we wish you

throwback tuesday - is that even a thing?

Mr. Beeton found this video the other day. It's precious. In retrospect, Baby Beeton was probably rooting, not kissing. But, we were new parents. Cut us some slack.

Keep sweeping, Martha

Watched Hunger Grames.

* Originally, I published this post under the title "throwback thursday" - even though it was a Tuesday. Loooooong week.

peg plus cat

If you know her catch phrase, you'll know what this week has been like.

It's only Monday, by the way.

the ketcheson gene

I saw this email today from BabyCenter and laughed out loud... in part because Baby Beeton had - earlier that day - pointed to a display case of insects at Mr. Beeton's school and said, "Look at those butterflies, Daddy." I also laughed because he earlier asked me, "What's the word for dog in Spanish?" Later today, we were talking about relatives. He said, "Momma, you have a Poppop. His name is Peanuts." So... I think we got the verbal thing down.

You need a helicopter to get them apples? I think you hear what I'm saying.

Keep sweeping, Martha

sleeeep

A few weeks ago I sent an email with the above subject line to the listserv for my moms' group. Baby Beeton had started to rebel. Nighttimes, as you know, were never easy with him, but in the last two weeks, he began to resist the crib mighty hard. (Being the offspring of parents both born under the sign of Taurus, his stubbornness isn't surprising.) And, now that he's extremely verbal, he could find the words to express his discontent in a way that pulled at my heartstrings. "My crib isn't comfy cozy!" he'd wail. He'd gotten used to sleeping in our "yummy" bed for naps. And, when he was in Pennsylvania for two wedding weekends, he slept in a grown-up bed there. I didn't really blame him. In comparison, the crib wasn't particularly comfy or cozy.

When I sent my message to my moms' group, I was looking for some tips to transitioning to a big boy bed. And, can I just say that my moms' group came through again?! My thread on gmail says there were twenty-five replies to my original post! Just one more reason that the Takoma Mamas 5 rock. Thank you, ladies!

So, we did it. We bought a mattress and a box spring from a little place on Georgia Avenue which should really market itself as a mattress store and indoor gymnasium for children. Baby Beeton ran and ran and ran around that showroom. We ordered crib rails. And, we set the big boy bed up in the same spot that the crib was occupying. We'll be getting a frame from Grammy who - like my mother - saves everything (thank goodness)! Baby Beeton has taken to his new bed like a champ. Tonight, he was playing with his figures (Green Lantern, Batman, Batgirl, etc.), and I heard him say, "Do you want to go up and sleep in my big boy bed?" So cute.

With this new transition, Mr. Beeton and I realized that we'll probably need to move Baby Beeton into the guest room and transform his nursery into an office. He needs more space. The sweetheart room - as our electrician called it - just won't cut it. Plus, I've got big plans for stars on the walls, this tent, and a pirate treasure chest which I will be making from a cool little piece of furniture our neighbor threw in the trash. Of course, I realized as I excitedly began planning this big boy room that I never posted pictures of our nursery. So, here they are! (Right before we took the crib down.)

Sleep tight and keep sweeping, Martha

A full shot of the room. Our electrician said that rooms of this size - which are common in this neighborhood - are called sweetheart rooms.

Baby Beeton's crib 

Our wall collage inspired by this collage over at Young House Love. You'll see Little Mr. Beeton and Little Mrs. Beeton, Tintin and Snowy, and Little Orphan Annie and Sandy.

The banner made by my very talented mother for my baby shower. And a make-your-own mobile off to the right, using alphabet cards like these given to us by Grammy.

A repurposed fruit basket from our old apartment, which housed tiny animals. A great distraction for baby while changing dipes.

Henry and Ribsy!

Another repurposed shelf - this time from the childhood bedroom of Little Mr. Beeton.

A little marble-topped table we found in our neighbor's trash.

What I thought was an insect door stop from my Great Aunt Mary... it's actually a boot remover, according to my father-in-law.

