In just a few weeks, on April 22, the world will celebrate Earth Day.  As a Homemade Mother I strive to teach my kids about taking care of our planet every day, a somewhat daunting mission with a 2 and 3 1/2 year old.  They are careful to turn off lights, put trash in a [...]

Mack has always been so tenacious.  He was climbing the stairs at 7 months, walking at 9 months and running (fast!) by his first birthday.  Although I find his efforts to be charming and sweet in a rambunctious little boy way, in truth his energy and ambition overwhelm me at times.  I am always so [...]

As I’ve written about many times before, my little family and I strive to live a pretty simple life.  Our home is a two-bedroom apartment in the middle of downtown Chicago, so space demands that we don’t go overboard with stuff.  And, because our budget is rather rigid, reality dictates that we can’t afford to [...]

I had a hard time falling asleep last night. Just before going to bed I read a horrifying story about a 3 year old girl who died from exposure after being locked in her frigid bedroom.  Her mother and her mother’s boyfriend opened the windows to air out the room after the girl and her [...]

Today should have been a good day.  The kids woke up in good moods, we had a busy and productive morning and we were home just a few minutes late for Mack’s afternoon nap. But, I knew well before nap time that this afternoon wouldn’t go so well… …because someone gave my kids balloons. Now, [...]

It happened seemingly overnight.  Under cover of darkness while we innocently slept, it crept into my home, took hold and hasn’t left. It follows us everywhere and rears its doe-eyed head at all hours of the day. This sneaky problem I speak of? Princesses. Like most little girls, Evie is absolutely head-over-heals in love with [...]

Evie and I reached a new milestone in our relationship yesterday. She lied to me. For the first time. It all started innocently enough.  I made a batch of cupcakes to serve for dessert, and after she repeatedly picked at them while they cooled on the counter I moved them to an out-of-reach spot on [...]

One of my biggest sources of stress right now stems from my biggest sources of joy: Evie and Mack.  In the past few months they have decided that playing against each other is better (or more fun?) than playing together.  It seems like one of them is always yelling or crying in response to something [...]

The other day the kids and I were walking home from a late afternoon playdate when we approached a group of twenty something men who appeared to be tourists.  As the men waited at a street corner, a cab driver beeped his horn several times at another motorist.  The (white) tourists got quite angry at [...]

Little Evelyn has been very interested in money lately.  I’m not exactly sure what sparked this interest – perhaps its because her Dad works so hard and she sees me doing so much work from my home office.  I explain to her that we work so we can earn money to provide for her and [...]