9/11

I was in my cubicle at the Oakwood Building in Greensboro. I had just returned from visiting one of my best friends in New York City the previous afternoon. I didn't know how to feel then and I don't know how to feel now. Empty is all. In the lobby of our office building, I sat with a co-worker and wondered aloud...
How?
Why?
Pulling his eyes from the TV, he looked at me and said nothing. Airplanes screamed past the five story glass windows as planes were being grounded immediately and the terror was all around us. Did you hear they hit the State Department? I heard the White House. They're firebombing the Pentagon, my friend told me. There's smoke coming from the Old Executive Building. The towers fall. No. Here, it's on TV now. The Pentagon.
I wanted to go home, because home sounded safe, but home is only a place in my heart and safe is concept in my mind. Home is building now. Safe is memory. Maybe the world didn't change that day. Maybe we all realized that it's not the place we hoped. Eight years later, that's still the hardest lesson.

August Recap

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know, I know, I know. I suck. At blogging. Well not really the actual blogging part, but the updating and keeping current part. So, in the spirit of my great blogging friend Emily, I am going to recap August with a list of all things Beale:
1. Yard sale. It was a lot of hard work, but in the end it was worth it. The house is now relatively clutter free, organized, and we made some extra cash.
2. Sleep study. Jason did a sleep study to see if he has the apnea. And he does. Now we are waiting for the doctor to call back with the plan of action. My guess is that he will have to wear one of those Darth Vader masks. While they are rather unattractive, I hope that it helps both of us sleep better at night.
3. Church drama. I don't really want to go into detail, but let's just say it's NOT contributing to the sleeping well thing.
4. Lawn party. This year, I was the host of our church's 2nd annual lawn party. I think it went pretty well, I had lots of great help and followed the footsteps of my friend Ginny. It was a hot day, but we made the best of it and it seemed like everyone had a good time. There was food, drink, live music, games, a firetruck, and a health fair. The idea was for us to get to know our neighbors. Hopefully each year, more and more of them will come out to party with us.
5. School. School started this week and is probably going to kick my butt. I am taking anatomy and one other psych class (which starts in October). This class is going to be lots of memorization and major major study time. I hope I can buckle down and get things done. I have class two nights a week and lab once a week. In lab, we will be dissecting a cat, so I am not too thrilled about that. But if I am going to be a nurse, it's just something I will have to get over. I am sure I will be dealing with lots of gross things to come!
6. Pool. We have been swimming a lot this summer. We are lucky enough to have two different places to swim and it's been fabulous. Owen is totally a water baby and he loves it!
7. Yearbook. I was also in charge of putting together a small directory for a group at church. It's finally at the printers and will be ready next week. While the project itself has minimal work involved, it's a lot of follow up and tracking folks down. I was glad to get that off my plate.
7. Next up. We still have lots to look forward to this month and going into the Fall. Next week, Owen and I start taking classes at the Little Gym and we have two birthday parties next weekend (my favorite almost-two-year-old and my nephew). Good times. The weekend after next, my brother & Amber get married in San Diego! It's hard to believe that it's only two weeks away. I am sure the next couple weeks are going to fly by while we get prepared for our trip. Toward the end of September, we are going back to the beach and before I know it, it will be Owen's 1st birthday. But let's not get ahead of ourselves.......

Saturday

Yard Sale. 7 AM-Noon. Come buy our crap.

Still Alive

Still kickin. Still giving you the lame excuse that I'm busy. But in my defense, I really have been busy. As I am sure you know, we are having a yard sale. I decided it was a good excuse to clean out and organize my entire house. That's right folks. Every room and closet has been emptied, cleaned out, organized, and put back together again. It sucked to do, but the end result is so worth it. The whole carport is filled with stuff to sell or donate. All we have left to clean out is the shed and hopefully all the grunt work done by Monday. Then next week, I just need to focus on the marketing and move on to my next project, coordinating the 2nd annual Neighborhood Lawn Party for our church. Luckily, my good friend Ginny, organized it last year. So I am basically just filling in the blanks and delegating tasks for this year. The party is August 16th and school starts back up the next day! Also, I have another church project due at the end of August that I would really like to have completed before classes begin. Then my brother gets married over Labor Day weekend. So it looks like this little Mama is going to be mighty busy until the Fall. Speaking of Mamas, my son has learned to eat cereal puffs by himself. He's getting to be such a big boy. *Sigh* First, he's feeding himself and then he's off to college! Harvard...natch.

