Thankful Thursday

It is hard to believe it is November 1st already!  With Thanksgiving just 3 full weeks away, it is time to start recounting all of our many blessings and the many things we have to be thankful for.  Today I am thankful for my family and the wonderful get away we just had in Sea Island.I am thankful for: my wonderful husband who works hard to provide for our family, our healthy and adorable baby girl; I could not imagine life without her, our sweet baby surprise that is on the way, and my parents and in-laws who spoil us all greatly.

I am thankful for the many generous RUF supporters who make Chris' ministry at KSU possible, and especially for the family who offered us their Sea Island home to enjoy a family vacation last weekend. They took care of all the arrangement and details of getting us onto the Island as guests for the weekend.Here are some pictures of where we stayed-

Kitchen and breakfast table

Breakfast table, doors leading out to back patio, stairs up to the bedroom where we stayed and Phoebe's room

We enjoyed sitting out on the back patio for lunches

Family room

Our bedroom and bathroom upstairs

Sitting area in the bedroom.  Phoebe's room was through the door to Chris' left.  They had a crib and everything!

There was a whole other half of the house with multiple bedrooms, sitting rooms, dining room, and a beautiful living room that we really never touched.  We just stayed in our wing :)What are you thankful for today?

Sea Island

This past weekend we took a much needed family vacation.  The beginning of this semester has been very busy and Chris has had a lot of weekend and evening commitments.  I have been missing him and missing family time.  We had been counting down the days to our trip to Sea Island for awhile now.  While certainly not the most ideal time to go down to the beach weather-wise, we enjoyed the relaxing atmosphere and time together.
This was actually the first time since our honeymoon that Chris and I have vacationed together.  We have gone places with our parents, but never on our own.  So it was fun to go on our first "family vacation." A very generous supporter had offered us use of their Sea Island home, and we graciously accepted!  We drove down Thursday afternoon, and the worst part of the whole trip was realizing 3 hours down the road (half way there) that we had forgotten the KEY!!!!  Yes, we had to turn around making a 6 hour trip about 10 hours.  Thankfully Aubra (who is a lifesaver in multiple ways) met us in Atlanta with the key, so we didn't have to drive through the city back to Marietta. Sea Island is a pretty exclusive resort down off the coast of South Georgia.  At the front of the island there is a large resort hotel, the Cloister.  This is where the large beach, pool, and family fun areas are. Then as your drive back through the island there are lots of private residences.  On Friday we enjoyed riding bikes around the neighborhood/resort and exploring.  Biking is a big thing on Sea Island, and while we are not avid bikers (in fact I am not very good at all) we enjoyed using the bikes at the house to get around.

Phoebe wasn't a big fan of the helmet at first, but she got used to it.

Saturday morning, we walked over to the beach by the house and enjoyed watching the waves crash up against the rocks.

Then we biked over to the big beach down by the Cloister to take a long and windy walk down the beach

Saturday night we had dinner at The Oak Room on the resort.  We got to see a beautiful sunset over the water and listen to the bagpiper play.

Sunday afternoon was the only warm and sunny time we had.  Although we thankfully never had any rain from Sandy, it was pretty cloudy on Friday and Saturday as the storm was moving up the east coast.  Then a cold front came through on Monday.

Phoebe LOVES bubbles and always asks to play with them.  She says "bu-bles" all the time!  So we thought we would give her, her first bubble bath after playing in the pool.  She honestly wasn't very impressed with the bubbles in the bath.  We had to go get the "real" bubbles to get any excitement from her.  Oh well, we thought it was a fun idea.

We watched several movies and spent a lot of time walking and biking around.  We drove around and explored the Golden Isles and walked through the shops in St. Simon as well.  I'll post a few more pictures from our trip over the next week or so.

Old Table; New Look

So about a year ago, I had decided I wanted a small table in our entry way next to the front door.  It is a very narrow space and not very long, so it was somewhat difficult to find something that would fit.  Oh, and we weren't really willing to spend much if any money on it either.  We are renting right now and when we moved in we agreed we were not going to purchase any furnishings specifically for this space because it was not going to be permanent.  (We actually only thought we would be here for a year, but here we are 3 1/2 years later...) Anyhow, turns out my parents had a table from my grandmother's old house that was the perfect size!  It was an ugly gold color that I didn't particularly care for, but it fit.

I had been saying that I was going to paint it for awhile, but never actually got around to it until a couple weekends ago.  We bought some brown spray paint (I kinda wish I had chosen more of a bronze color) and went to work.

For the cost of a couple cans of paint, I am very pleased with the results.

What do you think?  Hope you like it!

