recent posts:

Daily Schedule For Tweens Learning From Home

The kids and I have been sheltering in place since Thursday, March 12th when they got home from school. Since I’m considered high risk health-wise I pulled them out of school before schools here in Illinois officially closed and we stopped going to their activities before they were all cancelled. My kids haven’t been anywhere [Read On]

LEGOLAND Discovery Center Chicago Annual Passes Sale (Giveaway)

This is a sponsored post but all thoughts are my own. Attention all parents of LEGO® loving kids! If you have not been to LEGOLAND® Discovery Center Chicago yet you are missing out! LEGOLAND® Discovery Center Chicago is an indoor family entertainment destination with over two million LEGO® bricks and nine attractions, including rides and [Read On]

How To Send A Valentine To A Hospitalized Child

No child deserves to spend Valentine’s Day in the hospital but you can make their time in there brighter by sending them a valentine. Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago is running their annual Handfuls of Love campaign and it’s easy to participate and show them that you’re on their team. The [Read On]

Design Your Own Locket For Your Valentine (Giveaway)

Thanks to Pictures on Gold for sponsoring this post and giveaway. Valentine’s Day is next week and I have the perfect gift for your valentine or “gal”entine. Pictures on Gold has beautiful locket necklaces that can be personalized with your loved ones in mind. They normally ship within a day as well so you can [Read On]

Apple Walnut Muffin Recipe

Long winter days call for something delicious baking in the oven! And bonus points that these fresh fruit and nut filled apple muffins will make your home smell amazing until they come out nice and warm from the oven. The muffins are flavored further with honey and whole wheat flour for a healthy breakfast or [Read On]

The Summer Soccer Camp We Love

This is a sponsored post but all thoughts are my own. Calling all parents of soccer players! If you are looking for an opportunity to build your child’s soccer skills look no further than Challenger Sports Soccer Camp. One of the best sport related things I’ve done for my oldest, who plays recreational soccer half [Read On]

Valentine’s Day DIY Sugar Scrub

This post contains affiliate links. With February around the corner I wanted to share this easy Valentine’s Day DIY tutorial. Whether you want soft skin for your Valentine’s date night or want to treat yourself to a little me time, this pretty pink sugar scrub sprinkled with tiny hearts (and scented to smell like strawberries!) [Read On]

A Resolution To Keep My Home Company Ready (Giveaway)

Thanks to The CLEAN-X® Family for sponsoring this post. I’m not what you would call a “suzy homemaker”. With three kids, including a newly turned toddler, living in a small home plus my time taken up by this blog, my three other part-time jobs  and my various other commitments in addition to parenting, most of [Read On]

Family Time During The NFL Football Season (Giveaway)

Thanks to NFL Style for sponsoring this post. If you’ve read this blog or followed me on social media for a while, you know that I love football. I love watching it anytime it’s on, cheering on my favorite NFL team (the Chicago Bears of course), and showing my fan spirit in my Bears gear. [Read On]

Last Minute Christmas Gift Ideas

This post contains affiliate links and most of the items have been received for consideration. Typically around this time of December many people are done (or almost done) Christmas shopping. This year though, probably because of how late Thanksgiving was, most people I’ve talked to haven’t finished Christmas shopping yet (myself included!) Some people haven’t [Read On]

Our Favorite Place To See Santa

Thanks to HGTV’s Santa HQ for sponsoring this post. Christmas is right around the corner which means if you haven’t taken your kids to see the big guy in red yet, you better hurry! We did our annual Santa visit this weekend and went to HGTV’s Santa HQ in the Fashion Outlets of Chicago where [Read On]

Chocolates Make The Holiday Season Sweeter (Giveaway)

Thanks to Ritter Sport Chocolates for sponsoring this post. One thing you’ll always find in our home is chocolate. Really it should come as no surprise that chocolate is basically a food group around here since I’m married to someone from Europe and I recently learned that Europeans consume nearly half of all the chocolate [Read On]

20+ Experience Gifts For Toddlers

This post contains affiliate links. The holidays are here and I’m so excited to be celebrating Emma’s first Christmas this year! Since my other two are older, and were born so close together, I don’t remember much from this stage because it was all a blur and honestly I was just trying to survive with [Read On]

My Ideal Christmas Vacation

Thanks to Beaches Resorts for sponsoring this post. It’s cold and wet here in the suburbs of Chicago and I’m dreaming of warmer weather. I love the holiday season but as soon as Christmas passes I’m ready for it to be summer. I’m just not a cold weather girl! If I were to list my [Read On]

Slow Cooker Jambalaya Stuffed Peppers Recipe

Thanks to Caputo’s for sponsoring this post. Read on for an exclusive coupon code and a delicious recipe! I am all about simplifying life, especially during the busy holiday season. One way I like to do so is ordering online, which I do for everything from my Christmas gifts to my groceries. Besides avoiding the [Read On]

