My new best friend. . .

One day I went to Walmart to buy a Swiffer Sweeper Vac. I really wanted one, so that I could clean up small messes, cause I hate brooms. I randomly decided to go look at their vacuums, to see if they had anything for a good price, so that I could still use it on the carpet. And I came across this :

It's a Bissel 3-in-1 vaccum. I kinda stood there looking at it for a while. And then I stood there for a while longer deciding if I should get it, instead of the Swiffer. I was kinda nervous I'd be wasting my money, but I decided to go for it. A Swiffer can only be used on hard-floors, and this one could be used on that AND carpets. Also, the Swiffer requires sweeper pads to use, so I would have to always buy those. Plus... the Swiffer commercials are SOOOOO annoying & if I can avoid buying their products to not support those LAME commercials, I'll do it! My grandma would be proud, ha! She hates Swiffer! (except I must say, the Swiffer Wet Jet works MUCH better than a Clorox Ready Mop. I gotta get me a wet jet, I'm done with the Clorox, ha! Don't buy one.)

So anyways, when I got home with it, I decided to put it together & try it out. It's reallly easy to put together! To use it as a regular vacuum, there's only 3 parts to stick together & it's ready in about 5 seconds. Then I tried it out for a second, before I started putting furniture together. It seemed to work great so far! After I was done putting everything together, my floor was rather messy. So I vacuumed it all up... & I was AMAZED! This vacuum works SO good! And since Bransyn was taking a nap, I figured why not use it on my whole house while I have time?! (it's quiet enough to not wake him up)

I was able to do my big living room rug, my hardwood floors, my tile, & the bathroom rugs.
Since it is so small, I can get into really tight spaces, such as between our bed & nightstand, back behind the toilets & under the couches.

After I did all of those things, I took off the bottom attachment....

& I was able to vacuum my couch off! But I can do SO much more than just that when the bottom part is off. I use it to:
• clean off the top of my dryer after we clean the lint trap.
• get in between & behind the washer & dryer.
• clean Bransyn's high chair.
• vacuum off beds.
• vacuum the toilet seat cover.

Seriously, the possibilities of cleaning with this thing are endless!

It also came with an attachment to clean baseboards with.

It is so small & lightweight, that I can let Bransyn 'pretend' to vacuum & he actually gets stuff clean! I use it to clean up after him when he eats. I use it pretty much everyday just to do a quick cleaning throughout the house. My house is usually quite clean, but even just doing a quick run through everyday, gets SO much stuff picked up! It's bagless, so whenever I clean the filter out, I can tell that it gets up all the daily dust & lint. I would seriously recommend this vacuum to ANYONE! It works so well. The only thing that kinda sucks about it, is the cord isn't as long as I'd like it to be, haha. But really, I got over it the second I used it! And also, if you have pets, I would probably get a more heavy duty vacuum to get all the hair up! This one is nice for just regular house hold messes. But I love that it doesn't need a bag, so I don't have to keep buying anything extra. And it's super easy to clean out after it's full.
Oh, and guess how much I got it for?

...

...

...

$20!!!!


Best $20 I ever spent!

Toddler Bed!

My little monkey boy has been climbing out of his crib for MONTHS now. There was nothing that would keep him in. So I finally decided about a week ago that it was time to switch his crib to the toddler bed. I figured that if he's gonna get out anyways, than he might as well do it the safe way! I mean, he's pretty much pro at climbing out of the crib... but I thought we'd do it anyways, just in case (: He has been doing realllly good with it so far! He hasn't rolled out of it at all & has been sleeping great! I thought he might be scared of it for a few nights, but he loves it!

He usually always sleeps like this ^^ right at the top (& yes, with 5 stuffed animals... he insists on having them)


But we did find him like this one night.........

But that's as crazy as he's gotten (:


Hopefully we can get him a 'real' toddler bed sometime soon, instead of just the crib converted toddler bed!

21 Months!

Welll, you may have noticed that I didn't do a 20 month update for the B-Man.... that would be because I am a super slow blogger! haha. I had the post started, but since I no longer live in a place with internet access... fell verrryyy far behind. So, since I am just now getting around to posting an update on him, I figured I'll just do 20 + 21 months together. I guess it will just be a mystery which month he did each thing. hahah (: I will definitely try to keep up on his updates better from now on!

Anyways, here we goooooo ;


• he says his name! both bransyn & brans. LOVE it!

• he is starting to put 2 words together now. my favorites are 'appo...............juice' & 'popppart' (apple juice & pop tart)

• his memory is getting really good! i like to go through all of his animals, body parts, ect. with him every day or 2... but sometimes I'll leave something out on accident. so we might go a while without doing 'what does a snake say' or something to that extent. and even if it has been weeks, he still remembers!

