Christina Fairman

Christina lives in Northwest Illinois with her husband, daughter, and two English Springer Spaniels. Before becoming a reluctant stay-at-home mom, she worked in a variety of customer-service-oriented jobs while dreaming of living in the lap of luxury as a housewife. Unfortunately, having a child threw a wrench in Christina's plan to do nothing but eat bonbons while lounging in the Jacuzzi reading all day. Now, she spends her time looking for fun activities and crafts for her daughter and easy-to-prepare meals for her family, while trying not to land the kid in therapy when she grows up. Christina volunteers at her local library, and does both volunteer and paid work as a sexuality educator. She loves to read, and to learn about--and share--new products and resources.

After I told you all about how my husband and I had to tell our preschooler that we’re moving, but we didn’t know when we were moving or where we were going, I told you I’d be back with tips on moving. Here I am! Show and Tell: A few weeks ago, we finally got …

If you read my posts regularly, you’ve probably heard me mention (a time or two) that my family is preparing for a move. Things have been going as smoothly as they can be, but we recently ran into a bit of a hiccup: What in the world do we do about my daughter’s growth chart? …

August 10th is a very special day. Do you know what it is? It’s National S’mores Day! I love food holidays because there are so many options for celebrating. For example, you can go traditional with a basic graham cracker/marshmallow/milk chocolate combo, or you can get…creative. Let’s go! How about some s’mores cupcakes? These look …

A while back, I wrote a post to share my favorite earth-friendly snack and lunch items. There are so many fun options out there to talk about that I inevitably forgot to include one of my favorites. So, The Original Squeeze Company, this one’s for you! Read on to learn more about a clever, easy-to-use …

I was out to dinner with friends the other night and one of the women made a point to confirm with the server that her beer would be served in a certain type of glass (the correct type for that style of beer). Then she commented to me that, having spent years working in hospitality, …

Oy. Getting ready to move has made it abundantly clear that we have way too much stuff. In inviting realtors over and trying to show them my home to its best advantage, I realized that some (a lot) of the stuff had to go. Piles and heaping storage bins weren’t going to impress anyone. (The …

A friend of mine recently announced she and her husband are expecting their first baby. She asked for advice from her friends with children about how to deal with being a parent and being needed and “on” 24/7 when you’re an introvert who needs alone time to function. [bounces up and down in seat and …

While it’s possible to find lots of fruits year-round now, everybody knows that the best fruit is found when the fruit is in locally in season. We love hitting up the pick-your-own farms around here. A day spent outside picking food we’re going to eat, with a picnic, and maybe even a play area thrown …

Baby showers! What a fun time to celebrate with the mom-to-be or—hello, 2016—the parents-to be! Except when it’s not fun. Like when it’s game time and things get…awkward… Those of you planning showers may be wondering if you can skip the games altogether. This is totally an option if you’re doing a non-traditional shower (think …

One thing that D.C. does really well is Fourth of July fireworks. (Duh.) We have great displays in the surrounding area, but the show to go to is the one on the National Mall. No matter where you watch from—what amazing little-known viewing spot you have—you’ve gotta get there early and claim your spot. Bonus: …

Are you hanging out in or around Washington DC this summer? I’m sure you know all about our free museums (thank you, Smithsonian), but there’s so much more to see and do than just our admittedly awesome attractions on the Mall. Check out this list of free and cheap ideas for some local summer fun! …

Preschool has been out for about three weeks now. Grammy and Papa have visited twice already. And still, I’m on a countdown until school starts again. (As my husband puts it, the kid and I have a way of pushing each other’s buttons.) No matter how much counting I do, though, I’ve still got about …