Cats Are Funny

Apparently, babies think that cats are absolutely hysterical. We noticed that Owen has been paying more attention to Wrigley the past few weeks. Now whenever the cats walk in front of him, the laughter ensues. Enjoy!

Controling The Clutter

Ever since I started being a stay-at-home Mommy, I have felt like our house is closing in on me and is not as clean as I would like it to be. I am sure this is brought on by the fact that I am now spending all (if not most) of my time at home and have become acutely aware of how small our living space is. I know I pretend to be a neat freak, but the reality of it is: our house is definitely lacking in some key areas of cleanliness. I am very good at picking up "stuff" and putting things away, but it always leads to overstuffed closets and dust bunnies behind the furniture. My goals were: to weed out the closets, give the house a deep cleaning, and begin utilize our small space more effectively. Once that was done, I promised myself that I would keep the house generally picked up and choose one room a day for a good cleaning. That way the house was always looks semi-presentable and I wouldn't be killing myself having to clean the whole house in a day. Three months later......I have started to make good on my promise. And the best part is that we are having a yard sale to try to make some money before everything gets donated to Goodwill. We are going to sell some stuff on-line, but most it will be going directly to the yard sale. I have already decided to use whatever profits we make to buy ourselves a leather recliner for the living room. We really need a nice comfy chair that will hold up for a while. I keep telling myself that we need a bigger house with more space and then the problem would be solved. The fact of the matter is that we do need a bigger house, but it isn't happening for a while. So in the meantime, I need to make better use of the space we have and it starts by clearing out a whole lotta stuff that someone else can use. Honestly, as I go through the stuff, I kinda feel like a hoarder. I mean, who knew we had so much junk? I have cleaned Owen's room and gone through the closet in his room. It was literally spilling over with stuff and sometimes the door wouldn't even shut! I have also gone through most of the living room (VHS tapes, really?) and Jason has started working on the laundry room. Everything that is yard-sale-able has been priced and boxed up. We still have tons of work to do in the bedroom, kitchen, laundry room, and shed. It's starting to feel like we're making progress and that feels nice. Don't forget that one man's trash is another man's treasure and come see us on August 8th!

Nine Month Checkup

Yesterday we went to see Doctor Davis for Owen's nine month checkup. I was excited to find out what he weighed and because there were no shots involved. For someone who wants to be a nurse, I still hate seeing my baby get shots! The wait was long (lesson learned to keep our AM appointments) but the visit was quick. By the time Doctor D had arrived, Owen had already destroyed all the paper covering the checkup table. Anyone with nine month old can relate to them wanting to touch EVERYTHING and subsequently put it their mouth. Owen weighed in at 20 lbs 1.5 oz, is 27 3/4 inches long, and has a 46 cm head circumference. Basically, your average size kid with a huge noggin! Doctor Davis checked Owen out from head to foot and pronounced him healthy. I had a concern because he has been tugging at his ear lately, but apparently I am over reacting. We have been so fortunately because we haven't had to visit the doctor other than the well-check-ups. I am knocking on some serious wood as I type. We talked about crawling (or lack there of) and getting Owen some more time on the floor. Doctor Davis doesn't really consider crawling a milestone since most kids are crawling, creeping, standing, and walking at different intervals between now and about 15 months. He gave us the green light to start stage 3 foods as well as some soft table food. Since Owen has 4 teeth, we will begin to brush them twice a day. Hopefully we won't have to see the doctor until after Owen's first birthday party!

Cha Cha Changes

After much consideration, I have decided to make this a Beale family blog instead of letters I write to Owen. While I love and cherish the letters I wrote to my son, it seems time to switch it up and be able to write about all things Beale. Perhaps my loyal readers will enjoy keeping up with my thoughts on the whole family as we grow and expand. Some of you might recall another Beale Bits blog that is now defunct. I haven't quite decided the fate of that blog, so for now I am just stealing the name (it's OK since I thought of it) and giving this blog an update look and feel. My goal is to keep an more up-to-date journal of our little family's life experiences. Happy reading!

