Oh, To Be A Hargrove By Birth...

H.A.R.G.R.O.V.E.

There are certain qualities Hargroves just have. Now, whether those qualities are given you by birth, or attained by marriage are two totally different things. Here we go.

Hargrove By Birth:
1.You can eat sugar cubes for breakfast, lunch & dinner and never get a cavity.
2. You can down a liter of Dr. Pepper when your brothers squeeze it down your throat while you drive, as to not get Dr. Pepper on your shirt or in your car.
3. You thoroughly enjoy the bottom of your feet being scratched and it DOES NOT tickle. It's "relaxing".
4. Every bone in your body may be popped and you won't feel a thing. Also a very rejuvenating activity.
5. Can cook like a chef. Everything you make tastes good- from Ramen noodles and cheese crisps to Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo.
6. Can bust open an Otter Pop in a fraction of a second by ripping the top off with your molars.

7. You snore like a weed-whacker (according to Derek). I've yet to hear every Hargrove snore like this.


Hargrove By Marriage:

1. All of the sudden you find yourself dinking over cups of orange juice & water.
2. When trying to tip toe and not wake the baby, something, ANYTHING, you touch falls & makes a ruckus.
3. You find yourself sitting down in the shower and ending up there for a half hour.

Let me just tell you, though. I wouldn't trade being a Hargrove by marriage for anything. I love my last name, I love my in-laws & I love these goofy qualities I've inherited by being a Hargrove by marriage.

Pedicures On Our Toes, Toes

Well, I'm very aware I may just have lost a few friends after titling my post after the Ke$ha song but hey. It's my birthday. I do what I want. For any wife reading this, I'm sorry to inform you that your husband just isn't as good as mine. My birthday REALLY started last night. (And to be honest, I kept forgetting my birthday was approaching. Derek kept reminding me). One thing I love about Derek (there are many, many things) is that his favorite day of the WHOLE YEAR is ....drum roll...his birthday. I love that! And you know, I should think the most important day of the year is his birthday, too! Because without it, we wouldn't be married! So back to what I was saying- my birthday began last night. We had just finished watching Dear John, which we really enjoyed, when we went to sit on the balcony and bask in the warm summer breeze and look at the pretty night sky. Derek told me to wait while he got the computer. He brought it outside and asked me to click on his schedule for the next day (today). I did and it said, "Derek Takes the Day Off. It's Lauren's BIRTHDAY!!!" I was so happy I cried. Haha! I told him that no matter what other present he got me on my birthday, that one trumps all. I am constantly joking (but not really joking sometimes) with him about staying home and playing with me and Titan all day. And finally the day came! I was in Heaven. I was so happy I wanted to wake up Titan and have a party with the 3 of us. But...thankfully I didn't do that. Then Derek told me my family was going to meet me at this wonderful restaurant...maybe you've heard of it...Cracker Barrel...at 8 am. That made me even more happy!

So here we are, indulging in our Sourdough French Toast, Mexican Egg Scramble, Home Fries, Biscuits & Gravy and Double Fudge Coca-Cola Cake. Family always makes life so much better.

My mom offered to watch baby Titan for us while Derek took me on a fun-filled day. When I opened one of my presents, there was an itinerary for our day! It was awesome! We got pedicures at 9:30 (best pedicure I've ever had, by the way) while we watched The Price is Right. I've always loved that show. In these pictures, if you can tell, the lights hanging from the ceiling said "Wellcome" and "Thank's".

I guess a place that welcomes you with TWO L's is better than one! We had an entertaining time wondering what kind of junk these Vietnamese people were saying about our toes. It was interesting trying to understand them in their broken English, but they did a good job! Here is the finished product. Don't look too closely...

We took off to the movies to see Prince of Persia (excellent movie) and we HANDS DOWN had the best seats in the house. Not only was it not busy in the middle of the day, but we sat behind two extremely nerdy gamers. These two lanky looking dudes rip in to the row in front of us. One kid had socks pulled up to his shins with old school tennies and shorts. Every time Prince Dastan and Princess Tamina would say a funny line or get flirty, these two would BEAM in delight. (Mind you, these guys are like in their mid twenties). So yeah, that was fun.

We got back to mom's to get Titan and he was mad at me!!!! It's like he couldn't believe I had left him for all of 4 hours this morning. Made me sad!

Derek and I came home to play my new Tetris Party game and eat cheese crisps and Doritos. Let me just tell you something about this Tetris Party Deluxe game. Please Google when this game comes out. The release date isn't until June 1st! My husband, the lucky charm that he is, walked into Game Stop on the right day.The store had only one copy of this, which they were supposed to use as a Demo. The guy said no one had pre-ordered it so he went ahead and sold it to Derek. Amazing! But I'm not surprised. Derek is just good like that.

