I have a blog?

Oh yeah. I do. Except I've neglected it for the past month. Yikes. I've gone back and forth between a) not knowing where to start since so much has happened between now and the last time I posted and b) regressing into an "I don't want to be vulnerable on the internet" phase. While yes, this blog is a great avenue for sharing my life, I am wary of potential random stalkers. Somewhat of an irrational fear? Maybe, especially when I read other blogs that document every last detail from where the author lives to what his or her kids' names are to when he or she was born, etc. At the end of the day, I'm pretty sure I only have about 5 faithful readers (hi Mom!), none of which are anywhere near being considered crazy.

The holidays were absolutely wonderful and amazing - both Thanksgiving and Christmas, especially seen through the eyes of a child. Okay - that sounded good, but really B had no idea what was going on. NEXT year maybe we'll be able to experience the joy of the seasons through her excitement once she's able to focus on more than just crinkly paper and bows that taste extraordinarily delicious.

My New Years resolutions this year are pretty much the same as they always are - work out more (I mean, start working out), get more organized, focus more on my faith which has been sadly neglected amongst all the busy-ness and distractions in my life, learn about photography, and start cooking more. I will say that I made an amazing meal last week - chicken fried steak and these potatoes plus a side of broccoli. The potatoes were to die for, and I have a battle wound in the form of a blister on my chest that I got when the oil splattered out of the pan as I began frying the steak. I was so proud - oh the sacrifice...

And lastly - I would like to happily announce that this blog has become www.stacybowen.com. My tech-savvy bro in-law purchased the domain name as a Christmas gift (awesome!!), which means that now you don't have to remember all of those dashes in between the really long title of this blog. In case you're one of my 5 readers who happens to be away from the favorite links on your own personal computer - have no fear, just remember my first and last name and you're good to go. How's that for anonymity? :-)

Naptime

Dear God,

Thank you for our precious daughter. Please teach K and me to better identify her sleepy signs so that we can put her to bed before she becomes an overtired maniac.

Amen

3-Month Photos

Now that B is almost 6 months old, I decided it's about time to post her 3 month photos. We had them done at Sears, and they did a surprisingly good job. While it took an extensive amount of time to get these photos due to editing drool off B's chin in one shot, they compensated by providing extra prints which we appreciated. Here she is!!

High Chair Cutie

FOR THE LOVE!

When I married K, I was fortunate enough to inherit what he likes to call, "Luck of the Bowen." Luck of the Bowen is a very real phenomenon involving none other than bad, bad, bad luck. This phenomenon occurs on a regular basis, and can be magnified during big events. For example, during our move it rained the entire day. Luck of the Bowen. During the middle of washing sheets / towels to use the first night we moved in, a belt popped and the dryer completely stopped working. Luck of the Bowen. This "luck" is even contagious. The morning of the move when my Dad woke up to transfer a load to our new house, his pickup wouldn't start and was out of commission for the rest of the move. LUCK OF THE BOWEN!

You can only imagine my absolute disgust, frustration, and exasperation with this stupid luck when I began to see 3 signs of RATS / MICE in our BRAND NEW HOUSE! FOR THE LOVE!!!!!! Wasn't the rat problem at our old house enough? Compounded by roaches and snakes?? That is all the vermin I can stand for one lifetime. Really, it is. Yet - oh how the signs point to the fact that we're going to have to face this problem all over again. (Insert desperate sigh).

SIGN #1:
On multiple occasions, I've heard a pitter patter overhead while both sitting in the study and hanging out in B's room. This is where the denial begins, and instead of thinking about rats in our attic, I blame it on cute squirrels prancing around on our roof with lovely acorns in their mouths. Surely it's just squirrels running along the shingles...

SIGN #2:
B and I like to sit outside on the back porch sometimes. One day last week it was raining and I had her all snuggled up in a blanket while we sat at the patio table. There really are a LOT of squirrels in our yard since we have pecan trees nearby, so we were watching them play in the trees and along the top of the fence. I'm pretty sure our conversation went something like, "B - look at that squi - AAAHHHH!!!!!" as I saw a MOUSE running along the bottom runner on the fence. It went all the way across the back, then turned the corner and went up towards our house. Needless to say we promptly ran inside and I said a prayer that the rodent was not running for cover into the same house that I was running to for cover. This one is much harder to deny, so I had to get creative and blame it on the neighbors. We've lived here for 2 months. SURELY we don't have rats or mice. Surely it's just the neighbors. Poor mice-infested neighbors...

SIGN #3:
I have an AWESOME tomato plant growing this year. It makes me so proud to know that I've kept it alive by remembering to water it regularly. I can't take full credit as my Dad's the one who pruned it back this summer, fertilized it, and selected appropriate placement in the sun to encourage it to grow. I mean really - LOOK at all this fruit and foliage!!!!


SO - in the process of getting out a little fertilizer from the garage as a snack for my tomato plant, I noticed that both corners of the bag had busted. I tried to think it was a coincidence (must just be an old bag?), but then noticed that Abby's dog food that had been sitting in the garage had a few tid bits of food laying on the ground beside the bag. Another coincidence (another old bag?), or a rodent looking for food?? SURELY a coincidence.

Everything came to a head last night when K claims he saw a rat running in our garage. On a 2nd occasion later that night when going to put out traps he said, "I just saw it jump from your golf bag to the trailer." This A) really makes me want to NEVER use my clubs again ever and B) makes parking in the garage a NIGHTMARE instead of a luxury!!!!!!!!!!!! B) makes me very sad and angry as this was one of the things I was MOST looking forward to about our new house! And need I remind you that in our old house we had a detached garage, meaning there was substantial separation from the rodents. In our new house? Oh yes - attached. Meaning you better make darn sure nothing runs inside behind you as you enter the house. FOR THE LOVE!!!

Happy Halloween!!!!

B was a strawberry for Halloween this year. We took her to the Arboretum for the mandatory new parent pumkin patch photo shoot this past weekend. Unfortunately we went during what could've been naptime, and she was having no part in smiling. The first picture is the first shot we took, and the only hint of a grin that we got.



When I said, "B - tell me how you really feel," this was her response:


You might've figured out by now that she likes her sunglasses. Really? I promise, she does despite her expression:


Daddy's little girl:


In other news, we started rice cereal this weekend. B took it like a champ, and did much better today learning how to swallow.



Ohhhh the days of vienna sausages, lima beans, and smelly poops are on the way!!!

5 Months Old