Happy 1 Week Birthday, Sebastian!

Today marks Bash's first week of rockin' and rollin'! It's gone by pretty smoothly, for the most part. He's a little champion at life, eating and sleeping and hiccuping and being stinkin' cute. Rory, on the other hand, has not adjusted quite as easily. Whereas she was fine while we were in the hospital, as soon as we got home she started giving me the cold shoulder (devastating for her mama!). She seems to be warming back up to me, however. Her interactions with her little brother alternate between affectionate patting and stoic, indifferent stares.


Random observations from week one:
- Everyone on earth feels compelled to give their opinion on how we're (God's) spacing our kids: "Oh, I had mine 17 months apart too! You're going to love it!" Or more often: "Wow, you're going to have your hands full." We also get a lot of, "Oh, you've got your girl and your boy! That's perfect! You're done, right?"
- It's amazing the difference one little body makes in fitting in cars; we're finding that we can't go anywhere with anyone else anymore...I guess we're going to have to do the minivan thing pretty soon after all.
- My husband is the most amazing man in the world. He's got to be the most hands on dad ever, and he is so kind and gracious about it, even in the middle of the night. There is not a begrudging bone in his body during a 3am diaper change, and he even asks me sleepily what else he can do when he's done. I adore him!

Last picture of our family of three

Little Cowboy

Me and my babies

Bowen, party of four

Sir-bastian

Little man

He's a keeper

Getting ready to go home...Rory tried to convince us to leave Bash at the hospital.

Love the little hat!

Bash and his baby book!

Rorykins enjoyed the hospital bed very much

Bundled up to face the world...

Silly girl

The anesthesiologist doubled as a photographer.

Holding my son for the first time

Welcome, Bash!

Sebastian Richard Bowen
Born 10-24-11, 11:38am
7lbs 3oz, 20in

Trenches

Today I'm deep in the trenches of motherhood. My morning has basically consisted of wiping a goopy baby nose, sitting down to rest, getting up to shadow the baby as she climbs around the room so she doesn't fall and get brains all over the tile floor, wiping a goopy baby nose, sitting down to rest...there's little glory in it. I'm reminding myself that this is what God has called me to, and I'm determined to be faithful in these little moments. It may not be glamorous, but as I'm dealing with the at times tedious care of Rorykins, I know God is doing a greater work in me. I'm trying to keep my sense of humor, and most of all, keep in mind the urgency of the task before me: mothering during these early years is such a big responsibility, and I pray I can capture her heart now, before she realizes that I'm not cool and I don't know everything!

PS- I got the idea to make freezer breakfast burritos from a new blogger who happens to be my sister:
http://humblehealthyhome.blogspot.com/

And Counting...

Less than a week before our son arrives! Today we went to our last appt. with our awesome doctor before the big day (which is Monday, in case it's not as engrained in your mind as it is mine). Everything is looking good! I have to say, it is so nice to have a date and be able to plan and get ready, unlike with Rorykins. There is something to be said for c-sections! Unfortunately, both babycakes and I have colds this week. I suppose better now than next week, but it's affecting my to-do list. But it is what it is, so oh well. It seems I won't have everything done that I hoped to by his arrival, but I know realistically that it will be inconsequential in the long run. My mom thankfully decided to come a day early, so we're looking forward to her getting here tomorrow. I'm saving the funnest projects to do with her, like organizing/inventorying the freezers and cleaning the appliances! Oh, and making five pounds of sweet and sour meatballs (never mind the fact that I've never made them before- I'm sure they'll be a good addition to the freezer!). Aren't you glad, Mom? Aurora will be so happy to have her grandma here to shower her with affection.

Yesterday I made a bunch more calzones for the freezer, which was exhausting but will be nice to have. Over the weekend I made a couple dozen freezer breakfast burritos for Blake to take to work the mornings he has to be there super early. And this week, I'm getting 40lbs of all natural boneless skinless chicken breasts to divide up and freeze too! I love having a full freezer!

Other than cooking, I've been laying low, hoping to get rid of this cold. Thus, my house is still regretfully messy. Perhaps this weekend I'll be able to deal with that. There may not be another post until the baby is here (although there may be); I'm not feeling nearly as contemplative or reflective than when I was about to have Rory!

In 1492...

Today has been...
- Bacony. 15 pounds of awesomeness divided up and in the freezer.

- Roasty. I roasted and diced and froze the last of our crop of Anaheim chilies today. I love green chilies, especially when combined with sharp cheddar and bacon.

- 2 weeky. Our baby boy is coming two weeks from today, barring an (unlikely) early labor. This week is project week, and next week is cleaning week. We're pretty excited!

- Columbusy. I realized (when the mail never came) that it's Columbus Day. My sister in law (visiting for the weekend) and I discussed that such an occasion deserves a special meal. Thankfully, last night we ate a mini Thanksgiving dinner, which we determined in actuality must have been a Columbus Day dinner: turkey, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, and even apple pie. Good thing, since tonight it's beef stroganoff, which definitely doesn't make me feel Columbusy.