Later we went to Albertson’s to get some Ben & Jerry's (mmm…..) and sherbet (not as mmm….) and try this new place called Blue Pepper. If you live in El Paso, try it! It reminds me of a mix between Cafe Rio and Chipotle. It’s good! We came home and indulged in our dinner while we played Dig-Dug and got Titan ready for bed. And last but not least, a birthday would not be complete without some birthday lovin. Get your mind out of the gutter! We’re just watching The Notebook.

A Very Good Conflict of Interest

Yesterday, Derek offered me a job. His boss asked him to ask me if I'd be willing to do some data entry for their company. Well, Derek is the manager over all of the employees. This would make my husband my boss. I think I could get used to this idea... The only thing is (and I'm willing to admit it), am I sure I'll ever get anything done with him around? I mean, look at these faces. We are so guilty. (In this picture, Derek took me out near our apartment complex to shoot soda bottles with rocks and REAL sling shots. See? We reek havoc together.)

The only other thing is, I'd be towing this little guy around. Now I'm REALLY not going to be getting anything done. He is always blowing bubbles, chit chatting, trying to sit up by himself, rolling around, talking (loudly) and flinging his binky all over the place. He definitely keeps me entertained. I love him to death!

I am so glad I have my two boys to keep me busy all the time. So the question is, am I busy enough or should I take this job? If nothing else, I'd love to just tell people my hunky hubby is my jefe. : )

Just A Couple of Weirdos, I Guess.

So, Derek and I have been thinking of all the quirky things about ourselves. Here is what we've discovered. We hope you enjoy these...

Derek's Top Ten Quirks:

1. When he has a song in his head, he changes the lyrics all around (some of them are not such nice lyrics...)

2. He can't stand the feeling of his hair touching his ears. Once the sides grow long enough to where they touch the ears, it's time for a haircut.

3. I've never met a single soul that can speak better & faster Piglatin than Derek. It's amazing. It sounds like a whole new language! If you can keep up & understand him, you are one in a million.

4. It is nearly physically impossible for him to suck on a candy or a sucker. He must chew it. This is also amazing to me, because if I did that, I swear my teeth would break!

5. When using the microwave, he always pops stuff in for 35 seconds. Not 30, not 60- just 35 seconds. It always seems to be just right for him. If not, another 35 should do.

6. Derek is an Otter Pops connoisseur, so naturally, he eats them in the shower. He has done this for a long time. When we dated back in 2005, he told me he did this. Still goin strong!

7. He always seems to catch the clock at 12:34. Either A.M. or P.M. I think it weirds him out.

8. Every now and then he gets this urge to throw a chair across the cultural hall in sacrament meeting. It's the Tyler Durdon in him, I suppose. (For anyone who's seen Fight Club. Don't worry, we have the Clean Flicks edition.)

9. He won't eat a pickle to save his life. He does not like anything with a vinegary taste.

10. When eating a Kit-Kat, he eats off all of the chocolate, then eats each wafer individually.

Lauren's Top Ten Quirks:

1. The feel of suede makes me want to choke.

2. Now this one is weird. It's yet to be confirmed to me that anyone else in the universe does this. Whenever I have a hangnail, I snag it across the seems of my shirt, my garment linings or my shoe laces. Weird, I know. My great-grandma Slade made me a wubbie when I was little. It was lined with silk. I always rubbed it in between my fingers so I think that's where this weirdness came from. Anyway, old habits die hard and here I am at 23 years old & still doing it.

3. I had no idea this was strange until a couple of years ago but I'm always standing on one foot with the other foot touching my opposite knee. So basically, I am constantly standing like a flamingo. Come on, someone tell me you do this, too...

4. I'm always reading things backwards or trying to find words within other words. My name backwards is Nerual Arokis Evorgrah. Just in case you were wondering.

5. I memorize numbers. I have my VIN NUMBER memorized. Don't ask. When working at the radiology center, I'd be trying to go to sleep at night, but some old lady's name and social security number were running through my mind. If she only knew...

6. I'm not the average female. I have no interest in diamonds, chocolate, stuffed animals or flowers. Oh and I'm not a big phone talker.

7. I DO NOT eat the folded chips in the bag. Uh-uh. Nope. I either pitch them back into the bag or I break them before I eat them.