19 Weeks

I'm actually closer to 20 weeks now.  I'm just late getting this posted.  I'd like to do weekly updates, but we'll see how that goes.  I'll try to get back on track with 21 next week.

19 Weeks.  Knox wanted in the action...

19 Weeks- "This week your baby is hitting the growth charts at 6 inches long and a full half pound in weight.  Your baby's about the size of a large mango.  A mango dipped in greasy cheese, actually.  Vernix caseosa- a greasy white protective substance now covers your baby's sensitive skin, protecting it from the surrounding amniotic fluid.  Without that protection your baby would look very wrinkled at birth.  The coating sheds as delivery approaches, but some babies born early are still covered with vernix at delivery."  What to Expect When You're Expecting

Cravings- None really

Movement- I am feeling the baby quite a bit, but notice it more at night.  With Phoebe I had an anterior placenta (it was in the front of my uterus creating a nice cushion between the baby and the outside of my belly) which meant it was much harder for me to feel the baby move.  I did not feel her AT ALL until I was 21 weeks.  And even then I really had to pay attention to movements- they were very subtle.  If I felt anything during the second trimester, it was on the sides of my belly never in the middle.  I think this was actually a blessing though towards the end of my pregnancy because I never felt hard kicks or was woken up by her. This time I am 90% sure I felt the baby move at 15 weeks, and 100% sure I felt it at 16 weeks. It has been fun to feel movement so early!  However, I might not like it so much in a few months... Chris still has not felt the baby move.

Pregnancy Symptoms- Nothing much.  I am a little bit more tired, but overall I have a good amount of energy.  I still run and/or go to the gym about three times/week, but my speed is definitely decreasing.  When my Nike+ tells me my average speed/mile it is getting more and more depressing each week.  

I have had quite a bit of round ligament pain this pregnancy, whereas I NEVER felt it the first time around.   (These are the ligaments that support your uterus and they are getting stretched as your uterus expands.)  Maybe the ligaments are looser this time and that is why they hurt more?  Whenever I sneeze I feel stabbing pain in my lower abdomen/groin area (round ligament pain).  If I feel the sneeze coming I can bend over and position myself in such a way as to decrease the discomfort, but if it is an unexpected sneeze- whoa mama, it hurts.

Itching!  I know this is really weird, but my legs and hips itch SO bad- like scratch your skin off bad.  I have no idea why.  I have tried various kinds of soaps and lotions to try to relieve it.  So far Tom's unscented soap seems to work best.  And then my eczema (which I didn't have with Phoebe.  Knox was the trigger for it) has gotten worse with pregnancy as well.

Sleep- For the first time since the beginning of my pregnancy I have slept through the night not one, but TWO nights this week!  It has been amazing.  And my body pillow is a must by this point in pregnancy.  Chris hate sharing the bed with it, but it is here to stay.

Sex- So I don't know if I mentioned this before, but this baby is going to be a surprise.  I have always kind of wanted a surprise baby.  But could not have done it with the first- too many other surprises going on the first time around.  Just so you know, it is REALLY fun in the delivery room when the sex is a surprise.  Chris, however, does not share in my excitement about having a surprise baby.  Sorry honey.  This pregnancy has been different than the first, but so far I think it is another girl.  Chris  chooses to withhold his opinion, but he really wants a boy.

Weight gain- 7 1/2 lbs

Randoms- Chasing Phoebe around I forget that I am pregnant most of the time (except when I sneeze).  Its kinda nice.

Weekend Review: Farmer's Market

Whenever we are in town and I'm not working, we try to make it down to the Marietta Square for the weekly Farmer's Market.  It is my favorite place to buy produce and if nothing else I enjoy walking through the vendors.  We go down there with Phoebe and Knox so it is good family time.

The morning always begins with coffee from Cool Beans- one of my favorite coffee shops.

Then with coffee in hand, we make our way through the market.

I have mixed feelings about how to choose who to purchase from.  On the one hand I really like supporting the family farms.  I enjoy talking to the actual farmers who pick the produce and hearing how they farm.  When was it picked?  Is it organic?  Do they use environmentally friendly farming practices?  Most of these family farms produce organic produce.  (They might not be USDA organic certified because that is a government agency and therefore a hassle and costs money, but they use natural farming techniques.)  But as we all know, organic and naturally farmed produce is more expensive.  Hence the internal struggle.  I would much prefer to buy your organic kale for $3/bunch (which is #15 on the EWG dirty dozen list) because you can tell me exactly what variety of kale it is, you picked it this morning, and I really like talking to you and want to support what you are doing.  However, this kale across the street is $1/bunch, and we live on a tight budget.  The vendors that sale kale for $1/bunch have a significantly wider variety of produce to choose from as well.  Why?  Because they collect produce to sell from many different farms across the southeast: Florida, Georgia, Alabama, and South Carolina.  Their produce is not organic and is less expensive because they are purchasing from larger farms (but still local, which beats Kroger or Walmart). My philosophy changes weekly; I am not consistent with how I do my shopping.  I am more likely to pay more for the organic produce from the family farm towards the beginning of the month and more likely to shop from the larger third party vendors towards the end of the month. My biggest success this week was getting Chris to try kale chips and then to actually admit that they were good!  Ok, he very carefully chose not to use the word good, but he admitted that they were a lot better than he had expected.  I love the kale chips from Square Peg Living Foods.

