monday

this is not a good title.  a better one might be - what i ate this weekend {everything}.  or i got to model clothes for sheridan french's spring collection {yipee!}.  or my allergies are killing me and i can't believe i am even blogging.  if i take too long to figure this out, i will never publish this and it will be doomed to sit in my drafts folder forever.  where blog posts go to die.

this is ethan's lincoln log masterpiece from a few weeks ago.  it is half on the rug, half off the rug - but the track is the same height all the way around thanks to special railroad "ties" that he used.

clearly i am very impressed.  i think it might be one of those photos where my mother and myself are the only ones that will enjoy it.  but oh well.  this is my blog and i can post these types of things.

i will certainly enjoy reading about his lincoln log masterpieces when he is a mouthy teenager.  these days just might be my happy place then.

in other news, my body is having some sort of histamine reaction to god knows what.  you can see it in my eyes.  they are very pink.  not the oozy pink-eye pink, but more along the lines of the itchy, squinty, i-just-want-to-rub-them, lines.  not mascara friendly.

basically, not so pretty.

and it started the morning of this.  which, i have to say, was very fun.  and i also have to say that if you have been on the fence about adding some sheridan french to your wardrobe, you should dive in.  she's even been putting stuff on sale lately. 

it really looks good on everyone.  and its very classic.  and versatile.  and the fabrics are heavenly.

i can't help but think how perfect everything would be for la jolla.  sigh.

(btw, the high temps for this week there are well below our low temps.  yikes.)

anyway, my eyes were a scary shade of neon pink on saturday morning.  the visine toned them down a bit.  thank god.  and hopefully along with the editing out the sweat beads from the intense morning heat they can whiten up my eyes!  sheesh!  but it was fun.  my dress was my favorite one there.  and the other girls were very nice.  no pics -- they were forbidden  :)  and it was peculiar to leave the house all dressed alone.  an honest sign i need to get out more.

in case you were curious, sheridan is every bit of laid back and kind and sincere as you could imagine.  i couldn't help but instantly like her.  her kids were there, running around, being cute.  it was such a very friendly atmosphere.  i wish enormous amounts of success for her clothing line.

and afterwards, i treated myself to a chocolate chip muffin.  the sugar!  the chocolate chips!  no little hands begging for a bite!!!   very much a treat.

savannah was pretending she was cinderella.  ethan was pretending to be prince charmer.  sigh.  so incredibly cute.

anyway, the rest of the weekend i felt like i was in some sort of allergy laden fog.  there was some sewing.  a hamburger.  a diet coke!  some brunch at glorias.  olympics.  yes.  that is about it.

see the photo above?  savannah was a sticky pizza and cinnamon roll mess.  ethan was pretty sticky too.  and i had just enjoyed 4 pieces of pizza.  today i took the kids to mama's for pizza.  because 1.)  i needed to get out of the house,  and 2.)  i needed pizza before i begin strict paleo on wednesday.

yes.  you read that correctly.  another month of paleo.  and this time i am excited?  strange.

except i will keep in dairy--  milk in my coffee.  cheese on my salad.  plain yogurt.  dairy doesn't seem so scandalous when you take away the sugar...

but this time i will keep a record of my meals.  journal my recipes.  anyone want to join me??  when i started this in june, i really missed certain foods.  craved them.  and then in july, when i would eat the "treats," do you know?  they were not as delightful as i had hoped.  so here we go again.

it will be good.

more soon.  i'm off to "housekeep"

xoxo, s

no good

hi there.  do you know what?  i am no good at summer blogging.  absolutely no good.

let's hope i get into a groove in august.  sigh.

until then, i'm going to go do "art" with ethan.  and then we will read a few chapters in mr. popper's penguins.  and then cook dinner.  :)

xoxo, s

all over the place

there is a blond-headed little one in my house who's naps have been hit or miss.  and there is a hazel-eyed little boy who's lesson time has been hit or miss.

so my afternoons have been the same, hit or miss.  but mostly they are a miss.  because if one child is on, the other is off.

always.  and you know what?  that is okay.

i am just trying to soak up this season with a good attitude.  because there are so many little moments that are really awesome.  savannah starting sentences with "well..."  and ethan building lincoln log masterpieces.  savannah giving swimming lessons to her babies.  ethan proudly catching a gecko.

many sweet moments in my summer. 

