After only a month of looking, it seems we've found our dream house. Even though it needs a little work to make it more family-friendly, we're ready to make an offer sometime early this week. Normally, this is the kind of thing that freaks people out, but for me, it's one of the few times I actually get to feel lucky to be married to a lawyer. Even better, I get to be married to a lawyer who mostly practices… Read More

Every night for the past 18 months, we've made an effort to sit down and teach our son Alex to read. I know that age two might seem a bit young to start, but what can I say? He's really smart. All kidding aside, here's how we've done it:

1) We started EASY. Like many kids, he began to recognize the alphabet starting around 18 months of age. In fact, we've noticed that the letters he recognized before age… Read More

The preschool search continues and we've managed to visit two programs in person, with two more scheduled for Thursday and Friday. I've also driven by two additional schools, one of which turned out to be a gymnastics school and the other in a neighborhood that didn't make me feel very comfortable. Both times I had to tell Alex that my directions were bad and I just couldn't find the school! It's a good thing he's only 3-and-a-half because I'm a… Read More

Today was my first official day alone at home with the kids since we moved. We've lived here, what, a month already? Dave was home for a month and then his mom got here as soon as he started his job. My first order of business was to find a preschool since Alex has been out of school since May. I'm anxious to get him around more kids his age so he (and I) can start making friends again.

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Dave's mom is staying here and that means we have a babysitter, even if only for the next few nights. After she flies back home, it could be months before that happens again, so last night we put the kids to bed, set Grandma up with the baby monitor and bolted. When Dave went to open the car door for me, I realized that it's probably been years, plural, since he's done that. It used to be a regular feature… Read More

We've been in Washington now for exactly three weeks and strange as it seems, it already feels like we've lived here forever. We haven't wasted a minute looking back or even missing our lives in California at all. Sure, we miss our friends and families, but it hasn't really been THAT long since we've seen them. The distance hasn't really had time to set in yet.

The main thought coursing through my mind, and I know Dave's too, is… Read More