8. I like the smell of Titan's binky. Baby's breath is so pure.

9. When I sleep, I have to have it cold enough to use my covers. I can't sleep without them. And once I'm all covered up, I stick one foot out. ONE FOOT ONLY. Usually the left one. And I'm pretty much hanging off the side of the bed when I sleep. This is probably another habit that dies hard because in high school, one entire side of my bed was piled with tons of school books and my backpack. So I'd never even roll over to the other side. I sleep like a hotdog and turn only in a confined space. And I can usually only fall asleep on my stomach.

10. I can't eat a meal when the kitchen is dirty. I'll do all the dirty dishes before whipping out a clean one to make a meal.

The Top Five Quirks of Derek & Lauren As a Couple:

1. We cannot staaaaaaaaaand when our eggs and syrup touch each other. In fact, our sweets and salties cannot touch each other at all when on our plates.

2. We drive all the way to Las Cruces to eat at Dion's Pizza.

3. We speak to each other in accents, usually a British one.

4. When eating a meal, there is typically only one cup out. We're always sharing our drink.

5. We eat peanut butter on our waffles. I grew up thinking this was normal but I have been proven otherwise as an adult. Try it though, it's good & it makes your meal stick to your ribs better so you're fuller all day!

Derek & I went to Albuquerque this past weekend to visit my best friend, Jackie! We took pictures of some of the places that meant a lot to us when we dated back in 2005. For example:

This is the church building where we met for the 1st time. We met on Father's Day. This is the Eubank Chapel and we attended the singles ward there. Derek was a salesman for ADT security systems over the summer while taking a break from BYU and I had just graduated high school, getting ready to head to Eastern Arizona College a few months later.

This is the house that I lived in while dating Derek. Uglier than sin. It was a 4-level house. 4 bedrooms on the 2nd floor, the kitchen & living room on the 1st floor, another family/living room, laundry room and garage on the -1st floor and 2 bedrooms and a huge food pantry on the -2nd floor. Weird? One night Derek and I had our ice creams from Sonic and we grabbed Colin's skateboard so we could sit on it & ride down the hill together while eating our dessert. It was fun. We had a lot of fun memories here!

This is Derek's old apartment, where we hung out for the 1st time. It was the same day we had met at church and we went to his friend's apartment to play "And It Came to Pass", an LDS card game that I'm not sure I ever picked up on. We'd also watch LOST with his roommates and other ADT salespeople here. This is when I found wet wipes in Richard's bathroom and asked why he had those there. Oh, little did I know... He gave this analogy: "If someone walked up to me and wiped mustard all over my arm, would I want to wipe it off with a napkin and still have remnants of mustard on me or would I want use a wet wipe?" Hmm...interesting analogy.

This is the arroyo Derek and I spent much of our time in as well. We'd sit here for hours while the sun set and it got dark. We'd talk about the future. In this very arroyo he told me that it was a Japanese belief that if you fold a thousand cranes, you're granted one wish. I asked him if he would remember me in the future and tell me if his wish came true or not. He replied with, "I'm pretty sure you'll be there when that happens". I had no idea what he meant. Then, 3 years and a lot of events later, he proposed with a ring around a paper crane labeled "Crane # 1,000".

We also spent a lot of time with my grandparents, which are Titan's GREAT-grandparents, and with Jackie and her family. Lest we forget also, we went to Dion's Pizza and Boba Tea (no tea in our drinks, just a fruit smoothie with tapioca balls). Mmmm...

And even though we had lots of fun this weekend, there is just no place like HOME.

