Summer = Over

Today is officially MY last day of summer. I start nursing school FULL TIME tomorrow ~ I have mixed emotions about this. I am excited to start but also nervous because I've heard I will need to do LOTS of studying....

Since this is my second round of college - I know I can handle it. Harper is usually in bed by 8, which will give me plenty of time to work on school. It's just crazy to think that the next TWO YEARS of my life are going to be devoted to school..again! I hope they go by fast! I'm sure I will keep you posted.

Italian Style Tacos

We love tacos in our house, so I thought I'd try out this recipe that I found on Kraft's website. These were yummy - Adam loved them! We decided that the tacos kind of tasted like pizza. They were super easy to make too!

What you need:

• 1 lb ground Italian sausage
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 1 15 oz jar of spaghetti sauce
• 12 hard taco shells, warmed
• shredded mozzarella cheese
• Parmesan cheese
• 1 tomato, chopped

Make it:

Cook sausage and pepper in large skillet - drain

Stir in spaghetti sauce, simmer 5 minutes or until heated through

Fill warm taco shells with sausage mixture; top with cheeses and tomatoes

*Serve with a mixed green salad for a quick and tasty weekday meal

*May substitute lean ground beef for the Italian sausage

Blank Park Zoo

Today we enjoyed one of the last weekends of summer by taking a trip to the Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines. It sure was hot - but we had lots of fun! We're already planning a trip to the zoo for next summer!

To start the trip out right - ADAM decided to turn Harper's car seat so it was facing forward! The guidelines suggest that the child be 20 lbs AND at least one year old. Well, Harper is 20 lbs and almost one. Two weeks shy - what's the big deal - it's not like she little-little. I wasn't going to argue with 'the law' - aka - Adam :) She is getting to be such a big girl!!! How cute is she?!?!

Harper's favorite part of the zoo was Kiddie Kingdom - a large petting zoo and playground. You could feed the animals through the little boxes. Harper was not afraid to walk right up to the boxes and stick her head and hands in there! The animals didn't stay long once they realized that she didn't have food.

Harper and Daddy checking out the animals

Mommy and Harper eating some ice cream - it was hot!



Looking at the Tiger...

The Giraffe's were my favorite!

We took a ride on the little train that drives around the zoo grounds. Harper loved it! She sat like a very good girl between Adam and I. Took everything in! What a big girl!

We ended our day with a quick trip to Old Navy - and then ate supper at On The Border with Abby and Aaron!

This is just a short video of Harper walking around - I love watching her walk - This was at Kiddie Kingdom.

Here is a video of Harper at the petting zoo - she was laughing and screaming at the goats :)

searching....

Any free time that I have at night is usually spent searching the Internet for VACATIONS and SUV's!!!!

Adam and I are planning a trip to Mexico during the first week of January 2011. I got a quote from a travel agent - but of course I am trying to beat her price. After hours of looking on numerous sites, I decided that I am going to finally book our trip though our agent today. Yay!!! More details to come.....

I have also been looking around for a 'gently' used SUV. We want to trade our car in for something more kid friendly. It is a pain in the butt trying to get Harper in and out of her car seat because the car sits so low to the ground. I usually have to sit in the seat next to her - I'd rather be able to stand and just lean in. Ya know?!?! A van would be ideal - but NO WAY!!!! We have found a couple of Chevy Trail Blazers and Chevy Equinox's that we like. We are not looking into something brand new - the point of this trade is not keep our payments the same - if not lower. Hopefully more details to come on this too!!!

School started in Clarion today - Fall is definitely in the air! And I love it!

Up to no good

I haven't blogged this week b/c we haven't done anything blog worthy.....

We did do some shopping on Wednesday to get Harper some SHOES! Now that she is walking everywhere - I decided that it's time for her to wear them since she walks outside, in stores, etc. She isn't too sure what to think of her shoes yet - likes to stare and them and play with them instead of walking around :)

Adam and Harper are in Northwood for the weekend, while I am enjoying a peaceful weekend at home by myself. Adam was in a golf tournament today and I had to work, so he took Harper along so our parents could watch her. I was in bed last night by 9:00 and am heading there after I finish this blog. Although I miss Harper and Adam, I am enjoying the 'me' time.

Photo Magnets

Although I don't consider myself to be super frugal - I LOVE reading frugal blogs! Anyways, I came across a great deal - 25 FREE PHOTO MAGNETS! (<------ click link to check it out). Plus free shipping!



