Alison Jay’s illustrations are my absolute favorite. I cannot get enough of them. In fact, for the longest time, I was determined to remove the pages from “If Kisses Were Colors” and have them matted, framed and hung in Pea’s room. And that book? I always give it as a gift to a new mom. [...]

A few weeks ago, I ordered some new books for the girls. We needed some new stories. Some fresh meat, so to speak. We read a lot in our home, and Pea was reaching the point where she could recite, from memory, the words to many of her books. And when I’m looking for books [...]

My mother-in-law once told me, during a rather heated discussion on organized religion, that if I “didn’t stand for something, I’d fall for anything.” She was implying that I was a heathen, apt to be led down the “wrong” path, because I did not have religion in my life. Believe me, I know this is [...]

I used to live for the mail. I couldn’t wait to get to the mailbox and see what was in there. Bills? Magazines? An actual hand-written note? But I’m over it now. In fact, days might go by before I actually get to the mailbox. And I’ve let many of my magazine subscriptions lapse, like [...]

I’ve made mention before of Pea’s absolute favorite book “in the whole wide world.” “Mouse Cookies & More: A Treasury.” It’s a rare night when we don’t read at least one of the stories in this collection. Of course, it goes without saying that the most requested story is the one about the moose and [...]

Pea has a favorite book. Scratch that. Mommy has a favorite book. “You’re My Little Love Bug.” Right after we sold our Fort Worth home, but right before we moved into our Utah home, we stayed with my in-laws in Dallas for about a week. Well, the girls and I stayed with them. My husband? [...]

We have a baby moose in the neighborhood. Actually, he (she?) is just up the highway a bit, on the way into the city. But he’s close enough for me to worry about him. A lot. He’s always on the side of the mountain by himself. In the same spot. Sometimes he’s harder to find [...]

I live for organization. It’s the single most important part of keeping my house clean, free of clutter and enjoyable to reside in. What I love even more is organization that is chic, stylish, and can do double-duty out in the open, rather than be tucked away, deep in the bowels of a closet somewhere, [...]

Pea loves to go through my purses. Not one of my favorite things for her to do, because it usually leaves me with a missing credit card, a lipgloss without a cap and an open pen that’s going to mark up any and everything of importance in my bag. For Christmas, her grandmother gave her [...]

I’m glad Christmas is behind us. I don’t understand why the holidays are so stressful for me, but they are. Are they like that for everyone? Or anyone? Christmas Eve was sweet. Pea and her daddy went out front and left some rolled oats and glitter for the reindeer so that they could find our [...]

Most of the Sunday’s that I can recall from my childhood were spent being dragged around by mother to art galleries or art fairs or art museums. This is not an exaggeration. GiGi is passionate about art. Major milestones were always marked with a piece of art, whether it be something she created herself, or [...]

We are nothing if not readers in this house. And although my novel consumption has decreased drastically in the years since becoming a mom, I have definitely made up for it with my passion for children’s books. I love them. Classics. Board books. Classic board books. Classic board books in Spanish. And French. And sometimes [...]

We received a letter yesterday from Pea’s preschool. Apparently, her teacher is resigning from the school. Forever. She is to become a parent in mid-November and would like to be a stay-at-home mom. Of course, we are thrilled for her. There’s nothing more exciting than starting your family, and as a stay-at-home mom myself, I [...]

GiGi, my mother, sent Pea a book today called “Good Night Chicago.” I sat in the room with my husband as he was reading it to Pea at bedtime and I can’t believe how much I miss living in Chicago. It was such a sweet book and it brought back so many happy memories of [...]

Tee-tee is Pea’s term for “pee-pee.” Every time one of our dogs goes outside, she says “tee-tee!” So I know she understands the concept. But imagine my surprise when a few hours ago, she announced to me while in the bathroom having one of her boo-boos bandaged, that she wanted to go tee-tee and insistently [...]