Little kids say the awesomest things. Here are some of the conversations we've had with Dashiell lately... Dash: I need to go to work. Me: Where do you work? Dash: On a bus! Me: Who rides on your bus? Dash: Just me. Me: What color is your bus? Dash: It's green! Chris (pointing to a starfish in a book): What's this? Dash: A fish star!...I want to eat it. While running down an aisle at Target: Dash: I TOOTED! When anyone asks what time is is: Dash: It's forty-five. Me: Is it snowing outside? Dash: Yes! Me: Do you know... Read more →

Lately, I've been finding little ways to bring more poetry into my life. It's a genre I haven't read much of and honestly it intimidates me. What does it mean? What am I suppose to think? Is that a metaphor? And if so, for what? But I'm hoping to change that. My efforts started with Treasury For All Seasons, which I bought when I was pregnant with Dashiell. The book is beautifully illustrated and has a collection of poems for each season and month as well as for special occasions. When I brought the book home I pictured occasionally pulling... Read more →

Over the past year, when we carpool to work and when the house is quiet after bedtime, Chris and I have had an ongoing conversation about how we want to spend our years with the boys. Because we are at the beginning and we want to live intentionally and not look back and wish we'd done this or that. We talk about little things like movie nights and biking to the farmer's market and reading Harry Potter all snuggled together in bed; we talk about big things like being able to spend extended periods of time in Austin with my... Read more →

It is my pleasure to introduce Matrimoney (pronounced just like matrimony), a new podcast that Chris and I are co-hosting(!). On the show we're talking about life, marriage and our money. When I had the idea for this podcast a few months ago I hesitated because I wasn't sure I had the bandwidth to produce a new show. But I couldn't stop thinking of how fun it would be to podcast with Chris and I'm so glad we went for it. Talking openly about personal finances is something both Chris and I love and we both love talking to each... Read more →

A few Friday afternoons ago, with our boys in tow, we headed to Trader Joe's to do our weekly grocery shopping. My favorite weekly chore with my favorite people. Cedric sat in the front of the cart of the first time, intently looking around and then to me for reassurance, and smiled at strangers who stopped to talk to him. Dash pushed his own small cart (with close supervision from Chris) and loaded it up with oatmeal, crackers and coffee creamer. He made sure to detour to the sample station behind the coffee grinder where they always give him a... Read more →

Dates are a sneaky dried fruit. They frequently lurk in "healthy" snacks and desserts where their sweetness and dark color is supposed to trick you into thinking you are eating chocolate. I HAVE NEVER BEEN FOOLED. I still bear hard feelings against a Kashi "chocolate" coconut granola bar into which I eagerly bit only to find a mouthful of date and NOT chocolate. This was at least four years ago. I don't hate dates. I just want them to be honest about their presence. Anyway, this weird start is all to say that when we made a recipe for chocolate... Read more →

Kicking off a new occasional series of small things that bring some awesome to my life. Because it's the little things, right? Early mornings call for strong coffee. 454 Horse Power from Kicking Horse Coffee is our favorite coffee lately. It brings bravery to face the day, especially those that start 5 am (or earlier). Read more →

Hey, August! This month it's back to the school-year schedule for Team Wharton. In June and July Chris had a very relaxed work schedule and wasn't commuting with me to campus. I've been happy that he's been able to relax and work from home but I'll admit I am looking forward to having the extra hands at daycare drop off and pickup and to get to spend our carpool time together again. On the flip side, work is calming down for me after two big deadlines in July. I have plans to clean up my email (so satisfying!) as well... Read more →