We all know Chicago is a vibrant and exciting city with plenty of kid-friendly activities to enjoy, but whether you're visiting Chicago or a Chicago parent yourself, you may be looking for some ways to stay busy – don’t worry - we’ve got you covered. Take a trip to the top of the Willis Tower (or for our REAL Chicagoans, the Sears Tower). This iconic Chicago landmark offers breathtaking v ...
After months of hibernation It feels as if we are all emerging from our caves into the light of a bright new morning. Ever so slowly things have begun to open up and awaken. Live music, and small gatherings have formed once more. People are daring to live publicly again. The miracle of science is saving us in real time, and we are here to bear witness. The CDC says that those of us who are vaccin ...
I used to love waiting tables in New York City. I kid you not. I had a few restaurant jobs that were really great over the years, with solid management teams in good houses. I have always enjoyed customer service, and I appreciated meeting all of the thousands of different characters that drifted in and out of my worldview from behind the apron. Of course you always remember the jerks. They left ...
A goldfish cracker fell out of my bra this week. I bent over in the kitchen and plop! Out it tumbled onto the wooden floor. I stared at it intently. Had anyone even eaten goldfish that day? No. They hadn’t. I don’t think any other moment has made me feel more like a mother than that one. All moms have had goldfish in their bra kinds of days. Motherhood is messy and filled with struggle. After ...
I have a problem with pants. It’s something I don’t hear the other women talking about, but pants and me are not friends. My body has changed so much since giving birth twice. I have a front paunch that hangs over my groin like a mama kangaroo, and it has not disappeared in the nine months since I delivered my second daughter. Some women give birth and immediately look like their old selves. Bull ...
5 Signs You Need a Parenting Break. Now. 5 Signs You Need a Parenting Break. Now. Parenting can drown you. It can overwhelm you to the point of making you feel like you are on the edge of something unavoidable. A tipping point where you either regain your balance or you find yourself lashing out. Everyone now and then needs a break, and perhaps no one more so than parents. As mothers ...
(Or What's Working ~Literally~ Today) Having children is part blessing and part biology. It’s a crapshoot every time. As humans, we are genetically obligated to propagate the species. We are drawn to do it. But as millions of people throughout history can attest, this shiz isn’t for everyone. Some people have no desire to have children, and god bless them for living their truth. All of us know ...
Traveling with children is a nightmare. I’m not going to sugarcoat it, it’s a nightmare. You thought that getting through airport security was a chore before, now you have to go through it with a stroller, an ergo, a car seat, your luggage, and your shoeless children themselves, all while hoping that you packed enough snacks and toys in your carry-on to avoid a total meltdown. It is ...
I didn't meet my husband until age forty, and I am in the unusual position of birthing two children after that age. I’m an old mom, something I thought was deeply uncool when I was a child. Old moms smelled like hummus. They walked around with NPR tote bags full of overdue library books. In my experience they were weird women with frizzy hair who wore too many scarves. Now there is an old fri ...
This is not an advice column. I promise you, if I had any advice for anyone it would be don’t take my advice. I had cereal for dinner last night. I am in no position to offer you practical tips on parenting during the pandemic, nor do I have recipes for one-pot dinners you can whip up on a work night. What this is, and what I hope it becomes for you, is a place to shout into the void on all th ...
