On Friday, We got the keys to our first ever HOUSE. Dave and I have been married for almost a decade and this will be the first time we've had a home that didn't share walls with our neighbors. We've worked so hard to get here, so forgive me if I get a little sappy. The best part is that every time I walk through the front door, I love the house more and more.

Even better than… Read More

Alex's birthday has been looming on the horizon all summer, for me at least. After what's no doubt been the biggest year of his life (adjusting to a new sister, school, leaving, moving, house-shopping, moving again, new school). He'll turn four on Saturday, September 29th. Here's a list of what's been vexing me:

1) The guest list. We just moved here and as hard as I've tried to put us out there and make new friends, we've really only… Read More

Yesterday the realtor called to let me know that I could have access to the house today to let contractors give me estimates. We don't take possession until Saturday, so it was a big treat for me to get inside to take another look at everything. Going in, I was nervous that I'd have buyer's remorse, but fortunately, it turned out to be quite the opposite. I loved the house even more, especially since I was there to let in… Read More

Every time I see an article about kids and money, it seems to pertain to older children who already understand addition and subtraction, so I've been trying to come up with some strategies to get Alex, our almost-four-year-old to understand how money works, even before he's old enough to do math. Here's what we've been doing:

1) We let him pay for things himself. Even though we rarely spend cash anymore, we go out of our way to let… Read More

This morning both my kids were woken up early by a rude telemarketer calling for the person who used to have our phone number. We've already had this number for over three months, but I still get several calls a day for a certain Ms. Smith. Poor thing must've been in a heap of trouble! Anyway, thanks to her, today everyone got up on the wrong side of the bed an hour earlier than usual.

When I asked… Read More

Today was one of those days where I couldn't get the idea out of my head that my life would be better if I went back to work. I read enough blogs to know I'm not the first to have these sentiments, to glamorize the idea of full-time child care, shoes that click-clack and an office with a door that closes. Of course, having actually been there in real life myself, I know better. I know working moms don't have… Read More