When I was in high school, I went to the registrar's office to make a schedule change on my course list. The registrar promptly asked for my Social Security number. My Social what? I told her that I didn't know what she was talking about. "You mean to tell me," she said, "that you don't know your Social Security number? I suggest you call your parents." And I did, in tears. I had no idea what she wanted.

That… Read More

Easter came and flew by, it seems. We had a countdown at our house for days since Amy learned very early on that Easter was on "April the EIGHTH!" Yes, the volume did grow exponentially with each word.

While that deadline was important to her, there's another deadline that is on my mind these days: tax day. Oh yeah, it's creeping up on us.

Fortunately, tax day is an extra two days away this year, and not one… Read More

This week I took a ride in a Toyota Prius. I immediately called my husband and informed him that our next car would be a Prius.

It wasn't just the cool design, which I have to say is very snazzy (oh God, when did I start sounding like my mother?).

It wasn't just the 46 MPG mileage on the highway - an estimated combined 55 MPG city/highway. It's even better in the city, where we… Read More

Chris was paying the bills over the last couple of days and he discovered that we had a little more money in the account than usual.

So what do we owe this newfound fortune? Inheritance? Windfall at the office? Extraordinary performance on my one (yes one) share of Home Depot stock? Gas bill drop?

None of the above. We have (dramatic drum roll) stopped eating out so much.

First of all, this is a huge big deal for me. I… Read More

My husband is traveling on business this week. Before we had children, I would embark on major house "projecting" whenever Chris was away since (2) I found that I had a lot of free time without him and (2) he wasn't around to tell me all of the reasons why I shouldn't do something (in case you hadn't yet figured out, I'm the impulsive one in our relationship). That is how the living room wall ended up painted red, the… Read More

I am so excited that spring has arrived!

Yeah, you guessed it. We are on our fourth or fifth day of lovely spring weather. And today, there's nary a cloud in the sky. It is just stunningly beautiful. It's a day made for... playing hooky! Oh yeah, I've decided to take most of the day off to spend it outside with the kids. We're thinking about visiting the zoo and saying goodbye to the… Read More