Pinkie and The Bean

The Fourth Year Check-Up

2012-01-20T15:26:00.000-05:00

allcards.com

Yesterday I took Bean in for her yearly check up. I thought I would share some of her stats here. I should have been doing this all along because this blog was started as a memory book of sorts but I feel out of the habit.

She is 38 ½ inches tall (23 percentile), and weighs 29 pounds 4 ounces (6th percentile). Yes, she is a tiny thing. The doctor wasn’t that concerned about the weight though. We talked about Bean being a picky eater and my frustrations with that. This doctor has seen Bean from her first pediatric visit and knows that Bean came into this world at only 5 pounds 4 ounces, and then lost down to 4 pounds 12 ounces while in the hospital. So she knows she runs small.

The doctor mentioned that we could put her back on Pediasure. Bean used to love those and I’m sure would do so again. Of course, she likes something one day and hates it the next which is part of the frustration and I guess par for the course with a toddler. I remember being a very picky eater, sometimes still can be, so I guess she gets it honestly.

The one hitch to the visit was that Bean failed her hearing test. They are not sure if it was because of remaining fluid in her ears after just getting over being sick and having allergies, or if maybe she’s too immature to understand how to follow the testing rules. They used a machine that they inserted into her ear and it would play a number of beeps. She was to raise her hand once she heard a beep and then put her hand back down. Well, the hand would go up and stay up. Then once they put her hand down, there were several beeps that she did not respond to. So they aren’t sure if there is really a problem or if she just needs a little more time to understand what she needs to do.

A couple of years ago, I had to take her to an ENT for recurring ear infections and they did a whole hearing test on her then and she passed. So I am hoping that she just did not understand how to do what they wanted her to do.

She did get her finger pricked to test for anemia again. The poor baby’s finger bled for a couple of hours after that. Then they gave her four booster shots. I had forgotten this was going to happen and I hadn’t prepared her by giving her Advil beforehand or prepared myself with the pep talk I always have to do. I absolutely hate having to hold my child down while they give her shots. She’s crying and screaming and I’m trying not to cry and scream myself. It’s horrible.

After the doctor’s visit she had to go to the dentist for her six month check up. She did pretty good during the exam and has a small spot on the front of one of her front teeth that has to be fixed. But the dentist was happy with how we’ve gotten better at tooth care and Bean was excited to get her prizes for being good. She even took her goodies to school today so she could show them off. (Sorry teachers!)

Then after all of these check ups, it was off to get another haircut so she can see again. Now she is getting more and more excited for her birthday party this weekend.

So if you all are the praying type, please pray that Bean's hearing is fine. I'd appreciate it. I am going to try not to worry about it until I have something to worry about.

The Bean is 4!

2012-01-17T15:57:00.001-05:00

Sunday marked our beloved Bean's 4th birthday!

Four years.

Fours years of love, laughter, smiles, tantrums (hers and mine), learning, giggles, hugs, kisses, and did I say love? Oh yeah. I did. But love is all I think of when I think of our Bean.

Here are some pictures I took of Bean in one of her new girlie dresses on her fourth birthday. I see a bunch of love in them.

Happy Birthday Baby!

Bad Mom - Exhibit A

2012-01-10T12:51:00.000-05:00

One sign I'm a bad mom is that as I'm getting the kid out of the car this morning at her school, I look down and notice that I completely forgot to brush her hair. It wasn't that bad because at night I comb and comb it while I'm blowing it dry during the winter months but it was stringy. I didn't have a brush or comb with me so oh well. And maybe that doesn't necessarily make me a bad mom, just a forgetful one or a rushed one or something.

But what leads me to believe I am a bad mom or really that I have no freaking clue what I'm doing is what occurred at the grocery store last night.

Bean and I stopped by the store so I could get some fixins to make pizza for dinner. While there I remembered other things I needed like you always do. We walked by the bakery and Bean saw that they had cake pops and asked for one. Okay fine. One was boxed up and she of course wanted it immediately. Nope. Have to wait for dinner. Whining ensued but not too much. (I hate the freaking whining. I think for one day all the adults in the world should whine to their kids like the kids do all the other days.)

