It has been exactly 18 days since I broke my ankle. With life still happening around me, I am doing everything I can to maximize my chances for a speedy recovery. I am basically just waiting to heal. When I met with my orthopedic doctor for the first time, I made it very clear to […]

Summer. The blissful four months in Chicago when the kids and I walk everywhere – parks, beaches, Michigan Avenue. We might hop the Red Line to Chinatown. Or jump on a bus to State Street. It isn’t unreasonable for us to cover five miles a day via foot, scooter and stroller. I LIVE for this […]

I have been up since 2 am. I fell asleep last night at 8:45 (!!), so by the time the twins woke up for their middle of the night feeds and cuddles I had already enjoyed a solid five hours of sleep. By 2:00, I was more rested than I’ve been in a year, so […]

The old saying “sleep when the baby sleeps!” sounds so reasonable and hopeful and optimistic. Why of course! I should sleep when the baby sleeps. But the problem with that old saying is that it conveniently forgets about the pesky little truth called life. Life keeps happening even though there is a newborn in the […]

I was a women’s studies minor in college, and during that time I developed a rather fierce conviction that boys and girls should be treated equally. As a mother, this has served me quite well, as all my kids have equal (yet age-appropriate) responsibilities and expectations within our family and home. When they were babies, […]

We made a batch of this sweet-smelling homemade sugar scrub last weekend to give as Mother’s Day gifts to my mom and Aunt Sheila. The kids loved it so much that we made another batch today. We joke that the scrub makes our hands as soft as a baby’s butt – the kids laugh every […]

In many ways, I fancy myself a minimalist. We might have four kids – and all the stuff that comes along with them – but personally I strive to keep the stuff to a minimum. The items I choose to keep in our home must serve a purpose. One such item is my most favorite […]

I recently had to purchase two rolls of paper towels for my daughter’s PK-3 classroom. As it has literally been years since I’ve bought paper towels, I was shocked – SHOCKED, I tell you! – by how expensive a roll is! I could not believe the grocery store charges $2-$3 dollars for a roll of […]

Last week I announced on Homemade Mothering’s Facebook page the impending arrival of our fifth (yes, fifth) bundle of joy. I want my small corner of the internet to be a place of encouragement and kindness, so reading everyone’s lovely words of congratulations really made my heart swell. It feels good to be surrounded by […]

Every month we receive not one but TWO notices in the mail from ComEd, our electricity supplier. The first is the monthly bill, which I always promptly pay. The second is a home energy report. The report sums up how our energy usage compares to 100 nearby occupied homes that are similar in size to […]