So much to blog about, so little time.

So, like my title says, I have so much to blog about I don't even know where to start. So my plan is to start with the oldest happening.

As I stated in a previous post Audrey loves books. She also loves her new car Daddy bought for her. So, naturally, she loves to read books while sitting in her car. It is the cutest thing. She gets in, blows me kisses bye-bye and reads books to herself. I try to tell her that reading while driving is very dangerous but she doesn't listen.

Daddy said it was okay for us to take her car outside, I pushed her around the block and she laughed the whole way.  

I wish I had taken more pictures of this outing but all I had was my phone and she was not feeling very photogenic.

Lately Audrey has been telling me when she is going potty, or when she has poop. I feel like a horrible Mother because I am not jumping at the occasion to potty train her. Twice before I have considered potty training, worked with her, and even got her to pee in the potty quite a few times. She would not ever tell me she needed to go and it is very difficult to keep going to the bathroom with her every 10 minutes. I am not a stay at home mom so my time at home is very limited. Audrey also spends her day with 2 other people besides myself, and how do I know they are going to be consistent with her?

I know I should just get to it and if it works it works, if it doesn't, keep trying... I am so confused on this whole potty training thing. I HATE it. HATE HATE HATE potty training. Of all my motherly duties I feel I have done a great job at most of them, now I have met my match. I am going to try again soon, so wish me luck. Lord knows I'll need it.

I apologize if this post seems all over the place, it is hard writing from work. There are too many distractions.

Forgot to post the video!

Little Miss Fabulous Audrey LOVES to jump. I can not even describe how much she loves it. She is always jumping, and she loves telling you that that is what she is doing. She says "jume jume!" It is so adorable. She loves Grandma and Parker's house because they have a trampoline, I couldn't resist a video.

Mommy - Daughter bonding time

I have never taken Audrey out to eat just her and I. It was amazing. She was so well behaved and we had a great time sharing cardboard pancakes and greasy sausage. This is something we are going to do frequently together we decided.

Mommy got new hair and feels like a million bucks! It has been a year, maybe even two years, since the last time I had my hair cut/trimmed. It has gotten so long and I was terrified to go to my stylist and have it accidently whacked. I know that would not happen but is a serious fear of mine. I finally decided I needed to be brave and get it trimmed and styled. I was so sick of not having any style to my hair. I looked like a dog with a bunch of long stringy hair in front of my face just hanging there. It was time to do something. Plus, it's spring time. A girl has got to have new hair for spring, as well as makeup, and a few new articles of clothing. I'm working on that last part. But for now the new hair is working wonders for my winter/early spring lull.

I have a love/hate relationship with this picture. I hate all pictures of myself because I am horrible looking in them. My left eye always droops, so irritating, and I have an ugly smile. However, my hair looks AMAZING :)

New for Spring

As you know from a previous post, I have purchased a new vehicle. And as stated above, I have new hair. This means Audrey needed something new as well. I bought her some new spring clothes but she needed something more, something that her and I could enjoy together. SUNGLASSES. What better way to start of spring with my sweetie than showing off our fabulousness in our new car with super cute new shades. She looks way more fabulous than I do however, and I am okay with that.

She made this face all on her own. She doesn't need Mommy to tell her she is fabulous, she already knows.

Random Audreys

Audrey recently decided that she was enough of a big girl to sit in a booster at the counter for her lunch.

This was in front of Safeway recently, I couldn't not take a picture of it.

My little tourist was growling at all the paintings on the wall outside of Safeway.

Daddy decided it was time to get the swing out, I had forgotten how much she loved being in this swing. She sees it and says "wee!!"

My little explorer. I love when her hair is in a ponytail, she looks more like a big girl than a toddler.

 Audrey loves books, she loves pretending to read them, and she loves being read to. I figured with all that I had better make her somewhere comfortable to sit with her books nearby. She loves it!

Kendra painted her nails for her while Mommy got her hair done.

 Every time we walk into Alco Audrey says "horsey!" For once I had a quarter on me, so I put it in the "horsey!" and off she went. It doesn't look like she's having a great time but she is. She just likes to make grumpy faces when I'm trying to take pictures.

 I'm not really sure why this picture ended up down here, but I am too lazy to fix it right now :)

New Happenings

So I realize it's been a few weeks since my last post. This is due in part, to the fact that I do not have a computer at home. My blogging is done from work, this is a huge pain, and causes delays in posting because this computer is amazingly slow and I have no patience.

