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.

One of the best parts of the holidays is the parties and get-togethers. It’s also one of the worst. Why? In a word: food. If you’re hosting a more formal event, you’re probably making the bulk of it. If you’re attending an event, chances are you contributing a dish because those formal events are rarer …

Whether you call it stuffing or dressing; actually stuff the bird with it or serve it on the side; prefer it classic with just bread, onions, and celery or like something more daring; chances are stuffing is a staple on your holiday table. Here’s a list of eight recipes for you try. Who knows—maybe you’ll …

Ah, Thanksgiving dinner: home of the sweet potato casserole. I’m not a big fan, because the traditional casserole tastes more like dessert than dinner. Plus, I always forget that I put the casserole under the broiler to toast the marshmallows. Then I have to spend extra time trying to scrape the now-charred marshmallows off the …

Ah, yes, Thanksgiving: that annual tradition of stuffing ourselves so full our fat pants don’t fit. No, really! What comes to mind when you think about Thanksgiving? It’s all food (turkey, mashed potatoes, yams and sweet potatoes, stuffing, rolls, cranberry sauce, gravy, green bean casserole). Or maybe football. But mostly food. This year, try mixing …

Whether you’re looking to get into the Thanksgiving spirit or searching for ways to entertain your youngest guests when you host Thanksgiving dinner, crafts are a great option. Check out this round-up of Thanksgiving craft ideas. Popcorn on the Cob: What a great way to get your kids involved in the prep for Thanksgiving dinner: …

We lost our older dog—our companion of 17 years—a few months back. It’s been hard on our whole family, but we’ve been particular concerned about how it’s impacted our younger dog. Unlike us, he can’t communicate how he’s feeling. (And we’re those people who believe our dog has all the feelings.) While he seems to …

I love the fall! The weather cools down (jeans! boots! sweaters!), and I love the outdoor colors of the season. But fall always has some of those too-cool, rainy days that leave you cooped up inside. Since it’s hard to curl up in front of a fire with a cup of something and a good …

Can you believe that Halloween is almost here? I love this season. Mostly because I’m all for any excuse to dress-up. (I’m pretty jealous of the fact that it’s totally cool—adorable even—for my kindergartner to toss on a ball gown to run everyday errands, but if I tried that, I’d get some serious side-eye. Halloween …

Ah, Halloween! All the fun of fall (apple cider, pumpkin spice, crunchy leaves, crisp weather) plus jack-o-lanterns, decorating, dressing up, getting scared silly, and, of course, trick-or-treating. So much fun, but so. much. candy. What do you with all your kids’ candy? They eat some, and obviously you eat some. I mean, wandering around following …

In talking to our new neighbors and other folks about town, we’ve learned that our street does Halloween in a big way. As in 1,300 trick-or-treaters if Halloween happens on a weekend. Soooo I’m figuring that we should probably decorate for the holiday this year. I want to make sure our decorations aren’t too scary, …

You may have noticed that pumpkin spice memes are beginning to fill your Facebook feed. I am not going to complain, even if it is currently 80 here in Illinois. I am here to enable your pumpkin spice obsession, people. Plus, you know, pumpkin is in season now and all, and you can find it …

The kids may be going (or have already gone) back to school, but it’s not too late for some back-to-school tips for us. Yes, parents, us. As much as our children are headed back to school full of excitement and nervousness, so are we. This is even more true if you’re a first-timer like me. …