Hilltown Families 
Back to reality? Not yet I have been spoiled this summer. I took a five-day family trip to Alabama. I’ve been to Hampton Beach twice for day trips and took a...
Plenty to Keep You Busy in the Berkshires this Summer Though there were a plethora of activities in Berkshire County this week I couldn’t resist the chance to sneak away to...
Summer Fun in the Berkshires Raising kids is a lesson in trial and error — sometimes we parents get it right and sometimes we fail miserably. That’s all part of the...
A School Break Survival Guide School vacations at home always sound like a good idea until about the third day in a row of hearing those incessant whines from your children:...
Early April in the Berkshires The snow is melting (finally) and if the predicted Nor’easter bypasses us this week then hopefully it will be smooth sailing through the rest of the...
Baby, it’s cold (and snowy) outside O.K. Enough already! When there is too much snow to even snowshoe in the Berkshires, I’d say we’ve had enough. But as I sit here...
A Charlie Brown Christmas at the McIlquhams Three little figures resembling the Stay-Puff Marshmallow Man’s offspring weave in and out of the maze of spruce, firs and pines in search of...
Solutions for the Fashionista’s in Our Lives My niece is a mini-fashionista. She has an outfit (or two) to wear for every day of the month (at least) before my sister...
No One’s Ruining My Day Authors note: This column was originally intended be about all things “green” from learning to be more environmentally friendly to my naiveté as a parent. As...
Never Felt Greener “We were really green today.” That’s what my daughter said to me one day early in spring after we had spent the majority of the day outside being...
Back-to-School Means Back to Healthy Eating for this Family It’s just about that time again. Time for alarm clocks and protests to sleep “just one more minute.” Time for grumbles over...
Let’s Hear It For The Bear Apparently no one told the neighborhood bear that the McIlquham’s were making an attempt to live greener and had enough forces working against them in...
A Lesson from Brazil The honking of the car horn as they approached the driveway announced their arrival. Max, who had been helping me make the bed, quickly abandoned the task...
At Peace with Living Green If you are a diehard environmentalist you may be familiar with the name Bea Johnson. And if you weren’t aware of her before there’s a good...
Give Me a Break There is a saying that says something along the lines of, “If you want to see what’s going on inside someone’s head just look inside their drawers.”...
I’m Going Green Crazy Hilltown mothers of the world would be proud. Two months ago my family embarked on a journey to eat healthier, but as we began our trek through...
Everything’s Changing, But Will It Still Remain the Same? Nelson Mandela said, “There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself...
It’s Not Easy Being Green Kermit the Frog often sang about the woes of living life “the color of the leaves.” “I think it could be nicer being red, or yellow,...
No Such Thing As a Perfect Parent Nobody ever said parenting was easy, but we certainly don’t make it easier on ourselves … and I’m no exception. I am a 38-year-old...