The Bean BlogThe Bean BlogTrying to stay sane while raising five kids, being a good wife, working full-time and going to school part-time. Articles
Getting Jiggy at Jamfest
2010-10-18 23:59:00 Last summer Skyler gave up dance and gymnastics to join a local cheer team. With dance and gymnastics she never traveled anywhere. She just had practice once a week for each. And at the end of the school year she had a big dance recital. But with cheer she is on a traveling team. Up until ... Related posts:Dear Skyler & Spencer (on your 11th birthday), When I found out I was carrying twins I was... Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
October 1999 ? Skyler & Spencer?s First Halloween
2010-10-16 04:52:00 Skyler and Spencer were born on October 4th. So for their first Halloween they were a mere 27 days old. But that doesn’t mean they didn’t dress up. We still had trick-or-treating to do. In our house Lee stays home to hand out candy while I take the kids out to beg for candy trick-or-treating. So ... Related posts:October 1994 – Keaton’s First Halloween I’ve never been one of those moms who sews a... Dear Skyler & Spencer (on your 11th birthday), When I found out I was carrying twins I was... Hobos and ghouls and army men…oh my I’ve talked before about how Halloween is not my... Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
The Batman Years
2010-10-15 07:07:00 When Keaton was a toddler the Batman movies (the older ones with Micheal Keaton and then Val Kilmer) were really hot. Keaton was just one-year-old when Batman Forever came out. But he was mesmerized by the whole Batman phenomenon. When he started walking I bought him a pair of Batman tennis shoes. And the obsession ... No related posts. Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin. More About: Years
Asthma sucks
2010-10-13 21:55:00 I’m sick. Again. A week ago Monday I woke up with a very sore throat. My whole neck felt like it was on fire. And my voice started cracking. By the end of the day I could barely speak. Any time I spoke it came out as a low growly whisper. By Tuesday I was feeling better. ... Related posts:The flu shot tried to kill me Every year my doctor tries to convince me to get... Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin. More About: Asthma
October 1994 ? Keaton?s First Halloween
2010-10-09 01:22:00 I’ve never been one of those moms who sews a super awesome Halloween costume for her kids. Or builds a totally rad airplane costume out of a cardboard box, paint and suspenders [like this kid in Skyler & Spencer's class a few years back). I'm more of the mom who runs to the store the ... Related posts:Hobos and ghouls and army men…oh my I’ve talked before about how Halloween is not my... It doesn’t matter if you win or lose, it’s what you do with your dancin’ shoes Tonight was the annual Sock Hop at the elementary school.... Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin. More About: Keaton
The Glow Worm Story
2010-10-08 02:24:00 I often say that raising teenagers makes me want to call my dad every day to apologize for my own teen years. Raising teens is hard y’all. The lack of motivation for school. The apparently inability to do chores. The experimenting with things like sex, drugs and rock and roll (or something like that). Plus ... No related posts. Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin. More About: Story , Worm , Help Me , Glow
Praying to St. Joseph
2010-10-06 02:26:00 You know how we remodeled our house? Well it almost killed us (or rather we almost killed each other), but the remodel is done! The whole house is repainted. There are all new doors upstairs. There’s new laminate hardwood floor in the kitchen, living room and hallway. All three bathrooms were completely remodeled. There are ... Related posts:Sibling Rivalry; the twin edition Ever since I can remember I dreamed about growing up... Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin. More About: Joseph
Dear Skyler & Spencer (on your 11th birthday),
2010-10-05 03:46:00 When I found out I was carrying twins I was so excited. I had dreamed of having twins ever since I was a little girl. Bubby (my great-grandmother…Grandma O’s mom) was a twin. She and her twin sister were Ruby (Bubby) and Ruth. So I knew it [sort of] ran in our family. When I was ... Related posts:Sibling Rivalry; the twin edition Ever since I can remember I dreamed about growing up... Dear Justis (on your 18th birthday), I sit here a little teary-eyed thinking about your 18th... Vasectomies, sex and periods, oh my Thursday night Skyler, Spencer and Caleb were sitting at the... Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin. More About: Birthday
Soccer can be bad for your health
2010-08-30 22:46:00 A few years ago Spencer joined Soccer Club. In Soccer Club (as opposed to regular recreational soccer) he gets to play other school and club teams and gets to travel around the Midwest to soccer tournaments. This weekend his new U11 team had a tournament in Muscatine. Muscatine is a pretty small town. According to the ... Related posts:Life of a soccer mom It’s winter. There’s snow on the ground. And temps are... Do I look like a girl who camps? This has been a whirlwind month for the kids. We... Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin. More About: Health
The flu shot tried to kill me
2009-12-11 06:40:00 Every year my doctor tries to convince me to get a flu shot. I have asthma so I’m in a higher risk group. Some years I avoid him in the winter season just to get out of the shot. Other years I can’t help it. This was one of those years. I had a sore ... Related posts:Pneumonia humor…stop me if you’ve heard this one Thanks to He may never go to the doctor again Remember hMy 8am class is trying to kill me Is it just Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin. More About: Shot
Treemendous
