​Willy Wonka is known as THE candy man- he is one of my favorite characters from Roald Dahl’s book, Charlie and The Chocolate Factory. Gene Wilder played the perfect Willy Wonka in the musical fantasy film adapted from Roald Dahl’s book.  I know a lot of kids (and adults) who would love to get a golden ticket and spend a day enjoying sweet treats in a wildly creative place similar to Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory! Well you don’t actually need a golden ticket to do that… you are about to meet The Candy WOMAN of Chicago!
 
This is the time of year when candy is everywhere and kids all around are looking forward to Trick or Treating in hopes of getting some of their favorite sugary sweets. I love Halloween – decorating, costume creating, trick or treating and celebrations where kids and adults get to eat candy, candy and more candy! 
 
While Halloween is only a few days away, Eleanora, my daughter, has been celebrating this holiday since October 1st!  We’ve hit pumpkin patches and fall festivals and Eleanora hosted a few friends for some Halloween fun last week. She was so excited to have her friends take part in a cake-decorating contest when they came over!  In preparing for this contest, I baked up some small vanilla cakes and Eleanora and Matt, my husband, made a mad dash to our favorite candy store, Candyality®, to get some fun candies to be used as the decorations. Of course more candy was purchased than necessary, but I was more than happy to indulge in a few of the sweet treats!
 
Terese McDonald, founder of Candyality®, actually “makes the world taste good!”  Terese is THE Candy WOMAN of Chicago! Eleanora found it easy to find fun novelty and retro candies to be used for cake decorating at Candyality®. This sweet destination is our go to place when we want to reward Eleanora with a treat. She almost always leaves the store with a small bag of gummy bears that she self-selects from the numerous bins of colorful gummies of many different shapes and sizes!  This candy store has become a special place for us where we have celebrated the ups and downs of being a kid!  Learning to ride a bike, earning a good report card, and surviving the flu shot are just a of few of the achievements that have been topped off by a stop into Candyality®.
 
This place is also special because it is a homegrown, Chicago, business and Terese McDonald believes you are what you eat! She can determine your candy personality based on the sweets you pick out in the store. The staff uses their ‘inner Willy Wonka’ to bring you your Candyscope®. Learning your candy personality while shopping here adds to the uniqueness of this sweet destination!
 
There are several locations throughout Chicago, but our favorite location is at 3737 N. Southport Avenue, Chicago, IL 60613.  Mark your calendars! On Monday, October 30th come over to the Lakeview Chamber of Commerce Trick or Treat on Southport from 4:00 PM – 8:00 PM! Stop by Candality® and see what sweet surprises are being handed out. Your sweet tooth will thank you! 
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​Stella and Sophia, our five-year-old twins recently declared that we needed more Halloween blow-ups for our front yard. We already had some pumpkins, scarecrows, and a blow-up skeleton. I agreed that we needed more as Halloween yard decorations are a big deal in our Chicago neighborhood. We jumped in the mini-van and headed to Walmart.
 
We looked at the Halloween blow-ups but decided they were to small. We walked down an aisle that was overflowing with shelves of candy. As we turned the corner Stella grabbed my hand and gasped, “Mom! They have ninja turtle costumes!” She continued, “Can we get Mikey? Please! Please!” I couldn’t help but smile at her enthusiasm.

​We had already discussed Halloween costumes so I asked her about her previous decision to be Gekko from PJ Masks. Stella liked to fight crime. She quickly declared that the ninja turtle costume was way better. I smiled again and said yes. We began digging through the costumes to find Mikey, the orange Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle which was her favorite. Fortunately, we found the Mikey costume in her size. I handed the costume to her and as she held it she realized it had “muscles” built into the costume. She once again gasped, “Mom! I’m going to have muscles! I’m going to be so strong!” It was an awesome moment and I love our strong ninja.
 
I asked Sophia if she wanted a different costume and she quickly said that she still wanted to be Skye from Paw Patrol. She was all set. We checked out and headed home. The girls immediately put on their Halloween costumes and dashed around the house. They jumped off the couch, climbed under tables, and swooshed around chairs. They were fighting crime and saving the day. It was awesome watching their imaginations in action and I loved that they wanted to be strong girls for Halloween.

