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 [...]

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 [...]

I am always looking for ways to teach my kids about gratitude.  We are so fortunate and blessed, and I don’t want them to take anything for granted.  But, sometimes it can be hard to highlight the importance of gratitude to small kids when when I am consumed by the busyness of every day. So, [...]

I was recently interviewed for an article about how to make the most of time with kids. In the day-to-day race to check of all the boxes on my “to-do” list, its easy for me to lose sight of what is truly important.  While it might be nice to have a tidy home or an [...]

While waiting in line at the grocery store the other day a tabloid forced Evelyn and me to contemplate Hollywood’s “best and worst beach bodies” – all of whom were female. These movie stars seemed to be enjoying some relaxation in the sun…until images of their slightly sagging breasts and dimpled backsides graced the cover [...]

My friend and fellow blogger Adrienne from A Maison recently asked me about Halloween treats for trick-or-treaters. As a Homemade Mother-To-Be, Adrienne wants to pass out something healthy and unique to her neighbors. She just moved to a cute Chicago neighborhood that, like most communities, discourages distributing homemade goodies to little ghosts and goblins. So [...]

Have I created a monster? Has my obsession with protecting our planet spread to my two year old? I think so… We take long walks every day. The city offers so much for our little family to do, and so I put the kids in the stroller and walk just about anywhere we need to [...]

This afternoon while Mack snoozed Evelyn worked on her first thank you notes. My parents recently treated her to a new winter coat and my husband’s parents bought her some new outfits. So, this was the perfect opportunity to teach her about gratitude and how to show it. Although I had to write the actual [...]

My friend Kendee shared this quote with me just before Christmas . Several of us were discussing over email about how busy moms can be during the holiday season (and all year ’round, actually!). This saying hangs in her mother-in-law’s home, and it is recited all the time by her family. Cleaning and scrubbing can [...]