What Ana Does

I know what I said in 2013. I was committing to making a nice Sunday dinner for my family every week and getting everyone around the table with me. I wrote it all down here . But things change. And lately I love going out to dinner on a Sunday night as a family. I love that I don't have pressure to create a meal on a Sunday. And I get the family all together after we've been running around all weekend. We dish about the week ahead, what we need and anything else coming up.  And no dishes! Dinner at Our Favorite Taco Place But don't worry, we do get around the kitchen table a few days a week to eat together and talk about how our day. So that study about family traditions around the dinner table is still being observed. Related links: More Cooking posts All my Family Time posts

I'm finally getting this post together with all the details from our Hawaii adventure. It's almost too much to put into one post, but I do love to document the places we stayed and ate so I can pass it on to the next adventurer. Let me preface by saying David booked the whole thing (he did a fab job) and he choose family-friendly resorts. In fact, I think his search keyword was "resorts with water slide" in Hawaii. Monday - Friday: Oahu After an 9-hour flight, we checked into the Hilton Waikiki Beach , which is on the island of Oahu , in the city of Honolulu and a block away from Waikiki Beach . Honolulu  has a bustling main street with shops, resorts and restaurants. This was great, because we had lots of choice for meals and could wander and shop -- but not the relaxing, tranquil vacation I was looking forward to. However, Waikiki Beach is known for great surf and watching surfers catch waves quickly turned into my favorite pass-time.  We would recommen...

A few years ago, I decided that we would start a new holiday called "Strawberry Day" and while I've not been super-great at observing each year, I still love fresh-picked strawberries any day.  You don't have to observe it on the same day each year, since the strawberry season shifts depending on weather. All you need to do is find a morning and a farm and pick a few buckets of these little gems. Then, when you bring them home and wash them ... eat as many as you can until you get tummy aches. Maybe whip up fresh cream to dip them in. Or some yogurt. Or find a good homemade ice cream recipe. And when you've eaten all that you can, freeze the rest for the best smoothies you'll have all year. This year, we got to the farm to pick strawberries and I was in my glory. The sky was dramatic, the berries were huge and I got pink stains on my shoes and it all made me so happy.  Nothing tastes better than fresh strawberries in July.  Happy Str...

Ok, we're on DAY 6 of fostering SEVEN puppies and I'm really feeling it. The garbage can is packed with gross puppy training pads and I've been cleaning up poop and pee for the last week and ... sheesh ... it's been a whole lotta work. Alice and I have dry, cracking hands from the amount of times we wash them. And there's a smell I can't describe coming from the playpen area. And it's not just me, the girls are a lot less jazzed about the pups than the were over the weekend. And the pups have pretty much had it with their small, enclosed space. They want OUT. We've picked our preferred pup (more soon) and we're just waiting out the clock until the rest of them have their adoption interviews on Saturday. They are ready to be out in the world. And I'm reading " Puppies for Dummies " and trying to start out on the right foot with our newest family member. Still don't think it's the craziest thing I've ever volunt...

Our family is in the middle of a Marvel Movie Marathon. It started when we saw the new Thor movie. Which we loved. And the girls had all these questions about Thor. Of course, we've seen all the Marvel Avengers movies, but the girls haven't or don't remember them. So, we started watching the back library: The two Thor movies, the Captain Americas and we just started the Iron Man movies. In other words, we're using our new basement for one of the big reasons we finished it: Movie watching. Lando Just Enjoys Snuggling On the Sofa But, maybe most importantly, we're all watching them TOGETHER. We talk about the characters and try to make connections with the other movies. And provide funny commentary. Related posts: More Pop Culture posts Relive the whole basement saga!

You know when you're away on vacation and, sure, the first few days you're getting completely relaxed as you sit in a lounge chair and stare at a pool ... but after day three the mind wanders to house projects. Or is that just me? We went to Cancun, Mexico at an all-inclusive resort . Pluses: Menus with no prices and no checks to pay at the end of each meal; breakfast buffets; lots of drinks; many pools. Minuses: No beach; bad pedicure. We didn't leave the resort for any excursions or sight-seeing, so all my pictures feature the blue sky, a pool and whatever I was sitting under drinking a frosty beverage. My daily views: But I can't just sit there and NOT make a list, so after day three my mind wandered all over my house, inventorying all the tasks and to-dos I want to get done once the girls go back to school. Let me tell you, it was A LOT. And happy list-making was just about all I accomplished in the seven days we were away. And a super tan. R...

