Author Archives: Crissy Brown

Debit Card Fees

I was driving home the other day and the radio host was talking about banking fees. I wish I hadn’t been almost at our destination because I would have enjoyed hearing more of the show. The part I heard was about new fees for using debit cards. I love my debit card. It’s fast and it’s easy. It’s not a credit card, so I can spend only the money I have. It’s not checks, so I don’t have to carry a pen or hold up a line filling in the blanks. Debit cards are one of the best advancements in … Continue reading →

First Week of School

After Jessie’s time in school last year and a very successful first day this term, she showed promise for easy transition each day. Jessie had a great first day of school. Her second day resembled the day before less and more like the school days last year. Each morning I parked and walked with Jessie to the school gym to wait in the Pre-K line with her. When the lines were dismissed by grade to go to their classes, I’d walk Jessie to her room and then leave. The second school day brought the first wave of tears. We stood … Continue reading →

Bedroom TV

Do you have a TV in your bedroom? Everything I’ve read suggests that the bedroom is one of the worst places to have a TV. Watching TV in bed can be disruptive to intimacy. The TV can affect the way you sleep. The bedroom is supposed to be a quiet and calming place. Television is disruptive the serenity we are looking for in the place where we unwind, rest, and rejuvenate. My parents have always had a TV in their bedroom. That’s what I grew up with. The children were not to have TVs in their rooms, but Mom and … Continue reading →

Get Better Cable Rates

I love television. I don’t think I’ve made my TV adoration much of a secret. We’re in a small lull before fall programming starts. The DVR catches only one show on Monday and nothing on Tuesday. It probably wonders why it’s getting a break. We’ve had a lot of different programming providers over the years. Our current house is out in the country. We don’t have a lot of options to be able to watch TV. We originally went with Dish, but after having a big issue we switched to DirecTV. We would love to be able to go back … Continue reading →

The Dirty Car

Today I’d like to get a little outside the home. I’d like to talk about my turtle shell, my roving home, my car. My car lives in the garage when it’s not taking me where I need to go. My car is a part of my home by extension. We leased the Light Sage Metallic Ford Escape in March, 2008. I really wanted the car in Kiwi Green Metallic, but the color was obnoxious on the lot. The color looked the way I anticipated it on the hybrid model, but we weren’t buying that. This has been a nice little … Continue reading →

Diaper in the Laundry

I have two very messy children. I should probably do laundry every day, but I can’t get my lazy self excited about doing it that frequently. I’m even worse about putting clothes away, so doing laundry more frequently won’t work. The other night the girls didn’t have any of their favorite pajamas to wear. I had to tackle laundry. I sorted the laundry and put the light load in first. I don’t always sort the laundry, but it worked out better for this particular wash. I went to take the lights out of the dryer and put the darks in … Continue reading →

Make Your Bed

Do you make your bed every day? When I was little my mom taught me to make my bed every day. Mom told stressed upon me how made beds are much nicer to get into at night. She was right there. Mom told me that your room could be a little bit messy and still look nice and put together if your bed was made. The funny thing about that was that Mom’s room was never messy. The house was never messy either. You could be sick in bed and Mom would make the bed around you. I am horrible … Continue reading →

Corn Dog

When my 20-year-old niece was a baby my mom handed her a strawberry. My sister told Mom that strawberries are unacceptable for a baby Nicole’s age. Mom replied that she gave me strawberries when I was that age. Patti pointed out that I had a lot of skin related allergies when I was little too. After that exchange there’s no way I could forget that berries are on the list of foods not to feed before age one. It confuses me why some Stages 2 and 3 baby foods are made with berries. The recommendations about peanut butter have changed … Continue reading →

First Day of School

Today was the first day of school. Everyone went to bed early last night in anticipation of the early start to the day today. Jessie and I chose her clothes last night. The outfit she wanted to wear to school and the one she wanted to put in her backpack are both laid out on her bed. When Jessie started school last January, I’d get up at 6:30, get Jessie up at 7:00, then leave for school around 7:45. School starts at 7:45 now and isn’t four miles down the road. We start our day a half-hour earlier. I got … Continue reading →

Meet the Teachers Night

All our parents visited during the last three weeks of July. Having so much extended family around is exhausting. I wish we lived closer to all our families so everyone could see everyone more. In the meantime, visits are infrequent and packed full of activity. One of my favorite moms’ group events, Manicures and Munchies, was not long after all the parents had departed. I wanted to go, but didn’t buy my ticket fast enough. I wanted Chris to be well rested first. By the time I went to buy, the event was sold out. I was disappointed, but it … Continue reading →