I’ve shared many banana bread recipes on this site, including Coconut Banana Bread, Zucchini Banana Bread, and Banana Bread French Toast. When I was growing up my mom often welcomed my siblings and I home from school with a warm loaf, so my affection for this most basic of quick breads must come from her. This […]

March is a busy time for our family. Three of the six kids celebrate their birthday this month, which means lots of baking. In truth, all the festivities can be a bit stressful for me. I want so badly to make every kid feel special on his or her special day, but the reality is […]

Happy St Patrick’s Day! It was a chilly, grey and foggy day here in Chicago, quite reminiscent of a stereotypical Irish morning. As I walked the girls in to school I sweartogod I heard bagpipes in the distance. Pretty sure they came from a neighboring school’s St Paddy’s Day assembly, but it sure added to […]

Ugh. For the past month we’ve all taken turns with the same nasty virus. It started right before Christmas with Vivian, moved through Ben around New Years, hit Evie when school re-started, and last week it settled on Chris and me. Mack is the only one who hasn’t been slammed with it (yet?). The pediatrician […]

Chris just finished doing our taxes.  I used to love doing the taxes (really!), but ever since Chris ventured into entrepreneurship everything has become so complicated so now April 15 is his deadline.  Unfortunately, this year we owe Uncle Sam a much heftier sum than we were expecting, so now we have to rein in the […]

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 […]

My sister welcomed a beautiful and healthy baby girl earlier this week. We are all so excited about the precious new addition to the family! I have a feeling she will be good friends with my little Vivian once their 19-month age difference doesn’t seem quite so stark! I know hospital food can be bland […]

The news out of Arizona this week is so sad.  So, so sad.  Nineteen firefighters tragically died when a wildfire they were battling grew out of control.  They leave behind wives and children and parents and siblings. Some left behind pregnant wives. I am haunted by these deaths.  These firefighters (all firefighters, really) were some […]

We returned yesterday from a wonderful weekend trip up to Wisconsin.  My great aunt and uncle let us use their beautiful country house, so we felt like we really got away from the hustle and bustle of the city.  The kids played in the sprinkler, we went for a hike, we made s’mores.  The trip […]

What a busy weekend! My husband’s MBA program celebrated its 5 year reunion, and ALL of our good friends returned to Chicago for the weekend. When he started the program right after we got married, I had no idea I was about to meet some of the best friends of my life in the wives […]