BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!

We have BIG news at the Bean house……drum roll please……. Little Miss Vada peed in the potty THREE times this weekend pooped ONCE! I seriously did not think that we were even close to this happening. Apparently I turned over a new leaf this weekend, it is called EXTREME PATIENCE. After many deep breaths, and saying- I CAN DO THIS, I CAN DO THIS, I CAN DO THIS….(you would think that I was training myself:)) Vada finally peed in her potty! After doing it once she really started to catch on and of course I bribed her with a piece of a Hershey chocolate bar:) We are no where close to being fully potty trained, but it feels good that we finally made it to step one!

Last weekend we had our first camping adventure of the summer! The Bean and Vanderhorst families set up camp at Baker Park (I can’t even begin to tell you how much I love the Three Rivers Park District) on Lake Independence. We camp every summer, but MAN- it is a lot of work! There was probably a couple things that added to this, one- Vada is VERY mobile and two- we brought Lexi for the first time in a couple years. Despite a few more hectic moments, we had a fun-filled time. I am actually surprised that we have not camped there before, we will definitely be going back. It is a big campground with really nice paved trails.



Thank goodness we brought our bikes! Jaxson biked up and down the road by our campsite all day long! He was trying to be cool and do some tricks, which ended with a few band aids, but he was having so much fun! I think he would say the best part of the weekend was when he got to go biking with dad at 10:00 at night and they saw a whole field of fireflies. He has been talking about how AWESOME that was:)


Jaxson caught his FIRST FISH!!! He was so proud!! I think this picture is really funny because Jaxson is all bundled up on the pier because it was pretty windy and chilly, but below we have Vada swimming in her boat. She had been looking forward to swimming in her boat for weeks. I am pretty sure that she was the ONLY person in the whole lake because it was defiantly not a water day. She didn't care, she was going swimming!! She was having so much fun playing in Vadaland- bouncing up and down in the water, wind blowing- oh it makes me laugh!

Two little Monsters snuggled up by the fire!

On our way home from Baker Park on Sunday we stopped off to grab some lunch at the Peppermint Twist (drive-in) in Delano. They have AMAZING burgers! They were even featured on the Food Network for their food. If you are ever in that area, I would definitely check them out! They have great shakes and malts too!

Peppermint Twist in Delano, MN

Well a Summer would not be complete without going strawberry picking! I took Jaxson and Vada picking with me this year. I have to say I was extremely worried that Vada was going to have a huge melt down and start running through the strawberry fields. Luckily, there were just a few moments of fussiness, the rest was filled with juicy strawberries and red mustaches. Typically I avoid any situation that could possibly create unneeded stress to my life. Unfortunately, Vada has the tendency to do this a lot…. But apparently, I am finding my mom skills which include- bravery, endurance and a place of tranquility. I have to equip myself with these before taking Vada out on any adventures. These skills have to be intentional or else we all end-up having huge meltdowns. ….I think we are making progress!

Jaxson was my all-star strawberry picker! He was finding strawberry jackpots all over the place!:)

"These strawberries are good, mom!"

All our hard work!

This afternoon we attended the Bean Family Reunion. It was really good to see Presten’s grandma Jo and Aunt Cheryl and Uncle Greg. Presten really enjoys seeing them so we hoping to stay in closer contact with them over the next year.

Presten's Aunt Sheryl, Grandma Jo and Uncle Greg at the Bean Family Reunion

Well- off to enjoy this gorgeous sunshine today!! WOW, what a great Sunday!

The Bean's

Playin Catch-up!

Picture time!

Mr. Harry Potter!

Mommy and Vada!

Vada's first pig tails!

Jaxson and Daddy at the Jaxson Preschool performance!

Proud Vada in her NEW BIG GIRL BED!

Trying it out!

Well, we may not have a potty trained girl, BUT we do have a little girl that is sleeping in a BIG GIRL bed! Wooohooo! Vada moved into her big girl bed the Friday before Memorial day and we have not had one incident with her getting out of her bed (maybe I should say her room) in the morning or at nap. Actually, she yells for me when she wakes up to come and get her. Presten has been roped into sleeping with her in the middle of the night a couple times. Vada doesn’t always sleep very well, so he used to bring her out to the couch to lay with him, but now he can lay with her in her bed. However, I think the best part about her having a bed is that we can now read her stories with her in her bed. This transition has been incredibly smooth and we are so proud of her!

