Last December I reached a major milestone in my family child care career – I completed the Family Child Care Certificate from Fox Valley Technical College, and was awarded a Family Child Care Credential by the Registry. Because I teach the first two classes in the Credential – Curriculum for…
I love it when our home is clean, but sometimes it gets so messy that I don’t know where to start. Then I found these great tips and tricks for getting your home ready for the holidays. Since I’ve read them already I’m going to start cleaning while I’m still…
Change throughout a lifetime is ongoing. It never really gets easier, even in adulthood. Moving is an especially challenging experience — and can be amplified as a young child. This is an opportunity to introduce this life lesson to your child and even share your own apprehensions. Here’s how to…
All the stores have been stocking their shelves with Christmas since October and the grocery store had a Salvation Army bell-ringer before Halloween – what’s up with that? I refuse to think about Christmas before Thanksgiving, except for Toys for Tots. Cowboy is in the Marine Reserves, which helps out…
All of the 1920s Bennett catalogs I found had more than just house plans in them. Remember the #18 Bennett catalog with the Flanders house plan in it? It had a two pages of “Modern Equipment For Your Home”. Being a history geek I love seeing what used to be…
It’s probably hard to believe, but your 40 weeks of pregnancy — which, let’s be honest, at times probably felt like 400 — are almost over. And before you know it, you’ll be welcoming your new bundle of joy into the world. The last few weeks of pregnancy tend to…
The other day I received an email from David, owner of Cleaning Services Group in the UK. That’s the United Kingdom, if you didn’t know. He’s passionate about the disastrous effect littering has on our planet, and after reading his message I decided to help spread his message. Did…
Several years ago I wrote a couple of posts about baby wearing. Both Teacher and I wore each of our babies, and several of our grand-babies too. Although my posts fulfilled their purpose – to support baby wearing – they weren’t very helpful for new parents who wanted to learn…
When I was a kid my grandparents had a giant Cortland apple tree in their back yard. Nothing tasted as good as the apples from that tree, and Cortlands are still my favorite apple. In the fall when Cortlands are ripe I love to make Baked Apples, but I never…
Teacher and I love the 1920s floor we uncovered and by “we” I mean “he and Jonah”, but aren’t sure what kind of wood it is. I think it’s maple, but I have no reason to think that except it sounds like a nice kind of wood to me. One…
