Mari Inshaw
Mari is a Florida native who moved to the area for work after grad school. She moved to the DC Truxton Circle/Shaw neighborhood and now lives the College Park, Maryland area. She began blogging about the Shaw neighborhood in 2003 and 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 dancing with her husband and exploring new things with her son.
Have High Childcare Expenses? Take advantage of this before June 30th!
Earlier this year, I heard news that the limit for dependent care FSA (flexible spending account) would increase from $5,000 to $10,500. If you, like me, work for the Federal government, this benefit is...
3 Things We Did to Sell Our House in a Pandemic
About 2 months into the pandemic we realized our wonderful little DC townhouse wasn't for us anymore. With parks closed, we needed a yard. So we decided to move, and we managed to sell...
The Adoption Process: Start Sooner Rather Than Later
A friend of ours, who adopted using the same agency we used, told me if I wanted to adopt again, start as soon as possible. When I reached out to the agency, the social...
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...