Goals for 2013

I decided to go ahead and put some goals together for the new year. I know that some huge percentage of resolutions fail but I'm hoping that I can keep some of these going for a long time! 

1. Work on "eating clean": I do a good job of making sure that everything I buy for Trey (and the household mostly) is organic and free of things like red dye 40 but I also want to make sure that we are getting all of our veggies in and trying to eliminate lots of unnecessary chemicals. Does this mean I'm giving up Starbucks or a trip to our favorite Mexican restaurant? Absolutely not. It just means I am going to try and be more conscious.

2. Get my home organized: Where do I begin? I want to start keeping a cleaning schedule and sticking to it. I hate that overwhelmed feeling of tackling things that haven't been kept up properly. I'd also like to step up HOW I organize things. I should probably just apologize to the hubs now for the order I'm about to make at The Container Store....

3. Switch over to natural bath/cosmetic products: Yep, another place I have always been great at researching for Trey (with the help of my bestie - she always gives me great advice/info on living a "greener" life) but I haven't switched over my bath or cosmetic products - same with the hub's bath products. I am going to start looking them up on the EWG Skin Deep database before I buy anything new! I know once I switched all of our cleaning products and detergents over to natural ones I felt a lot better!

6. Do SOMETHING with pictures: I touched on this in my last post but photo books, prints, canvases, WHATEVER. Just do something with them!!

7. Send more snail mail: I am TERRIBLE at this. And I need to give up the excuses and start hitting the post office when Trey is at school! I love getting mail and I know that my friends and family do too!

8. Decide on a "theme" for Trey's big boy room & execute: The hubs and I have gone round and round and round on a "theme" (if you can call it that - we aren't big on room themes) as well as exactly which furniture to order. I'll be sharing some ideas in a future blog post!

8. Eat out less/try more new recipes: All week we do great dining at home. And as soon as the weekend hits... BAM. It's like the stove doesn't work anymore. We don't plan on giving up our Saturday nights out with friends & kids but no more random Sunday afternoon lunches out. At least not every week. I also want to start trying to make more of all of the yummy recipes that I have "pinned" rather than always turning to our old standbys.

9. Worry less. Enjoy life more.  No explanation needed. 

Say Cheese & Happy New Year!

Happy New Year y'all! Gosh I can't believe another year has flown by so quickly. 

I have always taken a lot of pictures of Trey (like the rest of my blog/IG buddies!) but I have always been awful about DOING something with them. 

Don't believe me? I JUST printed pictures for our 2009, 2010 & 2011 picture frame ornaments. Trust me, I hung my head in shame as I picked up the prints. 

So I decided that at the beginning of 2012 I'd make a monthly collage (small steps people.... small steps). 

And besides losing one of them I kept up with it really well. In addition I sat down with my EC planner and just wrote, wrote, wrote what was going on with Trey and our family. It's definitely not a true journal but I still consider it an accomplishment. 

I'm planning on taking these collages and making them into a 2012 book and pulling from the planner for what we were doing during that time! 

I couldn't pick a favorite moment of 2012 if I tried! I loved watching Trey grow and learn, I was thrilled when J.D. switched to a company that allows us to spend A LOT more time together as a family. And most important, a TRUE MIRACLE was among us when my mom woke up from being on life support. God is good. And I am truly thankful. 

I'm not sure what 2013 will bring for the Beach Bum family but I'm excited! 

I've also been inspired by the oh-so-sweet, Ashley to come up with some good, meaningful (and ATTAINABLE) resolutions for the new year! 

I'll be posting those soon! What about you? What's on your 2013 list?C

Wishing You & Yours

In the midst of some late night gift wrapping/bow making/frozen hot cocoa drinking at 12:20 in the morning I thought I'd share our christmas card this year!

p.s. I totally slacked on addressing and mailing these so some are still on their way if you haven't gotten one yet!

Jingle Bell Hop: Stocking Stuffers

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Sadly today is the last day of the oh-so-awesome Jingle Bell Hop! Make sure you go check out these other fabulous blogs! 

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Today we are sharing our favorite stocking stuffer ideas! These are always a hard one for me - so I'm exicited to see what everyone else comes up with! 

california baby bubble bath/ little blue truck leads the way/ ella's kitchen pouches/ green toys boat/ melissa and doug triangular crayons/ plan toys car/ kids camelbak 


I decided I'd share some things that I am putting in Trey's stocking/or things that he has really enjoyed this year that would make great stuffers! What is going in your little one's stocking this year?


p.s. You know I had to throw in the gold coins and an orange in the bottom - my mama would be proud! Does anyone else share that tradition?

Trey's Favorite Toys 18-24 months

You can check out what we were loving at 13 months here. 

This post is a *smidge* late seeing as how Trey turned 2 in August but I thought this might be helpful for those of you looking to pick up Christmas gifts for boys of this age.

(Mamas - if you have favorites please leave them in the comments for others to read!)

Source: target.com via Beach on Pinterest

I picked up these bristle blocks on a whim one day while I was at Target and was so glad I did - they are so much fun! Trey loves them and J.D. and I have a blast sitting down and playing with them too! These have instantly became a favorite gift to give as well.