This Day Was Inevitable

The title sounds like this post has the potential to be awful. But my situation is...I'm sick. What a crummy thing to be. I had a hard time being a mother the first few months of my baby's life and I often thought..."What if I get sick??? What will I do? How will I handle this?" And here I am. The day was inevitable. I'm just grateful it's NOW instead of when he was super little. At least now I can put him in his little bouncy chair that his awesome Grandma Hargrove gave him while he watches Baby Einstein or Mulan. (His favorite is actually Peter Pan). So I can't complain too much. My poor husband, however, got little to no sleep last night between Titan and I waking up. Titan sleeps in his bassinet in the living room. I sleep next to Derek. Now, Titan kept waking up because he's fallen in love with rolling from his belly to his back. He just sort of tips over once he pushes up on his knees. But since he's slept on his belly for so long, he doesn't know what to do when he's turned onto his back. He doesn't know how to sleep like that! (He is his mother's child). So at 11 pm he wakes up. At 3 I wake up. I am so full of milk that I have to pump. I probably had about 12 ounces of milk between both sides. I go back to bed. At 3:30 Derek has a belly ache. He wakes up & heads to the bathroom. He comes back to bed around 3:45. At 4 Titan wakes up again. Derek flips him over. At 4:30 I wake Derek up from moaning in my half-asleep & completely miserable state. Derek is probably wondering how long a night could possibly be! I offer to sleep on the couch, but finally resort to taking some Tylenol. And since I'm a weirdo and can't take pills without food, I popped in one of these babies (part of the cure for a sick day) to take with my medicine. At 5:20 Titan wakes up. I feed him. Thank HEAVENS, because now I'm out of milk and I love the feeling of being empty after a feeding! At 6:30 Derek's alarm goes off. He has earplugs in now (smart boy) and doesn't hear his phone obnoxiously buzzing around under his pillow. I poke his face. He hops in the shower and at 7:22 I finally arise. I actually slept! For about an hour and a half! That is great, because I didn't sleep for that much time straight through last night until then. At 7:36, however, Titan is bright-eyed and bushy tailed, smiling so big (like always) and just chit chatting to himself (and of course he had flipped over, as well). Derek and I ate breakfast and he headed off to work. I took T-man and snuggled him all up with me in the bed and we fell back asleep for another hour. When we awoke, this FINALLY concluded the night from about 10:30 pm yesterday. *Sigh*

Derek is a gem, he always is. He brought me home some lunch so I wouldn't have to make us anything. My appetite has been shot, which stinks. But I managed to eat one and a half Arby's Melts and a few curly fries. He then spent the rest of his lunch hour giving me a massage since my body ached so bad. He warmed me up a rice pack and I put it around my neck. I was in heaven. Until he had to leave : ( It's husbands like Derek that make being sick not nearly as bad as it could be. Also, my mom came by to watch Titan (an activity she and Titan both highly enjoy!) while I took a nap. Thank you, mama! I slept for 2 hours and I loved every minute. I had later thought what it must be like having multiple children and going through these everyday things. I don't even want to THINK about being sick & having multiple children running all over my house! That's why I'm not going to think about it. The End.

America, America

Okay well in yesterday's post I mentioned that my thoughts and feelings on the United States immigration issues would be a blog for another day. And so the day has come! But just so everyone knows, my opinions on this matter aren't meant to offend anyone, but rather to inform them. Some of my favorite people are from Canada. My dad's family came here from Poland. My great grandpa from my mom's side came from Scotland. My uncle married a woman from Czechoslovakia, and remember...I live in "Almost Mexico". So here goes...

People have been fired up about this SB 1070 law in Arizona. Now, from what I understand, most people haven't even read about this law. They immediately assume it's racial profiling and decide they are against it. I got this quote from http://www.azleg.gov: The purpose of the law is it: Requires officials and agencies of the state and political subdivisions to fully comply with and assist in the enforcement of federal immigration laws and gives county attorneys subpoena power in certain investigations of employers. Establishes crimes involving trespassing by illegal aliens, stopping to hire or soliciting work under specified circumstances, and transporting, harboring or concealing unlawful aliens, and their respective penalties."
Now, reading this statement I thought, "Who would want crime anyway?" and "These aren't even new laws being put into place, they are just fighting to enforce the laws that already exist". That was funny to me, because what is the point of a law if you don't enforce it?

I loved this quote from Theodore Roosevelt. He said, "In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American... There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag... We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language...And we have room but for one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people."

I am a person who loves to know about other religions, cultures and lifestyles. There are 4 apartments on my particular floor. 3 of us are of different races, speaking different languages and living different cultures. I pass apartment 721 and I get a huge whiff of curry. There is a red dot on their door, I'm guessing to ward off evil spirits. They veil their heads, and wear dresses everyday. Candles are lit in front of their door and every now and then, they ring a loud bell for about 5 minutes straight. I am uncertain of the meaning behind all of these rituals, but is it not my culture. I respect them for keeping their culture alive. When needing to speak to her once, she spoke to Derek in broken English, but English nonetheless. I sit in my apartment and the people in apartment 723 slam their door shut. I hear loud voices, and the Spanish language being spoken. They leave their apartment to attend Quinceaneras and other Mexican events. I hear Regaton blasting through the apartment walls. But when I am struggling to head downstairs with my baby in his carseat, they ask me, in English, if I needed any help. And just as I hear them, I'm sure they hear me! Cranking Christmas music in the middle of May, laughing loud and playing the Wii with Derek and the smell of mashed potatoes and gravy seeping through the windows. We are all just 3 families living in the same country, trying to get by like everyone else. Did you get that last part? TRYING TO GET BY. We all have jobs, or we'd have no way to pay for the place in which we live. People have said that the immigrants here in the United States have the jobs that Americans wouldn't want. I'm here to say that is a lie. If our economy got bad enough, I'm convinced that any able man would scrub the floors at Mc Donalds just to support his family and put food on their plates at the end of the day. My husband put it well when he said, "If anyone thinks a job is below him, he deserves to be out of work." People are upset that this law is racial profiling, but I'm also convinced that if an illegal immigrant took their job from them, they'd be upset. Not because of the ethnicity of the individual, but because this is a person legally living in this country, paying taxes, and trying to do the right thing- yet having his job swept out from under him so someone can send US dollars back to their country; money that will never again circulate in ours.