and i would be amiss to tell you i wasn't enjoying a few solitary trips to the grocery store because of their little summer school in july.  i am heartbroken it won't continue on through august!!  do you know how quickly i can get in and get out?  wow.  and do you know how enjoyable it is to browse?  wow.  and do you know what pure joy it is to "miss" your children?  sigh.

but the summer will press on.  and i will try my damnedest to enjoy it.  to meaningfully plan it.  to wake up with renewed patience.

because whether i like it or not, i get to serve these little people.  these little people who i love and who love me.

and check out the photo below.  faustino found this guy and took a picture of it.  isn't it amazing, really?  new and fresh coming out of its shell... i had never witnessed a cicada hatching out of its shell before.  cool but sort of creepy.  its from earlier in the summer, but i just realized i hadn't yet shared it.

and since this post is all over the place, i might as well share something a little heavier. 

its a thought i have been wrestling with lately.  when i have a big "aha moment", i have to mull it over.  think hard about it.  test it out... pray about it.  it might be something that i have heard before.  it might be such an obvious truth to other people.  but for me, i have to flesh it out.


"normal" isn't always the best path.  or god's chosen path.  and this is good.

i mean, duh.  how obvious is that one?

but that is the underlying current of some of my prayers for others, for my family, my children.  that things are easy.  that things go as planned.  that everything is nice and neat and normal.  how foolish i am.  god doesn't promise any of those things.

but god is good.  and living and trusting that is hard.  i've seen things served up in packages lately that are not pretty.  but, i must trust that they are good.

annnnnd, that's enough heavy thinking today.  :)

have a great wednesday afternoon.  i'm going to tackle some sewing projects.

xoxo, s

more snippets

my children are fighting sleep.  savannah has slept all of 10 minutes in the car on the way home... i hear her... loudly singing sing a song of sixpence with baa baa black sheep mixed in.

exhausted.

we played with our sweet friends today... which is always a treat.  a little swim.  a little sand.  and two sandy kids in bed asleep{ish}.  i'll take what i can get with the naps these days.

and here they are getting sandy.

they had so much fun.  thanks, amy.  it really is a child's paradise.  

and let it be noted.  last night, ethan ate every bite of this:

yes, that is spinach.  and feta.  and my favorite avocado cilantro dressing.  and that is chicken breaded in almond flour.

success for the picky eater.  

i attribute that to lots and lots of strong will on my part.  and my trick here.  and the fact that there is next to zero junk food around this place.  no chips.  no cookies.  no treats.

so parents, stay strong.  i NEVER ever in a million years thought we would be at this point.  he even said, "i really like this."

HE REALLY LIKED IT!

big time, folks.  i went from selling salads for fancy events to selling salads to my kids.  mighty big difference.

mmkay.  computer time is up.  back to work.

xoxo, s

quick snippet

this morning i decided to let the kids watch one of my childhood favorites, mary poppins.  let me save you the effort and disappointment.  this was a giant fail.  i remember the movie had some boring parts... but apparently in today's world, this movie does not hold a candle to cars or toy story.  and truthfully, it sort of drags on forever.

oh well.

instead my living room has been turned into a construction zone with ethan's crane and bulldozer, a million blocks, and all 450 of our matchbox cars.

pretty much a disaster that is making them both very happy.  and i like them to play with their toys.  and truthfully, i like our very low key mornings at home.  because i know that this time is so very fleeting.  they won't always want to play at home with their toys in the summer.  they won't always enjoy low key.

i wrote the above sentences yesterday morning.  and then ethan wanted me to build a house with him.  and then a city.  and then, and then, and then.

no blog post.

and now, i have to go pick the rugrats up from their little summer school program.

time. moves. so. quickly.

but here are a few photos from last week when we celebrated the fourth of july at the botanic gardens.  ethan keeps referring to it as the birthday party for co'merica.  :)

and in true savannah-fashion, she made sure to flirt with the man in front of us all night.  we probably were fine birth control for that childless couple.  :)

was this really our last fourth of july concert in the garden??  i am starting to get sad as we have less than a year here.  i want to sit down and put serious thought into a to do list for all we must see and do in fort worth before the year is done. 

and what do you think about our wind chime??  ethan dreamed up that he needed his daddy to make one with him... now, i have no clue where he came up with this idea... but he had the time of his life on saturday... going to lowe's, using tools... making a design.  very cute indeed.

xoxo, s