Brynn just used the big girl potty!!

I still can't believe this, but Brynn peed on the toilet 3 times tonight!! Jesse always jokes about getting her potty trained early, and he decided to just sit her on the toilet to see what happened, and she went right away, and just started laughing! We were so shocked!! So then we tried it again about an hour later, and she peed again right away. And then she just did it again. It is so funny. She loves dropping the toilet paper in the toilet and watching it flush down. Maybe we will get her potty trained a little early after all. I was shooting to have her potty trained by 2, and Jesse wants to have it done by 18 months. But seeing as how she is only 10 1/2 months, I think we still have some time :)

Look what Brynn can do!

While I was at the grocery store last night, Jesse sent me a picture of Brynn crawling up the stairs. She can officially make it up the stairs on her own! Here are a couple videos that he took. And sorry... he is on the phone in one of them so it's not all that exciting, but you do get to see Brynn crawl up the stairs. She has been standing up like crazy and walking around holding on to things. So we'll see if she starts walking before or after her first birthday.

Being paid not to eat sweets...sign me up!

On Monday night after pilates, my sister-in-law Adrienne and I were complaining about how we were so frustrated with the fact that we have been working out for a while, and haven't lost any weight! My husband was trying to help us come up with weight loss ideas, and asked both of us if we had tried to cut out any of the sweets that we eat. Of course the answer to that question was no (we both have quite the sweet tooth). He then went on to say that he was sure we would see results fast if we just quit eating so much junk! So he told us that if we could go for two weeks with NO SWEETS AT ALL (this includes anything which has sugar as one of the top 3 ingredients...which is a lot more foods than I thought), that he would give us each ten dollars. And if we don't make it, we each have to pay him $5. He doesn't think we can do it, but boy is he wrong! And apparently my father in law has also agreed to give us each $10 if we make it for two weeks. So on April 6th, I am going to be $20 richer, and probably a little healthier too :)

Just an update

I feel like it has been a while since I have updated my blog, and life has been so busy that I don't even know where to begin!! Last Friday I started my training for my little census job. Itwas ok, as good as training for a job can be I guess. The days were so long, and I hated being away from Brynn!! But luckilly she was in great hands with friends and family who watched her for me. The only part of the whole training experience that totally sucked was the fact that they waited until the last day to go over the schedule and actual job of a crew leader. It was all totally different than what was exlained to me over the phone. I was told that I would be working mostly from home, and whatever hours I was able too, and in reality, it wouldn't be from home and wouldn't be as flexible as I thought. So to make a really long story short, I decided not to work for the census after all. I would much rather spend my days with Brynn!

So that was my waste of a week. On a happy note, the weather has been amazing and spring is finally here!! I am so excited! And I will actually have some time this week to spend with my sister and new nephew. Brynn is continuing to get more and more fun everyday and I just love watching her explore and learn new things. Jesse and I have been busy garage saling on Saturdays (tis the season) and trying to get things ready for our garden! Oh how I love this time of year! I can't wait to get the garden planted and have fresh veggies for the summer :) That's about all that is going on here. I will post some recent pictures soon.

Cameron Russell Bennie

My sister Meredith had her baby today at 1:10 pm. They are naming him Cameron Russell Bennie, and he is 6 lbs 9 oz and 19 inches long. Mer did a great job, and they are all doing well!

Baby Bennie is on the way!!!

For those of you who know my sister Meredith... SHE IS IN LABOR!!! I am so excited! This will be my first nephew and I am seriously feeling just as anxious and excited as I was when I was in labor. I got a text from her at 4:18 am saying her water broke and she was on her way to the hospital and haven't been able to sleep since. And for those of you who are interested, she was only 1.5 cm dilated when she got to the hospital so it could be a long day. She is currently waiting for the epidural :) I will be sure to update my blog as soon as this little guy gets here!! Good luck Mer!!

Thank you Arby's for the free dinner :)

I always love a good deal, and will jump on any opportunity to get a free meal! Two weeks ago Jesse enjoyed our free subs from Quiznos (from the million sub giveaway), and today I found a coupon online for a free Roast Burger at Arby's with the purchase of a drink. So tonight we had Arby's, and got a sandwhich and drink for $1.61. That's a pretty good deal. But it gets better... they made us purchase our orders separately, and each receipt had a thing at the bottom where you could complete a survey for a free roast beef sandwhich or cheddar melt on your next visit! So more free food for us!!! I don't know how long the coupon will be available, but it is good till Saturday so here's the link if anyone is interested:

http://www.arbys.com/arbyscoupon/?cid=bn_msn300x250030909

Cabin Trip #2

We went to the cabin again this weekend and had a great time again!! This time we had a few more people there too which is always fun. Matt and Janice, and Adrienne came, as well as Jesse's dad and his friend Sarah (they left after dinner though). Jesse and Matt got the old snow mobile working, so we got to play with that on Saturday which was a blast! Brynn got to ride a little too, but she wasn't a big fan after she kind of fell off when Jesse was turning it. Don't worry... it's not as bad as it sounds. We were going really slow and Jesse caught her before she hit the ground. It just scared her which is understandable. All in all, it was a really good trip! I can't wait to go again, and hopefully next time it will be warmer so we can have running water and not have to keep a fire going the whole time.

My new job

That's right, I am going to be starting a job pretty soon! It's just a temporary thing, but any extra money is better than nothing. I am always looking for any opportunity to earn money... and be with Brynn at the same time. So something from home is always ideal. And I can never come up with anything. So I decided to apply to help with the 2010 census to earn a little extra cash. You have to take a test first, and they basically hire based on test score and your availability. So I went to take the test last Monday, and Aced it! I couldn't believe that I didn't get any wrong... that was a miracle. So then this Monday I got a call from them offering me a job as a lister for their next project, and then the man went on to say that they were so impressed with my test score and application that they really wanted me to be a crew leader who would train and supervise 12 listers in the area. Wow... I was pretty surprised. So I am still trying to decide which will work out best for me, but I will most likely take the crew leader position as long as I am able to do most things with Brynn with me. So I start training next Friday, and am really excited about this. After all of the training is completed, it will be about an 11 week project which I am sure will keep me very busy! But I am really excited to be able to bring in a little extra cash since things have been so tight lately. Plus I think working for the federal government should be some good experience for me. What a blessing this is!

Our Cabin Trip

I am so behind at updating my blog!!! We went to Jesse's family's cabin last weekend with Matt and Janice and had a great time!! After last years trip hiking through snow up to my waist while being 6 months pregnant, I vowed to never go to the cabin in the winter again. But I obviously changed my mind and am glad I did because the snow was a lot more packed down this year, and we were smart enough to pull our stuff up on a sled instead of trying to carry it all. And it looks like we will be heading up again soon to fix one of the snow mobiles :)