? But honestly, my favorite thing about our wedding was that it was so US - everything that happened and everything we planned was very much "us" and I wouldn't have had it any other way.

What are your favorite weekend things to do with your hubby?

Our Friday nights are usually quiet and consist of a home-cooked meal (made by the hubs) and catching up on our favorite shows. On Saturday mornings, after I run and he works, we reconvene for coffee and work together to clean and do laundry. Saturday nights are usually spent out with friends, but Sundays are "our" days - he cooks a nice breakfast and we watch movies, drink tea and snuggle:) Unless I have to go to a bridal or baby shower (BOO!). Seriously, it's mating season!!!

Now that you're married, what's next?

Umm, it's 5:00, so dinner? Just kidding:) I don't know what's next. You can always map out your life but it tends to throw you for a loop sometimes. What I do know is that we want to travel, buy a loft in the city, and have a kid or two. Hopefully in that order!

Are you and your hubs looking for the same thing in a house? or even with baby making? How do you resolve any differences?

See above:) We definitely want to stay in the city and purchase a loft - we love very open, contemporary spaces and we love living in a major city, so this is a big dream of ours. As for kids - we have both gone back and forth on our own time - at first, he wasn't too excited about little bambinos and I was, and now he is a little more excited than I am. Ideally, we'd prefer to wait a few years - and hopefully, when that time comes, we agree on names. Seriously, I ask him every single day to consider a certain name:)

How did you get so many followers?

I think it's because we're really, really ridiculously good-looking:) Seriously, I have no idea, but I am so happy you have all decided to follow along!

The Dreaded Question

Last night, my best friend got married! YEAH! It was such a beautiful evening - a very personal wedding, filled with little touches of the bride and groom. You know it's a great wedding when the bride sings "Ice Ice Baby" in the middle of the dance floor and doesn't.miss.a.single.word. She's nutty, and that's why I love her:) Word to yo motha...

Speaking of "mothas", the wedding really had my head spinning - because now I am in the phase of my life (and now my bestie is joining me), where, instead of asking about wedding plans, the next logical question I am constantly asked by family and friends is:

"So when are you having kids?"

Ugh. Does / has anyone else experienced this? (Salt, just you wait...)

Please understand that these next few words are in no way, shape or form, meant to sound judgmental. It's just that I am very conflicted about children, and like anyone else, am simply trying to sort through my feelings.

My response usually consists of a giggle and a "Oh, we're not sure / We'll see / We just really want to enjoy married life for the time being..." when all I really want to say is: "Seriously?KIDS? Have you SEEN how some of them act in public? I teach high school for a living! Do you KNOW what some of them become? They swear! And drink! And hit each other. And let's not even discuss childbirth OR the first 16 years of their life, thankyouverymuch."

I am so totally, without a doubt, NOT ready for children. They scare the crap out of me, and to be quite honest, many of the people in my life with children rarely share the "good stories". I typically hear about how they can never go out, how hard it is to potty train, how much it sucks to lose the baby weight, etc. Don't get me wrong - I DO want children, but right now I am at the stage in my life where the negatives outweigh the positives. So until the pendulum shifts, I DO plan to enjoy this time with the hubby and travel, check out new restaurants and live it up in the city until we're ready to take that next step. And perhaps finally learn the words to Vanilla Ice while I still have the time.

(we heart it)

Do you want / have children? How did you know when you were ready?

The Wedding Planner.

Lately, I've had weddings on the brain. It may or may not have to do with the fact that our very own Lauren T (aka Salt) is getting married THIS weekend (YEAH!), or because my real-life best friend is getting married in two weeks (YEAH AGAIN!), or because I just love weddings in general.

But simply stated, I love weddings.

When I was planning my wedding, my mother's advice was, "As long as people can eat, drink and dance, no one cares about the details." And quite honestly, I think she's right. I do believe that 95% of guests at weddings have a difficult time recalling the type of flowers in the bouquet or the font used to write the placecards. However, even before getting engaged, I was always in that 5% bracket. I love the little details and truly appreciate my surroundings when I attend a wedding. So, when I got engaged, I had it all mapped out in my head, thinking that my fiance would let me run the show. Tier of cupcakes? Check. A navy and fuchsia color scheme? Check.

Boy, was I wrong.

Mike, my hubby, is not your average bear. He has quite the eye for creativity and design. He is a photographer/web designer, cooks gourmet meals, can sew everything from buttons to pillowcases, and has a passion for music.

He's basically the domestic goddess in this marriage.

From day one, he had a hand in all of our planning, and while we disagreed and disagreed some more, when I look back, I am grateful that he cared so much. Our wedding was beautiful, and I DID get my tier of cupcakes after all. But Mikey? He wanted tuxedos with bowties. SANDALS instead of the standard tuxedo shoe (those of you who know my husband personally probably aren't surprised by this, as the man would probably go barefoot all year round if he could). Scarves with the tuxes (He said this was very Clooney-esque, I said it's the middle of freaking July).

While I nixed the above ideas, he DID get to select the playlist, help design the invitations, AND create our "In lieu of favors" placards.

And he did it all without a bowtie, scarf or sandals and looked damn fine doing so:) And I got my cupcakes.

For those of you who are married, how involved was your husband in the planning??? If you aren't yet married, is there anything that is a "must-have" for your special day??? Give me something to daydream about!

Greetings!

Apparently, I am "tardy for the party", as one of my favorite "housewives" (Kim from the RH of Atlanta) might say, so here goes!

I'm the fourth, and tardy, wife Meghan. I was born and raised in Chicago (Chi-Town, represent!) and I was just recently married this past July to a handsomely quirky man, Michael. Meet Mikey:

Our "how we met" story is super long, and may or may not involve Snoop Dogg jokes, getting stranded in the rain, and a very intoxicated friend (Umm, hi, Christy) telling us we should date. But the long and short of it is this: we met at a wedding!!! We both stood up in a friend's wedding. It took several jokes and my vast musical knowledge to impress this cool cat, but it worked, and he asked me out. He made me dinner at his apartment on our first date, where I totally thought that he might be a serial killer and had a "back-up plan" in case he was (umm, hi again, Christy) - but don't let the beard deceive you. He's perfectly harmless:)

After 9 months of dating, we moved in together. Mike was my first super-serious relationship AND my first real roommate after college. I honestly never pictured myself "moving out" by "moving in" with my boyfriend - AND moving from the Chicago suburbs to the city itself. I definitely shocked myself, my parents AND my friends - but it all worked out in the end. We lived together for over three years before Mike proposed, and we were engaged for a year and a half before we were married.

Our wedding was off the chain, as my students say. It was big and bold, and I loved every second of it. We definitely prided ourselves on having a very "us" wedding. It was full of wonderfully quirky moments. For instance, you're probably wondering why I am posting a picture of our backs.

Well, it's because at this very instant, I am mouthing to my friends that MIKE FORGOT TO TURN OFF HIS BLACKBERRY DURING OUR WEDDING. He realized this about halfway through our mass. I was horrified at the time (and luckily no one called), but now I can look back on it and laugh. A little.

Or here. Only Mikey would say something incredibly inappropriate when the photographer tells you to "whisper sweet nothings" into your wife's ear.

Sigh. I love this man.

And I love YOU for following along with The Wife Diaries. Cheers to Krysten for this amazing idea, and the Laurens for joining the fun! I am really excited and honored to be a part of this new adventure, and I hope you'll find it to be helpful, humorous and heartfelt. And full of weird, quirky moments:)