Happy Halloween!

Yesterday was Camdyn's first Halloween! She dressed up as a black kitty cat - too cute!

Cami and my mom

We went over to my parent's house to sit in the front yard, eat pizza, and hand out candy. I made sure we left by 8ish so we could get Camdyn home for bed. Speaking of...

She has not been sleeping AT ALL at night lately. This makes for a very cranky me. I've always been a very light sleeper, so when she wakes up every two hours, I have just barely fallen asleep before she's up again. John's been incredible, though. He's been helping me get up with her at night even though he's been working a ton, and yesterday he surprised me with a card and some gift cards. Best husband ever :)

Sleep is a funny thing - you don't really "miss" it until it's gone. For those of you who don't have kids yet, take advantage of sleeping! If you feel like sleeping til noon on a Saturday, DO IT! I'm thinking sleeping in won't happen again until Camdyn's moved out, and by that point John and I will be old and probably getting up at 5am willingly, haha.

So since I haven't posted in awhile here are some more photos of what we've been up to (pictures explain it best, in my opinion):

Romantic dinner from John (i've been spoiled lately)

John after work...he doesn't normally dress like this lol :)

LOVE this pic of us!

During the day Halloween outfit

Camdyn sleeping, it's a miracle!!

I also baked a delicious apple pie the other day.  It was my first one so I was kinda nervous, but it turned out amazing! I'll share the recipe soon :)

Now it's off to cleaning and working. I took on another freelance job (now I have THREE! Woo-hoo!) so that explains the lack of blog posts. Hope everyone's having a good day!

Life lately and my love language

Things have been very busy around here! Cami and I have had errands to run every day this week, so between that and working I haven't had time to blog :( Trust me, I'm desperately trying to get into the habit of blogging 5-6 times per week.  For those of you that are able to do that (plus work FT as I know most of you do)...I totally admire you! Blogging is so much fun, but it definitely takes time!

what i've been up to at work:

SheKnows.com: 10 Best ski resorts for the upcoming season
                        Holidays and breaking bread with Soleil Moon Frye
                        How to be a successful business owner

Rant Finance: The cost of having a baby
                    Halloween on a budget
                    Earn money from home
                    Is a joint checking account for you?

what i've been up to at home:

Nothing too interesting...cooking, cleaning, playing with Cami, etc. John and I got Mad Med season 5 in the mail through Netflix! So that's exciting. Mad Med is one of my all-time favorite shows. It's so witty and the characters are great. 

John and I started reading "The 5 Languages of Love." Has anyone read that? It's great, and I recommend it for all couples even though we're only on chapter 3. You first take a quiz to determine what your "love language" is, and then the book goes over how to meet the needs of your spouse's love language, which ultimately leads to a happier, healthier marriage. My love language is quality time, which didn't surprise me in the least. Quality time to me, though, isn't watching a movie together, it's more about actually talking to each other and having his full attention (no sports allowed during quality time!!). Anyways, it's a great book and I'm excited to dive further in.

And Camdyn is crying...so I leave you with some photos:

love this little bald chic!

oh ya know, just relaxin'

"mom, quit blinding me with the flash"

Cami LOVES her daddy!

Big news, and some recipes

I have some big news to share with everyone: My baby girl is eating. Specifically, she's eating sweet potatoes, and I have the pictures to prove it:

Messy messy baby

She's in sweet potato heaven here

I know this may not seem like a big deal, but it means my baby girl is growing up. I want her to stay a baby forever!! Seriously.

I'm a pretty tidy person - I hate germs and clean obsessively, actually - but Camdyn and the sweet potatoes win every time. I always thought I would never let my child eat messily and get food everywhere. HA! There's no such thing. She flails her arms like a crazy person and spits her food out more than she takes it in. Last time I fed her, I found sweet potatoes in her hair. 

In other news, John and I have been eating pretty good around here (in other words, I've actually been cooking).  Easy recipes, of course.  The crock pot is my new best friend.

Last night, I made spicy mexican shredded chicken tacos. So simple.

Spicy Mexican Shredded Tacos

• Frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or not frozen lol)
• 1 packet taco seasoning (I used the spicy kind)
• 1 can of Rotel

Place in crock pot and cook on low for about 4 hours.  Shred and continue cooking another hour (it will be a little watery looking from the Rotel but if you cook it more after shredding, the chicken will absorb most of this).  Serve in soft or hard tacos with cheese, lettuce, diced tomatoes, salsa etc.  I also made mexican rice from a box to go with this. 

