9 months??

It hit me last night, as I was writing a tweet, that my baby turned 9 months yesterday.

Yeah, I'm pretty much in denial about that.  9 months?  You mean she will be ONE YEAR OLD in just 3 months?  I can't except that.  I love having a baby.  Thankfully my children are unmotivated and lackadaisical.  She just started sitting up a few weeks ago.   Crawling and walking are quite far off.  So I can still pretend she's a little baby.

It's incredible that she's now spent the same amount of time breathing oxygen as she did in my womb, being nourished by the placenta and umbilical cord.

It really goes by so fast.  People tell you that, and you realize it here and there, but sometimes it hits you all over again.  All of my life I dreamed of being a mom and having babies.  For some reason, my mind never made it beyond "having babies" to having preschoolers, kindergarteners and school-age children.  But that's where our family is heading.  It's just hard to believe.

People will tell you to enjoy and cherish the moments, because they speed by.  And they do.  I'm thankful that when Miss Rose was born I really was able to enjoy every moment during her first year and just relish in being a mom and having my first baby.

While I've definately enjoyed Lily, it's different when you have older children, and working outside of the home.  I am careful to cherish the moments I do have with her (which are still many) and although I sometimes complain here and there, I don't mind that she's pretty attached to me and from about 4pm just wants me to hold her. 

It seemed like her colicky phases would never end...but now it's a somewhat distant memory.

It seemed like she would never sleep through the night, but all of the sudden she sleeps about 11hours at night.

It seemed like she would never sit up.  But a few weeks ago, she was sitting and playing.

I know the rest of the moments will speed by quickly.  So I'm just embracing denial and doing all I can to enjoy my baby.  She is my last, you know.  I think.  As long as God doesn't have other plans.  Or we don't come into tons of money.  Or make a crazy, ill-advised decision.  I'm ready to go wake her up from a nap just to cuddle her right now.  But I'm smart enough to know a rested baby is more fun!

9 months ago



Sunday afternon

[Im]Perfection

I love this photo.

I love it for the imperfections I see.

Not everyone is looking at the camera or smiling.

I have no make up on.  My hair is in a pony tail with a headband to tame the strays.

It looks like Lily needs a diaper change.

Gracie is missing a pigtail.

Miss Rose is sweaty and flushed.

But this is us.  Me and my girls.

Sure, I love the posed photos and the moments captured where everyone is smiling at the camera.

I try to create those moments the same as any other mom.

But this is how life truly is.  And there is not a single flaw in it.

There is love and togetherness.  These are the memories we'll have forever.

I'm sure I'll be trying to manufacture a moment for our Christmas photos,

and those have their place too.

But this captures us.  These are the moments I'll hold in my heart.

To me, the imperfections are actually perfect  I wouldn't want it any other way.

reading list

I enjoy blog reading, as I've stated before.  I love reading about people's real lives and their perspective on things.  Sometimes they put into words thoughts I've been unable to form.  They inspire me, they bring me to tears.  As a working, busy mom I don't have a lot of time for book reading.  But my iPhone makes blog-browsing pretty easy thanks to Google Reader.

Here's a few posts I've enjoyed recently.  Click and view at your own pleasure.

Steph posted some great thoughts on doing it all.  She has commented on my blog before...and it makes me feel special!

Heidi chronicled a Real Mom's Day. And hit it right on. 

I'm not sure how I ended up with Prevention Magazine, but this article/interview with the First Lady was inspiring to me.  While her life is very different from most of ours, she is still a mom of young girls, trying to balance it all. 

A longtime friend of mine recently lost her first baby to Trisomy.  She's just started a blog and her journey is heartbreaking, but her faith is amazing.

I may or may not be related to the author of this blog, and she may or may not be "weirded out" when people she doesn't know read her blog, but if you read my blog, you *know* me, so we can say you *know* her too, right?  I think what she has is pretty funny, honest and at times raw.

Well, that's my reading list for you.  Maybe you can share some good stuff you've read recently in the comments or in a similar post on your own blog.

Not Me Monday

It's that time again.  I've been getting pretty good about making mental notes for my Monday posts.  Or maybe I've just gotten better at not doing things.

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

I did not surrender in a battle of the wills, to get my middle daughter to wear shorts under her dress.  The child who often wakes before 6:30am and cries for a "prilly dress."  Who would change into another "prilly dress" for bedtime instead of pajamas.

