Mari Inshaw
Mari is a Florida native who moved to the area for work after grad school and bought her home in the DC Truxton Circle neighborhood in the early 2000s. A few years later she began blogging about the Shaw. The InShaw Blog ran for 10 years until she took a break and quietly restarted it in 2017. That same year she became a new “old mom” through the adoption of an insanely handsome little boy. She loves swing dancing with her husband and exploring new things with her son.
Why You May Want to Move Out During Home Renovation
I've renovated my house 4 times and we're on the verge of a 5th and final bit of construction. What I've learned is staying in the house during construction might save you money, but...
Getting Away From Most of It All: A Teleworking Vacation
After two months of trying to telework and care for a toddler, I'd had enough. The parks were closed. The libraries were closed. We weren't supposed to visit nearby friends and family. The lockdown...
Paradise is a Parking Lot
This article contains a sponsored link from BetterHelp.
Yes, this is a play on the song Big Yellow Taxi's line "They paved paradise and put up a parking lot." Another part of the song has...
Hunting for Diapers and Wipes in the Time of COVID-19
When the coronavirus or COVID-19 crisis began there was a run on the toilet paper. Then later I noticed that there was going to be a problem getting my regular Amazon delivery of baby...
Get Help With a Sick Kid Fast: Why We Used an Advice Nurse Service
Our health insurance's advice nurse services were a much-needed lifeline when we became brand new parents. "Is that normal?" was a frequent question. In Junior's first year, he was sick—a lot. And we called...
Surviving the Baby Shark Attack
Our son Junior, is a Baby Shark fan. It is a really popular song among the toddler set. Junior will sing his punk/metal version of Baby Shark at home, at church, anywhere, and at...
Working Mom vs COVID-19
So this is happening. And everything keeps changing. The plans for work and school and every other place that existed last week for COVID-19 or the Coronavirus, have changed. Whatever I write here could...
Saving for Education: My 529 Experience
This year we finally got around to setting up a DC College Savings Plan, a 529 plan, for Junior. I really didn't think too hard about it, as this is not my first experience...
Lessons from EdFEST: Post-School Fair Notes
Well, I survived EdFEST. It was informative, busy, and crowded, and I'm glad I went. EdFEST is the District of Columbia's annual public school fair, where families can talk to representatives of public and...
Strong Start DC: Early Childhood Intervention
When our adoption agency placed Junior with us two years ago, he was perfect in our eyes. However, he was a preemie who spent nearly 2 months in several hospitals and his pre-natal care...
My School DC Common Lottery: What Are the Chances of Getting into the School...
As a parent, when I think of the My School DC common lottery, I don't think of Powerball. I'm thinking about the DC school lottery. Instead of winning an extra scratch-off card or several...
DC School Lottery Strategy: Our Pre-K plan for 2020
EdFEST is December 14th at the DC Armory and school lottery applications for 2020-2021 open on the 16th. EdFEST is an annual public school fair where families can check out various public and charter...
Getting Around DC with Kids without a Car
I haven't owned a car since the Clinton presidency, so it was a very long time ago. Since being car-less, I've become adept at using public transit and curating my life in a way...
DC’s Awesome Pre-K Program: What working moms need to know
I've lived in the District for nearly two decades and when I was a childless singleton I saw DC's free Pre-K program (combined with charter schools) as a tool to keep middle-class families in...