​Now, I have to admit I’ve recently had my moments where I wistfully wished the girls would wear a princess dress or some super cute Pinterest inspired costume. About seven months ago Stella ditched all things pink and every bow in our house is gathering dust. Sophia loves Skye so much from Paw Patrol that she is decked out in purple 99% of the time. I look back on sweet Halloween pictures from when the girls were lady bugs, monkeys, and pumpkins and they were so cute. Those pictures still melt my heart. 

But, as I watched them race up to me and tell me that they have caught the bad guys, had rescued stranded stuffed animals, and saved our Paw Patrol town I was so happy. There are so many tough headlines in the news these days that I quickly realized a strong girl who wants to save the day is more important than my light hearted wish for a super cute costume. The girls picked costumes that reflect the strength and positive attitude that I want them to have on the inside and out. 
 
I also must confess that I love the character and values that Disney is highlighting with their princesses. They have worked hard to help young girls realize the importance of dreaming big, being kind, being brave, and finding strength within. So, this Halloween when a little princess comes to your door trick-or-treating I hope you see values behind the sparkle.

Disney Junior has also been huge in our house and Stella has many Doc McStuffins costumes. It is awesome to watch Stella and Sophia practicing being doctors. We think the Doc McStuffins creator, Chris Nee is amazing and has done an incredible job of inspiring young girls to be doctors while teaching important health and safety lessons. Chris is at it again with another winning show Vampirina about another strong girl, Vee.
 
Halloween is quickly approaching! If you are looking for some awesome and clever ideas for strong girls check out the  Girl Empowerment Halloween Costume Guide on the A Mighty Girl website. Head over to Pinterest and search strong girl Halloween costumes and you’ll find great ideas for Rosie the Riveter, Matilda, and so many other strong gals.
 
If your school, church, or community organization is hosting a Trunk-or-Treat or some other Halloween celebration take a look at the awesome Waldo app! Live the moment this Halloween and don’t worry about capturing every moment on your camera. You could help your family and friends capture pictures of your strong kids as they celebrate Halloween! And, you could do an easy fundraiser for your organization at the same time! To learn more check out the Waldo website! This blog post is cross posted on the Waldo blog! Check it out here and show Waldo some love! Thanks Waldo for supporting #StrongGirls this Halloween! 
 
I hope you have a happy and safe Halloween filled with strong trick-or-treaters that are dreaming big!

​Meg 

Fall 5-year-old soccer is in full swing! Stella, my soccer obsessed athlete, is excited to be playing at our favorite park in Chicago with her St. Thecla school friends. I love watching Stella play soccer with Claire, Maeve, Margaret, and Shayla and it is so cool to see them grow in a sport. Her twin sister, Sophia is content to cheer from the sidelines and run around with her friends, Bryan and Malea.

​At an early season game, the super nice coach passed around a clipboard for parents to sign up for snack and drinks. I didn’t give it much thought and signed up to bring snacks. At this age in sports the snacks and drinks are a big deal to the kids. We try to be healthy! A few weeks ago after the game, parents passed out snacks and drinks. Stella came running over to me holding a sports drink and declared, “Mom! They don’t know about BodyArmor! They need to try our sports drink! It’s good for you!” I smiled at my fierce soccer player and passionate BodyArmor champion. She said we needed to bring BodyArmor to our next game.

​A few days later Stella told me we needed to go to Jewel-Osco to get BodyArmor for the team. I gently tried to explain that we had signed up to bring snacks. Stella was shocked and dismayed and I couldn't help but smile at my passionate five-year-old influencer.
 
Last spring, I wrote about the awesome Jewel-Osco monopoly game on our Messy Mommies blog. From that post, BodyArmor connected with us and encouraged us to try their products. We tried the natural sports drink and loved it. I mentioned the awesome drink in a soccer blog post this spring. Since then we’ve interacted with BodyArmor on social media and have learned a lot more about the BodyArmor drink and company. We are obsessed with BodyArmor and are super fans!
 
