blee, bloo, blee bla.

That's me saying that this will be a jumbled not to date post.
First off little miss Harper is 7 months, more like 8 because she will be on the 10th of December. CRAZY!!  New things that are going on with Harper:

• Sitting up
• Getting up on all fours!
• Trying to crawl, cant figure out how to move arms and legs together.. so funny.
• Eating solids, loves squash, sweet potatoes, and fruit with oatmeal. (I call it all "yum yum")
• Now wants everything I'm eating.
• Laughing and babbling constantly... we swear she has said mama and baba.
• Loves bath time. 
• Growing blonde hair finally! 
• Bangs her toys on everything.
• Everything has to go in her mouth. 
• Moms cell phone, the remote, and dads xbox controller are items she will fight for! 
• She mimics the "growl" sound or "Rawr" sound.
• She loves to watch mommy get ready. 
• Sleeping in her own bed! 
• Likes watching football with dad. 
• Dad is "fun time". Which means I mean business... muahahaha.

I feel like time is going by so fast! :( I'm sitting here trying to think of everything she does, but everyday is such an experience, and she is always doing cute, funny things that I cant keep up! (well keep up with documenting every little thing). 

Everything is going good, we have experienced 2 colds and some bad constipation, but she is healthy and growing! She is in the 95 percentile for length, which means she will be taller than me, she gets the height from dad. We celebrated  her first Thanksgiving, turkey and gravy baby food is most likely not as good as the real stuff, if you read my personal blog you know that she gaged and threw up. Poor thing! haha. Excited for Christmas, and the holiday fun! 

On to the pictures... I take so many pictures on my phone, and I just now found an easy way to access my pictures from my phone on any computer.. Ive started using dropbox, I use the app on my phone to upload pictures,and then have access to it from any computer. I can also save pictures from any computer to my dropbox and have access to those pictures anywhere too! Like I said tho.. on to the pictures! 

 Halloween day, Eating something orange to be festive.

 How'd you get all that in them jeans?!..

I told her this wont be the only time she has trouble 

squeezing her thighs and booty into skinny jeans!

 The Shirt says it best. My friend kadie ended up having a boy, 

and dad wouldn't let his son wear this. haha(she was pregnant at the Britney concert)

 Bundled up!

 Knitted poncho.. Grandmas cousin knitted this! 

 Uhhh drrrr. haha

 Football!

 Ouch! 6month shots. 

 The Remote.. 

 She wants to eat the camera.

 Getting tired.. always rubbing the eyes. 

 Being silly with papa.

 Right before she decided to have an exploding poop. 

Sick Baby.. snuggling to get better. :)

Passed out during swing time. 

I also came across these little gems....

 2 days before Harper was born! 

Can u tell I enjoyed wearing this yellow shirt? haha

My last month being preggo... ohhhh the joys. I tried to take preggo pics, I was just bad at getting them posted and documented, so here are some, 7 months later. 

Thanksgivmas.

 My Contribution to my Mom's Thanksgiving, since I was not present. I'm ohh so crafty. Thanks to The Quilted Bear.

I had a great Thanksgiving, Although it was a little weird to not sit down and eat dinner at my Mom's house this year, we had a delicious and fun Thanksgiving dinner at Michael's parents house. Crowded and full of Family, screaming kids, football, and food... it was a good time! This was Harper's first Thanksgiving, so of course I wanted to get "Thanksgiving" flavored baby food! I tried the turkey and gravy, and some sweet potatoes... she HATED the turkey and gravy, so much she gagged until she threw up. Sad, but cant help but laugh. :) I decided I would make my moms famous "pink stuff" I call it pink stuff, because well.. its pink! Its fruit salad, and soo yummy. It was a hit, and everyone loved it.(except Michael, he's as bad as our 7 month old). I also decided to bake some pumpkin pies, yes I mixed all the ingredients together, poured into pie pans and baked. Now fast forward to me cutting a piece and looking and trying it with disgust... now rewind back to my last sentence: "I mixed all the ingredients together..." errrrr. NOPE. I forgot to add the sugar!!!! Who does that?! Me.  Funny thing is I taste my moms pumpkin pie and its very sweet, definitely sweeter than mine. Well while I was forgetting the sugar my mom was using sweetened condensed milk along with the sugar, which made it A LOT sweeter than your usual pumpkin pie... oops! haha I guess we both had some issues. Luckily my pie didn't get touched at the family dinner, or I would have felt sooo embarrassed. grr. Other than the pie error everything went well! Of course I forgot to get pictures.. I try and get pictures of everything :( ooh well.