2009-12-04 06:36:00 Tonight was the 1st and 2nd grade music program. It was Christmas at Candy Cane Lane. Caleb was a tree. Here’s a pic from the program. That’s the chorus in the background and Caleb with the other trees in the foreground. Um, yeah. I didn’t get any pics from the program. Why? Because I’m a disorganized ... Related posts:Who knew Caleb was such a know-it-all Caleb BEGGGirl’s Night Out, the old lady edition Last nightHugging like a lady Because I Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
Visiting Grandpa can be expensive
2009-12-02 06:16:00 In 2001, while vacationing in California, my grandpa was having some heart trouble. After several tests they discovered he has a thoracic aortic aneurysm and they put in a stent to allow blood to flow to his legs. [I'm no doctor so I might not have all these details exactly right, but you get the ... Related posts:Stranded at Subway My friend My 8am class is trying to kill me Is it justSorry Grandpa Remember h Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
Socking it to November
2009-12-01 06:55:00 Today is November 30th. The last day of NaBloPoMo. And I made it. I blogged every. single. day. for a whole month. This makes me 3 for 3 (there have only been 3 NaBloPoMos so far, right?) when it comes to NaBloPoMo. I consider it a pretty big feet this year considering I have now ... Related posts:Brings a whole new meaning to Christmas stocking A couple wThe flu shot tried to kill me Every year Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
Learning to love my body
2009-11-30 04:20:00 Like many girls, I spend a lot of time obsessing about all the things that are wrong with my body. One eye is higher on my face than the other. My eyes are lazy and rarely work together. My nose is too wide. My top lip is too thin. My boobs are too small. My ... Related posts:Learning a new language I’veLearning history at the wax museum Apparently Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin. More About: New Year , Body , Love
The other ?a? word
2009-11-29 05:00:00 Last night we took the kids to the local community theater production of Annie. It really brought back some memories for me. Annie was the first show I saw on Broadway and I fell in love with it. I wanted to be Annie from that point forward. As I got older I realized I couldn’t ... Related posts:Is inauguration a dirty word? As you knoSibling Rivalry; the twin edition Ever since Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin. More About: Word
Life?s little lessons
2009-11-28 06:15:00 Today was Black Friday. I’ve already talked about how I feel about Black Friday. I think those of you who get up earlier to save a few dollars on toys and electronics and appliances are insane in the membrane. This year I learned that some places opened at 12:01am (Toys R Ss and the outlet mall ... Related posts:Birthday lessons from a slacker mommy Today Keat Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin. More About: Life , Help Me
I am thankful for?
2009-11-26 18:26:00 Thanksgiving. Even if it’s only one day a year, it reminds us to think about what we are truly thankful for and appreciate how rich our lives truly are. Soldiers who have and continue to risk their lives to protect my freedom. My parents who are always there for me. No matter what. But still let me ... Related posts:This is why us old people are on Facebook A year or Thankful for the lifeguards Today suckIs nothing sacred anymore? I had a do Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin. More About: Thanksgiving
A whole lot of whining in one little post
2009-11-26 06:56:00 So I wrote this whole post about this article. It was all about how government is always trying to be our mom telling us what we can and can’t do in the name of keeping us safe. And how the government needs to stay out of our business and let us make our own decisions…bad ... Related posts:Today’s post has been interrupted by sleep Last night Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Post s Plugin. More About: Word , Press , Dreamhost
Is nothing sacred anymore?
2009-11-25 06:28:00 I had a doctor’s appointment today. It was just a checkup from the asthma flare-up from earlier in the month. Just doing my part to help my doc put his kids through college. While I was waiting for him to come in to the room I realized I was in such a hurry that I flew ... Related posts:This is why us old people are on Facebook A year or We’ve come a long way baby This morniAs Nemo would say, “just keep swimming” Four and a Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin. More About: Randomness , Twitter
God forbid we expose our children to a message on the importance of an educ
2009-09-05 05:58:00 This morning I got an email from the school superintendent. It read, “There is a current controversy about President Obama?s speech to the nation?s school children next Tuesday. The district is receiving conflicting feedback from parents and others about whether and how the district will handle this situation.” And this is how I learned about the ... Related posts:Is inauguration a dirty word? As you knoPolitics at the age of six Just befor Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin. More About: Children , Message , Expose
Never get shopping advice from a man
2009-09-04 07:12:00 Remember when I went school supply shopping almost three weeks ago? Remember how I found everything at Target but pink erasers and a TI-83 graphing calculator? Well after we I sanitized and paid for my supplies, we headed over to Staples to find our remaining two items. Staples had both the pink erasers and the ... Related posts:School supply shopping can be deadly It’sThe shopping gene I’m Shopping : A [not so] scientific study on the habits of men and women Last Frida Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin. More About: Advice
Are large families irresponsible?
