About us

We are: Jarom, Erica and Fae Bowman- glad you stopped by our blog!

Monday, July 30, 2012

The church...

geeze, I don't even know what to say except that the church is wonderful! I love that no matter where we go it is always the same, and most people are very friendly. Although I had a hard time adjusting to "the south", the Durham 1st ward has made us feel at home. I am so thankful for the new friends we've made who have made this short move easy on us. I hope that if we ever move back down here (which, I'm not going to lie, for the weather's sake... would be nice) I hope we live in this ward's boundary.
It's been nice to have common ground with most of the women in the ward, and that all of them are willing to help with Fae, because 10 weeks without much help would have been terrible! So thank you everyone for giving me a break, helping us out, and making our Durham experience that much better!

Moving on, Fae and I are getting ready to fly home this weekend! We leave Sunday at 10:30 am. I am not that nervous about flying home with Fae alone, I mean I've done its several times before.. and this totally flight time it 3 hours. No biggie. Poor Jarom though, will be stuck down here finishing up his internship for another week. Then he will have to drive back all by himself :( I feel terrible, I really do. I even bought him a book on tape so he wont get too bored. (well its a book on CD haha). We really hate being apart, even for only a week.

THEN after Jarom gets back we will head out to Idaho! We are really excited to get out there, it's been a year since we've been there and Jarom especially misses his family. It will be a really nice, and r e l a x i n g break before both of us come back and start school. (We both have 3 classes) and Jarom will hopefully (PRAYERS PLEASE) have an internship at Ellis Hospital. So we are going to be busy busy busy!

For your sake, I'll post a couple pictures of the museum we went to the other day
Fae and Jarom hiding inside a tree.. unfortunately that tree was full of bats!
Jarom showing Fae the construction.. she loves big trucks.. she calls them "choo, choo's" I've tried to explain that a choo choo is a train but she isn't having it! haha shes so cute, I forgive her :)

I know it seems like ll we do is go to museums with Fae, but seriously most of them are free, and they are so much fun, we have been to all the ones in the Durham/Raleigh area and all of them a great! Fae has learned so much, and has really started talking a lot better. I love to teach her about all the different things we see and touch. She is such a smart little cookie. We are so blessed to have been able to expose her to so much through her little life. I just love her so much, I want to give her the world! I love to watch her explore new things and I can tell her little brain is working in there, trying to sort ideas and remember things. I just love having this little girl, she is so great and so much fun!

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

And the animals...

We also saw some farm animals, the cow named Mike was Fae's favorite. Seriously, I've seen cows before, once when I was younger I even milked a cow.. this cow was the biggest one I have ever seen!
He doesn't look that big in this pic, but i swear he was huge. Fae got to pet him and feed him, which she thought was pretty cool!

This was the wierdest duck ever haha there was a sign next to it that said "watch your fingers!!" he or she wasn't friendly I guess :)

There were also sheep, donkeys, goats and pigs... but Fae didn't like those as much as the cow.

Inside there were really disgusting insects and reptiles, I didn't take pictures of them because they grossed us out! But there were huge bugs, bugs that looked like leaves, bug that looked like sticks, huge millipedes, snakes, turtles and frogs!

Anyway Fae and I had a really fun day (yesterday) I forgot to mention that in the morning we went to the movies! (The northgate theatre here in Durham has free kids movies Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday mornings) they are old movies, for example yesterday we saw Hop. Which I have to say was a terrible movie, but Fae enjoyed it.. for about an hour, then we went home :) She is too busy to sit down for longer than that... love my girl!
At this same museum (with the dinosaurs) was a butterfly emporium, they were everywhere! landing on us and fluttering around, so beautiful!!

I'm pretty sure the pictures speak for them themselves!! haha Fae loved this as well, she thought it was so cool that the butterflies landed on her, she kept laughing and squealing haha!

This was the "mist" part I taked about, my camera died right after I took this picture and my phone didn't take very good ones so I just have this one... I seriously lost Fae, the mist was dense haha but don't worry I found her, she got soaked! (good thing it was the last thing we did).


We missed out on some of this "wild" stuff because it was SO hot and so confusing! haha there were maps everywhere but Fae kept running away and for some reason I brought the stroller which I knew she wouldn't sit in.. but whatever we still had fun!