I did not casually look on while my daughter run up and down a cotton seed hill, falling at the bottom and undoubtably sharing her panties with whoever cared to glane over.  And her cousin Big Bird, did not giggle when he noticed her dress at her waist.  At almost 3 years old, he is not old enough to realize why that sort of thing should be embarassing.

I certainly do not have photographic evidence of this event.

This Saturday was Yard Sale day at our house.

I did not wake at 5:45am to set up for it, causing much noise that kept my poor husband from sleeping much longer.

As I was setting up for said yard sale, I did not realize that it would still be dark at the 6:30am start time I had posted on craigslist.  Some early birds out and about did not inform me that I was getting an earlier start than most.  I was under the impression that good yard sales started early and that was how you made sure to sell as much as possible.  We certainly did not make the most money after 8:30am.  Guess I could have slept a bit longer.

After such a long and tiring day, I did not decide to wear my white tank top and exercise shorts to a birthday dinner at a restaurant.  When I arrived, there was not double the amount of people I expected there.  Someone did not ask me if I had just gotten done working out and I did not respond that "my life is a workout."  I wonder if that legitimized my clothing choice.

I also did not have smears of pumpkin guts on my leg when I entered the restaurant, because I had just left my oldest daughter at the neighbors after helping her carving her pumpkin at their pumpkin party.

We are always dressed appropriately in our family.

I know who I am

For the past few Sundays in church we've been singing the song "I Know Who I Am." As I was worshipping and singing along (yup, I'm the one who sings slightly too loud next to you) various implications of the words came pouring into my mind.

"I know who I am, I am yours."

Even when I feel like a failure, I am the Lord's.

When I feel cheated, slighted, ignored or abandoned, I am still HIS.

It doesn't matter many things remain on my "to-do" list, it doesn't matter that I don't cook or bake as much as I would like to for my family. It doesn't matter that vegetables aren't always served every day.

When I know I've disappointed God, my family or friends. When I haven't lived up to my own potential.

I still belong to Jesus. He made me. He chose me. He gave me the life I live.

As long as I keep that in perspective, everything else will fall into place.

I know who I am. I am a child of God. I am the wife of my husband. I am the mother of my children. The daughter of my parents, the sister of my siblings. These things don't change. I know who I am.

I am yours Lord. And you are mine. Jesus, you are mine.

(and if you ever get the chance to see Israel Houghton in concert...it's an incredible worship & music experience)

cotton seeds, pumpkins and baby animals

We visited a wonderful Pumpkin Patch this afternoon run by a local dairy (I didn't know we had dairies here!)  There was a cotton seed hill for the kids to play on--sled down, run down, jump etc.  Of course a hay ride, pumpkins, a haybale maze, various games and more.  One of my favorite things was the fact that beyond the admission fee, everything was pretty much free.  A mom's dream!  I didn't have to say no to anything my kids wanted to do because of money.  It wasn't too busy when we went, which was nice because I could easily keep track of the kids and they pretty much had free reign.

Here's a few random photos.  Man, I love being my kids mom.  They are such fun and bring me such joy.

It's a sign

I just broke one of my favorite dishes.

When I opened the gift at my bridal shower I thought, hmmm...not something I registered for, but cute.  It was four small rice bowls.  They turned out to be one of my favorite things.   Great for portion control with desserts.  Perfect for mixing babyfood and cereal.  And about a million other things.

I started out with four and now eight years later, I had two left.

Until tonight.  All because I was reaching for another Oreo.  Seriously.

I had the bowl overturned on my cup of tea (they also make great makeshift lids to keep steeping tea hot).  Instead of using caution to balance it, I reached across all the crud that is on my kitchen floor and has no permanant place, and as I struggled to get the Oreo package open--CRASH--only one bowl left.

I need to step away from the Oreos.  Normally we don't have Oreos in the house.  Just five minutes prior, this was the conversation.

Me: Next time you want to buy a treat for the kids, buy a single serving of Oreos, not the huge package.

Him: They were on sale.  The big package was like fifty cents cheaper than the small one.

Me: Yeah, but then we don't end up eating so many

Him: Well, I've only had six.

Me: Um, I've had a lot more than that.

