The holiday season is upon us, and like most mothers I am busy looking for ways to make it a special time for my kids.  We are a young family, and now is the time when traditions are started and memories are made. To recognize the ~25 days of Advent I typed up some simple […]

I am so fortunate to have a vast network of people I love spread throughout the world.  Friends in our neighborhood, family across the states and loved ones on different continents – sometimes I wish I could throw a huge party and invite everyone!  Since that isn’t feasible, our humble annual Christmas card will just […]

Some people in my life always make me smile.  My Aunt Sheila is one of those people.  She is so optimistic and enthusiastic and energetic.  I really appreciate her zest for life and sunshiny attitude.  Seriously, she’s always laughing or smiling or listening. Because Sheila is only a year younger than my mom, she was […]

I am such a sucker for the Christmas season.  I often say that I wish this holiday fell later in winter just so I could have something to look forward to during these dreary and chilly months.  The house feels so much warmer with the Christmas decorations up, and the kids love the change in […]

By no means am I a crafty girl.  Sure, I can hold my own in the kitchen, and when it comes to whipping up homemade household cleaners I’ve become quite a champ.  But, crafting requires patience and skill and creativity, characteristics I’d rather devote towards other endeavors. However, now that the sun sets by 5 […]

Such a nice Christmas!  Our families and Santa were very generous to my two little ones – Evelyn finally got her baby bed! –  so we spent much of the day playing with new toys.  And, for the first time in 13 years we enjoyed a white Christmas. We started the day with a very […]

Christmas Eve is here! Perhaps one of the best parts about celebrating holidays as a married couple is merging family traditions and creating new ones in the process. When my husband was growing up his mom always made a cookie bar called a Chinese Chew. The recipe originated in a fundraising cookbook for her high […]

Christmas fun continues! I don’t want to believe that Christmas is the day after tomorrow. The kids really enjoy all the festive decorations and music, and I think we’ll all be a little sad when it comes time to pack everything away. My favorite part of today was when Mack danced for the first time! […]

Day 2 of Christmas cookie baking! Butterscotch Haystacks were a favorite in our household when I was growing up. Like yesterday’s Cornflake Wreath recipe, today’s cookies require no baking and are quite easy to make while juggling two little ones. My sister Caitie always made them, and even today while I made a batch at […]

When I was growing up my mom, sisters and I would spend an entire day every year baking Christmas cookies. We made dozens of several different varieties, and once everything was baked we’d assemble cookie plates for our aunts, uncles, grandparents and friends. Now that I have my own little family I am continuing the […]