Starting tomorrow at 6 am Chicago locks down. Again. But, this time it is different. Schools can stay open (although the city’s 400,000 public school kids have been 100% eLearning since March). People are allowed to leave home for work…but no one is supposed to leave home. Restaurants are closed indoors, but warm and cozy […]

My big girls are off school all week for the Thanksgiving holiday, but the boys had to go Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. While it might seem annoying to have kids on two different school calendars, it actually works really well for our large family as I’m always grateful for time with a smaller crew every […]

We are in Connecticut for the Thanksgiving holiday visiting Chris’s family. The kids love hiking in the country and seeing their cousins. Tonight we roasted marshmallows over a roaring bonfire. The GIANT full moon was a total bonus we’ll never forget. We’re celebrating Thanksgiving at Chris’s brother’s house, so tonight I prepared a couple dishes […]

We are hosting Thanksgiving at our home in a couple days. We have never hosted a holiday before – our city home just isn’t big enough to accommodate our large extended family.  But, this year some of my sisters are with their in-laws, so the “smaller” crowd of eight adults and six kids can squeeze […]

Hard to believe Thanksgiving weekend is wrapping up. It has been a long and busy few days, that’s for sure! Thanksgiving on Thursday: A trip with Evie to the American Girl doll store on bustling Michigan Avenue on Friday: A cookie party at my Aunt Sheila’s house on Saturday: Christmas brunch with Santa and gingerbread […]

I think I’ve created a monster. My kids are not allowed to eat anything that contains high fructose corn syrup.  Its a steadfast rule in our house, and the kids pride themselves on following it.  They know that most brightly packaged foods contain it, and they generally stay away from those items. My mom requested […]

My uncles had the whole extended family over to their place tonight for a pre-Thanksgiving party. I come from a very large family, so big gatherings are always a lot of fun. Evie and my 5 year old cousin India were best buddies all night – Evie really thought she was a “big girl” for […]