I was recently asked when I first felt like a “mom”.  In less than a second, a vivid memory flashed: early morning about a year ago…sun streaming through the windows…I’m serving 2-year-old Evie breakfast while breastfeeding tiny baby Mack…when, all of a sudden, Mack throws up a stomach full of breastmilk ALL OVER ME.  At [...]

When I was growing up, my family always had a large Polish dinner on Christmas Eve in recognition of my grandfather’s heritage.  My sisters and I looked forward to this meal all year – every dish was so flavorful and special.  But, of all the dishes served, we always favored the pierogi because they were [...]

This post is the third in the series “Homemade Mother of the Week.” If you know a woman who is thoughtfully sharing her passion for the planet,  families or the well-being of others, please nominate her for this special recognition.  Send an email with all the details to maureen@homemademothering.com When Lori Taylor received her a [...]

For a while I was operating under the not entirely unreasonable delusion that April in Chicago would be sunny and warm.  While the weekends have been lovely, Monday through Friday has brought nothing by gray clouds and scattered showers.  Sigh. The kids and I are now battling cabin fever.  The kids were getting especially restless [...]

Yesterday the kids and I went to the beautiful Bellybum Baby Boutique on Chicago’s north side for a gathering like none other.  Surrounded by 15 other moms and their precious babies, I participated in my first ever Guinness Book of World Records event.  Along with thousands of other moms around the world, we helped set [...]

As I have written about before, I am eagerly learning about Indian food.  I’ve found it to be a lot of fun to make, and my husband and kids are thrilled whenever I try a new recipe for dinner or serve up some Indian chai at breakfast.  Now that I’m starting to become familiar with [...]

I am a cookbook geek.  Whenever I have a few minutes to myself, one of my favorite things to do is read through a good cookbook.  In the same way most people devour a delicious novel, I pour over every page of a new cookbook hoping to uncover inspiration and new ideas.  It seems like [...]

My dear friend Courtney and I have been exchanging emails about the difficulty of mothering toddlers.  Two and three year-olds are so willful and stubborn and challenging.  When my patience is pressed I have to remind myself that my daughter isn’t even three yet…that the world is frustrating for her…that she doesn’t know how to [...]

My best friend is moving away.  And it breaks my heart. We’ve known each other for 13 years and the list of things we share in common is staggering…we both have two little ones the same ages…we both come from relatively large families…our husbands have been best friends for years…we like the same crappy reality [...]

This post is the second in the series “Homemade Mother of the Week.” If you know a woman who is thoughtfully sharing her passion for the planet,  families or the well-being of others, please nominate her for this special recognition.  Send an email with all the details to maureen@homemademothering.com This week I’d like to introduce [...]