P.S. - My new favorite Baby Beeton saying... "I love you, Baby Beeton." "I, too, Momma."

boo

Happy belated Halloween from your friends on Quackenbos Street!

putting the lonesome on the shelf

Last weekend, we had the pleasure of celebrating two of our favorite people - M & B! They were married in Bethlehem, and Friday, Saturday, and Sunday marked three days of fun with family and friends. There was a fabulous rehearsal dinner at Sagra in Hellertown with the cutest party favors - Granny Smith apples and Baby Ruth candy bars, packaged with an inscribed maple leaf. On Saturday, we had the ceremony at Peter Hall along with the reception at the Banana Factory. (Again, Sagra provided the food, and it was ah-mazing! As were all the little details that my mom and sister worked so hard to put together!) Then, Sunday, we gathered at Perkins - in true Peanuts Clay fashion.

One of the more challenging moments of the weekend was my giving my bridesmaid speech. At first, when I was asked to be the matron of honor, I refused to give a speech. It seemed way too intimidating. But, as the months passed, I realized that I wanted to honor my cute, funny, smart sister (Baby Beeton's quote) in some way. And, I also realized that doing things which make you uncomfortable can provide an opportunity for growth. I've had a couple of requests for my speech, so I'm posting it here. (Get inspired B - you're next!)

Good evening everyone. I’m M's sister, and on behalf of my family, I’m here to thank you for joining M &B as they collect the first moments of their married life together.

I thought I might begin by recognizing some of the impressive marriages on both M's and B's sides of the family.

In doing a little research, I found that on both sides of these families there have been some very long lasting, strong marriages, and it seems appropriate to give these couples a shout out.

To start, B’s parents – if my math is correct – will be married thirty-six years in April. M’s parents mark their forty-first anniversary in just a week or so. And, M’s grandparents who unfortunately couldn’t be with us today have been married sixty-nine years.

B’s grandparents – his Nana Marie who is here today – was married to her husband since 1949. And, Mr. R’s parents who are no longer with us were married in 1939. Finally, my Nana and Poppop who are no longer with us were married almost seventy years when my Poppop died.

You can see why, after reviewing this list, I was a little intimidated to offer my own marriage advice. I wasn’t sure what advice I – with my five years experience (Frank stands and corrects me, holding up six fingers) – could offer the newlyweds.

But then I realized that M & B are already familiar with the best metaphor that I can think of for marriage – that of the tennis doubles team. For a successful doubles team, you try to match up partners whose strengths compliment their partner’s weaknesses. You have to move together as one unit. You have to communicate. You have to celebrate the wins together and mourn the losses together. And what I’ve learned most recently in my marriage is that you have to realize exactly when you don’t have the strength to book it back to the baseline for that lob. And your partner, in turn, has know when to say, “I got it.”

Now, I know that there are a lot of expectations, given my profession as an English professor, for me to come up with the perfect quote that sums up what marriage means. So, I didn’t want to disappoint. I went through my volumes of Shakespeare, my Austen, and the Romantic poets in the hopes of finding that perfect quote. And, I found it. In a little known text, Orange Is the New Black, a Netflix original series. In this show, there’s a scene where the protagonist Piper is helping her best friend Polly get ready for her wedding day. While the two are talking, Polly shares her advice for a strong relationship. She notes that her soon-to-husband rarely gets angry when she puts her cold feet on him in the middle of the night. She also says that he always knows when it’s time to order Chinese food. But, it’s this quote that really resonated with me regarding M & B's relationship. Polly says:

“You have to find someone that you can spend two weeks with in a cramped time share in Montauk in the rain and not want to kill… He made jigsaw puzzles fun and competitive.”

And that’s when I knew. M & B. They’ve got this one.

So, raise your glasses as we celebrate M & B's new partnership. We love you. Best of luck.

I don't have many photos to share, but here are three of my favorites. If you're on Instagram, you can try #smithruthwedding. There are some super cute ones posted!