Seriously, put down the Oreos and step away from the kitchen.

I weighed myself a few days ago.  I wasn't happy with the results.  I had lost a pound or two.

You're thinking, huh?  Isn't losing weight good?

Well, yeah,  it is.  But I've been pretty lax in my eating and exercise is slim to none.  I wanted to see an increase on the scale to motivate me to make some changes and lose this baby-belly-muffin-top.

I think breaking my dish because I was reaching for an Oreo might have done the trick.

Plus I read this blog tonight and identified with so many parts of it.  Except I have one more child, and my husband doesn't work quite such long hours.  BUT, I was inspired by her wake-up time and morning routine.  I think it's time.

5am ???

It's no secret that I enjoy exercise, especially running. I blog and tweet about it. Have you noticed the decrease in my comments about it though?

Time, energy and motivation for exercise have been hard to come by lately. I managed to run a few times a week leading up to my half marathon earlier this month. But that was because I didn't want to die during the race.

Mentally I've been at a bit of a better place lately, so running hasn't been as crucial. When I'm struggling, I need the adrenaline and runner's high to snap me out of a funk.

There honestly seems to be so little time for exercise these days. I am a firm believer that you will make time for what's important. And while exercise is important to me, I guess other things are just edging it out right now.

Our evenings go by so quickly and are quite full. On the days I work, when I get home it's time to connect with the kids, nurse the baby and get dinner going (Bean does this often). Since the baby is eating solids now, that's another thing to add to the list. And she must be fed before everyone else--since we've only one highchair and no extra chairs at the table right now. Then it's dinner, showers and baths, reading with Miss Rose and by then--bed.

Our kids go to bed at 7:30. Which is a blessing and a pain. It's a blessing because it means more time in the evening for Bean and I to get things done, to have quality time and relax with the TV. But it also means evenings go quickly. My children are sleepers though. Which is a good thing. They fall asleep fairly quickly and then need to be woken up at 6:30. {of course on non-school days, they wake up on their own at 6:30. Go figure.}

With daylight waning and upcoming daylight savings ending, there are no more post-dinner runs. Sure I could do a video after the kids go to bed, but I rarely feel energetic enough for that. My days off seem so busy and full of other things that exercise is low on the list.

I've come to the conclusion that if I want to get regular exercise in, I need to wake at 5am. At least a few times a week. Which is only 45minutes earlier than I try to rise anyways. But oh that seems SO early. Maybe once it's light earlier, it will be easier. To be quite honest, I haven't even tried. I still can't believe that I managed to Shred for all but a few days of April, with at least 50% of it happening in the early morning.  I'm impressed with myself.  But I can't seem to repeat it.

I'm in a wedding in about a month.  Wearing a little black dress.  {perfectly modest of course} It's forgiving of my trouble area (post-baby belly) but of course the better shape I'm in, the more confident I'll feel.  The dress has spaghetti straps, and I'd love to work on toning my arms.  They pretty much lack all tone and definition.  And of course ab work.  You'd think even if I didn't have energy or time for cardio, at least I could work on those areas.

Yeah, it hasn't happened yet.

I was inspired this morning reading the Facebook status of a friend of mine who commented on waking at 4am to spend time with God, her husband and Jillian Michaels.  That's before she homeschools her 2 school age children while also entertaining her 2 small children.  No, she doesn't live on a farm in the middle of no where.  She lives in my same city in busy So Cal.

I'm working on it.  Thinking about it.  For me, exercise begats exercise.  The more I exercise, the more I make time for exercise and prioritize it.  So I know I just need to get started again. 

But those first few mornings are always SO hard.  Maybe Thursday.  Then if I need to I can nap that afternoon.  I'll keep you posted.

Bridal Beauties

Miss Rose and Gracie were in a wedding this weekend.  It was such an honor to be involved in the special day of friends.  It's also exhausting to wrangle a 5yr old who's favorite thing isn't dresses and fancy hair and a 2yr old who pretty much thinks it's the BEST day of her life.

I was SO proud of my girls though.  They followed directions, participated to the fullest extent, were so patient during all the waiting and of course they were gorgeous.

