Family Time

Mack’s Raspberry Muffins

My little Mack is such an eager helper in the kitchen. Whenever I catch him on the verge of bothering his sisters, I suggest we prep dinner or bake a treat together in the kitchen. It is a sure-fire way to reign him in – ha! When we went out to my sister’s house last […]


Birthday Eve(lyn)

Exactly six years ago to this very moment, I was entering hour 19 of labor with my first baby, my Evelyn, and I had no idea what was going on. I was so tired and overwhelmed, but I knew I had to stay calm and in control. Finally, at 5:31 am the doctor said “It’s […]


Beach Days

Here in Chicago, we are so lucky to have Lake Michigan hugging our east side.  While folks from the coasts might scoff at our shores, the beaches along our Lake are downright tropical once summer rolls around. We live a short walk from the Lake, and last weekend we took the kids to the beach […]


Table for Six

One of the best things about living in a big city is access to so many completely amazing restaurants. We want to expose our kids to different foods and different cultures, and the easiest way to do that is to take them out to places that don’t serve pizza and PBJs.  While hauling our family […]


A Day to Remember

For my family, Memorial Day is always an easy day to remember.  It is my mom’s birthday, and her father was also born on May 30.  As a Marine, he was obviously quite attached to the meaning of the day, and I remember my mom telling us about the big neighborhood parties her dad hosted […]


The Very Hungry Caterpillar presented by The Chicago Children’s Theatre

“This is horrible,” Mack declared. We were sitting in a cozy theater watching the start of “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” presented by The Chicago Children’s Theatre, and 4 year old Mack was not amused.  When I told him we were going to see a show, I think he assumed a movie. Thankfully, an announcement at […]


Screen Free Week

Evie and Mack’s school declared last week “Screen Free Week”.  While it would be easy to roll my eyes at this suggestion and continue as usual in our house (1-2 cartoons a day), I decided to embrace the plan. Ever since baby Ben was born 9 weeks ago I’ve gotten a little lazy about limiting […]


Eco-Friendly Party Favors

Mack recently celebrated his 4th birthday, and with the arrival of Baby Ben my friend Amy (took pity on me and) generously offered to host a joint birthday party for her son and Mack at her home.  She shares my sensibilities when it comes to kids parties: keep it fun, low-key and offer booze to […]


The Man in My Life

I am lucky enough to have a big family with dozens of cousins, lots of aunts and uncles and loving parents.  My Aunt Hope – who is closer in age to me than she is to her brother (my dad) – has been a sister figure in my life; she shares advice just right for […]


Papa’s Fried Cod Recipe

My kids are so lucky.  Not only do they know and love their four grandparents, but they also have known all but one of their great grandparents.  Evie even met her great-great grandmother, and this photo of FIVE generations will be one of my favorites forever: My dad’s parents – the kids’ great-grandparents – live […]


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