Holy Belly!

This belly is a champ. It's been stretched, poked, rubbed, kissed & squished. It has done quite the transformation since we first found out I was pregnant.


About 3 weeks pregnant



8 weeks pregnant


12 weeks pregnant


Almost 16 weeks pregnant


18 weeks pregnant



About 20 weeks pregnant


24 weeks pregnant


26 weeks pregnant


28 weeks pregnant


32 weeks pregnant


Almost 36 weeks pregnant


And finally, this is my latest photo. It was when I was just 2 days shy of 38 weeks.

I am now 38 weeks and 2 days pregnant so I'm trying to convince this little one that she can come out ANY DAY NOW...

Wish us luck!

The Moments We Live For.

This kid.

There was a time when we didn't get along. I didn't know how to be a Mother; in fact, I'm still learning every day. I would get up early, make him a breakfast that he wouldn't eat. I would play with him and it wasn't enough. He would throw fits at naptime. He wouldn't eat lunch, wouldn't eat dinner and wouldn't go to bed at night. It was hard to feel like being a Mother was "worth it" during those times. But this child is the sweetest, smartest, most loving kid I have ever met in my lifetime.

Derek and I woke up freezing the other night at around 4:15 AM. I went into the hall to flick on the heater and had a feeling to go in and cover up Titan. I found him cold, in a ball on his bed with his face buried in his pillow. He was awake, just waiting for someone to tuck him under his covers since he can't really do it himself. I covered him with his wubby, then with his comforter. He looked up at me and said, "I Love You". It melted my heart! I whispered, "I Love You, too" back to him. He looked up at me a second time and said, "I Love You" and I smiled. I told him, "I Love You, too" once again then walked out of his room. He didn't make a peep after that and he slept until almost 7 AM.

Those are the moments we live for as parents. I love you, little Titan!

Merry Christmas to All!

I have been such a blog slacker. Seems my life has been filled with rather uninteresting events that aren't worthy of blogging about. But when I think about it, it's not true! Let's see:

*Derek found an amazing job that he loves.
*My parents came to visit us for the weekend and have an early Christmas with us. That was a BLAST!
*I've started to venture out on my own and navigate my way through the Phoenix Valley a little bit...(Has anyone truly ever realized how BIG this place is?!)
*I have one month left until our little girl arrives.
*Titan is quickly approaching his 2nd birthday (where on EARTH does the time go???)

Anyway, life is so good here at the Hargrove home. I can never complain. Sometimes I get nervous when I'm about to gush about how great my life is and how blessed I am, because I'm afraid that one day it will all be taken from me. Isn't that morbid? I have just heard so many stories in my lifetime about these people who fall in love then get in car accidents. People who are 39 weeks pregnant and their baby passes away. People who lose their children to weird things like cancers, SIDS, tumors, etc. I guess I get scared because I feel like I have a fragile heart and don't want it to be tested. This year has brought so much heartache, yet so much joy!

I often feel sad that we are no longer an Army family. I miss the days where Titan and I lived in Georgia. I miss missing Derek (does that even make sense?!). I feel sad when I see his friends graduate from each new phase of training and I know it pierces Derek just the same. I often find myself wondering what our lives would have been like had we continued on that path. But I know this is where our family is meant to be. Together. No deployments. No time away due to training. No danger. No governmental drama like he dealt with in his field. I could not be happier to have my sweet husband living at home with us. Where once I was wondering how January would play out, (Titan and I alone on his birthday with no friends or family, me giving birth alone 1500 miles from anyone in our immediate family, New Year's and Christmas alone...) now all of that will be different. We will spend the holidays with TONS of family. We will have my mom here to welcome in Baby Claire and squeeze on Titan. Derek should be able to attend the birth. It's WONDERFUL!


This is our self-timer-taken Christmas card picture (haha). Surprisingly, it didn't take too long to get a decent shot. My face definitely looks like a 35 week pregnant person face...