Keep sweeping, Martha

PS - A HUGE thank you to Grammy and Poppa for trekking up to the Little Town to watch Baby Beeton during the wedding festivities! It was much appreciated. We owe you a dinner (at least).

Finished watching Orange Is the New Black. Onto Homeland: Season Two. 

rut

It's funny. Molly Wizenberg (over there at Orangette) and I are living weirdly parallel lives. She was in graduate school; I was in graduate school. She loves food; I love food. She had a baby and postpartum depression; I had a baby and postpartum depression. Aside from the fact that she's a successful blogger and has a book that's been read by more than ten people, we're nearly the same. In another life, we might even become what Anne Shirley called "bosom friends."

Then, this weekend, I logged on to see her latest post - one I had been planning on writing just as soon as life settled down. Okay, maybe not exactly the same, but I had planned to write about how we've really gotten into a rut around here with our dinner menu. I feel like we've been eating the same thing "over and over and over" each week. Yesterday, when we returned from a weekend trip to Pennsylvania, all I could think about was how much I didn't want to food shop. 

So, I got it into my head that I'd write a post, soliciting my dear readers for their tried and true standby meals - in the hopes that some of these recipes might become my tried and true standby meals (and shake up our dinnertime routine a bit!). 

I'll share one of mine if you share one of yours. Just don't make it for zucchini.

Keep sweeping, Martha

just because

some type of way

We've been in some serious denial that summer is over here on Quackenbos Street. But, now that Labor Day has come and gone, I think it's time to face the facts - even if select splash parks in D.C. are still open. 

In these waning summer days, I noticed more and more people posting on Facebook about things that they were pleased to note they had finally crossed off their "summer bucket lists." I find the whole concept of a bucket list to be perverse (who wants to actively think about their impending doom?), but I did want to post about a few places that were especially special to us this summer - places that we visited more and more as the impending first day of school loomed.

Trohv - I cannot even explain the magic that is Trohv. If you haven't been, you need to hop on the red line and head on up there. After all, where else can you find an A-Treat soda bottle carrier that you'll transform into bathroom wall art? (Yes, you read that correctly.)

Pleasant Pops - This place was one of my most favorite summertime haunts - the pop shop! (Thanks, MB, for tipping us off to it!) When you combine it with a picnic in Meridian Hill Park, nothing says summer more. 

Van Buren Playground - Yes, folks. The playground is finally open! We'd been dreaming about it all summer, and I have to say that the final product is waaaay better than what we imagined. We spent so much time there the past few weeks that I think the maintenance men thought we had set up permanent camp in the little treehouse. And, again, when combined with a picnic... aaahhh. As Baby Beeton would say, "This is the life!"

AFI Silver Theater - How did we not know this was in our backyard? Mr. Beeton and I had a date night not too long ago (only the second of the entire summer... a crime, I know). We followed it up with a drink at Sidebar. I had a "Tennis Is More Interesting When You're Drunk" in honor of the U.S. Open. It had Pimm's in it, and you know how I feel about that.

Takoma Park Farmers' Market - We loved going to market all summer. Frequently, the much anticipated La Mano coffee bar would host pop-ups, and we could shop for fresh veggies while drinking cold brewed coffee. Baby Beeton loves, loves, loves the yogurt drinks and guitar player. And, this past week, we did our best to convince our former neighbors-now-friends that they really need to move here (please, please, please! we'll watch your cats when you take trips... er... I mean vacations).

When I think of summer 2013, these are the places that I'll think of... the places that make me "drop down to my knees, thankful for life today." If you can guess who made that quote famous, I'll buy you a cold-brewed coffee.

Keep sweeping, Martha

Watched Blue Jasmine.

 

just because i'm losing

Um... how did it get to be August 2nd?

