My mom’s friend and neighbor Pam recently invited me to take a tour of her garden.  She lives in a rural part of Illinois, so for a city girl like me spending a day surrounded by tangled vines, busy bumble bees and heirloom produce was a real treat. The garden was full of earthy carrots, […]

    A fellow Homemade Mother recently emailed me this picture: She took it while visiting her local children’s hospital. Sigh. Not one item in this machine will nourish the body, mind or spirit of an otherwise beleaguered parent looking to pass a few moments while waiting for her child to undergo another test or […]

Considering its size and dense population, Chicago is a shockingly clean city.  Everyone who visits always says, “Chicago is like a clean version of New York.”  However, on Sunday mornings after a weekend’s worth of festivities the corner garbage cans are overflowing.  I suppose I should be grateful that the trash is properly disposed of […]

About a year and a half ago I wrote a post about my interest in raw milk.  All the milk sold in American grocery stores is pasteurized at either 161 degrees for 15 seconds or 145 degrees for 30 minutes.  Pasteurization kills any dangerous bacteria potentially lurking around, but this process also “destroys enzymes, diminishes […]

Its hot. Its also July. So, will everyone quit the complaining?  I waited ALL winter for this kind of weather, and I L-O-V-E it!  Honestly, if it was hovering close to 85 degrees every day you’d never hear a negative peep outta me. I’m a summer girl trapped in the northern hemisphere, and its likely […]

As a Homemade Mother, it is my goal to bring comfort and security to my family.  Whether its a kiss on the knee when Mack trips or a extra long cuddle when Evie has a tummy ache or a bowl of homemade soup when Chris is feeling sick, I’m happy to soothe any boo-boo. I […]

My grandparents are two of the coolest people I know.  They live in the city…and I mean LIVE in the city.  They’ll jump on the bus at a moment’s notice to meet friends for lunch or family for dinner. They belong to book clubs, they walk along the lake, they volunteer at the zoo, they […]

Chicago can’t seem to make up its mind.  Earlier this week it was sunny and in the 90s, but this weekend its cloudy and high 60s. Weather changes like this make it hard to know how to dress the kids in the morning!! Fortunately, I’ve got our stroller packed for summer just in case the […]

While pushing our kids on the swings recently, my neighborhood friends and I were talking about Costco.  They couldn’t believe I don’t have a membership to the big warehouse retailer; I couldn’t understand why their small families need to buy anything in bulk.  I asked them what they purchase from Costco, and everything they buy […]

The 28 Day Healthy Eating Challenge I’m doing for Whole Foods is coming to an end. When I first started it nearly a month ago I had a hard time shifting gears on my already healthy eating habits.   I always strive to make smart choices when it comes to the food I serve myself and […]