Now that Thanksgiving is behind us, we are ready to jump into the Christmas season. I am more tired that I’ve ever been in my life, but I’m willing to rally for the kids to make it a fun month for all of us. One of the easiest ways for me to share the cheer […]

One of my most favorite holiday traditions is sending and receiving Christmas cards. Even though Facebook provides us with regular updates on my friends and family, there is something so quaint and special about receiving a custom card prepared with love. This year, we enlisted the very talented Ruthie Hauge to take some family photos […]

Last Sunday morning, after what felt like three weeks straight of kid-centric holiday events, Chris and I temporarily called it quits. We had plans to attend the Notre Dame Club of Chicago’s annual Christmas party, and the kids were super excited about it.  But, that morning Chris and I came to the realization that we […]

Yesterday we took the kids for a ride on the Candy Cane Express.  I told them about the trip earlier in the week, so it was all they wanted to talk about. Would it be like The Polar Express? What treats would be on it?  How would Santa get there? When we arrived at Union […]

On Saturday my Aunt Sheila invited the ladies of the family over for a holiday cookie swap party. We all brought 3 dozen of a home baked treat, and we all left with several varieties.  It was such a nice way to spend a sunny afternoon.  I wish we could all get together more often, […]

We waited as long as we could. But, the kids were just too excited. While I normally like to wait until after Thanksgiving to set out our Christmas decorations, my three little ones just couldn’t wait another day.  And, I suppose I couldn’t, either! So, this morning Chris and Mack went down to the freezing […]

I absolutely love Christmas day.  Sure, its nice to open presents and eat good food, but my favorite part of the day is doing nothing at all.  We spend the weekend before Christmas with my husband’s family, and Christmas Eve is celebrated with my family, so December 25 is blissfully reserved for the five of […]

Chris and I have had an ongoing discussion about toys for the past six weeks. We have plenty of them in our house. And with Christmas on the way we’re about to have plenty more added. But, the problem is that our kids just don’t really play with many of their toys. Mack loves cars, […]

Christmas is fast approaching, and like most parents I am busy squirreling away boxes of treats and treasures, crossing my fingers that curious kids don’t stumble upon a secret gift. We follow a WANT.NEED.WEAR.READ mantra with holiday gift-giving: the kids get a gift or two from each of the four categories.  It keeps me focused […]

One of my absolute favorite holiday traditions is sending and receiving holiday cards.  There is something quaint and special about sending real cards through the real mail. Putting pen to paper requires more thought and time than a quick email or Facebook post, and I always get excited to open a mailbox full of something […]