Gracie, my lover of "prilly" dresses was in heaven.  She wanted to put her dress on from the moment we arrived.  While we were waiting for the wedding to begin we were in a room that had a 3-way mirror.  I caught Gracie admiring herself in the mirror and when she realized other views were available she would turn from side to side and mirror to mirror checking out the bow on her back, and all angles of her cute self.

She kept asking when the wedding would start and when can we go to the wedding?  The girl was ready to go!

Miss Rose is such a beauty, even though she's a tomboy.  Secretly, I loved being able to dress her up and fix her hair, since she hasn't let me do that for a year or more.  I think at some points she enjoyed being fussed over as well.

The next day, Gracie insisted upon wearing her "wedding shoes" to church.  With a more casual dress, and even more casual socks.  Oh well, she's 2.  It was cute!

My only regret for the day was that it was so hectic that I didn't get a picture with the girls and even though I dressed Lily in a coordinating dress, I didn't get a picture of the three of them together.

The girls are in another wedding in April and I'm excited!  If Lily is walking by then, she might be involved too--and this mama will just be in heaven!  I did learn, that if the bride wants photos of the children clean and looking put together---they must take place before the ceremony!  By the time the photos were taken after the ceremony, Gracie had already acquired several stains on her dress and their hair was beginning to come out of the bobby pins.  But I know the photos still came out great!


This is one of my favorites.  I can't wait to see the professional ones!

 I will admit, I got a little choked up with pride and love for my beautiful girls as they made their way down the isle.

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

Oh yes, it's that time again.  That day that you read about others mishaps and think, I don't do those kind of things.  But when you really start to think about it...you realize you are just a prone to not do things as anyone else.

So what have I not been up to this week?

I certainly did not plan to go to bed early each night, only to look up and find that it was already past 10pm or closing in on 11pm.  Not me.  I never get distracted by the computer or television.

After completing a half marathon last Sunday, which I certainly have not neglected to blog about yet, there is no way that I haven't exercised all week.  Not me.  I wouldn't be so remiss in neglecting to prioritize exercise, just because I don't have a race coming up.

I did not finish off the cookies this morning, deciding that it was actually a self-sacrificial move, so that my dear point-counting hubby wouldn't be tempted to cheat tonight.  It was not several (which is more than a few) that I fnished off.  That would be glutinous.

Clearly, I've been taking wonderful care of myself and these types of things are not why I find myself sick again; the second time in as many months, which is double my typical annual rate. 

So, what have you not been up to?

Little Ole Me

I'm a blog addict.  I admit it.  I was excited when I figured out how to follow blogs in Blogger.  And then I figured out Google Reader on my iPhone.  Fabulous entertainment for waiting rooms, nursing, and a quick escape from reality.

I blame it on my love of books and fiction.

As soon as I learned to read, I devoured everything around me.  I remember reading every street sign as we drove around town and my parents patiently putting up with it.  I quickly starting reading every book I could get my hands on.  I have wonderful memories of the "book shelf" in my grandma's large hall closet.  I loved opening it, and smelling the stale, old books and reading all that were there.  I have read many Reader's Digest condensed books.  I went through the entire fiction section in my church library as a student.  Since the birth of #3 book reading has been slim, but even in the last 5 years I've gone through periods of reading several books a week from the library.

I love a good story.  And even a cheesy story.  Bean brought me a book from his work this week (which I've yet to open, but am very interested in) that mentions a characters "Amish roots" and he knows I love all things Amish and Little House on the Prairie-esque. 

And so I love reading blogs.  Interesting ones that is.  Understandably, many of the blogs I come across are written by moms, usually stay at home moms.  Most of the are quite busy though, with various hobbies and involvements with their children.

Me...I'm busy, but it's with work and balancing a family alongside that.

I've noticed that many bloggers have a lot in common.  Things that I don't have in common with them.

1.  They are photographers.  Some do it as a hobby.  Some have a side business.  I love taking photos and even posting them.  I have a great interest in learning to take great pictures.  But I need to finish decorating and organizing my bedrooms first.

2.  They are great at editing their photographs.  I have a copy of Photoshop on my computer.  I've tried to use it.  But I find it complicated and not easily learned.  Therefore, my photo editing is limited to what I can do in Picasa.  If I even have the time to edit them at all.

3.  Along with editing photographs, they do great digital designs with their photos.  Again, I have a great interest in digiscrapping, but that will have to wait for another decade probably.