I was discussing this topic with my dad and I agreed with him when he said that our country has programs that attract people here. They allow children to come to school not knowing English. They don't check to see where this child even came from. Fill out this form and let him in! He doesn't even need to learn our language! Employers don't do background checks. If the guy looks hard-working, bring him on! Well, did they stop to wonder if that child was just thrown over the barbed wire fence last week? Did they check to make sure the interviewee for the job has a legitimate social security number? Who are the people within our own walls allowing this to happen? We cripple ourselves. But this is why something has to be done. And Arizona is the only state so far to take action. These problems don't so much affect people from Kansas. Or Maine. We live in the Southwest, where the borders are sketchy. It's too easy to get here. I feel very privileged to have been born in the wealthiest country in the world. But because we ARE the wealthiest country in the world, everyone wants to come here. There is more opportunity. Therefore, it will probably be more difficult to get citizenship here than in another country. But no one is telling them they cannot come. A passport, some paperwork & some money will get you the papers you need to live here legally. Or work. Or be a student. These are people that deserve to be here! They have gone through the proper channels to get here, and that shows me they respect America. Others come here looking for a free ride. I cannot tell you how often I found illegal immigrants using Medicaid at my previous job. Mind you, many of them are girls my age. Often pregnant. Pregnancy is a fad to many of them. It's a social status and a game. I will never forget one in particular. She walks in with a beautiful red, long coat with big buttons down the middle. She sports tall black boots over her jeans and has her nails done. She's carrying a Louis Vuitton purse. She walks away after signing in for her appointment. I call her back and ask her for her insurance, please. She pulls out of her 300 + dollar purse, HER MEDICAID FORM. Now tell me how that works. Once again, people in our country are not paying close enough attention to who they give our tax dollars to. And once again, the reason for the SB 1070. If we're checking, we can clean out the system by giving jobs back to individuals who deserve them and spending our tax dollars on our own citizens.

I took 3 years of Spanish in high school. I took another 2 and a half years in college. In fact, Spanish was my minor. I've been to Mexico many times. I fell in love with the people there as I worked a project for Habitat for Humanity and visited people while on day trips for my Spanish class. But when I'm there, I speak their language. If I'm not good, oh well. I learn. I try. I ask questions to get it right next time. I DO NOT turn up my nose and wish these stupid people would speak ENGLISH. For Heaven's sake...I AM in THEIR country. Pssh. (Does this make any sense to you?) I welcome the opportunity to speak to these people in Spanish. And I feel like a million bucks when they have no idea I only learned Spanish in school several years ago. However, I don't feel it's right to walk up to a complete stranger, or a Target worker and ask them questions and favors in Spanish when I know English! I live in America. It is common sense and common courtesy to approach an individual in English first. Never would I expect to be spoken to in my native tongue while in Japan or China. And while I think this is obvious to all, people don't understand it!

I am embarrassed that our country hardly has a culture anymore. We are not allowed to be proud of America. It was recently spoken on the radio that 2 kids from Michigan were sent home on Cinco de Mayo for wearing American flags on their shirts. What??? Many kids today don't even know the Pledge of Allegiance and some aren't allowed to say it in their schools. They have tried to remove "In God we Trust" from our coins. Where has our pride gone? I drive around El Paso and see "Hecho in Mexico" stamped on the back of vehicles, bearing TEXAS license plates. People have tried to cut in front of my mom multiple times at the store because she is white. And people think that Anglos are racist? Hmmmm. Maybe those individuals just haven't lived a while in the Southwest or been in the line of fire. I have many many hispanic friends here in El Paso and most of my previous colleagues were of hispanic origin. Those people were very bothered by those coming across the Mexican border, driving like maniacs on our roads because they fail to pay attention to traffic signs. They flood our stores and make messes of everything they touch, only to be rung up at the counter and have their taxes refunded to them. They steal our jobs, our identity and our tax dollars. They use walkie talkie cell phones so everyone around them can hear their conversations. They stand so close to you in line that if you bend over to pick something up that you dropped, more than likely you're going to bump into them. Haha. Maybe that is their culture. But it isn't ours. And if you want to live in this amazing country, you need to show some respect. Same with Johnny Depp & Alicia Keys. They trash talk America. So...leave? You have your jobs and your wealth because WE, people of this country, gave that to you. I guess ungrateful people bother me.

