Ladies Retreat Here We Come!

This weekend is the annual Matthias Ladies Retreat, and boy am I excited! Little Bean and I are packing up and ready to go... hopefully it will be Collin's first and last women's retreat! : ) I am interested to see how Little Bean will do while we are there... since we are in "family style" accommodations that bunk 5 or 6 to a room, it might be a little tricky with LB's night waking. Luckily, he's only waking up once in the middle of the night (which can be anywhere from 1:30 a.m. to 3:00 a.m) and then waking up in the morning around 7 (at which point I feed him and lay him back down for about an hour or so). He will be in a portable crib, so at least that is somewhat similar to his sleeping environment at home, although everything else about where we are staying will be totally different.

The location of the retreat is at Windermere Baptist Conference Center, it's about three hours southwest of us in a town called Roach, MO... what a name for a town, huh? Anywho, the grounds look like a ton of fun, as they have tons of recreational activities, like para-sailing, a zip line, fishing, a pool, and beach volleyball, to name a few. There's this big lakish/riverish thing (I think it's Lake of The Ozarks) that the grounds run along so it will be nice to see some clean water... not that the Missouri and the Mississippi Rivers aren't clean their are just dirty. It will be great to get away for a weekend and spend some time with my friends from Matthias.

So I've gotten word that the theme for the weekend will be something along the lines of rebirth, awakening, etc. A dear friend, Michelle Williams will be the speaker for the weekend. She was a student at Columbine High School when the shootings occurred. I don't know the whole story, but I am sure that she will share her entire testimony at some time throughout the weekend. The bit that I do know is that she was able to escape during the shootings, but they were unable to find her younger sister. Her family believed that she had been one of the people killed, since immediately no identities were released and no one knew the exact number of students massacred.

Michelle's family grieved through the evening, truly believing that, since she hadn't come home, that she was dead. They prayed for her. They wept for her. Miraculously, late that night Michelle's sister arrived home. She had been one of hundreds of student who had locked themselves in their lockers, fearing for their lives as the shooters prowled the school. I have read that the students were so afraid for their lives that they didn't make a sound, and were in there for hours - even after SWAT teams invaded the school. With the 10 year anniversary of that horrific day landing just a couple of weeks ago, I'm sure her version of the story will be heartbreaking. I can't wait to here what she has to say!

If you get the chance, be sure to pray for us this weekend... I'll have my work cut out for me! :)

Much Love,
Mama Bean

Here's a pic of Little Bean for ya... enjoy!He's very skeptical when it comes to the camera....

Operation: Organization

Hello all! Over the next week or so, I will be doing what I call... (dramatic music).... Operation: Organization! I took a bunch of pictures of the spaces in our home that need to be organized, and as I organize them, you'll see the finished product.

First up, here is the diaper changing area... messy before... lovely after!

Little Bean says, "Thanks for stopping by!"

Our First St. Louis Easter...

Easter this year was wonderful! It was the first Easter since we've been married that we've been able to be together! Last year, I worked ALL DAY, from sun up to dinner time. But this year was totally different: Papa Bean and I got to hide eggs for Big Little Bean, we went to church, and then spent the rest of our day with our friends Penni and Dave. It was perfect!

Here are some pictures that Papa Bean took in the morning before church...

I love Little Beans "Blue Steel" look... a little Derek Zoolander!

This one cracks me up! BOTH of them had their eyes closed :)

Little Bean gnawing on his hand... he does it all the time now

Big Little Bean looks so cute in this picture

When we were out to lunch, Collin had what I like to refer to as a "Poop-spolsion." And if you are wondering what exactly that is, use your imagination. Let's just say that the handsome button up shirt that he had on underneath the vest could have been classigied as nuclear waste... :)

Here he is at home, loving his bare arms.


Macho, Macho Man!


He loves looking at the camera... "What is that thing..."


Happy Boy! Hanging out with Mama!
This outfit barely fit that day! A Carter's 6mo!

Then, later in the day, we were at Penni's Mom's house... it's Easter Egg Hunt time!

