Happy 4th of July

We did absolutely nothing after church today, and Mills had two wonderful naps. After "tentative" plans did not go through, we opted for a last minute run to the grocery store and grilled a few burgers. It was one of the best burgers I have ever had. E's bacon burgers are excellent, but this time, I think he beat them all. I made a quick last minute trip to get a few fireworks, and when I say "a few," I mean a few. Literally, like $10 worth. It helps to have the hook-up on prices ;). Mills loved the big ones so much last night, that I couldn't go with out having a few for him tonight. And yes...he again stayed up way past his bed time, but you can't shoot fireworks in the daylight. So, as long as he was hanging in there, we let him go as long as he could. He has been such a wonderful baby.

The Hanson's came by and visited with us and grabbed a burger as well. Of course, our traffic man had to be back home and in bed early for his early morning commute to work, so it was a quick visit. However, Amanda braved our night of a VERY small fireworks show, and stayed with us a few hours longer. You never know what you'll get into if you hang around here long enough. We ended up hopping of the golf cart and heading over to the club house for their nice fireworks display, then driving around the neighborhood and stopping to visit with the Naifehs. Mills got to meet their "bunny." It was a HUGE rabbit! A very pretty one, indeed!

Our "Yankee Doodle Boy" waving his flag

Mills' First of Many 4th of July Celebrations...

Mills goes tubing

We awoke bright an early this morning, for Mills' first visit to the lake. E had to work...again, so I tackled the job alone. I was anxious to see how he would manage on the pontoon, and he did great. The fact that he could crawl around helped, and I took his play mat just in case he should want to take a nap.

We bought him a life-jacket last night. I had been meaning to get him one, but have lagged behind, so since today's trip required one, off we went. Mills + life-jacket = FAIL! This "oh so wonderful" life vest may as well have been a straight-jacket. The poor baby screamed his head off when we put it on him. It was way too bulky and he couldn't even move his head. We will definitely be shopping for another, as it is nothing like the one my sister, Morgan, wore when she was little. We did manage to get it on him for a few minutes of tubing. He would cry, then stop, then scream, and then we gave up and got back in the boat. Tubing would have been fine if he could have been "jacketless," but we know that's not possible!! Afterwards, he went straight to sleep. Then, we had lunch just before going back out and finding a cove to swim in. We resorted to Mills' float and he did fine.

Being that he is only 10 months old, we didn't stay as long as I would have liked, but I was not about to wear him out. So, Mills and I headed home for baths and more Fourth of July celebrating.


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Mills' 1st Fireworks

Tonight, our church, held it's first annual "Let Freedom Ring" fireworks celebration. The festivities did not start until 8:00, with fireworks being at 9:00. I really wanted to participate, but was a little worried that after a day on the water, it may be too much and too late for Mills. I was also a little worried at how he may react to the fireworks. After thinking it over, I decided to give it a try. For those of you who know me well, we have a pretty strict bed time routine, but mostly in part because Mills demands it. Anyway, I loaded him up with his stroller, bag, plenty of snacks and milk, and our beach blanket, and headed across the street for music, a wonderful message, and an AWESOME fireworks display. Mills was so good. He sat in his stroller very content, eating his puffs and crunchies, then decided that it was time to get out. So, after letting him crawl around on the blanket, we moved closer to the pond where the fireworks were to be displayed. I was waiting for reaction, and sure enough, the first ones went off, and I got the most pitiful lip and whimper ever. My first thoughts were..."oh no, this isn't going to go very well," but after popping his "pappy" in his mouth, and dancing with excitement with him, he livened up, and did great. Mills sat in my lap, very still, and watched with amazement. He was all smiles for what seemed like eternity.

I can tell you this, there is nothing like sitting on a blanket holding your sweet baby close and watching a beautiful display of fireworks with friends. I will never forget this night, and am so glad that we went. It was truly a blessing!

Happy 2nd "Blogiversary"...to Us!

Two years ago today, I wrote my very first blog post. Although, nothing fancy, I never realized what that one post would be the precursor to. This diary has been nothing but joy for me. Like I said on my one year "blogiversary," my words and posts may be nothing but thoughts of mine that no one would have any interest in reading, but to me, they are my release, my fix, a way to get things off my chest. I am a wife and a mom who always needs a little bit of time to get things off her chest, no matter what these "things" may be, and if you are a follower or reader of "what's buzzing with the Beasley's," I thank you for hanging in there. I hope that you will continue to enjoy reading about our family, and hope that you will be delighted to see our Mills grow up before your very eyes. These days, I find myself having much more to blog about, but less time to do it. Some days it seems as if I have a million posts, and some days or weeks, my mommynesia sets in, and I feel as if I have no thoughts on what to post, but that's life as a mom. Right? I want to thank all of my fellow bloggers for sharing your stories with me. I love reading about your families, watching your children grow, and seeing that we're not always the only ones with a little bit of chaos in our lives. Keep those posts coming!

