Oh what a glorious day! After several weeks of biting cold and steady snow, Mother Nature blessed us with a respite in the form of sunshine and 50 degrees. As soon as we stepped outside today, Evie cheered, “It feels like SPRING!” A day like today certainly called for a trip to the neighborhood park, […]

One of my favorite afternoons during the crazy holiday season came a few days before Christmas when our absolute best friends stopped by for a visit.  They moved to Kentucky 2 1/2 years ago, and despite the distance we’ve managed to stay close.  Laura and I talk on the phone at least once a week, […]

In a little more than an hour, winter officially arrives.  After a delightful early fall, harsh weather roared through in November, and we’ve been battling brutal cold and consistent snow ever since.  Hard to believe we are still waiting for the coldest season to begin. A while back I read about one family’s winter solstice […]

Last Sunday morning, after what felt like three weeks straight of kid-centric holiday events, Chris and I temporarily called it quits. We had plans to attend the Notre Dame Club of Chicago’s annual Christmas party, and the kids were super excited about it.  But, that morning Chris and I came to the realization that we […]

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 […]

Yesterday we took the kids for a ride on the Candy Cane Express.  I told them about the trip earlier in the week, so it was all they wanted to talk about. Would it be like The Polar Express? What treats would be on it?  How would Santa get there? When we arrived at Union […]

I’m reaching some sort of breaking point. We are all addicted to screens. And I just can’t take it any more! Every pedestrian walking down the street has a smart phone in hand and headphones in ear.  Every rider on the bus is slumped over a phone. Every kid at a restaurant has an iPad […]

It isn’t even December yet, and already I feel like our holiday season is already jam packed.  I love the busyness of this time of the year, though.  It makes the cold weather just a bit more bearable. We’ve got an advent calendar that I fill with Christmas-themed activities to do with the kids.  It […]

We waited as long as we could. But, the kids were just too excited. While I normally like to wait until after Thanksgiving to set out our Christmas decorations, my three little ones just couldn’t wait another day.  And, I suppose I couldn’t, either! So, this morning Chris and Mack went down to the freezing […]

Today on our walk home after picking Evie up from school, we found the *coolest* thing in our alleyway: an empty bird’s nest. In perfect condition. To my 3 and 5 year old city kids, the day got instantly awesome! Mack leaped from the stroller to gently retrieve it.  He was concerned: where would the […]