Michael,Harp, and uncle Baili Watchin football! 

(The only pic I got.)

I was determined to get my Christmas tree up this weekend, and I succeeded.. even with missing ornament hooks, I improvised and used some hair clips from beauty school I had.. I knew they would come in handy!! This is my first Christmas tree in my first little apartment with my own family! Cute huh?! I think so. I went for a theme this year, because I don't have enough original, or I should say acquired ornaments to cover a tree.. we each got some last year, and I bought Me and Michael personal ones for this year, and a baby's first Christmas one for Harper! I'm going to put them in our stockings, or find an ornament hanger to display them!!   

(I'm weird about matching, if your wondering why I don't just put them on the tree) ha. 

My theme this year is red,black,and silver stars! I had a somewhat star theme going with my bedroom decor.. but I figured its time to shed some of the girlie stuff in the bedroom, (although I still have a pink framed collage of pictures of me and my girlfriends behind my door) so it works perfect for Christmas Decorations. 

I found my decorations at Hobby Lobby and Big lots for cheap! I probably spent 20-30 bucks on bulbs and lights... not bad! I still need want a few more decorations and some lights to brighten it up a bit more, of course Michael insists it looks fine. I think its turned out pretty good, and the more I look at it, I guess I'm leaning towards "fine" too.

 The topper.. used to be on top of the T.V.

 The 3 big stars.. which used to hang on the wall.

 Glitter red! 

 Minni-stars.

 The ribbon is black, with a red and silver design. 

 Up close! 

Glitter, black! 

I was having fun taking different pictures with my fun photo app on my phone, its called retro-cam, and its awesome! I love having a lit tree, while I'm watching movies on the couch. I also lit my Christmas candle from For Every Body... its so yummy Michael thinks I'm baking cookies... sike! haha I'm so excited for Christmas, so excited to spend it with my family, and my little girl! Although she wont really understand what Christmas is yet, she will definitely be getting spoiled! Cant wait to take pictures with Santa in her pretty Christmas dress.. I tend to go overboard, I'm even making a poinsettia flower headband.. don't worry, its not a real one!  I get so excited for the Holidays, we even get to go to Montana the day after, and spend new years there. Im not ready for the extreme cold, but it gives me an excuse to wear my crazy Christmas socks, and drink a nice hot beverage.

Yes, I just said "hot beverage".

Enjoy.

In the spirit of Thanksgiving... I'm thankful for this. ♥

Workin on my fitness.. err, eventually.

Those shoes better make me look that good. 

(Just tell me they will.)

I know Ive said this in posts before.. but seriously, this time I'm going to make it a goal habit to work out! I need to desperately lose 20lbs! OK.. desperately sounds a little dramatic, but I would love to lose the weight. Ive spent enough time complaining, and really making myself believe that working out will not do anything. I guess I should prove my theory right then huh?! I know that along with working out, I need to control my eating habits.. Sorry Wendy's but I can no longer visit you frequently, and Coca Cola.. ohh how the departure will be a sad one! Maybe I will visit you on Sundays?? Everyone uses Sundays as their "cheat" day. I hate when people say "today is my cheat day". I think I despise this, because the food they "cheat" with is food I have such a great trusting relationship with, id be cheating if I didn't visit the snack isle.
Really though, I cant complain. I had a baby 7 months ago, and my weight is just about where I was before I got pregnant, I also only gained 30lbs my whole pregnancy (I lost 15 in the first 2 months). After, I could fit into my jeans.. and then all of a sudden I couldn't. I blame it on not breastfeeding longer, and also I found out that there are 2 different kinds of IUD's and the one I have has hormones released, which can cause weight gain. Awesome.
But I cant really blame weight gain on anything but myself.. I couldn't give you a number of how often I work out, because often and working out are not words I associate with each other.
Ive always been able to eat what I want, even when putting on a few pounds I still had curves and looked alright. But my weight gain goes to my face, and then skips down to my thighs and butt. Now, after having a kid, it just goes all over. Lets talk about my butt! My best feature, I must say.. don't mean to brag, but if you have seen it, whether it be in jeans, or on the dance floor.. you might agree. In high school me and my friend Courtney got called Boom and Bam.. our butts were celebrities. Id like to say my Butt's still got it, but it could be a lot better. Looking back on pictures of my younger days..(clearly I'm soo old) I miss my skinny self... OK not that I'm obese, but i miss those flat tummy, perky boob, bubble butt, skinny face days!
I know these things are not hard to achieve(the boob part costs some money haha) its just putting forth some effort. I wanted to start working out everyday while i was "working" down in Provo... I say "working" because technically I don't work, I'm just lucky enough to have a generous father who pays me to watch my little brother everyday, every other week while he works. He stocks the fridge, I have Internet and TV, and I get to be with my daughter all day! Ohh ya he also set up the elliptical machine in the kitchen for me to use, hence the reason I should have no excuse to not get into shape. So I jumped on this Monday, and felt good... I then realized I have the rest of the week off and Thanksgiving is around the corner. till next time.