Sorry Mommy

Dear Owen,
You might be upset with me since I haven't written in a while. OK, more than a while. The sad part is, I don't really have a good excuse. We've just been busy. It's been a crazy summer and it's only half way over. I don't really have the energy right now to catch you up on all the details, but I am going to promise to write more often. I am going to *try* a daily update, until I can get back in the swing of things.
I will write soon and I love you,
Mom

Mothers Day Weekend

Dear Owen,
Last weekend we went to Chicago to surprise Grandma for Mothers Day. It. was. awesome. She was totally shocked and I have the video to prove it. On Friday morning, your Daddy took us to the airport and we headed up north. Lucky for us, my friend Ginny and her Mom were on the plane with us to Philadelphia! All of us had to change planes there, so it worked out great. They were such a huge help since you travel with a lot of gear and it's hard for one person to navigate. Your Great Aunt Diane picked us up from the airport and we headed home. My original idea was to leave you in a basket on your Grandma's doorstep, ring the bell, and run away. But we decided to surprise her half way on her walk to Aunt Diane's house for dinner. See below:



After she got over the initial shock, we had a blast spending weekend together. You had your first haircut, opened Mothers Day presents with Grandma, and were generally spoiled rotten for almost a week. Here are a few snapshots from the weekend.

Post Haircut:

Some of us are really happy, Some are not:

Beefcake:

Laying around:Helping open cards:

Hopefully we can make this an annual tradition for Mothers Day Weekend. I love you!

Mom

Seven Months Old

Dear Owen,
Today you are seven months old. As I type, you are taking a nap at your Grandma Lumsden house. We came to Chicago to celebrate Mother's day together. Yet again, I can't believe that another month has flown by. This month has been all about movement. You are rolling, flipping, moving, and shaking. You can now flip from front to back and side to side without any problems and we frequently find you in interesting positions in the morning. This month also brought you two teeth. You have been drooling for quite sometime now and we were constantly checking for teeth. Now you have two. You also had your first haircut yesterday. Grandma Lumsden trimmed up the hair around your ears and the back. You sat very still and we have lots of photos. It's hard to believe that you already needed a trim since you still can't even really sit up very well! You are learning and discovery all sorts of new things on a daily basis. You are so much more alert and observant. Your personality is developing and you are being such a big boy now. I can't wait to see what next month brings.
I love you,
Mom

First Tooth

Dear Owen,
Your first tooth has been spotted! It has started to pop through the center of your lower gum. For the past say, two months or so, you have been drooling like crazy. Every time you acted fussy, we would immediately check your gums for teeth. But nothing was going on. No bumps, no tenderness, no white spots, nothing. Lots of folks have given us all kinds of advice about teething and how to handle it, so we were anxious to see one breaking through. Yesterday, I was messing around tickling you and when you threw back your head in laughter, I saw a flash of white under your gums. After a slight protest, I finally got you to move your tongue to verify the existence of the tooth. It was so exciting. Hopefully we can get a picture of your new toothy grin! How quickly you are growing up. Sigh.
Love,
Mom

Flip-Flop

Dear Owen,
You have started moving around in the crib. Last week, I checked on you during nap time. I swore I put your head facing your door way. But when I peeked in, you were facing the windows. I told myself that surely you weren't capable of flipping yourself around since you don't seem that interested in rolling over or crawling yet. Yet on Thursday, I came into your room to find this:

Proof positive that times have changed. This morning your Daddy and I noticed that you were fussing and carrying more than usual after we laid you down for a nap. I opened your door to find you on your stomach and staring at me like "Hello, you are supposed to be my people that help me when I can't turned over again" You actually flipped back to front on your own. Once you got there you weren't sure how to get back, so you decided to cry until we rescued you. It was too funny. Part of me can't wait for you to become mobile, but it all seems like it's going way too fast! Where did my baby go?
Love,
Mom