Derek's aunt is a Sun's fan. However, she was upset that Steve Nash was against the 1070, being from Canada. She had this great analogy regarding the SB 1070 so I wanted to share it. She said, "Ok. I'm going to show up to a Sun's game and demand to be let it for free. And while I'm at it, I'd like a free drink. And popcorn." Well, isn't that about right with these illegals? I'm convinced the ticket-taker at the Sun's game (AFTER looking at you like you were from space) would either send you to the ticket counter to buy a ticket LIKE EVERYONE ELSE, or hand you over to security to be escorted out of there. If someone asked us all to raise our hands if we're AGAINST the 1070, I'm sure a lot of hands would be raised. However, if after they raised their hands, the person said, "Ok. We'll go ahead and take money only from the paychecks of the individuals who raised their hands so we can pay for our illegals. Many of them partake of these programs and since there are so many, we'll need all of your dollars we can get. Thank you for your support", I'm sure people would change their minds pretty quickly.
I was once stopped when coming home from across the Mexican border. I was in a car full of hispanics. I AM ANGLO. However, the border patrol agent asked the driver to please roll down all of the windows. He glanced around...pointed at me and said, "You. I need your ID". No one else's, just mine. I handed it over while we waited. I'm sure he did a background check and made sure I was legal. And guess what? That's fine with me. My great-aunt said, "If they have nothing to hide...just show your papers." And I did. And I'm glad they checked me. I am proud to be an American. But freedom is not free.

The Hargrove Mileage

Everyday we add mileage to The Hargrove Family life! Although there are now 3 of us, I still say LIFE (singular) because really, we are a family- all of us trying to get to the same place in the end. It is one journey, and therefore it is one life. Each day we have the most hilarious experiences with Titan. Take this picture, for example. It is 7:30 in the morning and Derek is getting ready for work. I'm about to make breakfast and I hear Derek beckoning to me in a whisper to "Hurry! Come look!". So I walk over to where he is, staring at Titan's bassinet. And here is what we find!
He is such a stinker. We can't help but crack up at all of the silly things this little boy does. And how can you NOT LAUGH when this little face is staring at you from 10 feet away like..."Hey guys! So...could you take me out of here? Because I'm reeeeeally not tired anymore." (By the way, I had just fed him 2 hours earlier and he needed to sleep for AT LEAST another hour. But this hasn't been working so well lately.) Another funny thing he does is scrunch up his nose and smile really big. It's the best! He does this particularly when he looks in the mirror & sees himself. Boy, that kid has the potential to be vain! He sure does love seeing himself. If you could only see the faces he makes when he sees his reflection, pictures with him in it, or videos of himself. The miles Titan puts on his life bring us so much joy and fun times.

Another mileage racker-upper would be our adorable 1997 Honda Civic, lovingly named Wanda the Honda. A leak in the ole exhaust manifold, a replaced oxygen sensor and some new brakes are the only fixes we've dealt with. Pretty good for such an old car! And I must admit, I've loved driving a standard transmission vehicle. I tried driving my mom's suburban once after having my Honda and my left foot SHOVED the brake into place as if it was the clutch (oops?). I've driven more years with my standard car then I have with automatic so really, it's all I know anymore! The other day, Sher and I swung by Whataburger to grab mom a vanilla malt & an order of fries (cure for a bad day, I suppose!). Well, Sher saw my odometer and said, "Hey! Your car has 100,000 miles!" It was picture worthy so here it is! (Plus ten more miles for good measure).
Derek has been waiting anxiously for the day this baby hit 100,000 and he wasn't even there to see it! How sad! Our car was originally from Arizona, and had been stolen so it sat on a lot for a long time. When I bought it, it had 40,000 miles. Haha. Good deal! It was 4,900 bucks and worth every penny. Even though my brother was the one that sold it to me and I found out he sold it to me for 1,500 dollars more than he paid for it. Thanks, Jord. That guy is a wheeler & dealer!