This is the awesome waterfall that the bears were "playing in" all three of the big black bears got in a fight but my phone camera was too slow to catch it.. DANG for not bringing the video camera!
Fae learning about bears in the wild... she kept pressing the recording button so it replayed like 500 times.. shes so smart :)

Dinosaurs...





Fae and I have this little obsession with Dinosaurs, almost every night we watch a documentary (thanks, netflix) on "Dino's", Fae loves it! So today I was googling things to do here in Durham and it turns out the Life and Science Museum here in Durham has a Dinosaur Trail.. which is basically these huge awesome looking dinosaur replicas, we had a BLAST!

Fae digging for fossils! she found some, but she lost them running through the "mist" haha.


Tuesday, July 17, 2012

It's been almost 2 years

I can not believe in 3 short months (ish) Fae will turn 2! It has been such a crazy two years, we've moved from Rexburg Idaho to Schenectady NY, to Durham NC, then back to NY... and all the moments in between were pretty much non stop as well! (It makes me wonder why I haven't lost that last 8 lbs yet... hmm) Anyway, If you keep up with this blog, then you pretty much know all of the big changes/important happenings in our lives. What you may not have known however is how our real life has been for these last two years.
Aside from all the moving and the job changes, the school work, friend making, I had been having a tough time. I don't know why it has taken me this long to confront it, or really even admit it, but it wasn't until about 4 months ago that I really faced and started to deal with it.
When Jarom and I started to think about having a baby, we were both pretty much on the fence about it. One day we wanted to, the next we weren't so sure, it didn't really matter how many prayers I said, the answer was still the same, until three months before I found out I was pregnant. I had dream after dream of a little brown haired, blue eyed rose-y cheeked baby. I dreamed about her constantly knowing that pretty much no matter what she was coming. I had mixed feeling about this, I knew I loved her so much and that I would try to be the best mom I could, and that JArom would be the best most supportive husband in the world, but I was scared. This is all normal- I would tell myself, and I still believe that being scared about becoming a mother is normal- but my feeling was different. I don't remember the exact day or even month it was (although I am pretty sure it was January or February) that we found out our little love was going to join our family. I cried and cried when I found out, and I didn't ever really stop. I described the feeling like "wanting to go sky diving but once up in the plane, freaking out and decided it wasn't what you wanted." It was hard to explain to Jarom, he didn't understand how I could want something, know it was right and then just all the sudden change my mind into not wanting it. I tried to tell him that I didn't know what to do, that obviously I was having a baby and that I would love it and care for it and cherish it for the rest of my life, but that my brain didn't want it, and my head couldn't think straight. I spent the ten months of pregnancy without much sleep, throwing up constantly- I actually lost 10 lbs in the first trimester. I couldn't eat well, sleep well, think well, and could barely exercise but the one thing I could do, was work. My job as a receptionist in a spa in Idaho was a saving grace for me. It helped me to keep my mind on something easy, and something I liked, so I didn't have to think much about the baby that was coming. I stayed at that job until 3 days before Fae was born. I don't want to make it seem like the whole pregnancy was terrible, it wasn't. I still had my friends and family to support me, yet Jarom was the only one who knew how hard it was for me. Aside from answering questions about the baby growing inside me by relatives and friends, and going to my monthly appointments, I didn't think much about it, I didn't like to face what was really happening.
It wasn't until I was about 7 months pregnant that I decided to take an active interest in my labor and the birth of my child. I started researching and reading anything I could about natural birth. I took hypnobirthing classes and everything, trying to get my mind in the right place for this baby to come. I loved my classes, and the books I read. I loved the support I got from my classmates and friends. By the time I was full term, I knew I was ready. I felt more confident, although still sick, and still trying level my head, I was as ready as I'd ever be for the baby.
On October 7th, 2012 10:15 pm Fae Marie Bowman was born. I was happy and excited to be done with the pregnancy, ready to go home, and really ready to be able to sleep on my stomach again.
I remember holding our little one, staring at her beautiful face, and watching her with awe as she yawned, stretched and opened her eyes. She was perfect, 100% perfect, and I loved her. We spent two days or so at the hospital, getting used to everything and trying to learn how to nurse (or I was trying to nurse) This was the most discouraging thing for me. I had spent my pregnancy rejecting the idea of nursing, not even wanting to try it, yet as soon as that little one came, it was all I wanted to do. I called the nurse to help me, but nothing came of it. My milk just never came, I never felt it come or leave. I tried for weeks to nurse, crying because I was getting no sleep due to a colicky baby which I believed was because she was starving. I had nothing to give her, and formula only made it worse. She spit up constantly, cried, screamed and pooped constantly (this is normal, I know) I was getting no sleep, saying things I didn't mean, doing things I wouldn't normally do. I didn't feel like my mind was right. I was scared and feeling "crooked" like nothing in my life was right, the feelings of love were gone and I was clinging to "survival mode".
Jarom will tell me some of the things I would say and do, things I have literally blocked out of my mind, I honestly can not remember them. In fact, I can't really remember much about Fae's first 4 months of life. The difference between what is normal, and what is not in my opinion was my inability to cope with reality. Some nights I would go to sleep and think to myself "maybe I just wont wake up, would it really be so bad?" I couldn't do normal tasks like prepare a dinner or even shower if I was left alone. I survived on cereal or soda. I felt sick all the time, and dealing with a baby was literally the last thing I wanted to do. Of course putting a smile on my face for company was something I did often, I didn't think anyone would understand how I felt, and I was embarrassed. Even when I would go to my doctor I would tell them I was great, just loving life and happy. I lied and lied until I myself believed it. I believed that this was how it was supposed to feel to be a mother, that some people have to deal with things others don't, some things are easy, and some things are hard. But I'm now realizing- I was wrong. What I was feeling was not normal, and not something that every woman deals with. In fact, no one knows this, including Jarom, I was able to talk to a doctor about how I was feeling, after we moved to NY. It was Postpartum depression, and it wasn't going away. Being the person I am, I did not turn to drugs, or vitamins, but a little more exercise and a lot more sleep. I was prescribed a sleeping pill, but as I said... not interested. I took some Advil PM for a while until I was able to train myself to sleep. It wasn't Fae who was keeping me up, in fact she started sleeping through the night at 2 months old. It was my racing mind, and stress, stress that I couldn't pin point to save my life. Either way the sleep was helping, the exercise, the getting out of the house, craft projects, and keeping busy with things it was all helping. But what helped the most was my mind set. Feeling sorry for myself, or letting myself stay down was the worst thing for me. I needed to work on keeping my thoughts happy and my mind on our long term goals.

