NWI Parent Blog—Photographer and writer mom of two, Beth always brings a new twist to the suburban mundane.

I am having a difficult time during the day, when the house is quiet, the kids are at school, Brian is at work and it’s just me…all alone.

I know there are many Moms out there that would love this opportunity but it’s just not for me. I MISS my kids and the life of being a stay at home Mom. I have spent a lot of time thinking about getting a temporary job, but I realize that not many people would be interested in hiring a woman who is five months pregnant and also, I know that the best thing I can do during this pregnancy is relax.

Continue reading Beth’s latest post here on her “Laptops to Countertops” blog.

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NWI Parent Blog—Rick Kaempfer’s business card says author/writer/blogger, but his real job is “stay-at-home-dad.”

Monday (Nov 16) is our 18th wedding anniversary.

A lot has happened to us during those years. I thought I would tell the story with pictures. (Click on the links to see the pictures)

1991: The blushing bride
(Photo: Bridget on our wedding day.)
She was 24. I was 28. At the time, we both worked in the same office (the radio station The Loop). I co-hosted a show called “Ebony & Ivory” with Stan Lawrence, and Bridget worked in the sales department. Nearly every station employee attended our wedding; and seemed to thoroughly enjoy our German oom-pah-pah band.

Continue reading Rick’s latest post here on his “Father Knows Nothing” blog.

NWI Parent Blog—We’ve all gotta eat-might as well have some fun in the kitchen! Check here for recipes, cooking with kids, food finds, and more.

So Thanksgiving - the ultimate food thursday - is just around the corner. Now I don’t know about you but on turkey day we try to eat light before the feast. There’s certainly no official lunch involved, we just get out some yummy snacks to nibble while we finish up the cooking and turkey day preparations. The following dip is perfect for that sort of thing. It’s light. It’s served warm. And it looks like you put more effort into it than it requires. Next week I’ll probably post something holiday related too - if you’ve got a request for a food category - post it in the comments and I’ll see what I can do.

Without further ado… a new ‘go-to’ dip. Quite yummy with wheat thins or triscuits in my opinion. Or lightly toasted baguette slices if you’re all ambitious.

Continue reading Barb’s latest post here on her “Food with a Dash of Fun” blog.

Laugh, cry and multitask with Julia as she documents the triumphs and debacles of life as a single working mother.

Yesterday morning, I awoke to breakfast in bed… served to me by my sweet, loving six-year-old daughter.

She had tried to wake me up earlier but I wasn’t havin’ it. I mumbled something about how I would get up in a few minutes and make breakfast. Isabella disappeared, and I returned to dreamland. The next time I woke, Isabella was entering the room carrying a “tray” (my cutting board) topped with a bowl of cereal, two slices of toast, a bowl of kiwi slices and a glass of apple juice.

Continue reading Julia’s latest post here on her “Party of Two” blog.

NWI Parent Blog—Rick Kaempfer’s business card says author/writer/blogger, but his real job is “stay-at-home-dad.”

When I was a radio disc jockey and producer, I spoke to listeners on the telephone every day. Many of the calls were song requests, and many of those requests came from people misquoting a song title or misunderstanding the lyrics. Some of them were pretty hilarious.

I kept track of them because I was going to compile them into a book. Unfortunately, somebody beat me to it. (Gavin Edwards wrote “Excuse me while I kiss this guy.”)

Continue reading Rick’s latest post here on his “Father Knows Nothing” blog.

NWI Parent Blog—Photographer and writer mom of two, Beth always brings a new twist to the suburban mundane.

Yesterday, my five year old got off the bus with a fever, which is the exact thing that happened to my daughter this past Monday.

It was so obvious that he felt sick, red cheeks, runny nose, big brown eyes, okay, maybe the eyes didn’t tell me anything but they are big and beautiful, so I may as well mention them, right?

On Sunday, we all felt great. We were our usual happy and healthy family, taking down the Halloween decorations, visiting family, playing Uno, taking baths and then Monday hit and it’s like we were literally hit by a semi truck with my daughter getting the flu first.

Continue reading Beth’s latest post here on her “Laptops to Countertops” blog.

NWI Parent Blog—We’ve all gotta eat-might as well have some fun in the kitchen! Check here for recipes, cooking with kids, food finds, and more.

My kids have always liked baking. And I like having them in the kitchen with me so it’s a win-win situation. Besides just think of all the math they are subconsiously learning when you teach them how to measure. So get your kids in the kitchen, this recipe is easy enough for all ages!

We’re talking pumpkin cookies. Yes, you can make them year round but there is just something about the fall that makes me want to put pumpkin in as many things as possible. I make a mean pumpkin muffin and I’ve got a great pumpkin bread recipe (for the bread maker no less!). But a few weeks ago I went on the hunt for a good pumpkin cookie recipe. I’m happy to say, I found it. I’ve only made one tiny change to this recipe - its original can be found on Pioneer Woman’s Tasty Kitchen website (a great resource for all sorts of recipes).

Continue reading Barb’s latest post here on her “Food with a Dash of Fun” blog.

NWI Parent Blog—Stephanie is a stay-at-home mom to three boys and a baby girl, but don’t let that fool you. She’ll keep you in style and in-the-know with reviews on the latest products and services you’ll use, with a little bit of life thrown in.

I’ve never been a big fan of ice cream. I don’t know why. Cake with ice cream? I’ll just take the cake. Honestly I’ll pass up ice cream way more often than I’ll agree to eat it.

Probably because there is really only one flavor that I truly love and all others just leave me thinking why waste the calories? I’d rather eat something else.

Growing up my favorite ice cream ever was Baskin Robbins peanut butter n chocolate ice cream. It doesn’t get much better than that, in my opinion. Whenever we go out for ice cream anywhere, if they have peanut butter & chocolate, I have to have it. I’m always trying to find who has the best. I never, ever try another flavor if peanut butter and chocolate is an option.

Continue reading Stephanie’s latest post here on her “Close to Home” blog.

NWI Parent Blog—Rick Kaempfer’s business card says author/writer/blogger, but his real job is “stay-at-home-dad.”

In the blink of an eye, I aged ten years.

It happened on Thursday around 3:30. My oldest boy Tommy (14) was walking my youngest boy Sean (7) home from school, which he does every single day.

There was only one difference on Thursday. I had to run to the store for something, so I drove up beside them to let them know. We were literally fifty feet away from our home. I rolled down the window…

Continue reading Rick’s latest post here on his “Father Knows Nothing” blog.