• Home
  • About »
    • for Beginners
    • Disclaimer
  • Links »
    • Educational Resources
    • Parenting Websites
    • for Chicago Parents
    • Mommy Blogroll
  • Archives »
    • by Category
    • by Tags
    • by Date
    • Most Commented
    • Most Read
  • Contact

Practical Mama

Practical wisdom and balanced lifestyle for parents

  • Home
  • Parenting
    • Positive Parenting
    • Parenting Fun
    • Working Mother
    • Community Involvement
  • Baby and Child
    • Pregnancy
    • Delivery/Birth
    • Breastfeeding
    • Kids’ Health
    • Sleep
    • Potty Training
    • Kids’ Safety
  • Play & Learn
    • Arts and Crafts
    • Play
    • Books
    • Education
    • School
    • Birthday Parties
  • Home
    • Home Organization
    • Gardening
    • Sewing
    • Backyard Chickens
    • Product Review
  • Food
    • Recipes
    • Nutrition
    • Practical Cooking
    • Kitchen Tips
    • Menu Plan Monday
  • Health & Fitness
    • Health
    • Fitness
    • Beauty
  • Travel
    • Family Travel Tips
    • Chicago
    • International Destinations
    • US Destinations
  • Blogging
    • News
    • Giveaways
Spring Bucket List Ideas for Families

The Ultimate Spring Bucket List for Families

Motherhood by the book

Oral Thrush in Babies

Record your own Lullaby CD for your baby

You are here: Home / Blog

Practical Cooking, Working Mother

10 steps to prepare and cook weekly meals in advance

By Practical Mama |
This post may contain affiliate links

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...]

Birthday Parties, Sewing

Cake Tutu for Ballerina themed birthday party

By Practical Mama |
This post may contain affiliate links

Cake Tutu

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...]

Kitchen Tips, School

Packing hot school lunches and keeping them warm

By Practical Mama |
This post may contain affiliate links

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...]

Working Mother

New job, new office, new commute, new routine

By Practical Mama |
This post may contain affiliate links

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...]

Positive Parenting

Good Things & Great Times Jar

By Practical Mama |
This post may contain affiliate links

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...]

Home Organization

Organizing entryway clutter

By Practical Mama |
This post may contain affiliate links

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...]

Backyard Chickens

How to winterize your chicken coop

By Practical Mama |
This post may contain affiliate links

Winterize 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...]

Play, Product Review

Product Review: Luckybums ski and bike trainer for children

By Practical Mama |
This post may contain affiliate links

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...]

Books

Book Review: When Children Ask About God

By Practical Mama |
This post may contain affiliate links

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...]

Play

Winter Activity for kids: Snow painting

By Practical Mama |
This post may contain affiliate links

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...]

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • …
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • 13
  • 14
  • …
  • 40
  • Next Page »
Get the newsletter

All the latest sent straight to your inbox so you never miss out!

Thank you!

You have successfully joined our subscriber list.

.


I am a mother of two and a type of person who you would call “Jack of all trades, master of none”. As you might guess from categories, I love my children, reading, sewing, gardening, traveling and cooking. I also work full time so I have to be practical to do all the things I want to do in a 24-hr-day. More About Me


More on Practical Mama

How to boost your immune system for winter
How to make your own bone broth
Record your own lullaby
Sandpaper Letters

Trending

  • Packing list for traveling with school age children
  • Packing hot school lunches and keeping them warm
  • Packing list for traveling with babies and toddlers
  • How to turn flat sheets into fitted sheets
  • DIY- How to build a balance beam
  • 20 Thermos school lunch ideas
  • How to prevent knee holes in pants
  • How to hack a pull up bar to use as gymnastics training bar for kids
  • Massage for ear infection and earache
  • DIY Earring holder that organizes studs and dangles

Categories

Archives

Copyright ©2026, Practical Mama. All Rights Reserved. Custom design by Pixel Me Designs