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.

My daughter is going to turn nine in a few days. She shares a birthday with my mom. (It’s true. And I never have to give my mom another birthday present ever.) My parents live seven hours and three states away. We’re fortunate that none of us is in a coronavirus hotspot, but for several …

I don’t know about y’all, but since my family is eating at home so much more now, I am getting so bored with all my usual dinner recipes. So I decided to try something new—or at least new to us: stuffed peppers. Would you believe there is a whole world of stuffed peppers out there? …

Just because the school year is done, doesn’t mean the kids can’t keep learning over the summer. You have 2-3 months to create educational activities that are disguised as fun for kids to keep sharp. Here are some boredom-busting science projects to incorporate some learning adventures into your summer fun. Orange Buoyancy Science Experiment Will …

Apologizing. That has to be one of the toughest relationship skills to learn. Even though just a little bit of time with Google will show article after article talking about how beneficial it is to receive an apology, sometimes, they can be so hard to offer, right? Given the physical and mental benefits, and their …

Okay, so you may be wondering why your preschooler needs a desk. In theory at least, they’re not worried about homework, right? Well, there are a few reasons I can think of. One: It gives art supplies (pencils, markers, paper, washi tape…) a landing zone. Two: Pretend play! My daughter has an “office” in the …

Like many people, we’ve been eating home-cooked meals a lot more lately. And we ate out a ton before COVID Times, so I mean a lot more. When my daughter was little, she was a pretty adventurous eater, and I don’t think I’d realized how much her tastes had changed until I started doing more …

Ugh. Is there any pregnancy side effect worse than morning sickness? (Okay, there’s PUPP—which is absolutely horrible—but that’s relatively uncommon.) Unfortunately, there’s no way to make it stop until it stops. But there are ways to help ease the symptoms, including consuming certain foods. I know, I know. Food is kind of the last thing …

I know when I think healthy food, I think grilled or baked chicken breast with steamed vegetables for every meal and it’s kind of scary. However, I’ve got a bunch of friends currently passing around Whole30 recipes, and I was completely surprised to learn just how much fun you can have with healthy food. Check …

I don’t know about your kids, but right now, it feels like my daughter is constantly eating. She’s like a Hobbit, needing breakfast, second breakfast, elevenses, luncheon, afternoon tea, dinner, and supper—and heck, why not throw in fourth meal, too! I can only assume that it’s a combination of all the fun outdoor play she’s …

Years ago I read an article, or maybe it was a Facebook post, that pointed out that kids become spoiled not when they get a lot of stuff, but when they stop being grateful for the stuff that they have. Well, during Coronovirus Times™ my husband and I realized we were finding our eight-year-old in …

It’s been hard watching as COVID-19 takes away parts of my daughter’s life piece by piece. First it was school and church and friends and playdates and ballet. Then it was her trips to Camp GrammyPapa and Camp Grandma this summer. Then they closed the pool for the season. And then they finally cancelled sleep-away …

Whether you’re planning a family get-together, the neighborhood block party, or you just want to be prepared to entertain your kids and everyone else’s while you wait for fireworks to start (seriously, why can’t the Fourth of July be in winter when it gets dark sooner), this list of Fourth of July party games is …