memorial day

Isn't Ashley cute with her pregnant belly?

She's going to kill me but it's the only picture I got of her all weekend.  She graciously invited us to her lake house for a memorial day celebration and lots of fun was had!

There was swimming.

There was grilling.

Snuggling, sand castle building, and silliness too!

We can't wait for next year!

thirty-one months

Before summer begins and I get wrapped up in errands, house selling, library trips, and play dates-- a quick glimpse into life with a thirty-one month old.

Reese's second year has brought with it lot of changes.  He is actively potty training-- and doing really well-- both at school and at home.  I'm slowly weening him from getting treats when he goes and so far he seems receptive.  That attitude could change on a dime because...

Year two has brought with it a feisty attitude.  Reese defines strong will.  He has no problem asserting his independence, both at home and school.  He isn't b.a.d.-- he's just strong willed.  It's a constant struggle to allow him to develop his little personality while maintaining some sense of parental control.

One thing that hasn't changed is his humor.  He is one funny little boy.  He loves to laugh and will do anything to make other people laugh.  He has also started making things up-- stories, songs, animals.  One minute he's a tiger and we are elephants being chased, the next he's a cat meowing for food.

Things Reese loves:

• Music-- specifically songs that have good drum and guitar parts.  He is a rock star in training.
• Grapes, bananas, yogurt, and pineapple.  We still eat lots of easy mac and peanut butter, but really the kid could live off fruit and yogurt.  Also, today at Publix he told me, "Mama, I no drink milk.  I drink milkshake.  Milk make me go to doctor."  
• Books, books, books.  Mama bought him the Storybook Bible for Easter and we read almost the whole first testament in ONE night.  
• Cars.  Specifically, the cars of people he knows.  Reese can identify the morning teachers at school by what they drive.  In fact, one day last week Miss Tracy was dropped off {by a BOY} and Reese was very upset.  He asked her, "Who dat boy in dat truck, Tacy? Dat not you car." He also knows the cars of his grandparents and my friends.  Yep, he's a smart one.
• His Daddy-O.  No worries, he is definitely a mama's boy, but he loves him some Daddy-O time.  They work in the yard, play golf, ride in the truck-- you know, boy things.  

Things Reese does NOT love:

• Any deviation in his regular routine.  I have created a clone of myself!  He is definitely a creature of habit.  
• Meat of any kind.  He will occasionally eat a hot dog or some chicken nuggets, but for the most part he is a vegetarian.  And although it pains Lofton to allow Reese to eat something other than what we eat, we have found that Reese would rather not eat than choke down something he thinks he doesn't like. 
• Babies.  I'll blog about our lake trip later, but let's just say that Reese is not a fan of babies touching his toys, eating his snacks, or loving on his mama.  In fact, he told me last night that he wants "Baby Charlie to go away.  I the baby, I drink from bottle again."  Jealous much?
• Bedtime.  It's hit or miss here at Casa Beasley-- sometimes he goes to sleep with no problems and other nights it's a scream fest.  I'm learning to roll with it.

And that's my current record.  Just wanted to get a few things down in print so I don't forget them.  I know these next two months will fly by! 

Lake trip recap coming soon...

happenings

Lots to share here in Casa Beasley...

Let’s start with the now-- Baby Charlie celebrated his first birthday today.  Seriously, where does the time go?  We splished and splashed til we were exhausted!  Sweet Ashley hosted the perfect first birthday party-- nine months pregnant to boot.

Emo and Buck also came to visit.  We’ve been missing them terribly and were so glad th ey could come and swing, read books, play the guitar, and take us to the potty.  This mama was glad for some good hugs, a few glasses of wine, and a mama of her own to go grocery shopping with.  

It had been a long few weeks, because...< Lofton applied for, and was offered, a job in Bristol, Virginia.  Yep, Virginia.  And had we been able to work it out financially we would be packing up this house and moving on up.  Alas, it was not meant to be.  

We prayed over the last few weeks that God would light our path, and He did.  As disappointing as it was to turn down what could have been a great opportunity for Lofton’s career, it is more importnat for us to provide Reese with stability.  That means financial stability as well as emotional stability.  The only way we could make a move work would have been for us to live apart for a year.  Boo on that.

And so, in Opelika we stay {we are still putting our house on the market though}.

Looking forward, this girl is excited for a looming summer break.  It’s been a rough end of the school year.  I want a summer of splashing in the pool, picnincs in the yard, and book reading.  Five more days, my friends...

be forewarned

I'm exhausted.  Emotionally, physically, mentally exhausted.  No, I'm not pregnant {yeah right}.  Life is just a little hectic and overwhelming right now.

