NEW :

Lots of new things going on around here... thought I'd share them....
new profile pic on face book.. still hoping for a good pic of all three looking at the camera.. I have high hopes for Beck's 3 month photo shoot. Beckham: he will be 2 months next week!! geesh.. and growing right along.... has new tricks:

lifting is head is an everyday thing.. and he is getting so strong!

and last week he started smiling... though its always when I am making silly mommy faces at him, and not when I have my camera in front of my face. go figure. caught this one.. I think he is smiling with his eyes =)

and Greg and Kelli got a new swing for their baby, so they brought us ours back... not really sure , if he would like it, b/c the other kids, didn't really care about it too much.. Beckham trying out his new swing.

I think he likes it, huh?

Brigham: loving week 2 completion of kindergarten. we are seeing these new reports coming home each day. yay!!

and he has found a new love in t-ball. finally getting the hang of fielding.. (at bat, has always been his strength).. doesn't he look like a serious player .. lol

and Miss Tatum is sporting her (mama's) new favorite hairstyle! I finally had the patience to sit down and braid her hair. I can't wait to try the two down the back that meet in the middle ....

(oh, and Tatum found a new replacement for the phone. that would be the calculator.) maybe she is thinking it is a like a razor phone or something.. lol)




and we are in week two of sitting on the potty. actually had the dora potty since right after Beckham was born, but we have just mastered sitting on it (with out the lid up) and with out screaming bloody murder!!.. she is in mid- bite- of -cookie here...

don't ya just love the accessories?.. she got these back for Christmas, but they broke right away.. she got some new strands of pretties from grandma last weekend, and has been sporting pearls nearly every day now!



And we are now doing this new tantrum, when in the stroller and we won't let her out. She is generally a good stroller rider.. like on our morning walks, I don't hear a peep out of her, unless she sees a dog, or hears a bus. then there is all kinds of excitement!

and since we're home alone now... Tatum can choose her shows, w/o being over ruled by Big Brother... so we are back to PBS... (the only channel we had until Brigham was 4) . Now, we have all the 'cool' channels, so he is to 'old' for PBS... lol

don't worry, I monitor very closely, b/c most of the Disney, nick, and cartoon network shows annoy me like crazy.. totally not appropriate for his age.. anywho...

so now that Tatum is calmly relaxing with the chaos of big bro... she has found Clifford to be her new favorite show.

and I learned something new too: like how Clifford came to be the BIG RED DOG?

any of you out there know?

and here are some (not so) new pages.. did them over the last few months.. but new to the blog. I have been terrible about posting pages..

Actually, I took a scrapping hiatus and just now hopped back into it last weekend while Andrew was at his Fantasy Football draft(s). I just have to finish up a few more things on them, and then will post them next week. I am having fun using up all of my over flowing stash of stuff.
I won't describe any of them, if you wanna see detail, you can click to see a page bigger.

totally random pages. but that is how I scrap.. completely random. maybe I'd get more done if I had a better system though.. lol !

yeah.. only two years behind in the birthday departments.. I do have Tatum's first bday almost finished.. and gotta get her 2 year old finished.. then I'll feel better..




oh, and I got a NEW do last week! My hair had gotten so long during pregnancy, and it was time for a new color, got it chopped off and it feels so much better!

I created a new profile pic for my photog website:

and I am heading out for a girls night out tonight which is also something 'new' for me lately.

I have a few good girl friends that I get together with and hang one on one.. but it has been awhile since I had a group like this. We went to see The Ugly Truth a few weeks ago(highly recommend it, it was hilarious and cute) and tonight we are doing a fondue thing.

I hope you are all doing something new and fun !

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struggling

to find balance.

last week in Life group, the topic was on what do we spend our time doing? Is it something that is furthering our friendships, family relationships, or spiritual growth?
so often, we can't even put a finger on what happened to the time as we come up with excuses as to why we didn't read our bible... or call a friend... or sit down with a child to read a book... or have dinner ready... or , or.. the list goes on and on..