On a lighter note, my Brother and his wife Stacey were here for the weekend. I did not get to see them much though because they were always out and about, while I was stuck at home with toddler that was getting sick. We did get to enjoy a few things with them however, like going to the Founder's Day parade in Joseph City. This is by far the most visually amusing parade I have ever witnessed. It was very "small town humor" and I enjoyed every moment of it. Audrey enjoyed it as well, she enjoys anything that involves candy or being outside.

I am not really sure why, but Holbrook has 7 Mexican food restaurants. This is very strange to me and I do not really like Mexican food all that much anyway. I especially am not too fond of one in particular, El Rancho. Their food is yummy, but if I had the choice, we would not eat there often. It is just my luck that my husband and his family love it there. We eat there all the time; for family get togethers, birthdays, celebrations, etc. So you can imagine my disappointment when my brother's choice of restaurant for his birthday was El Rancho. But it was all worth while because in the end he gave me some of his free birthday fried ice cream

Happy Birthday Brother!

Finally it's my turn

I have been patiently waiting to buy my first new car, of course when I went in to the buying process I never considered buy brand new. I thought, "Okay, I have X amount of money to put down, and X amount of money for a monthly payment, and extra insurance money, that's only enough to buy used." Turns out, I was wrong. I do not know a single thing about buying a vehicle.

The first vehicle I ever drove was my Mom and Stepdad's brown Dodge diesel. After that I drove their blue Dodge Dakota. When I moved to Utah in 2006 my Dad had purchased a 1995 Pontiac Grand Am and gave it to me; lucky girl, I know. I have been driving it since. That thing is a tank, I have no doubt that with proper care it will last for a very long time. I just didn't want to continue to put money into fixing it when I had no intentions of keeping it. Brandon is very tall and he can hardly get into it. Also, we plan on having another baby soon and two carseats in there is somewhat of a joke. In any case, it was time to upgrade.

Thanks to a large tax return I had a hefty down payment. If it weren't for that, I wouldn't have new wheels! Brandon and I don't have the best credit. His is better than mine and he has already bought and completely paid off a vehicle. Needless to say, if it weren't for him (and a hefty down payment) I would not have new wheels! Luckily the cards on the table were in our favor, or mine anyway. We have been very blessed with our finances lately and I am so thankful for that. Our little family deserves the break.

I shopped, and shopped, and shopped online for a used vehicle in my price range. I looked anywhere from $1,500 - 10,000. I didn't want to spend more than $10,000 because I thought if it were more than that then my monthly payment would be more than my allotted $250 a month. After spending so much time looking at the same vehicles over and over again I decided to call the local dealer to find out my options. Again, I am a first time buyer, I had no idea what I was talking about or what I wanted for that matter.

The first thing I told the salesman was how much I had to put down and how much I had for a monthly payment. He immediately said, "I can put you in a brand new Nissan Sentra for pretty close to that." Me, not knowing that they had been redesigned, said no thank you! I knew the previous years model had been rather small. In fact, they were not much bigger than my Grand Am. I told him I need something a little bigger and he asked me if I had seen the new ones. I told him yes, even though I hadn't. See, I had my heart set on either a Chevy Impala, or a Ford Fusion. Leaning more towards the Fusion I was determined to find something in my price range.

He did some looking around for me but was not having much luck. In the meantime I was researching 2011 Nissan Sentras because "brand new" suits me better than "used." After looking online I decided I may as well go check one out since I liked what I saw online. My salesman was happy I had a change of heart. He had a great point, "why buy used with 70,000+ miles, when you can buy new for the same monthly price?" A girl like me can't argue with a bargain like that, like I said, "new" suits me well.

I was able to take one home for the night but due to the fact that we were going to a birthday party I wasn't able to drive it much until the next morning. I instantly fell in love. It was a smooth, quiet ride, something I didn't even know existed since I'd spent the last 5 years in my battered Grand Am. It didn't have a whole lot of extras but I was satisfied. I was buying on a budget and didn't want to push it to the limit.

The next day we returned the car and I told him what things meant the most to me. I wanted dark silver, tinted windows, buttons on the steering wheel (that part was me spoiling myself), and a spoiler. He did our credit checks and the next day informed me we had been approved and how much our payment would be. We agreed to everything and he ordered my car to arrive on monday.

I received a call Monday informing me that my car had arrived, but the window tint needed to be done so I wasn't able to pick it up until later that afternoon. After Brandon got of work we rushed down to the dealership and there it was, sitting right there, and I was ecstatic! It was so pretty! He came out with keys and we checked it out before signing papers. It had the spoiler, buttons on the steering wheel (even more than the test car), a leather wrapped steering wheel (I didn't realize I wanted this until later research), and intelligent key*. I was beyond satisfied! Brandon signed the papers and I drove off the lot utterly blissful.