This weekend Vada also sported her very first set of pigtails! She loves them! She now lets me do her hair EVERY day! She has been completely okay with sitting still long enough for me to get them in- which if you know Vada…is not normal:) We are loving Vada’s complete innocence and her very humorous personality! She talks about candy all the time. :::side story: This morning Vada brought out a small plastic tub to Presten and told him that she needed to go to Halloween to get more candy. Presten said “you do..you need more candy?” Vada said, “Yeah you want to come to Halloween too?” All we could do was laugh at her and say “sure we’ll come:)”

On Saturday we celebrated our close friend Chris’s birthday. While we were there Chris made Jaxson a Harry Potter wand. Jaxson turned on his magic through saying his magic Harry Potter spells to open and close the garage door:) He ABSOLUTELY thinks this wand is not a toy and that it is REAL magic! He is even able to open and close our garage door at home with his spells. It is AMAZING. He has been showing the neighbors and his cousins and everyone is in complete awe. He now needs to study his magic so that he can do more things!

Other than that we are just loving summer! Jaxson has his last day of preschool on Thursday and now he will be at Sarah’s for the summer and then will be back at St. David’s in the Fall. We have been doing a lot of gardening, we made our first trip to the beach, having campfires and now getting ready to prepare our camping gear for a couple camping trips.

Have a great week!! The Bean’s

Potty Training 101!

Jaxson and Vada cruising the yard in their jeep!

Vada being cute prior to peeing through this outfit! :)

This week Presten and I decided that this was the week to finally start potty training Vada. However, I am not quite sure that Vada thought this was the week to start…. We put the batteries in her musical potty chair, got out all her underwear, hyped it up as much as we could and I think that we are about 0-15 right now. This is what a typical conversation starts with-

Me: “Vada, do you have to go potty?”
Vada: “no”
Me: “Will you at least try for me?”
Vada: “okay….. mommy, I peed!”
Me: looking in the potty chair – “no I don’t see any pee in there…?”
Vada: “me all done, mom”
Me: “okay Vada- we pee on the toilet if have to go potty…okay?!”
Vada: about 20 minutes later “moooommmy- I peeeeed, ahhh clean me!”

This conversation has happened about 10 times a day and every time she pees in her underwear! I said if we were doing it that I wasn’t going to stop and I am okay with cleaning up pee for another few weeks if I knew that she was actually going to get it. Maybe she just really is not ready…. I don’t know what to do! You would think that by going through this once before I wouldn’t be so confused, but I am. We’ll see how week two goes!

With all the nice weather, Jaxson has been playing outside almost every waking minute. However, apparently all the sunshine means that there are no rules and listening is does not exist. We love that we have great neighbor kids that love to play with Jaxson, but he just needs to be reeled in. He’s running in and out the house, taking toys outside that end up getting lost, not shutting doors and in return Lexi escapes! We are just trying to get him to sloooww down. This is also his last week of preschool for the summer. This year has gone by way too fast!

Presten has had some extremely long days at work these last couple weeks, staying in Minneapolis a few of them. This week is not going to be any different, we are not complaining, but will be really happy when we get to see him a little more! In addition, to working he is also working out with a personal trainer two times a week and also trying to fit in a couple group fitness classes. So if he is not at work he is at the gym. He is hoping that by the end of May we will be able to be on a regular schedule. He is building me another garden today, so hopefully I will be able to get everything planted next weekend!

Have a great week!
The Bean’s

Love and Fear

Jaxson and Vada outside Trustone Financial in Minneapolis on our way to the Lynlake Festival this afternoon! We are ready for SuMmEr!!!!

So when I said “we’re back!” -well I lied…. Apparently, I was bit over confident in my ability to actually follow through. After another long hiatus, I am going to try and renew my commitment to blogging. This time however, I am making no real promises that this is going to actually happen every week.