I am finding that I am being pulled in so many different directions. I love , love being home with the kids.. but sometimes, I wonder if I wouldn't get more done, and would obviously be a HUGE benefit for me to go back to work.... (that has been on my mind a lot).. but then I think about some of the benefits of me being at home, both for my children, and my well being.
but then I think about how my window of time would be that much less w/o being home all day.. so would home maintenance suffer? would my sanity.. either way? lol

I find that when the kids are napping,(thank goodness, my kids nap at least 2 hours) I can do any number of things.. but the window of uninterrupted time is scarse... so am I making wise decisions on what to do with my time?
I am busy with my photography.. and the editing and marketing side takes a lot of my time. Cleaning the house , and the maintenance. ie.. decorating projects, that I always seem to have going on.
Scrap booking. Closet cleaning. Maintaining friendships., Meal planning and preparation. a nap... community outreach... blogging, email.. and um.. Facebooking!!!.......and notice all of these things I have listed, and yet prayer, and time spent with JC is not even on the list yet!!
kinda gives a big kick in my hiney, to point out where my priorities are...
geesh...
so back to the life group thing... they were basically saying that it is pretty normal for us as Christians.. and really, we have been getting away from the "religious" factors for a while now... (that is a whole other post.... LOL) of reading the bible, doing devotions, praying at meal times..etc. etc.
we actually CAN experience a relationship with JC w/o all of these things.... (again.. another post)
but are we putting in what we need in to the right areas of our lives. So I challenged our life group peeps, to come up with one thing that they want to be held accountable for. We have a month to focus on doing that thing.. could be dinner with the family every night.. could be prayer time at bedtime with the kiddos.. could be calling friends... reading the bible.. whatever..
So interesting as I was thinking about all this, that I came across this post . while some of our thoughts are different.. we are definitely on target in several areas.

I know I turn into a major B if I can not be creative. and my lack of organization and that desire to work on my creative outlet creates a visious cycle.

If you are reading this, and you feel any tiny bit like me, then leave me a comment.. and if you are brave enough.. share one thing that you are going to prioritize to make happen more regurally in the next month!
We can do this together... yes?....

i am in denial

that the time for me to go to the most awesom-est store ever, whenever, I want, with any number of children may be a thing of the past. I usually visit the Target 2-3 times a week.. and when I just had baby Brigham, it was more like every day. We usually do things like this as a family.. meaning daddy is included. and since the arrival of baby Beckham, we now take TWO carts, which you would think makes the experience that much more glorious... more room for more STUFF., right?

well, no, that would not be the case because . one cart now houses one adorable bow headed toddler. the above picture is to remind me of what a precious angel she is... most of the time.

except for when mommy took her to Target yesterday and plunked her in the basket of the cart, while baby Beckham got to ride of front.

we had been doing fine, cept, she did not want to sit down. I had repeatedly told her to sit down and explained that she could get hurt, and fall down, etc..etc..

Since I have the big carrier in front, I can't always see if she is holding on, or even if she is up on her knees. I had been going carefully and slowly up and down the aisles, still reminding her to sit down on her booty.

well, I made a sudden move, in the granola bar aisle and she fell. luckily it was in the cart, but it did bust up her knee. and there was blood.(a tiny bit, but none the less). and tears.

but I could hardly feel sorry for her, b/c I had been telling her over and over.

maybe now she will listen to me. and she got the granola bars to hold now.

well, she insisted that she needed a Dora ban-aid. .. so I told her she could get one at home.

she quieted down, and on we went thru the store.

I was just hitting the bargain racks and trying to quickly look thru sizing and all the time I kept popping my head around the carrier to see her.

by now, the cart was full with groceries, so she was kinda wedged in there.

I let my gaurd down for a second , to hear

" aaaaah.. me mom."

"aaaaaaaah..... me mom"

(which in Tatumese means " look at me mom")

and as I looked up, there she was hands in the air,

as I walked around the cart, I saw that she had put the capri sun box up to the edge of the bottom of the cart, and she was standing on it.

totally pulling a Titanic stunt.

I got there just in time to catch her, as she fell onto the edge of the cart.

