Bowman West

Isn't Half & Half Mixed with Water the Same as Whole Milk?

Judging by the overwhelming smell of vomit coming from my couch and carpet I think the answer is a big "NO." I ran out of milk this morning and wasn't about to stop by the store after our three-hour mall trip, so when Charlie wouldn't stop bugging me for milk this afternoon I decided to "make" him some milk. I filled half his sippy with half & half, added water and shook. What? Come on, like you've never been there. If not, just wait. You will be. Anyway, Charlie tried it and set it down and said, "No. Milk." Ok Charlie. You got me. It's not milk. After a while he started in on the bombardment of "more-milk-please" signs and words so I tried to push the "mix" again. He kept saying "No. Milk." but I didn't give in. I took a sip to show him how great it was because let's face it, if it were appropriate to drink half & half I would. He decided to give it one more try and that's when it happened -- one immediate huge gag and then a spewing of curdled milk and crackers. That's why the living room smells like rotten cheese and crackers. I've been over it with the steam cleaner, Resolve, and Febreeze but it's still there. Crazy.

Ok, enough puke talk. We can now move on to possums. We're still on Possum Watch '07. I actually bought a live animal trap (in anticipation of later catching stray cats that use our yard as a litter box) and placed it in the attic on Thursday. I was hoping that our party guests would get to see some possum action but no luck. I may have to use some different bait. Maybe this one doesn't like peanut butter and fruit bars like Flowers did. You know I'll post when there are updates!

Friday was my main man's 30th birthday! Andy is the definition of an "old soul." He loves that he's thirty and is excited that he's one year closer to fifty. I love it! I made him a red velvet cake (his favorite) from scratch, meaning that I scratched open the box, mixed in various things and stuck it in the oven. It was still good.

That night we had our church class Christmas party at our house. It's really hard work planning and hosting things. This would probably be easier if I cleaned and did chores on a regular basis, but since that's not how I roll I had to work endlessly these last two weeks to get everything done. It was great exercise though. Our house is perfect and horrible for these gatherings all at the same time. We live in a (poorly) remodeled 1950s ranch that has big open rooms with space for visiting. That part is great. Our house has very inefficient wiring though so if you happen to run the microwave, coffee pot, space heater and hair dryer (don't ask me why all these random outlets are on the same circuit!) at the same time you'll trip the breaker. In doing so you'll also blow the kitchen light that was already threatening to go out. Then, because this happens just as guests are arriving, you'll have to relocate a floor lamp from the living room and a desk lamp from the study into the kitchen, forcing you to explain to each guest why your house is weird. Good times. Anyway, we played a game of Christmas pictionary and then moved on to the real entertainment -- Guitar Hero. I'm horrible at it but love it. I think we made some converts. Andy set up a bracket (he LOVES brackets, not because of sports but because of decision theory) for tournament play. My bro-in-law Michael won the guys' side and then my sis Mel beat him. She's my guitar hero.

**BREAKING NEWS** I hear the possum in the attic as I type this! He sounds huge and not near the trap. Wander, possum, wander (but please tread lightly)!

This post is getting long but just a few more things. Andy actually had the entire weekend off (unheard of!) so we decided to have our Bowman West Christmas morning on Saturday. I didn't want to drag our presents across Texas as we visit our families next week. Charlie loves his new Elmo. It's as big as he is and he thinks Elmo's real. One of the first things Charlie did was lay Elmo face down, climb on his back and demand "horsey!". Uh, Charlie, you know he's not real, right? He also tried to give Elmo milk and hand him his toys. I think we need more playdates or something. Charlie also got a shopping cart and a play cleaning set (broom, mop, scrubbers, etc.). I want Charlie to be comfortable with such things as not to form the aversion that other men have. I'm referencing no one in particular of course. :)

Santa brought Andy a paper shredder. Santa thought this was a ridiculous gift but Andy put it at the top of his list so he obliged.

Since we were all awake at the same time we also decided to take some pics for our Christmas card. It's okay to drag your kid around in 34 degree temps for the sake of a good picture, right? Thanks for taking the pictures, Mel!