MTN: Where are they now? Kelly & Stu

I am so happy to reintroduce Kelly and Stu my very first couple to interview in the Meet the Newlyweds Series over 2 1/2 years ago.  Kelly blogs at Raising A and D, where she writes about her 2 precious daughters and family life,  and Stu blogs at Friday Night Beer, where he discusses all things beer.  Kelly and Stu are such a great couple I envision we would be great friends, if we lived closer to one another. 

Wedding date: July 13, 2002

Blog (s): (Kelly) http://raisingdelia.blogspot.com and (Stu) http://fridaynightbeer.wordpress.com

Original Interview: February 19, 2009

When reading the first interview, did anything stick out, make you laugh, or shake your head?

I cracked up at the reminder that Stu didn’t watch sports when we first met. In his defense, he did indulge in some football-watching with his roommate Zach every Sunday, but I assumed (wrongly) that it was only Zach wanting to watch football. Sorry, sweetie!

I think that my piece of marriage advice from the original interview is still so true. (Wow, I am a genius! Ha!) Communication is the key to ANY relationship.

What in your marriage has changed for the better? 

For our entire relationship, we have been both best friends and significant others to one another. What has changed, for the better, is that now I feel that we are also partners. Becoming parents has really taught us how important it is to work together to tackle the complexities (and joys) of our days with the kids. Having a second daughter this year has strengthened our partnership even more. We need to work together and communicate well with each another to make things work for everyone.

Anything for the worst?

While the parenting aspect of our relationship has been wonderful, it also makes life more challenging. I think the main challenge for our marriage over the last couple of years is that we do not spend enough time alone together. Our nearest family is 1.5 hours and 2.5 hours away, so date nights are few and far between. We need to make more of an effort to plan regular in-house date nights where we watch a movie or game on the TV together at least. I hope this is something that we can begin to do on more of a frequent basis.

What are some of the biggest changes that have happened to you guys since the first interview?

It has been two and a half years since that interview, and like most couples, we have had a few changes.

In particular, Delia has become one spunky little lady. She was only 1.5 at the time of this interview, and I seem to remember 18 months was so nice and easy. She has an extremely outgoing and sometimes challenging personality, so we have had to be very consistent in how we parent and discipline her. That type of parenting was not something that I had any idea about until we were faced with Delia’s toddler and preschool years. Of course she is incredible, but she can be a handful too.

Of course, our other big change is the addition of a second baby to our family. I am really trying to make the most of these baby days, but it can be challenging for us to juggle everyone and everything. Thankfully I feel like Alaina is an easy baby (or I just go with the flow more easily now), so things are good. I also feel like our family is complete.

The other thing that stands out to me (although I’m not sure if it qualifies as a change) is that Stu and I try to make sure that we don’t lose sight of who we are as individuals, just because we are married and are parents. While we have always had this philosophy, it has become more important to both of us over the last few years. For example, Stu has become quite the bicyclist over the last several years; he commutes to work on his bike (13 miles each way), he does a few charity rides each year, and he does a lot of fun bike ride/pub crawls with friends. I still make a point to be part of a book club, go out to movies/dinners with friends, and generally keep up my social life; I try to do something fun with friends about once a week. Achieving a sense of balance between individual/work/family needs is really important to both of us.

What can you say about marriage that took time to discover?

We celebrated our 9th anniversary this summer, and what I have realized over the last couple of years is that the longer people are in a relationship, the easier it can be to take your significant other for granted. If I am having a bad day, I should not take it out on Stu just because I am comfortable with him. I also need to be appreciative of all of the things he does for me, our kids, our home, and our life together. Life is precious and unpredictable.

Now go ask your hubby: What is his favorite quirk about you?

Kelly does everything by the book. Like cooking off a recipe, everything is measured out exactly as they say. Or when assembling something, even when it’s totally obvious what needs to be done, she always does what the instructions say.

What’s a favorite moment you’ve shared in the past 2 years?

After we found out we were pregnant last year, I knew we needed some time alone together. We don’t have a lot of extra money for extravagant trips, but we planned a weekend away in La Crosse, WI last fall. My parents stayed with Delia and the dogs at our house, and Stu and I had a very relaxing couple of days by ourselves. One of my favorite moments of that trip was when we were on the bluff overlooking La Crosse. It was SO beautiful. All of the leaves were changing, the sun was shining, and it was just so wonderful being there with Stu. We hope to do something even more special next year to celebrate our 10^th anniversary.

Each week I will re-interview a past couple, so be sure to check it out, and if you are a past couple, please contact me.