What's New

We are steadily gaining normalcy from last week. The term "sometimes you need a vacation from vacation," couldn't be more of a perfect quote. I was glad to go back to work on Monday, but even more glad that Thursday arrived. Mills has done very well settling back in, and I am sure he is glad to be back in his crib.

Joey, I am sure, is glad to be back home, as well. We always board him, and he does really well. This time, I am not sure if he is rebelling or is mad, but he will not eat his dog food. He will eat his treats, and whatever Mills decides to drop on the floor, but not his dog food. Weird? Yes! We are a bit frustrated. Every time he walks to his bowl, he sniffs his food, turns his nose up, and then walks off. We did call the vet, and he said to watch him, making sure he does not become lethargic etc. So far, Joey is Joey, and he seems to be himself, but what do we do about the food? I even went and bought a small bag of a different flavor, and he still will not eat it. E literally had to stand by his bowl and demand that he eat his food this morning. I just don't understand how a dog can eat the same food for 6 years, and then one day decided that he is not going to eat it anymore.


Today, I spent all day around the house. All clothes were "laundered," and Mills and I made our weekly Walmart trip around lunch time. Mimi June said that he was a little fussy yesterday afternoon, and had been knawing on his fingers. We knew that he had been trying to cut his upper left central incisor since last week, so this was no surprise to me. Poor fella! Today, was the worst! All day he has been clingy, fussy, and has exhibited a little bit of pain. He has drooled all over the place, and has now developed a teething rash around his little sweet mouth. Let me rephrase the "fussy" part. He hasn't been fussy, he's been out right screaming from the top of his lungs, not to mention the fact that he woke up 3 times last night. When Erik arrived home from work this morning, we caught a glimpse of something new. Oh no...Mills isn't cutting just one tooth, he's cutting three. Three teeth! This mama is worn out. No wonder the poor guy is mad and hurting. I was at the end of my rope, not knowing what else to do for him today. What else can you do other than Tylenol, Motrin, teething tablets, and cold teething rings? Not much at all; I am afraid. Hopefully mean tooth, bad tooth, and down-right-ugly tooth will come on in and leave my sweet lips alone!

Happy Father's Day!

Today, was of course, Erik's first Father's Day. After being exhausted from our long trip, both of my boys decided to sleep in this morning. So, being Father's Day, I let them. Mills didn't wake until 9:00 and Erik slept a little later. I couldn't believe it. I had every intention of getting up as usual, and getting ready for church. I usually never set my alarm on Sundays, because Mills is bound to wake me up waaaay before time to leave, but this morning, I was fooled. REALLY fooled! After being so tired, we all needed the rest, and to tell you the truth, after Mills woke up, he took his bottle, and went right back to sleep until 11:30. Yep! I know...shame on me for skipping out today, but sometimes, you just need rest. I am still very tired, and honestly, I am ready to get back on schedule tomorrow morning, even though I'm dreading waking up and an extremely early hour.

Today's Father's Day festivities started this morning as my boys woke up. (the first time-ha!) Mills gave his daddy his gift, a nice new golf shirt and some golf balls. Later, after the second nap, we got dressed and headed out to my daddy's for a wonderful lunch...FISH! Mills ate very good! Everything was yummy!

We ended the day, with dinner at Mama B and Daddy B's house this evening. We had a great time, and I am stuffed. I've eaten more brownies today than I would like to admit.

I am very honored to be the wife to such a wonderful father. I am proud to say that he loves his baby boy with all of his heart and you can see it every time they are together. Erik can make Mills smile and laugh like no other. Mills lights up when he sees his daddy, and I can only smile when I hear him say, "Hey Daddy!" I look forward to the day when Erik and Mills can have their father-son bonding. Erik will at times look at Mills and say, "one of these days, we're going to be able to do this and that...." Nothing will make me more proud than to see Erik and Mills having their boy time!

Happy Father's Day our wonderful Daddy's!

Finally Home

We are home, unpacked, and Mills is in the bed...unhappy I should add. We woke up this morning at our usual time, after going to bed late last night. I had a little accident in which a very large item from our pantry dropped on my right middle toe. I went to bed in major pain with a feeling of 1000s of needles sticking in my toe. This morning, I woke up, still in pain, with a very swollen purple toe. Erik said that it may be broken, but what can you do for a broken toe? Nothing! Luckily the closer we got home today, the swelling has started to subside, and I can put a tiny bit of pressure on it. So, it may be that it is just brusied....VERY BADLY! All I kept thinking was, "How am I going to put a shoe on?" "How am I going to walk up and down the stairs when we get home?" Seriously, I can't tell you how bad it hurt. I would have like to have passed out!



