Time Flies When You're Having Fun

For a long time, I was posting all of the "happenings" in our family on Facebook. I have recently come to the conclusion that those will eventually be lost, and I will have not record of them. At least with this blog, I can print and save all of my posts. 2012! The years are slipping by, and it really scares me at times. I just want to freeze time and enjoy every second of life. Natalie and Colton are growing and learning even faster than ever.

Colton is loving 2nd grade and has scored in the 99th percentile in math and the 97th percentile in reading. He loves to read, especially non-fiction, and is still building with Legos. He has decided that he wants to attend USC (go Gamecocks) and wants to be an engineer or architect. I am sure that will change several times before we get to college, but I am thrilled that he shows so much interest already. He is playning soccer for the first time this season. It takes up a lot of time, but he seems to enjoy it.

Natalie is in kindergarten, and she is a music lover. She loves to sing, play the piano and recorder, and dance. Her favorite related art class is music, and she comes home to share everything she learns each week. We are planning a trip to Dollywood since she learned about Dolly Parton in class. She lost her first tooth on February 6th and her second tooth February 17. She went to the dentist today and had to have a spacer put in. Teeth are already starting to cost a fortune! Yikes! Natalie has a new friend who recently moved into the neighborhood. Her name is Mikayla and she lives right behind us. They ride the bus home in the afternoons, and they take turns playing at each other's houses in the afternoons. It reminds me of having Theresa as a best friend for all of those years and her living behind us. I am hoping that she will have some of the same memories that I still have.

We have been active in church, and the kids really enjoy it. Midlands Christian Church feels like home, and we enjoy the activities that they provide. We spend time volunteering at our local thrift store (one of the kids very favorite things to do) and we are fortunate to have our minister live next door. It's nice to be able to walk over and ask a question or have his daughters over to play with Colton and Natalie.

After three years teaching at Lexington Middle School, I have moved to Dutch Fork Middle. I absolutely love it there! It's a bit of a drive, but I get to cross the dam every morning and the lake is gorgeous! I am able to teach 7th and 8th grade English/language arts to college prep level students. My heart has always been with the students who work at or below grade level. I am not best suited for working with honors students. I am on block scheduling, so I teach three 80 minute blocks and have one 80 minute prep. The school also operates on a rotating schedule, so each week the students will see teachers at different times. It keeps things fresh and doesn't allow you to get bored with routine.

Mike is still a paramedic for Lexington County. He still loves his job. What a blessing for both of us to have jobs that we absolutely love! I can't imagine working a job that wasn't fulfilling. He has been with the county since 2005. He has plans to take some courses for a teaching certification so he will be able to teach, but he has no plans to really change what he does. He loves public service, and will probably stay on the ambulance until his back gives out completely!

We live in Lexington, South Carolina. We love this place, and I can't imagine living anywhere else. We love the spring, when all of the plants start to bloom, and the grass becomes green again, the summer is hot and humid, but we lay by the pool the entire time. The kids love to go for walks in the summer to see fireflies and catch frogs. We love the color changes in the fall and all of the leaf removal that comes with it! We really do enjoy the yard work, strange I know. Living a mile from Lake Murray has it's perks as well. Fishing and Jet skiing on the lake is a favorite of the kids. We grill out and eat on the porch almost every night in the spring, summer, and fall. Winter isn't too harsh and doesn't last too long here. This year has been strange with the temperature bouncing between 70 and 30 every other day.

We have taken over my mom and dad's house and plan to stay here permanently. My mom lives with us, and I am so glad that the children are able to grow up so close to her. She drives them to school every morning, rather than riding the bus. It's something that she says she really looks forward to every day. Mom has "retired" from her full time job and is working part-time as a massage therapist. She seems to have found something that really makes her happy.

I guess that is about enough for now. I really will try to keep this thing updated... We'll see.

<3

My Goodness!

Can it really be 2009?

It's February already. So much for keeping things current in my blog. I swear the months seem to fly by. Let's see...
Christmas was absolutely wonderful! Every year seems to be better than the one before. This was the first year that both Colton and Natalie understood Santa. They each had a countdown calendar they they kept track of, and I know the time seemed to go slower than ever. Colton went to see Santa at the mall and told him exactly what he wanted. Thank goodness Santa was smart enough to go to Target early and get it, because the Lego set he asked for sold out very early this year! Natalie was a little more difficult. She refused to see Santa (her mood swings are very similar to those of her Mommy and Nanny). The only thing she asked for was "The Baby That Poops". Grandma got that for her, hooray! Oh, and thank you Nanny for the Moon Sand. ***Memo to parents: Moon Sand sucks to clean up (think bringing the beach indoors)*** Colton found the Santa map online and had me check it every 10 minutes to see where Santa had been and where he was heading. I finally got him to go to sleep. That was a task in itself.