All the girls getting ready for the hunt.. from left to right... Sydney, Paige (Penni's neice), Haleigh (aka Big Little Bean), Delaney and Avery.

Here's Haleigh and Sydney posing for a cute shot mid-hunt.
Oh yeah, Haleigh has a Mater Easter basket... it's Little Bean's :)

It's important that we remember why we even have Easter... Jesus Christ rose from the dead to where He now sits at the right hand of the Father. Thank you Lord!

Enjoy the pictures!

Love,
Mama Bean

Every little bit helps!

So last week, in honor of Earth Day, I started hanging some laundry. At first, I was going to only do a load of diapers, but after hanging two more loads of regular laundry, I made a plan. Instead of using the dryer for my other laundry, when weather permitting, I am going to make it a goal to hang at least two loads of laundry a week.


Here are some pictures of my makeshift clothesline. I wanted to see how well things dried out on the deck, so I hadn't bought a clothesline yet. Instead, I used some 12 gauge black wire and speaker wire that belonged to Papa Bean. I say belonged, past tense, because apparently clipping clothes and such to wire, could break the inner wires, thus defeating the purpose of having a wire! Who knew! So, let me tell you, don't use wire... although it worked great! :)


I am so glad that I decided to start hanging clothes! Not only does it help save power, it, in turn, cuts back on the bill. I have begun a few things other than just the clothesline to cut back on our outflow lately... washing clothes on cold, not using the heated dry in the dishwasher, and minimizing our dependency on paper products. I am considering starting a compost pile, and planting vegetables (like cucumbers, zucchini, peas, lettuce), herbs (like oragano, mint, basil, lavender) and fruit (strawberries). I will keep you posted as I make more changes!

Well now, a week later, I have a REAL clothesline, and I love it! Papa Bean rigged a pully system, so it's a piece of cake hanging clothes outside. I just have to wait for this cloudiness to burn off!

Have an awesome day!
Love,
Mama Bean

Our visit with Grammy and Papa!

So Grammy and Papa from Boise were in town last week and boy did we have some fun! We went to the zoo, the Meremac Caverns, and partied down for Haleigh's birthday. It was quite an eventful week! Here are some pictures from their visit....

Here are some of Little Bean and Grammy.... gotta love his new shades!



Here is one of Big Little Bean playing basketball outside... a girl after my own heart!

Here is everybody getting ready to eat lunch at the Meremac Caverns...



Here's me, Mama Bean, toting Little Bean through the caverns.... The first one he's looking out and the second he is (obviously) passed out! Gotta love baby wearing! It was a little chilly so I had to wrap a blanket around the sling...




After our spelunk through the caverns, we were able to convince Big Little Bean to try on some silly hats in the giftshop... so hilarious!

Well anywho, thanks for reading! I'm off to get some sleep!

Love,
Mama Bean

We are here!

In the famous words of the Who's from Whoville (from Horton Hears a Who), "We are here! We are here! We are here! We are here!" No, we haven't been abducted by aliens or run off with the circus, things have just been a little busy around the Bean house. We have been to Portland, Seattle and back; spent Spring Break with Big Little Bean, and Grammy and Papa from Boise; and finally gotten back into the swing of things.

Little Bean is growing like a weed, and smiling almost non-stop! It's wonderful :) Here's a pic of him in the bath tub earlier this week...
It's almost as if he knows that I gave him a faux-hawk! Here's another one from bath time...

I love it!

I'm going to be posting some special posts on here that will be a weekly thing. For instance, there will be Menu Mondays, Word Wednesdays, and Friendly Fridays (all with alliteration too!). Come back and check those out when you can and let me know what you think of them. I'm up for any suggestions!

With Love,
Mama Bean

Whoa, I just realized it's been a month since I posted! How time flies!

10 Things "They" DON'T Tell You About Motherhood

So, as I was sitting up last night nursing Little Bean, I realized that my life has changed in ways that I had never heard of, nor was I prepared for. Most of you other parents out there are probably like, "DUH!" But as a new mom, it was cause for reflection. That is how I assembled this list...

