The boys finished school last Thursday so it's officially summer for us! Given that summer is my least favorite desert weather and I don't typically love the lack of routine, I'm feeling surprisingly excited and optimistic for this summer. Hey, I'll take it! Chris and I spent some time this spring brainstorming around "designing our summer" (a term from Gretchen Rubin that I fell in love with years ago) and then we had a summer planning coffee date to make concrete plans. We made plans for how we'll keep the kids busy, what family fun we can look forward to,... Read more →

Today I have three simple parenting recommendations to share. All are no-tech and require only pen, paper, and a sharpie marker. Here are three parenting things that I'd love to recommend: Write a chore checklist A while ago I shared that we were using an app called Chore Pad that lets you customize chore lists for different kids and accumulates star rewards when chores are checked off. This worked really well for a while and did accomplish our goal of nagging the boys less in the morning. Instead of asking, "Did you brush your teeth yet?" We could just say,... Read more →

In February I shared a post with a snapshot of how we currently manage our personal finances. Today I'm sharing a budget breakdown with actual numbers. I know I find it so helpful to see how other people allocate their money and what they actually spend on things, so I hope this will be helpful to see. Being transparent about our money also motivates me to spend and save well. Not reflected in this budget are any expenses related to The Girl Next Door podcast or our home in Eau Claire. This is because both of those endeavors have their... Read more →

Hi friends! I'm sipping the last of a Stok lightly sweet cold brew coffee from my Yeti with half-and-half and toasted marshmallow Nutpods creamer (if you'd like to get specific which I know you do) and popping in to say hello and I miss you. I also miss routine which seemed to fly right out the window with our spring break trip and has only recently gotten the message that we would like it to come back home, please. I ended up with a little bonus chunk of time today so let's have a coffee date and quick catch up,... Read more →