Sorry to be coy, I'll let you in on the details when I can.  Just know that we have lots going on: potty training is all-consuming and work is... well, it's the end of the year-- enough said.

Lots of big things on the horizon....

livin on a prayer

I've made no secret of my unabashed love for Bon Jovi.  I mean let's get real, I named a cat Bon Jovi when I was five years old.   I know all the words to all their songs, and I can even tell you how old I was when each of their hits were released.  My obsession runs deep, people.

All that to say, last night's concert was pretty amazing.  It was a little disappointing that Richie is back in rehab {get it together, buddy!} but overall he was not missed one bit.

I'll start from the beginning---

Lofton and I dropped doodle off with Mimi Saturday morning.  I pretended he would miss me, but knew in my heart he really could care less that we were leaving.  Childless, we headed to Atlanta for a day of shopping, eating, and then concert going.

Shopping started a little rough for me.  We went to Loft and something about the combination of loud music, hoards of people, and perfume smells put me into sensory overload.  I went from no headache to not being able to see from the blinding pain in less than five minutes. Boo on that.

We changed venues and hit Atlantic Station for a quiet lunch, some drinks, and more shopping.  Finally it was time to check into our hotel.  We stayed here. It was gorgeous. After naps and more drinks, I was ready for the show.

We smartly chose to take a cab to Phillips Arena because we didn't want to deal with driving and parking.  The cab ride to the venue was no big deal, but Lofton didn't tip the cab driver {because he evidently surcharged or something} and it gave us bad cab karma.  When I tell you we almost died on the way back to the hotel I am not exaggerating.  Our driver was cutting through parking lots and back alleys trying to avoid traffic, all the while chatting on his cell phone.  Good thing I'd had a few over-priced concert cocktails.

And now, the concert.  It's hard to put into words how amazing it was.  Our seats were good {kind of in the middle section but to one side}, Jon looked unbelievable in his leather pants and vest, and Lofton was the best sport ever.  He even tried to pay an attendant to let us in the club level section {no dice though}.  The band played a great combination of old and new songs, and I danced my little heart out.  There was no sitting at all for three hours.  {Thank you Pure Barre for my increased athleticism}.

My favorites?  Shot Through the Heart, Wanted, I'll be There for You, and his two encore songs: It's My Life and Livin on a Prayer. Livin on a Prayer is my all time most favorite song and I was a little nervous to see if his performance would live up.  I can safely say he sounds as good live as he does on a CD!

Basically, my bucket list is now complete.  And I love my husband that much more for indulging me in a dream weekend.  {He did, however, mention that the next time Lebron is in the vicinity he would be going to watch him play.}

changes they are a coming...

I hate change.  HATE it.  Nothing about change is fun to me.  I don’t like to change my clothes, hate to change the laundry over from the washer to the dryer, and I despise changing the sheets on the bed.  All this to say—there are lots of things happening at the Time Well Wasted house.  Some are scary, some are exciting, some are just annoying {i.e. the toddler’s behavior}.  All of them combined are causing me a lack of sleep, a tad bit of lock jaw, and a lack of fodder for the blog. My apologies.

A few nuggets to tide you over:

I was remiss in blogging about the pups’ birthdays this weekend.  Raleigh turned six on Sunday and Jake turned nine on Monday.  Amazing coincidence, I know.  Thing 1 and Thing 2 have been up to their usual antics of digging, scratching, and shedding hair all over my house.  It’s nice to have the consistency of their behavior.  You can always count on Raleigh to be dehydrated at 2:00 am -- and in need of a full toilet bowl -- and her constant companion to be licking his feet.  Yes, our bedroom is rarely peaceful during the wee morning hours.  That could explain some of my sleep issues.

Potty training is still going strong.  I’ve pulled back on the treat giving a little.  Now Reese only gets treats when he initiates going; if we have to MAKE him go, no treats.  I just felt like chasing him around the house and then pulling him out from the dining table by his feet negated the giving on gummy treats.  He’s doing well with the change but I will say that when he says “I got to potty now!”, he really means it.  We wear big boy undies at home and I think that makes it much easier for him to know when he’s got to go.  Last night he even went for the first time in public.  We tried to make him go Friday night at relay for life, but when I took him in the porta potty he said, “Dis gross.  I no go in here.”  Can’t blame him for that...

Reese’s attitude is also going strong.  Lofton went with me to pick him up from school yesterday and Reva was there to greet us.  Shoot.  It appears our son, when told to lie down for his nap, replied something to the effect of, “No YOU lay down and take nap.”  Oh brother.  Needless to say there were tears, and some leg popping, and then some more tears when we got home {I wouldn’t let him have his afternoon fruit snacks}.  In fact, he even cried AGAIN this morning when I reminded him of what would happen if Mama has to leave work and drive up to school.

