I cannot believe that my little Sweet Pea is about to turn four years old. Honestly, it seems like just yesterday, she was fresh from the womb, in my limp noodle arms at Baylor Hospital in Dallas, ceasing to scream just long enough to latch on and empty my milk stores in record time. Then? [...]

As part of our plan to simplify our home, my husband and I have had several meetings of our minds about the current toy situation in our home. We have a lot of toys. Or rather, the girls have a lot of toys. So many, that this is usually how playtime goes down…
Girls: Mommy, can [...]

Yesterday afternoon, my husband made a bookshelf for Pea, to house her enormous book collection. He found a print-out of the original, which he used as a jumping off point, in a stack of papers on my desk. I was touched that he took it upon himself to make this his next project. Nothing made [...]

So, twice a month, I’m going to be posting on The Bump. The Bump is a very cool website all about – you guessed it – mommy and child. You can find information on everything from conceiving to pregnancy to community message boards; it’s a very cool and comprehensive website about all things related to [...]

I had my doubts about private school for our daughter. It seemed haughty. Exclusive. Two things that are not me. Or my husband. Or our family. But we enrolled her. It’s just for two years. Just until kindergarten, when she will transfer to the public school.
I believed there existed a code of ethics at private [...]

My copy of “The Lucky Guide to Mastering Any Style: How to Wear Iconic Looks and Make Them Your Own (that’s quite a title, isn’t it?)” arrived just before the weekend. I couldn’t put it down. I’ve been reading it – studying it – for days now. Every little detail. I purchased it because I [...]

So my trip to Heidelberg was lovely. It was just what the doctor ordered – a little time with my husband, kid-free, in a foreign country. And Germany is one of a few European countries I have not visited. It was perfect. We found a lot of hidden gems on the little side streets, off [...]

I have a lot of people in my life who, when it comes to gifting, stump me. Nearly every time. These are people who 1) have absolutely everything that they need, and 2) if they don’t have absolutely everything that they need, will go out any buy everything that they need. Humph.
Some thoughts on the [...]

As we prepare the house for the long winter ahead, I have cozy on my mind.
A few of my favorite cold weather items, to keep me (and my kids) toasty warm in our home…
Flor tiles at our back doors. It’s the entrance for our dogs from the wet backyard, and I can’t figure out how [...]

“Book-eater” is a term that my father uses to describe me. He says that this apple, being me, didn’t fall far from the tree. The maternal tree. My mother? The original book-eater. Nothing is more precious to me than books, and I found a man that feels the same way that I do. In fact, [...]

I started reading Domino magazine recently, and I am hooked. The mix is great, for someone interested in home design. It’s high-end (like the sofa that I just had to have… until I saw the price tag. $14,000. Ouch.) It’s a steal, such as outdoor iron chairs brought inside, outfitted with cushions to up the [...]

When my husband returned from his six-week stay in Beijing, he had a brand-new suitcase with him, purchased to hold all of the gifts he brought home for his girls. And there were a few thrown in there for me, too. One of them was a book by Deirdre Daniel, a woman living in Beijing [...]

I spent most of the morning, while Pea and Coco were helping their Daddy hang some shelves in a closet, on the Internet, digging around for lunchbox meals that were healthy, appealing and easy to prepare. What shocked me the most is that there was such an abundance of ‘recipes’ centered around, what else, peanut [...]

Pea’s school is over at 12:30, but I am supposed to send her with a lunch. This is the same schedule she had at her Fort Worth preschool, and so I always opted to send her with a lunchbox filled with a healthy and hearty snack, rather than an actual lunch. I prefer that when [...]

Anyone who knows me will tell you that my life, the lives of my children, my dogs, my husband – they all thrive on routines. One common routine, that is tweaked throughout the day, for each member of our family. There’s wake-up, breakfast, getting ready for camp, grooming, packing lunch boxes, errands, outside time, lunchtime, [...]