Now I'm not saying that everyone who has this problem should just disregard what doctors say or prescribe, but I knew what was right for me. It hasn't been an easy 2 years, and I'm sure if we have another baby it will be just as hard. The only thing I can say is that it is worth it. The one thing that was constant was the love Jarom had for me and our baby. He was (is) our rock, he kept us together, and he helped me as much as he could. I can say that as of now I am working at becoming "back to normal" I'm trying to exercise more and eat healthier. I spend my days teaching and playing with Fae. She is my little angel, the one I knew was coming before she ever came. The little blessing in my life who changed me, and will continue to change and shape me into a better person. I love my little family, I love them for the support they have and the kindness they show, and the forgiveness they exhibit towards me. Having a baby is not easy for everyone, and it can do things to your mind and body that you never knew, but there is one thing for sure: it is always worth it.

Monday, July 16, 2012

Part 3

So, as I was saying, we met up with some of our friends, Kelly and Shaun. Kelly and I have been friends since my freshman year of college which was like 6 years ago... haha

Proof (Freshman year)!!

And although we havent even lived on the same continent for most of it, we've been able to stay in touch. We just Love Kelly and Shaun, it's nice to have friends who you can be your self around haha, and joke with.. all. the. time.
On Saturday evening we met them at our hotel, and had dinner, we ate at this awesome little place, I can't remember the name but you each get a credit card thing and you can order anything off the menu, you just swipe the card at the station and it adds it to your total.. it was pretty cool! My meal was delicious! I could have probably ate 2 of them haha Jarom said his was great and so did Shaun... haha poor Kelly decided to order the worst sounding thing on the menu which apparently was the worst tasting thing.. in real life.. haha but we all were full and had fun.
After that we went to this super cool outside mall because there was this sweet bowling alley there.. which turned out to be $38 an hour, per couple! is that crazy or is it just me?? so we didn't go, instead Fae, Jarom and I got a smoothie and Shaun and Kelly got sodas and we walked around exploring.
We then decided to go to their house which was a 20 minute drive from the city.. best decision ever! Kelly's mom offered to watch fae for a while so we could go to a bowling alley by their house (which by the way was like $6 a game.. I knew I wasn't crazy). Fae had an absolute blast playing with the two little kittens they have and watching lilo and stitch!
There were 2 kitties, but the other one was too fast and crazy for Fae! she liked the "fat orange-y" one as they call him :)

