Sickly Swans

Almost all the Swans in our household have been sick the past week. Somehow Carl was able to avoid getting a cold but the rest of us haven't been so lucky.

One morning last week I was laying in bed with a raw throat and feeling achy and I knew I had a cold.

When I went in to get the twins up for the morning I discovered poor Chloe had thrown up in her bed during the night. Not only did it smell terrible, but the poor thing had slept in it. We stripped her and the bed, washed everything including giving Chloe a morning bath. Besides spit-up that's the only time either of them have thrown up and I felt so bad for her.

She didn't get sick like that again but she did have a cold, running a low grade fever with a snuffly nose. The next day Connor had the same thing. We've just had to let the colds run their course. Everyone is doing better now, but there still runny noses and some mild coughing.

I feel so bad when the kids are sick and there's not much to do but comfort them if you can. They've slept a bit more and Connor has learned to wipe his own nose with a tissue when it's runny. I'll just be happy when we're all feeling like ourselves again.

Magical Birthday

Mary and Lily from our twins playgroup just turned two and invited us to their magical birthday party. The birthday girls are the blondes in the pink and blue dresses.

Mary and Lily's Mom hosted the party for both kids and their parents so there were juice boxes chilling with the Champagne.

The ballon decorations wouldn't stay on the table so Connor took responsibility for them and dragged them around the party with him for everyone to enjoy.

Of course, Chloe felt like she needed to help with the balloons too. Seriously balloons are so enticing, isn't that why you even have them at a party?

Since it was a magically themed birthday a magician performed. The kids were very excited and sat still for about ten minutes. Unfortunately the show was about twenty-five minutes and the twins were squirming all over the place. Chloe did get to help with one of the magic tricks but after that I pulled her out of the performance room and she played will Mary and Lily's toys in the next room.

So fun to get to go to birthday parties. I have no idea what to do when the twins turn two.

Carousel at the Zoo

We've really gotten great use out of our Dallas Zoo membership. We took the kids for a quick trip this Saturday. It was a little cool so we stayed away from the children's zoo that has a water feature. Instead  we headed to the Wilds of Africa section and had a snack at the Serengeti Grill while watching the lions. This is such a cool restaurant at the zoo.

Overall the zoo was a bit crowded, but we still saw the cheetahs, giraffes and elephants before we made our way back out and had a quick ride on the carousel before heading home.

Tree Swing

We have a playground in our neighborhood that we've used a ton. It's on the street behind our house and weather permitting we walk to the playground at least once a day. They have a playhouse, rock wall, slide and swings. Connor especially loves the swing but he's started to learn to get up the ramp and then down the slide too.

The playground is great, but on the street perpendicular to ours a jogging path runs behind the homes before the creek. There we discovered a giant tree with two swings hanging from it, perfect for our family.

The weather was beautiful this weekend so we got plenty of time on the tree swing. Such fun!

Italian Spinach Pie

When I posted that I was learning to cook more, I got a great response from friends sending ideas, encouragement, recipes and even a cookbook.

Last night I tried a healthy, easy recipe from my friend Heather Bunch, Italian Spinach Pie.

Heather worked with me at The Richards Group until her husband got a great promotion that required them to move to Arkansas. Instead of finding another advertising job Heather pursued her love of yoga and started teaching others.  Now she not only teaches yoga, but a spin class and some sort of crazy boot camp.

To maintain this busy schedule and keep her energy up she has to eat healthy. This recipe fits the bill but my favorite part is how easy it is. It seemed almost like a quiche so I let the twins have a little for breakfast this morning and they loved it. Maria even had some and liked it so I gave her the recipe too. Now I'm starting to gain a little more confidence in the kitchen.

Here’s a link to the Italian Spinach Pie if you’re interested in trying it for yourself.

Another Day

Another day, another box-o-fun!

Technology Toys

When Carl got his iPad he said there were tons of learning tool apps he could get for the kids.

I'm not sure how much they actually learn from the iPad but the kids are mesmerized by it. Connor is really proud of himself when he makes it work and dances to the music. Chloe just wants to give it a hug.

Paper I Love

Yes I'm writing a post about paper, but I really do love this paper.

It all started with a t-shirt. A few years agos, after Hurricane Katrina, I got an email featuring goods by local New Orleans artists. I love New Orleans and don't mind putting my money where my heart is so I bought Carl the "gator king" t-shirt from Dirty Coast.

We've bought a couple of other t-shirts from Dirty Coast, but I loved the gator king so much I bought Connor a matching onsie.   Gator King onsie

The thing I really liked was the gator design by  Alexa Pulitzer, so I also bought some of her note cards.

Last Christmas my sister-in-law gave me gave me an Alexa Pulitzer to-do list note pad. At first it seemed too nice to jot my daily notes, but I've gotten over it and started to use it. The design is cute, but I love the quality of the paper and how it soaks up ink but doesn't run through. Once I've used the designed side of the sheet I fold it in half and then use the front and back folded pages for notes and lists because the paper is so good.


Anthropologie caries her stuff in store now but you can still get a few things online directly from her site if you're interested in her designs and great paper. As you can see, it might be good if you also like animals with crowns, but she has other designs too.

Shop Alexa Pulitzer

Sandbox = Endless Fun

Connor and Chloe got a sandbox from GiGi for Easter. Mom had been talking about and waiting to get the kids a sandbox since they played with one at a birthday party at the end of October.

When they finally got their sandbox it took us a couple of days to put it together so they played with all of the accessories as a warm up. Of course we ended up breaking the handles off the buckets immediately and deciding they made better hats.

Eventually the sandbox was ready to go and we had nice outdoor weather to go with it. There is mainly a lot of tossing sand on one another, throwing sand out of the sandbox itself, and the ever popular take a bite of sand when Mom's not looking because sand looks like it might taste good (are you sure this isn't brown sugar?).

Even though it's a bit messy they really seem to love it as evidenced by the terrible wailing that ensues when we have to go back inside. Fun all summer!