Share Last summer, when we traveled to France, I was shocked to see a significant number of heavyweight children. I’d read plenty about the globalization of childhood obesity, but seeing it firsthand made the statistics a reality. The American lifestyle of convenience foods and packed schedules have spread; French supermarkets we walked through were filled…
Share Where will those feet walk in their lifetime? Will they march confidently into boardrooms, beating a staccato with pointy black heels? Will they work long hours in a restaurant kitchen, as comfortable as possible in acid green Crocs? Will they march triumphantly up Kilimanjaro to plant a bright flag on the summit, laced securely…
Share The sleep deprivation of caring for a newborn leaves me feeling jet lagged nowadays, permanently confused. During my first trip to Babie R Us this weekend, I literally spent 10 minutes staring at this package of breastmilk containers before putting it back on the shelf, utterly unable to understand how they functioned. The combination…
Share Four children is definitely a lot. A lot of permission slips to sign, math worksheets to check, doctors appointments to make, goodnight kisses to bestow. It’s a lot of people to feed, dress, bathe, worry about, and love, especially when one of those four children takes 45 minutes to eat and eats every 2…
Share We spent three long days driving back and forth to the Prentice NICU in Chicago, coordinating babysitters to watch the kids while we learned how to feed and care for our newest child. The quiet darkness of her hospital pod was a stark contrast to the chaos of back to school routine I left…
Share When my water broke, it was nothing like the movies. There was no gush, just an unsettling wetness, a slight trickle that woke me out of a deep sleep with a strong sense that something was not right. I walked through the darkened house past the sleeping shapes of my family, and headed to…
Share The water used to beckon to her like a dangerous toy, twinkling, sparkling, enticingly blue. She would struggle to escape my grasp, drawn inexorably towards that dazzling azure. Her pudgy little fingers wriggled with frustration in the prison of my sweaty palm, desperate to plunge her toddler body in the pool. Now her fingers…
Share My new year’s resolutions kick in with the school year, not when the ball drops in Times Square. Every fall, I embrace a new organizational system, determined to make this the year that I keep better track of assignments, field trips, and sports practice. At the same time that I’m scouring the aisles of…
Share Nature has a funny way of slapping you outside the head and putting things in perspective. I’ve been running around, going to conferences, eating great meals, trying to squeeze in as much life as possible before September 26, my tentatively scheduled induction. The car seat, crib and baby layette were cleaned and ready for…
Share In just four short days, the alarm will ring after a long hiatus. The kids will struggle out of bed, rubbing their eyes, and instead of reaching for their bathing suits, they’ll put on new clothes and closed toed shoes before rushing down to breakfast. The final days of summer are here, much too…
Share Tonight there is no recipe, no funny story to share. Tonight my heart bleeds for a good friend, Jennie Perrillo, who suddenly lost her husband yesterday to a heart attack. He leaves behind not only Jennie, but also their two young daughters who he was teaching how to ride a bike when he passed…
Share Far away from school and friends, the bickering slowly disappears. The name calling, the alliance shifting, and the hair pulling all goes away. Surrounded by sand and sea, my children rediscover each other. For just a few days, they go from foe to friend. Watching them laugh and play is better than the most…
Share Danger lurks in the most unexpected places. Each time I talked to my kids about inappropriate touching and the sanctity of their private parts, I had a villain in mind. I thought of the gymnastics teacher whose touch turned into uncomfortably lingering rubs when I was 12. I imagined a substitute teacher or other…
Share I have some great recipe posts brewing for later this week: cheese souffle, canned nectarines, and homemade granola to name a few. I also will be reporting back from our thrill a minute trip to Iowa for the Indy 250 race and checking out Taste of Chicago, but tonight’s post is dedicated once again…
Share When we headed out to our swim meet on Thursday evening, the sky was dark and threatening. I had a feeling it might be a difficult evening, but I didn’t expect that we were about to have an epic night of great defeat. No matter how many sweatshirts you pack, there’s some life lessons…
Share >Do you remember the items your parents denied you? That toy or clothing item that your parents didn’t understand you simply had to have to be in with the cool kids? For me, it was a second CB jacket, a red one with white stripes, significantly different than my teal one. My mother simply…
Share >Every once in a while, you get a bonus day, a true unexpected gift filled with memories. Yesterday was such a day. Two very inconveniently scheduled doctor appointments at opposite ends of the day forced me to clear our schedule and spend the day in Chicago with my 4 year old in tow. Vicious…
Share >”Do you need my crib?” she said helpfully, “I can bring it over this week. It’s just collecting dust in the garage.”I smiled and thanked her, but changed the subject before arranging the delivery of the crib. We do need a crib, along with so many other long-discarded baby gear items, but I’m not…
Share >When my kids were babies, our lives were filled with firsts. First smiles. First laugh. First word. First step. They came so fast and furious that just capturing them all was hard. But as kids get older, the firsts become few and far between, especially after the teeth start falling and the training wheels…
Share > I wish I had taped the little song Juju sang to me as she gave me this card this morning. Happy Mother’s Day to mothers everywhere! Whether you’re celebrating your first mother’s day with a tiny newborn, or skyping with grandchildren around the world, motherhood is a bond we all share, regardless of…
Share >I’ve always had this fantasy of taking my daughters to tea at a really fancy hotel. It’s one of those images I had in my head when I first got pregnant, one of those parenting moments I dreamed of having. But as a mom of three, including a restless boy, I know how quickly…