The start of 2010 has made us face so many different emotions and possibilities. A common question I get asked is, “so what have you guys been up too?” For some reason every time I get asked this question I have to really STOP and THINK. I have a feeling that I am not alone when saying this. “I don’t know…. WHAT have I been doing?” The last five months have been such a rollercoaster ride that I seem to be constantly looking forward and not holding sacred the things of the past. When this happens everything seems to get lumped into one big blur. Part of the reason that I love the concept of blogging so much is that it forces me to sit down and really remember the things that bring happiness to my life. During my “blog vacation” not only did I not journal, I also really didn’t take any pictures. I think in the moment I didn’t want to remember, I didn’t want this to be apart of our history….and now looking back, I am really glad it was. Our lives have been completely strengthened from this experience.

In church this morning we talked about FEAR. I have to say I think that I faced what I consider one of my greatest fears, having only one of us working for an extended period of time. At some point during this process I had to choose faith over fear. I had to say okay “I’m in”. Matthew 11:28-30 says, 28"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." When I finally surrendered my fears and anxieties of life, the load I was carrying was a whole lot lighter. I started to plant a lot more seeds of love. I look now at the time that Presten was home as a time for rest for our family. By "trying" the best that I knew how to surrender my fears, our lives were rejuvenated.

Presten started his new job in March and for those of you that have seen him know that he has been recharged! He has energy that is contagious and a newfound glow. He is so happy that it makes me smile just thinking about it. I think that is what I love about him so much he has this natural way of projecting love onto others. He lives in the present moment. He is making me a better mom, wife and person and I am so lucky to have him!

Jaxson and Vada have completely adapted to our new schedules and have taken the transition of daddy going back to work as nothing new. I partly relate this to our commitment to normalcy for them, nonetheless they have totally adjusted.

It has taken about two months for Presten and me to transition into a schedule routine. I feel like there were so many things that I had intended to do when he was home, but didn’t. I am now slowly starting to add those things back into my life. One of them being- friends. This experience has shown me how important my friends really are to me and I want to be more intentional about my relationships that I have with them. I tend sometimes to get caught up in the anxieties and logistics of planning and what is happening next that I lose sight of being present and completely calm in the moment. Since Presten has started his job we spent a night in Remer, MN with my girlfriend Kimmy and her family. The kids and I drove over to Eau Claire, WI to visit my girlfriends Brook and Amy. Presten and I spent a night in Minneapolis with our friends Chris and Kristin singing and dancing the night away while the kids were at grandma and grandpa’s, When we do these things our cups are filled with happiness. I want things in my life to be deliberate.

Over the past eight months, Vada has turned into our little pink princess. She LOVES PINK! Not that I had anything to do with that :) . She presents herself with many challenges, but when she is happy she radiates light. She loves her brother and tries to take care of him when he is sad. Someone asked me this week, “How did you get them to love each other so much?” I didn’t have an answer for her at the time, but it has made me think about how much value we place on grace and kindness in our home.

Jaxson is at an age where he is just simply LOVING LIFE. He has had an great year at preschool and made a very good friend, Beckett. He is currently in swimming lessons and just amazes me with his commitment to succeeding. Most importantly, he is looking forward to turning FIVE!!

Well, I think that summer has arrived and in full force. I hope everyone has a chance to get in their daily dose of vitamin D this week! I also hope that you find new ways of spreading love throughout your life.

Have a great week!! The Bean's

trying to find normal

This week I had to remind myself to - Breathe. We all are adjusting to a new schedule and a new normal. Considering it was just week one, I think we all did pretty well. Of course, I forgot to get my camera out and take pictures this week. These past five months the pictures were few and far between. That is the great thing about blogging I am constantly capturing every moment. Goal for week two- take lots and lots of pictures!! This week I have included a couple pictures from our trip to Mexico. We went to Playa del Carmen in February for Lacey and Aaron's wedding. It was just what needed and we had an amazing time!!

After the beach ceremony- Cheri, Lacey and I.

Jaxson and Vada packing themselves for their trip to grandma's! They had so much fun with both sets of grandparents and auntie Sarah while we were gone that they wished we were vacationing for a couple more days!! Maybe next time!!

