• Family,  Parenting

    Christmas 2020

    And this is AFTER many HOURS of breaking down Barbie Doll boxes, digging through bags to make sure we aren’t throwing away instruction manuals, picking up every little twisty tie, wading through a sea of chocolate wrappers and broken candy canes. 🤣🎄 I tried this year. While we were opening gifts, we would pause between “rounds” to throw all the boxes and wrapping paper into a massive pile by the kitchen trash can. We would take the allotted 12+ minutes to cut the toy out of the, what I’m assuming is, military grade plastic using my sewing scissors and husband using his pocket knife. (Dad Mode❤️) After hours of work,…

  • Family,  Travel/Vacation

    Albanese Candy Factory

    We recently visited the Albanese Confectionery in Merrillville IN. 🍭🏭 Address: 1910 W 81st AveMerrillville, IN 46410United States It was my own fault for imagining it would be like taking a magical tour of Willy Wonkas Chocolate Factory, but I was surprised by how chill and low key the place was. I should say, the ATMOSPHERE was chill and low key, NOT my experience… We made this one of our “stretch your legs” pitstops about 3 hours in to our 6 Hour Rd. trip that day. So the kids were feeling WILD and restless, and I handed them each $10 and let them buy whatever they wanted 😳 That was…