Berries By the Barrel I have started a new tradition this year ... Strawberry Day. Here in the midwest, strawberry season is about 3 weeks max -- that's it. It's not a lot of time to celebrate my favorite fruit. And there is nothing like the taste of a strawberry at peak of the season, picked fresh from the plant on a sunny June day. Nothing.  A whole series of poetry could be written about fresh-picked strawberries.  So, when I got wind this weekend was the peak of the peak, I declared it Strawberry Day! In a nutshell, the day is like this: We head to the strawberry patch as early in the morning as possible -- can't let the best strawberries get picked. Then, back to my house to make all the glorious things from strawberries: shortcake, waffles with whipped cream, angel food cake with strawberry sauce and ... fresh strawberry ice cream. And freeze a good portion for smoothies and cobblers later.  A brief aside: if you have not sampled fresh, homemade ...

The best part of being on vacation is no dishes to wash and put away. The worst part? Umm, can't come up with one. Sun burn? Daily Views Vacation means unhurried time with my family. Reading time. Swimming time. Time to eat. Sleeping in. No dogs to let out early. No school bus. No schedule. Putting Facebook on my phone because I have time to scroll through. Time to get dirty. Extra time to get clean. A different pace to the day that eases the knots of what's normal.  Related posts: Let's talk about traveling with kids 

My Mom lives about an hour away. I'm her closest child (of the five), so I'm lucky that she visits me often. Well, let's be honest, she visits her granddaughters and spoils them, thus her nickname "No Rules Nana." When she leaves, there are certain tell-tale signs that she has been here ... Opened Wine Bottle. Less M&Ms in the Jar ...  A Damp Rag. We Don't Use Rags For Cleanups ...  Plants Have Been Watered and Pruned of Dead Leaves ...  Not that my plants die when she doesn't visit. She just takes extra special care of them. And of all of us, I guess. Related posts: More with Nana

For a family that travels quite a lot, it doesn't escape me now lucky we get sometimes by not getting sick before or on our trips. So it's especially relevant on this trip, our annual journey  back to New Jersey to be with Dave's family, that I'm reminded of our little luck --- by all getting the flu.  All of us, except for Leah, laid out with coughing, fever and runny noses.  For days.  Easily the worst trip ever. We even infected our hosts --- the good friends we stay with each year. Horrible.  So, let's all take a moment to give thanks for not being ill or contagious around your family.  Happy Thanksgiving! Homeward Bound

I would never have believed David would have any desire to run a marathon when we first met over a decade ago -- or even first dating. Heck, even three years ago! I still don't know what got into him, but he ran the Chicago marathon this weekend. He's officially crazy.  Pre-Race! And we're all so proud!! I even got the girls t-shirts to wear while we cheer him on on this chilly October day. Related posts: All the weekend posts

We had a fantastic Memorial Day weekend with my Mom, brother Nic and his girlfriend Bobbi. This was the third-annual visit from this gang, so we planned a few activities ahead. Along with trips to the outlets and downtown Kenosha, we also got a lot of house projects done. They helped us finish the board and batten project in the entryway. And Sunday night we had a French-Tuscan themed evening dinner outside by candlelight. Such fun! Dinner al Fresco! Garden Projects: Planting Three Hydrangea, Plotting the Veg Garden and Laying Out the Weed Guard

A few weeks ago we met some friends at the Chicago Botanic Garden and checked out the Wonderland Express exhibit. They recreated some famous Chicago buildings and set them in fairy-like settings -- with several trains running around them. It was kinda magical! (And by "magical" I mean seeing a GREEN landscape in winter fills me with warm feelings of spring. Sigh!) Here are a few pictures I snapped. Pretty!  Train Swooshing Past

I haven't actually sat down and watched a game in, well, years but (as I've mentioned before) I love football season. Mostly because of this ... Thumbs Up! My adorable football fanatic husband will watch the NFL Red Zone channel for hours and do load after load after load of laundry.  I can putter, run errands or take the kids to a play (as I was about to do just before I took this picture) and he'll just keep washing and folding. Marvelous. Related links: More Family Room posts

One night this week I was doing my usual Pinterest-ing and started to see these neat-o lists for "100 Things to Do This Summer." I thought (as I often do while trolling Pinterest), " What a GREAT idea! " Today, Leah and I stopped by Michaels for a big piece of tag board and we sat at the table and started a list. By about 8 this evening, it was all filled up. In fact, it was A LOT easier than I thought. We all got involved and everyone's ideas were added. Come on over and join in! Our 100 Things to Do This Summer list ** the camera cut off the bottom row -- there are 100, I promise.