JAK CHAT

Hittin' the Books I know for many of us with school-aged kids, our kiddos are looking forward to their summer and no school.  While there are many summer programs and camps available, there is still a lot of time to replace the time our kids spend at school and on homework. Thankfully, our public libraries across the region know and have announced the following.  Read more... The Kenosha Public Library has a great summer planned for kids and families! The Library has added programs for teens and for families with infants, birth-35 months, promoting early literacy. Back are some of the most popular kids' programs with some new and exciting ones added. Summer program information can be found in the Kenosha Public Library Summer Event Calendar available at all Library branches and on the Bookmobile as well as here:  http://mykpl.info/s/summer-library-program and on the Just Add Kid s' website's Happenings Calendar of Events . The excitement will kick off tomorrow, Friday

Outta the Closet I am getting my skinny on, and hoping to pull all of those little clothing items (okay, size 8's) out of my closet sometime this upcoming summer.  It ain't happening now.  Fat girl has hit her peak. Read More... [gallery link="file"] Need I say more?  Well, I will! This is nothing new, it's happened before...sadly, maybe 3 times in my post-pregnancy years (30 years old til now, 4 kids later).  Gain a tremendous amount of weight, go on a diet (which has worked...I believe in Weight Watchers!), and as slowly and successfully as I lost the 30ish pounds...slowly and surely it came back. So I've hit that point again, triggered by pictures taken on Mother's Day, and accidental pics with a iPhone camera that flips around and randomly snaps shots of me and my big 'ole chin....yucko! This time, the call came at just the right time.  My friend made referrals to her gym and the sales guy gave me a jingle.  Three days later, I am working out with

The MAY-hem Continues If you read last week's blog, MAY-hem : A Mom's Life , you know that I am, just like many of you are, especially those with school-aged children, in the midst of probably THE busiest month of your parenting year. May, while crazy busy, is joyfully filled with spring concerts, recitals, banquets, tournaments, graduation celebrations, layered on top of your normal practices, games, and other extra-curricular activities. You ever wonder why they (who is they anyway? Hallmark?) throw in Mother's Day in May? Read More... ? Is it suppose to provide us moms with a day of respite while in the mix of mayhem? Perhaps, if you hit up a brunch.  Or on the other hand if we as moms weren’t spearheading the creation and/or purchase of gifts to celebrate our own mothers and mother in laws, etc.  Or if you are “lucky” enough to have hosted the celebration at your home, which was our case (thank you hubs) you are in a mad mad rush to get your house looking presentable fo

A Mom's Life It's May!  Need I say more? Well, let's see...it's about 9:15pm and tonight was Art Fair night.  Where were you?  School's ice cream social? Band concert? The sports banquet? It's a phenomenon that occurs every spring.  It's called the month of May, or as I have been accustomed to calling it May-hem. Describe your life too? I guess it's no coincidence that Mother's Day is scheduled this month.  We have to all stop, celebrate, and salute moms, right in the middle of her most craziest month out of the whole year (it might be in a dead tie with September).  Now for those of you with preschool children you are probably wondering, what the heck is all of the fuss?  Let me forewarn you... Got kids? May will hit you like a ton of bricks when they are in school, in sports, in extra-curriculars. Looking and chatting  with a lot of moms tonight, most of us are in a daze. Some had multiple events to attend tonight. And some families had to split. 

The Wheel Deal by JAK 's guest mom blogger from Kenosha, Wendy Woods It was the morning of August 2009, and my 2 1/2 year old son and I were waiting for his physical therapist and the medical equipment company. My son was going to try out a powered wheelchair for the first time. Yes, I said powered wheelchair. I was dreading this day and here it was. READ MORE... I've known for a while that my son was going to have difficulty walking on his own but I had always hoped and prayed that with a lot of physical therapy he would eventually walk. I remembered waking up and thinking that I had failed him somehow. That I was letting him down. If only he had been diagnosed earlier and started physical therapy earlier, we wouldn't be here waiting for a powered wheelchair trial. What I thought was going to be the worst day of my life turned out to be the best. When Nicholas got in the chair, he grabbed the joystick and moved about a foot, his face lit up. He couldn't believe he move