Blaahhhh!!!

Long time, no post! Sorry, but I have been busy and totally bored at the same time! At my last doctor visit, I was diagnosed...wow that's a scary word...hmmm instead lets just say my doctor "told me" that I had gestational hypertension (another scary word!), it's actually just high blood pressure, so it's not THAT scary, but I do have to be on bed rest (on my left side) from noon to 5:00pm every day. At 5, I am supposed to take a walk (at which point, I am dying to do after laying around for 5 hours!!) then it's back to resting after that. She told me I wasn't in any serious danger, but I needed to be diligent about my rest so little Peep stays in and cooks a bit longer! I will be 36 weeks this week, so I am getting VERY close!! Hopefully I wont go insane with all this "rest," who would have thought being ordered to do nothing would be annoying...hehe :)


I have some super cute Christmas decor pics to share as soon as feel like uploading and editing them! So stay tuned :)


Ohh on another note, at my shower, my friend Cora had on this AMAZING sparkle OPI red nail polish that just screamed Christmas/Holiday Season. I had been meaning to pick some up at the salon, but didn't have a chance before I got put on house arrest..I mean bed rest, ha! Anyway, the Farmer and his little sis JoElyn made a Wal-Mart run for me on Saturday, so I wouldn't have to get out. Thank goodness JoJo went along, she picked me up some rubbish celebrity magazines along with a couple of fun Christmas romance novels to try and ward off the boredom! They also, so sweetly, swung by the salon and picked up the FABULOUS nail polish I had been wanting!! It's called Gettin' Miss Piggy With It, from the Muppets OPI line!
It's sooo holiday, right?!?! No, those aren't my nails..although I have to say, thanks to pre-natal vitamins, my nails have never looked better!! She also picked me up some plain OPI Red nail polish to put on as a base coat. I think this makes the sparkle more intense! I did my nails last night and they look sooo cute!! I hope my doctor likes them, since that's the only person I'll be seeing anytime soon..hahaha!

I'll keep yall posted on the baby cooking and try to post those decor pics soon!! Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving...December, here we come!!!

Gifts Re-cap!

After I skyped with my Momma and Sis this weekend and showed off all my fun stuff, I put it all away in his nursery...then realized I wanted to take pics of some things to show yall...so I tried to take most of it back out...so here is a recap of most of what I got!!


My Momma (Honey Gram) got me this oh-soo-cute cowboy diaper bag stuffed FULL of baby things...but I took all of it out and started packing his stuff for the hospital in it, so all you get a pic of is the fab bag!! hehe!

Fabulous monogram on both sides!!

My sister got me this adorable bib and burp cloth set from The Hay Patch http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheHayPatch Love this Etsy store!! She also got him some bath towels and a onsie that says my Auntie rocks...or some saying about how fabulous she is...ha!

Nancy, who works with my Momma, sent me the cutest little cowboy things...this monogrammed tote, along with matching bib, burp cloth and diaper holder! I love the little red headed boy!! Soo sweet!

Of course my Momma had to send some Mississippi State Gear!! Don't worry he has plenty of South Dakota State stuff too!!

My Grandma (Poo) sent these cute little barn shoes! The barn door opens and there is a cow inside!! :)

My Aunt Jan and cousins Hollye and Renae sent this cute tote with our farm logo on it, his name is on the front side and there is a matching blanket! Soo fun!

I had not seen this before....did you know the Eric Carle who does the Hungry Caterpillar stuff, has a farm animal book too!?!? Well Merritt has it now thanks to Grandma Moss (The Farmer's Momma) Aunt JoJo and Aunt Brandi. It is sooo cute!! The other night I read it to him and pushed all the animal sounds and he just kicked and kicked, my little farm boy already!! They also got Merritt another farm book, bath toys and alligator towels/washcloths!! The Eric Carle horse is from my Aunt Jan and cousins Hollye and Renae...I had no idea he made a horse either! And here I was thinking he only wrote about caterpillars!!

Grandma Vermeer made him this amazing blanket..it's so soft and perfect for his baptism! She also made him some baby sized hangers (next pic!) We love the big ones she makes for us!!

UD (Uncle Den) and Aunt Betty got him his first camo and some John Deere toys! Now UD just has to take him hunting!

My bestie Britt got him the cutest diaper bag..monogrammed of course!! and some other fun goodies too!!

My co-workers sent all these fun bath time essentials!! Love it!! Can't wait to give him his first bath!

My best friend from high school, Misty, and her Momma and sisters sent all this SUPER cute monogrammed cowboy stuff!!! Notice how the blanket matches his nursery fabric!! Love it!!