Now there were full blown tears, and screams, b/c she had whacked herself in the chest .

well, little girl, you better be glad mommy caught you, b/c otherwise the floor would have.

I think her days of a stunt double may be over, at least for one anyway...

she still didn't want to sit down and hold on.

I felt terrible for her, but she did have to learn for herself.

she redeemed herself at the checkout, when she stood up in the cart to carefully place every item onto the counter.

eta: I sometimes come out of Target w/o spending anything. I know shocker right? but it is seriously my happy place.

and

the fairy tale art was done by the uberly talented Nancy at 2peas.

who wouldn't love a cuppy cake?

I whipped these up to have waiting for Brigham when he got off the bus after the first day.

He LOVES anything blue, so that was a hit.. but even more so was the cuppy cake wrappers.

I went against, everything we believe and teach him... and surrounded the yummy goodness in Sponge Bob wrappers.
I think I scored some major points with that one.

(and he's been asking for a cupcake , everyday after school).

unfortunately since mama is nursing.. they have disappeared )

and these lovelies came from Grandma.

what a cool surprise, to find on our front porch!

notice the scissors, markers and pencil case?

We are so excited around here for kindergarten.

things are going great!

I hope those of you out there going thru the same thing are enjoying it as much as we are!

this kid was born for school !!

of course he had to have the right gear first... grandma and Uncle Monkey took him backpack shopping. My mom sent me these pics... I had given strict instructions... NO CHARACTERS!!!! thankfully... Brigham didn't even venture down that way.....

we had actually looked at Target a few days earlier, and I just can't believe how HUGE they are!! I mean.. I didn't want him to have a cutesy one like he had in preschool and preK.. even though I LOVED it! I inquired at my favorite boutique about bigger sizes. and she told me StephenJoseph makes them bigger.. but kinda pricey.

anyway.. we're hoping he can use this 'big kid' one for a couple years at least!

I was pleased with his choice even though it is as big as he is!! LOL

so many choices!!

um, he tried to go with a camo one.. good thing my mom steered him away! Andrew told him he'd never find his backpack anyway!

we are not fans of camo... though I did LOVE his two year old camo cargos.. and I am secretly wanting a pair of camo capris for myself...

******

and so the time came.......

he had his backpack on 25 minutes early, waiting to go to the bus! He wasn't thrilled about the picture taking.. I can't believe he was resisting at 5 years old!! lol

what do I have to look forward to?

He was SO excited!

but I could tell he was nervous too.. because as we got to the bus stop he was pretty quiet...

had been that way the night before at his open house too.

Plus, I couldn't get a single smile out him!!

Here he is waiting for the bus. I have to say.. I was pretty nervous about the bus riding thing. Having never been on a bus, and only once or twice for public transportation even...

I had totally planned on getting up and taking him and picking him up every day since the school is less than 2 miles away...

Andrew really was encouraging the bus. Then at life group Wednesday , night I was sharing my concerns.. and everyone was talking about how great it was! I guess I can't keep him a mama's boy forever. He does need to experience the socialization that comes on a bus.. you know away from the class room. He does need to be around other kids not just his age as well. I can't just keep him in a little box.......

He was super stoked to get on the bus.. funny, b/c we had never even talked about it really. He never even asked what it would be like...

and he hopped on there, like he had been doing it all his life!!

Not a hug or kiss for mom or dad... not even a "see ya later"!!

Andrew and I had to be at school for a few hours for a parent meeting and to help adjust the kids into the routine. So we got to the front of school before the buses arrived.

We didn't even know what bus number he was on, but as I sat prepped with my camera, Andrew saw him jump off.

And here he came.. and he walked right past me!!

As we yelled his name, he didn't break stride and said "

No, mom, I have to get to my class"

funny guy.

we were about 25 ft behind him walking thru the hallway and heard the principal ask him if he knew where he was going.

"Yep! I know where my class is. "
he said, with confidence!!

Here he is at his desk. such a tiny little desk, that he shares with three others. He knew two other girls from his PreK class, and another girl from gymnastics.

such a good student... already, so focused!!

we had a first assignment to do together.

and here is Ta Ta holding the monkey. Thankfully, we found the stuffed animals, b/c she was about to lose it in the stroller!!

