Archive for August, 2012

Committed: The Ties that Bond

with Angella Dykstra

I'm a mom of three, a professional accountant, and an amateur photographer and writer. I am not a marriage expert. But my husband and I take "Til death do us part" seriously, and here I'll be sharing how we keep our marriage strong while we both do that insane work-life juggle.

Check out my Work It, Mom! profile and my blog, Dutch Blitz.

Do you have a pre-nuptial agreement?

Categories: commitment, divorce, marriage

2 Comments

I’ve read a number of posts about Jennifer Aniston’s (supposed) lack of a prenuptial agreement with her fiance Justin. The general consensus is that she would be a fool to not have a pre-nup. She is worth far more than he is, and he could gain far more in a divorce, etc.

For us mere mortals, is this even an issue? My husband and I got married twelve years ago, just as we were starting our careers. Sometimes I’m the primary breadwinner, sometimes he is. Our earnings all go into one pot, which pays for our house and all of our household costs. Should we ever divorce (not going to happen), everything would be split down the middle.

Do you have a prenuptial agreement? Why or why not?

Does your husband do housework?

Categories: marriage

3 Comments

My husband is on staff at our church, and his job is to run the children’s and families department. Part of that commitment sees him standing on the platform every Sunday, performing an object lesson for the kids (and adults) who sit in front of him.

This past Sunday, he talked about how there are so many responsibilities when you have a family. There are babies, who are all-consuming, there is cooking and baking, there is vacuuming and laundry. And then there are the dirty jobs (he said this, while snapping on rubber gloves and waving a toilet brush). Nobody likes to do the dirty jobs.

(The object of the lesson was to talk about how a church family is like your own family; we all have jobs to do, and we work together.)


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Who are your marriage ‘mentors’?

Categories: Uncategorized, communication, marriage

3 Comments

Many of my friends have great marriages and they attribute it to their parents. Said parents have been married for decades, have modeled great marriages, and have supported their kids in their own marriages.

My Dad has been married five times (I have eight siblings from the first three marriages) and my Mom has been married three times. That’s six divorces between them, if you’re counting.


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What did you do with your wedding dress?

Categories: wedding

3 Comments

My husband and I got married twelve years ago and shortly after returning from our honeymoon, I had my wedding dress dry cleaned and put into a box. (I affectionately refer to it as ‘The Coffin.’) I loved my dress then, and I love it now. The style of dress is one that I tend to lean toward when I purchase any dress (no sleeves, A-line skirt)(sans beading and crinoline).

Some people do a ‘trash the dress’ photography shoot, some people sell their dress through a consignment store, and some (a few friends of mine included) keep the dress hanging in their closet along with their prom dress and an assortment of bridesmaids dresses. Then they have nights where everyone parades in dresses from the closet and have some good laughs.

I, personally, would love to free my dress from its coffin and wear it out on a girls’ night with a group of my friends. There has been rumblings of making that a reality.

What did you do with your wedding dress?

Who planned your wedding?

Categories: marriage, wedding

1 Comment

Jessica Biel is marrying Justin Timberlake after five years of dating. In a recent interview, she said that she’s so busy that she hasn’t had much time to put into planning their wedding. When he interviewer asked if Justin would be up for the task, she joked: ‘He does have incredible taste.’

When my husband and I got engaged, we decided to get married five months later. We had a small budget — no parental help — and did all of the legwork ourselves. We spent every Saturday looking at cakes and deciding on flowers and deciding on party favors. We also spent a few evenings making our handmade invitations, with the requisite vellum and raffia accoutrements.


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Whose work takes the higher priority?

Categories: children, finances, marriage

3 Comments

Let’s say that you are a working Mom (in addition to the work that goes into simply being a Mom). Let’s say that your husband is a working Dad (in addition to the work that goes into simply being a Dad). You also are in charge of things like groceries and cooking, he’s also in charge of things like keeping the garden growing and the fixing the oven/washer/dishwasher when they break.

(I do not envy him. When electronics break, I get disproportionately ANGRY.)


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Would your marriage survive an affair?

Categories: divorce, marriage

4 Comments

I’m sure that you’ve all heard about the Robert Pattinson/Kristen Stewart debacle, which is a hard one to miss because it is being dissected EVERYWHERE. It’s hard enough to find out that the one you love has cheated on you; I can’t imagine how horrible it must be for those two. I don’t know them at all (obviously), but for some reason I hope they can work it out.

I have never had my husband cheat on me, and neither of us plan on that happening, which is why we work hard at keeping our relationship fresh and alive. Date nights, sex more nights than not, time at the end of the day to connect, etc. We also don’t spend time alone with members of the opposite sex (i.e. coffee dates, movies, etc.) We do have friends of the opposite sex, but we hang out in groups.


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How do you survive the summer school break?

Categories: children

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It’s summer vacation, as we all know, and I know that in many parts of the country, kids go back to school in early to mid August. Our school district is different - kids go to school until the end of June and return after the September long weekend. This means that my kids still have five weeks of summer break, and it might just kill my husband and I.

We love our kids. Heck we like our kids. We love to hang out in our yard, go to the beach, watch SYTYCD, go for bike rides, etc. I have always wanted to be a Mom, and my kids are so funny and quirky that they are fun to be around. We enjoy each other.


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Do you get away with your girlfriends?

Categories: travel

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I’m in New York City for my fifth BlogHer conference, while my husband is at home taking our kids to the beach every afternoon. Every year, I ask him if he wants to come with me, and every year he laughs, because he is not a blogger and is not a fan of big cities.

He send me on my merry way to catch up with the friends I have made through the computer, and I have (and am having) a great time. Laughs over coffee, late night conversations, and some dancing in between.

Speaking of coffee, after working with her for over three years now, I finally met our very own Nataly! She’s just as sweet and energetic as she sounds on her own blog.

How about you? Do you ever get away with your girlfriends?

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