4.  They are crafty.  Whether it's sewing or quilting, selling stuff on etsy or being creative in their home decoration, they are a crafty bunch.  It's been a long-standing joke with my long-time friends how un-crafty I am.  I actually can sew, but just the basics.  Let's not talk about how uneven the baby blanket I sewed for Miss Rose is.

5.  They play with their children, a lot.  I'm so busy playing catch-up when I'm home, playing with my children isn't always a priority.  I strive to interact with them at all times and do put aside the to-do list as much as possible, but the outings I read about--just don't happen around these parts.

On a good day, I feel lucky to have fed my kids a vegetable with dinner, to have all three bathed, to have read at least one book with them before bed and spend a little quality time with my husband.

I'm just little ole me.  Not a photographer or quilter or creator of things.  Perhaps one day I will develop other talents and hobbies.  I'm satisfied with me.  With who I am.  Strengths and weaknesses. 

After all, my kids just want me.  And to the best of my ability, they have me.  Anything else is just a perk.

It's a 3 Bean Circus around here

So glad you've arrived at my new blogsite! I'm excited about the small changes.  While "no crying over spilled milk" is a motto I live by, and I pretty much am a "no crying mama" because I rarely cry, I felt like this new title fit our life and family better.

Bean and I often refer to life as a three-ring circus.

In the first ring is Miss Rose.  She's usually moving constantly.  Asking for attention and entertainment.  Miss Rose arrived home this evening from watching a movie at the neighbor's house.  She had a small pillow in one hand and a string tied to a stuffed dog in the other hand.  As she was telling us about the movie, she was constantly moving around the living room.  Twirling the string around her arm, perching on the couch, getting up again, moving towards the other couch. 

Bean started boxing her out to try to get her to stop moving so much (as bedtime was next) but she didn't even notice.  Then I asked her to come stand by me and I put my arms around her to help her calm down while she finished telling us about the movie.  Yeah right.  She couldn't handle just standing there, and wiggled free.  The good thing is that usually within minutes of hitting the pillow at night, she's out.  Often less than 5 minutes.

Our little firecracker Gracie is found in the second ring.  She's a little monkey.  Often being very goofy--both with her body and her language.  Just tonight in fact, she stripped off all her clothes because she knew it was a bath night, even though it wasn't her turn yet.  When I asked what happened to her clothes, she just gave me a silly grin and stuck her bum out at me.  She loves the phrase "shake your booty."  She's at the stage where we find funny things in her bed after she falls asleep.  The other night it was a flashlight.  Gracie loves wearing socks and gloves on her hands.  I have no idea why.

And in the final ring, is sweet Lily Cate.  Her exact role is still to be defined.  I do know she's our most vocal baby.  Already "yelling" and making her presence known.  Like her sisters, she's not concerned with sitting up or crawling very quickly.  In fact she rarely rolls from her back to her stomach.  Because she doesn't want to, although she can.  Lily loves her mama and can be happy as a lark but the second I walk in, she makes a huge stink! (not that I mind too much though!)

So, that's our three-ring circus.

The circus really gets going between 4pm and 5pm every night.  When Bean and I get home from work, meltdowns begin.  Miss Rose begins to throw fits complete with writhing on her bed at whatever great travesty has occurred. Gracie runs around like a maniac, usually asking to watch a movie about 8234 times and hungering for attention from Mama.  Lily just wants to be held.  By mom.  She'd probably be happy to be on the boob for the evening hours.  Or at least have it available at her discretion.  For the sake of connecting with me, not necessarily for nutrition.  God forbid I need to put her down or hand her off.  Or be in the same room without having her in my arms.

When the circus gets going, I'm trying to keep everyone calm, to think ahead to the next meltdown or demand.  Usually lamenting that once again my children aren't eating a vegetable at dinner.  Bean is in constant motion, herding children to the next event of the night, and trying to clean and get dishes done.  I'm tired all over again just recounting this!

Growing up my nickname was Beana and I just happened to marry a man who's nickname is Bean.  Complete coincidence as we didn't grow up together.

These are our little bean sprouts.  I like to call him the Ringmaster and I'm the Ringmother.

Welcome to the circus people.  Oh, and we're not under a big top.  We're under a little top.  The circus effect is magnified when it takes place mostly in a smallish home. 