Source: amazon.com via Beach on Pinterest

We love all sorts of wooden toys and when Trey fell in love with these Uncle Goose blocks at a friends house I knew I had to order them stat. They are a great classic toy, made in the USA and slightly bigger than other wooden blocks which was great for stacking when he was younger!

Source: amazon.com via Beach on Pinterest

I wish I hadn't purchased so many mega blocks when Trey was around a year old becuase duplos have quickly taken over our home and the mega blocks have taken their place. He has really been enjoying these lately!

Source: target.com via Beach on Pinterest

This b. toys easel was a gift from a friend and she hit the nail on the head with it! Trey plays with this almost everyday - I usually just keep it open on his little table in the kitchen. The markers that it comes with are awesome and you can also use any other washable marker on the white board. Trey's bestie always instantly goes straight to it when she comes over our house!

Source: target.com via Beach on Pinterest

Trey must have inherited his love of music from his Daddy! This b. toys (can you tell we LOVE ALL b. toys?) keyboard and dog guitar are constantly in rotation in our home - they are really fun and play some fun songs on them!

He's also a big fan of play phones (leap frog and a cheapy one from the Disney store), his leap frog laptop, balls, STICKERS of any variety and is still really loving his Alex 3-in-1 trike!

What were your favorite toys at this age? Any suggestions for Christmas gifts for a 2 1/2 year old boy that I may not have already thought of yet?

Thanksgiving Weekend Recap

I can't believe the weekend is already over! Isnt' that how it always is though? The long weekends fly right by?



While Trey is napping I thought I'd try to sit down and share a quick recap of our weekend. I'm going to make it a goal to try and sit down and blog more over the holidays - there are always lots of fun moments that I want to capture and share!

We had a not-so-stressful Thanksgiving morning (for once!) and sat around and played and watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade - the Mickey & Julius balloons were a huge hit in our home. I've hosted Thanksgiving here every year since I was 26. The first year we had 23 people attend. I had barely made dinner at that point in our marriage and was so nervous and scared. Each year it has gotten so much easier, I've learned tips and tricks along the way.

Did you know you can cook a Turkey upside down? Well, I did it by accident one year and it turned out AWESOME! Years later I read in a magazine that it's a great tip - that way the breast meat stays juicy. 

(Great I'm sure I'm going to get all sorts of spam comments for that one! HA!) 

This year we didn't have nearly as many people due to travel and other family plans but it was wonderful. Trey has so much fun playing with everyone and just eats up the attention.


I just adore this picture of him and my Mom together.



Before we knew it we were packing up sides to send home and putting Trey to bed.

I'm not a huge black Friday shopper - I like to order things online or I'll go out to the mall later in the day once everything has died down some. After Trey's nap we headed to the mall and picked him up some new shoes and a few small things.

We came home for Thanksgiving round two (leftovers!) with some good friends and let the kids stay up late watching Christmas movies. It was a fabulous night!

On Saturday morning my sweet MIL had an awesome day planned for us - horseback riding on the beach!! It was SO FUN!!! My horse's name was Cupid and was so sweet! It was a cold day but the way we were riding most of the time wasn't  bad at all. One of the horses got a little crazy and tried to run off but for the most part it was just peaceful! We have already planned our next horseback riding trip at a nearby park.

Saturday evening I headed out to take Christmas pictures for the SIL and her fiance. I am by no means a professional (nor am I trying to be) but they just wanted some shots for their Christmas cards so I crossed my fingers and hoped for the best. Here are a few! They were so easy because for real... they are SO in love and mushy!!

Speaking of, on Sunday I helped with a proposal! My maid of honor got engaged to her boyfriend (now fiance!) and it was wonderful! Sadly I don't have any pictures to share, but it was perfect and all captured by a professional photographer - complete with a mini engagement party thrown by one of my besties and myself!

Sunday evening ended with a nice quiet trip to our favorite Mexican restaurant, just J.D., Trey and myself and then snuggling by a fire downstairs while watching Revenge!!

Who else is obsessed? I just CANNOT get enough of that show!

I hope everyone else had a great Thanksgiving weekend too!!!

What a *Treat* - a FREE card!

I've been a long time Shutterfly & Tiny Prints fan - I've ordered cards, books and pictures from there for years. But more recently I've fallen in love with one of their sister companies. 

Enter: Treat.com

About Treat: 

Treat is Shutterfly’s exciting new greeting card brand that makes it easy for people to create and send one-of-a-kind greeting cards. Treat cards are perfect for holidays, birthdays, congrats, thank yous and every occasion in between. It’s crazy fun. It’s super easy. And it’s totally personal.

Your holiday checklist just got shorter. Create and send a totally personalized greeting card from Treat for FREE. Whether saying thanks for Thanksgiving, wishing a best friend a holiday birthday, or simply sharing the holiday cheer with a just because card, Treat lets you create a one-of-a-kind card that is sure to impress.

How cool is that? Who doesn't love a personalized card on their birthday, father's day, anniversary, etc? 

Here are some that I am loving: 

So head on over to Treat.com and order your free personalized card!

Code: TREATBLOGR

(Code is only valid on 11/19 & 11/20)