Just thought I'd put something on the blog to direct readers to my new page on Examiner.com. I'm now the Chicago Family Staycations Examiner for the site, so I'll be covering attractions for the family in and around Chicago as well as some day trips and weekend getaways. I've been travel writing for 10 years and we've been to so many cool places in the Midwest, I'm happy to be able to share them with more families. Here's my page:
http://www.examiner.com/x-10998-Chicago-Family-Staycations-Examiner
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Monday, May 18, 2009
Everyone loves a parade
I just love this photo and had to share it. Recently, our town had the annual Good Neighbor Day Parade. It's been a tradition for about five decades in May and each year there is a different theme. This year it was honoring Abe Lincoln on his 200th. So, as you can imagine, the parade was filled with lots of Abes. One float had a log cabin, several had giant birthday cakes, one had a life-sized statue of Abe and another had an amazing recreation of the sculpture of the statue of Lincoln at the Lincoln Monument in Washington D.C. Three of my boys were in the parade and my middle guy was more than happy to dress as Abe. Here's a shot of him before the parade.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
It's that time of year again
The past few weeks have been exhausting ones and the next few will be more of the same. We’re at a point in the year where nearly every day on the calendar is marked with at least one baseball practice or a game. Three boys are playing baseball so far and one more with a season yet to start.
I love the game of baseball and love when the boys have fun playing, but there are days when there are three games/practices on the same day at the same time at three different locations that just make me want to climb in bed, hide under the covers and not come out until the next morning. I’ve even been guilty of doing a rain dance hoping that we get the showers than have been forecast by the weather guy so I can get a break. What a bad Mom I am!
Last week there were the opening games after a couple previous rainouts. It’s always quite entertaining to watch those first games with little guys going up to bat with helmets that are bigger than they are, unimpressed outfielders gazing up at the sky while a ball rolls by them, base runners not quite sure what to do. It’s so fun to watch. It’s also amazing watching those few players on the team who are naturals – pulling a double play that looks effortless and throwing strikes with such intensity.
Well, only about eight more weeks of the season to go! Play ball!
I love the game of baseball and love when the boys have fun playing, but there are days when there are three games/practices on the same day at the same time at three different locations that just make me want to climb in bed, hide under the covers and not come out until the next morning. I’ve even been guilty of doing a rain dance hoping that we get the showers than have been forecast by the weather guy so I can get a break. What a bad Mom I am!
Last week there were the opening games after a couple previous rainouts. It’s always quite entertaining to watch those first games with little guys going up to bat with helmets that are bigger than they are, unimpressed outfielders gazing up at the sky while a ball rolls by them, base runners not quite sure what to do. It’s so fun to watch. It’s also amazing watching those few players on the team who are naturals – pulling a double play that looks effortless and throwing strikes with such intensity.
Well, only about eight more weeks of the season to go! Play ball!
Monday, May 4, 2009
Moms love a bargain
Way before we were hit by this recession, I was a thrifty mom. When my first son was born, I clipped coupons, saved labels from diapers packages for promotions, stocked up on baby food when I found a good sale, purchased gently used clothing at garage sales and gladly accepted used baby gear from my older sister.
Over the years, I’ve continued looking for ways to save money in raising my large family. I buy a lot of food in bulk and have figured out how to combine coupons with sale prices and in-store ads at places like Walgreen’s to get bottles of dish soap for 69 cents or a $4 bottle of shampoo for $1.50.
Aside form the strategic planning for bargains, I love being in the right place at the right time and finding a great deal. Just thought I’d share my great buys over the past couples weeks.
One way I’ve found to save money on clothing is to buy it at the end of the season at clearance prices to be worn the following season. I’m able to find a lot of great clothing as it goes out of season. Last year I picked up some winter coats for the boys that had been marked down as low at $12.
On my recent shopping trip, I got some $1.97 long-sleeved shirts at Old Navy. Often, I’ll find shirts that are normally $12 - $18 for $7.49 or $4.97. Once in a while I get lucky and find some cute tops in the right sizes for under $2. I just pulled out some summer clothes I’d packed away for my youngest and in the pile was a cute solid ringer t-shirt with the clearance tag of $1.47 on it.
Another place I love to shop for clothing for the kids is Kohl’s. They have nice brands the boys like. I stopped in a couple weeks ago planning to use the $20 in Kohl’s cash I’d accumulated on an earlier visit. I headed over to the overflowing clearance racks in the boys’ section and left with three hoodies (2 that had a bonus radio and ear buds along with them) and seven other long-sleeved shirts for $34 (after applying my Kohl’s cash.) The most expensive thing was a Tony Hawk hoodie for my oldest for $10.80. The least expensive was a Nike shirt for $2.