My lovely hostesses got me a Pack and Play!! I just need to get it out of the box now!! Great Grandma Moss (The Farmer's Grandma) got him some bath time stuff and the book Goodnight Moon, his cousin Auggie (August Ann) got him Ducky Towels, washcloths and a robe, his cousin Cade-O got him the Leap Frog farm animal magnet set, the Farmer's cousins Dan and Tessa got him the cutest vest/shirt/and overall set, and last but not least, our friends Kati and Jared got him an adorable wrangler outfit!!

All the towels and clothes are in the wash or I would have taken pics of those too!! He has also been getting packages all along the way from friends, family, and co-workers! What a spoiled little man already!! :)

Thank yall all so much for the fabulous loot!! Merritt kicks thank you too :)

Merritt's Baby Shower!!!

Last Saturday my fab besties threw me a baby shower!! It was SOO much fun...we decided to do a brunch affair since I am in LOVE with eggbakes, monkey breads, and muffins! The food was soo gooooood!! Wish I could have it every day!! First we ate, then everyone introduced themselves and gave me some baby advice, next we played a few games, and lastly I got open a ton of great gifts!!! I will try to share most of them with you on the blog at some point!! But for now, just check out the shower pics!!

Me at 33 weeks...I put this pic on facebook and everybody is commenting on how good/small I look...for the record I am a photographer and know my angles, in real life I actually look like a mix between a wildebeest and shamu...no chance I am posting an unposed/candid pic of me ANYWHERE!!! haha! p.s. I HATE it when I ruin a good pic by doing the "stretch neck excited face," soo unflattering!




Me and the fabulous hostesses!! Love these gals :)





Cake table!

The food!!! MMMmmmmm! Missing from pic...the bacon wrapped sausages!!

Food again!

Close up of the beautiful flowers!

The cake!! It matched the invite!! Soo cute and sooo good!

cute napkins!

water bottles!

Isn't this a fabulous punch bowl?!? Love it!

Me with all my amazing gifts!! I would like to make note that I REALLY wanted to crop my gross thighs out of this pic, but just for yall I left it alone, so you could see all the loot...your welcome :)

Lucky Streak!?!?

Yes, I am one of those people who never win anything!! I think the last time I did, it was at a Young Ag Leadership Conference in Montana and I won a $100 gas card...this was the highlight of my life, until now! Ok, I'm exaggerating a bit, but I have won two fabulous prizes lately!

First, I got an email from Destination Maternity (which is the same company as Motherhood and Pea In A Pod) informing me about an Arm & Hammer Diaper Pail Giveaway, I usually never enter these kinds of things but this time it seemed so easy. I just had to go to Munchkin's facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=lf#!/Munchkin) and leave a comment saying that Destination Maternity sent me...easy enough, I figured since they were giving away 20 diaper pails my chances would be really good. Turns out I was right!! Around 50 people commented and I was one of the lucky 20 winners!! SCORE!!

Well on the same day I found out that I had one the daiper pail, fellow blogger Crystal at http://crystalcattle.blogspot.com/ announced she was doing a giveaway as well! Like I said, I usually never enter these, but since I was on a winning high, I decided to give it a whirl! It helped that the prize was a $35 gift certificate to Purple Banner Designs http://purplebannerdesigns.blogspot.com/ which I happen to adore and have been meaning to order Merritt some from things from anyway! Soo guess what happened today?!?!?!
http://crystalcattle.blogspot.com/2011/11/and-winner-is.html I won!!!

I am soo excited to pick out a little steer onsie or blanket for our little babe! Be sure to check out Purple Banner Designs and follow Crystal http://crystalcattle.blogspot.com/! And if your in the vicinity, feel free to come and rub my tummy for luck!! ha!!

Christmas 2011!!!

Halloween is over, it is November and thus (for me) begins the Christmas Season!!! I don't have my tree up yet, but should have the Farmer talked into it by this weekend!! I do, however, have most of my holiday decor up in the living room and it is sooo cute!! Hobby Lobby put out a bunch of new pink and green things this year, so of course I grabbed them up when they went 50% off!! Can't wait to show yall the finished product! I also picked up our fabulous embroidered stockings today!! They are beyond cute!! But for now I'm just going to show you Merritt's Magic Elf Bucket! (See this post to learn more about the elves http://thefarmerandthesouthernbelle.blogspot.com/2010/12/elves-in-iowa-day-1.html )


I used my amazing Cricut to cut out the vinyl letters for his bucket....not sure if I am love or not?? maybe I should have used black so the name would stand out more?? Good news is, they will peel off so I can always change the color later!




I am also making a pink/green custom advent calendar!! Stay tuned :)

Make this!!

Pionner Woman's Corn Cheese Chowder!!!
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/10/corn-cheese-chowder/

It is SOOO good! and super easy, especially if you have a hubs that will chop all the veggies for you!! ;)

I pretty much followed the recipe with the exception of doubling the bacon. I am married to an Iowa farm boy, who thinks it's not a proper meal without meat!! This chowder is soo fabulous for a chilly fall day!! Love!