And lastly, we have decided to sell our house.  We’ve been toying with the idea for awhile, but finally made a decision about two weeks ago.  It’s not officially on the market yet, but if you know someone looking to buy a historic 1910, two bedroom/two bathroom, 2200 square foot, fully re-finished hardwood floor home—shoot me a message.

Oh, and lest we forget what is happening this weekend: Bon Jovi!  Lofton and I will be livin on a prayer in Atlanta! Woop! Woop!

happy mother's day

I am beyond blessed to be the mama of an amazing little boy.

He fulfills every dream I've ever had of motherhood.

He is beautiful, funny and smart.  He embodies the best parts of his daddy-o and I.

He is my biggest supporter.  Never did I realize that I would have a constant cheerleader when I had a child.  To him, I'm always perfect and always beautiful.

And I can't celebrate mother's day without mentioning this fabulous mama above.  She's the cream of the crop.  My favorite friend, my sounding board, my own mama.  She's the reason I wanted to be a mom, and the reason I'm so dang successful at it!

Happy Mother's Day, Mama.  I love you!

adventures in potty training

There is no turning back.  We are officially potty training.  I can already tell that this will not be Lofton and I’s most fun parenting adventure ever.  It pretty much ranks up there with traveling on car trips with Reese.  Long, torturous, and full of tears.

You see, I’m fairly sure Reese would be content to wear diapers forever, simply because taking time out of his busy day to go potty is just devastating.  Whenever I tell him {every thirty minutes} that it’s time to try and potty he yells at me, “No Mama.  Just wait!”  If I followed his commands, we’d be “just waiting” until first grade.  So forge ahead we will…

We did purchase underwear yesterday.  Reese selected both Thomas the Train and Spiderman.  Don’t ask me how he knows about Spiderman, but he wanted them and I obliged.  He promptly requested a pair to wear when we got home, and then just as quickly drowned poor Spiderman with tee-tee.  Shoot.

After dinner, we tried Thomas.  I explained that Thomas did not like being wet.  In fact, Thomas would be so sad if we got him wet that Mama and Daddy-O would have to put Thomas in the trash. 

Evidently Reese responds to my guilt tactics because he kept Thomas dry until bedtime.  We made four successful potty attempts between five and eight.  The little stinker kept saying “I so excited for myself!”  Now if we can only keep him thinking Thomas hates to be wet…

For school he's wearing pull-ups.  He actually did really well yesterday and even better today.  I attribute this to what is commonly referred to as "peer pressure."  Yes, my child is a follower.  The twins are wearing underwear, Thayer and Rankin are also going potty, and now Reese has decided to follow suit.  Whatever.  I'm down if it makes this process go more smoothly.

And although many will probably cringe when they read this-- I BELIEVE IN TREATS AND PRIZES {i.e. bribes}.  I am not ashamed.  Not one bit.  Reese gets either two gummies or a sucker every time he successfully goes potty.  No worries, we are brushing our teeth really well before bed.

And that, my friends, is a synopsis of our last few days.  

The beginning of the end of babyhood.  

Why is growing up so damn depressing?

a few reasons why i love my boys...

I have no shame in the ridiculous amount of adoration I heap on my boys.  They are both well deserving.  Case in point:

The hubs sent me an email today that included a copy of an email he received from his boss's boss.  Did you get that?  The email {from the bog boss} had a substantial figure and the word nice.  Lofton's email said, "Look who's number one in sales?"

Then while I was at Pure Barre tonight he sent another--

Not to pat myself on the back, but I think I did a great job with supper.  The pork chops are unbelievable.  You will have to at least try them.  I think I am learning from the best cook ever.

Love you


Why is he so darn cute?

And speaking of talented...

Adorable toddler boy has tinkled in the potty FIVE times today.  That is not a misprint!  He requested pull ups when we were at Target over the weekend, and although Daddy-O and I were understandably skeptical, I said, "What the heck!"  We've been taking him to the potty every twenty minutes or so "just to try."  So far, so good.

cheese

And the love/hate relationship with having professional pictures made continues...

We last had "professional" pictures done last Spring.  Toddlerhood has brought with it lots of changes and I hated to miss an opportunity to document Reese's growing.  Off to Sears we went.  In the past they have provided decent pictures at an affordable price, which frankly is what we were in the market for.  I want to have professional pictures made of the three of us in the fall and needed an interim option.

Today was a bust, though.  I'm not sure if it was the photographer, or the toddler, or a combination of both.  Either way, we got very few suitable options...

Here you go:

the best

And from there it goes down hill ....

Two hundred dollars and an hour of our life that we will never get back.