Stella is a pint-sized champion for BodyArmor. This summer she told countless family members and friends to try BodyArmor. If she saw someone else with a different sports drink she would pipe up that they should really try her favorite Peach Mango BodyArmor drink. She would then share that the drink was healthy and helped you play sports better. Sophia would chime in that people should try the Watermelon Strawberry flavor. I would then give a shout out for Mixed Berry. The girls made me laugh all summer long.  
 
After each soccer practice and game Stella would ask me when we were bringing BodyArmor to soccer. She is a determined player! So, I approached our awesome coach and asked if we could bring BodyArmor to a soccer practice. I explained how we had connected with BodyArmor and were big fans of their natural products. The coach gave us a thumbs up!

While the girls were in school I went over to Jewel-Osco and picked up a bunch of BodyArmor flavors for teammates to try. They were out of some of our favorites like Lemonade, Peach Mango, and Strawberry Banana flavors. Stella had been very specific on what she wanted to share. I thought my influencer, Stella might have some good insights on favorites for the five-year-old crowd so I headed over to Target. If we had a Sam’s Club near us I would have tried there too! I found the favorite flavors at Target and knew the girls would be happy.

​Stella and Sophia were excited to load up the cooler before soccer practice. Sophia was worried she wouldn’t get to have her favorite BodyArmor Watermelon Strawberry drink so she hid one in a different cooler. Clever girl.
 
We had a beautiful, Chicago fall night for practice. Before we started practice Stella kept taping the cooler and yelled that she had a surprise for her teammates. Her enthusiasm for BodyArmor is great and this gal has sales in her future. During practice I realized I should probably explain to the parents what I was doing. I shared with little clusters of parents Stella’s obsession with soccer and obsession with BodyArmor. I went on to talk about how the drink has natural flavors, natural sweeteners, no preservatives and no colors from artificial sources. I talked about how a co-founder is from SmartWater and the iconic Kobe Bryant is a key shareholder. I of course also mentioned that our amazing World Series Champion Chicago Cubs Anthony Rizzo is involved with BodyArmor! The parents were all so nice and happy to try BodyArmor.

​The Red Zebras had a great practice! The team did awesome with their soccer drills and are ready for their next big game. After practice Stella and Sophia passed out the BodyArmor drinks and told their teammates about favorite flavors. Their soccer pals loved BodyArmor! It was so sweet and funny watching five-year-olds pitch a product.

​I tried to share a bottle of BodyArmor with a dad for his son but he laughing shared that his son only likes a different sports drink and won’t try anything else. We chuckled at the strong opinions of young kids. You can’t win them all. As I looked around the soccer field I saw so many of Stella's teammates and their siblings trying BodyArmor and smiling. Stella was asking teammates if they liked it and they were giving big thumbs up. I asked some of the kids as well and they shared that it tasted really great. Their coach also gave BodyArmor a thumbs up. We ran out of drinks and I was cracking up. I should have brought more! Stella is a good influencer at the wise age of 5! We hope that you will switch to BodyArmor too! Head over to Jewel-Osco and tell them Stella sent you!
​Meg

​My husband, Tony comes from an awesome, big family. Tony’s mom and dad, Loie and Tom are fantastic and I adore the extended Tortorello family. There are so many siblings, aunts and uncles, and cousins that family get togethers are so much fun. The extended family has grown and grown as the cousins have gotten married and had our own kids. With typical busy lives, our extended family tends to now get together for weddings and showers.
 
Our cousins, Sarah and Brendan had a gorgeous, healthy baby boy, Charlie in April of 2016. Heartbreakingly, sweet Charlie got sick and passed away after only two weeks. I vividly remember sitting at the funeral and watching Sarah and Brendan, and their little boy Keegan as well as the whole incredible Cavanagh family. My heart ached for them all as did every other heart in the church. My sister-in-law, Laura Jean, and I sat next to each other and quietly talked about how we didn’t know how you move forward with this kind of heartache. The gorgeous family pictures with Charlie and the eloquent words spoken from the alter cast a beautiful glow throughout the church. It was a heartbreaking day.

​A short time later, Sarah and Brendan, with the help of family and friends created an amazing spot in their backyard, called Charlie’s Corner. The setting was so serene and the fire pit cast a special glow. As time passed Charlie’s Corner continued to be a peaceful spot and I loved when they added lights that made every night glow. I continued to look at pictures on Facebook over the months and would see pictures of the Cavanaghs. I would smile as I watched them press on with their lives. I couldn’t help but sometimes wonder what you do with that kind of heartache. 