I can't tell you how glad I am that we are home. A week away from home with a 10 month old can be challenging, but we did have fun. I am just ready to get back in to routine. It was nice walking in to a clean house with luggage full of clean clothes that only had to be removed and hung in the closets. Now, I can sit down, relax, and enjoy the comfort of my own living room.

Beach Day 7

We finally took a few beach pictures. No description needed. Just enjoy!

Beach Day 6

We headed out early to Foley for some shopping, but not before stopping by the lovely Chick-fil-A for an order of chicken minis and hash browns. Mills enjoyed them too! It was nothing less than another hot and humid day for us, so every time we entered one of the shops, I was relieved. It finally rained, scattered showers, and we were hoping that it may cool things down a bit, but I think it only made things more humid.



I was on a mission to start stocking up on a few 12-18 month sized clothes for Mills, since he is extremely low on them. Of course, he's not wearing that size yet, but we have plenty of 12 month outfits for him to wear now. So, why not start early? I didn't have much luck. I had planned on loading up at baby Gap and the Polo store. Actually, I didn't find anything his size at the Polo store and ended up with 2 shirts from the Gap. So, my mission wasn't exactly "accomplished." We had fun anyway.



Since we had been out all day, we decided to grill steaks for dinner. E & J went to the store and found some wonderful cuts of meat, potatoes, and a broccoli salad; and after finally finding the grills that none of the club employees seemed to know the location of???...we finally had dinner, settled in, and enjoyed our night.

Beach Day 5

It's HOT! Too hot for anyone much less a 10 month old to be outside. So, we stayed in today. Erik and Justin actually went and got a "foot rescue" at the spa this afternoon-ha! So, before they left, Amanda and I visited the gift boutique for a little shopping and ice cream.


UCA cheer camp is going on here at the club. It is way too hot for those girls to be out in this heat. I never remember it ever being this hot during our camps in Memphis, and it was July. Also, we were inside quite a bit. These girls have no inside. They all seem to be in good spirits...no pun intended.

The oil is steadily getting closer to the area, although it is still reporting tarballs only. I am sure that by the end of the next week, there may be a lot more. The President has been down here visiting the areas and resturants that serve fresh seafood. He came down our way yesterday and so our road was blocked off for an hour or so, until he passed through. I am sure that he was on his way down to the fort, which is where hundreds of clean up volunteers are stationed. We are seeing a lot of tractors and ATVs with men and women wearing very brightly colored shirts. The parking lot here that was full this weekend is becoming more and more empty.


We finished the night with dinner at Lulu's. Mills had his very first menu ordered meal, straight from the kids menu, of grilled chicken bites and Mandarin oranges. He loved the chicken, but not the oranges. I should have stuck with the mixed fruit or the baby green beans as a side, but he ate well. Lulu is donating all proceeds from t-shirt sales to help the children of the fishermen who have been devastated by the oil. How awesome! Now I can say that I've, "Been there, done that, and got the t-shirt!"

Mills has this new "thing" where he likes to lean over side-ways and sit back up...over and over and over again!



Daddy and Mills waiting at Lulu's...yes, they match.

Beach Day 4

A lazy day for us, we took it a little easy today, as we were exhausted from day 3. We have learned that hauling a 10 month old, along with all of his gear and ours, out to the sand, can be quite a chore, especially when nap time rolls around, and it is near triple digit temperatures. You know its hot, when someone tells you that their nephew's crocs melted in the car.


Mills took a good long nap this morning, as did I. We ate lunch, then headed down to the pool for some floating. Our little man loves his float and pool toys. We are looking forward to the day when Mills can walk and run around the beach without us having to "tote" him every where. The kids have been crab hunting at night and I love sitting on the balcony watching them. I told Erik that I can't wait until Mills will be able to do the same. There are just so many things a child can do here, but Mills is still way too young for any of them. We have been very patient with our little guy, and have lovingly catered to his wants and needs as a baby this week. We have enjoyed every minute of it, even though he has wearing us out-ha! He has been a chatter-box this week, and has learned to wave..finally. We even spotted tooth #3 coming in. So, I'm glad we brought the Tylenol and teething tablets.

Enjoying time on the balcony

The beach clean up crews were here this morning cleaning up tarballs at the edge of the water. The beaches are still beautiful and no one is afraid to go into the water, but unfortunately, the parking lot here is looking more and more desolate every day. When we arrived on Friday, it was packed, but today, there are tons of parking spaces and the condo and business owners here are in fear. It is so sad.

Tonight we were in for a little something "yummy" for dinner. We spotted a billboard advertising a Japanese Steakhouse (*of course one of our favs) and so we headed back in to town for some sushi and surf & turf. Mills enjoyed the peas from my fried rice, along with a few carrots. I also gave him a little bit of rice and some of my steak and chicken. He LOVED the steak! I couldn't pull it into smaller bites fast enough. He was rather excited, but impatient for the next bite.