Emily is a Washington DC native now living in the near west suburbs of Chicago. A lawyer by training, she works part-time teaching at a local law school and spends most of her time taking care of her family and volunteering in her community. Emily and her husband have a daughter who is in second grade and a three-year-old son. Emily’s daughter has many food allergies, which can make birthday parties, school lunches and dining out a challenge, but she strives to keep her daughter’s life pretty normal and even fun. Emily’s son does not appear to have any allergies, just a profound aversion to the word "no."
Emily’s tastes range from the serious to the frivolous. She subscribes to US Weekly and The New Yorker. She follows politics, theater, movies, television, fashion and pop culture. That doesn’t mean she actually goes to the theater or dresses fashionably, of course. Emily loves to cook more than almost anything else and she recently became an avid canner; but she doesn't garden and she barely decorates. You can read Emily’s thoughts on all these topics and whatever else comes to mind at her personal blog <West of the Loop.
One of my favorite parts of being a parent is introducing my children to the books and movies that I loved as a kid. Now that my daughter, Zuzu, is almost 8, she is ready for some of the longer children’s books that I remember so fondly from my elementary school days. She and I just finished reading [...]
I have written before about my love for the CSO’s Kraft Family Matinee series. This series of several, hour-long Saturday afternoon concerts is a wonderful way to introduce elementary-school aged children to the beauty of classical music. Each concert features selections from works by great composers — organized around a theme, such as water or city versus [...]
My daughter was ushered into a sorority yesterday: the sisterhood of the pierced ear. As I explained in a post written last September, I had originally told Zuzu that she had to be eleven — the age I was — to get her ears pierced. But after seeing how much Zuzu wanted pierced ears, and how [...]
At this time of year, there is a lot of discussion in the media about what I call the Christmas culture wars. In a multi-ethnic society like ours, where not everyone is Christian, how prevalent should Christmas merriment be? Some people worry about political correctness and eschew Christmas greetings in favor of a more neutral “Happy Holidays” or [...]
Doesn’t it feel like Halloween has gone from being a one-day holiday to a month-long death march of costumes, parties and candy? First, you have to take your kids to the pumpkin patch — and by the way, when did “pumpkin patch” become code for “dusty carnival with the occasional gourd thrown in for good measure?” Then, [...]
When your child is a baby, your pediatrician, your mom, your friends and all the books will tell you at what age your baby should sit up, wave, try rice cereal, crawl, say Mama and Dada and walk. But what about when your child gets older? How do you know at what age he or she should [...]
Labor Day 2010. It was unseasonably cool and breezy that morning, making our plan to enjoy one last day at the local pool seem less appealing. What should we do with our last day of summer, we wondered. My husband grinned: “Three magic words come to mind,” he said. “Let’s go shopping,” I ventured. Uh, no. “Kane. [...]
Arts and crafts has long been a summer camp staple, but imagine a camp where kids paint, draw, dance, and create with professional artists in real studios and galleries. That is precisely the experience that the Oak Park Arts District Summer Art Camp offers. The Oak Park Arts District is an organization of the myriad business located along nine [...]
My father came to visit us recently just because it had been a few weeks since he had seen my kids. That’s the kind of grandfather he is: adoring, devoted, and very hands-on. He played Geotrax with my son; he listened to Zuzu describe the rich inner lives of her American Girl Dolls and he took us out [...]
12:30 p.m., Wednesday afternoon: I have just finished explaining to my babysitter, Amanda, who will be staying home with my three year old son while I go out to a meeting, that I can’t seem to find our extra key. So, I suggest that she simply leave the back door unlocked if she decides to take J.R. to the park. Speaking of [...]
Earlier this week the Chicago Tribune published a story about how increasing number of Illinois high school students are taking summer school courses, not because they are in academic trouble, but rather as a way to get ahead or shine up their resume for college admissions. The article specifically cited my town’s school, Oak Park River Forest High [...]
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