I always have this feeling once August hits. No matter how much time summer offers, it never seems like enough. And, inevitably when August hits, I start to mentally list all the things I didn't accomplish. Book. Check. Article. Check. Conference proposal. Check. To be honest, I don't know where the time goes. It seems as though pre and post Baby Beeton this was always the dilemma. It's amazing how doing nothing takes up so much time.

I can't complain. I know. I'm privileged to have a stretch of time without teaching. To think. To research. To read. To write. To blow bubbles.

This morning, in an effort to remain positive, I tried to focus on the things that I did accomplish - the things aside from tent tea parties and trips to Opal Daniels Park. I remember when the summer started, saying to our babysitter, "When you come back in the fall, you won't even recognize this house!" I knew it was a bold statement to make, and as I look around today, I realize that she will, very much so, recognize this house - its broken dining room light fixture, the rooms yet to be painted, the cracked kitchen floor. But, I also know that there are a host of things that we did do that she might not notice but are significant... at least to me.

What follows is a list of summer time accomplishments...

1) A brick border in the front garden.

2) An organized front hall closet.

3) A painted downstairs bathroom.

4) A clean downstairs bathroom.

5) A new downstairs bathroom curtain - made by me (with turquoise ball trim!).

6) A newly hung Kate Spade shower curtain in the downstairs bathroom.

7) A chevron futon in the playroom.

8) A painted and organized desk.

9) New playroom curtains.

10) An organized closet for Baby Beeton.

11) New bedside table lamps in the master bedroom.

12) New bedside table lamp in the guest bedroom.

13) Newly hung hooks throughout the house to help with organization.

14) Back stairs demolished and new stairs on their way up.

15) Plus, countless smaller organizing projects to clear up living space!

To be honest, I think when people visit our house, they tend to forget just what we were up against. I forget what we were up against. I completely forgot that we had to cut our bed in order to get it up our narrow staircase. I blocked from my mind the night I filled the tub, and there were three dead roaches floating in it. Or the time when a dead mouse was discovered by Ruby in our couch. In focusing on our unpainted dining room, I forgot that we had to clear a significant amount of stuff out of our house from the previous owner, including such things as dirty magazines and forgotten underwear. Here's a few pictures of the severity of our initial situation.

I need to remind myself of these facts when I start to feel down about our lovable little money pit. Even though our basement doors downstairs are half painted, at least we have real carpeting down there and not fake green grass. And, while there may not be curtains hung in the guest room, Baby Beeton has a cute little nursery, lovingly painted by his parents. With no more mice.

Keep sweeping, Martha

Read Down Came the Rain by Brooke Shields. 

nothing to see here, sheryl

A few more moments of leaning back...

A tea party in a tent with a frog.

A picnic on the bed before nap time with a rabbit.

A swim in a pool with a dog.

A summer haircut (courtesy of Shampoo) with a cell phone and messenger bag.

And what I don't have documented is an extended Momma and Baby Beeton dance party last night after dinner, swimming and picnics at Prince George's Swimming Pool (thanks to A and C), celebrating new babies at Jackie's (can't wait for the newest bean to arrive!), and general summer malaise. It's been a heatwave, after all, Sheryl.

Finished reading Mary Higgins Clark's Daddy's Gone A Hunting. Finished watching Dexter: Season 7 and Top of the Lake. Started Veep. Still into The Killing.

Keep sweeping, Martha

birthday times three

Keep sweeping, Martha

later's better than never

Sheryl Sandberg would not be happy with me.

If she had walked by my house on Wednesday, she would have seen me literally leaning back in my plastic adirondack chair, my feet soaking in a kiddie pool, blowing bubbles like it was my job. Which it kind of is. At least for now.

I'm not sure I care, though.

(By the way, if you work with me, you might want to skip this post. I don't want you to think less of me for leaning back instead of leaning in.)