New Years was pretty exciting. We went to BJ and Renee's house to eat and do fireworks. Of course, Mike had worked the night before, so he was too tired to stay up until the New Year. He and Natalie fell asleep and Colton and I quietly rang in the new year watching cartoons in bed.

We did have the tiniest bit of snow in January. Colton attributes the snow to the "snow stick" he made at school and the snow dance he did! We got about half an inch, enough to cancel school. The kids played outside for a bit and then decided it was too cold. Poor Colton, he has wished for snow every time he throws a penny in a fountain, sees a shooting star, or has a birthday. He seemed pretty satisfied though. I, on the other hand, am not pleased. This just means that we now have a snow day to make up at school.

Last weekend we took a trip to the mountains of North Carolina. It was a spur of the moment trip. I decided on Thursday morning that we should take a weekend trip so the kids could play in the snow. So Friday afternoon, we loaded up and went to Maggie Valley. There was just enough snow that the kids have a fabulous time. It was the first time they had ever stayed in a hotel, and the had a blast! We had a mini-fridge and microwave, so we had to hit a walmart super-center to stock it up. They played and ate snacks, ran around the creek, and had a ton of fun. Every day since we got back, Natalie asks when we can go back to the hotel. We are planning to go back this June.

I think we finally have a handle on Natalie's health issues. It may take a while for us to get all of the doctor bills and hospital test fees paid off, but we are so relieved that there isn't anything serious wrong. For those of you who don't know, we have had her in the doctor's office at least 8 times since August with Urinary Tract Infections. Every time she would finish up a round of antibiotics she would get another infection. The doctor didn't seem too concerned with this, probably because he was not the one sitting at home with the screaming three-year-old. So I found a urologist who advised us we needed to have some surgical tests run. This scared me to death. I am one who refused to have a necessary surgery because I am afraid of being put to sleep. So to have my daughter put to sleep was almost too much. She did so well! The hospital staff was amazing. They were so good with her, and I was able to stay with her right up until the put her under. They came and got us just as she was waking up, so she never even knew we were gone. The best news of all was that she does not have anything developmentally wrong with her kidneys.

Then things took a turn for the worse. Natalie stopped eating. She was drinking a ton of fluid, taking a prophylactic dose of antibiotic to prevent UTI, but refusing food. We were then referred to another pediatrician, an outstanding doctor, who ran a bunch of tests. He discovered that she did, in fact, have a UTI (even though there were no symptoms) and she had a raging virus (with no symptoms). The refusal to eat came from her throat being sore and swollen. Unfortunately, she had no way to explain her symptoms to me other than to say "I don't feel good". Once the virus ran it's course, and she gained back the 4 pounds she lost, she did much better. Now she sleeps through the night and seems to be quite a bit happier. We still worry about her aggressiveness and mood swings. I know what we could be in for, genetically, but I hope we can keep it under control for now.

The kids are growing so quickly, and learning so much. They are both involved in gymnastics. Colton also does Karate, while Natalie does dance. She is currently doing tap and ballet. Colton also wants to do soccer, but with Mike working nights, me working days and taking classes at night, and my mom working 2 jobs, we can't seem to find the time to fit anything else in!


Hmmmmm...I guess that brings us pretty much up to date. Things we are looking forward to in the next two months: Playhouse Disney Live this month and The Circus next month. Plus, my very good friend Kristie is coming to visit in March! Tina and Danielle will be here for Spring Break and my birthday (31, ouch), and Mike's parents are coming for 2 weeks in the summer. We are planning another trip to Maggie Valley for hiking, swimming, and relaxation.

Time flies

Where does the time go? It seems like I blogged just yesterday. I opened up my profile to see that my last post was on September 30th! I can't seem to find the time to get everything done.

So, here I sit... So much has happened since my last post. Work is going exceptionally well. I am taking a technology course so that I can stay up to date on the "cutting edge" technology that we are using in the classroom. It's amazing how far things have come since we were in high school. I have one more Praxis exam to take, this weekend, and then I am done with my requirements for middle level certification in this state. After that it is gifted and talented endorsement, and who knows, maybe a doctorate?

Colton is absolutely loving school. His teacher raves about his abilities and attentiveness. He comes home with so many projects and songs. Library day is his favorite. He is so very proud of the choices he makes all by himself.

Natalie says she wants to return to school, just not without her brother. We will see how that goes next year. After months of changing her mind, Natalie decided she wanted her ears pierced. I took her to the mall on Sunday, November 2. She had asked me if it would hurt. I explained that it would, but just a little. Once it was over I asked her if it hurt a little. She replied "No, it hurt a lot". She has been struggling with urinary tract infections for the past few months. We took her to have an ultrasound of her kidneys today. She was thrilled with the picture that the tech gave her. She has shown everyone her "right kitty". I won't have the results of the ultrasound for 2 days. Hopefully it will show something positive. This test was the least invasive. I am worried about the tests to come.