Here is little Claire, hanging out all cozy in the womb. She is very sweet and mild. I can tell this about her already. She hardly ever moves and when she does, she's pretty gentle about it. She gets the hiccups a lot, and I get heartburn more frequently as of late. I also urinate up to 12 or so times a night which is so much fun. I've gained about 27 pounds and it's all belly, bum and boobs. A lady at Victoria's Secret measured me the other day (I was in a sports bra no less) and I'm a 32 C. Wow. So I can bank on having some rather large honkers after my milk comes in. To say I went from a small A to a small D is quite the jump for someone like myself! Ha!

Anyway, life is good here and I hope you all have the Merriest Christmas of all time and remember what Christmas really is about.

Love,

The Hargroves

Yes, please!

I have secretly become obsessive over Pinterest. For the longest time, I had no idea what it was and had no desire to find out. But alas, I got a wild hair one day and decided to check it out. My eyes grew wide with all the amazing things they were being exposed to! I found so many amazing recipes, quotes, craft ideas and much more...along with this little dilly whopper you see above. It's called Bacon Ranch Pull Apart Bread. Does that not sound like the best thing ever?!

I have yet to make it, but I'm thinking it will make a great appetizer for Christmas Eve while at my in-laws house. If anyone else wants to try it out, tell me how it tastes! Here are the directions:

1 loaf of unsliced sourdough bread (preferably round)
8-12 oz cheddar cheese, thinly sliced
3 oz bag of Oscar Meyer real bacon bits
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 tablespoon ranch dressing mix

Use a sharp knife and cut the bread horizontally and vertically, but be sure not to cut all the way through. Place slices of cheese and bacon through the cuts. Mix the butter and ranch, then pour over the loaf of bread. Wrap the entire loaf in foil and place on a baking sheet. Cook at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Remove foil from bread and place back in oven for an additional 10 minutes, or just until the cheese has completely melted.

I think my mouth is salivating just typing this up. Someone make it and tell me how it turns out! (Or...if you live in the Phoenix valley, I'd be happy to stop by and taste test it...)

Helloooo again!

Hey all!

What a whirlwind of crazy events has happened since my last post! Technically I had one more post to the Happy Marriage series, which had to do with Money, but I'll save that for a rainy day so I can catch you up on our lives as of late!

Starting with my hubster: He just turned 28 this year! Wow! Only 2 more years to thirty...scary? I think so! But life just keeps on getting better as time passes. : ) The United States Army is currently doing a 60,000+ soldier downsizing and President Obama had recently announced a major cut in military funds. For my husband, this meant a lot of things. Because he was going into the Officer side of the Army (versus the Enlisted side), he had specialty schools to attend and the Army needs a lot more money to pay the college graduates (the Officers). The Army ended up in a huge financial crisis, leaving some 200+ soldiers fighting for 30 or so slots in Officer Candidate School, a school where they were all originally promised a place in the class at a specific time. There were so many soldiers being held over at the center where soldiers get "recycled", that Derek didn't even have a pillow to sleep on and I believe some didn't even have bed sheets. Luckily I lived in Columbus and I just tooted on over to Ft. Benning and gave him what he needed. Our visits were basically supervised and 1-2 minutes at a time if we were lucky. (It was kind of like being in a maximum security prison honestly!). But I was able to see him once a week at church which made our time apart so much more bearable. A perfect score for the PT test is a 300. The cutoff for Rangers, the most elite group of soldiers in the Army is a 240. The Special Forces are required to get a 260. The cutoff for Officer Candidate School due to the downsizing was upped to 290! Derek scored a 287 the first time, causing him to be held at the recycle center for 3 entire weeks before even getting a second chance at the class. The second chance he got, his PT score-keeper docked him 23 points on his pushups because he wasn't going low enough. Have any of you seen my husband?! He's buff and awesome and a STUD! At this point, Derek felt like Heavenly Father didn't want him in the Army. His PT score, had the score-keeper not been on a "short changing" high, would have been a 302 putting him above the curve by many points. He prayed and thought and decided it was best to take the new No Fault discharge the Army was now offering due to the downsizing. As he waited to be discharged, he thought about what it might be like to try a third time. Then he sprained his ankle. Further confirmation that he wasn't supposed to be there any longer. He was finally released on October 29th and we blew out of town like it was nothing! We rented a truck and trailer and left our little place in Columbus, Georgia. We drove 13 hours, pulling into Marshall, Texas at 1:45 AM. We left again the next morning and drove another 13 hours to El Paso, Texas where we spent a day with family. The next day we drove to Phoenix, AZ to drop our things off at a storage unit then we drove up to Snowflake directly after. I must say, it was a romantic way to spend our 3 year anniversary- 6 months pregnant and juggling unloading a 16' moving truck, watching an almost two year old zip all around the asphalt and organizing all the junk you just hauled across the country into two 5x10 units. We celebrated by eating out at our favorite place: Filiberto's Mexican food. Trashy, dirty, cheap and DELICIOUS.