But it's our three bean circus, and we wouldn't change a thing for the world.

(let's just hope our plans aren't superceded by the Big Man Upstairs, because it would be kind of a pain to change the name to ourfourbeancircus.  Maybe I should reserve the blog name just in case.  Nah.)

Tidbits

As always, there are many things I would love to blog about, but tonight I'm settling for sharing tidbits.

I've been tired today. And I've come down with my second cold in about two months. Which is twice as many colds as I usually have each year. I've decided I need more sleep and less stress. Not sure that's going to happen though. So bring on the vitamins, meds and Kleenex. It's frusterating though.

I'm trying to stay calm and be less anxious. It's working to some extent. But I still have my moments and sometimes entire days that I just feel like I'm drowning in things that need to be done, incomplete home projects and rooms. Today was kind of one of those days. I just want everything to be in it's place, to have a place to be. I want pictures on the wall, decorations in the kids rooms. No more stacks and piles. Maybe in 2011 we'll be there.

I could honestly use a good two or three solid days of no distractions to get all this done. To put stuff away, to organize and purge, to shop for the things I need for the house. But that's not going to happen. Not only is there just too much going on in life, but the kids seem to be really suffering lately with extra time away from me. Which is understandable. Gracie especially has a hard time by the end of my work week or when I have other stuff that takes me away from home. So I'm just not even willing to try to coordinate additional time away from the kids in order to organize. My kids will not always be this young, and they will not always need me so much. The cleaning and organizing will always be there.

Our evenings are getting better. Bean and I are focusing more on the kids and less on the stuff we'd like to get done. But each night, the three bean circus is in full effect. Miss Rose is throwing fits and crying over the smallest things. Gracie is usually running around like a maniac being her wild self. Lily only wants to be held by me and I swear I could put her to bed at 6pm. But who knows how early she'd wake up, so I try to stretch her to 7pm. She was in bed at 6:45pm tonight, so we'll see what happens tomorrow.

And just when I want to complain and have a pity party, I am reminded how blessed I am and how thankful I should be. A longtime friend lost her unborn baby to Trisomy 13 this week. A baby who fought the odds and survived in utero much longer than expected. She's very new to blogging and you can visit her here.

Recent cuteness happening around our house...

Lily is finally mastering the art of sitting up, at a mere 8.5 months.  Some of her peers have been sitting up for a few months now and are beginning to crawl.  She is a loud one, as I've shared before.  She responds to her sisters with a lot of animation.  Lily seems to enjoy music and activity.  She has her own baby dance party during worship at church and recently at a high school football game, she was bouncing and waving her limbs each time the cheerleaders would start.

Gracie is our little glove girl lately, making everyone laugh and smile.  She loves wearing gloves.  Sometimes she'll wear one and on rare occasions she'll wear two.  It's quite amusing.  The neighbors and others we see on a semi-regular basis are always curious to see what glove(s) she's wearing that day.  A few days ago she found our adult snow gloves and has been sporting those monsters on her hands and even her feet!  She has a developing love for her baby sister which is sweet.  Every day when I get home from work she announces to me "there's your Lily."

Miss Rose is doing wonderful in school.  She has great behavior and is learning new things.  Some of it is still repeat from her pre-K program, but the other day when we were reading a book she was sounding out unfamiliar words--very impressive. She tells us that a boy "who's brain doesn't work the same way" sits next to her in class and she's been helping him and her teacher praises her for how she works with him.  That makes us VERY proud. 

I guess that 6:45pm bedtime didn't go over so well, even though the Little One was falling asleep while feeding.  I better go rescue her for a few minutes and see what's going on.

Thats the tidbits around here!

He went there

We currently have a round dining room table and three chairs.

One chair is a folding chair...that is dangerous for children. My children have folded it on themselves. And pulled it down on themselves as babies.

The other chairs match the table...but their mates broke in the last few years, so the two remaining can't be far behind.

Oh, and there's a highchair.

That's seating for 4. We are a family of 5. A family of 5 dinner-eaters now that the baby is eating solids (although she won't eat my homemade food, but that's another post).

So the baby sits on my lap. Usually as soon as Bean is done eating, he takes over feeding her so I can finish my dinner.

