Many of my childhood memories are of going to the park with my mom. We would travel to parks in other towns and have a picnic lunch, bring our bikes and make a parade there, get ice cream, or go to a park near a pond and feed the fish. We’d drive across town and visit “the train park”, or to the “pirate ship park”, or even just a short walk to our neighborhood park with the really, really big slide. She found a way to get us out of the house and make a simple thing so much more … [Read more...]
This weekend we drove out to our favorite farm and frolicked in the beautiful snow until we found the absolute perfect tree. It was like a scene out of a movie or postcard. Just kidding, we went to Lowes. ;) We got a Frasier fir, actually the first one we looked at! We did a fake tree our first two Christmases and while growing up. We tried out a real tree last year and loved it. The smell is way worth the mess! Gotta love the use of pallets! On our way home from picking up the tree … [Read more...]
This past weekend, I attended a Bloggy Boot Camp in downtown Chicago. We heard from successful PR folks, learned about Google+, writing an ebook, getting on TV, all those big important blogging things that I want to do. But the topic I was looking forward to the most was the session on balance. Balance. Talk to anyone and it’s probably something they struggle with. Moms, students, women, men, everyone. For me, the word conjures up an image of a teeter-totter, going up and down, back and … [Read more...]
I love these little spiders, they make me happy inside. I don’t typically do Halloween decor. I’m lucky to get fall stuff up and blogged. Cause every year it’s the same craziness: you have fall décor that goes up when it’s still hot out. Then you put up some Halloween, and BAM, BIG HOLIDAY! Then you take it down and put up some more fall, then BAM, another BIG HOLIDAY! Then it’s Christmas. BAM BAM BAM, BIGGEST OF HOLIDAYS! That’s a lot of holidays and decorating for me, I’m … [Read more...]
Yesterday we headed out to Goebbert’s Farm in nearby Hampshire, IL. It was last minute, Doug took out the garbage and realized how nice it was and suggested a trip out there. There was plenty for the kids to do, from hay mazes and pig races, to the ride out to the pumpkin patch and petting a giraffe. My kids were most excited (and when I say excited, I mean really, really excited) about the large painted characters like Little Einsteins, Curious George, or Beauty and the Beast. If … [Read more...]
last Tuesday, my mom had knee replacement surgery. The surgery went well, she’s in good spirits, but has a long recovery ahead of her. I’d love any extra prayers you can spare. :) My grandpa lives with my family, so Lily, Ben, Adam, and I headed to my parents’ house last Monday night where we stayed for the week. We watched a lot of the price is right, drank coffee, ate pepper and egg sandwiches, chatted, and just hung out. My 11 year old sister and 13 year old brother also … [Read more...]
Last Saturday started out productive. I was in the garden for a good 2-3 hours, Doug cut the grass, the kids got their naps in and then later played in the yard. And then we realized after we were exhausted by 1 pm, that it’s Saturday. What are we doing?! Let’s go have fun! It was a blast. We let loose and actually enjoyed our Saturday instead of working hard. No running around, planning, or preparing. We hopped in the car, … [Read more...]
It will be 10 years this November since my grandma passed away. I remember the day she asked me to come close and told me to go find something to keep. To remember her by. She had lung cancer. Some days were good, some days were really bad. This was during a good time. I was seventeen, and my naïve brain didn’t want to accept the fact that one day, she wouldn’t be here. I told her no and brushed off her request like she was being silly. But she looked at me sternly and asked me again. … [Read more...]
This project is dedicated to my lovely sister, Ashley. There’s also little bit of a background story behind it. Do you remember those necklaces where you wear one half, and give the other half to your BFF? One day, my sister and I were at a theme park, and saw one of those booths where they airbrush t-shirts. We both turned to each other and and the SAME EXACT IDEA at the SAME EXACT MOMENT. My sister and I are pretty close, but this was just freaky. We needed “Best Friends” heart … [Read more...]
Mom. If you are reading this right now, please stop. I’m serious. You gone? Phew. Okay! While I already made my mom her present, I wanted to make something a little more sentimental. I’ve always wanted to make a photo book for her, but the task seemed daunting and I never did it. When Clever Girls Collective asked me to check out Animoto, a video creation service (both online and mobile), I thought it sounded interesting. I wanted to make a video that captured my mom’s time as a … [Read more...]