Six Month Checkup

Dear Owen,
Today was your six month checkup with Doctor Davis. He was pleased as punch with your development and over all health. Your weight is a whooping 17lbs 11oz. Your length is now 25.75 inches which moves you up to the 25th percentile. You have grown over four inches since the last time we visited him. No wonder we are moving through your clothes with the speed of light! I am sure that no one will be shocked to learn that your head is the 70th percentile. You have one big noggin my son. Doctor Davis gave us the green light to start introducing some more solid foods. He wants you to start eating them twice a day and slowly begin phasing out the bottle. He also told us that we should begin to introduce the sippy cup once you are fully confident in sitting up by yourself. I think we will begin to see a lot of changes in your "movement" in the next few months. You have started to reach for objects set in front of you and can almost sit up on your own. You kind of "swim" when you are on your tummy and yesterday you turned yourself around in your crib. I was kind of shocked when I came in and found you on your laying on your side facing the other direction. You also had three shots and a oral vaccine today. I thought you would be very upset about, but you didn't even shed a tear. I think it was just more of a shock than anything. All in all, things couldn't be better and you won't have shots when we go back for your nine month checkup.
I love you,
Mom

Discovery

Owen,
You've discovered your feet. It's a brand new world.
Mom

Six Months Old

Dear Owen,
Today you are six months old. You are growing up so fast, I swear I feel like you were born just a couple weeks ago. You are a sweet boy who continues to be such a little joy. You are so silly, so fun, and so happy. Your Daddy and I are incredibly blessed and lucky to have such good natured kid. We started you on some solid foods this past month with good results. Some foods are better than others, but for the most part you gobble up whatever we give you without complaint. Lately, you have been going through an "I want to do it myself" phase. You want to tell us when you are hungry or tired, try to hold your spoon, and hold all your own toys. You have even been- are you ready for this?- putting yourself to bed. One day, you just up and decided that you would squirm around and rub your eyes when you were ready for nap or bedtime. It took me a few times to figure it out. I just thought you were fussy, but then it occurred to me that wanted to be put in your crib and left alone. You are asleep within minutes. Sure, it's easier and takes a lot less time to put you down, which is great. And you are getting more and more independent, which is fantastic. But I have to admit I am a bit heartsick that you are starting to need your Mommy less and less (sniff, sniff!). What a big boy I have!
I love you son,
Mommy

My Action Pants Must Be In The Laundry

Dear Owen,
I am completely frozen in my tracks here. I have no idea how to surmount the overwhelming task that lies before me. So far, staying at home is proving to be a challenging job that I am so incredibly grateful to have.
My-To-Do-List:
Clean entire house top to bottom. Not just dust, swiffer, & tidy up, I mean clean things that have been severely neglected say.....the past year or so.
Laundry.
Prepare, package, and store your baby food.
Decide on short hair cut and make appointment. You are almost six months old (aka you love to pull my hair), summer is just around the corner, and I don't have time to fix my hair.
Figure out how to grocery shop/Costco with you in a shopping cart all by myself.
Write over-due Baptism thank you notes.
Laundry.
Drop summer school classes and register for the CNA course.
Send out April cards.
Laundry.
Try to get you adjusted to some sort of regular nap/meal schedule.
Paint the register in the living room.
Clean out closets.
Separate all items from said closets into: trash, Goodwill, or Craiglist.
Attend Bugs class, story time @ the Library, Mommy & Me, and play-dates.
Organize shelving units in the laundry room.
Clean out blue dresser.
Look for part time job.
Laundry.
Oh yeah....and look after you....which is the happiest part of my day! All I can do is kiss you and stare at you. I have so much to do I literally cannot even figure out how to begin. So I keep staring. Doing nothing. Any ideas on how to get started? And how it get it done efficiently? Any tips/suggestions/advice would be greatly appreciated.
Love,
Mom