Yes, my eyes are closed. My husband is a terrible excuse for a photographer.

I haven't been able to drive it a whole lot since I have been working so much. I drive a mile to take Audrey to the babysitter, and then a mile and a half from there to work. Not much fun. I also haven't taken any of the stickers off of it, or removed any of the papers or plastic from inside. It's still so surreal to me. I finally managed to move some of the things from my old car into my new car, but it was very bittersweet. Even though I'm ready for something new my Grand Am holds so many of my memories.

So out with the old and in with the new, here are a few pictures of my new love.

Great Grandma's love Grandbabies too

My Grandparents were here this last weekend for a birthday party my Mom threw for her boyfriend. They stayed in Holbrook the first night so they came straight to our house to see Audrey and I. Audrey's Great Grandma Hoffman is one of the most amazing women ever and she always has a surprise for Audrey. This time she came with a bath toy that blows bubbles. Audrey was amazed with this toy even before she got to play with it in the tub. Once the toy was in the bathtub and blowing bubbles, she was even more amazed.

I love watching Audrey with new toys. The look on  her face is priceless.

I took a few snapshots of the event as well to send to Great Grandma, really we call her Nana so from now on "Nana" is in reference to Audrey's Great Grandmother. I figure I will post them here because I know you all love looking at pictures of her sweet face.

A morning at Grandma's

Audrey and I decided to go to Grandma's this morning for quite a few different reasons, mostly my own. The first reason is my Mom was off today and I really wanted to take her for a ride in my new car, I'll post more on that tomorrow when I  have pictures to go along with it. The second reason is, I wanted to do my yoga routine for the day but it is too hard when you have an 18month old trying to do it along with you, even though I enjoy watching her try. Last, but certainly not least, I wanted to enjoy come coffee and relax time with my Mom, and I knew she would enjoy some daughter/granddaughter time.

Audrey loves shoes, she loves saying the word shoes, she loves saying the phrase "where's the shoes." So, naturally the fisrt thing she showed Grandma when she got into the car was her pretty new shoes. She points, and says "shoe!"

Audrey loves going to Grandma's. There are plenty of toys to play with and Grandma's main focus is Audrey, and we all know Audrey loves being the center of attention. They played and ate "cookies," as I did yoga and looked up new sign language for Audrey on my phone. We ended the morning on the porch where Audrey played in the playhouse, with the slide, and with the ball and cars that were clearly calling her name.

Here she is hiding from the cars Grandma was sending down the slide, pretending to be scared. She's so silly.

Mornings at Grandma's should happen more often.

My 18 month old sweetie

I cannot believe Audrey is already 18 months old. She is growing so fast, not only physically, but mentally as well. People are not kidding when they say a child's brain is like a sponge. She soaks up all the knowledge she can and she remembers it! I have been trying to teach her more sign language even though she speaks so well. Audrey is very vocal for her age, she talks a lot and she loves doing it. She talks to anyone or anything that will listen. She reads books out loud to herself as well as quietly to herself while practicing her big girl potty skills. Because she is so vocal sign language has taken a back seat recently. I decided that I should teach her things in sign language that she does not have the ability to say yet, such as platypus. I'm joking, but there are a few words she struggles with so I figure I will teach her to sign them.
I'm so very proud of all the signs she already has mastered. There's not many but they have been ever so helpful, here's what she knows so far: milk, eat, dog, potty, fish, cry, sleep, drink, bath, and cry. Like I said, it's not much. After she started being so vocal I sort of just gave up the sign language, now I regret it because there is so much she could be learning. She picks it up so quickly. Today I tried teaching her shoe, thank you, please, and ball. She can do them but she has not perfected them just yet.
So since we have gone over the signs my baby Einstein knows, we should also go over the words she knows so here we go; milk, eat, potty, pee pee, poo poo, sippy, apple, bath, Audrey, Mommy (Mama, Mom), Daddy (Dada, Dad), Grandma, Papa, Amber, Mariah, Burkley, Jack Jack, Roxy, Cocoa, night night, no-no, yes(yup, yeah), I don't know, I love you, baby, outside, chair, dog, diaper, go, bye bye, Diego, Olivia, hello, shoe, teeth, nose, pretty, pants, choo choo, car, and I am sure there is more but she knows too much for me to remember! Audrey can also count to 3. Of course all of the above words she says in her own way but you can tell what she is saying.
Audrey is so amazing to me. She is so entertaining and the most lovable thing in the world. Our family is doing amazing and I cannot wait to see what new things lie ahead.

On a side note, I will post either a video of a picture of her signing and speaking as soon as possible. Stay tuned.

