QT Gets a Haircut!

It has finally happened. In order to end this year on some sort of up note, I present to you the newly shorn QT.

In full disclosure we went to get the haircut on Christmas Eve. I took him to Snip-Its and we got the whole certificate/hair in a dime-bag sized bag and paid more than a few dollars more than SuperCuts.

The Ladies weren't too happy that their first haircut didn't end with a certificate and a toy, although they both left there with a tattoo, a handful of dum-dum lollipops, and the promise that haircut number two will be there too.

QT was pretty good. He didn't like the spray bottle to the head, but it was hard to concentrate on what was going on with him because the Ladies were running around that place and climbing into empty chairs with such frequency that I found myself threatening them with no Christmas on Christmas Eve.

Here are a few pics.

The before. The tail is a bit extreme.



The first cut.




In the chair.




The after.



Things I Never Thought I'd Say

There are a lot of things that I have said in the last five years that I never expected to come out of my mouth.

Things like:

Please stop drumming on your vagina.

Of course it tastes disgusting that is why we don't eat ear wax.

It's Chuck E. Cheese's not Chucky Jesus.

QT, please take my phone off your penis.

No, you can't go to Polish school because we aren't Polish and you don't understand Polish.

I have HER2+ breast cancer that has metastasized to my hip bone. It is aggressive and advanced.

Fuck.

Oh wait, I say that all the time.

So there it is.

My life has so quickly been altered and I don't know how this is going to turn out. I do know that I have no option but to move forward and to fight as hard as I can.

When there are big moments in your life, it is hard not to think of something you saw on Oprah. So in an attempt to get some clarity, I tried my own "Eat, Pray. Love." moment where I asked the universe what I should do. I was hoping for something like "Eat, Sleep, Take a Hawaiian Vacation" but instead it just answered Fight and Write, which I will do, but not just on The Three Bean.

Here, you will still find me blogging about my beautiful babies and although there will obviously be some crossover this will still be the place where my focus is motherhood and parenting and all the crazy that goes along with it.

If you are at all interested in reading posts about cancer that are titled things like "Getting Wiggy With It" or "Betrayed by Your Boobs" you can find me over at (surprise, surprise) thefightandwrite.blogspot.com. I will start posting in the New Year.

And while I am on the subject of things I never thought I'd say, I have to admit to you that I like that One Direction song "Little Things" even though I don't understand what they are trying to say about fitting into jeans. Are they ok with fat asses? I am unsure. However the song is hauntingly melodic and you can't deny the power of a boy band.

The "Hugging Incident"

I published this photo on my personal fb page of all the cousins on my side of the family. I got more than one comment on why the Little Lady looks so pissed. Watch as the hugging incident unfolds below. . .

and finally. . .

I feel like this whole sequence needs special care and attention. QT's antics are priceless, The Lady is a consummate model (please ignore her lack of arm support on Little Shooter's neck), the Wild Man is trying to check out the scene and the Wild Woman clearly has her own face on.

They were good sports and I am glad we actually got a photo of them together. Here is one final one where the Little Lady is actually smiling.

Oh Boy!

I am so excited to welcome my new nephew to the Three Bean family.

Congratulations to my little brother and his very patient and amazing wife. We couldn't be happier for you both.

Here is a pic of the little guy.

Little Shooter

The Three Beans meeting their new cousin. Notice how QT has adopted the "cheese face" in photos!

Frankenstorm: Part II

Well, I have two-day old iced coffee, three kids who haven't been outside since Sunday, and no power, but clearly it could have been worse.

Many thanks to our neighbors for the wine and distraction for the kids last night and thanks to all of you who have offered to take us in, not sure what will be worse for you--riding out Hurricane Sandy or the fury that is the Ladies and QT unchained after suffering from cabin fever.

Frankenstorm: Part I

Not sure if you have heard but there is a storm coming. . .

We are almost ready.

I spent yesterday trying to assess the situation and make a couple of last minute trips to the store, which wasn't necessarily the best idea.

I took the Ladies to Stop&Shop, and while it was busy, it wasn't crazy. The Lady, fresh off watching Annie sang "Tomorrow" at high volume throughout the store, we had the typical bathroom run mid-trip and then the Little Lady decided she wanted some turkey, so we hit the deli counter.

There was a ticket already in the machine and the Little Lady grabbed it. The Lady also felt it was necessary to have her own. So we stood there with two tickets in hand. The screen showed that it should be our turn, but there was a guy standing to our left who held the number before ours. There was one lady working the counter. She asked us what our number was. I told her and she said that there was someone else ahead of us. The man next to me flashed his ticket and I was fine with that but the man standing next to him didn't have a number but he had the balls to say:

"Um. . . where is ticket machine? This is my first time here?"

Really dude? This is America. You f'ing take a number. Ugh.

Later, I realized that we might need a few extra batteries, I also forgot one ingredient for a potato leek soup recipe I pinned. I headed out on my own to the grocery store around the corner from my house.

There is a reason that I don't shop there.

I know that I use the term "shit show" pretty liberally, but this was a spot-on physical manifestation of that term. People were just roaming the aisles, or just standing still in the middle of the store with no real sense of direction or any idea of what they may or may not need.

When I finally got out of there, I hit the liquor store. I stopped at Dunkies for the second time that day and got a medium iced coffee, black with no ice, so if the power went out or if we couldn't get out then at least I would have some caffeine.

Then I tried to get gas. Four gas stations later, I headed home, handed my husband (who had been pretty much lounging on the couch all day, with zero sense of urgency) the keys and told him to have at it.

I packed an emergency grab-and-run bag, got clothes ready for an extended evacuation because we are on the edge of a possible mandatory evacuation route, made a pretty kick ass potato leek soup, a batch of brownies and tried to keep the kids from playing with all the flashlights.

We decided that since the forecast called for heavy winds to start last night that the kids would sleep downstairs with us. I thought that would mean them in the living room and us in our bedroom. It turned out to be the five of us sleeping in one room. All went well until about 6:45 this morning when the Lady started crying that her Hello Kitty band-aid was stuck to her Dora the Explorer blanket and then we all got up.

We will see how the rest of the day pans out. QT is in rare form this morning and the Ladies are roaming around in their undies.

It isn't raining yet but it is getting a bit breezy.

I will be blogging until the power goes out. . .

Halloween Party: Cousins, Cousins, Everywhere. . .

We headed up to the beach house this past weekend for our Annual Halloween Bash.

The weather was amazing, much better than the Snowtober storm we all drove home in last year.

I am hoping the the kids costumes stay relatively unscathed, we still have a Halloween Party and two Halloween parades before they will actually trick-or-treat this year.

Here are a couple of pics of all the cousins. Be prepared for Princesses and a half-dressed "dog-dog."

Two pretty little princesses

The Little Lady (with a ton of eye makup)

The Lady

QT as a "dog-dog." This is the only photo I have of him with the hat actually on.

Seriously, kids I am trying to take a photo, would it kill you to look in my general direction Wild Man?

All the cousins, minus two (and two more in-utero)