This past Saturday, the park and rec board in Otsego that I am apart of sponsored an Easter Egg hunt. The kids hopped through the field and collected their Easter eggs! They even met the Easter bunny!! Jaxson - was totally cool with him. Vada- not so much.... :)

Tonight's blog is a short one, because I am exhausted! I am mentally preparing for week two!

Have a great week!! The Bean's

Menu for the week

(I only go to the grocery store every two weeks, so the second of the two we typically have pretty simple meals)

Monday- spaghetti

Tuesday- Hot chicken foccisa snadwhich

Wednesday- Italian goulash

Thursday- Stir-fry and egg rolls

Friday- off to Rochester for Easter

Guess What?! After five long months, the Bean blog is back! WOW- I can’t believe that it has been that long, but it feels Grrreat! I wish I could tell you that the reason I needed to take a break from blogging was because we were so busy living life to the fullest that I just didn’t have time to blog. This decision to take a break however- was intentional. Have you ever had a period in your life where you just want to say “life sucks?” Well, we entered a season in our life over the past few months where our world was pretty much tipped upside down leaving us spinning in circles. Even though we knew that we had so many things to be thankful for and that our blessings were abundant; there were many days the things we knew to be true in our hearts were not as equally true in our minds. There were many days I quite frankly was not “present” in my own life. There are many of you that unfortunately, witnessed this first hand. My crabbiness, distraction, and anxiety were plastered to my face. It truly was a blessing to have family and friends that just simply- understood.

Today- life is good. God continues to work in our lives; of course he never really stopped. There were days where my patience was wearing thin and I wanted him to work a little faster and give us some real answers. Sitting here today it is pretty hard to deny how active he really has been. We have been blessed over and over again. So today, we enter a new season. One full of gratitude, love and humbleness. And we are PUMPED!

So do you want to hear about the little Bean Monsters? Mr. Jaxson, aka Tommy (his new name he insists we call him) is still my sweet little four year old that loves to snuggle with his mommy. He loves his teachers at school and playing with his friend Beckett. He just started a cooking class at school that he has been begging me to sign him up for- which he LOVES!! He is always hungry. He is doing a great job writing all his letters and will be starting swimming lessons in a couple weeks!

Miss Vada, aka T-rouble! I am not even sure where to start with her…. She has a personality that is projected into every environment that she goes. We decided long ago that Vada doesn’t enter into different stages- her life is a stage. Vada is the STAR of the show! Her ADD, oral sensory issues and impulsiveness don’t help matters much and makes our lives one big circus! So what does like Vada like to do? Well, if she is not sneaking food into her bed, climbing in the refrigerator, jumping on her brother, sneaking outside or taking her clothes off- she is probably reading stories, coloring or playing babies. Unfortunately the first part of this list take up about 90% of her day that leaves very little time for her to do activities that are actually constructive. I am very excited to report that she is starting to say soooo many words!!! She has such a sense a humor definitely keeps us laughing!

As many of you know, one of my favorite hobbies is recipe searching, menu planning and cooking. This was something that was thrown to the wayside over the past few months. Partly, because Presten started cooking a lot more and I just didn’t have as much involvement. For the first time in probably over two months I stepped into the one place I have a complete love/hate relationship with….the grocery store. This time however, I was overjoyed. I brought with me my list and my two week menu with all new recipes on it. Spring recipes! After getting asked a lot, “so what’s for dinner tonight?” and recognizing my failed attempt to food blog; I am going to try to include our weekly menu at the bottom of our blog each week. We’ll see how it goes….

Well I am off to prepare for a busy week ahead and hopefully get a chance to enjoy a little bit of this sunshine!

Have a great week! The Bean’s


Weekly Menu:

Sunday- Roasted chicken thighs with tomatoes, garlic, asparagus and mushrooms
Monday- Taco night
Tuesday- bbq shrimp over rice

Wednesday- homeade ham and bean soup
Thursday- Chicken, mushroom, parmesan orzo
Friday- Teriyaki pork chops Sesame noodles
Saturday- Turkey Burgers with feta topping and potato salad

We made this cake this weekend - no doubt a keeper!! Lemon cake

Fall Photo Shoot