She didn't really seem to care that Brigham was gone for so long... we'll see how it goes next week.

I kept asking her where Brigham went, and she would say

" on the bus!!"

had a little celebration when he got home yesterday, I'll post later.

craziness!!

ok, so I have been trying to upload pictures of Brigham's birthday part all day... blogger is not cooperating. =(

I have also been trying to edit pictures from two recent photo sessions, and my eyes are going a bit wonky.

All this is in between putting said birthday boy in time out 437 times today.

and in between, giving said birthday boy 292 spankings.

and changing 876 poopy diapers from a pretty stinking adorable little man

and wiping a snotty nose of an adorable blonde headed , pink bow wearing little girl.

I have about 27 unfinished projects right now... and I am just about going batty!

Example: made a sandwich for lunch... and finally got to eat it 2.5 hours later due to all the interruptions.
oh, yeah.. one of those was taking the time, to clean all the green algae out of the sand box, b/c some little boy and little girl, decided it would be fun to fill buckets of water and mix with the sand.
guess, how else would you make a sand cake?.. however, putting the lid back on and keeping the moisture in, created the lovely green stuff.
I did get some help with that task, as a whole lot of water and dish soap was a perfect place to play.
just wished it would have occupied them for more than 10 minutes!!
so ..that was my day...
and we're off to Brigham's school open house in an hour, and then back to host life group.
Gotta go get my toilets cleaned!
(and hopefully, I can get the party pics up later!)

TGIF.... seriously!!!

it has been a crazy , busy, week and I am ready for the weekend! (though it is just as packed! LOL)

Started last Sunday, when we finally had Brigham's fifth birthday party- can you guess the theme?

Totally not my usual kind of party, and if you know me or have been following my blog, then you know I LOVE my theme parties! But I had to exercise the act of the submissive wife. Um, yeah... totally went with respecting my husband's thoughts on the whole party thing this year, considering we just bought a much more expensive van, and just had a baby and such. it actually worked out fine, though, printing up the invitations, was a stretch for me .... I'll post them, and several pics from the party. The kids did all have a great time! The parents must have too, b/c it was supposed to end at 6pm, and people were not really leaving until after 7pm!! It was nice not to have to prep or clean up too much. Which is always my stress out turn into mega [B] , and Andrew and I don't speak for awhile time.

So, yeah... didn't have that. Was able to talk to all our friends, instead of being the party planner and dictator. Watch for a post coming soon on that.

****************

Also, this week, was Kindergarten registration! WHOO HOO! somebody is excited. oh and Brigham is looking forward to it too. lol.

no really, this has been yet, another time, in me learning to do the whole submit to your husband thing.

We had signed him up for half day last March during the round- up. I guess, I never considered that we would do anything other than send him to half day. I was already planning how I'd pick him up at lunch time, come home, get the kids lunch... watch their show, and then they would all go down for naps. I had already talked with friends of mine, about getting together in the afternoons, for play dates..In my mind, it was a done deal.

Well, Andrew had really been thinking that all day kindergarten would be best. Our school doesn't offer half day.. it really just offers 3 full day classes, and if you want to have your child in half day, then you have to pull him, out and provide transportation at lunch time. So basically just a few kids would be leaving around lunch every day. Andrew didn't want Brig to be one of those kids.

So anyway, unbeknownst to me, Andrew had called the principal a few weeks ago, and got him switched to full day. I was a little thrown off , when I got the letter from his teacher, saying he would be in half day, but then it was crossed off, and hand written 'full day'. hmmmmm.

It took me a few days to soak it in and to be honest, I still go back and forth with it. There are days, where I am super excited.. looking forward to being able to spend special time with just Tatum and the baby. Tatum has been kind of shoved into Brigham's world for awhile, and I think it would be great to do age appropriate things with her. Also, I really do think that Brigham would love learning all day. The socialization would be great for him as well. I just worry that it is going to be such a long day for him. Especially, when he takes a two hour nap like he did today. Its going to be a big adjustment for all of us.. considering we don't get up before 9am.. and don't eat dinner until at least 7pm!!

