A little over a week ago, we lost my mother-in-law. She had been diagnosed with melanoma last June. Shortly after her diagnosis, we sat on her idyllic patio, the sun bathing us in its warmth, and cried. We cried for a life that would be […]

A few weeks ago I drafted a post about the massive amount of paper that flows into my home each day and how overwhelming it can be. Well, that topic swiftly became obsolete! In a matter of days, we’ve entered a Brave New World of […]

I often think about situations I hadn’t considered prior to having 5 children.  This is not to say I would reconsider having them–they are my everything!  But, goodness, sometimes it’s a lot! My first consideration in this theme are socks.  Yes, socks!  The socks are […]

I grew up a “cat person.”  When I was around 5 or 6, I began asking (begging) our mom if we could get a dog.  She seemed reluctant, but said, “Maybe.”  To my astonishment, shortly after, she told my brother, sister, and me that we […]

We experienced unprecedented cold temperatures in Chicagoland last week, which meant no school for the kids!  They had 3 days off–yikes!  Needless to say, it threw us a little off kilter.  We did our best to keep entertained, be civil to each other, and not […]

As my two younger girls get older, I’ve become somewhat fascinated by their interactions.  For those of you that know them, you understand that they are quite different in many ways.  Eleanor is older than Abbie by 20 months.  Eleanor is calm, patient, thoughtful, very […]

Have you ever heard of Blue Zones?  This is a topic I find very intriguing.  Blue Zones are specific areas of the world where people live the longest and healthiest lives.  They have a strikingly high number of individuals living past 100.  These people are […]

We had just wrapped up Noah’s swimming lesson.  I told the boys that we could run into the craft store next door to grab a treat, and I was going to look at some fabric.  I was carrying Elliot in my arms, as well as […]

Patch implemented a routine in our house called sous chef.  Essentially, each weeknight one of the kids is assigned to function as my sous chef for the evening.  It is noted in our Google calendar.  So, when I am prepping dinner, I can pull up […]