Jumping Bean

My exuberant Jumping Bean,

5 years ago, this world became more fun.

Your birth announcement picture

It was a Tuesday. And after 2 (or was it 3?) false alarms, your ding-dong Mommy finally started having real contractions.  I am still thankful for those false alarms, because the 2nd one seemed like the real deal enough to get Grandma to come down to get in on the action.

Grandma and String Bean enjoying brand-new-you

September 25th in Pensacola, Florida.
It was officially fall...but Florida doesn't acknowledge that season until November sometime (maybe). After a fitful night's sleep, I decided to finish out thank-you notes while hoping the annoying cramping would turn into something productive.

Our family of 4!

Once I finished the notes...my belly started visibly contracting. Grandma was keeping a close eye on me (and you!) and we had decided to not do anything - to completely ignore them - until we couldn't anymore.

First time at the beach - 4 days old

Daddy had gone to get a quick work-out in, and then we were all going to have a picnic at the beach.

He changed his plans.
You changed my plans.

Daddy decided to play racquetball for an hour and a half.
Without his cellphone.
Where none of his friends had THEIR cellphones.
Where he couldn't hear the gym paging him.

Look who can stand - and walk - at 1!

Contractions were definitely getting stronger - past the "uncomfortable" stage - and on a consistent pattern. OHMYGOSH. This is the real deal.

Our kind neighbor came over to watch String Bean, Grandma loaded me into the car, and we were about to head to the hospital without Daddy.
Some would say I was mildly annoyed at Daddy.
A more accurate description would be stark raving mad.

You were a purple-fairy-princess for Halloween when you were 2

As we started to pull out of the apartment parking lot, Daddy pulled up with his friend. Quickly he assessed what was going on, and he said, "Hang on. I need to shower."

That didn't really calm me down.

A little over 2 years old

Grandma was a neutral party who did a very good job calming the crazy woman 

and enlightening the late-arriving Daddy.

We arrived at the hospital at 12:30, and my water broke at 2:30.

Around 4:00, things started to get fun. That was when my body kicked in high gear and said it was almost time to evict you. :)


At 5:15 I thought I needed to push, but I wasn't completely ready. 
NOT pushing, when even your toenails are screaming PUSH!!!!!!!!, is rather challenging.  
At 5:25, they cleared me to push, and 3 pushes later, at 5:29, you screamed to wake the dead.

2 and half...full of personality

Seriously.

Hospital staff were coming in to see you because they had never heard a newborn scream so loudly. 

I wish I could say my first words to you were sweet and loving.
But they weren't.
When they held you up and showed me your 8lb 8oz self, I just said:

"Holy crap. She's HUGE!!"

2 and a half - posing in your own way

Then I cried. The ugly cry. You were so beautiful and so strong and so healthy. And so stinkin' LOUD. I loved finally getting to touch the strong legs that had bruised my abdominal cavity; to touch the elbows that loved hanging out in my ribs.

Grandma cut the cord.
Daddy hugged you.

We all fell in love with you.

Our sweet Jumping Bean, I'm so very thankful that I get to be your Mama. My life is brighter, better, and bouncier, because of you. I'm so glad you're my girl; and I'm even more glad you're God's girl.

5 years old!

Happy 5th birthday.

Love,

Your Mama

~Whitney
 Copyright 2012

The Why's and What for's....

Well, change is happening. Or happened.

I'm NOT pregnant.

We had planned on homeschooling String Bean (2nd grade) and Jumping Bean (Kindergarten) this year.
Here is the why behind that decision:
It worked pretty well last year.
My Love is still on a sea tour and will be deploying early next year.
We wanted the flexibility of the homeschooling schedule so we could be with My Love whenever possible.

Really, that was the primary reason FOR homeschooling: Flexibility/time with Daddy.

But when we found out his schedule (And realized how very little we will see him over the next year) homeschooling didn't really seem to make sense for us.

I've never been a die-hard homeschooler.
I guess you could say I'm reluctant at best.  
And I was really, really, really nervous about starting up school knowing that a deployment was staring me in the face.

I was beyond nervous. I felt overwhelmed.

I knew that no matter what I did - one of the areas (at least!) I'm responsible for, would fail.

My Love knows me very well, and he trusts me to tend to the things of home when he is away. But when we learned his schedule - he became much more concerned about the weight of homeschooling on my shoulders.  Work-ups and deployments are HARD. They are hard on all members of the family and they are EXHAUSTING.

He wanted to alleviate some of that pressure.

I finally admitted to My Love that I was dreading starting school. 

I was terrified of the work load it would bring. 

And I didn't know if that terror was because I am lazy and just didn't' want to DO the work; 

OR if it was because I was adding work I wasn't supposed to bear. 

Sometimes, it is really hard to tell the difference.

The night before school officially started, the decision was made:
"Whitney, we're sending them to school."

I almost cried, I was so relieved.

