I remember a conversation early on in my marriage. We were having dinner with friends, mid-winter, and I was boasting about how I helped Angel to shovel the stoop and sidewalk after a particularly nasty snowstorm.

As our hostess served coffee and I helped clear the table, she hastily pulled me over to the sink. She asked, in an urgent and somewhat conspiratorial whisper, “Why would you do that? Why on Earth would you HELP him to shovel?” I hesitated, somewhat confused by the question. She continued, “ NEVER show them that you are capable! If he knows that you can shovel the sidewalk, clean the catbox, take out the garbage then he’ll EXPECT you to do that stuff ALL THE TIME!!”

I dismissed the Read More

My husband has been in the military for several years so we’ve moved many times. With our most recent move, it proved even more challenging with our, then, 1 year-old daughter while moving from the east coast to the west coast. (My husband will be known as Buttmunch for this post, at his suggestion. That was his way of apologizing to me.)

Cue the Law and Order music… DUHN DUHN

The Buttmunch and I were packing and trying to Read More

Time: 10 pm-ish
Place: Bedroom
And… Action!

My hubby likes to lie in bed and have quiet time. He’ll read his Mother Jones or Popular Science magazine with our cat laying on his chest. I’ll be watching Friends and occasionally the hubby will point something out in his magazine. I’ll nod, pretend I’m paying attention, and say something like “uh huh” or “oh cool”. After a while he’ll put down his Read More

Betsy Shaw, a wonderful writer and mother of two, wrote that motherhood is the only job where she has a 24 hour workday and feels like she is failing all the time. I started thinking about how many times a day I feel like I failed, or handled something badly, or lost my temper.

For example yesterday, Sunday, Bill was out of town and the girls and I were making Belgium waffles. We were going to Read More

I like to save money. I also like to spend money. So I guess those two things cancel each other out. Probably not evenly since I spend a lot more money than I manage to save, but what is it those wise people say about progress? The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

I’ve also heard people say, Everything happens for a reason. But sometimes things happen because you’re stupid and make bad choices.

When I try Read More