The Tot....

So, my Bitty Bean...my Taylor Tot...she just insists on growing up.

My terrific, tom-boy, third-girl, tone-deaf Taylor Tot will be FOUR on June 7th.

Where in the world did time go???

Just a second ago, we were on our way to the hospital to meet her.

Apparently my abdomen had run out of room, so she decided to move out 4 weeks early.

Which meant I was actually in pre-labor during her baby shower.

Oh, Macaroni Grill, thank goodness for your massive portions and loaves of bread. I have never felt so well-fueled for labor as I did for meeting #3.

My sweet little Bitty Bean is about cute as they come.

(Even the nurses in the NICU thought so....but I'm pretty sure they say that to everyone)

And that cuteness has just kept coming.

Which is why, after 7 years of being "Mama"....I just threw my first FOR REAL birthday party.

Yep, you read that right. I've never thrown a full-on shindig for a kid birthday before.

I am not a good pinterest mama.

At all.

BUT, when that little Bean looked up at me with her huge brown eyes and said (ever so sweetly), "Mommy, can I have a tea party for my birthday? A fancy one? Like Fancy Nancy? With all my favorite friends?"

I knew I had to throw a party.

(I haven't had the brain space, the energy, creativity, or the time to party-it-up prior to now. I have no intention of doing 4 parties a year from now until the end of time, but I can see them happening every now and again. Which is pretty exciting for all parties involved.)

So a Fancy Nancy Tea Party was born.

My friend, Heidi Rew, has an AMAZING blog called Parties for Pennies, and she was kind enough to help me by coming up with a spring board of ideas. She is really quite fantastic - in real life and in blogland. Between whimsical baby showers,  fun, themed grown-up parties, and gorgeous wedding receptions - there is no end to her creative side.  She was my RA back in college, which means she is an excellent listener, functions exceptionally well on minimal sleep, has patience like no other, and owns stock in tissues. (I was a bit high maintenance in college. Who am I kidding? I'm a bit high maintenance now!)

Back to my party....

If I was a good blogger person I would have taken pictures of the totally-amazing-if-I-do-say-so-myself invitations I MADE. Yep. I crafted them of paper and glue. And I felt AWESOME. I made little tea cups that invited you to come "Par-tea" (get it???) with Bitty Bean for her 4th birthday.

But I'm not a good blogger person. Because I was so excited about how cute they looked, I couldn't wait to pop 'em in an envelope and hand them out. Not until AFTER I handed every single invite out did I realize I forgot a picture. Oh well. That's just how it goes sometimes.

I actually contemplated making another one just to take a picture to show you....but I decided I have better things to do. Like watch The Voice. ;) 

Basically, I traced half of a bowl on a folded piece of paper and cut it out. Then I cut a heart out of another pattern of paper, trimmed the inside out, glued the edges inside the "cup", and then wrote the party stats. Didn't take forever....only about 3 episodes of Arrested Development.  It was a good night. (If you are dying to see one, I will try to make one up)

Bitty Bean has this gang of buddies that are super tight.  Most of them have been in the same Sunday School class and Cubbies class for the past year, and they all get to hang out at Mom's morning out every week.  They are a great bunch of girls and I was thrilled that she thought of all of them.

However, I had to break a birthday rule in this house for the party to happen. We normally (as in, always before now) only allow the birthday kid to invite as many friends as they are turning old. Hence, 4 friends would have only been allowed. The problem is, this girl-gang? It is a gang of EIGHT.

Rule broken.

I am quite certain that will be brought up from now until the end of time with the older 2 girls whenever they want to invite more friends...."But Moooooommmmm! You let Bitty Bean have SEVEN friends when she was only FOUR!"

I think we'll make it a case by case basis from now on. ;)

These fantastic poms were made by a friend for a baby shower...I borrowed them to make our party extra awesome. I don't know how she had time to make those - Ain't nobody got time for that!

Anyway, back to the party prep....

I decided to make twirly skirts for all the girls to take home from the party....which was a great idea in theory.

I mean, I had read blogs of amazing women who bake and clean and shower and get dressed and sew fantastic items for their children and always greet their husbands with a smile and take amazing pictures of everything.....and these stupid lying crazed talented women suckered me in to believing that I too could easily whip up TWELVE skirts. And the house would not cave in on itself in the process.