The Day UPS Saved Brandon's Life

I ordered a steam mop from Amazon on Saturday. I selected 2-day shipping but since I ordered on Saturday I was told my package would arrive on Wednesday. I wasn't really tracking it as I knew it would come quickly enough. I wasn't expecting it when it came but it arrived at the nick of time.

On Tuesday morning as Brandon was getting ready to leave for work he decided to dust his coat off in the middle of the kitchen. Brandon works at a power plant, he spends his days getting covered in coal dust. When he gets home I beg him to do "blue steel" for me (Zoolander reference) as you can pretty much only see his eyes. It is awful, my carpet has black spots, the couch has black spots, everyday I have to do my best to get super fine coal dust off my kitchen floor. So, as you can imagine, I was beyond mortified when he dusted his coat off like it was no big deal right. smack. in. the. middle. of. my. kitchen!!!!!!!!!!!  "What the heck are you doing????!!!!" Due to the fact that  it was 5a.m. and there were hardly any lights on, I couldn't see the extent of the damage so I just shook my head and went back to bed.

I got Audrey out of bed and we proceeded with our morning routine. As I was bringing her highchair to the counter, I looked down, and there it was. At least a 4x4 space covered in coal dust. At first I was only slightly irritated. Since Audrey and I had our morning going already I didn't have time at that moment to clean it. We ate breakfast and got dressed and I reluctantly pulled out my broom. I swept and I swept and I swept some more. Coal dust is very fine so it's nearly impossible to sweep up. No matter what I did I couldn't get all of it. I was so angry! I had just set down my broom and was getting ready to send Brandon a nasty "you're in so much trouble" text when someone knocked on my door.

I set the phone down, opened the door and low and behold there was a beautiful brown Amazon box that held my new steam mop. What better way to clean a mess of coal dust than a brand new mop? What better way to test a brand new steam mop than to clean up a mess of coal dust? I was elated! UPS to the resucue! Now not only did I get the mess cleaned easily, I didn't have to tell my husband that I was about to rip his head off! He didn't have to get an ear full, and I have a clean floor. It was perfect timing, a blessing in disguise, one day early. Bless you UPS and Amazon 2 day shipping.

Day to Day Audrey

Audrey has a new favorite toy and lucky for me it was free. She spends so much time in this box I couldn't possibly take it from her, she would be devasted. She watches tv from it, drinks her juice will laying in it, puts her dolls and stuffed animals in it, and hides from Mommy in it. Mommy hates this box. It sits in front of the couch and gets in Mommy's way. Also in front of the couch is her sofa chair. My living room is so cluttered with Audrey's furniture there's barely enough room to walk.

Audrey also loves putting on Mommy's shower caps. Yes, I wear a shower cap when I do not want to get my hair wet. Apparently this is something only old ladies do, I was informed of this information when I posted this picture on Facebook. I still love my shower cap and I will still wear it. I will not be deterred by old lady references. Audrey looks much more adorable in it than I do however. *Side note, She looks a little sad here because she was teething and had a high fever.

Well this is the end of my post because my computer is not letting me upload the rest of my pictures. I'll try again tomorrow.

My Iphone Decision

I have decided to get an Iphone and my reasons are ridiculous. Reason #1 I play Farmville on Facebook, I have a boring job and it keeps me entertained, I get jealous that I cannot buy certain items because I do not have an Iphone. Reason #2 I blog, obviously, however I have a hard time blogging because my laptop has finally seen its last day, and the computer at work only likes me occasionally. I want an Iphone so I may access blogger whenever I please. Reason #3 I love reading Cosmopolitan. I have read it since I was a teenager and I have a subscription to it now. I want to have a Cosmopolitan app on my phone. The older I get the less I read in the magazine, mostly I just appreciate the occasional style and beauty tip. I believe it will be much more fun getting random tips from my phone.

So, those are my reasons. Of course there are a few other things that make me want to hop on the bandwagon and join the rest of the Iphone world, such as; a 5 megapixel camera, a touch screen, and a compass that is unnecessary, yet fun to play with. There are also reasons I do not want an Iphone, such as; a touch screen, the fact that everyone now has one thanks to Verizon, and since they are new to the Verizon network there still may be bugs that need to be corrected.

Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE electronic gadgets. Im obsessed with anything new, however I know better than to buy new. Every electronic has some sort of kink that needs to be worked out, so I always buy the second or third verson of something. Usually by then they have it worked out and it's amazing. I know the Iphone from Verizon is not the first Iphone but it is the first for Verizon, networking is different and all sorts of other little things. I have yet to hear of anyone having a problem so Im going to suck it up and get one, wish me luck :)