Stress-free family dinner… is there such a thing? I’m not sure if I have a good answer to this. I think stress-free family dinners are only found at the bottom of a pizza box, and even then you have to worry about your finances. But dinner always comes around once a day and as a…
Book Review: Let’s Pretend This Never Happened
I very rarely read non-fiction unless I am sitting in front of a computer screen reading news articles or favorite blogs. I can enjoy a good non-fiction read, and will once in a while turn to a book of essays for a change of pace., but I am, at my core, a fiction-lover. So, despite…
The Race Shirt
Apparently it is both unlucky and uncool to wear your swag-bag race shirt during a race. Those in the know suggest wearing the same clothes you train in to avoid any wardrobe malfunctions whereas douchebag* seasoned runners consider wearing the race shirt to be a rookie mistake. Race shirts should be earned, and apparently training and…
Dear Gavin: Happy Birthday. It’s Not Fair.
Dear Gavin, This letter is late. You turned one a week and a half ago on April 29th. Whereas I wrote a whole series of posts for your brother’s first birthday, I haven’t written anything for you yet. Until now, that is. Part of me worries about this. I wrestle daily with the guilt that…
How to Stretch $100 – A #WalmartFrugalHeroes Challenge
One hundred dollars is a funny amount of money. As a child, $100 seemed huge and unattainable. Still now, as an adult, spending $100 feels like a big chunk of change when we are trying to stretch a budget. Yet, you can’t get much for $100 these days. We’re lucky if our weekly grocery bill…
Book Review: The Light Between Oceans
(Warning: This blog post and the book it mentions discusses themes around miscarriage and loss of children. It could be a trigger to some.) Sometimes, I think readers are like drug addicts. We learn to read, fall in love with a book, and spend the rest of our reading lives searching for another perfect book…
Tasting Italy
Close your eyes. Imagine you are somewhere else – anywhere else – but where you are. What does it look like? What does it sound like? What does it feel like? What does it smell like? What does it taste like? Honestly, if I could go anywhere right now (sans-kids) it would be to an all-inclusive resort…
Ode To A Zit
Follow my blog with Bloglovin Dear Persistent Pimple, We’ve been through a lot together, you and I. Don’t misunderstand me. We aren’t friends. In fact, I downright despise you, but we have shared some momentous occasions. When we first met years ago, you were non-remarkable, but no less annoying. You came, with all your little friends, to cover my…
Leaving the Nest
I started work on Monday after 1 year, 1 month, and 2 weeks of finding vocational purpose and fulfillment inside the home. No matter how much you love work (which I do), or appreciate the merits of daycare (which I do), or desire to get out of the house (which I often do), returning to…
Easter Confusion
He chuckled as he pulled the door closed behind him. We had gone into that bedroom far too many times since bedtime, so a chuckle was an odd noise for me to hear. I wouldn’t have bat an eye at a sigh or a grumble in frustration. But a chuckle in the midst of the…
Let There Be ‘Ogurt
“I want a treat! I want a snack!” Oh, the soundtrack of toddlerhood. I swear there are days when I want to yell “BUT YOU JUST ATE!” or “TREATS ARE NOT GOOD FOR YOU!” or “IT IS ALMOST DINNER TIME!”. Trying to raise a healthy child can sometimes feel like an impossible task when they…