We also looked at cakes and cupcakes and I placed an order for the birthday party. The kid will not stay next to the buggy. Back and forth to this display, then to another. Stand the hell still, kid. I can't watch you to make sure someone doesn't snatch you up, and carry on a conversation with the bakery dude. I CANNOT MULTITASK. It's been proven.

Kid proceeds to climb under the grocery cart and lay on the bottom part where you put dog food or if you're lucky, beer. Enough beer to make you not notice the whining. She did this a couple of weeks back at another grocery store and she got stuck. Spectators gathered. Blood pressure rose.

As soon as I saw this planking demonstration begin, I grabbed two little wrists and pulled her back to a sensible level. Her shoe came off. This set off more whining. Bakery dude thinks this is all entertaining.

After our show was over at the bakery, we headed to the soft drink aisle which is also the beer aisle and I was tempted. Tempted people. You have no clue how tempted. Leave the bottled water and the orange drink I’m addicted to and grab the Molson. (Shout out to my Canadian friends there.)

While debating the merits of beginner alcoholism, I noticed Bean hanging on the end of the cart and giggling fiendishly. “What’s so funny, Bean?”

“Mommy, I pooted.” Careless whispers. Remember that song? This was most definitely careless, but NOT a whisper. In fact, a 20-something dude was walking by at the time and heard this profession. Laughing ensued again. I am thinking I need to start charging for this floor show.

“Bean, we don’t say that in public.” Also made a mental note to discuss the “pooting giggles” with Hubz when I get home. They think this is a funny way to spend a few minutes together.
During our store meanderings, the cart had been filled with a Hello Kitty cup, Double Stuff Oreos, and Little Debbie Brownies. Some of this was added with permission, some added surreptitiously. The Hello Kitty cup I agreed to since I was the one that melted the straw on the last Hello Kitty cup. And it IS Hello Kitty.

So with a cart filled with cake pops, Oreos, and brownies, you would think the average kid would be happy as a pig in a blanket, right?

No, your Honor, they would not. At least not my unmannered, sugar-ladened unruly child. This grocery store has developed a wonderful marketing tool that only sick and demented childless store designers would ever think of - they have a self-serve candy bin right in the middle of all the checkout lanes. These sick bastards have never had to stand in a mile long check out line with an antsy uncontrollable toddler who doesn’t understand that the candy in the bins isn’t there for the taking like it is at Nano’s house.

I wish them one day in my shoes. The sick bastards.

Bean asked me for some candy and pointed at the bins. She was told no. This did not compute.

As I push our cart to the point of no return in the lane and start unloading our wares, she takes off. Right to the candy bin which is, of course, out of my reach.

I say “Bean, get back over here.”

“Mommy, I want candy.” Yeah, you and that group from the 80s. I’ve heard it before.

Do you know how hard it is to try and stretch your leg one way to keep in contact with the cart that is holding your purse, and then stretch out the rest of your body the exact opposite way to try and capture a smiling sugar monster? It is near dang impossible. I think it should actually be an Olympic event. I think I would win gold.

“Bean, get over here right now.”

“I want candy.”

“No. No. No.”

As she is just out of my grip, she stands by the malted milk balls. She looks at me and smiles this smile that rivals the one of Jack Nicholson in The Shining. She reaches into the malted milk balls - doesn’t even use the provided tongs - and snatches a milk ball. She smiles right at me again and pops the candy right into her mouth.

Immediate thought - this child is possessed by Jack Nicholson. No, he’s still alive. This child is evil.

That’s it. Blood pressure all the way up. Steam coming out of my ears. Trying to remember if the will is made out. Take off over to the bins to grab hellion.

Hellion takes off!

SICK BASTARDS!!!!!! I hate this store. I hate my life. I hate that my child is possessed. I hate that I have no control.

This would have never happened to my own mother.

I must be a bad mom. I must be one of those moms that I used to watch in stores and just shake my head. Karma, baby. I sure wished my mom was here to give me some pointers on controlling this possessed hellion.

