tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858262397636370890Sat, 14 Nov 2009 08:52:09 +0000http://beanpaste.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Melanie)Blogger278125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858262397636370890.post-7372470668196262223Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:11:00 +00002009-11-08T02:31:39.426-07:00CelebratingMaking/Doing Ellie and I decided to glitter pumpkins again this year (which really didn't help with the DEFCON 2 Glitter Situation), and you have no idea how much a five-year-old girl gets out of slathering a pumpkin in glue and sparkles.  Well, maybe you do.  If you don't, it looks something like this: Glittering is intense business for a five-year-old, is what I'm telling you.  SPARKLE MOTION! We wenthttp://beanpaste.blogspot.com/2009/11/halloween-decorations-2009-liberace-but.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Melanie)14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858262397636370890.post-8700204331977944058Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:08:00 +00002009-11-06T09:19:13.693-07:00SnappingCelebratingMaking/Doing http://beanpaste.blogspot.com/2009/11/pumpkins-punkins-photo-essay.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Melanie)7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858262397636370890.post-2234510792650791867Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:11:00 +00002009-11-03T21:04:32.723-07:00CelebratingMaking/DoingAfter last year's turns as the Lollipop Guild Munchkin and the Cowardly Lion, Ellie decided that she and Jimmy should be Glinda the Good Witch ("You know, Mama, that big, pink fairy?") and the Tin Man, respectively.  This is how things frequently go these days: Ellie makes a decision, Jimmy lives with the results.  He's Cuba to her Soviet Union.  The actual results: Pretty cute!  See?  http://beanpaste.blogspot.com/2009/11/no-actually-it-is-preciselythe-time-to.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Melanie)25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858262397636370890.post-206808857303623129Sun, 01 Nov 2009 06:00:00 +00002009-11-02T00:00:35.551-07:00Celebrating More tomorrow, pumpkins. I'm bushed...http://beanpaste.blogspot.com/2009/11/halloweiners-sneak-peek.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Melanie)11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858262397636370890.post-2905056800888098739Tue, 27 Oct 2009 04:40:00 +00002009-10-26T22:50:55.617-06:00ParentingCelebrating ...I fell madly in love with a tiny, wrinkly, bald man, one who soiled himself and slept a lot and was completely fixated upon breasts. And, though I was skeptical at first (as I usually am when a penis is involved), we seem to be going the distance. Because, come on, would you look at the punim?http://beanpaste.blogspot.com/2009/10/three-years-and-million-lifetimes-ago.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Melanie)17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858262397636370890.post-1456689598864782231Mon, 19 Oct 2009 20:20:00 +00002009-10-26T15:21:52.615-06:00Coupling Once upon an October afternoon seven years ago, when this man and I vowed to spend the rest of our lives together, come hell or high water, boom or bust, and walked out into the bright, crisp world and noisemakers clanged and the blue, cloudless sky glittered with cadmium-yellow leaves, I knew that October would always be ours. This October, sadly, has been another story.  Our anniversary http://beanpaste.blogspot.com/2009/10/seven-year-kvetch.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Melanie)26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858262397636370890.post-2677031618586635848Sun, 04 Oct 2009 04:06:00 +00002009-10-05T23:12:28.041-06:00ParentingCelebratingEatingMaking/Doing So, here's another installment of What I Did With My Summer Vacation, wherein I threw a Mermaid Birthday for my big five-year-old girl.  Her demands were simple: "I really want a mermaid cake and then we can throw water balloons."  Done and done-er, pal: I don't know how many years I have left of sweetly simple requests like those, but I'm going to savor every single day that goes by without http://beanpaste.blogspot.com/2009/10/mermania-but-sadly-not-kind-inolving.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Melanie)27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858262397636370890.post-4276173587335264937Thu, 01 Oct 2009 17:09:00 +00002009-10-01T14:59:55.279-06:00ParentingWell, hello, October! It was cold--COLD--last night, and we woke up to a crop of dead tomato plants and an alarmingly frigid toilet seat.I caved and flipped on the heat for the first time since April, and when the furnace roared forth, it pumped that hot, metallic, burning-dust-odor through the house, like an electric burner left on too long.Jimmy padded into the room, inhaled deeply, and said http://beanpaste.blogspot.com/2009/10/chilly-with-chance-of-maple-syrup.