Archive for the ‘Housework’ Category

What’s Happening in Your Home Every 20 Seconds? (AKA: Why Your Stay at Home Spouse May be Seconds Away from Going Mad)

Posted in Communication, Housework, Parenting on March 18, 2013 | Leave a Comment »

We’re coming up on a new phase in our lives as parents, here at the Johnson household. That we were on the edge of this new phase became apparent a few weeks ago. Cliff had the day off work but I didn’t, and Sam had school. Hoping to get a little Daddy-Daughter play date underway, more »

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Marriage Changes People (And Housework Makes You Ugly)

Posted in Housework on September 11, 2012 | 4 Comments »

A funny thing happened earlier this week. It was 7:30 at night – Maggie had just gone to bed. Cliff was out of town. Sam was sitting in the kitchen eating a bowl of grapes, and I began to pick up the house. Three glowless glow in the dark bracelets found a new home in more »

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How to Leave Your Wife (for the week). AKA: Surviving Your Spouse’s Work Travel

Posted in Advice & Tips, Happiness, Housework, Parenting on July 19, 2012 | 1 Comment »

A few years ago Cliff was stuck at an airport gate, waiting to board a delayed flight (again). He sat across from a group of women who were clearly headed to New York for a girls’ getaway. One mom appeared to need the trip the most. Every few moments her phone would ring, presumably her more »

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Choreplay is the New Foreplay (#truish)

Posted in Happiness, Housework, Truish on May 1, 2012 | 1 Comment »

Here are two statistics you should take to heart: 60 percent of women feel their household’s division of labor is unfair. (By comparison, only 10 percent of men feel so.) AND, when both spouses feel the division of labor is fair, the couple has sex more, compared to couples with an unfair division. Men, you more »

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How Much Do You Trust Your Husband?

Posted in Communication, Fighting, Housework, Sex on April 10, 2012 | 1 Comment »

A few years ago I took a day off work to deep clean our carpets. (I really know how to have a good time, huh?) I rented a steam cleaner from the local Home Depot, and went to work on the stubborn spots on the stairs, the ground in dirt in the hallway, and the more »

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What to Focus on vs. What to Ignore: Two Lists You Should Make Today

Posted in Advice & Tips, Communication, Fighting, Housework on April 2, 2012 | 1 Comment »

Harvard Business Review recently posted an article titled Two Lists You Should Look At Every Morning. The author shares a story from a CEO who vowed, in an important meeting with other highly regarded CEOs, to pay attention to the meeting and ignore his smartphone. He was the only one with his head up in more »

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Four Not So Easy Tips for Balancing Work & Sick Kids (Subtitled: Of Course You Have the Chicken Pox: Your Dad is Out of Town)

Posted in Advice & Tips, Housework, Parenting on March 27, 2012 | 5 Comments »

Last week had a bit of unscheduled adventure. Our five year old son may or may not have had the chicken pox. Sam has been immunized, but apparently the vaccine is only 80-90% effective (so there’s something to look forward to, folks). His doctor recommended we isolate Sam (and Maggie) for two days, just to see more »

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How to Leave Work at Work

Posted in Happiness, Housework, Money on March 20, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

I have a theory that balancing work and life requires transitional activities. It’s just virtually impossible to successfully move from work to housework without some sort of formal transition point. Some way to mark the end of one thing and the beginning of the other; or a way to catch your breath before moving from more »

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Toothbrushes, Toilets, and the Same Darn Lesson Over Again

Posted in Communication, Fighting, Housework, Parenting on February 21, 2012 | 9 Comments »

You know that quote from Mark Twain or Winston Churchill or Ghandi about how stupidity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results? Well, here’s that moral of that quote, in story form. In every bathroom, and especially in every bathroom used by a five year-old boy who is still perfecting more »

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Top 3 Predictors of a Happy Marriage Among Parents

Posted in Happiness, Housework, Research, Sex on January 24, 2012 | 1 Comment »

Photo used with permission from Elvert Barnes. One more quick thing to note from Tara Parker Pope’s coverage of the National Marriage Project’s recent generosity survey of nearly 3000 men and women: The top three predictors of a happy marriage among men and women are … wait – take a second, close your eyes, and guess. more »

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