Hello friends and welcome to Maycember. 🫡

I'm pretty sure I rebuked the term in last year's newsletter, willing it to somehow be less chaotic — and yet here we are. I'm giving into the trend and officially agreeing: May is a freight train and I am barely hanging on, but at least the chaos is pastel color-coded thanks to my family calendar that is saving my life lately (it’s on sale for mother’s day and 10/10 recommend). But as always, I'm hanging on with a full calendar and a lot of fun weekend things to put on your radar. 😛

April was packed — I recapped our spring break to Seabrook Island, threw a K-pop themed 4th birthday brunch, checked into the Godfrey for an American Girl staycation (details below), so I am trying to take a quick pause in May and just survive all the end-of-year things. If you're still filling your kids' summer schedule — hi, same, I refuse to plan camps in January on principle — make sure to read through to the Business Spotlight featuring The Chopping Block and their summer camps for kids and teens. Subscriber discount included. 🤑

Most of you reading this are moms, so — happy Mother's Day to us! Honestly, without becoming a mom I never would have started this newsletter, and the community of women I've met through it has been one of the biggest rewards. My Top 8 this month is everything I've been treating myself to lately — so hopefully a few things that make you feel like you deserve something nice too. Because you do. And if you're a teacher or a nurse — extra props for you this month too. 🩷 I'm currently working on my end of year teacher gifts and my go-to is always a monogrammed Lands’ End tote — it's personalized, under $50 and not another mug!

As always I've put together a calendar of events I'm genuinely excited about and would attend myself. I know most of May is already filled with end of year activities and sports — but a few things are worth adding to your calendar. And I fully give you permission to skip a toddler soccer game in the name of the arts. 🎭

If you're new here — hi! I'm Kaitlyn, a mom of two girls, and every month I round up the best things to do, see, eat, and shop for in and around Chicago for families who like to do the weekend right. So glad you're here. 💌