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Melanie)12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858262397636370890.post-7799437864313025712Fri, 25 Sep 2009 17:56:00 +00002009-09-30T11:08:52.792-06:00JokingEatingMaking/DoingEndorsingBack during the first week of August, Americans (nay, the world) celebrated a trifecta of Really Important Birthdays: Martha Stewart on August 3rd, Barack Obama on August 4th, And ME, Melanie Anne Beanpaste on August 5th. (I will tell you: it was simply exhausting making it to all three parties, but I put on a brave face.) Here is Barack Obama with his birthday cupcakes:There is nothing about http://beanpaste.blogspot.com/2009/09/martha-stewart-be-bitin-me-yo.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Melanie)32tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858262397636370890.post-2701885310355006511Wed, 23 Sep 2009 04:07:00 +00002009-09-22T22:36:40.903-06:00SnappingBloggingBeingSo, last we spoke, we were fresh off a star-spangled Fourth, replete with sparklers and fresh cherries and impossibly green summer lawns. And now it is officially autumn(!), and I have shamefully not updated this blog in weeks, and I'm trying to figure out a) where the time went and b) why I'm such an epic wiener, though not as epic as this wiener:In a magical fruition of a childhood (OK, http://beanpaste.blogspot.com/2009/09/that-is-what-id-truly-like-to-be.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Melanie)23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858262397636370890.post-910434124506695170Sun, 05 Jul 2009 07:19:00 +00002009-07-10T01:27:17.548-06:00SnappingCelebratingCherries, sparklers, wading pools, hamburgers, Springsteen, watermelon, squealing, blankets in the grass, daisies, ribbon Jello, drinks on ice, lime popsicles, baked beans, friends, family, fireworks, FRIENDSHIP PAGODA BURNS DOWN, amen.http://beanpaste.blogspot.com/2009/07/star-spangled.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Melanie)25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858262397636370890.post-7253535116635507648Sun, 21 Jun 2009 19:15:00 +00002009-06-23T16:22:19.246-06:00ParentingCouplingCelebratingI have this husband, and my kids have this father, and the three of us would like to take this holiday weekend to talk about him a little. Forgive our sentimentality: he makes us weepy.Nearly every Saturday morning, he gets up with the kids and makes waffles or pancakes from scratch and scrambled eggs and warm blueberry syrup. He chats with them and does the dishes and then they watch old http://beanpaste.blogspot.com/2009/06/because-we-didnt-get-him-that-worlds.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Melanie)39tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858262397636370890.post-6080596922141503474Fri, 19 Jun 2009 22:13:00 +00002009-06-23T16:17:08.173-06:00SnappingSomeday my pockets won't be filled with rocks and weeds and fungi and.....no. No, who am I kidding: they'll probably be like that long after the kids are gone.http://beanpaste.blogspot.com/2009/06/contents-of-post-walk-pocket.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Melanie)7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858262397636370890.post-1989033505839923920Thu, 11 Jun 2009 16:22:00 +00002009-06-15T13:45:53.736-06:00ParentingJokingEllie and Jimmy were playing Tiny Little Plastic Animals, and Jimmy's pig was following Ellie's horse everywhere saying, "Hi! Hi, Mama? Hi!"And she finally turned to his pig and said, gently but firmly in a horse falsetto, "I'll be your friend, but I can't be your mother. And we're not getting in love."Well played, kid. Now don't forget to change the locks.http://beanpaste.blogspot.com/2009/06/file-under-things-i-should-have-said-to.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Melanie)17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858262397636370890.post-7716161140851454396Mon, 08 Jun 2009 04:12:00 +00002009-06-08T01:09:10.898-06:00ParentingReminiscingSnappingThis, people, is what happens when the hose water is too delicious to resist, and you drink far more than your share of the delicious hose water, and though you have no bum or hips or body fat to speak of, you end up looking...swollen. With child. (In fact, this photo is making me physically uncomfortable and suddenly stricken with the urge to pee and complain loudly about my heartburn.)Take http://beanpaste.blogspot.com/2009/06/order-of-belly-with-side-of-baby-back.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Melanie)20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858262397636370890.post-290067385684415659Wed, 27 May 2009 01:51:00 +00002009-06-04T02:37:19.883-06:00SnappingBeingOn Memorial Day weekend, my mom, Ellie, and I snuck out of town for a badly needed, completely invigorating, whirlwind girls' weekend in Seattle. Traveling with one child, one four-year-old-girl-child, is really the bee's knees.Behold, some of the pretty (and pretty cheap) wonderment: The head of a giraffe, a giraffe so close to my camera that he nearly bumped into the lens. (You can count his http://beanpaste.blogspot.com/2009/05/cheap-thrills-in-seattle-aka-choosing.