Last week, I was making a quick run into ALDI for milk and was greeted by some racks of flowers as I walked in. I picked up four 8-inch planters (2 snapdragons and 2 petunias) for $1.99 each and put them out of the front porch. While I love to add potted flowers around the outside of the house, it’s not often that I buy cut flowers for inside, but I couldn’t pass up the one-day only sale of a half-dozen roses with baby’s breath for just 99 cents! Sometimes great bargains don’t come from good planning, but good timing.
Over the years, I’ve continued looking for ways to save money in raising my large family. I buy a lot of food in bulk and have figured out how to combine coupons with sale prices and in-store ads at places like Walgreen’s to get bottles of dish soap for 69 cents or a $4 bottle of shampoo for $1.50.
Aside form the strategic planning for bargains, I love being in the right place at the right time and finding a great deal. Just thought I’d share my great buys over the past couples weeks.
One way I’ve found to save money on clothing is to buy it at the end of the season at clearance prices to be worn the following season. I’m able to find a lot of great clothing as it goes out of season. Last year I picked up some winter coats for the boys that had been marked down as low at $12.
On my recent shopping trip, I got some $1.97 long-sleeved shirts at Old Navy. Often, I’ll find shirts that are normally $12 - $18 for $7.49 or $4.97. Once in a while I get lucky and find some cute tops in the right sizes for under $2. I just pulled out some summer clothes I’d packed away for my youngest and in the pile was a cute solid ringer t-shirt with the clearance tag of $1.47 on it.
Another place I love to shop for clothing for the kids is Kohl’s. They have nice brands the boys like. I stopped in a couple weeks ago planning to use the $20 in Kohl’s cash I’d accumulated on an earlier visit. I headed over to the overflowing clearance racks in the boys’ section and left with three hoodies (2 that had a bonus radio and ear buds along with them) and seven other long-sleeved shirts for $34 (after applying my Kohl’s cash.) The most expensive thing was a Tony Hawk hoodie for my oldest for $10.80. The least expensive was a Nike shirt for $2.
Last week, I was making a quick run into ALDI for milk and was greeted by some racks of flowers as I walked in. I picked up four 8-inch planters (2 snapdragons and 2 petunias) for $1.99 each and put them out of the front porch. While I love to add potted flowers around the outside of the house, it’s not often that I buy cut flowers for inside, but I couldn’t pass up the one-day only sale of a half-dozen roses with baby’s breath for just 99 cents! Sometimes great bargains don’t come from good planning, but good timing.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
On the road again (and in the air)
I am so blessed to have an opportunity to see so many new things and places as a travel writer. Last week while the kids were on their Easter break from school, we took a short trip to Indianapolis. I hadn’t been there in nearly eight years, but the last time around I was there checking things out for a family travel piece I was writing and I remembered that it was a very family friendly city.
The Indianapolis Zoo was a blast, especially when the boys were able to pet a shark. Sometimes, coming from a big city like Chicago, you expect big things elsewhere. Sometimes it can be a disappointment, other times it’s refreshing. This was the latter. While Chicago has two great zoos, often getting there and parking are dreadful. My last few trips to Lincoln Park Zoo have been on field trips with the boys where I arrive via bus and don’t have to worry about parking. Once I’m there, I love it, but getting there is the tricky part. Brookfield is also a wonderful facility, but it’s so large, we never make it through everything we want to see in one day. We spend as much time walking from place to place as we do enjoying the exhibits and animals. So, the Indianapolis Zoo was a refreshing change. On a warm April day, we found parking just five spots from the entrance. Once inside, the zoo was easy to maneuver and packed with exhibits that excited the kids – and me.
Parking was only $5 and once you were in the admission gates, you weren’t charged extra for other exhibits, like the farm area or dolphin show. We also were awed by the butterflies that filled a conservatory in the White River Gardens. This was also free with zoo admission. We just had to get our hand stamped while exiting the zoo to go next door.
In the evening, my oldest son and I attended a game of the Indianapolis Indians, a Triple-A team of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The park, Victory Field, has been called the “Best Minor League Ballpark in America” by Sports Illustrated. The city skyline looked stunning from our seats behind home plate. And to top it off, the Indians pulled off a 4-2 win over the Louisville Bats.
On our walk back to the hotel after the game, it was apparent that there were many options for dining and nightlife. I also had to stop to gaze at the capitol building all lit up at night.