​This summer I found out. Sarah and Brendan started a foundation, Charlie’s Corner to create fun events that bring family, friends and community together that help support great causes. I was so touched by how they were turning their heartache into something that helped others.
 
As I continued to read their updates on Facebook, I learned that they were partnering with the Glen Ellyn Park District on a Glow in the Park Lantern Walk at Lake Ellyn Park. I had never heard of a glow walk and clicked through to learn that you could purchase a lantern before or during the event and that a portion of the lantern costs would go to the Charlie’s Corner Foundation. Charlie’s Corner had picked Lurie’s Children’s Hospital as the beneficiary from the glow walk in honor of Charlie. The funds raised will go toward research and to helping families be together when they have a sick child.
 
Tony and I brought our five-year-old twins, Stella and Sophia to the glow walk event. We met up with Tony’s parents, Tom and Loie and tons of extended family. The event was amazing! What a fantastic collaboration and partnership! Sarah and Brendan turned out a huge crowd that clearly adored the Cavanagh family. The Glen Ellyn community was out in full force and you couldn’t help but smile as kids danced to the children’s band, bounced in bouncy houses, did face painting, and played games. People munched on hot dogs and brats while lounging on blankets and chatting with family and friends.

​The Glen Ellyn Park District and Bottle & Bottega Art Uncorked did an awesome job with helping people create festive lanterns. Sophia, Stella and Grandma Loie and I hit the Glen Ellyn Park District tent to decorate our lanterns which was fantastic. Stella loved making a ninja turtle lantern and Sophia loved picking out feathers, gems, and other craft items to decorate her lantern. Other kids also swarmed around the Bottle and Bottega booth to decorate lanterns and you could see the creativity pouring out of these kids. It was fun to see other people bringing in lanterns that they had decorated at home or at painting parties before the event. My sister-in-law, Laura had made Lanterns with cupcake liners that looked like it came straight out of Pinterest.
 
As I took the girls around to the bouncy houses and games I talked to people and it was so touching to hear the stories of how people were connected to Sarah and Brendan. The sense of community was so powerful. We stopped at a lawyer’s table to play Bozo buckets and learned that they were neighbors of Sarah and Brendan. What caring people and it was clear this community is committed to taking care of each other. 

​The Glen Ellen Glow in the Park Lantern Walk was such a special evening. As I listed to Brendan give touching remarks my mind reflected back on the joyous pictures on Facebook when brave Charlie was born. I thought of the heartbreak when sweet Charlie passed and the love in the church during his funeral. As I gazed around the park and saw families enjoying time together and being present with each other I smiled. This is how you help heartache, you help others. Everywhere I looked, I could see lanterns and the glow of Charlie’s love.
 
Please visit Charlie’s Corner to learn more about the Charlie’s Corner Foundation and their great work. Please consider supporting Charlie's Corner and watch for future family events!
 
I continue to be in awe of amazing family and friends that have turned their heartache to help others. Love them all so much.
 
My sister-in-law, Sam, the Ream family, the expansive Team Ream community, and the Torts keep fighting in honor of  Sam's husband and my brother-in-law, Brandon Ream. The Team Ream Foundation is committed to preserving the memory, growing the legacy, and carrying on the fight, the will and determination of Brandon Ream for future generations. The mission of the Team Ream Foundation is to assist the everyday lives of financially disadvantaged individuals in State College and surrounding areas who have been affected by cancer and serious medical conditions. Read more on how you can join the fight and support the Team Ream Foundation. And, Amazon friends you can select Team Ream in the charity AmazonSmile program! 
 
My lifelong Tri Delta friend, Kristi Horner started the Courage to Caregivers organization to help others after she lost her brother. Courage to Caregivers is committed to providing hope, support and courage to caregivers, families and loved ones of those with mental illness Read more about Kristi's passion for helping others and Courage to Caregivers. 

Thanks for reading. Keep cherishing the glow of the love of your family and friends and keep fighting.

​Meg