• he now insists on sleeping with his build-a-bear dog, Patches, both the little bears he got when he was born, a monkey that his grandparents gave him, and a BIG monkey that the lady I babysit for gave him. that makes for quite a crowded bed.

• whenever we lay him down for bed at night, (and naps when they're at home) he will pat his pillow next to him & say 'mama... down. dada... down' it just breaks my heart that he wants us to sleep in his bed with him, but we can't :( i soooo wish i could sleep next to my sweet boy everynight, but i know that will not be good for any of us in the long run!

• he is getting better with biting, but still does it every once in a while. i started putting mustard in his mouth every time he would bite (I know, RANDOM... but everyone kept telling me to do hot sauce... I'm sorry, but I'm not putting hot sauce in my 1 year old's mouth! ha. so the next best thing was to do something NASTY, so that every time he would bite, he would learn that he would get yucky's in his mouth) that was working REALLY well for a while & he actually stopped completely, but now he's acting up with it again. So we're just gonna keep doin the mustard thing til he stops!

• he can now open doors. yeah, awesome.

• he will repeat his abc's with us.

• he will sometimes repeat 1-10 after me, but only if he feels like it.

• he pretty much knows where all of his body parts are. head, brain, hair, forehead, eye brows, eyelashes, eyes, ears, nose, cheeks, mouth, tongue, teeth, neck, shoulders, tummy, belly button, arms, elbows, hands, fingers, bum, knees, feet & toes!

• he's sleeping in a toddler bed now.

• he would much rather take a shower with me or daddy, than a bath.

• he knows all the names in our family (immediate family, anyways!) and can tell me who's who.

• he loves bikes. all bikes.

• he can ride a scooter.

• he is extremely stubborn & likes to test me. if he gets on the coffee table & i tell him to get off, he'll sit & stare at me like he's sayin 'make me' and not get off until i take him off.

• he's learned some more animals & can identify them as well as tell me what they say.

• he can do baby, milk, mommy & daddy in sign language. we aren't really teaching him SL, mainly because he has a very short attention span & would probably sit for 3 minutes to watch a show, or work with us on it... but he happened to learn those 4 from watching (about 3 minutes!) a video that the little girl I babysit watches.

• he says love you! except he says it like, 'dooove youeeyoueeyouueee' i'm sure that sounds crazy, but it is the cutest, most HILARIOUS thing ever! and I absolutely LOVE that he says it in such a special way that I will always remember (:

• he is still as obsessed with cars/trucks, hats & shoes as ever!

• he still doesn't care for cookies, brownies or cake... but sure loves chocolate candy's! he also loves nutella!

• he can say SO many words! and they're not all easy peasy ones. 2 of his favorites are doctor & dentist! HA... I'm sure that will change in the next few years.

• he LOVES to ride the four wheeler! No, not his little battery powered one he got for his birthday... an actual 4 wheeler (: it's Ryan's parents & pretty much every time we go over there, he points or walks over to the garage saying 'brum brummm... brum brummmm' (that's how he lets us know he wants to ride, ha) he knows how to push the button to shift it, and he can also push the throttle. We have to be careful with that, though... cause just like his daddy, he LOVES to go fast! haha. The first time he pushed the throttle with me, he pushed it allll the way in. Sometimes we'll take rides around the block, but usually someone will just take him up to where their horse used to be.



This little boy is the light of my life! He amazes me every single day with how cute, smart & fun he is. It is so crazy to me that in just 3 months, my once teeny baby will be a big 2 year old boy. It seems like these past 21 months have just flown by in a matter of seconds, but at the same time, I look at his (teensy) baby pictures & I can't even believe that that was once him what seems like FOREVER ago!
Time definitely flies when you're having fun (:

Biker boy!

Bransyn is such a little bike baby lately! He loves them! Every time I pull into the garage at the house I babysit at, he starts saying 'biiite! biiite!' and doesn't stop until we are inside.



These first 2 pictures are from a few weeks ago, when Ryan sold his bike. Brans wanted to go on one last ride before the people came to get it!

He loves riding any kind of bike!
{even pink girly ones! haha}

& now, he's even into the scooter! (:

He could seriously ride/play on a bike for hours! Every time we go to my mom's house, he goes straight to the bikes!


Can you guess what he's getting for his birthday...? (: haha

County Fair

We went to the Washington County Fair on August 13 & 14 this year. Since we didn't make it last year, I for sure wanted to go this year! I was SO excited for Bransyn to go on his first rides (besides the merry-go-round) but apparently the people that run the fair, don't like parent's going on the rides with the little kids, even if the kid is within the height limit. But of course, I was NOT about to put my 20 month old on a ride, not knowing how he would react, or what he would do. I mean, I'm sure he would of LOVED the rides, but I was not about to take the chance (: haha. Sooo, he ended up only being able to go on the carousel - which he went on a few times - and the biiiig slide! He did enjoy both, though... so at least he got to do that!