And last but not least, El Paso is tacking the "Sick of El Paso" miles on our hearts. I shouldn't complain, because honestly, being so close to the murder capitol of the world, we are pretty safe here! It's just not the place we'd like to be for the rest of forever. Too many people that don't speak English, aren't proud to be American, shouldn't have drivers licenses and lack major common sense. Even just ONE of those items on the list are reason to not necessarily enjoy a place. I'm loving this new law that passed in Arizona about stopping people to check for illegal immigrants. But that is a story for another day. I could blog ten pages on how supportive I am of that new law. On the other hand, this has been one of the best wards we've been in and Derek has a very good opportunity with his work! And Titan can say he was born in Almost Mexico! (Another name for El Paso in our house..."Almost Mexico"). Truly, our life is great. As I blog, Titan snoozes in the other room with his binky half out of his mouth, Derek plays the new Guitar Hero 5 on the Wii and I sit on the couch by him- all cozy in my EAC sweatshirt from when I presided over the college. I often think to myself, "When life gets crazy, I'm going to look back to these days and think...those were the good days." So I want to enjoy them. All. : )

I Spy With My Little Eye

Derek came up with the clever little title for this blog today. He is the best. It's a very fitting title because all of the pictures I posted have something to do with this saying. This Mother's Day was so fun! Derek treated me like a queen (obviously). I woke up to my baby chit-chatting to himself in the other room. Then all of the sudden Derek sprung out of the covers and said, "I was waiting for him to get up so I could make you breakfast. That way I wouldn't wake him up by making noise. You stay here, okay? You can do whatever you want. You can blog, you can write in your journal..." I thought that was so sweet of him! But I must admit, the only thing I wanted to do was sleep longer. And so I did. For about 30 minutes. (And every mom knows 30 minutes DOES make a difference!) So when breakfast was ready, I was AMAZED. I shouldn't have been so amazed, however, because my husband is a professional chef. (Very excellent quality in a spouse. I wish I had this quality.) He made me Strawberry Stuffed French Toast. Soooo delicious. Better than Mim's Cafe. Promise. It involved thinly cut strawberries inside two pieces of normally made french toast (actually, minus the cinnamon). The inside had cream cheese, vanilla, powdered sugar and cinnamon. Mmmmm. Then he put syrup made of strawberries & Mrs. Buttersworth syrup with some water mixed in so it wasn't so thick. Topped it with powdered sugar and voila! The best breakfast ever! I love this guy. He also let me go to Relief Society with my mom and sister, meaning he took Titan into the nursery and had him the last hour. I loved that! It was nice to sit through a lesson like that with no distractions. Plus, we were given candy afterward so that was nice, too! For dinner, we made my mom some potato and biscuit dinner in a casserole dish. We had salad and corn on the side. We ate it at the Girl Scout Ranch where Sheridan and Garrett live. We presented mom with a big picture frame with pictures of the family inside. It was nice! Colin made mom a pot from the Magic Brush, where he used to work. It was cute! Mom gave Sher and I a book called "Have A Little Faith" by Mitch Albom (the same guy that wrote The Five People You Meet In Heaven and Tuesdays with Morrie). It's a super good book! I'm about half way through.
The picture of the spit up rag with orange stuff in it is another story. Titan likes to sit at the table with us and gawk at our food. We let him try our Sonic drinks, we give him Otter Pops often, I've given him Root Beer, some of my Blow Pop sucker, a french fry, my dad has let him lick a gummy bear, and Derek let him lick a Funyun tonight. Soooo, he wanted to "sit on my lap" which really meant he wanted a bite of my Buffalo Ranch Doritos. He reached over really quickly and snatched my Doritos, crumbling them in his fingers, and put them to his mouth. He had Dorito dust on his face and was licking his lips. (Little stinker.) Later on, he kept spitting up this orange stuff. Any guesses on what it was?
And last but not least, the Love Sac picture. I thought I was being sneaky when I asked Derek if he wanted to play Hide And Seek with me. Well he cracked up and asked, "In our one-bedroom apartment?" Yes, I understand how funny it would sound if someone asked you to play Hide and Seek in your one-bedroom apartment. However, I had a VERY good place to hide. He said, "I bet I know where you're going to hide." I made him go into the bathroom and shut the door and count to 30. I heaved the heavy Love Sac over my body and like...30 seconds later, came and found me! He laughed and said he knew that's where I'd hide. All that scheming up for nothing! I got a laugh out of it, though. Notice my toes hanging out the bottom. : )
Today I went to Park Days. The women in the ward with little kids will go every Tuesday to a different park and just hang out for a while. I really enjoyed this! I get cabin fever every now and then and there's only so much you can clean in a 720 sq. ft. apartment. So I hung out with about 4 other moms and it was great. I think being a mom is such a crazy adjustment and no one really gives any detail on how difficult it can be. So getting together with these moms makes you realize that just about everyone goes through the same things. It's nice to not feel alone in your experiences as a mom. I'm also just so glad I'm a member of this church, where we have things like Relief Society. I've really come to appreciate it. Life is good.