Little T-man: He's been such a champ. His vocabulary has expanded and I love hearing his sweet little voice. He's smart as a whip and I love watching him grow. Those newborn stages really suck the life out of me and I don't actually enjoy little tiny babies. Like, at all. But this little man is so much fun that I can't get enough of him.

As for me, I'm finally in my 8th month of pregnancy already. How wild. Did it go by fast for anyone besides me? I'm still feeling quite unprepared! I haven't hit the nesting stage at all- maybe because moving across the country and back in the last few months has made me not want to sift through another box for as long as I live. But who knows. I've gained 21 pounds and it's strangely nice to be half the size I was when I was pregnant with Titan.

Well now that you've got the scoop on us as of late, I'm going to end this post! I'll be around more often now that life has finally began to slow down. But that will all change again in 7 weeks!

Happy Marriage Part 3. Sexy Time!

Before I begin, I had a few things to say!

*I wanted to clarify my stance on video games (as mentioned in the previous post). I definitely think *many* husbands go over the limit with their TV time. But, in order to get them away from the TV, try starting a hobby together like going biking, running, playing board games, 1,000+ piece puzzles, cooking and stuff like that. This way you're doing things together and it's still fun and relaxing. The "get-away-from-the-xbox" talk generally goes in one ear and out the other. And hey, your husband already has a mom. He doesn't need two.

*Please feel free to put in the comments YOUR suggestions on how to have a happy marriage and what works for you as a couple. Also, don't feel bad about putting in your two cents about anything I've posted, even if you disagree!

*Lastly, sex is a very personal thing within a marriage and not all couples are equal. These are MY THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS, not a "do or die" type of thing. Take what you like, leave what you don't. But these things are my observations and experiences that have worked and I've been on both sides of the fence with all of these issues. I'm showing you the bright side! : )

SEX.

As I was researching this topic, I found some interesting statistics. Married couples have sex 68.5 times a year. This is just over one time per week. Non-married couples have sex about 61.6 times a year. Go married couples! (This statistic came from drphil.com)

So, what is "sex" to you? I would venture to guess that most people view sex as sexual intercourse. But I think all forms of intimacy fall under the category. After I had Titan, I was told to not participate in sex for at least 6 weeks. When I was thinking about it and feeling bad for my poor husband (haha), someone threw in there, "there are other ways of having sex, you know". Aaaah, the light turned on! Get that little brain thinking and get creative.

To me, some really important parts of intimacy are:

*Kissing. Whether it be passionately for an hour, gently and softly a couple of times as you pass your spouse to get to the fridge, or be it playful where you kiss him all over his face while you've pinned him in a wrestling match. Cheesy? Maybe. But it's fun and we love it. And it does wonders for your soul, trust me!

*Embrace. The most difficult part about having Derek away is the lack of touch/embrace. When I'm sad, I want a hug. Not from anyone, but from Derek. When I'm happy, I want a hug. Same situation. I want to hold his hand in the car, across the parking lot, and while we push our baby in the shopping cart. I want to rest on his buff bicep while we chat in bed and stare at the ceiling. I want to snuggle with him under the covers before falling asleep. These are all things that are of utmost importance to me.

*Touch. The power of touch is great. It will bring you closer together instantly. I love to squeeze Derek's bum. I'm kind of a rule breaker. I do it at church while attending the Military Branch while he's in his Army Combat Uniform. Oops. I can't resist. I like to eskimo kiss his face, put my face close to his while I talk to him or whisper in his ear. These things are fairly effortless, make your hubby feel like a sexy champ and make you feel closer to him. It's a win-win-win. Cha-ching!

