For the last 6 weeks before I quit my previous job, I had to travel for business. Half of these trips were from Monday through Friday where my husband had to care of the household by himself. In two of these trips, schools were closed due to Polar Vortex. I wanted to at least take cooking/meal preparation out of his hectic schedule. I spent my … [Read more...]
10 steps to prepare and cook weekly meals in advance
Cake Tutu for Ballerina themed birthday party
A friend of mine baked the birthday cake for my daughter's ballerina themed birthday party. I sew a tutu for the cake. The inspiration is from Pinterest. It's very easy to make. I sewed it with my sewing machine. If you are patient enough, you can sew it by hand as well. First order of business: Know the circumference of the cake, in order to … [Read more...]
Packing hot school lunches and keeping them warm
I try to pack school lunches for kids as much as I can. However, recently I've given up, having to throw away so many untouched foods, half eaten or even barely eaten sandwiches. I let the kids eat school’s cafeteria lunch instead of spending all that time to think, prepare and see all that wasted food. The school cafeteria lunch menu this year, … [Read more...]
New job, new office, new commute, new routine
Two weeks ago, I've started a new job. Not only it's a new job, but after 9 years, I've started to work out-of-home instead of my home office. Therefore, I am driving to and from work every day. The change itself was a bit unexpected, but gladly received. I was used to working out-of-home with occasional business travel. I enjoyed not … [Read more...]
Good Things & Great Times Jar
I am a little bit behind on the new year's personal development initiatives. I've seen this "good things & great times jar" on various blogs and I loved the idea. A memory jar is similar to having a collective gratitude journal, but this one is a collective one for the family. A family memory collection jar. It encourages focusing on positive … [Read more...]
Organizing entryway clutter
We mainly use our back door to get in house arriving from the garage. This entryway is very limited in terms of space. It's right by the kitchen and the stairs that go to the upper floor. That small area has been a mess for a long time. Our major issue with that mess was finding the stuff kids needed getting out of the house, especially on school … [Read more...]
How to winterize your chicken coop
Once we rodent proofed our coop, I wanted to insulate the coop to get ready for Chicago winter. I am really glad I set out early because I made some mistakes in my initial design and had to redo the whole insulation before temperatures went down. I purchased 1" white Styrofoam sheets. They might have it at hardware stores in the insulation … [Read more...]
Product Review: Luckybums ski and bike trainer for children
I taught my children how to swim, ski, and ride a 2-wheel bike. Last year, I was teaching my younger one skiing. It's a little bit tricky to teach one and keep an eye on the other one who can ski by himself. Everything was easy and good when we were on the bunny hill together. Then my son wanted to upgrade from the bunny hill to bigger hills.For … [Read more...]
Book Review: When Children Ask About God
I came around "When Children Ask About God" a while ago when I was looking for children's books about God on Amazon.com. It was one of the related recommendations. However, this book is not for children. It is for adults. It is written by a Rabbi, who is also the author of "When Bad Things Happen to Good People". The book is definitely not a … [Read more...]
Winter Activity for kids: Snow painting
Winter in Chicago can be harsh. It's long and sometimes colder than Alaska. Particularly, windchill is dreadful. Nothing protects you against it and it drains the energy in you. Snow, however, is on the good side of winter in my book. When it snows the temperatures warm a bit. Everywhere is covered in a peaceful white, at least for a while. Kids … [Read more...]
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