Frozen chicken, seasoning and Rotel

Voila! Delicious spicy, shredded chicken

I LOVE making meals in the crock pot because it's so easy and always tastes so good. Plus, I'm never sure when John's going to be home so it's nice that we can eat a home-cooked meal whenever he arrives :)

Tonight for dinner I made pasta salad. I got this recipe from some family friends. It doesn't involve the crock pot, but it's really easy nonetheless.

Basil Tomato Pasta Salad

• 1 box bowties pasta (I used mini bowties)
• 3 tomatoes, diced
• fresh basil, cut thinly
• olive oil
• shredded mozzerella cheese (I used finely shredded)
• salt and pepper

Make pasta according to package. Rinse with cold water. Add in diced tomatoes, basil, some olive oil, cheese, and salt and pepper. Mix well and refrigerate a few hours. Delicious!

That's all for today. I'll leave you with some more photos of Camdyn and my most recent finance blog: Is a joint checking account for you?

I'm bad at blogging

I officially suck as a blogger, haha.  My "31 days of love and inspiration" came to a halt at day 4 and I haven't even posted anything since last week.  Life sometimes gets in the way of blogging, and you know what?  That's OK :)

Lately I've been working a LOT and doing a LOT of walking around with Camdyn.  Add in cleaning the house and hanging out with John and my days have been flying by.  It's good though.  John is in a super-busy time at work (as am I) so we can play catch-up and save some money.  

So let's see...tomorrow is Camdyn's 5 month birthday!  I seriously cannot believe I have a 5 month old.  Time needs to slow down.  She crawled backwards two nights ago...soo precious!  I'm scared for when that kid's mobile, though!  I will need to pretty much move upstairs during the day as downstairs is all hardwood and tile.  

Here's a few photos of lately:

Hope everyone's enjoying their Tuesday.  I'm headed to do a little walking around outside - the weather finally permits open windows and enjoying the outdoors!  Ya!

Day 4 of love and inspiration

This goes with the whole theme of my "31 Days" challenge - which is staying positive and focusing on the good.  Life is good; my life is good; your life is good. Yes, things do go wrong and not everything goes our way, but overall we all have a lot to love and be thankful for.  

I know I sometimes get caught up in thinking that life will be better when...

Camdyn starts sleeping through the night

John and I are making more money

My home office is complete

The weather cools down

etc etc etc

If I focus on that, I'll not only miss out on today's moments but also probably drag myself into a world of wanting more.  My goal is to be happy with what I have, and to enjoy this life that God has given specifically to me.

a thankful list

a happy, beautiful baby who brings me joy each and every day

the ability to stay home with her while working part-time

a house to call our own

my two work-from-home jobs

the wonderful friends i've made through blogging - you guys have become my main form of socialization lol :)

a husband who loves me through thick and thin

my family that lives close by and always makes me laugh

my bestest friends who are always there for me, and me for them

My mom has been telling me to make one of these for awhile, and I'm glad I did.  Hope everyone is having a nice day :)

31 days of love and inspiration: Day 1

I'm joining in on the "31 days" challenge hosted by The Nester.  So far, there are over 800 bloggers joining in on this!  How awesome!  It looks like there are a lot of great topics out there.  I'm looking forward to following along!

My topic is: 31 days of love and inspiration.  I wanted something simple that wouldn't take me forever to write a post on.  My days just seem to fly by lately.  I have been doing a lot of work from home (an exciting announcement to come soon!!) and of course taking care of Camdyn and trying to maintain a clean house!  

For Day 1 I have a simple quote on life:

How true is this?  Things go wrong in life so we learn to recognize and appreciate the good.  Life is so short, and I want mine to be wonderful.  Expecting perfection will only lead to disappointment.  Instead, learn to see the good in every situation and every person.  Focus on that.  

I'm reading a book "Change your Words, Change your Life" by Joyce Meyer, and it's all about training your brain (with tons of references to the Bible, because God is the only one that can actually change us) to think positively.  Thinking positively and speaking only good will force you to believe it.  If you wake up in the morning expecting to have a bad day, chances are, you will.  Wake up and decide that it's going to be a good day and find something positive in what lies ahead.

So here's to love and inspiration!  Make sure to come back daily for more.