When the temperature starts to drop and the leaves begin to change, I start craving Grandma Charlotte’s pork chops with dressing.
I grew up eating those pork chops, but the time I remember most is the night soon after our wedding when Grandpa Ed and Grandma Charlotte invited Tim and me for dinner. It was mid-October [...]

What do you get when you cross a pumpkin with your favorite book character? A Literary Pumpkin, of course! I’d never come across this fantastic idea until today when a friend sent me a link. And now I keep picturing all of our favorite characters in pumpkin form.
I help run our elementary school’s Scholastic book [...]

Muffin Mondays are back! I totally slacked off on this fun little ritual during the school year because, well, it wasn’t fun. The kids had to leave for school so early that to get up any earlier to make muffins was not fun. Of course, the smart thing would have been to make the batter [...]

{ image by Aimée Lowry and Bettijo B. Hirschi }
Do you celebrate graduations? Looking back over my childhood, I remember a big picnic and awards ceremony at the end of sixth grade, a special church ceremony for eighth grade graduation (I went to parochial school for middle school and high school), and, of course, a [...]

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Is it May 1st already? My goodness, time is flying by.
When you were small, did you ever leave May Day baskets for your neighbors? I remember making woven paper baskets, setting them on the neighbors’ front steps, ringing the doorbell, and then running to hide, giggling, in the bushes to [...]

Did you enjoy your Easter weekend? We visited with family, ate way too much food, and soaked up the most beautiful weather. It’s such a treat when we get to hold the Easter egg hunt outside!
I wanted to share a few things with you before moving on from Easter. I posted about possible desserts last [...]

I asked a bunch of friends what their favorite Easter traditions were when they were kids, and nearly all of them said “Easter baskets.” Some had to search for their baskets because the Easter Bunny hid them, but others said the baskets were sitting out waiting prettily for them when they woke up Easter morning.
Around [...]

Are you still able to eat Peeps? I am not. But I think it would be fun to make this Peeps Sunflower Cake for the under-20 crowd. (What? You’re over 20 and can eat Peeps? You must have tastebuds of steel!)
Did you get Peeps in your Easter basket when you were little? Back in the [...]

I know St. Patrick’s Day is over, but I have to show you Lily’s Awesome Leprechaun Trap.
But first, the truth. I almost decided not to make a trap this year. There was so much going on last week, I could hardly keep up. And, really, would the world end if we didn’t make a leprechaun [...]

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Since I started this blog, several new mothers have asked for ideas for creating family traditions. I’ve shared some of the traditions our family engages in over the course of a “mom’s year,” but I’d like to scour around for new ideas and get input from you, too. I’m thinking about [...]