Keep Those Comments Coming. . .

I want to thank the four of you who have commented on my last post.

Kristen, Alison and Sheils, I have sent you each an e-mail from thethreebeansalad@gmail.com with your Shutterfly 10% off code.

People--you still have time to comment and be in the running for a set of FREE 10 5x7 flat stationary cards from Shutterfly.

Just comment on the post below by Wednesday, October 6th and you will automatically be entered to win!

Shutterfly Giveaway: Stationary

I used Shutterfly this year for the birthday invitations to both the Ladies parties and was really pleased. For the Little Lady, I did a collage of photos from her first year. For the Lady, well, it was a Princess Party, so I used one of their princess-themed invites. In both cases the result was great.

I also created a thank you card for the Little Lady. Again, super cute, mostly due to the awww factor of the Little Lady, but also because of the great selection of thank you cards that could be personalized any way I wanted.

I'm planning on doing a thank you for the Lady too, it's just a matter of choosing which photos I want to include. I am certainly including one of her big cake smile.

I know this might sound ridiculous, but I already have four different versions of our Christmas photo cards saved. I haven't decided which to use mostly because I was waiting to see if we would take another family portrait--the one we took in Disney is great of the Ladies and my hubby, but I have a double chin and look crazed--or if I would just use photos of the Ladies from the last couple of months. All versions are waiting in my saved projects, too many great designs to choose from!

The Holiday designs are definitely worth seeing. From Halloween invitations through the craziest of December's there is something for everyone. Plus, Shutterfly usually runs great deals including discount codes and free shipping.

Don't forget to leave a comment. The first three comments will receive a 10% off coupon for their entire order (until November 3rd) and all comments will be entered to win a giveaway of 10 FREE 5x7 flat stationary cards (until December 31) provided by Shutterfly. Winners will be announced soon!

Can't a Girl Get a Comment? There's Something in it for You!

I am a little disappointed in you my dear readers. Last week I blogged about my Shutterfly photo book experience and let you know that the first three readers to comment would be given a 10% off code to put towards their next Shutterfly order. All you had to do was leave one little comment.

What does a girl have to do to get some comments on this blog?

I guess I have to do another Shutterfly giveaway!

Not only will the first three comments still get you the 10% off code (good until November 3), anyone who comments will be placed in a drawing to receive 10 FREE 5x7 stationary cards! (S&H not included) There will be three winners chosen. As you budget conscious people and money saving moms out there know,  FREE is a great word to see.

So, we will try again.

"These are memories people!"

Anyone who can tell me the movie that quote came from, won't get anything extra, but will win a special place in my heart.

Look for the posting later today about Shutterfly stationary and leave me a comment. No need to wax poetic about your photography skills or what photo projects you are working on, just leave a quick note to say hi. I will be looking forward to it.

love and kisses,

Bean

Some Pics from the Princess Party



Waiting for the Cake



Loving them!

Ariel

Sleeping Beauty

Pretty, Pretty Princess

The Lady Turns Three!

Happy! Happy! Happy! The Lady turns 3!

It seems like it was just yesterday that she was turning one.

I am grateful for her everyday in my life and grateful for those of you who have been following our adventures on this blog.

I am happy to report she had a great morning at school. I brought in some mini-brownies topped in pink icing and some star sprinkles. They were a big hit. I have to say she was super cute in her homemade crown and was glad to be there with her to celebrate.

Pics and post of the Princess Party to come.

Guest Blog: Making Mom Friends

I want to introduce a good friend and a faithful Three Bean Salad reader, Kristen, as she posts her first guest blog. I have been talking a lot lately about trying to fit in, meet new people at the Lady's school and trying to overcome my own anxiety about being in situations where you have to interact with strangers. I am currently dreading my Ladies Night Out with the other moms from the Lady's class, not because any of them have been anything but incredibly nice and inclusive, but because I don't thrive in situations that I am unsure of and quite frankly feel like I am an outsider. The Lady, however, announced today that she has new friends and proceeded to list everyone in her class.

Kristen, has a similar but in many ways much more difficult situation to deal with. Not only does she have to go out and meet all new moms (in three classes no less!) but she is also trying to meet new friends in a new place, without the support of other friends (geographically speaking--she certainly has support from me!)

Oh, BTW. . . CNY to any of you whose brother didn't go to Colgate or aren't a friend of someone who lives "upstate" in New York means Central New York.

Here is her story.

Making Mom Friends
Having (very) recently moved from a small rural town in CNY to a suburb of Nashville, it is an understatement to say that it is a bit of an adjustment. Moving in general is hard work – the cleaning out, the packing up, the unpacking, setting up a house, new doctors, new schools, finding your way to the grocery store – you get the picture! While all of this can be trying, I am suffering the most when it comes to the fact that I have no friends here. Having left a supportive community where I had wonderful friends, I am really feeling the loss.

