I was a little scared, but it turned out okay.

A few years ago, I heard a woman say that she prayed one year to become organized. It was the worst year of her life. The next year she prayed for organized friends and things have been great ever since. Well, yesterday, my organized friends, Mandie and Aimee came to visit. Mr. Bean and Filbert took off with the kids and I was left to fend for myself against the organizational push. Three rooms were tackled and defeated. Mandie made me get rid of my wedding shoes and then even after that she said I had get rid of at least one more pair, but preferably three pairs. (This is when it got scary.) (This is also when the term Nazi entered the conversation.) (In my defense, it was actually Mandie that said it.) (I just quietly agreed.)

After about 3 hours, 3 rooms were clean and organized, except for a couple of piles of Filbert's stuff in our bedroom. I even went a little further after and Aimee and the Nazi Mandie left. My entire fabric stash is organized and stored on a book shelf. Yay me!

And Yay for Organized Friends!

Sleepover

String Bean had her first sleepover last night. Mr. Bean and I had to go to a wedding so we dropped her off with Uncle John, Aunt Connie and their adult children Uncle Rob and Aunt Leigh. She had a blast! Here are some photos to prove it!

John and Connie got new cabinets. One had a little shelf just right for String Bean's toys!

Photo by Connie.

Apparently this is where String Bean is stored when not in use. Please make note of the fashionable high-water pants! (Most of her pants are like that--thanks to a kid with no butt.)

Photo by Connie.

This lion costume was a big hit. Much growling ensued.

Photo by Connie.

7 Years of Bliss

Our wedding day
Photo by Mandie's mom

Seven years ago today, Mr. Bean and I tied the knot. Happy anniversary, babe!

Memory on Display

As I've mentioned, we have been going through our storage items and finding old treasures these last few weeks. One particular item we found last week String Bean was playing with and I forgot about it. Last night, my father-in-law greeted me at the door with it.

It is the bouquet from my BFF from high school, Amy's wedding (not my co-blogger Amy). Amy would probably be surprised to know I have kept those flowers all these years...9 to be exact.

We have proudly displayed this memory on the end table next to my favorite chair. It is a visual reminder of our friendship!

Ramping Up

Summer is just around the corner. Wedding invitations and graduation announcements are starting to pile up. It is going to get rather busy around the Bean household in the next few weeks.

I feel a little bad for the new graduates who are entering the job force during this economic time. I also feel bad for all the newlyweds who are likely not getting as great of gifts to start off their lives together. I know for Mr. Bean and I, we were only able to afford setting up house because of the generous gifts of our friends. I wonder if newlyweds this summer will fare as well.

Complete Failure

Recently, Mr. Bean, String Bean, and I sat down with an old friend who just moved back to the area. He was sharing about how there was a family argument over food for his wedding. He and his fiance are both vegetarians, but the parents of the bride are meat lovers like yours truly. They suggested meat and potatoes for the wedding food. Said friend and his fiance are trying to pick which battles to fight since the future in-laws have opinons about everything. I suggested they compromise by having "potatoes and meat."

ba-doom-boom (that's a drum beat, you know the kind after a joke?)

*crickets chirping*

Being the meat loving carnivore that I am, I have to say I'm on the in-laws side on this one. Even more so if I get an invitation to this wedding. Give me some red meat and a potato (of any variety) on the side and I'm happier than a fox in a hen house.

So, what does this story have to do with anything? String Bean has always been a light eater. Her favorite food is carbs. If it is mostly carbs and starch, you can guarantee that she'll eat it and ask for more. We can also get this girl to eat just about anything dairy. Giving her ice cream or cheese gets a similar reaction to Ralphie opening his Red Ryder BB gun on Christmas morning. I've tried and tried to broaden her horizons to the fruit and veggies department. If it is grapes, bananas or corn, she's in heaven. Anything else is "eh."

Now, me being the "more meat the better" type, I assumed, this being the dominant gene, String Bean would also love to get her protein the the most natural way.

Today for lunch String Bean cleaned her plate. What was on it? Couscous and tofu. Huh? Hello...? Oh, and for dinner, she enjoyed snatching broccoli off my plate. Despite my best efforts I think I am raising a vegetarian. I am a complete failure.

Saving for Weddings

Looks like Peanut and String Bean have taken to one another. Which makes me wonder to myself...since the parents of the bride typically pay for the bulk of wedding expenses, what should we be putting away for String Bean's wedding now?

My co-blogger, Amy, has a daughter, Cashew. Her dad suggested $1 per week. In order for her to have a $10,000 wedding budget (using the "mattress" savings plan) she'll be 192 before we have that saved up. Oh, wait. She's almost 1 now...make that 193. I'm not sure Peanut will wait that long for her.

How much should we save up for both String Bean's and Cashew's weddings? Any suggestions on how to save for both weddings and college without sacrificing one for the other?

Keep in mind that although we married a doctor and a technical professional, we are still dirt poor. How is that possible you ask? Well, that's a topic for another day!