Thursday, February 28, 2013

All About Audrey!

Today my baby girl is 2 years old! It seems like yesterday I was in the hospital waiting to see her beautiful face. At 2:20 pm she came into this world and has totally changed my life ever since! I love her more than anything else in the entire world, she is my amazing princess.

Audrey is goofy and smart, impatient and sensitive, she has a big personality and loves meeting new people. She Loves bubbles and playing basketball with her daddy
She loves to color and her favorite show is Dora the Explorer
She likes to jump and ride on her bike
She likes playing dress up and taking care of her baby dolls
She can almost say and recognize all the letters in the alphabet
She likes to build tings with her blocks and thinks it's funny when she knocks everything down again
Her favorite foods are bananas, apple sauce, chicken nuggets and mac n cheese.
She loves wearing tutus and would pick to wear her boots over anything else
She loves Balloons, which she calls Boons
She likes to act goofy and make mommy laugh
Her favorite animals are frogs, ducks and dogs
She likes running around outside and cuddling with mommy watching cartoons
She loves bathtime and playing with her rubber duckies
She can capture the heart of anyone she meets, and is sweet as can be

I am so lucky to have such a terrific kid, she learns something new everyday and is so much fun to play with, she gets her stubbornness from me, also her lack of patience, but she's also funny and sweet and so loving. She changed my life in so many ways, more than I could have thought. She taught me unconditional love, she's taught me to be more calm, to be patient, to cherish all the little moments in life, to celebrate life, to plan for the future.
I hope someday she knows how much I love her, that my love for her runs deeper than anything else in the world. I really had no idea what it meant to be a mother, not a single clue and I was terrified I would do it all wrong, I hope she knows I'm doing my best to be the best mom in the world to her, that she is my reason for waking up each day.
I Love you beyond measure Audrey Elise!

Thursday, February 21, 2013

One Week

This time next week I will be the mother of a 2 year old!
I've said this before, but seriously, it just seems crazy to me that Audrey is going to be 2. Where has the time gone? I just read her birth announcement post from my old blog and that doesn't feel like 2 years ago. I really had no idea how much she would change my life. She is so amazing, she learns new words everyday, and is so goofy and funny. I feel so lucky to be her mom, she is such an awesome kid.
It's hard to believe she was ever small enough to hold in my arms, She's 30lbs now and only cuddles with me for a few minutes at a time anymore, she is always on the go. She has a big personality and as hard headed and short tempered as I am(though we're both working on this lol) I know someday I won't be the center of her world, but for a few more years I get to be. She truly means everything to me, I hope someday she can really understand how much I lover her. Be prepared for another sappy and probably long post on her actual Birthday!

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Potty Training

My baby is growing up and it's potty training time!
I have tried twice before with epic failure, the last time Audrey actually regressed all her potty progress, when they aren't ready they just aren't ready.
Lately Audrey has started telling me when she needs a diaper change, she says "pee" or "poop" so yesterday I started what will be (hopefully) be my last try. She wore panties and I told her all about her sticker chart, if she went potty IN the potty she would get a sticker. She seemed pretty excited about this, especially since she went sticker crazy making her Valentine the other day. She did really good for a few hours, she did have me running to the bathroom a lot, when she would say "Mom Pee" . After about 2 hrs of her not actually peeing she crossed her legs and whined and I ran her to the potty and she finally pee'd in the potty! I was so proud! I let her put a sticker on her chart and she loved it.
She had an accident soon afterwards, but really it was because she fell and was crying hysterically, I got most of it all over me. We are still doing diapers at night because she still goes a lot during the night and until she starts staying dry through the night I know it would be pointless to try. We aren't doing pullups because to Audrey they are exactly like diapers, she would even bring me a pullup when I asked for a diaper. I may have to buy some more underwear though, I only bought one pack and we're on the fourth pair in the two days.
I'm really hoping she is mostly trained by the time her brother and sister come for the summer, I know I won't be able to give her my full 100% attention then and It may be more stressful for everyone if we try during that time.
I will update on how this is going in a few days, hopefully it will be with some good results!

Sunday, February 10, 2013

Valentines Day

That romantic sweetheart day is this week, however being a roughneck wife as often happens, my husband will be gone on this holiday. However, just like all the other holidays we celebrated early.
We went out for dinner last night at the Black Eyed Pea, which by the way has the BEST cornbread, like EVER.
After dinner and picking up Audrey we came home and watched Battleship and had a beer while just relaxing on the couch, doesn't sound fancy but when you're apart half the time, any time together is wonderful.
Usually my husband doesn't go out and get me things without my nagging him, and even then he always takes me with him and let's me pick whatever out, but I was pleasantly surprised when he came home from the store with a heart box of chocolates for me!
I don't really care what he gets me, I just love knowing that he thought of me.
For him I had made a "heart attack" box I wrote 50 things I loved about him and put them in a box. We aren't fancy people and we don't do extravagant things, but it's the little things that show the other how much we care

On actual Valentines Day I will do some crafts with Audrey, she has a cute outfit to wear and we're gonna have a mommy and daughter date. We're gonna go to a indoor playground and maybe go get an ice cream after and watch all the valentines day cartoons. Here is my Valentines Day board on Pinterest for some ideas. Valentines day

Thursday, February 7, 2013

What's for Dinner?

