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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. [...] 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 [...] 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 [...] 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 [...] 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 [...] 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. Outdoor concerts are great for all ages. Not so much the Symphony. I have written before about my love for the CSO’s Kraft Family Matinee series. This series [...] Yogurt cake with lime zest and strawberries A few months back there was an article in The New Yorker about food allergies called “The Peanut Puzzle” by medical writer Jerome Groopman. Needless to say, my husband and I read the article with avid interest and at least a dozen friends and relatives called or emailed to [...] Who left these little green footprints? “Mom, you’ve got to come see this!” Zuzu yelled down the stairs. “What is it?” I replied a little too innocently. “Look what the leprechaun brought me! A book about rocks and minerals. And some new earrings! And a Pez for my collection!” “It looks like they left a [...] "Ooh! I just hate those green pigs!" Saturday was a big day for seven-year-old Zuzu. After months of saving all of her allowance, birthday money, Hanukkah gelt and Tooth Fairy loot, she finally had enough to buy her heart’s desire: an iPod Touch. I escorted the future tycoon to the Apple store where a nice, tattooed twenty-something named [...] 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. My daughter was ushered into a sorority yesterday: the sisterhood of the pierced ear. As I explained in a post written last September, I had originally told Zuzu [...] Pepperkakor with crystallized ginger When cooking and baking for a family member with a tree-nut allergy, the cook has three options. One, avoid recipes with nuts. Two, make recipes containing nuts but simply omit the nuts. And three, make recipes calling for nuts and substitute another ingredient. I use all three of these options at [...] Our temple has a book fair in the fall featuring “Jewish” books for adults and kids. I use what my mother calls “cutesy quotes” around the word “Jewish” because the definition of a Jewish book in this context is fairly broad, ranging from books about Jewish religious practice and the latest Holocaust novel to anything by [...] Playing high-stakes dreidel Hanukkah is not a major Jewish holiday. It’s a nice holiday, with its traditions of lighting candles on dark nights and gathering with friends and family to eat latkes and play dreidel. And it has taken on an outsized importance in America where it consoles Jewish children (not particularly well) for missing out on the [...] Leaf pile! As most of my friends know, I feel constantly conflicted about my decision to step away from the full-time practice of law to take care of my family. I was one of those creatures, rarer than unicorns, who loved practicing law and I miss it. I had good reasons for making the decision, and I [...] Symphony Center decorated for the Hallowed Haunts concert 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. Doesn’t it feel like Halloween has gone from being a one-day holiday to a month-long death march of costumes, parties [...] Gaetano's special appetizer: foie gras mousse wrapped in bresaola over a bed of arugula and fresh figs When we say the words “Oak Park dining scene” to our friends in the city, they think we mean the T.G.I. Friday’s by the Oak Park Metra station. That’s pretty unfair. Although they are not as many interesting restaurants west of the [...] Sunday dinner: flank steak, potato-celery root puree and creamed kale. We have come so far with Zuzu’s food allergies that I am in danger of becoming complacent about them. In the past six months, she has been cleared to eat wheat, eggs that are baked in a batter and now milk that is baked in [...] I am absolutely swamped this week grading briefs for the legal writing class that I teach at a local law school and working on an exciting new blogging assignment for a local media outlet. So, sadly, I am temporarily neglecting both my children and my blog. Just so no one has to keep looking at that [...] |
 
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