God knew all along we would be here. He planned it out so beautifully.  
For them to go to school, they are required to have physicals and updated shots...back in June when I made their annual appointment, the first opening the Doctor had was on Tuesday, September 4th.
The First Day of School.
The day I was going all over the place enrolling them.
So, on THAT day - unknown to me 3 months ago - I went to: 2 schools and picked up paperwork; the Pediatricians office and had 2 physicals and 3 children caught up on shots (highly NOT recommended);  had String Bean do a reading assessment; dropped off paperwork; saw 2 classrooms; met 2 teachers; and did all the back to school shopping. (Thank you Target!)
Did I mention ALL 4 were with me the WHOLE time?! I was exhausted.

So now, String Bean is happily enrolled as a 2nd grader at the public school for our neighborhood; and Jumping Bean is attending Kindergarten at a small Christian preschool/Kindergarten down the street. They are both over-the-moon excited! AND  - they only missed 1 day. :)

We've been at this for one week now...and everyone is thriving.  This house is loaded with 3 over-the-top-off-the-charts extroverts - and all 6 of us are loving this change.

String Bean comes home almost giddy every day. (Even yesterday, when she got her finger stuck/pinched in a door and had to wait for someone to come by and set her free) She loves riding the bus. Her classmates are lovely. She loves the competition, the schedule, the workload.

Jumping Bean loves her teacher. She loves meeting new people and doing new things. She has the space to show her personality without being constrained by her siblings. She loves having her own place - her own things - her own friends.

Bitty Bean and I have been doing school together - and she loves the uninterrupted time she gets. I can focus on just her. When we dropped Jumping Bean off that first day, Bitty Bean buckled back into her seat and said, "Oh yeah. I'm the big boss lady now!"

Boy Bean is also developing through this. There are more quiet moments and time where he can talk for himself. He is learning to do things, because a sister won't do it for him. I am able to teach him (and Bitty Bean) things that had slid to the side...following through on cleaning up, obedience, speaking, cooking together, reading together, time to enjoy each other.

For the first time in forever, My Love came home to a clean home, a good meal, caught up laundry, happy children, and a happy wife.

I think that about sums it up. :)

~Whitney Copyright 2012

Bugs Be Gone!

For some unknown reason, I have been learning how to make stuff MYSELF - instead of just buying it.

Not that there is anything wrong with buying various items...I think I just have to challenge myself with strange and obscure projects because it keeps different parts of my brain alive.

Case in point:  Citronella Candles

Yes, you read that right - I decided to make my own citronella candles. And why not? If somebody else can make it, then certainly I can too!

This is where the internet is a blessing/curse. Because you can find step-by-step tutorials and YouTube videos to walk you through mostly anything. 

And then you feel like you can/should do mostly anything.

Side note - why do the tutorials/video people feel the need to say "just" so much? Especially when it completely does not apply....i.e:

"First, you just feed you 50 silkworms 7 times a day, for just 2.5 years. Then, you take the silk they've spun and you just weave it in a dainty pattern that was designed by a neurophysicist. And there you go, a marvelous scarf in just 2 easy steps!"

Riiiiiiiiiiight.

Thankfully, my tutorial  (and video step-by-step) was better than that.

And it actually was pretty easy to make the candles! (Albeit rather time-consuming....primarily because I have a shortage of pots in my home, so I didn't have the right size.)

Here's how I kept my "melting container" from getting wet....a cookie cutter!

Fill the pot with as much water as you can - without having it touch your melting container.

Place shaved wax (definitely makes it melt faster!) and coloring agent (crayon) in a container with a candle thermometer. 

**Side note - 

Crayons work great as a coloring agent for CITRONELLA candles. But not other candles. 

Why? 

Because they make the candle smoke more when it burns.****

Turn on the heat, and wait.

Be sure to wait for the wax to hit 140 degrees....or the consistency of olive oil. 

You can stir it with a paint stick or a spoon - but don't plan on using it EVER again for anything but candle making.

While waiting, (and waiting, and waiting) prep your jars! I saved money by using old glass jars that I would have recycled anyway - an olive jar, a gifted jam jar, and a salsa jar.

Place a dab of hot glue on the bottom of the wick and push it down in the middle of the bottom of the jar.

I kept the wick steady (and in the middle) while pouring, by pinching it with a clothes pin. Not very fancy - but it worked!

It was extra fun because the Beans helped out as well - always an entertaining time. They took turns picking the color for the wax....and then deciding where their color should go. So we ended up with 4 very colorful citronella candles!

All 4 were ORIGINALLY in jars - the one sitting in a bowl had an unfortunate altercation with the Boy Bean (see his determined face above) and lost its leftover-salsa-jar-casing. 

Oh well. The shattered jar only left 3 children in tears, one with a thumb slice, and one with glass in her foot.  Thankfully, no harm came to the candle.

