I'm alive and well...

I've gotten a couple of comments from people lately telling me that they're disappointed in me.

Say what?!

Apparently, people like my blogging and look for new posts every day.

My excuse for not blogging is my Blackberry. Before the Blackberry, at some point in the evening, I would get on the computer to check Facebook and then I would blog. Well now I can check Facebook all I want really easily with my phone, so I don't use the computer at home very often. Technically, I can blog from my Blackberry. In fact, I've done it once or twice. But it's just not the easiest way to type long posts.

My other excuse is I've been travelling. I've been to North Carolina and New Jersey in just a matter of a couple weeks. And I was sick between the two trips. I have some fun stuff to blog about from those trips. One of those trips even involved a celebrity sighting and possibly a cameo on a TV show! I've just been lazy about gathering and typing my thoughts about them. But at least you know, there is something to look forward to reading here at The Balow Bunch.

Anyway, I am at work right now. So I can't blog for long. Just wanted to say hi. And give my "fans" (haha) something to read when they stop by my blog today.
J.B.

The MN Twins

This past weekend, Papa Bear and I got to meet our Godchild and his big sister (older by mere seconds)! Our good friends, Jim and Aimee had twins less than a month ago. It was Aimee's birthday on Saturday, so we surprised her by showing up at her house unexpected! (Don't worry...it was only a surprise for her.) We had a great weekend hanging out with friends and meeting these little people. Even Otis and Cooper joined us! They (especially Cooper) had a good time playing with Jim and Aimee's dogs. They slept the whole way 4 hour drive home! Honestly, Cooper didn't even move until we were about 5 minutes from our house.

Baby Love! I think they could be in a Double Mint commercial!

Jameson snoozing away in my arms.

Dave and his Godson. Jameson makes the funniest little expressions.

Ms. Vivian sticking out her tongue.

The proud Daddy!

Otis still thinks he has speedy super powers. Even without his costume.

Cooper having a good time!

J.B.

A little plug

My awesome sister-in-law just launched her new photography blog today. She's been cranking away at this new blog project for several months, and I think it came together great!

She is one of the best maternity and baby photographers I've ever come across (and I'm not just saying that because I'm related to her). She is truly talented. She's based in Wilmington, North Carolina, but she also comes to Minnesota (to visit me, of course!) and will do sessions for families when she's here.
Please check out her new site. http://www.katiemathews.com/ You will like her work. I promise.

She also has a great giveaway right now too. It involves giving away photography sessions, so that part mostly benefits people in North Carolina and Minnesota (unless you want to plan a vacation to the beach...which you should). BUT, there is a chance that she'll give away a digital picture frame (as long as 125 people enter the contest). So everyone should go sign up!

J.B.

Thank you, Otis

Dear Otis,

Thank you for living up to your name -- Mr. Rude -- last night. Thank you for waking me up at 1:30 a.m. in the morning with your high-pitched bark. Thank you for dragging me out of bed so I could take you outside. Cooper thanks you too. He lived up to his name too -- Pooper. I enjoyed watching you two do outside what you should have finished doing at 10 p.m. -- BEFORE bedtime. Oh, and thank you for running upstairs, into my room and taking my spot in the bed when I let you back inside. No matter how rude you are, I will always love you.

Love,

Momma

Photo courtesy of Katie Mathews Photography

J.B.

This is what winter will do to you...

Winter will make your cheeks a little chubbier and your skin a lot whiter.

But the cold will also make you want to cuddle more.

J.B.

Something I should find disgusting, but I'm actually intrigued...

Yesterday, my husband was unclogging our drains. The bathtub and one of the sinks in the master bathroom were clogged. BAD. There as water sitting in sink for at least half the day on Saturday. The drain was open, but nothing was going down. I think the only way that water actually got out of our sink was by evaporating.

Clogged sinks and tubs are gross. But everyone needs to deal with it at some point.

My husband probably spent over an hour working on our drains using that spider tool or whatever it's called. A logical person would keep their distance from our bathroom as all the old gunk and hair and soap residue and grime made its way back up the pipes.

But not I.

I find that nasty stuff intriguing. I had this yearning to know how much stuff he was collecting.

The coolest part was when he was fixing our sink drain. We found treasure! Dave found a metal piece and he called me to come and look. I put on my archeoligist hat and determined it looked like the metal from a pendant. A long-lost pendant that was now decayed and gunk-covered. It was like buried treasure, pulled from the depths of the ocean. This thing wasn't even mine. It must have come from the stripper that lived in our house before us.

And then he pulled up another piece. The jewel that once sat upon the pendent.

And then he pulled up the chain that went along with it.

My very own Heart of the Ocean. IF only it were valuable.

J.B.

Flashback Friday -- Gracie's homecoming

Like a lot of high school students, I got my senior photos taken the summer between my junior and senior year of high school. While at the photographer's studio, I noticed he had a tub of kittens. Gray ones. Tans ones. White ones. I asked him if I could incorporate the kittens into one of my poses. They were so cute! He laughed, but obliged. He offered me a kitten to take home, but since I was going to school in Washington, I wouldn't really be able to take care of one.

Fast forward three years. I must have made an impact on the guy. I accompanied my little sister to the same studio to assist her with her photos. She wanted moral support.

The photographer immediately remembered me as the girl who wanted the kittens in her pictures. He said that if I had known you two were sisters, I would have brought more kittens. He lived on a farm, so he had cats in his barn and there were kittens born every summer.

He offered us kittens again. But this time, I had moved home for the rest of college and was going to be living with my sister. After talking with her (I think I talked to her about it...I'm not quite sure...haha), I called the photographer and told her I'd take one.

So I drove out to his farm and picked out the little gray kitten with green eyes. My own little girl. 

Read my previous Flashback Friday posts: Dave's homecoming | Otis' homecoming | The beginning of us | Our first Valentine's Day


J.B.