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You don’t get to tell other people how to spend their money
Every Christmas and birthday since we’ve had a child, DH’s parents have gone crazy with presents for DC. They must spend something around $1K over the course of the year (including Halloween, Easter,...
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My cousin’s wedding
We went to my cousin’s wedding. It was a lovely wedding– very unlike any wedding I’ve yet been to, but a lot like the weddings in the movies (you know, like The Wedding Crashers… never understood why...
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Update on the relatives
Scalzi once said that “Being poor is having to live with choices you didn’t know you made when you were 14 years old.” The oldest of our young relatives is graduating from high school this year. She...
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Push presents
Back 5 or 6 years ago when I was in the process of becoming a mommy, I hung out on a forum that had infertility, pregnancy, and mommy sections. It’s amazing how much drama can ensue in an online...
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Quick note to the most amazing person in my world
Everything I said last year is still true… except we’ve added another year and another child on the way. I cannot tell you how much I love you. Every day is better because you’re in it. Thank you...
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RBObaby
DC1 and DC2 are very different in many ways, but they are equally perfect. I either had a 3+ week labor or an hour and a bit more labor, depending on when you start counting. Last time it stopped...
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Same names
I recently watched a terrible documentary on netflix about Alan Berliner, narcissist. It was actually supposed to be about the science of naming. (Related to work, though it turned out to be...
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Update on personal sagas: DH’s relatives, DC’s school
DH’s Relatives It turns out that if you are truly poor and have a zillion brothers and sisters (give or take), the Pell grant covers 100% of community college, including books. So… so far we’re not...
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September Mortgage Update: Changing Plans (Help?)
Last month (August): Balance: $100,747.56 Years left: 8.5 P = $803.97, I =$410.44, Escrow = 621.66 This month (September): Balance: $99,268.01 Years left: 8.25 P = $809.78, I =$404.63, Escrow = 621.66...
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Thoughts on in-laws and Christmas presents for the kids
I’ve mentioned before that we don’t buy Christmas presents for our children other than stocking stuffers. This year is no exception– I still need to buy candy and I picked up some fun smaller items to...
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Unnatural Mother
The title is what a famous single academic called another famous academic after hearing that the latter spent her post-delivery hours in the hospital (no doubt while her newborn napped) working on a...
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In praise of our partners
We’re at the age where we’ve had friends divorce, but generally the question with them has been why it took so long. We’ve been through transitions and tragedies. One set of us is still going strong...
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Ask the grumpies: A two-body problem solution?
Tenured rock star in the humanities (we picked this name for her) asks: Here’s my advice question. It’s a big one but you guys seem smart about thinking through decisions rationally and I think you and...
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How do you refer to someone’s romantic partner?
If they’re married, you can say husband or wife. If they’re engaged, there’s various spellings of fiance. What about all those other situations? Boyfriend and Girlfriend sound a bit adolescent. As do...
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Money can’t buy me love
But it sure can make our lives easier! Remember what, 13 years ago? We were about to move to a new city (well, technically we were about to drive to Canada, but in a few weeks it would be a new city)....
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What do you call your own partner?
Previously we talked about what to call other people’s significant others. But that was cold and impersonal. What about the special someone (if any) in your own life? #1: He’s “my hero” and “snuggle...
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Ask the grumpies: Spouses with different wanderlust
scantee asks: My husband and I are in our mid-30’s and live in a mid-sized Midwestern city. We’ve been together nine years, married for six of those, and have two children, ages three and five. We are...
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Identity: Who are we, really, and do we care?
People talk from time to time about identity. One big discussion on the mother blogs we read on occasion is the intersection of feminism and motherhood. Who does that make them? In terms of my...
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What do you call your pets (or children)?
Obviously your pets have names, but chances are that’s not what you always call them. We have Big Cat and Little Cat. Sometimes we call big cat, “butterball.” Little cat can be, “baby kitty.” We may...
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What are we getting for people?
Lessee… MIL completely remodeled her kitchen and is removing the 1990s style country accents and replacing them with red things. So we bought a whole lot of red things, including an ice cream scoop...
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