   This week there was also an artists market.  I think they called it their Fall Festival down another one of the streets in the square.  We also really enjoy looking through all the artist booths.  I normally don't purchase anything, but this week I couldn't resist an adorable posy pin and hair bow for Phoebe.  I have been looking at pins on etsy and other blogs lately and loving them!  

How cute is that?

Testing...

Hey, sorry y'all.  I'm just testing.  Not sure why my pictures are looking fuzzy.  I'll just be trouble shooting this weekend as we work to get the new blog design settled.  Thanks!

fridays letters

Dear Jessica,  Thanks for hanging out with us when we were home last weekend and being my date to the reunion!  I had fun.  Dear Wendy and Robby,  Thanks for coming up to visit us yesterday!  It was great to meet Robby! And thanks for Phoebe's books.  She is loving reading them! I really hope we can make it up to NY for your wedding.  I wish we had gotten a picture while you two were here!  Dear rocking chair, You are fabulous and Phoebe loves you because you are just her size.  Thanks for surviving Chris so that Phoebe can now play in her "daddy's chair"

Phoebe loves petting Knox

Dear baseboards, Why are you so disgustingly dirty?   You have been mocking me with your filth for awhile now.  I do clean the basics in my house fairly regularly, but things like baseboards don't often get done.  This is gross, but you can now feel better knowing this dust and dirt is no longer in my house.

Dear Norwex, you make some pretty convincing and amazing cleaning claims.  I am excited to try out some of your products.  I will report back with my findings.  Dear Phoebe, why would you all the sudden decided you don't like milk anymore?!  Seriously?  You need to drink milk especially if you're not going to eat anything but cheese, strawberries, crackers, yogurt, and oatmeal.  Dear Chris, I can't wait to go to Sea Island next week!  Vacation cannot get here soon enough!!  Dear Julie, "The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing" Zephaniah 3:17  Dear Lauren, Thank you so much for working with me to update my blog!!  I had been wanting to change it/do a face lift for awhile, but honestly I just don't know how and don't have the time to figure it out.  Lauren does blog design if you're interested and she's great to work with!  You have actually taught me a lot about owning and maintaining a blog.  I was pretty clueless.  Sometimes I wonder how I even got this one started to begin with.  Dear Readers, Sorry it is a work in progress right now; it is not quite completely done, and that is my fault.  Check back middle of next week for the finished product!  I hope you'll like it.  I'm excited!

 

About

Hi!  I'm Jen.  I'm a wife, mom, labor and delivery nurse, and wanna-be little susie homemaker.  I started this blog right before our daughter was born as way for friends and family to keep up with our mundane yet sometimes crazy lives.  When Chris and I were engaged, he explained to me (according to his love of football and sports) that I would be joining "his team".  We would no longer be two people making individual decisions, but a team who decisions and actions would significantly affect the other.  "Team Bowen" soon became a common phrase around these parts.

When Team Bowen grew from two to three, it was a good transition being home all, most of the time with a baby, but sometimes I really do have to search to find meaning in our mundane daily activities.

In the past year I've become much more interested in simple, sustainable, inexpensive, and healthy living.  I share with you our journey to cut out processed foods and move back towards eating real, whole foods.  I am interested in natural cleaning and living in order to cut down the number of toxins we are exposed to.  My husband graciously and patiently puts up with me in this quest.  After all, its a team effort, right?

I wish I were a little susie-homemaker, but the truth is I'm just a fake.  If I had all the time in the world I would make everything.  But, I don't.  I like to dabble in crafts and love a good DIY project.

Chris is a minister (Yes, that makes me a pastor's wife- yikes!) working for RUF, Reformed University Fellowship at Kennesaw State University currently.  He certainly has a non-tradional schedule, which can be challenging at times, but we love it!  We love having students into our home and sharing our lives with them.

And oh yeah, my "break" during the week is when I go into work and help crazy laboring pregnant women have their babies.  Sometimes I really wish I could share my stories from work with you, but I'm pretty sure that would be some violation of HIPPA.  Perhaps you were one of those crazy laboring pregnant women at some point.  If so, I love you for it.