Shutterfly Holiday Photocards!

 

I am so excited to be using Shutterfly this season for our holiday photocards.  I am always impressed with their products – the quality, the designs, the quick turn-around time, and – most importantly – the fonts! Ha!  In all seriously, I just love their stuff and have been a happy customer for years.  They’re on ideal online enterprise for not just photocards, but picture calendars and photobooks, too (both which I own!)    I can’t speak highly enough of this company, and would recommend them to anyone.

I was fortunate to participate in their holiday card promotion last year, and we selected the design below.  Seriously, high quality paper, vivid colors, and they even edited out that second “s” that I missed in Mullinss before they shipped it! 

So, how excited was I when they contacted me again to join in on the fun?!  Like, 12 kinds of excited, of course!!!

And, now, for the hard part: just which card will I choose?!  I love them all!

These were three contenders, but not my final choice!  Can’t going showing that one off just yet ;)

Here are a few of my favs…

Are you a blogger?! Want a chance at 25 free cards this holiday season? Register HERE!

Happy shopping!

Portrait of a Saturday

Today was our first Saturday back home in three weeks.  We had our one and only bathroom remodeled, and subsequently had to move out of our home for the duration of the demo and remodel.  Since you really can’t, you know, shower and pee without a toilet or tub.

But we’re back now – and I’m sorry I haven’t kept up with this blog to post pics of the whole remodeling process (but I will! soon!) because it was quite the overhaul.

Anyway, we had Becks’ cousins over this morning.  I would say we had them over to play, but the bottom line is that none of them really play when they’re together.  Instead, they run and jump and carry on like crazies the whole time they’re together.  And, no, I do not advocate bed jumping, but I was so distracted by Sutton and the wall stud finder he was showing off that I apparently missed launch.

Any mothers of 3-year-olds out there who can relate to the picture below? Which literally occurred not 30 seconds after the above pic where he’s grinnin’ a fool.  The whining is just about to kill me, and also explains why I’m going to consume an entire bottle of riesling before bed tonight.  Ok.  I kid.  Just a glass.  But still. 

And, within seconds, he’s a pirate and all is swell again in The World of Beckham. 

Soph spent a large amount of time in front of the camera rolling around the bed, posing upside down for me.  She’s my favorite 5-year-old and spelled the word “illustrated by” today like this: ILSTRADID BI.  I kid you not, smartest little kinder kiddo ever.  Love her.

And look at the Butterboo fixing Stinky the Garbage Truck (which, by the way, is most annoying toy invented.  EVER.).  Totally presh.

Just to make chaos a little more chaotic, we added Leland into the mix.

 

If you hadn’t noticed, though you probably don’t even remember because it’s been eons since I posted about, the pics are all from Becks’ “Big Boy Room.”  It’s such a random smorgasbord of stuff right now.  I had big plans for it – and still do – but it’s functional, so it’s been a little neglected.

Anyway, to wrap it up, here’s a teaser pic from our new bathroom!

Happy Weekend!

Deep Breaths.

Hi, hi! 

There is sooooooo much going right now!  I do intend to be a better blogger.  Someday.  I just don’t know when.  Between school and family and grad school, I just can’t keep it altogether!  Really, I can’t.  So, I’ve become the ultimate procrastinator. 

My thesis?  That’s due in 2 weeks?  Only 75% finished.  I just can’t bring myself to wrap up the last 25%.  Mostly because it involves a significant amount of data analysis, and I’d rather bond with my husband over the the latest episode of Call of the Wildman than run another dang t-test.  Seriously, though, have you seen that show?!  No lie, it’s all kinds of better than Jersey Shore, making it my new favorite reality series.  Better yet: totally taped in Kentucky.  Holla!!!!!

When I think about the fact that I won’t have to do any more schooling for the rest of my life (unless self-inflicted and I pursue my Rank I), I could turn a dozen cartwheels.  Though I’d probably pull something because my knees are giving me big trouble lately.  I am going to be turning – gulp – TWENTY-NINE next month.  What?!  What?!  REALLY?!

I know.  I can’t believe it either.

But, back to life.  Our life.  The life that is all consuming and wonderful and stressful and crazy.  That life. 

Well. 

Prayers have been answered, and Becks has had a stellar past four days.  This is big news around our house because the sweet little pumpkin has been testing our patience like you wouldn’t believe.  And here’s a bazillion pics of our cah-to-the-razy 3-year-old… 

To add to the craziness, and because it’s been, oh, 4 months since since the completion of the kitchen…we’re getting ready to remodel again!!! 

Hopefully I’ll have the time and motivation to post again soon.  Hope y’all are having a happy fall!

Photography with a Three-Year-Old

Holy guacamole!  I am a mah-jor blog slacker.  I can’t help it.  We’re so busy we can’t see straight around these parts.  Also, the reign of the three-year-old dictator at our house is giving me little time or energy to devote to much else.  SERIOUSLY.  Everyone said how bad the “terrible twos” would be, but no one warned us about “the thrice-as-bad threes.”  Okay, well, I made that phrase up, but the threes have not been kind to our family. 

We had some family pictures made last weekend and – I kid you not – we would tell Becks to go left and he would go right.  We’d say sit down and he’d stand up.  We’d say sit down and he’d run away.  This went on for about an hour before I could not handle another second. 

Fortunately, there were a couple of keepers out of the bunch…

The hat was a bribe.  As in, “Becks, if you cooperate, you can wear your Michigan hat!!!”  It was only somewhat effective. 