The kids' birthday party was a ton of fun. We had it at the house. I rented a bounce house and we grilled hot dogs. John and Marilyn were here, so that made it really special. The party was a double theme, Star Wars and Dora. We did manage to agree on the pinata. We went with Darth Vader. I just can't believe that my babies already 3 and 5 years old.

Halloween was a blast! For our first outing, we went to The Little Gym. The kids had a great time! A few days later we went to Boo at the Zoo (Natalie's favorite). We spent an hour walking the zoo and gathering candy. Then on Halloween night we trick or treated and had fun with BJ, Renee, and Kaitlyn. Unfortunately we have discovered that Natalie has an allergy to Red Dye #40. That makes it almost impossible for her to have candy. She has done really well with it. She will ask before she eats anything "does this have red dye in it?"

Here is a picture of Natalie, Teddy, and Bumblebee.

I think that the brings us to the present. We are getting ready for the holidays. It's still so hard to get used to Thanksgiving with 5 people. We are still so accustomed to having 50+ people gathered together. For our next adventure: The Great Smokey Mountains! Colton is dying to see the snow. I'll take a ton of pictures!

AHHHH!

Things have been so busy around here. Between work, classes, Colton's school, and both kids' gymnastics classes we never seem to have a moment to spare.

We spent all of last weekend getting things done around the house. Friday night we prepped everything for a huge garage sale. We spent most of Saturday at the garage sale (working in shifts, of course, so that Mike could sleep, we could get the kids to gymnastics, and mom could get to work on time). Then Sunday was spent trying to get all of the yard work done, the railing painted on the stairs, and the house in order (somewhat). All of this is happening in anticipation of the kids' birthdays. I just can't believe that Colton will be 5 in two days. Natalie will be 3 on Friday! They are growing so quickly. They party is all planned. It will be a combination Dora/Star Wars theme. I am taking the kids to pick out their cakes tomorrow. A bounce house has been ordered and we are planning a BBQ. Everyone is so excited. Mike's parents will be flying in Friday to enjoy the celebration.

So, needless to say, things have been busy and stressful around here. I always think "let's just get past this one thing, and things will slow down". It never seems to happen that way.

Here is a picture, of Natalie, that I took today.

The beginning of The Beale Family Blog

I decided, long ago, that I was going to start a blog for our family. I have finally taken the time to start one. Hopefully I will be able to update it frequently. It is my hope that as things change and grow I will be able to document them for future reference. Things happen so quickly that I find it difficult to remember all of the special moments that we have every day.

So here I go....

Mike and I have been married for 9 years as of July 24th. It seems like just yesterday that he took me to Hill Climb and asked me to marry him. Now 9 years and two beautiful children later, we are happier than I ever though possible.

Mike is a paramedic for Lexington County. He loves it. He has been in EMS for about 12 years. It wasn't his first choice, firefighting was his passion, but an unfortunate back injury prevented him from pursuing that career. Fortunately he has found that EMS is his real calling. Better him than me...I faint at the thought of blood.

Before we had children I was a teacher. My original major was liberal studies with a concentration in sociology. I ended up teaching elementary school for a few years. Due to budget cuts at our school, I (along with my best friend, luckily) was moved to middle school to teach Language Arts. I was extremely apprehensive going into it, but found that middle school is my passion! I went back to school to complete my master's in middle level education.

Colton was born October 2, 2003. We were so excited to have started our family. It took us quite a while to get pregnant, so once we found out we were ecstatic. We moved to South Carolina when he was 8 months old and have been here ever since. He is now 4 years old, and has just started 4-year-old kindergarten. He is a very active child. He loves to play outside, ride his John Deere tractor, and play sports. He is quite interested in music as well (just like his mommy). He is a huge fan of Transformers. Thanks to Mike's mom we have all of the original G1 series Transformers that belonged to Mike as a child. His latest obsession is Star Wars, as we took him to see The Clone Wars in the theater a few weeks ago. That was his first theater movie. It was amazing to experience that through his eyes. He was amazed by everything.

Natalie was born October 3, 2005. She and Colton would have had the same birthday, but the midwife agreed that we could wait a few moments past midnight to have her so that they would each have their own special day. So she was born at 12:24am. She is 2 years old and quite a handful. She is very stubborn and outspoken. At times I find it irritating, but I then it makes me proud to think that she will turn into a very strong woman someday. Natalie enjoys art. She loves anything that she can create. She is also involved in gymnastics and tumbling.

After Natalie was born I took some time off to stay home and be a full-time mom. It was quite a change, but I wouldn't change it. I loved that I was here for all of their "firsts". So for nearly 3 years I was home with the children. This August I went back to teaching. I am currently at Lexington Middle School teaching 7th grade ELA. I can honestly say that I love going to work every day. My day goes by so quickly and I adore working with middle school students.

I guess that's about it for now. Hopefully I will be posting regularly.

Here are a few pictures of the new kitten that we got last weekend. Her name is Bumblebee!