 
|
This post originally appeared at this time last year on my local blogging community site, The Chicago Moms. It’s timely once again and my sentiments have not changed, so I am reposting for 2011. At this time of year, there is a lot of discussion in the media about what I call the Christmas culture wars. In [...] This post is sponsored by Tempur-Pedic, the brand millions of owners trust to deliver their best night’s sleep every night. Enjoy our Buy 2, get 1 free pillow offer now and give the gift of custom comfort to someone you love. Thanksgiving comes this week and with it the official start of the winter holiday season. [...] The baby calves at the dairy farm were adorable. What kind of milk does your family drink? Do you pay more for organic? Do you shop around for the best price? When I was a kid, the only question was whether you drank skim or 2% or maybe whether your mom let you have chocolate [...] Rock star-themed paper goods helped complete the look. One of the most viewed West of the Loop posts ever is this one about Zuzu’s 7th birthday party which was a DIY American Girl Doll party. Remember? That was the party where I made tiny doll-sized food. I’ll admit that that was a little hard-core. The [...] Zuzu demos how to drink hot chocolate with wet nails. Raise your hand if you are a mom who has ever hired a babysitter so that you could get a mani-pedi or a bikini wax or, dear Lord, just get your highlights done. I seriously don’t know any mom who hasn’t done this at some [...] Building Blocks toy store in Wicker Park What makes a great independent toy store? In my view, it’s a magical combination of great customer service, a wide selection of imaginative and unusual toys, and enough room to play and hang out. The owner of this kind of toy store recognizes you after your first few [...] Zuzu in the raspberry bushes When I was a little girl growing up in Washington DC, we used to pick our Halloween pumpkins at a farm in western Howard County Maryland called Larriland Farms. (I’m happy to report that it is still in business and that the owners were savvy enough to buy the domain [...] Mornings are so busy, aren't they? Zuzu’s school starts forty-five minutes earlier this year than it did last year. Forty-five minutes earlier! Zuzu is not a morning person and it was hard enough to get her to school by 9 am. Getting her to school by 8:15 is proving to be a real challenge, especially because she insists on walking [...] A healthy snack alternative Does your elementary school aged kid bring a snack to school? Mine does. Since she started full-day school in first grade, Zuzu has brought a snack to school, in addition to her lunch, at the teacher’s request. Depending on when she wakes up, Zuzu can have four or five hours of hard-core learning [...] The bikers get ready to hit the trail. For JR, this summer has been his first summer as a biker. Early last spring I took JR to our favorite bike store, Dan’s Bike Shop in nearby Berwyn, for his first big boy bike. (It was kind of an expensive purchase for no special occasion, but [...] Stylish organization from Blue Sky My children both head back to school in a few weeks. This fall is shaping up to be our busiest one ever. Now that Zuzu is in third grade, her schedule is jam-packed with activities. I don’t think of myself as one of those parents who overschedules her child, but [...] My parents with their grandkids As many of you have heard, my father is gravely ill at the moment. I don’t want to discuss the details of his illness because my father is a very private person and because it is not my place to do so. But I am compelled to write about the conflict I feel [...] JR is always very firm in his convictions. One of my all-time favorite articles from The New Yorker is a 2002 piece by Adam Gopnik about his daughter Olivia’s imaginary friend, Charlie Ravioli. The funny thing about Charlie Ravioli, aside from his wonderful name, was that he was always too busy to play with Gopnik’s daughter; at dinner, Olivia would [...] Harvard Yard: now known as where Facebook began Over the Fourth of July weekend, my family traveled to Boston, which seems appropriate somehow. We were there to spend some time with my husband’s brother and his wife, who live in Boston, and my husband’s parents, who lived in Boston in the early days of their marriage. [...] JR enjoys some FiberPlus Berry Yogurt Crunch By the time I drop my kids at school in the morning, I am thoroughly exhausted even though I have only been awake for two hours. Getting everyone dressed, fed, brushed and out the door on time seems like an endurance event. In the hours between 6:45 and [...] This post originally appeared earlier this week on my new blogging community, The Chicago Moms. I hope that you will swing by and check out some of great voices being featured there. One of my favorite parts of being a parent is introducing my children to the books and movies that I loved as a kid. Now that Zuzu is [...] Today we have a guest post about being a dad in honor of Father’s Day from none other than Zuzu and JR’s dad, that is to say, my husband. I hope he realizes that publishing his guest post here actually constitutes his Father’s Day gift from me. My kids are lucky to have such a great [...] Like Kate Middleton on her wedding day, JR does his own makeup. I have been laid low this week with a summer cold. Henry James once said that “summer afternoon” is the most beautiful phrase in the English language. If that is so, then “summer cold” must be one of the ugliest. The cause of [...] |
 
 |
|
Copyright © 2012 West of the Loop - All Rights Reserved      |
||
Recent Comments