Aw, Shaun and Jarom :)

The REAL Shaun and Jarom. haha.
All of us!
The real us!!!

Part 2

The Discovery Place! I specifically picked a hotel in downtown Charlotte because I wanted to be able to walk everywhere )which we did, we love to walk, you get to see more, you know? Anyway I wanted to take Fae to this really cool museum called the Discovery Place, it was SO cool, we had a blast!

This is Fae and JArom building a tower, the first part of the museum was "how things are built" and it was all hands on!

Fae taking her "structural drawing" seriously haha she LOVES to color.
The levitating balls.. Fae couldn't figure out why they were floating/ she really wanted to play with the balls haha
Jarom laying on the bed of nails... I laid on it too, it hurt! haha so, I didn't make Fae do it haha.
Yes, I am so strong, I pulled myself up there! haha

The huge water table, Fae would be in heaven if she had one at home, she was pretty sad when we had to leave...
This was the rain forest part of the museum, we saw some cool fish and animals
Fae also was able to touch a sting ray, a star fish, a sea urchin, and a crab! She loved it! Our camera ran out of memory space, and my phone didn't take very good pictures, sorry :(
But this was a seriously cool museum, we recommend it to anyone with kids looking for something super fun and pretty cheap to do in Charlotte!

Part 1

This last weekend we all went down to Charlotte NC to visit our good
friends, Kelly and Shaun! We had SO SO SO much fun, it was awesome to see them and spend the day/ night with them, we had a blast!
This post is going to have an over load of pictures, so this is part one of our weekend:

We stayed at a really nice hotel right in downtown (which is actually uptown) Charlotte, this was the view from our room.





Before we caught up with our friends, we had a few hours to explore the city, which is Jaroms FAVORITE thing to do! Here are some off the fun things we saw:

This was outside the modern art museum, we didn't go in because we though Fae might touch things she shouldn't, and because it was $15 a person! I'm sorry, I love and respect art but I'm not paying $45 so we can go stare at it.
There were tons of awesome looking apartments/ condos, and since we literally FELL. IN. LOVE. with this city, we kept checking out all the cool places to live. The city is so clean and fun, there were a lot of cool restaurants, places to shop, an awesome outside mall, and fun parks. We seriously decided to exhaust all efforts to finding a job there.
Fae thought the horse-y's were so fun, she pointed and said "neigh!" haha shes so smart, did I tell you she pretty much knows all the "traditional" animal sounds? plus all her body parts, and can count to 3, and even knows some shapes and colors?!?!?! yeah, shes awesome!

This is Fae pointing to the horse.. wish she would smile!!!!!!!!!!!

This was like a water sculpture thing and you could jump from platform to platform, Fae had so much fun and we got kinda wet! but it was hot out so it felt good.. love her!
I just thought this picture was so cute! These are the steps to the Mint Museum (the modern art museum... should have put this pic up with the other one... oh well)
Look at her, so big climbing the stairs all by her self!
This cute little park, where there was a splash pad, and we didn't have a swim diaper... haha

Making friends!


Haha! like I said, we didn't have a swim diaper, how were we supposed to know there was an awesome splash pad in the middle of the city!? we will know for next time :) anyway we were all laughing at how huge her diaper got, and how it didn't even phase her!

Lets tima travel a little.. breakfast:
We ate at Merts it was delicious! I got the buttermilk pancakes and home fries, Jarom got southern fried ham and eggs and potatoes.. Fae pretty much ate everything, it was fantastic! It was funny because we had googled some places and could find them, we happened to run into some people who were on there way to Merts and told us to follow them, so we did and we are so glad!
She was hungry... haha
Look at Jarom, he's so cute just sitting there waiting for the check... I would have taken a pic of the food but we ate it too fast :)