Not being one to sit around, I sent my two older daughters off to 1^st and 2^nd grade respectively and jumped right in to activity finding/doing mode with my 3 year old daughter. I started on the Internet looking for “meet-up” moms’ groups -  I signed up for one only to be told I was on a waiting list as the group was currently filled. It is a group that is meant for meeting other people – I am not sure how they can turn people away, who must clearly be in need if they are putting themselves out there and signing up but who am I to judge – well, let me not speak so soon!

Next I try a story time at a (large chain) bookstore. It was very crowded and almost not worth the time it took us to get ready and get there since the stories lasted all of ten minutes. We were surrounded by many children and moms so I hoped for the best as my daughter headed for the train table to play once the stories were over. There was not much conversation for me to engage in and after a while, we left for home. Feeling disappointed and thinking that if I went back again, I may find myself turning to someone out of desperation and begging them to talk to me!

I decided to try the local library. We headed to library story time and found a lot of children and moms. While it was very crowded, it was a much better story time with a theme and songs followed by a craft. My daughter loved it and I was pretty happy that we made the effort to go. As we headed out of the story room, I was hopeful of having an adult conversation as my daughter headed to the computers to play a game. As my daughter donned the headphones, I smiled at the woman standing next to me who had a headphone clad child sitting in front of her as well. The woman did smile back but then proceeded to click away on her blackberry – she did not look up once in the time that the children were on the computers – maybe 20 minutes. In the age of technology, how am I supposed to make new friends? Maybe I can get someone’s number and text them while we stand right next to each other?!

Bean Says. . . (more, of course)

First of all, thank you for guest blogging. Second of all, all those blackberry addicted moms are missing out on an incredible friend and third of all, I think that this is confirmation that the story time at Barnes and Noble is no good. Check out a very early Three Bean for a similar experience.  Finally, I think that meeting new mom friends is harder than dating (which I know nothing about, having met my husband in high school and "dating" him from the end of college), but I think that the fear of rejection probably stings just as hard. I give you a lot of credit for making the efforts that you have. If worse comes to worse, start stalking Nicole Kidman or any other celeb living in the Nashville area! Love you. Thanks so much for doing this and good luck with all your Southern adventures. You are welcome to blog about them here anytime.

So the Second Child

The Little Lady is a force to be reckoned with. She is very clear about her wants and needs, has no problems grabbing a toy from a hand, throwing her body around like a weapon and clearly articulating who she wants to come and get her--Mom! Momma! Mommy! (Although, I will admit that I think she uses a combination of these words in reference to any adult including my husband, my sister, my mother and our sitter.)

She also is a bit more active then her older sister and a bit more of a risk taker.

Sure, Little Lady, stand up in the middle of the couch and throw your body backwards, I am sure you won't fall. Climb up into your sister's booster seat (when she is taking a nap or otherwise out of the room) sit in it and demand all her toys (can you say porcelain tea set and washable markers?) with a point of your finger and a high-pitch grunt.

I am imagining stitches with this kid. A lot of stitches.

In the last two days she has:

• 
  
  Fallen off the bed (totally my fault)
• 
  
  Gotten a bloody nose (not my fault) and then proceeded to crawl all over my white down comforter with said bloody nose (probably my fault)
• Climbed naked on the couch and peed (I should have been quicker with the diaper, but wanted to get her off the white comforter in my room after said bloody nose incident, so decided to move her to the white couch. She is just so darn quick! Thank goodness for big pillows)
• 
  
  Flushed the toilet in the range of 15-25 times while I am trying to do other things (in my defense our bathroom door doesn't shut properly and it is easy to get into)
• 
  
  Removed a steak knife from the dishwasher while I was trying to empty it (note to self, remove silverware from dishwasher first. . .)
• 
  
  Eaten a K-cup of coffee grounds

Yes, a K-cup as seen above. She and her sister were playing with the bowls and Tupperware in the cabinets, which I do allow as long as nothing is breakable, and they happened upon a Ziploc baggie of Colombian Fair Trade Select K-cups, The Lady opened it to use the cups as wheels in the "car" she was making out of bowls and Kitchen-Aid Mixer parts and the Little Lady took a cup bit into it, then continued to bite into it. She didn't actually ingest a lot as far as I could tell, I was pretty quick to address the situation, but what was so interesting about it was that she didn't seem to have a problem with the grounds in her mouth or the taste.

Let's be honest here, the last thing this kid needs is caffeine, she will have one leg over the gate and be sliding down the bannister's soon!

Oh, Little Lady. . .