So from now on, if there is a trip to the grocery store in our future, it won’t be this candy bin displaying sick bastards store. And we won’t be setting foot in any store without a new roll of duct tape. I used to make this joke all the time but more and more I’m understanding what a valuable child-rearing tool duct tape really is. Even if I decide not to use it on the kid, I can put it over my own mouth to drown out the sounds of my screams.

Meet Oliver

2012-01-01T23:56:00.000-05:00

Bean received one early Christmas present. This present came a week before Christmas. Santa had a hard time wrapping this one and keeping it hidden so he gave us the okay to go ahead and give it to her early.

We'd like to introduce you to the newest member of our family.

This is Oliver.

Oliver is a lemon beagle. We got him a week before Christmas and he was six weeks old when he came to live with us. He is very sweet and loveable. He likes to nibble on us and will cuddle up with us to take his puppy naps. We call him "Ollie" for short.

Bean was taking a kiddie nap in her car seat when Oliver first arrived. He couldn't believe that anyone could sleep through his introduction so he promptly woke her up. She first opened her eyes, looked right at Ollie and then threw her arm around his neck to put him in a headlock and rolled over with him tailing right behind - still in the headlock.

Once she woke up she warmed right up to him. "Puppy! Puppy! Puppy!" She was instantly in love.

Oliver has brought us tons of laughs and love already. His little personality is beginning to shine. The only challenge we've had so far is the same everyone has with a new puppy and that's house training. I haven't had to house train a doggie since 1997! I think I've forgotten all I ever learned. But we'll get there. I sure hope we get there. LOL

Christmas Wrap Up

2011-12-31T23:41:00.001-05:00

Our Christmas was hectic as most are. I didn't get everything done before that I wanted to. But I thought I'd share some pictures of it all with you.

Bean took part in her very first Christmas pageant. Well, she KINDA took part. Her preschool held the pageant in their school gym and it was packed out with adoring parents and family and friends. Bean made it down the aisle and to her seat with the rest of her classmates but that was about it. As soon as the music started for the first song, I hear Hubz say "Oh crap, she's losing it." I couldn't see her but the next thing I knew there she was at our row crying her eyes out. I guess she got scared with everyone looking at them. I was a little embarrassed because we had invited Nano and Nanny R. to see Bean sing and there was no singing Bean. But then the second song started and one by one her classmates followed suit and ran to their own parents. So I guess Bean was just a trendsetter. Oh well, there will be other Christmas programs that we'll have and I'm sure half of them won't be as entertaining as this one.

We made a few homemade gifts. We made snowman crayons for Bean's classmates. These were a huge hit. We made teacup candles for her teachers and a few family and friends. We also made some candy dishes for family.

We went to the Callaway Gardens Festival of Lights and Bean got to meet Santa. He was a very nice Santa and took a lot of time with her. The only thing that was strange was that he had a deep Southern accent. Now, who doesn't in this house but you just don't expect Santa to sound like us hillbillies!

Bean was a huge help to Mommy with all the decorating, cooking, cleaning, and even the wrapping.

Christmas morning was evidently an ode to the Disney Princesses at our house. Bean got an Disney Princess Ultimate Castle along with a set of Princess dolls. I think ole Walt Disney needs to send me a kickback or something for all the Princess promoting we've done.

I think she really enjoyed all of her presents from Santa and family and friends. She plays with all of her toys and still loves to tell us what each one does on a daily basis. I hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas as much as our little one did hers.

Happy New Year 2012!

2011-12-31T11:28:00.000-05:00

http://littlebirdieblessings.blogspot.com

I hope 2012 brings us all happiness, health and some prosperity. We all sure could use it.

Happy New Year from Pinkie and The Bean!

"The Bampire"

2011-12-27T16:38:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday - Christmas or Hanukkah, whichever is your choice. I'm aiming to share a holiday re-cap post showing some snapshots of our Christmas. Stay tuned.

In the meantime, I wanted to share a little ditty of something that Bean did a week before Christmas.