Im pretty convinced that if I get these for xmas I wont ever have to do anything else. 

Artichoke dip!

I never thought I would like artichokes, or even consider trying them, but when Harper was born Michael's mom came down from Montana to make us dinner, and made the best pasta, which had artichokes in it, and to my surprise I liked it! Michael on the other hand does not like them.. so my artichoke dip was all for me..(not complaining). I found a really simple recipe, and for being as simple as it was it was yummy, I was impressed with myself.  I thought id share it with y'all!

Ingredients: ( I like to say "it calls for" but Mike thinks that's weird.. I think it makes sense).

2 cans of artichoke hearts

2 cups of mozzarella cheese, shredded

1 cup of mayonnaise

1 cup of Parmesan cheese, grated

1 teaspoon of garlic salt

Cut artichoke hearts into small pieces and put into casserole dish.

Add cheese,mayonnaise, and garlic, mix. 

Bake in oven at 350 degrees for 25 minutes, until cheese is melted. 

I did use the above brand, and they tasted great, I do suggest using the small size, that way you could toss them in and probably skip cutting them!

Im enjoying cooking new things, and having fun, so far this is the only thing Mike has not tried or loved. 

Bummer.

Harp had her first "sick" doctor visit. :(
I have been pretty luck with not having a sick baby, or having to go to doctor visits outside of her scheduled ones. Even when Harper had her cold, she was still smiling and playing throughout the day! The last couple of days Harper couldn't poop! Saddest thing to see. So after a few attempts of curing it myself, with no improvement.. juice, Caro syrup, fruit, even suppositories.. I decided to take her in.
Her doctor had to help her poop, to put it nicely.. again saddest thing to see. But she was back to smiling and playing. Hopefully with the medicine(laxative) she will be back to normal in no time! I hate seeing my little girl uncomfortable and not feeling good, definitely not the funnest parent moment to document, but we got through it!


On a happier note.. Harper is 7 months today! She weighs 17.5lbs... such a chunky little thing! Looking forward to her first Thanksgiving and Christmas!

Just breathe.

"They say follow your heart but sometimes your heart leads you in the wrong direction. To places where you could get hurt." -My friend Kadie

Relationships... ohhh relationships. Just the opposite sex in general is a bit ugh at times. Sometimes we feel as if we never win, I hear a lot of when is it my turn? I hate that, I hate that we ever have to feel that way. Sometimes you feel as if you put your whole heart and soul into it, only to get crushed. Sometimes for no reason other than the selfishness of someone else. Maybe its true tho, that you have to have a few bad ones, to get to the good one, and really appreciate it. But even the good is hard to keep good 24/7. Love is hard, not only is love wonderful and feel good, and butterfly's in your stomach feeling. Its also, painful, hard, annoying, etc. Love is like your housework, let it go for a few days, the crap just keeps piling up, puts you in a bad mood. Clean it up, decorate a little, light a good smelling candle, and already you feel better! haha my point is, you got to always work at it, discuss things, try new things, avoid the "clutter". I'm no expert in this area, Ive had my heartbroken just like anyone else, and Ive had those hard to get over relationships, the ones that scar us for life, make us crazy, different, insecure, jealous, have trust issues, or just more angry in general. Its hard to go from a somewhat unstable relationship, to a more stable one. Getting out of your comfort zone, or lets say "different scenery" can be hard to adjust too.
I think women are just programmed to be nurturing, understanding, forgiving, selfless, and generous. This sometimes backfires for us and we get walked all over, and are expected of these things with nothing in return, we go above and beyond to prove how important someone is to us, just hoping that we will get a small acknowledgment in return. We do this mostly when we are not getting the appreciation we wish to receive. I know how hard it is to turn and walk away the minute those red flags pop up warning you that this is the way it will always be. We like to try and be the exception, sometimes it works out that way for some, for most its a vicious cycle that will continue until someone decides to end it. I do believe there is someone out there for everyone, even when you think you have met "the one" and it doesn't work out, doesn't mean there isn't someone even Better. You have to come to realize that the list you made of a perfect mate, with 20 things your looking for to check off, well will most likely never happen. If it does, or has congrats! Truth is you cant mix all the ingredients together, and make the perfect man.
There are far more better things to look for in a man and worry about besides the size of his penis! SORRY had to say it. haha But honestly, if that is the ONLY and FIRST thing you let determine your relationship with a potentially good man, you will always be looking. If you let his bad breath be the deal breaker, your always going to find something wrong with someone, eventually you will be able to have the courage to tell him, hey you need a freaking breath mint, ASAP, or we wont be kissing EVER again. Pretty sure he will be doing something about it. Funny how in some cases woman really do let these petty little things determine the outcome, I'm sure we have all been guilty of this, its easy to do when you don't have "feelings" or feel some sort of connection, sometimes there are just too many things we might not be able to work around. All I'm saying is if we had this attitude the minute some lousy dude we are dating calls us fat, or insults us, or calls us names or treats us like a piece of trash, we should stand up and say, I cant stand your annoying nail biting habit, but Ive learned to deal with it, but I wont deal with the way you treat me. (easier said than done). That's the downfall to love, not that love is always a downer, but love does have such a powerful effect on us, that I think it does tend to cloud our judgement. Sometimes the pain is so awful it feels like we will never get over it, we stay in bed, cry, starve, play sad songs, watch romantic movies, cry some more... jeez females really put on a show! haha We have big hearts, we have big emotions, we all just want to be loved, and deserve love.

