Now that I am approaching my third trimester, some of the typical pregnancy ailments are starting to strike.  In addition to the exhaustion I’ve felt almost every day since we found out the news back in July, I now have heartburn at night and occasional leg cramps during the day.  Oh, and there are moments […]

Thanks to the time change last weekend, the kids have been waking up a bit earlier than usual.  Their normal wake-up time is 7:00, and this past week they’ve been waking up around 6:30.  But, I know I shouldn’t complain: plenty of my friends have kids who wake up waaaaay earlier even without the time […]

I owe this blog post to my daughter Evelyn.  While we were in Wisconsin last weekend the kids requested that we make s’mores together. I had been telling them about this campfire treat all winter, and now that summer is here they were desperate to try it.  Wisconsin seemed like the perfect place. As we […]

After a summer of sun and temperatures steadily in the 90s, we were bound for a cool down at some point.  Today’s rain and 70 degrees felt downright chilly, so the kids and I spent much of the day indoors.  It feels like we’ve been on the go nonstop since May – it was actually […]

Day 2 of Christmas cookie baking! Butterscotch Haystacks were a favorite in our household when I was growing up. Like yesterday’s Cornflake Wreath recipe, today’s cookies require no baking and are quite easy to make while juggling two little ones. My sister Caitie always made them, and even today while I made a batch at […]

How often do you consider a product’s packaging before you purchase it? For me, its every time. I am determined to reduce the amount of waste my family generates, so by questioning a product’s wrapping before I buy it I am trying to be a conscious consumer. Instead of just looking at the food in […]

My brother Wes came over for dinner last night, and we were talking about good ways to keep on budget and save money. He mentioned that as a single guy its hard to spend time grocery shopping and preparing a homemade dinner even though ordering take-out can be expensive. So, tonight I set out to […]

I never buy packaged cookies, crackers, or snacks from the store. Processed foods that contain too many hard-to-pronounce ingredients, preservatives, and high fructose corn syrup offer minimal nutrition and empty calories. If I’m craving a sweet treat, I’ll take the time to make something from scratch. If I don’t have the energy or time for […]

I am on a crusade to continuously reduce the amount of garbage my household creates. While I think we’re doing a very good job – we recycle everything and because we don’t buy much processed foods a lot of what we do throw away comes from food scraps and leftovers – there is always room […]