I was at my computer working. Hubz was in the living room watching tv. Bean was...well...that was a good question. She had been noticeably quiet for a few minutes and THAT IS NEVER A GOOD THING. When your toddler gets quiet, they aren't meditating. They aren't contemplating life's mysteries. They aren't trying to cure cancer either.

They are up to no dang good. Trust me. It's a rule of thumb that has never been proven wrong.

I asked Hubz what Bean was doing. Deep in concentration over the football game of the moment, he mumbled "in her room playing". Uh oh. I looked around the corner and her bedroom door was closed. We...I...have a rule that she is not allowed to play in her room with the door closed. This rule came from a hard lesson I learned awhile back. One day in the middle of cleaning out her closet, I left the room to go put clothes in the dryer. When I came back, one whole corner of the room was covered in baby powder. It literally looked like it had snowed there. All over her little tv, all over her desk, the wall, and in the carpet. From a reenactment, she demonstrated how she had stood there and squeezed the life out of this container of baby powder. "Watch Mommy!". So that began the rule of the door must always be open.

The door was now closed. Again - uh oh.

"Bean!"

I hear the door open and out she comes running. Then I hear Hubz laughing. The next moment THIS was shoved in my face...

I will admit I let out a small shriek.

I look down at my darling child and she has the biggest grin on her face. She says...

"Look, Mommy! I made her into a bampire!"

Uh huh. Poor doll. Strange kid.

I said "Well, technically, since you made her green, doesn't that make her a zombie?"

"No, Mommy, she a bampire."

Okay. Bampire it is.

Christmas Card 2011 - or What Might Have Been

2011-12-21T13:17:00.000-05:00

I think most of you that know me might have picked up that I like to hand make cards. I developed this love by hanging out with my good friend, Tracy. She introduced me to the world of card making and my checkbook has never been the same since.

I wanted to share a picture of our 2011 Christmas card that I made - or what I like to call "What Might Have Been". I am normally a procrastinator. I will admit that. And this year wasn't any different. I first couldn't decide what I wanted to make. But then once everything was decided, I got to work. I made about 2 cards and my paper punch broke. I replaced my paper punch and sat down to work again. This time the new punch broke after 4 cards. I tried to exchange it but there were no more of this design left and I couldn't find anything else that I could use. I even tried to replicate the design on my Silhouette. That didn't turn out right either.

So I was able to complete 6 of our Christmas cards. Yep. Six.

Here is a picture of one of those six limited edition cards.

I absolutely love this design. I love the colors, I love the little girl, I just love it all. I used all Stampin' Up products except for the punch and ribbon. Another card making buddy (Thanks Doc!) taught me how to run the stamp design through a Xyron machine to make the front of the design sticky so that I could then apply glitter to add a "pop" to the card. You use a used dryer sheet to complete that process. I would have never come up with that on my own. I printed out the snowflakes on my Silhouette.

I am very sad that here it is December 21st and I have no way of completing them so that I can mail them off.

I think I will continue looking for the punch and keep working on them. I'll just look at it as I now have a jump start on next year's cards.

Now you know why you haven't received a card from us this season. Merry Christmas to you all!

Linking up with these pretty parties:

Update on our Cinderella fan letter

2011-12-19T16:20:00.005-05:00

Remember this post where I confessed to becoming a fan girl for Cinderella? Well, we received our letter back. It is actually a full color large postcard. One side has a picture of Cinderella and all her princess friends and the other side has a special message from Cinderella.

Bean was thrilled to receive this. She even sat her Daddy down and explained who each princess in the picture was. He now knows more about the Disney Princesses than I'm sure he ever wanted to know.

Glowstick Bath

2011-12-09T14:11:00.001-05:00

Awhile back I ran across a blog post by The Zinnia Patch sharing her idea of putting glowsticks in the bath tub. I knew Bean would love this.

So one night last week I filled up a tub for her nightly bath and decided I would surprise her with the glowsticks. Bean has started objecting to bath time. She knows it's the beginning of the end of the day and she isn't ready to stop playing each night so now she balks at taking a bath.

While she was still playing I snuck into the bathroom and started the bath. I turned out all the lights and the light from the glowsticks were enough to light up the room nicely.

