We live in the center of a huge city, but I still want to expose my kids to nature and the country. I grew up on a small farm in a rural part of Illinois surrounded by horses, dogs, cats, sheep, geese and chickens – not to mention a dairy farm across the street! – […]

We took a family trip to County Line Orchard in northwestern Indiana last weekend.  It was such a nice way to spend our Sunday.  Even though the orchard was a bit crowded, we managed to carve out our own pocket of space in the vast property, and for a long while it felt like we […]

While reading a recent issue of Green Child Magazine I found an article about an interesting and inspiring woman named Nancy Traversy.  When her first child was born, she was looking for books with beautiful artwork that explored different cultures and didn’t talk down to children.  At a loss to find a collection of books […]

I still remember the panicked phone call from my mom: “Maureen, are you up??  Are you watching the TV???” As a senior in college on September 11, 2001, I was still very much asleep when the first plane slammed into the World Trade Center. My mom’s phone call jolted me from slumber and slammed me […]

Last Thursday, the Chicago city council voted unanimously to ban the sale of crib bumpers within the city limits.  The new law makes Chicago the first – but hopefully not the last! – municipality to outlaw the sale of padded crib guards.  While the law doesn’t ban use of the bumpers (only the sale of […]

For the most part, I’m a fairly no-frills kind of girl.  Yes, I wear make-up every day and I like nice clothes, but my hair is always up in a ponytail and I don’t take the time to accessorize. I’m certainly not as glamorous as my sister Colleen – her outfits are always so chic […]

Tonight after dinner the kids and I were a little bored.  So, I packed Mack into the stroller – barefoot and wearing just a t-shirt and a BumGenius – and helped Evie put her shoes on so the three of us could go for a nice walk. It was an unseasonably warm September evening – […]

Anyone who reads this blog even semi-regularly probably knows I am a big believer in cloth diapers.  Not only are they better for the planet and healthier for my babies, but choosing cloth saves us THOUSANDS of dollars.  We are living on a pretty strict budget, and I can’t imagine where the money for disposable […]

We just returned from a wonderfully relaxing long weekend in Wisconsin.  My great aunt and uncle invited us to stay at their peaceful country house, so of course my little family took them up on such a generous offer.  When I was growing up, my grandparents had a weekend house on tiny Rice Lake, near […]

My youngest sister Colleen is getting married in a couple months.  She has been dating Rob for several years, so we are all very happy to officially welcome him to our family.  They make a great couple! My grandma and aunts hosted a lovely wedding shower in Colleen’s honor yesterday.  Because she is my sister […]