I know this picture is really blurry, but I had to zoom wayyy up to get them up on the slide! Brans came down with a big 'ol smile on his face (:

I dunno why I look like I'm having the worst time ever in this pictures, I could of swore I was smiling & talking with Bransyn the whole time! Ry must of took it at the wrong time! haha I promise I had fun with him, though (:

After we did those 2 'rides', there wasn't much more for us to do there, so we headed home. But I had plans to go back the next night (the 14th) for the demolition derby & my dad's band performance. Unfortunately, Ryan wasn't able to make it until around 9 that night, because was in Salt Lake for the day working at a diesel event. But my friend Alyssa & one of her friends came with me. By the time we got there (7pm) the demolition derby was already sold out! & it hadn't even started yet! I was SO bummed, I was really looking forward to going! Apparently all of Washington County wanted to go, too! haha. All the stands were full, & there were STIILL a ton of people outside trying to get tickets in. So we missed it :( But now I know for next year, we've gotta either get tickets in advance, or go WAY early! haha. Maybe by then, bransyn will enjoy it more. I know he would of loved it this year, but who knows how long he would of sat down & watched, haha. Anyways, since we had an hour to kill before my dad's show, we just walked around the fair and than took Bransyn to see some animals!

{bunny}

{baby cow}

he saw lots more animals, too! (:

Than around 8, my dad's band started.

Brans loves Kendra! She's so good with him (:

Just hangin' out & watchin the band play!

You can kinda see the band playing in the background... I thought I had more pictures of them, but I dunno what happened to them! They did a great job, though! we all had fun (:

He was sooo obsessed with sitting like this! haha

Me & Lyssa (:


When Ryan got there, we watched the band for a little longer until they went to take a break, than Ryan walked over by the demolition derby, noticed people sitting on the fence (they obviously didn't make it in, either!) & decided to hop up there & watch the end of it! So me, Lyssa, & her friend (ah, I can't remember her name!) all walked over there & hopped up as well! (And got hit on! haha, it was hilarious!) We got to see a good 20 minutes of it, which was the last of it. It was pretty cool, glad we got to at least see a little of it! And Bransyn couldn't take his eyes off of it!

After that was over, they lit off fireworks to officially end the fair. So we watched those for a while, and then headed home!


We all had fun, but hopefully next year we will be able to do some more with Bransyn! He still had a blast, though, so that's what counts (:

A little more home-y...

We were finally able to get some stuff to go in our house! Ryan had a diesel even to go to in Denver August 6-8, so he gave me some money & said get whatever I want for the house, & that he wanted to be surprised when he got back.

I didn't get much for the kitchen, since I'm not quite sure how I want to do it quite yet, so it's still pretty bare. But those black canisters on the counter are new ;) haha. Oh, and yes... no table yet :( we haven't been able to find one. We're planning on getting a used one, then just sanding it down & re painting it & making it look new (:

Our pantry finally doesn't look SUPER pathetic. haha. Still not stocked up on as much stuff as I would like, but we're getting there (:

We got this washer & dryer set for freeee! (: My dad got it for us & it has been SO nice! I was super worried that we wouldn't get any, & we'd have to go somewhere to do our laundry.

This one is the main bathroom. I am OBSESSED with zebra print, so I decided that's what I wanted to do my house in! I haven't done our bathroom yet, cause I didn't feel like spending money on it yet, but that one will most likely be in a brown & cream color.

Love this group of pictures in the hall! (:

And here is the living room! I decided to do both the living room & bathroom in the zebra/black&white theme, except the living room has some (&will have more) red accents around. I was originally just gonna do it in brown colors, but I decided that I wanted to do something fun & different! It seems like every one does those kinds of colors, so I decided on this one (:

I love it so far! there are still some things I need to get done, & I have ideas for... but we gotta wait until we have some more extra money.


As you can tell, on both sides on the tv, it's pretty bare. I'm planning on getting some more framed pictures & sticking up there a certain way on the left side... Then I think I have an idea for the right side, but I'm not sure if I'll do it or not yet. I'm also gonna get a basket & put a red 'throw' blanket in it, & stick it between the tv & that shelf, so that you can't see the tv cord sticking into the wall. haha. Hopefully it will look as good as it does in my head, haha. And also, on the other side of that shelf, I want to get some black candle stand thingy's, & stick red candles on there.

I'm also going to get some red candles to go on those things on both sides of that picture above the couch.

{I know I like things all matchy-matchy & the chair doesn't match everything... but we love it & it's too comfy to stick in another room just because it doesn't 'match' It still looks fine in there!}

It looks SO much better than it did before! I was SUPER embarrassed to have people over before. haha. Ryan even loves it! He didn't get home from Denver until like 1:30 am, but he said that he was really impressed with it (: I can't wait until I can get all the 'finishing touches' but for now, it works! It definitely looks (and FEELS) more like a home!