Sure enough though when I went to get Bean, she started squawking that she didn't need a bath. Once I told her I had a surprise for her, she was singing a different tune.

This is what she saw when she went into the bathroom.

Here's a picture with the tub light on so you can see it better.

She really loved playing with the glowsticks in the tub. In fact, I had to make her get out. That's definitely a change from the usual. She has already asked twice for another glowstick bath. You can get a tube of these sticks for $1 at most craft stores. It's a fun change of pace activity if you have a child that doesn't want to take their bath.

Book Advent Calendar - Update 1

2011-12-07T16:09:00.001-05:00

We've made it to December 7th and Bean still loves this idea. Mommy still hasn't picked up the remaining books that we need to get all the way to the 24th. Hey, I'll try to do it after my Procrastinators Anonymous meeting tonight.

Here are the book selections for December 2nd through the 5th.

December 2nd: All I Want for Christmas

December 3rd: Merry Christmas, Curious George

December 4th: The Christmas Story

December 5th: The Littlest Christmas Elf

Are you using a fun way to count down the days 'til Christmas?

THE Question.

2011-12-06T22:14:00.001-05:00

So on the way home from daycare tonight, Bean pipes up from the back seat and asks

"Mommy, where do you get babies from?"

She's 3. I thought I'd have a few more years to practice my delivery, to get my lines right, hit my mark.

Needless to say I was dumbfounded. All I could think of was "oh, all sorts of places".

Finally, she said "no, they come from Jesus".

Oh yeah. That's right. Jesus. I forgot.

Finding our Christmas Tree

2011-12-06T15:30:00.001-05:00

On Sunday, we went out in search for our Christmas tree. I wanted to go to the beloved Christmas tree farm that we've been to a couple of times. I mean, they have bunnies. Bunnies in Santa hats. What more could you want in a tree farm?

Hubz did not want to go to the tree farm. He evidently hates bunnies or Santa hats or something. He wanted to go to Home Depot because it's closer.

Home Depot? What kind of holiday memories can we make at Home Depot? "Oh hurry! I can't wait to get to Aisle 5!!!"

Nobody says that. Aisle 5 is not Christmas-magical. It's just the same dang Aisle 5 that's there all year long. You know what I mean?

I wanted to go to a place where we could make beautiful, loving family memories that Hubz and I will be able to remember when we are old and grey and peeing ourselves in our rocking chairs. You can't get that at Home Depot.

Hubz evidently hates family memories, too, cause Home Depot won out.

Bean ran all over looking at one tree and then the next. She was having a ball. "Make this one stand up, Daddy!" "I wanna see this one, Daddy!" "We have to get a really big tree, Mommy." She was hard to keep up with.

Mommy ultimately chose the tree. I think by that time they all looked the same to Bean and Hubz was too scared to say anything after my parking lot meltdown over family memories and pee-stained rocking chairs.

We even picked out a smaller tree for Bean. We did this last year at the tree farm and she loved being able to decorate a tree her own size. That one only cost $5 though. See, another "pro" for the tree farm.

I will say that I think I need to remember that we can make memories anywhere. We don't have to go to any special place to create them. It just really adds to the scenery. The love and the time together is still there. I know Bean had fun and I will always remember that.

So...that's all good and well but since Hubz messed up my "scenery", his picture is going up.

Here he is being manly by trying to get the tree on top of the car. Work it!

Here's Bean taking a break from all the action and sneaking a sip or twelve from Daddy's Dr. Pepper.

Oh, look! Hubz is still fighting with that tree. If we had gone to the tree farm, the guys there would have put it up on the car for him. Hmmmm....

Our Advent Calendar - Bookworm Style.

2011-12-02T11:24:00.001-05:00

I ran across this idea of a book advent calendar last year on several other blogs and thought it was brilliant.

We have a basket that holds 24 gift wrapped Christmas-themed books. Well, there WILL be 24 books in it soon. This is one advantage to having a kid that can't count yet - you can go right along after you realize you miscounted and didn't get enough books to make 24.

