As you probably know, I live in Texas. I am in Austin and when Hurricane Harvey hit, aside from people creating a ridiculous gas shortage that was of their own devising, nothing much happened. There were copious amounts of rain and wind all weekend, and my brother–who was supposed to… Read More
My youngest four kids have all outgrown their bathing suits so I had to do some suimsuit shopping before we left for Spring Break. Being in Texas I take swimwear very seriously; in the Summertime the kids practically live in it. If the kids want to play outside when the heat gets oppressive (round about […]
I originally wrote this series of blog posts as a “look what we did” sort of thing. But I keep having people ask questions about our trip because they’ll be doing something similar and want some advice. So I’ve decided to make these posts heavy on details. I know most… Read More
Do you know what happens in thirty-five days? My daughter, India, comes home from Brazil! She has been gone for nearly eighteen months! Can you believe it? The first few months dragged by. And about a year ago she had a bunch of really difficult struggles that made me wonder… Read More
You probably have one of those rooms in your house that was OK a few years ago and you frankly haven’t given it another thought since then. That was my living room. When we moved into our house ten years ago (a record for us as the most time ever… Read More
On Sunday it Mother’s Day which can be a good day or not so good day, depending on your situation. If you have a child on a Mormon (LDS) mission, though, it’s one of the best days ever. When a child is on a mission, you get to talk to them… Read More
I haven’t been writing much about our Texas Tuesdays this summer. Shame on me! I’ve got a whole pile of things to tell you about. One of our most favorite place we went was called Newman’s Castle. This is quite a drive from Austin–about an hour and a half (it’s just… Read More
Remember being a young teenage girl and realizing that you might just maybe, possibly smell bad? One day you’re spending your babysitting money on Wacky Packs and Hubba Bubba and the next day you’re riding your bike to the drug store to buy some Love’s Baby Soft, because what if… Read More Are you on the […]
Unlike most bloggers these days who have a charmingly dressed toddler and a sweet baby who is constantly and adorably photographed, I have tweens and teens and a couple of grown up kids. We moms of older kids are more of a silent bunch. Not because we don’t have anything… Read More
On Sunday it Mother’s Day which can be a good day or not so good day, depending on your situation. If you have a child on a Mormon (LDS) mission, though, it’s one of the best days ever. When a child is on a mission, you get to talk to them (either via phone or Skype) […]
Good Gravy, the last few days have been crazy. When did summer get so busy? (Answer: this week.) I thought it might be easier to explain things as story problems, although I always hated them when I was in math class. Instead of figuring out the dumb problems, I always got all existential instead. Why […]
Gallery walls are all the rage right now. Actually, they’ve always been used in the decorating world but people are finally starting to see just how fantastic they can be. If you’ve wanted to know how to make the perfect gallery wall for your house, I have some excellent tips… Read More
The Christmas card is a big deal to me. I feel a drive deep within my soul to make my children wear matching clothes and be photographed together. (Please don’t judge/hate me for it. You know how some of you are fanatic about cleanliness? And some about running? Or whatever? This is my mania.) Sometimes […]
It’s been a couple of years since I first started doing my nails with gel nail polish (not to be confused with UV gel overlays which are not very common anymore. I’m talking about systems like Gelish, Shellac, OPI Axxium, etc.). I get asked the same questions again and again so I though I might […]