Our GTWoman Mar-April cover is a tribute to Rosie the Riveter, a cultural icon representing women working in the factories during World War II. While we didn't live through WWII, we did live through being raised by a farmboy from the Yoop. And we'd like to take this chance to offer up a few of our own Rosie the Riveter stories.

Our father raised us to get our hands dirty and to spend a Saturday night... fishing. Here are a few of the things

Our sweet Grandma Maddox went to heaven the day after Christmas to raise cain with Grandpa Nels. Here, are just a few of the million things we loved about her.  

Peanut butter fudge. I blame Grandma for my addiction to peanut butter in any shape, size or form.

The women gathered around the kitchen table. My mom, Aunt Barb, Grandma, Aunt Linda, Aunt Kate, Aunt Joanne, Aunt Gloria, Great Grandma and too many more to mention. The laughter,

Pictured here is Kandy's favorite photo. Look closely.

What is Kerry doing? Remedying a problem.

Where is she at? In her car, parked as far away from the entrance to a GTWoman luncheon as she can manage without entering traffic.

What should she be doing? Not smiling for a photo.

Most notable is the iPhone balanced on Kerry's right thigh. She is reading her email, texting, drying her armpits and not, fortunately, seeing Kandy approach with a

Three days of sick children. The same three days before this issue went to press...

Wednesday morning is press deadline, and it dawns gray but glorious: For it has been 36 hours since anything erupted out of either child. 36! That is one and a half times more than the recommended 24-hour window of recovery. I am home-free. I will make deadline after all.

I am feeling like Super Mom. Inwardly, I was thinking about deadlines and ad copy for

Christmas at our house was a mathematical undertaking. Our mom always made sure that us three girls (us and our sister Lori) had the same number of gifts and the same amount spent down to the dollar for each child. This required cosines and square roots and sliding rulers, but Mom did not shy away from the task at hand.

She kept track of everything on a single sheet of paper. More valuable than credit card numbers or passwords, this sheet of

We’re all guilty of it — buying kids too much. You mean to go to the store for toilet paper and come back with an $8 pack of Charmins and $28 in plastic. 

How to break these kids, both in habit and spirit, I wondered? I decided this would be the summer of saving, earning and playing with free things.

Saving was first up. There were many scenes over non-purchased toys. But I stood my ground, even in the face of the “but it’s only a dollar” dollar

We might appear to be all about this health nut thing, what with our flamboyant editorials on biking. But really, our love affair is with sugar. All this biking is only to make way for sugar intake.

As an ode to our Health issue, we’d like to admit to you our addictions. While Kerry is prone to the chocolate binge, Kandy has become addicted to the unusual and rarely seen "Frosting Affair."

Peanut butter frosting is her weakness. She will make tiny

What's a night at The Homestead in Glen Arbor like? Howzabout PERFECT!

First off, when my hubby and I  mentioned climbing the Sleeping Bear Dunes, the kids (ages 4 and 6) said, "What are DUNES?" We have failed them miserably. Miserably.

So, off we went. Bonus, we were there on a fee-free weekend! Then we did the scenic drive. OMG, if you haven't done this, you've gotta do it and stop and the 2nd pullout for sure with the Lake Michigan overlook.

Had a malfunction on the bike ride today, my gear cable came loose and I didn't know how to fix it and had to bike home in the tiny ring for SIX MILES. No less, had a time constraint so was pedaling my gizzard out in a slow gear to get home before Tim had to leave. Topped out at 8mph, mosquitos fly at 9.

I stopped twice trying to fix it, then I cut my hand in the process (truth be told, this made me feel cool, tough and sexy all at once), then I

Playing outside can be a real boon for moms. It can be your way to get something done under the guise of a game. This is a fine line. Be careful not to scare them off by throwing a bag of grass seed on their backs too quickly. Make them earn this privilege. It’s all about presentation. If they sniff out work, they’ll be on their bikes and forcing you to watch so that they don’t kill themselves on the road. Wait to reveal it for the work it is