When my days are hard, when the fights go on, when we cant agree on anything, when I want to throw my hands up and give up... I realize that at the end of the day I have someone who never fails to tell me how much he loves me, how pretty I am(even when I'm a mess) takes care of me, loves his daughter, makes sure we are taken care of, works hard, and puts his girls above the rest. When he annoys the hell out of me, spends too much time playing video games and watching sports, when his feet stink.. and he purposely doesn't do anything about it.. I just breath (as much as I can) and count my blessings. :) People can have opinions, assume things, judge, laugh, compare themselves, but truth is no one matters besides YOU.
You and your happiness.

Taking a leap.

So, I recently got the push to expand my writing skills elsewhere(I don't know if you would really consider me skilled) other than writing for my blogs. Ive always loved writing, and before I blogged, i kept journals and notebooks, and well just kept it to myself. I always excelled in writing in school, and loved writing stories. I never thought Ive trying to, well, I guess write "professionally" until Michael gave his mom my blog address, and she read ALL of them! I have to admit I was a little embarrassed, sometimes I just get on here and rant and rave, post inappropriate song lyrics, and talk about my past relationships, and current love life... not exactly sure how your almost, pretty much, mother in law will take it.... but she loved them, and thought that I should try some freelance writing gigs. Well Ive looked at a few sites, and even some online jobs, and I came across one that gives you topics to write about, and if you chose one of them to write about, and they chose it, you can get paid!

I jumped in, and thought what the heck, ill try it out. I wrote one, and it didn't get chosen, granted it was a lengthy one, and was a little hard to not write in first person(something I need to learn) I decided to try another. This one was shorter, and was about a product. To my surprise, they bought it!! It is now posted on the AOL shopping blog under the Whats the #1 item on your wish list? (click to read). Scroll down to see my review on my #1 item, the flip video recorder!

Its a small piece, but I must say I'm very proud of myself, and is very awesome to be able to say that I contributed to a shopping blog, that tons of people read!! I definitely want to continue to write pieces, take classes, and branch out on different websites, and apply for jobs! Trying never hurt anyone, thank you Leanne for giving me the little push, and boosting my confidence! ♥

This...

Is Now...







This!

Enjoy!

First Halloween!

On Saturday we celebrated Halloween, we went to Grandmas house(my mom) to have homemade chili, which has always been a family tradition, except instead of my grandma making chili for us, now my mom does! I really wanted to take Harper trick-or-treating, but it was raining and we still are all getting over our colds! :/
We hung out, ate, pigged out on candy, took pictures and relaxed! We then put Harper to bed and had Aunt Kenzie babysit so we could go see our friends for a few hours. It was a laid back Halloween, but it was fun to get all dressed up, Halloween is one of my favorite holidays so Michael is having to get used to me dressing him up, at least this year he got to wear his own wardrobe, and we looked so cute as a matching fam! Aww.

Happy Halloween!

All dressed up as skeletons.

Daddy & Harper.

Mommy & Harper.

Cute little skeleton!

In Aunt Kenzie's cat ears.. costume for next year, maybe?