I first heard about Sandberg and her book from one of my students - an ambitious young woman with a internship in the office of a prominent Congresswoman. When the student enthusiastically explained the premise (her mother had given it to her as a gift), I internally raised my eyebrows. It sounded incredibly problematic for a number of reasons. Sitting there, facing this eager, young undergrad, I suddenly felt very old. I could see my past self in this student, voraciously consuming Sandberg's words as I carefully planned out my post-graduation future. But realistically, from my current perspective as a new mother, trying to balance going back to work with child care, Sandberg's manifesto seemed a bit oversimplified. Perfect for a wide-eyed co-ed. Not so applicable to a thirty-nine year old, first-time mother.

Admittedly, I still haven't read the book (though it is on my "To Read" list), so I could be totally wrong about Sandberg and her advice to young women. But, I have read the criticism, and it resonantes strongly. Elsa Walsh's response in The Washington Post was particularly insightful. At fifty-five, she thinks back on her children's early years and acknowledges while it seems all consuming at the time it's really just a small, wonderful blip on the screen - one that she wouldn't have wanted to miss, leaning in at work. Allison Stevens, who writes for We News, has a similar response to Sandberg; she notes that until domestic work is shared equally amongst partners in a household there's no sense in trying to do it all. You'll just end up more tired, more angry, and more disappointed in yourself.

In her column, Stevens notes that she's "leaning back" - a philosophy which I am readily embracing this summer, even though I have a nagging feeling in the pit of my stomach that it might be career self-sabatoge. I still have a book to finish. But, I'm wondering now if turning two chapters into two articles would be more realistic. It would give me a lot more time for blowing bubbles, that's for sure.

In any case, I have to make peace with my career decisions this summer and into the future. Every time I think about exchanging an afternoon at the playground with an afternoon in the library, however, the playground always wins.

I keep reminding myself there are so many reasons not to feel guilty about being fully present with Baby Beeton this summer. As Walsh reminds, childhood is fleeting. And, if Baby Beeton ends up being an only, then I'll only have this one summer with a two-year old who finds such pleasure in butterflies, birdies, ice cream, and dancing to "Gangnam Style." Leaning back, in that case, sounds pretty darn good.

Some shots from our summer of leaning back.

A new favorite pastime - washing dishes (i.e. splashing, splashing, splashing!)

Hoops!

Matching shoes

A game of "whack it" - also knows as golf

One lump or two, teddy?

Keep sweeping, Martha 

II

Happy Birthday, Baby Boy! (Thanks for reminding us - at 2 a.m. today - that that's when you were born. I'm not sure it was necessary to stay up for the next two hours, though.)

Keep sweeping, Martha

salute

The day started out with freshly squeezed orange juice, coffee, bacon, cinnamon rolls, and a Greek omelet. It ended with Roscoe's pizza and mango gelato. Who could ask for a better Mother's Day?

Keep sweeping,

Martha

the blanket’s spread wide for your guests

I know what someone's getting for his birthday. Good thing he can't read Momma's blog.

From The Souls of Boys

Keep sweeping, Martha

Watching Top of the Lake. Watched three-quarters of Hitchcock. Finished reading Sweet Tooth by Ian McEwan.

PS - You can listen to the inspiration for the title of this post here: http://www.francesengland.com/. It's called "Tea Party."

out like a lion

Dear April:

I bid you adieu.

Good riddance.

Admittedly, you were not without your bright points - cherry blossoms, the family reunion, Mad Men: Season 6 premiere, gardening, the return of the screened in porch, the Cosmos Club dinner. But, overall, you displeased me. I didn't care for the two rapid succession ear infections, broken up by a terrible stuffy nose. Nor did I enjoy the projectile vomiting the other evening. I could have done without that.

So, so long, April. I can't say that I'll miss you. I'm ready for May - for birthdays, Mother's Day, and warm weather that will kill all those nasty, nasty germs.

Keep sweeping, Martha

the art of distraction

Well, it's that time of the semester again. I am staring down a pile of 12-15 page research projects along with a slew of rewrites. The carrots that I've placed in front of me to give me motivation are as follows:

From thisoldhouse.com

From houzz.com

From babble.com

Wish me luck.

