Warning: LONG POST AHEAD. (Sorry. It’s worth it: I promise!) One of my favorite things about being a blogger is that I have been afforded experiences that I wouldn’t have otherwise been able to enjoy. My non-blogger friends are often flabbergasted at my stories of, say, driving a car for a week just for the purpose of reviewing it or getting a preview copy of a television show before the general public gets to watch it. Some of these unique experiences involve meeting people who I wouldn’t normally run across on the streets of Chicago (or the western burbs for that matter). Monday night was one of those nights, and…
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Update: Operation Precious CARgo!
It seems like only yesterday that I signed on to be a team captain for Chevrolet’s Operation Precious CARgo, in which twelve teams would collect donations of baby registry items for expectant military moms, but it’s over already. We had the culminating event last night, and it was really fun. All twelve captains and all twelve military moms were invited to Chevrolet of Naperville for the party, and even though not everybody could make it (one of the moms had her baby on Wednesday!), we had a great crowd. When we first arrived, we all had to unload our donations and bring them into the dealership. It was pretty exciting…
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McDonald’s “Happy Meal Chefs” Contest + #GNO Twitter Party
It was last August at the BlogHer conference in San Diego when I first heard about how McDonald’s was updating the contents of the popular Happy Meal: instead of an order of small fries, they were substituting a smaller, kids’ sized fry along with apple slices. Although my kids are years beyond Happy Meals, I completely appreciated the efforts of McDonald’s to listen to their customers’ requests for healthier options. The “new” Happy Meals are being rolled out nationally now, and to celebrate this new development the company is having a great contest that I totally wish my family could enter. (We’re all too old!) The Happy Meal Chefs Contest…
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Sometimes The Actual Surprise Is A Surprise
Eleven years ago, Jim came home from work with the news that he was headed to Orlando, Florida for a conference. We decided that it would be fun if the boys and I tagged along and took advantage of the fact that his company was providing a stipend for Jim’s accommodations and flight: the trip as a whole would be less expensive for us personally. The plan was that I would take the boys to the Disney parks during the day and Jim would join us there in the late afternoons when his sessions were complete. We decided to surprise the boys and not tell them about the trip until…
- Blessings, Childhood Memories, Family Fun, Favorite Things, Food, I've Got Mad Skillz, My Kid Has Mad Skillz, My Mom Has Mad Skillz, Review
Birthday Traditions: Make A Cake And Eat It, Too.
A couple of weeks ago we celebrated J’s 17th birthday. SEVENTEEN. As in, “My younger–and last born–son is seventeen.” It would be really hard for me to believe if there weren’t a trail of rainbow-colored crumbs all over our family photo albums*. You see, around here birthdays mean one thing: beautifully decorated rainbow cakes (the insides are tinted in various colors). It’s a tradition my mom started, and what I love about it is the thought that goes into it, resulting in the birthday honoree feeling extra special. I remember how creative my mom was with birthday cakes when we were kids. Over the years, she made me a Holly…