We all know that cooking with kids is recommended. Research shows that it encourages kids to have a more adventurous palate and promotes family bonding, among a host of other benefits.

But the truth is, cooking with LITTLE kids can be a real circus act. 

Take, for example, the time when my mini sous chef decided to use the kitchen faucet as a fire hose. Or when and my little pastry queen turned our kitchen floor into a sugary beach. Of course, these things always seem to happen whil...

Don’t let the 60-degree weather in Chicago fool you—lights are going up on trees and holiday music is taking over the airwaves. The holidays are almost here! And if you are anything like me, coming up with great gifts for the kids in my life is a struggle. I mean, I don’t want to be stepping on small figurines every time I walk through my living room, nor do I want to spend a ton of money on poorly made toys that fall apart within a week. That’s why my family and I are taking a trip to Ch...

For 20 years I have been a parent of a child with special needs. You can imagine how often I have shopped for, and with, my child. Over the course of those years, I have encountered numerous vendors, proprietors and salespeople. There are retailers to whom I would never return and those who I frequent. There are common characteristics of those vendors, and quality of merchandise is not high on the list.

Foremost, both the sales personnel and the shop are inviting. When I walk into a store ...

Photo credit: Bruno Girin/Flickr

CPS application season is well under way! The Chicago Public Schools application deadline for the 2017-2018 school year is Friday, December 9, 2016.  Students entering kindergarten through 8th grade may apply for open seats at schools across the city, with a limited number of pre-k options available as well (click here for the basics on CPS preschool). 

In CPS, there are two main types of schools to which you can apply:

Magnet schools and pr...

Photo credit: crazybananas/Flickr

One of the things I both love and find infuriating about raising kids in the city of Chicago is school choice. I grew up in a small suburb outside of Boston and you simply went to the school that was assigned to your neighborhood—one of the three that were available. A few outliers went to one of the local Catholic schools, and even fewer attended the private boarding school down the road.

Raising, and educating, children in the city of Ch...