On webmd.com, I found some cool facts about sex. It:

1. Helps you sleep better. Well now I know why I haven't slept in the last 4 months! (TMI)
2. Burns calories. Go out for ice cream then go hang out in your room to burn it off. Easy peasy.
3. Improves Heart Health. Emotionally and physically!
4. Strengthens the pelvic floor muscles. Do your kegels, too! Also, they say sex helps put you in labor. I'm not *exactly* sure how true that is but hey, it's worth a shot! As if castor oil is any better? Disgusting taste and a night of diarrhea? No thanks.
5. Boosts self esteem. Of course it does! Everyone wants to feel sexy and wanted. If you want your husband's eyes to be all on you, give him a reason to think he's got a sexy mama wife! No one says you need make up, perfume, a new hair color, fake eyelashes or lingerie to succeed here. Just let him know you love and want him and he'll return the favor!
6. Relieves stress. If you're ever having a particularly crummy time in your marriage, try having sex. It's got to be the LAST thing on your mind, but once you do- you'll be surprised at how much better life feels the next day. And don't go back into your rut, either! Keep up a good routine.
7. Reduces physical pain. Apparently your levels of oxytocin go up when participating in sexual activity. They say having sex can take away pain from headaches and other body aches like cramps from your period. Try it!
8. Improves the bond between husband and wife. Uh yeah. Duh.
9. Reduces the risk of prostate cancer. Awesome!
10. Boosts immunity. If you're the type that gets sick frequently, try upping your amount of sexy time with your spouse. Saves you a trip to the doctor!


Hopefully none of you have abusive or crummy husbands. That kind of changes everything about these posts because there is only so much one person can do in a two-person marriage. To give, give, give and never receive in return is an utterly exhausting process that leaves you feeling worthless. And sex is going to be the last thing you want to do, not to mention it could get you pregnant (obviously) and babies don't make marriages better, contrary to popular belief. The only advice I could give you there is to ponder your situation hard and make the right decision in your life as to what you want to become of yourself and your family.

Girls, when it comes to sex, we basically hold all the power. If the wife says no, the husband's out of luck. Please don't be that girl. You will only leave your husband wondering why HE'S the one giving and never receiving. Sex is a two way street and you have to give a little to get a little. Your husband pays the bills, takes care of the cars, brings home the bacon, and so much more. Show him you appreciate him and give him a little boost to help make those tasks easier each day. I knew a girl who told me that she hadn't had sex with her husband in two months. When they finally attempted, the second she felt any pain or discomfort, she told him nevermind and that maybe they'd try again another time. (????) Sorry but if you fall under this category, you need some serious re-vamping of your system. Don't make sex a chore. If you hate it, find out what you hate about it and change things up a bit. There's no hurry- just do some trial and errors. Be open with your husband because communication is key. Telling him what you like and don't like will make your life a million times better. He isn't a mind reader (despite what you think) and what faster way to make your husband feel un-sexy and under appreciated then to push him to the side all the time? (Reverse the situation and think about if you were him.)

So now it's time to go get 'em! Good luck!

Happy Marriage Part 2. Action!

1. Ask yourself if it's worth the fight.

Growing up, my dad used to get upset at us for spilling water at the table. I always thought it was such a trivial thing to be upset about because one- it was just water and two- I wasn't asking anyone to help me clean it up. It was just a silly mistake I made (more than once) hee hee. Heck, I STILL do it by accident all the time.

In marriage, people often get upset about trivial things as well. The famous "which way does the toilet paper go" issue is a famous example. Your husband wipes his bum, uses the rest of the T.P., throws a new roll on there any which way and walks off. You come in, see it's turned the "wrong" way and give him either a lecture or the cold shoulder all night. Tell me that isn't the most ridiculous fight ever. Shoot, at least he put a new roll in there! He could have left you TP-less!

In situations such as those, we must stop and ask ourselves, "Is this worth a fight? Is this worth hurting my companion's feelings?" Even a snooty facial expression can hurt the other and we should always be aware and be sensitive to the other persons' feelings. Our actions speak so much louder than our words.

Something my husband taught me very early on in our marriage is that when he makes a mistake, he feels awful already. So having someone else get upset at him and rubbing salt in the wound is doing no good to anyone. How profound! It's so simple and yet so many do not get this concept. However, when the tables are turned, we would most definitely appreciate a little mercy from the other side, would we not?