Tonight I looked at him and said "I just want another chair or a bigger table." Because of how our dining area is shaped and the size of our family, I'd like a rectangular table. But new dining sets are expensive.

Then, he went there.

Bean looked at me and said "just think of all the babies in 3rd World countries who don't even have food to eat."

Now come on, was that necessary? Or fair? I think not.

Of course I do see his point.

But as my dad used to tell his mom when she was trying to get him to clean his plate, "then just put the food in an envelope and mail it to them.'

So there.

Not Me Monday at my NEW location!

Welcome to my new location :)  Hope you will follow me using Google!






Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

We all have those moments we aren't so proud of, the moments we wish we could rewind and rewrite.  Personally though, I find them rather amusing and entertaining.  Bean and I enjoy laughing at most of these moments.

Our life is a circus, or at least it feels that way.  And this Mama Beana and Daddy Bean just shake our heads and laugh at our three little Beans and the acts they create.  More later this week on Our Three Bean Circus.

But for now, may I entertain you with a few things that most certainly would not take place in this Three Bean Circus.

I do NOT sometimes take my iPhone into the bathroom with me to "check something" while I take care of business, and by business, I don't mean that kind of business, I mean simply urinating.  I do NOT usually find myself still sitting on the throne 10 minutes later, when child comes seeking me.  Nope, not me.  That's unsanitary, and just plain silly.

While we're speaking of urination, few days ago, when asked if Gracie was potty-trained, she did NOT proceed to pee on the cement a mere nanosecond after I answered in the affirmative.  And it wasn't a small accident--as in oops, a little leaked out.  It was like Niagra Falls.  She IS pottytrained and does NOT have some animal instinct that causes her to urinate outside an average of once a week.  Not my child.

Just tonight, after giving Miss Rose a stack of magazines to search for "sight words" for her homework project, she did NOT point out to me a page picturing naked breasts at various stages of breast cancer and single mastectomies.  I did NOT give my child the "Breast Cancer Issue" of Self Magazine.  Nope, not me.  I am more careful than that.

And finally, after having a discussion on how some kids say bad words (ie older neighborhood boys) Miss Rose did NOT give Bean the double bird, as a demonstration of something else they had taught her.  Nope, not in this house.  (needless to say, the boys are banished from our yard for quite some time!)

Yes folks, it's real.  THIS is our Three Bean Circus.

Stay tuned for more!

Lucky in Love

Bean and I celebrated 8 years of marriage this week.  I had all sorts of ideas for a creative, fabulous post honoring this event.  But let's be honest, I'm a busy working mom of three small children.  The pieces just never came together.  So here's my heart and thoughts.

8 years of marriage

3 children, ages 5 and younger.

3 major job changes for each of us--with of course some side jobs thrown in there

5 different homes

1 truck, traded for 1 CRV, traded for 1 minivan (bless Bean for driving the Saturn that I brought into our marriage)

These are some of the huge milestones we've been through together.  Each with their ups and downs.  But together is the key.  When we are in the midst of difficulty, we often say to each other "there is no other person I'd rather go through this with."  And it's so true.

We still look at each other in amazement that we're married.  Bean's brother was one of my close friends growing up.  We knew of each other, but never hung out or even really talked.  Until I moved back home after college.  I remember the first time I "officially" approached Bean.  I had been asked to lead worship for our church college group, and I had remembered seeing him play guitar a few times.  So I asked if he wanted to be on the worship team.  I'm not great at that kind of thing--making that kind of request--but I'm SO glad I did :)  Now he is my guitarist for life.  People used to tease me and Bean's brother about dating--but I like to think I got the better brother!  Better for me that is :)  His brother and I would have killed each other, although I still consider him one of my close friends.  And his wife is perfect for him.

I love our marriage.  Thankfully it's been one of the "easy" things in life.  Certainly we have our ups and downs--which usually is due to failure to communicate, but most of the time being married to Bean is the best thing in my life (also because he gave me those three beautiful babies).  Our favorite time of the day is when we can finally get in our comfy bed, cuddle and sleep (although we both sleep best lying back to back...but our feet almost always touch).  I find it romantic that Bean checks my Twitter feed every day, even though he doesn't have an account himself.  He just likes to see what I'm saying about my day. 