Keep sweeping, Martha

bloom watch

Here's one long overdue photo from our picnic at the cherry blossoms. Someone seemed to enjoy himself.

More to come.

Keep sweeping, Martha

great expectations

This weekend did not turn out as I had hoped. I was dreaming big after a wretched week of work. Here was the plan. House of Cards and wine on Friday; a visit to Purcellville on Saturday; cherry blossoms and Mad Men premiere on Sunday.

I feel like a more accurate title for this post would be #lifewithkids. Or kid, in my case.

What I got instead was a very sick boy with an ear infection (his first) and a trip to the Children's National Medical Center on Friday evening. A series of sleepless nights and restless naps ensued. A follow-up trip to the doctor revealed that not only were we facing an ear infection - as diagnosed - but we were also staring down two-year molars - as suspected.

In looking back over the weekend, though, it was surprisingly bright, considering. Baby Beeton was a trooper, and even when sick has a super sunny disposition, so there's that. And, we got gelato for everyone following the hospital visit on Friday night. Delicious. Plus, we had an impromptu get-together with the Purcellville crowd who kindly came out, cooked us dinner, and brought us Easter treats (including a sweet little wheelbarrow for spring time gardening).

So, even though the best laid plans did not come together, we still made it work. Just don't tell me what happened on Mad Men. I still haven't watched it.

Keep sweeping, Martha

PS - Here's a little video that Grammy took when babysitting the other day. I've got to get myself one of these iPhone things.

on the hunt

Happy Easter!

Martha

Watched This Is 40 and Life As We Know It.

got my pockets full

It's been quite a while since I posted any kind of house updates on here. We've been making tiny bits of progress, but we've accomplished nothing major, I'm afraid. We've got paint picked out for the dining room and part of a outside deck built, but those bigger projects will have to wait until life settles down a bit. It was an exhausting February. I'm glad that spring is on the way.

We did manage to get the downstairs bathroom primed and painted twice. But, it needs a third coat because the baby blue paint that covered it previously is still peeking through. I've got big dreams for that bathroom, including wall planters and a Kate Spade shower curtain.

 From West Elm

 From Bed, Bath, and Beyond

From West Elm

What really makes the basement right now is our chevron futon that we bought from Target. It goes great with the black, white, gray, and dragonfly color scheme we've got going on down there. If you squint hard, it almost obstructs the half painted desk and the windows without curtains.

From Target

Think spring, Martha

Watching House of Cards.

zzzzz

I hesitate to even write this post for fear of jinxing the good stuff that's been going on around here the last two nights. But, right now, I feel like dancing like these two crazy kids, and I've got to capture it. Partly, because it feels so good. And, partly, because I want to bookmark this post and read it obsessively when those bad, middle of the nights strike again in order to remind myself that, yes, THIS is possible.



After Baby Beeton's incredibly ridiculous sleep regression of late, he has finally been settling down into a more predictable, less hair pulling inducing routine. And, the past two nights?

He. Slept. Through. The. Night.

Not once did we go into his room to soothe, sing, or rock. He cried out and settled himself. We stayed warm under the covers. It was glorious.

It's amazing what eight straight hours of sleep two nights in a row after, literally, twenty-one months without such consolidated sleep can do for your mindset.* Again, I'll refer to Pete and Trudy.

In any case, I'll end this post with the hashtag #throwbackthursday - an early sleeping picture of the baby.

Keep sweeping, Martha

* You may think that I'm exaggerating this statistic. I am known to do that. But, this one, dear readers, is accurate. There were three or four nights in the past twenty-one months where Baby Beeton had fairly consolidated sleep, but we did not. Usually, this was due to one of three reasons: 1) we couldn't sleep because he was sleeping, 2) Ella was throwing up (she has a delicate constitution), 3) Metro Connect, which comes to pick up our neighbor every morning at 4:45 am, decided to wake us with its infernal, back-up bleating. How am I so sure of these facts? I have three notebooks filled with sleep logs from the past twenty-one months. Yes, I'm crazy. I know.

kiss the cook

Someone wanted to wear an apron like Momma the other day and stir up the stew that was cooking on the stove. I'm lucky that I got to kiss the cook.