Well, I made the skirts.

AND THEY LOOKED AWESOME.

(clearly, this post is full of fodder for why my children are lacking in the humility department)

If you would like to jump in the crazy wagon along with me, feel free to click the tutorial by Dana Willard from Made on how to make the circle skirt 

(aka - the easiest skirt ever but it will make you look awesome).

 

The pink material is a bed sheet I bought at the thrift store for $0.50. 

That's right. 

Take that, Pinterest moms.

AND

 The ruffly skirt? 

Especially made for Bitty Bean?

 I made that pattern up. IN MY HEAD.

Seriously, I don't even know myself anymore.

I've never ruffled anything before last week.

Well, not fabric.

I've managed to ruffle lots and lots of feathers over the course of my life.

After the girls arrived, there was an impromptu dance party to Disney Princess songs while we were pulling all the food out.

For our lunch....

We had Pink Lemonade in tea cups

 PB&J, and Turkey and cheese sandwiches cut into stars with cookie cutters

 Chips and pretzels

and

Fruit - brought and prepped by my sister...it was really the last thing in the world I wanted to be doing!

none of which was photographed. 

But it was all eaten!

 There were a lot of pinkies in the air....quite a bit of clinking of glasses...and plenty of girl talk.

After opening presents, everybody changed into their swimsuits.

Between Me, My Love, and My Sis, we had quite the sunblock assembly line going. 

Everyone thought the pool was a splendid idea and loved getting sprayed with the hose....

almost.

Poor Boy Bean was a little tired and ready for some of the women to leave his domain. 

His cousin was not bothered by the hordes of woman around, and played happily for the duration.

Mid-way through pool time, we brought out the brownie (Bitty Bean always requests a brownie instead of cake!), sang happy birthday, and ate excessive chocolate.

Overall, I'd say it was a pretty grand success. 

Even though I had planned a craft and a story, we didn't end up doing either one. Which everyone seemed fine with - they just wanted to play together anyway.

At the end of the day, I just wanted my little munchkin to feel loved and special. 

I'm pretty sure that was achieved, because when I told her what food we were eating she looked at me in all seriousness and said, "Mama! You remembered!"

I may not always call her the right name, or remember how much she weighed at birth off the top of my head, but I will always remember how much I love her.

All the way to the moon and back.

~Whitney Copyright 2013

Hair

So, 2 (almost 3!) weeks ago I did something I've been planning on doing for over a year.
And I was excited.
I couldn't wait to document it.

Yet tomorrow marks three weeks since the big chop  - and I haven't written a blessed thing.

Because I feel ridiculous.

Yes, I cut my hair.

Almost all of it.

Completely off.

And I donated it to Locks of Love.

(That's 11.5 inches people!)

What I didn't expect was the amount of commentary my dumb hair would garner.

First - a warning:
If EVER you go and chop all your hair off - know that ALL of humanity will have an opinion about it. People you may not remember ever seeing before will come up and comment on if they like it or if they don't, request a reason for such a change, and basically tell you all sorts of interesting things.

Like the MOST awkward compliment (?) I've ever received in my life:

Wow! When your hair was long I had no idea you were so pretty!

Thanks?

My husband teases me that sometimes I look like Justin Bieber, or Pink, or K.D. Lang. Which is fine...to a point. Thankfully, he's dialed it back a bit, so the world is balanced again.  :)

I have gotten many of the same questions regarding "The Big Chop,"  so I thought I could just answer them publicly here:

1. My hubby DOES like it. He was very supportive of the chop - I would have never cut it if he wasn't!
2. 3 of the Beans LOVED it immediately.
3. String Bean was the wild card - she ran away crying and hid from me because she hated it so much.
4. HOWEVER - now both String Bean and Jumping Bean want to grow their hair out to donate!
5. Yes, I will save loads of money on shampoo and conditioner.

The reason this feels ridiculous though, is because I was donating my hair in honor of 2 amazing women I am privileged to know.

One is a woman who always smiles, she encourages others in every way possible. She is a mama of two - and a friend to many. She is a woman I would be happy to be like.  She found out she had cancer Labor Day weekend this past year.