2. Make an effort to see the other side.

One thing that is easy to get caught up in are differences in how we were raised as individuals. I was raised in a home that never really drank soda, but we were not against drinking caffeine. However, we never watched movies that were rated R and we were never really allowed to play video games. If we did, our time was extremely limited. Luckily, Derek and I were raised very similarly and this hasn't been an issue. However, some people get married and their spouses don't see eye to eye on things like these.

Something that kind of bothers me is when wives don't "let" their husband's play video games. Don't get me wrong- I'm NOT a big video gamer by ANY MEANS. I think the X-Box is the craziest invention and I can't work that piece of junk to save my life. Buuut, who am I to say that my husband can't do something he enjoys now and then- even if it's something I personally don't enjoy? Some wives get upset their husbands spend 3 hours on the X-Box. Is that an excessive amount of time to play video games? Absolutely. But how often do you spend sitting in front of the computer blogging? Or Facebooking? Or online shopping? Nine times out of ten, wives are just as guilty. And I'm sure husbands aren't thrilled to blog late at night. : ) But it's not that you shouldn't be allowed to do those things- it's just that all of those things should be done in moderation and each of you should be given equal respect from the other to indulge in a hobby. Sometimes we just want to sit around and do mindless things! I tell ya- if there's one thing I love, it's being able to just lay on my bed and stare at the wall or play Solitaire on my phone. No entertaining Titan, no cooking food, no laundry, no NOTHIN- just mindless staring to gather my chi for when I need it later that day.

3. Give a little to get a little.

I don't know about you, but I sure have heart a lot of this:

Woman: Ugh, my feet are killing me. I'm going home and making my husband rub my feet.
Woman: Oh, he better not or else he'll be sleeping on the couch for a week!
Woman: I told him that if he even tries to go camping with his buddies this holiday weekend, I'm going to spend $300 on whatever I want just to prove a point.

Man: Yeah man, my wife won't let me.
Man: Are you kidding? My wife would never give me a massage!
Man: My paychecks are spent before I even see that they were deposited!

Tell me you've heard this, too. This is so common that is makes me want to rip my hair out! : ) I can tell you that the fastest way to get your hubby to rub your feet is to rub his! Wow, what a concept! It takes us all the way back to when we were kids, learning the phrase "treat others the way you want to be treated" also known as The Golden Rule. You know, it IS called the golden rule for a reason. There is much wisdom to be found in it. You'd be surprised at how much good it does for the soul when you are gentle with one another. Offering a head massage, squeezing your hubby's bum as you pass him in the kitchen, kissing him on the cheek, touching his foot under the table, holding hands in the car. Those are all "action" things that are small and go a loooong ways! One thing I've learned is that the "big" things are nothing like the "small" things. The small things always matter more.

Now, I am probably making these posts seem like the wife is always in the wrong, but let me assure you men are equally guilty if not more so at times! But pointing the finger doesn't solve any problems; we must always work on ourselves only. (And since I've yet to know a man who reads my blog besides my husband...this is mostly geared towards you girls!) Which leads to my final point of...

4. You can only fix you.

A common misconception among the engaged is that they can mold their spouse into what they want AFTER they've tied the knot. Talk about false advertising! And I'm not sure how it makes sense to marry someone that you don't love in hopes that they will one day become your prince charming. Part of being in a good marriage is not only finding a good partner but BEING the best partner you can be. It's a two way street, and thankfully so. Being married can be the most rewarding experience or it can be Hell on Earth. I have experienced both in my lifetime and I'm happy to say that for the past 3 years, I've been in absolute Heaven. But I haven't changed. So what has? How could I have been the same and yet have such a different experience?

By constantly working on myself, I am able to open my eyes past my own little world. I'm able to put selfish thoughts behind me and think about how Derek might feel. There is nothing I want to change about him, but let's think about it. Say I wanted to change the fact that he likes to listen to music more loudly than I do. Why do I feel it's my job to change HIM instead of my job to change ME? I am not only being unwilling to meet in the middle, I am completely unwilling to see that I have any faults. So let's not forget that when we point a finger, we have 4 others pointing back at ourselves.