2009-09-02 07:20:00 Last week on Motherlode Lisa Belkin posted Terminating an Adoption; an essay by Anita Tedaldi’s about her failed adoption. Anita had wanted to adopt a child for many years. She did her homework, made all the preparations and adopted a baby boy. However she never felt like the baby really bonded with the family and ... Related posts:Cracking down on irresponsible parents There Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin. More About: Families , Large
Praise is bad. Lying is normal. And arguing is respectful.
2009-08-29 05:34:00 Remember waaaayy back in 2007 when I blogged about a Po Bronson article on the importance of sleep for children? Well Po (and his co-author Ashley Merryman) have a new book coming out; NurtureShock : New Thinking About Children. Yesterday Po was on NPR’s All Things Considered in the segment Parenting Tips: Praise Can Be Bad; ... No related posts. Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin. More About: Help Me , Lying , Normal
School supply shopping can be deadly
2009-08-18 06:27:00 It’s that time of year again. That holiday I dread every August. It’s back-to-school shopping time. Every year I say I’ll be proactive and be the first mommy at the store to buy the glue sticks and Crayola markers as they pull them off the truck. And every year I’m battling other slacker moms on the ... Related posts:The shopping gene I’m Shopping : A [not so] scientific study on the habits of men and women Last FridaHow I spent my back-to-school vacation The kids w Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin. More About: School , Deadly
Getting too old for the waterpark
2009-08-17 05:14:00 Yesterday we took the kids on our annual trip to a nearby waterpark. It’s something we’ve been doing for several years. And every year that evil waterpark reminds us just how old were getting. As the kids get older they think they are mature enough to go off on their own. At 9. And 7. Yeah ... Related posts:Thankful for the lifeguards Today suckDay 2 of Mr. Accident Prone After SatuJust say no to sleepovers As you kno Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
I may be a bum, but I?ll have a cute piercing
2009-08-15 04:36:00 Today is my step-grandma’s birthday. She decided to celebrate by having surgery. I can think of at least a thousand things I’d like to do on my birthday. Surgery isn’t one of them. But to each their own. Actually, a couple weeks ago her doctor found a spot of cancer on her lung. So today the ... Related posts:Another hole in my head Lori and I Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin. More About: Cute , Piercing
Another hole in my head
2009-08-13 06:47:00 Lori and I have been talking about getting another tattoo since, well, before I got another tattoo. But something always came up and we never got around to scheduling an appointment. Until today. We met for our usual Wednesday girls lunch. (I double pink puffy heart our Wednesday girls lunches. Good food with great friends and TONS ... Related posts:Like a hole in the head Do you notDo you think is what she meant by suffering? Nine yearsGirl’s Night Out, the old lady edition Last night Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin. More About: All About Me , Head , Hole
Birthday lessons from a slacker mommy
2009-08-06 06:47:00 Today Keaton turns 15. It doesn’t seem possible. It seems like just yesterday I was writing my “Oh my God my baby’s 14-years-old” post last year. And now I’m all “Oh my God my baby’s 15-years-old.” I seriously don’t understand how a whole year can just fly by in the blink of an eye. How ... Related posts:They say it’s your birthday It’sThe last of the single digit birthdays Skyler 35 things I’ll be doing on my 35th birthday in Vegas Today is m Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin. More About: Mommy , Birthday , Slacker , Lessons
Day 2 of Mr. Accident Prone
2009-08-04 06:50:00 After Saturday’s disastrous trip to the pool, we decided to stay dry on Sunday. It was a beautiful day out, but we needed a little time before we tackled the pool again. So instead we headed to a movie. Confinement to theater chairs seemed a whole lot safer than day 2 of swimming in the ... Related posts:Girl’s Night Out, the old lady edition Last nightThankful for the lifeguards Today suckThe wind on my scallop Caleb and Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin. More About: Accident
Thankful for the lifeguards
More articles from this author:2009-08-02 08:24:00 Today sucked. I should have known it was going to suck as soon as I got a paper cut. At the pool. Who gets a paper cut at the pool? A loser who’s working instead of splashing around in the water with her kids, that’s who. After I got the paper cut I put my document ... Related posts:Parenting and sleeping is like water and vinegar This morniThe wind on my scallop Caleb and Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin. More About: Lifeguards 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 |
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