Indy is a great walking town, especially for sports lovers. From our hotel room on the 12th floor of the Omni Severin Hotel, we could see both Conseco Fieldhouse, home of the Indiana Pacers and Lucas Oil Stadium, which is the new home of the Indiana Colts. We were also able to take a skywalk across to the Circle Centre Mall. The historic Union Station was right out the hotel’s front door. It’s no longer a functioning train station. The building now serves as a banquet hall and sits beside the Crowne Plaza Hotel, which has several authentic Pullman cars that have been converted into guest rooms. The architecture is gorgeous, though, and it was a treat to look out the hotel window at it.
On day two, we visited the Indianapolis Children’s Museum. The boys were in heaven between the temporary Lego, Star Wars and comic character exhibits and the permanent dinosaur exhibit. We could have easily spent a full day there.
Next it was on to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. I’m not a huge racing fan, but of all the places we’ve been and cool things we’ve done, one that still ranks near the top was taking a ride around the speedway track on our previous visit. We were in a bus rather than a racecar and were going quite a bit slower, but it was still quite a thrill. On this trip, we didn’t get to do the racetrack lap, but went for a behind the scenes tour and were able to see some cars doing practice laps. I even was interviewed by a local television station while we were there. The Helio Castroneves verdict had just been announced and they were out looking for reactions from fans. I rattled off a few goofy lines about how I loved him on Dancing with the Stars.
The morning after we returned, I was to head out to the Lansing Municipal Airport to meet with the crew of the Great Lakes Wing of the Commemorative Air Force for a ride aboard the Black Sparrow, a replica of the C-47 lead plane of the D-Day invasion.
The ride was much smoother and quieter than I anticipated. I met a lot of interesting people and heard a lot of interesting stories. I even talked to a guy who reported to basic training in 1941 in California and was trained by legendary Hollywood actor Jimmy Stewart.
After the first flight took off, they loaded up a van of photographers and reporters and took us out to the runway at the southeast end of the airport to get some shots of the plane taking off and landing, which was quite exciting to see close up. I went on the second flight which took us along the lakeshore for some amazing views.
This week I’ll be heading down to Springfield with a busload of fourth graders on their long-awaited class trip. I’m looking forward to revisiting some of the great historic sites there and exploring some I haven’t been to. That’ll be visits to the capitals of both Indiana and Illinois within a week. Whew! That makes for a busy week, but a very fascinating one.
The Indianapolis Zoo was a blast, especially when the boys were able to pet a shark. Sometimes, coming from a big city like Chicago, you expect big things elsewhere. Sometimes it can be a disappointment, other times it’s refreshing. This was the latter. While Chicago has two great zoos, often getting there and parking are dreadful. My last few trips to Lincoln Park Zoo have been on field trips with the boys where I arrive via bus and don’t have to worry about parking. Once I’m there, I love it, but getting there is the tricky part. Brookfield is also a wonderful facility, but it’s so large, we never make it through everything we want to see in one day. We spend as much time walking from place to place as we do enjoying the exhibits and animals. So, the Indianapolis Zoo was a refreshing change. On a warm April day, we found parking just five spots from the entrance. Once inside, the zoo was easy to maneuver and packed with exhibits that excited the kids – and me.
Parking was only $5 and once you were in the admission gates, you weren’t charged extra for other exhibits, like the farm area or dolphin show. We also were awed by the butterflies that filled a conservatory in the White River Gardens. This was also free with zoo admission. We just had to get our hand stamped while exiting the zoo to go next door.
In the evening, my oldest son and I attended a game of the Indianapolis Indians, a Triple-A team of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The park, Victory Field, has been called the “Best Minor League Ballpark in America” by Sports Illustrated. The city skyline looked stunning from our seats behind home plate. And to top it off, the Indians pulled off a 4-2 win over the Louisville Bats.
On our walk back to the hotel after the game, it was apparent that there were many options for dining and nightlife. I also had to stop to gaze at the capitol building all lit up at night.
Indy is a great walking town, especially for sports lovers. From our hotel room on the 12th floor of the Omni Severin Hotel, we could see both Conseco Fieldhouse, home of the Indiana Pacers and Lucas Oil Stadium, which is the new home of the Indiana Colts. We were also able to take a skywalk across to the Circle Centre Mall. The historic Union Station was right out the hotel’s front door. It’s no longer a functioning train station. The building now serves as a banquet hall and sits beside the Crowne Plaza Hotel, which has several authentic Pullman cars that have been converted into guest rooms. The architecture is gorgeous, though, and it was a treat to look out the hotel window at it.
On day two, we visited the Indianapolis Children’s Museum. The boys were in heaven between the temporary Lego, Star Wars and comic character exhibits and the permanent dinosaur exhibit. We could have easily spent a full day there.
