I am a complete sucker for paper products: thank you notes, personalized correspondence cards, return address labels. So it goes without saying that our girls have their own stationery, too. And have had their own since they were tiny little bambinos. I’m always looking for cards that are whimsical without stepping too far into the [...]

I love the idea of Monkey Bar Buddies. Pea won’t wear anything but a dress these days, and if you could only see how she carries herself in one, you’d totally be on-board with my new rule of “only shorts on camp days.” You’d also totally be on-board with my need for major damage control [...]

I had my doubts about private school for our daughter. It seemed haughty. Exclusive. Two things that are not me. Or my husband. Or our family. But we enrolled her. It’s just for two years. Just until kindergarten, when she will transfer to the public school. I believed there existed a code of ethics at [...]

I have a lot of people in my life who, when it comes to gifting, stump me. Nearly every time. These are people who 1) have absolutely everything that they need, and 2) if they don’t have absolutely everything that they need, will go out any buy everything that they need. Humph. Some thoughts on [...]

I remember my first day of college. My roommate and I were standing in our new dorm room, hanging clothes in the closets, stocking the mini-fridge with soda and salsa. People were coming in and out all day, introducing themselves. And with the very first introduction, a girl came into our room, greeted us, and [...]

Yesterday, my husband and I took Pea to visit the new school that we are trying to get her into for the fall. It’s a private school, which is kind of ironic since one of the main reasons we moved here is the phenomenal public school system. But in researching nursery schools, we were having [...]

We’ve been working really hard at getting Pea to address grown-ups as “sir” and “ma’am.” As in, “Pea, did you have a nice day at school?” To which she will (hopefully) reply “yes, ma’am.” I think it’s cute when kids speak this way, although I’m not as dedicated at making this happen as my husband [...]

Today, I went with Pea to the mall. I don’t like this mall. I don’t really like any mall. But I needed to try this product by Bobbi Brown that was supposedly going to change my life. Well, maybe not my life, but at least the occasional undereye dark circles I’ve been suffering from of [...]

Saying “thank you” is one of the first polite terms that we taught Pea. She said, and says, thank you for everything. For her favorite snack, a diaper change, bubbles in the bath. Just about any and everything warrants a “thank you.” My mother taught me the same some 30-something years ago. Good manners are [...]

New Neighbor Alert. Two houses down. Whoa. I feel like I’m living near today’s answer to the Clampett’s. People out front smoking, motorcycles parked on the sidewalk, monster trucks taking up all of the parking up and down our street. And did I mention that when they moved in, it was 10:00 AT NIGHT. Ugh. [...]