Um, now we are going to be putting Brig in bed by 7pm.. (or at least starting the bath process, to be in bed by 7:30p.)....

Thankfully, his school doesn't start until 8:55am, but he will be taking the bus( another BIG thing for me to get used too....) and I don't know yet, what time our stop is.

sorry , to ramble on and on... not like I am the first mom of a kindergartner , I know... I just was thinking I would have an 'ease' into this whole letting your kid go.. thing..

But, he did have fun getting his supplies. And yep, I was the nutzo mom with my big honkin camera in Wal -Mart.

C'mon, people, you know that I have to scrap this right?
though he doesn't look happy here.. he really was having fun.

His sister never disappoints with a big grin.
She now gets the spot inside the cart, so that baby Beckham can ride up front.





And also, this week, I managed to get a few more pics of Mr. Beckham.
If you read my previous post, you see that I started the traditional.. "month" pose.
Never did that with the other kids. I hope I remember to do this, I think it will be fun to scrap.
We had his 1month check up and the kid is in the 81st percentile.
weighs 10# 11oz
length is 22 1/2 inches long!
(also way bigger than the other kids at this age)
the Dr. was pretty impressed . guess my milk is doing the trick. I can't wait for the rolls to set in!
LOVE me some chubby baby!!

Love this bottom one. You can kinda see how pudgy his belly is getting =)

Here are just a few fun pics from
VBS last week. Had to put together a slide show for church. I took about 300 pics, and then narrowed them down and edited just 60. The shaved ice was a big hit.

The lighting was terrible here, not sure why he is so washed out. ugh.

and here is my guy trying to pop the balloon with his booty. Poor guy, finally did it, and then was in pain the rest of the night.

He seriously has no padding. And we found out during his Five year physical this week, that he sits in the 21st percentile for weight!!!

the kid eats like crazy too... I am convinced that it is because he just never stops moving.

Gosh, I wish I could be that way!

And we also had T ball practice. This was our second week, and the second time that practice got rained out and postponed to the following day. So we raced to practice.. picture day. But I did not pay for the pictures. totally over priced. and really there are only four kids showing up out of the eight that are supposed to be on his team. this is not the big leagues. lol

Poor kid.. his hat his huge, the shorts are falling down. His kleets are too big for him.

But he still can swing and hit the ball. He is really having fun at this.

We came home from practice to life group, which we host, and were late for. Everyone is so laid back, and we actually didn't even do our study, we just sat around and talked. still good stuff.

Grandma surprised us , coming to take our kids and the others out for a walk around the neighborhood.


Here is another picture of him in the field. He really enjoys chasing after the balls.



And we have had some time with Grandpa.(again hate the lighting here. it was so bright.. (definately a no- no for good pictures, but I just wanted to snap one). If you all notice, I don't spend a whole lot of time editing snapshots.. lol...

And some park time with Uncle Brian.

Love this picture of Tatum. It shows what a big girl she is. The kid has no fear, unlike her older brother. Definitely have to watch her like a hawk. So interesting how different two siblings can be. Makes me excited to see how number three will turn out.

And then last night we went to a huge fundraiser for Lafayette Transitional Housing. BINGO.

It was tons of fun even though we didn't win anything. There wasn't really anything in the silent auction we wanted either.We tried to win at the pull tabs and 50/50 too. No go.oh, well. It was a fun night out, minus kids.Beck had his second night away and did great.

Seriously, after two beers, I was almost buzzing.

I think Beckham enjoyed nursing after that. He slept well and only woke up once last night!

hmmmm. maybe mama should always drink before going to bed!! LOL

so that was our week... and I am tired.

Got to be at a T-ball game at 8:30 in the morning, and then I have two photo shoots.

Hoping to get some more scrapping done this weekend too. We were planning on going to the zoo , Sunday, but the forecast is 95 degrees. a bit much to be out in with a baby.

counting down the days til school. He starts next Thursday! YIKES!