Don't tell her. She loves this idea and is so excited about it. Santa's helper will just sneak a few more in one night.

But here's our little basket of books. She will open one book each night before Christmas. (Sorry for the picture quality. Once I showed it to her, Bean was too excited to wait so I could get a better picture.) Preplanning is my not strong suit.

Last night Bean opened the first book. She can choose whichever book from the box that she wants each night. She has become an Olympic-style unwrapping fiend.

The book that marked December 1st was Gingerbread Mouse.

I can't vouch for the story yet as Hubz was the one to read it at bedtime. I will try to share a picture of each night's book as we move along towards Christmas.

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow.

2011-12-02T11:19:00.001-05:00

We shared awhile back that Bean had decided to entertain herself by cutting her own hair. I've been trying to let the side grow where she decided to chop a chunk off. The waiting has been so long. I've also tried and tried to get this haircut for awhile but the schedules never matched up. (Sorry!)

So this past Black Friday, I stopped by my SIL's shop and she did the honors.

We went from this:

To this:

And the result is this:

And the only one that cried was me.

Holiday Gift Guides - The Men

2011-11-30T16:16:00.001-05:00

*From The Graphics Fairy

Since the Holidays are coming up, I thought it would be fun to create a few gift guides for your shopping pleasure. I've used Etsy (once again) to create a treasury showcasing some cool gifts I found.

Today I will share gift ideas I've found for the men in our lives. I think men are hard to shop for. Other people say no, but I get stumped every time I need a gift for Hubz. Or maybe it's because I know that the things he likes aren't my taste and I don't want them "decorating" my house. LOL

I do think he might like a couple of things on this treasury though. Hope you can find some ideas for your guys.

Now I'm a fan girl.

2011-11-21T15:24:00.001-05:00

Have you ever written a fan letter to a celebrity? I can neither confirm nor deny that I ever wrote one to someone in New Kids on the Block. I didn't. Really, I didn't. But I did buy one of their videos and secretly watched it over and over and...nevermind.

Well, today I became a fan girl again. Yep, I wrote another letter. Don't worry, Jordan Knight. You're safe.

This time I wrote a letter to...this girl.

Yeah, I wrote to Cinderella.

And I hope, hope, hope she writes me back.

Recently, I read this post by Couponing to Disney where she explains that you can write to your favorite Disney character and receive an autographed picture back from them.

Stop it. Stop laughing at me.

I did it for Bean. Bean is a huge Cinderella fan. Don't you remember this?

She loves Cinderella. She sings "Cinderella...dressed in yella" around the house all the time thanks to Hubz. She squeals with delight every time we're in a store and she sees something with Cinderella on it.

Yep. Minnie Mouse has been kicked to the curb. It's all about Cinderella now.

Bean even has several Cinderella wants on her Christmas wish list. Whenever anyone asks her what she wants for Christmas she says "a Cinderella doll". The kid might wind up with 12 on Christmas but even if she does I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that she will be delighted to have them all.

So anyways, with Christmas coming up and then her birthday right after, I thought getting an autographed picture from Cinderella would be an amazing gift for Bean. So I put my sarcastic thoughts (well, most of them) away and wrote a letter to Cinderella to see if she will send Bean a picture.

Couponing to Disney said she received her autograph in about two weeks. I'm putting our letter in the mail today - November 21, 2011. We'll see if we ever do receive a picture and how long it takes if we do.

If you want to write to your favorite Disney character, too, here's the address I used.

Walt Disney World Communications
P.O. Box 10040
Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830-0040

Come on, Cinderella, have a heart! Send this beautiful little girl an autograph. It will make her smile which will make me smile.

I'll keep you guys updated.

Etsy Share - Thanksgiving

2011-11-17T16:00:00.001-05:00

Since I'm still blog-logged and can't come up with any new hilarity-ensuing material to share with you, I thought I would create an Etsy Share for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday.

This treasury is an ode to that wonderful, beautiful icon of Thanksgiving - the turkey.

I love turkey. Dead turkey. Dead, fried turkey. If you don't have fried, well, I guess the regular will do. As long as it's dead.