- Sewy. I fail at sewing. FAIL! So when Blake mentioned a popped button, I curled up and died, just a little bit. And then he mentioned the 10 billion (aka 6) PATCHES that needed to be sewn onto his cub scouts leader uniform. And the pants that need to be hemmed. And my mother in law is on a cruise. How could she do this to me, in my hour of greatest need???? I mean, really- Blake is her son; aren't MOTHERS supposed to sew scout patches on uniforms??? This was not in the wifey handbook. But she's somewhere off the coast of Mexico, so I grimly prepared myself with needle and thread and scout leader uniform inspection guide and began. I only sewed the sleeve shut twice. I hope Blake doesn't plan on using the pocket, which I'm pretty sure has been rendered useless by oddly crisscrossed threads. And the pack insignia is woefully crooked. I think the blood spots are appropriate for a scout uniform- they make it look tough. I don't understand why, in this modern age, they could not provide us with iron on patches. It's really a bummer, because I'm actually pretty nifty with an iron. Go figure. At least when Blake asks me, hesitantly but hopefully, if he gets to wear his uniform tomorrow night, I can say, "Yes. As long as you don't move too much."

Silly Baby and Crafty Mama

Over the last couple days, I organized both the pantry and the long cubardy thing next to the pantry that I don't have a name for. It's where I keep my small appliances and serving dishes and table linens. And where I used to keep a bunch of other random things that are now displaced and need a new home. They are currently on the kitchen counter, which is not ideal. But at least the long cubardy thing is clean! My sweet and silly baby girl wanted to help me clean, which I thought was adorable. She took her little rag and carefully wiped off the shelves and door- what a cutie pie!

In other, even PROUDER news, I crafted!!! I am exceedingly un-crafty, but limited income and the need for frugality has made me a determined if reluctant crafter. A friend drew my attention to this wreath on pinterest, and I was instantly intrigued (mostly due to its free-ness). It seemed simple. And I liked it. And our walls are pretty bare. So, with most of the Bible study wives on the women's (is my apostrophe placement right?) retreat, said friend and I amassed our toilet paper rolls and jumped right in. We each attempted a different design, and they both turned out pretty awesome, if I do say so myself. We intend to spray paint them one day, but I'm content with the natural look for now, and don't think it looks too toilet papery!

In its new home above the beverage cart

Sweet cleaning baby girl

The little ham thinks that we think it's hilarious when she stops what she's doing and lays her head down. We feel obligated to laugh now.

Bedhead.

Her papa always has crazy morning hair too; she's definitely his girl!

Finally waking up after breakfast

The hair would not be tamed

I think this is hilarious.

Baby Book

I don't scrapbook. I'm really bad at framing pictures and displaying them. But I'm passionately determined to keep baby record/memory books for my their future enjoyment. I absolutely love the book we found for Rory- it's whimsical and sweet and fun and didn't have dumb pages like dental records and lists of all the gifts she receives, but it did have most of the pages I could want. However, when it came time to locating an appropriate baby book for a little boy, we found very few options that we liked (who would have thought Blake would have such an opinion?). We grimly determined that I would have to make one. But I didn't want a scrapbooky one, since I am entirely untalented that way. So, we turned to go old blurb.com and I began the arduous process of designing a custom made baby book, with just the pages we want, that isn't too cutesy or kitschy. It turns out I'm not a talented graphic designer either. But, we're pleased with the final product and are excited to begin filling it out in just a couple of weeks!!

You can view the finished book here.

Oh, Wednesday

Today is a good day. It began with baked oatmeal and cuddles with my baby girl. A little bit of laundry, a little bit of working on Christmas presents. It's cold out, and is going to rain and snow the next few days. It's a stay home, wear sweatpants, and drink hot things good day. We're having potato soup for lunch, and an autumnal dinner as well. I think I'll light a candle. And maybe when Blake gets home I'll be inspired to start putting together our "den" office/media room.

• Blake and I like watching the show "American Pickers" on Netflix. It's about these two Midwestern guys who find people that collect stuff and buy it from then, then sell it in their shop. It sounds lame, but is actually pretty interesting. It's also kind of sad, since the people are so attached to their buildings and buildings worth of belongings. Many of them shake their heads and can't explain why they have so much stuff that contributes nothing to their lives- they say it's like a disease. Every time we watch an episode I feel the need to go through our home purging, which is probably a good thing!
• Don't you love it when you have leftovers to put away and you select the perfect size of tupperware?
• I killed a bright red spider with black and white striped legs. It was horrifying. Once again, Blake tried and failed to make me feel better by mildly mentioning that it belonged to one of hundreds of species of non-venomous jumping spiders. Somehow, hearing the words "jumping" and "spider" together does nothing to relieve me.
• We met with Blake's adviser at CCC yesterday, and she truly is a gift from Heaven. Who would have thought that a community college adviser could have impacted us so profoundly? She was instrumental in our decision for Blake to leave Purina, and she continues to be an encouragement as we adjust to Blake's studentship and living on a fraction of what we did previously. When I called to setup yesterday's registration meeting, the receptionist asked if Blake would see someone else instead, and with uncharacteristic resolve, I told the woman politely that no, we would wait to see our regular adviser. She was very displeased with me, but I'll do it again!

Dismal Irony

The final line in a Daily Sun Article on the new restrictions on abortions in Flagstaff:

“I’m very sure we’re going to see illegal abortions crop up, which can be very serious because they can lead to deaths."

-Beth Otterstein, the nurse practitioner in Planned Parenthood’s Flagstaff clinic

 Are you kidding me???? Are you aware of what you just said, Beth Otterstein? Good grief.