Give A Personalized Photo Locket This Holiday Season (Giveaway)

Thanks to Pictures on Gold for sponsoring this post. If you are shopping for a gift, and the recepient is a mom or grandma, it’s a pretty safe bet that she will LOVE anything with her child or grandchild’s face on it. And what woman doesn’t love jewelry? That’s what makes a locket, personalized just [Read On]

National Letter Writing Campaign To Thank Veterans And Deployed Service Members

Since today is Veteran’s Day (thank you to all who have served!!) I thought it was the perfect time to share a way to brighten the day of Veterans and those currently serving our country. America’s Adopt A Soldier® is holding their national letter writing campaign for the 9th year to thank the nation’s service [Read On]

Why Every Parent Of A Teen Needs A Network Of Little Birdies

This is a sponsored post but all thoughts are my own. When our kids are little we know everything that they do. We know what toys they play with, what they had for breakfast, what they watch, and who their friends are. Once they start school though, and aren’t with us all day long, we [Read On]

2019 Advent Calendars For Kids

It’s November 1st which means two things…. one, we made it through October! Whew. That is always an insane month with Halloween festivities, school events, and meetings galore! The second thing it means is that the holidays are just around the corner. I enjoy Thanksgiving but Christmas is my favorite holiday so I start planning [Read On]

Time To Get Pet Insurance

This post is sponsored by BabbleBoxx.com on behalf of Nationwide Pet.  It’s come to my attention that we have less than three months left in this decade, so I’ve decided to get some of the things done that have been sitting on my to-do list for a while. Many items on the list are important but [Read On]

10 Fun Ways For Preschoolers To Practice Writing The Alphabet

Learning how to write the letters of the alphabet is one of the main academic skills of early childhood education. Years ago this was mainly taught through having children practice by putting a pencil to paper but, nowadays, there are so many other creative ways to get practice time in. I wanted to share some [Read On]

Baby Food That My Infant Loves

This post is sponsored by Beech-Nut® but all thoughts are my own. #BeechNutPartner When I was pregnant with Emma I had all of these big ideas of things I was going to do when she was born. I was going to take a picture a day her first year, keep detailed records of all of her [Read On]

Kid-Friendly Fall Treats

Happy Fall! Yesterday I had cinnamon apples baking in the slow cooker all evening which made my house smell lovely. Apples are a favorite fall staple so, with October here, I thought it would be fun to share other kid-friendly fall treats. Here are some ones I’ve enjoyed making in the past and others that [Read On]

Urban Air Naperville Is Fun For All Ages (Birthday Party Package Giveaway)

Thanks to Urban Air Naperville for sponsoring this post. It’s the first day of fall so I’m doing what every mom does when the weather starts to cool down…I’m making a mental list of indoor activities to keep us busy through autumn and the long winter season that I know is just around the corner. [Read On]

Postpartum Essentials For New Moms

In December I was blessed to give birth to baby #3, a sweet girl who we named Emma Noelle. Labor with Emma was anything but easy. After a day and a half of labor that was not progressing, my doctors chose to do an emergency c-section because they feared both baby and mom had gotten an infection. This was my first cesarean birth and by far the hardest recovery I’ve had, partly due to the rigorous labor and surgery and partly due, I think, to the fact that my body was a decade older than when I’d had my first two children.

Fall Fun At Santa’s Village

Thanks to Santa’s Village for hosting my family for a day of fun at their amusement park. School may be back in session but the summer fun doesn’t need to end because Santa’s Village Amusement Park, an outdoor family theme and fun park in the Chicago area, is open on the weekends through October. All [Read On]

Couple’s Escape in Michigan (Giveaway)

Thanks to the H Hotel in Midland, Michigan for sponsoring this post and hosting my husband and I for a romantic weekend. For some couples, a vacation without the kids is an annual occurrence. Sadly for my husband and I though, that’s not the case. While we have traveled quite extensively over the years thanks [Read On]

Back-To-School Hacks For Busy Moms

This post contains affiliate links. It’s August which means back-to-school season is here! My tweens just got their teacher assignments yesterday and I’m busy with my new position as the Director of a preschool. It’s been interesting having one child headed off to middle school while preparing to welcome a whole group of preschoolers to [Read On]

ECOVACS ROBOTICS Prime Day Deal

Thanks to ECOVACS ROBOTICS for sponsoring this post. If you like saving money you are probably well aware that today and tomorrow are the epic deal days on Amazon.com. This Amazon Prime Day sale has deals on everything from electronics to fashion to home decor. One thing you will want to grab during the sale? [Read On]

Fun Birthday Morning Waffle Bar

Thanks to SCS Direct for sponsoring this post. Lucas, my youngest son, just turned 10 this week. TEN! Birthdays are a big deal in our home and each child gets to pick how we spend the day. Not surprisingly, Lucas always arranges his birthday day around food. The kid is seriously such a little foodie! [Read On]