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Melanie)23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858262397636370890.post-8310565117374040295Mon, 18 May 2009 18:58:00 +00002009-05-18T13:04:47.899-06:00ParentingI meant to post this ages ago, but the following is an interview with Ellie about her future aspirations:Me: Hi, Ellie.Her: Hi, Mommy.Me: Hey, Ellie, what do you want to be when you grow up?Her: Um, a magician and also a deer catcher.Me: A deer catcher, huh? What does a deer catcher do, exactly?Her: I will go out in the forest and find deer and catch them up and bring them home and they will http://beanpaste.blogspot.com/2009/05/career-counseling.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Melanie)20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858262397636370890.post-4505900689889159010Sun, 17 May 2009 06:01:00 +00002009-05-18T13:05:46.234-06:00ParentingSnappingAlternate title: "As Ellie considered the long-term ramifications of posing for her mother in a foam novelty hat, her brother said, simply, cheeeeeeese."http://beanpaste.blogspot.com/2009/05/tots-in-foam-hats.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Melanie)13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858262397636370890.post-7344605560972246543Mon, 11 May 2009 23:24:00 +00002009-05-17T23:39:18.483-06:00ReminiscingBeingThis is my mother. There is one thing I have understood about my mother for nearly all my life: she and I are essentially different, made from completely different elements.My mother is kind and patient; I am both hasty and bossy. She is quiet and measured as I talk far too much. Once (in summers before sunscreen, in warm grass on a sunny quilt with lotion and a book), her skin would turn http://beanpaste.blogspot.com/2009/05/blog-post.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Melanie)15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858262397636370890.post-3794903612705200937Sun, 10 May 2009 05:44:00 +00002009-05-09T23:45:56.026-06:00Parenting(Alternate title: Learning How To Use Video.)http://beanpaste.blogspot.com/2009/05/conversations-with-back-seat-part-one.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Melanie)14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858262397636370890.post-7586402803737095057Tue, 14 Apr 2009 04:43:00 +00002009-04-14T07:52:08.331-06:00SnappingCelebratingSometimes all you need is a little Easter, honestly. It should come in pill form, though I suspect it already does.Mmmmmm, pills.http://beanpaste.blogspot.com/2009/04/spring-awakening-sneak-peep.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Melanie)9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858262397636370890.post-5213393088747428992Wed, 04 Mar 2009 09:04:00 +00002009-03-05T02:59:05.910-07:00BeingA few weeks ago we were walking in the cemetery near our home, feeling a bit melancholy, trying to get some bracing, late-winter fresh air into our restless children. And, quite unexpectedly and despite all our noise, we came upon this:A group of five mule deer, their gray and brown winter coats blending almost seamlessly with with the leaves, earth, and headstones.They were just there, http://beanpaste.blogspot.com/2009/03/circle-of-life-with-hot-deer-action.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Melanie)47tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858262397636370890.post-5554152685319523219Tue, 17 Feb 2009 06:51:00 +00002009-02-18T17:12:37.349-07:00ParentingBeingCelebratingThis year, I had big plans for Valentine's Day.I have this distinct memory of my mother making great, big, heart-shaped sugar cookies for my second-grade classmates, personalizing each one with their names in neat, looping, pink buttercream cursive, and I remember thinking my Mom is amazing, can you believe my Mom? and I really wanted to recreate those cookies for Ellie to take to school on http://beanpaste.blogspot.com/2009/02/heart-in-hand.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Melanie)31tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858262397636370890.post-8559273311199130125Mon, 09 Feb 2009 00:10:00 +00002009-02-08T19:49:13.756-07:00Since so many of you have cared, have prayed and hoped and cheered and emotionally invested, I needed to let you know that this happened last night.Needless to say, we are all heartbroken. Thank you for support and love.http://beanpaste.blogspot.com/2009/02/20809.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Melanie)48tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858262397636370890.post-8971253409805942702Sun, 01 Feb 2009 08:24:00 +00002009-02-04T01:29:52.318-07:00SnappingCelebratinghttp://beanpaste.blogspot.com/2009/02/vitamin-d-shot.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Melanie)12