The other is a woman who passed away this afternoon after battling cancer for the last year. She leaves behind a devoted husband, five young children, and countless people who were privileged to know her.

Cutting my hair to honor such great women as Lisa and Julie - that was easy. 

A couple people called the cutting of my hair a brave thing to do. 

I would wholeheartedly disagree.

Being a child seeing your parent fight cancer - being a parent watching your child fight cancer - gripping to hope in the hospital rooms, in the doctor's appointments, through the chemo, the radiation, the tests, the waiting, the unknown -
That is courageous.
THAT is bravery.

All I did was cut my hair.

I cut my hair to honor TRUE bravery. 

To honor life-changing courage.

It isn't much to do - but it is what I've got.

I wish I had more to give - I wish I could ease the fear and the ache and the lonely places that cancer leaves behind. But I can't.

All I can do is keep answering people with the truth of where all my hair went -

To hopefully give brave children comfort in their battle.
Battle on.

~Whitney
 Copyright 2013

Rock Star

So, you know those parenting moments where you are like "YEAH! I am TOTALLY AWESOME!!!"

You know the kind where the children are angelic and the entire evolution turns out BETTER than you imagined?

Well, tonight was not that night.

(Last night was though!)

Backstory...

For the first time in the history of me being a mother...we are doing an Advent calendar. I grew up with an Advent calendar full of chocolate and remember LOVING it. So, I thought I'd do something similar for my beans...but with a twist.

Twist 1 - candy only happens on, like, 3 days.
Twist 2 - there are activities, service to others, special memory making moments, and a couple gifts, scattered throughout the 24 days.

To put tonight in perspective, you need to know that Saturday (day 1) was a home run. I mean the kids LOVED opening the box full of envelopes and seeing what the day would hold.

"Write a letter/draw a picture for someone you love who DOESN'T live in our house"

They raced to the box of paper and crayons and sat down to create...Bitty Bean chose her Sunday School teachers, Jumping Bean choose her kindergarten teacher, String Bean chose her 2nd grade teacher, and Boy Bean picked his Papa. (For real - he pointed at his picture and said "yes yes"!)

all in jams heading to the lights!

Sunday (day 2) found us putting jams on and loading in our swagger wagon to hit up some Christmas lights. Norfolk's Botanical Garden does an AMAZING job and the children LOVED it. Squeals of delight, echoes of "WOW", "look at that!", and "it is sooo beautiful!"filled the car for 45 minutes. Total and complete WIN.

So today (day 3), when they raced to the box with eager anticipation, I was pretty sure tonight would be another WIN.

"Have marshmallows and hot chocolate for dessert after a cheese fondue dinner."

I mean, c'mon. How fun is it to dip food in cheese? Broccoli, wienies, bread, cauliflower...all things they love...being dipped in their favorite melty cheese!

Well, apparently, the texture was "totally weird." (String Bean)
And the taste was "gross and sour" (Jumping Bean)
And the consistency was "icky icky sticky!" (Bitty Bean)

Boy Bean is currently my favorite because he ate it (begrudgingly), but since he doesn't speak, I don't really know how he felt.

Bitty Bean and Boy Bean actually didn't eat lunch....they weren't hungry. So I felt terrible making them go without dinner too! I offered to make them a PB&J. Which they each consumed 1/4 of.

Poor Jumping Bean and String Bean had hearty lunches - and the volume with which they protested our special dinner did not earn them points.  No alternate food option for them.

Onward I persevered, thinking surely hot/warm chocolate and marshmallows will gain favor with these ridiculous food critics!

Nope.

Too hot.
Too cold.
Lumpy.
Messy.
Sticky.
Even the Boy stuck his tongue out at the marshmallows!

Oh well. You win some and you lose some!

Guess we won't have any birthday dinners at the Melting Pot. :)


~Whitney Copyright 2012

Work it out...

I like to work out. Really.

I love the rush of endorphins.
I like my clothes fitting properly.
I like to eat like a pig.

The main reason I work out is mainly so I don't have to monitor my food intake as much.

I still have to watch my portions and make sure I'm getting enough protein, but I can splurge some if I'm working out!

Typically, you will find me in the living room working it out with Sean T. from Insanity. Huge fan of his videos. LOVE them.