They work BEAUTIFULLY. 
Not a single bite...and I'm pretty sweet.  :)

~Whitney
 Copyright 2012

Pin Test

So, I  recently joined (the vortex known as) Pinterest.   (Find me at whitpoitevint)
And I am officially sucked in.

The beautiful styles!
The amazing crafts!
The phenomenal home decor tips!

The wonderful finds are overwhelming.

Literally.

But I have been happily pinning away - things I like, things I want to do, things that look delicious, brilliant ideas, cheap fixes, creative gifts....yadayadayada

Inspired by Delia who blogs at Delia Creates (which, you need to check out. This woman is a genius.) I thought I would challenge myself with a weekly "pin test." Where I actually do the cool things I've pinned and report on my success/failure. :)

My first Pin Test?  Smooth Leg Treatment.

My husband is away and I wanted to pamper myself. I try to schedule in one evening every 2 weeks where I just do something for myself, at home.  Things like paint my nails, learn how to do a new hairstyle, watch a movie, sew, whatever I want. This pin seemed to fit that bill. :)

Source: militaryfit-bombshell.tumblr.com via Whitney on Pinterest

The directions were quite straightforward:

Take 1 1/4 cups sugar.....

1/2 cup olive oil.....

3 Tablespoons citrus juice (I used Lime)....

stir....

and let sit for at least 5 minutes.

The official directions say to soak in a tub for 5 minutes and then shave your legs.

Well, I had mowed the yard - so I needed a shower. Shaving of legs happened then.  :)

This is where the directions get the most challenging -

Coat your legs in the mix and rub in. (I also did my feet)

Rinse.
Shave again.
Coat your legs a 2nd time.
Rinse.
Get out of tub - and moisturize. :)

Not too hard, right?

I followed the directions - did exactly as I was supposed to - and my legs are smooth as can be. This, my friends, is a WINNER.

Not ONLY do you get super smooth legs - but it forces you to clean your bathtub. 

(Most hated chore ever) 

The spa treatment was like the veritable carrot on the end of the clean-your-tub stick. 

I'm thinking I will keep this little beauty treatment in my routine - it just might mean cleaner bathrooms....  

Happy Pinning!

~Whitney Copyright 2012

Time....

Well, it's that time again.

Time to write all schedules in pencil.

Time to plan on My Love not being around.

Time to be thankful for the seconds spent together, because over the next year - that is what our time will as a family of 6 will feel like.

Seconds. Moments. Brief ones.
My Love is almost done with a 6 week school - 5 weeks down.

Which really isn't that long in the grand scheme of things - except when I realize how few weeks he'll be home over the next year (or so). As a grown up, I have a better grasp on the time - I can see the end, even when it feels (or is) extremely far away.

My Beans don't have that perspective.

So today - this morning, my Jumping Bean missed Daddy.

Deeply.

She was happily obeying and making her bed to finish her "start the day" chores...when I complimented her:

"Good job big girl! You are working so hard and doing such an excellent job!"

She responded with a smile,
"Yep, I'm like Daddy. 
I work hard and do my best. 
Just like him."

Then she sat on the bed and said,
"I wish he was home. It is just so much better with him here. I miss him."
My sweet Jumping Bean then climbed in my lap, wrapped her arms around my neck, and sobbed.

She sobbed because she misses her Daddy. 

The one who wrestles, 

who snuggles, 

who hugs, 

who comforts, 

who challenges, 

who adventures with, 

who laughs with, 

who corrects, 

and who teaches her like no one else. 

As my shoulder was soaked and my heart broke, she choked out,

 "I just like him home better."

And this Mama cried right along. 

Because I do too.

I have the perspective - I see what's coming.  And I know it will be a hard year for all of us. It will not be the end of the world. It is not the worst thing ever - but at times, it will feel like it.

So over these next few months, I intend to treasure each second we have together. Hopefully, it will get me in the habit of doing that with all the people I love.

Because you rarely know what the next moment holds.


~Whitney
 Copyright 2012

Cocoa Bean Moment.....

Well. It happened.

I knew this day would come, so I was ready.

Ready to laugh and laugh and laugh and laugh and finish with a photo shoot.

My Jumping Bean - my ball of constant movement - my girl who hates stuff that gets in her way...

found scissors.

She came downstairs one Sunday morning...interestingly, the very morning AFTER my first attempt at cutting Boy Bean's hair....and said she had a magic trick.

"Look Mom! I can make my BANGS DISAPPEAR!"

 When I looked at her, I saw her hands clasped in anticipation of my joy, her hopeful and excited eyes, and her cherubic face...perfectly framed by Dumb and Dumber bangs.

 After I pulled myself off the floor and dried my laughing eyes, I asked her one word: "WHY?"

"Because they got in my way," my logical girl replied.

It didn't matter that we ended up being 20 minutes late for church - or that there were beautiful blond waves (In process of being GROWN OUT!!) on the bathroom floor - because that moment was sweet.

~Whitney Copyright 2012