Sometime in the last year I heard the song "Lucky in Love" for the first time.  Ever since then, it's stuck with me as being so true for Bean and I.  I have been lucky in love, and am lucky that my love is my best friend.

I love you Bean!  You are my best friend and I look forward to what the next years have to offer us.

(you know it's love when I post a photo of us at HIS beloved Bronco stadium when I am a die-hard Charger fan)

2 in 2 = 2 (and again??)

No I'm not pregnant.  Yes this post is about pregnancy, and dental care.  Did I scare you?

I've been avoiding the dentist for months now.  My gums always suffer in pregnancy.  I could find a link to share that it's common, but you'll just have to google it.

Finding myself knocked up unexpectedly last year, threw my dental care off course.  I had a dental appointment scheduled long before I knew another little Bean was nestled inside of me.  So when I told them of my recent findings, x-rays were out.  I was asked to come in a few weeks before my due date, for a slightly early cleaning.

Yeah, I went into labor the day before my appointment.  And then I delivered the day of my appointment.  My dentist is almost completely computer run (which is so cool--my xrays show up instantly on a screen in front of me) and I saw in the patient notes "patient cancelled less than 24hrs, in labor". 

Getting to the dentist after Lily was born, was NOT a high priority.  Nor was flossing.  If the baby was asleep, and housework was done, I wanted to be in bed as quickly as possible.

I FINALLY made it to the dentist last week.  (the 3rd appointment scheduled in 2wks was the charm)

I had NO cavities until college (even though my first dental visit was at age 12).  Poor quality food and probably too much Diet Coke contributed to a few cavities.

I haven't had any since college.

Until now.  I guess two babies in two years means a cavity for each of them.  My babies are just that sweet.

I have a few other problem areas.  That can be taken care of with flossing.  So I really need to make that a daily habit again.  Along with lots of other areas of self-care that have been neglected.

Oh, and would you say a prayer for Miss Rose tomorrow?  She is a magnet for oral trauma.  She had a tooth pulled at 2.5yrs due to trauma.  After a soccer tangle 1.5 wks ago, her remaining top middle tooth is still a bit loose and the gum looks a little questionable to me.  I really don't want her to have a tooth pulled AGAIN.  She has yet to loose her first tooth, so I know we are at least several months from those top permanent teeth coming in.

And have you ever heard of 6yr molars?  Miss Rose has some back teeth coming in.  Our almost 7-yr old neighbor (who's pretty bright) said she got 6-yr molars last year.  I thought Miss Rose was just intelligent and getting her wisdom teeth already.  I need to google 6-yr molars.  Or maybe you can do it for me. 

There will come a day

There will come a day, that I'll be able to volunteer in my child's classroom.

Right now, I feel guilty every time a paper is sent home requesting parent help.  Being a working mom, with two other small children, it's just not possible.  Either I'm at work...or it would mean alternate childcare for the little ones on a day when I'd rather be with them.  No one makes me feel guilty and I'm sure anyone would understand, and I'm confident I'm not the only one in this position.  But I do wish I could add that to my list of Supermom abilities.

There will come a day that I will be able to do the extra homework and fill the reading lists with my child.  Right now, we're lucky to just complete the basic homework and read several books a week...instead of each night.  And I even feel guilty that on my work days, I need Miss Rose to complete her homework before I get home--because it's just another piece of craziness added to dinner, baths, bedtime routines, lunch making, house cleaning and clingy babies.

There will come a day that my house will be organized and feel like a home.  Admittedly, I am a packrat.  I save things just in case.  I like to file important paperwork and tax documents, even though most things would probably be available electronically or on request.  But I need to change those habits.  There is no space for such clutter in our house.  Things need to put put away, right away.  Everything needs a place, because there is no extra space.  We're still in that process though.  And it's driving me crazy.  We now have three functional bedrooms.  So we are a few steps closer.  We're here for a long time, so I will figure it out, right?

There will come a day when Bean and I will not need to make a complicated schematic just to get us through the week of work, school, soccer, family obligations, hopefully some exercise and family time.

There will come a day, when I will look fondly on these days.  The days my children were young, messy and sticky.  The days when they needed me, 24/7.  The days when nothing went according to plan, and we just laughed our way through it.  The days when our faith and trust in God were stretched, and grew.  The days when we were seeking God and letting him lead us in the formation of our family and life. 

There will come a day.