I love summer! After a morning spent at the park, I took Evelyn and Mack to the local farmer’s market. Chicago has a farmer’s market every day from May-October, so I know I can always find fresh produce and meet the people who grow it all. Today’s market was near the Museum of Contemporary Art, […]

As I wrote about last week, we’re on a pretty strict budget. When we go over in one area, we have to take out of another. Usually the first thing I trim is the grocery bill. Last week I managed on just $20, and this week we’re getting by on $70 (this includes breakfasts, lunches […]

Its 3:30 in the afternoon and dinner is already made! With two little ones to care for I’ve been looking for dinner ideas that fit at least two out of the following three conditions: 1. Healthy 2. Easy to prepare and easy to clean up 3. Budget friendly Tonight’s dinner meets all three! My friend […]

We just returned from nearly a week out east visiting my husband’s family. We spent most of today traveling so I didn’t get a chance to show Chris just how much the kids and I appreciate him. Although we didn’t get back until almost 5 pm, as a Homemade Mother I really wanted to make […]

While I’m finally starting to get into some sort of routine with the two little ones, I still struggle with getting everything on my to-do list done in one day. By the time evening rolls around, I’m exhausted and almost out of energy. But, since I am a homemade mother I still see the value […]

Whenever I ask Evelyn what she’d like to have for dinner the answer is always the same: “Peets-ahh.” Since I can’t serve her pizza every night, but I still like to treat her to a fun meal, I’m forced to think outside the box. I came up with this recipe tonight while she and I […]

My brother Wes came over for dinner last night, and we were talking about good ways to keep on budget and save money. He mentioned that as a single guy its hard to spend time grocery shopping and preparing a homemade dinner even though ordering take-out can be expensive. So, tonight I set out to […]

My husband *finally* turned 30 this weekend! I entered this decade four months ago, so he’s been teasing me about being married to “an older woman” ever since. Now we’re finally even! To celebrate his big day, I made a nice dinner for our family. Since I gave birth to our son Mack four weeks […]

Americans are eating too much meat. Because the price of meat is relatively inexpensive, too many of us now assume that we are entitled to animal protein on a daily basis. Factory farms give us abundant supplies of impossibly cheap meat, but cheap food comes with a price: your health! My family doesn’t eat any […]

It is c-c-cold here in Chicago. We woke up this morning to snow! After a very mild November, winter has decided to finally settle upon our busy city. With all the excitement surrounding the holidays, it only seems fitting that we should be bundling up to go outside. Weather like this calls for warm and […]