Next it was on to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. I’m not a huge racing fan, but of all the places we’ve been and cool things we’ve done, one that still ranks near the top was taking a ride around the speedway track on our previous visit. We were in a bus rather than a racecar and were going quite a bit slower, but it was still quite a thrill. On this trip, we didn’t get to do the racetrack lap, but went for a behind the scenes tour and were able to see some cars doing practice laps. I even was interviewed by a local television station while we were there. The Helio Castroneves verdict had just been announced and they were out looking for reactions from fans. I rattled off a few goofy lines about how I loved him on Dancing with the Stars.
The morning after we returned, I was to head out to the Lansing Municipal Airport to meet with the crew of the Great Lakes Wing of the Commemorative Air Force for a ride aboard the Black Sparrow, a replica of the C-47 lead plane of the D-Day invasion.
The ride was much smoother and quieter than I anticipated. I met a lot of interesting people and heard a lot of interesting stories. I even talked to a guy who reported to basic training in 1941 in California and was trained by legendary Hollywood actor Jimmy Stewart.
After the first flight took off, they loaded up a van of photographers and reporters and took us out to the runway at the southeast end of the airport to get some shots of the plane taking off and landing, which was quite exciting to see close up. I went on the second flight which took us along the lakeshore for some amazing views.
This week I’ll be heading down to Springfield with a busload of fourth graders on their long-awaited class trip. I’m looking forward to revisiting some of the great historic sites there and exploring some I haven’t been to. That’ll be visits to the capitals of both Indiana and Illinois within a week. Whew! That makes for a busy week, but a very fascinating one.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Never a dull moment
Moms sure do live exciting lives. Not glamorous, luxurious rock star lives, but not dull by any means. There's always some action. And when it's quiet, you know it's that calm before the storm and you're just waiting for something to happen.
Tonight, before doing dishes, I instructed my nine-year old to vacuum the living room. Next thing I know, there's loud sobbing coming from the living room and I run to see who has gotten hurt. I'm thinking something has fallen on someone or a body part has been sucked into the vacuum. Turned out my 7 year-old lost his first tooth, which happen to fall out onto the floor as my older son was vacuuming. He was sure it was gone for good and that he wouldn't be able to tuck it under his pillow. (Translation: no tooth = no money from the tooth fairy.)
While I tried to reassure him that she'd be understanding and we'd write a note explaining what happened, he rambled on about how it fell out right in front of the sofa. As he was pointing to the spot where it fell, he noticed a small white piece among the carpeting. His tooth has managed to escape being sucked into the vacuum filter. Suddenly all was good again. A big smile came across his face, with a big empty space on the bottom left.
Tonight, before doing dishes, I instructed my nine-year old to vacuum the living room. Next thing I know, there's loud sobbing coming from the living room and I run to see who has gotten hurt. I'm thinking something has fallen on someone or a body part has been sucked into the vacuum. Turned out my 7 year-old lost his first tooth, which happen to fall out onto the floor as my older son was vacuuming. He was sure it was gone for good and that he wouldn't be able to tuck it under his pillow. (Translation: no tooth = no money from the tooth fairy.)
While I tried to reassure him that she'd be understanding and we'd write a note explaining what happened, he rambled on about how it fell out right in front of the sofa. As he was pointing to the spot where it fell, he noticed a small white piece among the carpeting. His tooth has managed to escape being sucked into the vacuum filter. Suddenly all was good again. A big smile came across his face, with a big empty space on the bottom left.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
It's been a while!
Wow, I realized that it's been a long, long time since I entered a blog here. I guess I've gotten swept up in the Facebook addiction and my computer time is often spent on that site. It's so much easier to just log on and enter a two-sentence status. When I first got on the site, I was surprised by how many other moms I knew were members and it's a fun way to catch up on what everyone and their kids are up to and keep in touch. I've come across people I haven't seen or been in contact with for 10 or 20 years...or more.
The other thing that's kept me away over the winter is the sick cycle that's gone though our house. One strain after another has drifted around -- colds, flu, strep throat, ear infections. I'm hoping all the germs have left the building permanently. A sick child puts a halt to everything that's going on and I hope for their sake - and mine - that good health is ahead.
Well, that's it for now. Bedtime awaits!
The other thing that's kept me away over the winter is the sick cycle that's gone though our house. One strain after another has drifted around -- colds, flu, strep throat, ear infections. I'm hoping all the germs have left the building permanently. A sick child puts a halt to everything that's going on and I hope for their sake - and mine - that good health is ahead.
Well, that's it for now. Bedtime awaits!
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