Such a stinker.

Lots more to talk about, but Becks is attempting to sit on me right now, which is code word for GET OFF THE COMPUTER, MOM, so I better get going.  Hope y’all are doing well!

{Almost} Fall, Y’all!

 

The calendar is soooooo wrong this year.  Fall in the Bluegrass State started Labor Day weekend when the temp dropped like 40 degrees overnight.  This summer lovin’ girl wasn’t quite ready for the change.  I feel like I just put my boots away, and suddenly it’s time to break them out again.  Am I right in saying this is an El Nino-esque year?  I don’t remember if it is Nino or Nina, but whoever it is is supposed to be bringing us “lots of precipitation” this winter {read: SNOW}.  Grrr.  I’m partial to that white stuff only in December, particularly on Christmas, so I’d rather not have 6 months of it despite my Ugg boot fetish. 

I will say that I’m kinda enjoying our early fall.  Only kinda though.  And mostly because of spiced everything.  Spiced candles, cake and coffee are 12 kinds of up my ally. 

Exhibit A:

We’re Keurig-ers at our house (Father’s Day gift to B this past year), and I about died when I saw the fall sampler pack last night at Bed, Bath, and Beyond.  {Yes, we’re totally Old School, and our dates now include trips to BB&B.}  Um, Pumpkin Spice Lattes and Apple Cider? YES, PUH-LEASE!

Us on our date with my sister, Chelsea and her hubs, Matt.  We had so much fun!  The only thing that would have made it better was if Aubs could’ve been there, too!

Exhibit B:

I couldn’t escape BB&B without a new Yankee Candle.  Also, I had about $5 more left to spend to use my coupon. Ha!  So, I went with Apple Cider.  It was a good, good choice.  She burned all day and made my house smell all kinds of fantastic.

Exhibit C:

Then, today, the pumpkin and I made chili, cornbread muffins, and the simplest and most delicious Apple Cider cake you ever did eat (credit: Chels for giving me the recipe, though you can find the deets HERE). 

I should have clarified, Captain Pumpkin.  Don’t ask.  I have no idea.

I forgot to add the powdered sugar to the pic, but you’ll need that, too, to make the glaze.  Other than that, this is everything you need for the cake and the glaze.

Shockingly, the cake batter is just the cake mix and 15 oz of pumpkin puree!  That’s it! And they look this beautiful when the emerge.  And your house will smell *ah-mazing.*

And the final product?  Oh. My. YUM.  It might be overkill, but I can promise you I will be eating a slice of this with my pumpkin spice latte in the morning :)

 

Have a fantastic week, bloggy friends!

OY.

I started writing this post about 2 hours ago while I was shopping at Kroger.  Mainly because I had to get my mind out of that grocery store, where no amount of consoling was calming down my screaming 3-year-old. 

We were having a bit of a throw-the-baby-pumpkin-on-the-ground issue, which resulted in losing the pumpkin beneath the shelves somewhere.  And then I refused to go get another one.  Hence the monster-sized meltdown.  No, seriously, he cried (tears and all) for the last 25 minutes we were in the store, and if we didn’t need food something awful, I would’ve left sooner.  I was already running through it at a Super Market Sweep pace, while occasionally getting a centimeter from Becks’ nose to calmly remind him to please be quiet mommy is going as fast as she can, whispered under my breath.

I’m pretty sure everyone in the store wanted to stare at us, but they couldn’t because they were probably on their phones dialing Child Protective Services to please save this poor child from the wrath of his non-pumpkin retrieving mother. 

Of course, all was right again when we passed the Halloween blow-ups and his mind was taken off of the baby pumpkin mishap.  Sheesh.

Once we got home, I played the whole let’s-see-how-many-plastic-grocery-bags-I-can-fit-on-my-arms game since B was at school and Becks’ is only good for carrying in a bag or two before he gets distracted by the soccer ball in the front yard.  Do y’all do that?  Temporarily risk loss of blood circulation in your arms just for the sake of taking one less trip to the car?  You know you do.

Seeeeeriously.  I need a weekend.  And a tall glass of reisling.  OY.

Well, TGtomorrowIF!

Then & Now

Becks is officially back to school  My word, it feel like we just did the first day of school for him last year.  Why does having a kiddo make life go at super speed?! 

The morning started with donuts and coffee and a big green star balloon.  Typical.  I kid.  It’s just milk.  All the sippies were dirty. Also, I loathe the day he can no longer wear footie jammie because he just looks so dang sweet in them.

Then, we took the standard front porch First Day of School pics.  He was a little more cooperative this year.

September 2010:

September 2011:

He’s such a ham!

Then, it was off to school where he played with Rescue Heroes and grilled me a hamburger.

As tradition goes, we hit up First Watch next.  Yummo,

Then, I forced B to take a pic of me and Becks because, seriously, it’s a rarity he and I are in the same frame.  Also, the matching kicks were not intentional. 

We stopped by the house briefly before we had to take Becks to a doctor’s appointment, and that child is all kinds of active.  I’m lucky that all the pics I take don’t look like the one below.

And, the good news is, the pumpkin doesn’t have to have surgery.  He has syndactyly on his tootsies (i.e. webbed toes), which are barely noticeable, but his pediatrician wanted us to be sure that his bone growth was on track. No fused bones, so we’re good!

And one more cute this-year-last-year comparison pic (to make up for my month long absence).

So stinkin’ big!  Love. This. Child.