In September 2025 we spent a long weekend in Carolina Beach, North Carolina (about a 4-hour drive from home) celebrating good friends who are getting married next spring. They rented a giant beach house and invited several families to join (and even covered meals). Incredibly generous!

September was a full month. It kicked off with an impromptu visit from one of my high school friends and her family. They stayed two nights, we ate great food, went on a beautiful hike, checked out a new brewery, and cut cardboard with a saw (don’t ask!).

This week was pretty run-of-the-mill for us. The kids had a full week of school, five full days for E and three half days for H. Mike worked his usual schedule, and I fit in my work during H’s preschool hours, early evenings, and a bit on the weekend.

On average, our family spends about $1,330 a month on groceries (22% of our overall budget), which falls right in between the moderate-cost and liberal food plan amounts that the USDA publishes.