Let's Get It Started!

Life in the Hargrove Home has been fun, as always! Everyday is such a great day to wake up and be married to Derek. He is my best friend in the whole world. He takes such good care of me. Let me explain:
1. He always sets my towel out in the mornings so I know I'm always welcome to join him for the morning shower. : )
2. Before he leaves for work, we eat breakfast together in our bedroom like a picnic, as to not wake the baby in our one bedroom apartment. Yes, the baby sleeps in the living room in his basssinett. Mean? Maybe. He's slept there since his 2nd week of life! He is too loud and too fidgety.
3. I always find toothpaste already put on my toothbrush. Anytime Derek puts toothpaste on his toothbrush, he makes sure to put it on mine, too. Such a small thing, but I think I smile every single time.
4. He texts me to tell me he got to work safely. Riding a bullet bike with the drivers here in El Paso is a dangerous game. I love knowing he's safe. He probably feels like a grade school kid reporting back to his mom every morning but he lets me know he's safe and I love that.
5. He comes home for lunch everyday. He only has an hour and it's about a 15 minute drive home and 15 minute drive back. It leaves him a measly 30 minutes but he's faithful. Everyday. And it's the best part of mine and T-man's day, of course!
6. First thing when he comes home from work, he looks around for me. (I'm usually in the kitchen making some concoction). When he finds me, he comes and gives me a big hug and kiss.
7. Every time we say family prayer or bless our food, he leans over and gives me a kiss. This equals like...at least 4 kisses that I don't even have to work for!
8. If I ever say anything like.."Is it cold in here?" or "I think Titan pooped", Derek will jump up to grab me a warm wubbie or come get Titan and change his diaper before I could even do anything about it!

These are just 8 of thousands of things like this he does for me. My mom has a Mr. Wonderful doll that says things like "Oh, can't your mother stay another week?" or "Sure, I'll just pull over and ask for directions" or "No, honey. I don't want to watch the game. Spending time with you is more important" hahaha. They are funny because MOST guys would NEEEEEVVVEERR say them. But Derek would! And I love that. He is so unafraid of being humble and genuine. Tonight he babysat baby T while my mom, Sheridan & I went to the Relief Society activity. He fed Titan, bathed him and put him to bed for me. I didn't have to do anything! So not only did I get to spend the night with my awesome family, but I came home to a happy hubby and a sleeping baby! Today was a good day. But like I said before, everyday is a great day to be married to your best friend.

He sure does love his daddy. Who wouldn't? Derek is the #1 most lovable guy I know. I have never met a human being with so many friends and people who love and respect him. I'm convinced there isn't one person in the entire universe that has met him and doesn't like him. I'm also convinced I'm married to the only perfect man on the earth. Lucky me, hey?

I think Titan is never quite as excited as I am about our little photo shoots.

This is our little T-man, as Derek calls him, eating rice cereal for the first time. I know he's only 4 months old and maybe shouldn't be eating this until he's about 6 months but my motherly instincts said "go ahead". He was waking up multiple times a night after he'd been sleeping a full 9 hours, then an additional 3 after I fed him around 5 AM. So I was going to have none of that!!! Derek & I are definitely two people that treasure their sleep. My mom thought maybe he was getting hungry so I spiked his leche with some rice and it was a good thing! He is much more fun the next day when we've all gotten a good night's rest.

Oh, poop.

Well wouldn't you know it. This is the egg the Easter bunny laid at our house. Okay so it wasn't Easter anymore. It was a belated egg-dropping. I can't begin to name the number of things like this that happen once you become a mom. Take this turd, for example. I'm burping Titan on my lap while sitting on the floor. I hear a toot. I quickly lift him up, so the poop doesn't go anywhere. Mind you, if I don't do this, the poop either shoots out the sides or up the back because his little bum cheeks are squished against the diaper bottom. I really don't appreciate changing my clothes multiple times a day because I have remnants of a turd on my jeans (which stains, thank you very much). So anyways, while burping him and after hearing his toot, hoping that I don't have green goop on my pants, I find this little "dropping" on the WHITE carpet. P.S. A friend told me that the Mr. Clean Magic Erasers take stains out of carpet nicely. I bought a box and sure enough- it works! Just a little tip. I'm sure this isn't the last turd I'll be finding around the houses in our lifetime. Easter or not.