I work out at home with DVD's because -
1. Gym's with childcare cost waaaaaaaaaaaay more than a DVD
2. Getting my booty to the gym....unloading the children...timing it with 2 schools, and 2 naps.....reloading children....getting back home....is entirely too exhausting of an evolution for this woman.
3. I can squeeze in a HARD 45 minute workout, 5 minute shower, 10 minute make-myself-presentable...and be ready for the day - in ONE HOUR.

Lest I paint myself in a more favorable picture than is true - I have worked out only 1 time per week for the month of October.  Over the Spring/Summer I was working out 3-5 times a week, but it took me awhile to figure out the groove for our schedule with the new school routine. AND once I had it figured out...My Love went away for 3 1/2 weeks.

I wanted to give the world an accurate picture of my workouts....

the Beans are exceptionally helpful.

Boy Bean loves to climb over my back when I do planks

They all love to crawl through my legs when I'm doing squats

Sometimes - Boy Bean will actually hang on to my waist while I'm holding a plie....which makes it ridiculously hard, but I don't stop him - because I figure it must be helping somehow! :)

There is a sneak peak into the workouts at this house.....what do yours look like??

(all photos were taken by String Bean....over the summer....and on that particular day I was actually doing Kenpo from P90X)

~Whitney
 Copyright 2012

Scream

Screaming is not something I am unaccustomed to.
Not at all.
I've been a screamer for as long as stories could be told about my antics.

Me, 2 years old.

I distinctly recall being 6 years old and screaming so much my voice was raspy - because a glass lizard decided to slither onto our deck. My Dad picked it up, and it broke. And the parts all kept wiggling.

I remember when I was 7, seeing a snake in our pool during a game of Marco Polo. I threw all competitiveness to the wind and started screaming in terror.

I remember being 12 years old during a sleepover, and seeing two glowing red eyes jumping up and down (making scratching noises) while my sister, our friend, and I, screamed for our lives. Thankfully, our parents saved us from the real - live - bat, that had infiltrated our room.

I've screamed over roller coasters, flying squirrels, roaches, crickets, spiders, hair on my neck, scary music, and every time my dad tried to scare me.

Every single time.

Last summer, I screamed because a roach fell on my head when I opened our outdoor table umbrella.

(Sorry neighbors)

You get the picture. If my children are screamers, they get it from their Mama.

Which is why the scream I heard last night was so very epic.

Bitty Bean (who has the cutest voice ever created, with a slight rasp and a little lisp) was playing in the backyard with the rest of the Beans.  They were all playing with the grasshopper they had trapped earlier in the day.

Now, when I say "grasshopper," you are probably thinking something small, cute, and harmless. 

A la Jiminy Cricket. 

(Who is the main character in my nightmares, by the way, but that is a post for another day.) 

You would be exceptionally wrong.

This grasshopper was a locust relative of giants. I have never seen a bug so very large in real life. I would have expected something of this magnitude if I were in some tropical jungle far from civilization.  IF the creatures were all fed a steady diet of miracle grow and radiation.

But that is most definitely NOT where I live.

So the size was rather disconcerting to just look at (for me) - but the children were happily playing with it, so I let them be.

I have never - in all my 30 years - seen anyone scream with every fiber of their being.

Until yesterday.

Apparently, Bitty Bean sat on the sidewalk too close to the Great Insect, and it jumped on her.

ON HER DRESS.

As Bitty Bean screamed a scream that would make Neve Campbell proud, I ran to her rescue.

Unfortunately, that backfired.

I swatted the Great Insect off her dress - but its foot was stuck in the embroidery. So it ended up jumping off her skirt...and onto her bodice.  Her bodice. Her big brown cartoon eyes and her wide open mouth turned towards me with a scream and look full of fear, confusion, and hatred.

After my 3rd attempt, I was finally able to flick it off her body, and onto the grass.

She wanted me to pick her up - but she couldn't stand due to wobbly legs from fear/crying.
I would have happily held her - but I couldn't stand due to wobbly legs and an inability-to-breathe from laughing until I cried.

With some therapy, she may forgive me.
She may also be unable to go camping for the rest of her life.
Oh well.
Now her scream stories have started.

And that, is a sweet moment.

~Whitney
 Copyright 2012