We all remember my hate affair with birds, don't we?

That's why I love dead turkey.

But when I think of Thanksgiving, I think of Hubz breaking out his turkey fryer and me praying that he doesn't burn down the house with said fryer. I also think of the turkey that came to live on our farm when I was young. Madge. Madge was interesting to watch. She really knew how to strut her stuff. It was sad when she became the guest of honor at our Thanksgiving dinner.

My treasury features cute turkeys though. Yes, I can agree that the cartoonish turkeys you see below don't bother me as much as the real live ones.

So...what's up?

2011-11-11T14:52:00.001-05:00

I can't believe it's been over a week since I've posted. I'm a bad blogger.

I think I'm in a funk. Do you know what I mean? I just haven't had much to say in a blog post. I realized today I haven't even taken any new pictures since Halloween.

I might get kicked out of the Mommy Club for that.

I don't know what's wrong with me.

I will give you an update on Bean. She came home from school this week singing Christmas songs. I asked her about it and she said that her teacher said they were going to learn some Christmas songs to sing to the mommies and daddies but that she couldn't tell Mommy and Daddy about it because it is a surprise.

Okay. I'll still be surprised!

It's funny the little things that she says that I pick up on. For example, there always seems to be a granddaddy long-legs spider or 12 on our front porch. When Bean sees one, she starts that "ah ah ah" scream like the character Stuart from MAD TV used to do. She calls them "granddad spiders". They do kinda look like her grandfather though. Hmmmm....just kidding.

She has already started asking if it's Christmas time yet. So, in turn, I've already started saying to her "Santa is watching you. You'd better stop doing that if you want him to bring you presents". See, toddlers don't always have to win.

Wordless Wednesday - Trick or Treat

2011-11-03T14:22:00.000-04:00

It's Trick or Treat Day!

2011-10-31T09:31:00.000-04:00

Bean is very excited that "Halloween Day" has finally gotten here. She has asked every day if it is time for her to wear her Cinderella costume and her "high heels" that light up.

Last night she helped her Daddy carve the pumpkin. Hubz found a picture of Mickey Mouse and asked Bean if she wanted him on her pumpkin.

She said "Uh, no. But we can have a Minnie Mouse."

So Hubz agreed. I have to brag on Hubz a little bit. He found a picture of Minnie Mouse on his phone web browser and free handed the stencil he used to carve her face. I was amazed. I had no idea he was so creative. Too bad he let me know because I will use this talent in the future somehow.

Here's this year's pumpkin.

I usually have trouble waking Bean up in the mornings. She can be a little grouchy when woken up. I have NO IDEA where she gets this trait from. None whatsoever.

But this morning was different. All I had to say was "It's Halloween Day! You get to wear your costume."

She hopped right out of bed. This is something else I will have to use in the future.

She put on her dress and she looked beautiful. Her hair didn't quite cooperate but I have come to realize that whenever there is something going on where I want Bean to look exceptionally cute or when she'll have her picture taken a lot, her hair turns against me. My hair does the same thing to me but now this is the second generation of hair that is pullin' a 'tude on me and I really don't appreciate it. Oh well...

Here is Beanerella!

Happy Halloween from us to you!

Etsy Share - Zombies!

2011-10-27T14:26:00.000-04:00

ZOMBIES! ZOMBIES!! ZOMBIES!!!

I love to watch zombie movies and shows. The show, The Walking Dead, films around where we live and Zombieland filmed in here, too. I have no idea why the genre appeals to me but it does.

The other night Hubz and I were talking about Halloween costumes and I said I wanted to be a zombie. Bean was playing nearby and she spoke up and said:

(looking at me) "You can be a Mommy zombie, and Daddy can be a Daddy zombie and I'm going to be Cinderella."

Okay, sounds good.

I created this week's treasury with zombies on the brain. (Ha! Lame joke there but I'm laughing.)

Please feel free to add a link to your treasury or a favorite item found on Etsy below. You're treasury doesn't have to be about zombies. Let's say it can be about any creature you want! Enjoy!

Fall Activity Trays

2011-10-26T15:20:00.000-04:00

Bean has been working on some new fall activities.