Happy Weekend! Martha

mon coeur est à toi

Thanks to Auntie M for this one. Happy Valentine's Day!

thank you for not smoking

Tonight, Mr. Beeton and I both realized that we have now entered that phase of parenting where we have to be very careful of what we say.

After a very pleasant evening in Leesburg, Virginia which included a visit to Papa's office, dinner at Jasmine, and a photography exhibit, we passed by a cigar store. Of course, passing such a store sparks a compulsion in me to begin asking, a la the Tiparillo girl, "Cigars? Cigarettes?"

Well, Baby Beeton, for some reason, found this to be particularly hilarious and began exclaiming, "Cigar! Cigar!" in order to get me to keep saying it.

Could be worse. I know.

Keep sweeping, Martha

Finished reading Good-bye for Now by Laurie Frankel. Watched Tiny Furniture.

the new normal

This weekend signified, for me, what I'd like to think of as "the new normal." Pre-Baby Beeton I spent a lot of time complaining about how much work I had to do - papers to grade, articles to write, committee work to accomplish. And I spent even more time avoiding all that work so that it often seemed insurmountable, mainly because I had whittled down my time so that there wasn't really any way to get 45+ hours of work done in 2.5 hours of time. It was a vicious cycle.

Perhaps one of the biggest blessings that Baby Beeton has brought with him is a sense of perspective. I've realized that I'm not as busy as I pretended to be, and I certainly can finish up what needs to get done - as long as I use my time wisely. And, this realization means that weekends, for me, have now become weekends... the kinds of days where you head out to Rock Creek Park and take a nature walk or stop by Trohv to visit a pop-up coffee shop. It's pretty blissful.

Winter break followed along the same lines. The end of 2012 was filled with a certain craziness that only the holidays can bring - Christmas Eve service, followed by dinner at Lia's, Christmas Day festivities in Purcellville, an unexpected ice storm, a trip to Pennsylvania for more family time, wedding dress shopping, and an unexpected snow storm.

When we returned, we took it easy. Some trips to Silver Spring to watch the ice skaters and dance to the music as H&M. Two trips to Zoolights since we love it so much. And a fantastic spur-of-the-moment visit to the Baltimore Aquarium where we saw dolphins - aka pishy, pishy - and picked up a penguin puppet - aka guck, guck. We finished that night off with dinner at Phillips.

I know it probably shouldn't have taken this long, but after nineteen months, I feel a lot more comfortable with this new life I've got. And, while Mr. Beeton and I question ourselves everyday about our parenting choices, I think - hopefully - that maybe we're not doing all that badly at raising this little one.

I have to say that one of the absolute highlights of the winter break was Baby Beeton's finally embracing the word "Momma." He learned "Dada" very quickly and would use it in reference to both Mr. Beeton and myself. Sometime over winter break, though, it clicked, and now it's "Momma, Momma, Momma." I particularly like it when he says, "Momma. Sit," and pats the floor space next to him. In fact, he's doing all kinds of word combinations now - "Tickle, tickle, Ruby" and "Bye-bye Geek Geek (read: Curious George)." It's adorable. This is also probably why he decided for a week straight to wake up at 2:30 am, 3:30 am, or 4:30 am to face the day. He has a lot to say, and he won't let sleep stop him. I'm trying to take it all in stride, though.

I like this new normal.

Keep sweeping, Martha

PS - If you're looking to support a good cause, head over to Enjoying the Small Things where Kelle Hampton is raising money for The National Down Syndrome Society. She's already raised around $200,000!

Finished reading NW by Zadie Smith.