I research and create a menu plan for each week, thank you Pinterest. I often come across these sits that have like " one month of meals for 100$" or something like that and I'm like "ohh yes! anyway to save!" however 99% percent of the time.. they actually only cook one meal a day,Dinner(or Supper as some call it) most families have older kids who go to school or the parents work so they aren't home to eat 3 meals a day . But in our house, we do eat three meals a day and especially when my husband is home I have to cook REAL, full meals, not like a sandwhich and a small side of mac n cheese.
Also Audrey doesn't eat what we eat, I know some parents say if you don't give them a choice they'll eat it, however Audrey is stubborn like me and if you don't give her what she wants, she just won't eat and I'd much rather her have chicken noodle soup everyday than eat nothing, she doesn't like candy or cookies but does like tomatoes and peas so I really can't complain too much.
Anyway what I'm saying is, I have to plan for at least two big meals a day while Justin is home. I can get away with eating soup or leftovers for a few days when he's gone, but my budgeting really has to be smart when grocery shopping. I used to spend about 120$(it used to be more before I discovered meal planning) for a week and half worth of food(this also included soap, toilet paper, household items) but I really felt like that was just too much. I just can't get into coupons, and price matching just takes more time time than I've got. Luckily there is an Aldi store right by my house, and boy do I love that store now. Seriously, 90% of the stuff is at least 20-30% cheaper than Wal mart. I can't always find everything on my list there, but I rarely have to get more than 3 or 4 things somewhere else. I've gotten bread for .39 cents! How can you beat that?!

I also have found that since it's just a grocery store I'm not tempted to buy things I don't need , I have no clothes or toys or makeup aisle to wander to and find something I have to have(not)
I can spend 60-70$ at Aldi for the exact same meals I was buying before.
Now, not ALL things are cheaper, like TP is like 1.47 or something like that, at Wal-mart I can get it for 1$, and being that the Walmart is two parking lots over from Aldi, it's not out of my way to save a few more cents if I have to go there anyway like for shampoo or diapers.
However I will spend the extra cents on TP to avoid wal mart if I can, like I said ,temptation!
So Whats For Dinner This Week? Here is my menu list for Friday til Tuesday when Justin leaves and I do a different type meals for myself.

Friday
Lunch-Hamburgers and fries
Dinner-Chicken Spaghetti(a 7$ bag of chicken breasts at aldi can make me 3 different meals)

Saturday
Lunch- Tacos and rice
Dinner-Date night(eating out)
,
Sunday
Lunch- Hot Wings and Fries
Dinner-pork chops, mashed potatoes and homemade mac n cheese

Monday
Lunch- Pizza
Dinner-Pancakes and eggs with meat( I've got syrup and eggs I need to use up)

Tuesday
Lunch-homemade soup
When Justin goes to work, he also has to buy groceries so I try to be extra cheap, two separate grocery bills can be expensive. I'll post an example of that before I go shopping again, which will be either Monday or Tuesday.

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Happy Belated and Life.

Friday was my dads birthday, he would have been 63. I didn't even realize it until yesterday, I completely missed it, I felt awful because I remember his death but forgot his birth, felt like I didn't celebrate his life.
Not much else has been going on, I've been really working on being a better housewife, considering I had no idea 5 years ago how to cook anything outside of a microwave or wash a load of clothes, I have come a long way.
Audrey's birthday is coming up on the 28th.I am excited to give her presents to her, she is getting a outside playhouse for the yard and two necklaces, once is a princess crown and the other is pearl. She is such a girly girl and I love it. People really aren't kidding when they say time flies when you have kids, she is miss sassy pants and I can't imagine life without her and it seems crazy to me that I will have a TWO year old. Just insane.We just made her crib into a toddler bed, made it even more real that she's no longer a baby.
Also now that she is getting older everyone has started asking me, when we'll have another, I wish I knew that answer, but at this point my husband just doesn't see us having another child, but I do. It's much easier to say " oh hopefully soon or someday" than explain everything. I see his side of things, but I also know how I feel, some days I feel content with only having one, other days it feels like my heart is breaking from the yearning for another.
I would never force another child into our family, if it's meant to be, it will happen one day, somehow.