10 Things "They" Don't tell you about Motherhood....

1. Every blanket, towel, sheet, shirt, etc. will become fodder for cleaning up spit-up. And I'm talking EVERY. Just last night I was without a burp rag within arms reach, and I grabbed a fleece blanket to field the puke! Honestly, I would never thought that would be me! I would have scoffed had someone told me that one day I would willingly use my shirt to clean up baby spit-up... oh, how times have changed.

2. Some babies absolutely HATE to ride in an infant seat. Okay, now this one caught me utterly off guard! Since having a child that cannot stand his infant seat and would scream bloody murder upon placement in it, many parents have shared with me about their own child or children not liking their infant seat. Now, in my ideal world I pictured Little Bean and I strolling through Target or the grocery store, peacefully. While I shopped, he cooed and smiled at me from his infant seat, tenderly placed atop the cart... Oh, how wrong I was.

3. The sound of your child's cry can bring you to both laughter and tears. Now, I know this sounds mean, but there are times when Little Bean's cry is so cute that it makes me laugh. Especially now that he is a little older and his cries vary. Sometimes he has a cry that sounds like, "ging," and I can't help but giggle at it, it's so stinking cute! But then he has another cry, that is absolutely piercing. I mean, I can feel it deep down in the pit of my soul when he cries like this and in the off chance I can't fix what the problem is, the stress of this distressing cry can easily bring me to tears.

4. Your baby's smell with be the sweetest smell you have ever set your nose on. Some may differ with me on this, but all babies have a smell. And no, it's not the soap they use, or the spit-up stuck in their neck rolls. It's distinct. It's amazing. I love, love, love the way Little Bean smells, and he smelled the same way the second I got to touch him after he was born. It's wonderful and lovely.

5. You will worry about the most irrational things possible. Okay, so I'm a pretty rational lady. And in the past, with my experience in child care, I have been able to remain calm and rational in regards to the children in my care. But for some reason, with my own child I have become that parent that is constantly picturing the worse case scenario. Maybe his legs are losing circulation while he's sitting in the sling like that? Then he won't be able to walk until he's 5! Oh no! What if his head is leaning too far off to that side? He may asphyxiate! What if he cries so hard he chokes himself? What if... What if...

6. Time to yourself will become a distant memory and it will look so different than it did before. This falls into the category of the "not MY kid" syndrome. When I was pregnant, I thought that I would maintain such a perfect schedule, still have time to read my 40some blogs everyday, shower daily, etc. Ahhh, the memories. But, I kind of don't mind it most of the time... just occasionally I would like to take a shower without worrying that the baby will be screaming when I get out. And I would never thought that something as simple as a shower would be coveted as much as it is.

7. If you have a pet, he/she will fall very far down on the totem pole as soon as you walk in the house with your baby. Again, I didn't think this would have been me. I loved Newton, we took walks together all the time, and even if he peed or pooped in the house, I still was looking out for him. But then, it all changed. I didn't want to clean up the puddle of pee or the pile of poop while holding an infant, and washing your hands one handed is like a circus act! His barks, yelps and whines absolutely drove me crazy, and finding dog hair in Little Bean's folds was only the beginning. Since adopting Newton out, I have found other parents who have said the same thing about their pets and confer -- your child will become your priority and that high maintenance animal either learns to cope, or trouble ensues.

8. Your baby's smile or coo will absolutely light up your day. Little Bean started a few weeks ago to smile in response to me, and he talks constantly, it's so wonderful! The way that he smiles when he sees me, has warmed my heart beyond words in a way that I never would have imagined.

9. When going out, everyone will want to see your baby. And I'm talking everyone. The first time I went to Target with Little Bean, I had more attention that I ever have in my entire life! And all because I had a baby in my arms. Most just wanted to know the facts, how old he is, what his name is, etc. And all commented on his hair :) But then there are the token few that want to give you their two-cents about every little thing... It's way to cold to have a 5 week old out! I think he's hungry, why aren't you doing anything about it? He looks like he's mad at you, etc.... argh.

10. You will love that baby more than you can even fathom. Seriously.