Cutting Practice Trays

I found these free Fall Cutting Strips from Montessori Print Shop. Bean does really well using her scissors. She does better with paper than hair, though.

Playdough Play

I found this recipe for pumpkin pie scented playdough and made some up for Bean. Note to fellow playdough makers - I tried making this recipe. I did not have enough salt so it did not turn out right. Next time I think I will try cutting this recipe in half to see how much that will make. But it did smell wonderful anyways.

Halloween Sensory Tub

I couldn't find all the fall items I had for last year's sensory tub so I had to get a few new things. Thank goodness for Target's $1 section. Yes, lookey there, I gave Target a compliment. Ha!

We used sticky skeletons and mice which we quickly learned weren't good cause the green peas stuck to them, ghost and bat erasers, mini pumpkins, snakes and spiders. Bean left one of the spiders on the counter and later that night when I went in for a snack, I had quite the fright!

Notice the bee that is hanging around up there? That's Bizzy. Bizzy the Bee. Bean was assigned to bring her home for the weekend and journal what the two of them did all weekend. They had a wonderful time together and Bizzy has been invited back any time she wants.

Conversations with a Bean - Target Practice

2011-10-20T14:45:00.001-04:00

I want to share a conversation I recently had with Bean. I think toddlers can come up with some of the best dialogue ever heard. Hollywood screenwriters have nothing on the ankle-biter set.

As I said yesterday, this past weekend was Hubz' family reunion. One of the past times at the reunion is skeet shooting. I guess that's what you call it. I've never seen a skeet so I am guessing that a skeet is the actual round clay targets that get shot up into the air. If I am incorrect on this, I apologize to any skeet I might have offended by my lack of knowledge on their...well...skeetage.

Anyhoo.

Bean, her cousin Tater, and I were all on the front porch in the swing. I was ~~praying~~ hoping to try and swing one or both of them off to napland. This did not happen.

We were swinging - just a swingin' - when Hubz and BIL2 walked by to retrieve Hubz' shotguns (yes, plural) from our car.

SIDEBAR - I love how Hubz put 3 shotguns in the back of my car and never thought to let me know that they were there. You never know when a Thelma and Louise moment might come up or when The Bandit might pull you over on the back roads of Georgia. It might have been nice to get a heads up on the fact that they, along with 300 pounds of ammo, are in your possession and safekeeping.

Bean hopped down from the swing and ran to the porch stairs to watch. She asked me what they were doing. I told her that Daddy and Uncle BIL2 were getting the shotguns so they could go shooting.

Bean said matter-of-factly, "Daddy's gonna buy me a pink gun when I get bigger."

Uh huh. Really? Well this hasn't been given the ever important Mother Seal of Approval yet so we'll see.

Don't get me wrong. I grew up around guns. My own Daddy had a collection of them and I knew never, ever to touch them. I was allowed to shoot his shotgun once and when I got myself back up off the ground after the recoil, I said "Thanks, Dad" and went back inside to watch some Scooby Doo.

I even had my own BB gun and never once shot my eye out with it. So I know they are a rite of passage here in the South but I'm not ready to wrap my mind around this kid getting one.

After I uttered my non-committal "uh huh", Bean then asked me "what are they gonna shoot, Mommy?"

I said "targets".

Bean spun around on her heel to look at me and said with the utmost earnestness...

"Not Target! That's my favorite store!"

Not making it up. That's what she said. After I stopped laughing, I explained what targets were and she was happy then to return to the swing.

The Best Friends.

2011-10-19T15:55:00.000-04:00

This past weekend we attended the Hubz' family reunion. I spent most of the day following these two around.

This is Bean and her best friend and cousin. Since everyone on this blog gets a nickname, we will call her Tater. I reserve the right to change this at any given moment or more aptly when I can think of something cuter.

On Saturday, Bean and Tater loved each other. Some days they don't. But Saturday was a great day for these best friends. They walked all over holding each other's hands. They shared the stuffed dog, swings, smiles, giggles, drinks, cupcakes, and lots of fun.