Home Sweet Home

Dear Owen,
I am sorry that it's been a while since my last letter, but in the past few weeks there has been a lot discussion and decision making going on in the Beale household. I am happy to tell you that as of April 1st, I will officially be a stay-at-home Mommy! I have been struggling with balancing motherhood and work since I went back to work. It has always been our dream that I would be able to stay home with you. A few days before your baptism, my manager called me into her office for a chat. The company I work for is suffering in this current economic state. In today's world, lots of people are losing their jobs and struggling to make ends meet. I wasn't shocked to learn that my weekly hours were going to be reduced from 40 to 30. This cut back still allows my company to keep it's employees while attempting to reduce cost. I can't say that I was surprised, but it was still a very sad day. This meeting proved to be the ultimatum we needed to make the decision for me to stay at home. After lots (LOTS) of discussion with your Daddy and other family/friends, we decided it was not in our family's best interest for me to continue working. With the majority of my salary going to childcare expenses, would it really be worth it? After much deliberation and consideration, we decided no. I am excited yet nervous. I have always been on the go and a very active person. I worry I will miss the adult interaction I have on a daily basis. It will be a change to have more solo time dedicated to you and the housework that is usually neglected. If everything works out, I am hoping and praying that your Daddy and I will soon be able to give you a sibling without having to worry about paying twice as much for childcare. I know this is the right decision for our family. While I am not entirely sure of the logistics of the finances, we are willing to take this leap of faith. I am confident that we won't regret this decision. Life as we know it about to change forever and I can't wait to start enjoying every day with you.
I love you,
Mom

Baptism

Dear Owen,
This past weekend you were baptised at our church. We had a wonderful weekend celebration with lots of family and friends. On Friday, your Grandma Lumsden arrived in the morning. She hasn't seen you since the New Year and she couldn't wait to give you a million kisses. We picked her up at the airport and headed home. You needed something to eat and get a quick nap. Your Uncle Ross and Aunt Amber were the next to arrive. When they got here, we scooted out to get some lunch and get everyone all checked into the hotel. We had to be back at home before 3 PM because Pastor V was coming over to meet with us to discuss the service. I am sure she was quite shocked when she meet the whole family and we all started talking at once. It was really funny because you were the one who talked the entire time she was here! You have started this growling/shouting thing and you were not shy about sharing it with all of us. After Pastor V explained the service, we hung around the house for a bit. Then we grabbed a quick dinner because everyone was tired from the early morning and traveling. Saturday was spent running errands and getting everything ready for Sunday. The weather was down right uncooperative this weekend, so we were home inside as much as possible. Aunt Kristi arrived from Washington DC that afternoon and stayed at your Grandma & Grandpa Beale's house. Sunday was the big day. I don't have any pictures from the church yet, but I will post them as soon as I can. You did a great job during the ceremony, even closing your hands in prayer while Pastor V held you. I was so proud of you and overcome with joy. It was an emotional day for all of us. Everyone at church was so excited and you could feel the love that our friends at GPPC have for us. I feel so grateful that you will be growing up with such a strong community of faith. After the service, all the family and my circle girls came back to our house where everyone crowded into our tiny living room. You had a total meltdown and were all out of sorts the rest of the day. I hated that you had to miss most of the fun afternoon, but it was really hard to settle you back down. All your naps/feedings were off and it took a toll on you. Even Monday was not easy because the weekend festivities threw us all off schedule. Sunday afternoon, your Uncle Ross & Aunt Amber drove home and yesterday your Grandma went back to Chicago. It's incredibly sad when they leave and we haven't even scheduled our next visit! They couldn't get over how much you had changed and what a grown up baby boy you are now. I hope that you don't have to wait too much longer to see them again. We are so blessed to have such great family and friends. I know that you will grow to love Guilford Park as much as we do.

Love, Mom

Five Months Old

Dear Owen,
Today you are five months old. I am sure I sound like a broken record (or in your case IPOD), but I seriously cannot believe how quickly you are growing up. You are literally changing overnight and learning new skills all the time. You have done an amazing amount of motor skill development over the past month. It was like you woke up one morning and said "I know I look like the cutest baby ever and now I'm gonna start acting like one!" So far, the best thing is hearing your laughter. It began slowly and was sort of disguised as other baby babble until you got the hang of it. But once you started laughing, there was no stopping you. We have also noticed that you are ticklish, which leads to even more wiggles and giggles! Your laughter is the sweetest sound. I love seeing you smile, laugh, and knowing that you are happy. You are also grabbing things and trying to put them in your mouth. Your hands seem to be in your mouth the majority of the day and you have become quite the drool-monster. Speaking of your mouth, you have also experienced a variety of solid foods recently. Your favorite is applesauce. You love, love, love some applesauce! This weekend you will be baptised into our church family. Grandma, Uncle Ross, Aunt Amber, The Beale Family, and lots of our friends are going to be there to celebrate with us. I know you will be able to feel the love that will surround you on Sunday as we celebrate another milestone in your life.
I love you son,
Mom