• Contest,  Skydeck Chicago

    @SkydeckChicago Fast Pass Giveaway #1: Winner!

    I just picked (via random drawing) the winner of my first Fast Pass giveaway. She isn’t one of my blog readers so I won’t post her name here, but you can look at the event page to see it. For everyone else, no worries: I’ve got three more giveaways over the next few weeks and the prize pack might increase in size, so stay tuned!

  • Best Thing Ever,  Chicken in the Car,  Friends,  Fun in Chicago

    Chicken In The Car And the Car Won’t Go: The Live Action Version & Giveaway!

    Today is a very, very exciting day: one of my BFFs, Momofali, is coming to town with her daughter, let’s call her Daughterofmomo, for a girls’ weekend. I haven’t seen Momo since we were in New York City together for BlogHer last August, and I can barely contain myself regarding the fact that not only is she staying with me through Sunday, but I get to see her AGAIN in just a couple weeks, in San Diego (roomies!). In preparation for their visit, I asked Momo to have her daughter go through my book and jot down various attractions that she really wanted to see. What they came up with,…

  • Best Thing Ever,  Blessings,  My Kids Have Mad Skillz,  Travels

    What Teenagers Will Do When Left Alone For The Weekend…

    I’m back. You didn’t even really know I was gone, did you? That “rare opportunity to disconnect” that I wrote about on Sunday evening? That was me being away from home for five days, alone with my husband (that means no kids). Jim and I flew to New Mexico and stayed just south of Santa Fe for a much-needed break, and in fact when I wrote that post, I was still “sitting in my southwestern office” at our Bed and Breakfast: It is going to take me a couple of days to assemble a proper post (or two) with pictures (I took about 550, but don’t worry: I won’t share…

  • Family Fun,  My Kid Has Mad Skillz

    A Penny Saved Is A Penny Earned

    In addition to the traditional dinner out for D’s birthday this week, the birthday plans included something really special: the Opening of the Pig. My sister purchased a beautiful, white ceramic piggy bank either for my baby shower or when D turned one (I’m guessing it was for my baby shower because that’s what Julesie thinks and she usually remembers things better than I do). Ever since D knew what to do with a piggy bank, he’s been squirreling away money but never opening the pig to make a withdrawal. This was a separate savings plan from actually using his savings account at the bank, another method he actively uses.…