I think I am going to wait until we take Harper's 1 year pictures before I order the magnets. Thinking about using them as a Birthday Thank-You possibly...or maybe send out at Christmas time??? I don't know - the possibilities are endless. I don't know when this offer ends so I hope it's still around in the next few months.



Here are some ideas for YOU:

• Teachers/Daycare Providers~ make a magnet with all of your contact info to give out to parents
• Small Businesses ~ make a magnet with all of your contact info to give out to customers
• Getting Married~ Create a 'Save-the-Date' magnet
• New Baby ~ Create a magnet announcing your new bundle of joy
• Just moved ~ create a magnet with your new address/contact info

Good luck ~ Have fun! Let me know if you tried this out and if it really is as good as it sounds!

Ali

Here is a short video of Harper's version of saying 'Ali.' Don't mind the messy house- this is what it looks like until Harper goes to bed!

Look Who's Walking!!!

As promised, here is proof that our little rugrat is now walking! She started taking a few steps here and there a few weeks ago, but last week is when she started going longer distances. And this week she can conquer an entire room! It is still very slow and unsteady - but we are very proud of her! She still crawls - I think because it is faster for her. Let the fun begin!

11 months

Today is Harper's mini golden birthday -11 months old on the 11th :)

Weight: 20.6 pounds

Clothing Size: she can squeeze into some 12 months, but we are now wearing more and more 18 month clothing

Diaper Size: 3

Teeth: 8 ( no new ones for a few months)

Speech: no new spoken words - just gibberish - but she does know some signs! Harper can sign 'ni-night' and 'light.' I wish she could sign 'more' and 'eat' - but we'll keep practicing! She also has her own little 'sign' for Ali (our dog) - she quietly mouthes (eye- eye - eye) - it is so cute!

Eating Habits: A bottle before her two naps and bedtime - she eats 3 meals a day - a few of her new foods are: cottage cheese, refried beans, hamburger and mac n cheese.

Sleeping Habits: still taking 2 longs naps each day - bedtime is b/w 7:30 and 8 - sleeps for 12-13 hours!

Favorite Toy: all of her balls

Favorite Activity: reading books

New Things:

• WALKS (check back in the next few days for proof!)

Organizing

I am not a very organized person - but I do try! Now that Harper knows how to get into EVERYTHING - she was always playing with the same old toys - usually the ones that were the easier for her to reach.

To make sure she was getting to play with all of her toys and books, I divided up her toys into 4 different baskets. We take out one basket at a time and keep the rest LOCKED up in the cabinet. After she wakes up from her nap, she gets a new basket to play with. You get the point.

This was an easy solution to prevent her getting bored with her toys. And cleaning up is a lot easier! 15 toys instead of 30!!!!

pacifier????

"Hey Mom, look what I found...."

"I think I'll use it for a pacifier!"

Don't we have a creative and silly daughter?!?!

Tree Project

We're finally starting to cross things off on our LONG to-do list.

First thing - landscaping around one of our trees.

PHASE 1: Before planting the hasta, the tree was surrounding by a mixture of ill-looking dirt, rocks, weeds, etc.

PHASE 2: Adding some mulch. The tree roots were in the way so we (Adam) couldn't dig the edging in too deep. I'm sure it will look better next spring when the grass grows back.

Hastas - FREE (given to us from a family friend)

Mulch - $10

Edging - $5

_______________

Total - $15

Not too bad for a DIY project!!! Not that this is anything fancy - but I'm sure it would have cost around $100 to hire a landscaping company to do this for us. I'm so grateful that my hubby is trying to become a handy man!

new template

Well - my old background template expired - so I had to find a new one.

I'm not really in the mood to spend time on the blog (as if you didn't know that already!) so I wanted to find a cute template in a rather quick manner.

Well - can you believe that I went to Shabby Blogs and liked the third one that I saw?? I think it had something to do with the fact that it was titled 'Brooke!' I guess it was meant to be!

I PROMISE that I will make a new and more interesting (well, to some of you) post tomorrow!

no ambition

Once again - sorry for the lack of blogs....just no ambition to blog.

We're here - and doing well!

Harper is learning SO MUCH right now - it is fun to watch her grow :) More on that later.

I need to study for my test tomorrow.

Maybe I'll blog tomorrow - or maybe not. We'll see.