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This is my son preening after one of many victory rides.
He’s become rather obsessed with cycling since we moved to Monterey, and he cajoles his dad into long rides (think 20-30+ miles) up and down the coast as often as possible — at least once a week, though he’d go out more if he had his [...]
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We’ve been in this house now for three weeks and one day. It’s beginning to feel like home. But lawdy, it’s a mess. We have too much stuff. But that’s another post.
We’re gradually developing a new kind of normal in a neighborhood ripe with wild banshees. Close your eyes and stab your finger outside in [...]
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You know, “checks”? Those paper things? Remember those?
Since we’re renting out our house now instead of selling it and thus continuing our status as homeowners, some checkups have been in order:
Chimney ~ check.
Inspection
Cleaning
Total: $118
Heat Pump ~ check.
Annual Maintenance Fee: $169.00
Leak Found. Leak repaired: $443.00
Drain Pan Treatment: $35.00
Pack of Filters: $84.00
Total: $731.00
Ooch.
That last one took my by surprise. Apparently [...]
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Never mind the little guys all of four-years-old buzzing around the rink all get-up in their hockey gear skating circles around my kids (and me) with their knees all of six inches off the ground. Olivia and Peter had a great time, walkers and all.
This was our first time skating this winter, and Peter’s first time ever [...]
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We’re talking finances here, of course. Not the emotional cost. Because 15? Seriously? That’s how old I was just a few years ago…
Do we count eating out as a family as part of the birthday cost? Since that was the birthday boy’s dinner request? Even though it didn’t effect what we gave him for his [...]
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Another poll on USAA recently asked,
“What will the average family spend on back-to-school shopping this year?”
The choices:
$167
$490
$606
$732
What say you?
This is how the votes played out when I cast mine today:
$167
10.7%
$490
42.5%
$606
30.1%
$732
16.8%
And the winner is….
$606!
“According to a recent study by the National Retail Federation, the average American family will spend $606 on clothes, shoes, supplies and [...]
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Olivia’s dance lessons are starting up again! Just ballet and tap this year — as opposed to ballet, tap and jazz.
I had to question her decision to drop jazz; after all, last year she kept saying it was her favorite class! The first time we talked about it and she said she didn’t want to [...]
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Kids started school this week in our little corner of Ohio — and yes, my youngest was just about as excited as he looks in the picture. The weather has also cooled and it feels like Fall! Will this last, pray tell?
I was in denial until right up to the last minute how early we [...]
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I can’t remember exactly when Olivia started talking about wanting to take horseback riding lessons. Every time we’d take her older brother to a certain friend’s dad’s house (follow that?) in a nearby town, we’d pass a sign on a busy corner advertising some. The stable itself sat nearby, remnants of a farm still holding [...]
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If Olivia and Peter’s swimming lessons were outdoors, I’d wager about half of the sessions would have been rained out by now.
You ever have the feeling that the summer is almost over when it’s just begun? Seasoned parents know that we need to be on the ball with planning out programs and trips or they [...]
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