A bit of rambling

I have been such a horrible blogger since moving back to Iowa.  I promise I will get back on track sooner or later.  So here is a bit of what has been happening.

• Stella is driving me nuts tonight, constantly crying at me, she knows I am a sucker for giving her treats.  She barely looks like a dog right now since she hasn't had her hair cut since November.  I have now given her 3 mini haircuts, but must take the poor girl in soon. 
• One of the reasons I haven't been blogging is because I have been searching for house plans.  We are still planning on building in Polk City, next steps is to nail down a plan with the builder.  We are getting close.  If you have any, I wish my house had or I really wish my house didn't....you would like to share, I'm listening.
• Keith is traveling for work this week, he finally landed after being held up in Atlanta for storms all day.  I believe he posted hourly updates on FB.  He will be back on Wednesday
• I have a fun girls weekend ahead of me starting Thursday.  About twenty of us are headed to Breckenridge for a bachelorette party.  I'm sure I won't be able to walk after the first day of skiing.  I'm looking forward to a fun girls weekend.
• Getting adjusted to being back at work.  I guess I am going to save a lot of money working downtown, there aren't a lot of quick places that are easy to get to, I would take recommendations from any of you downtown folks!  So I think it will be a lot of PB&J for this girl.
• Today I went to lunch at Palmer's deli, which was AWESOME!  My first time and I will be returning.
• We had a big milk mess tonight!  My fault, I left the jug of milk on the counter and went back and put PJ's on Carter.  Dylan decided to get himself a cup and poor himself a glass of milk.  Not sure at what point things went wrong.  He did have half a glass of milk and half a jug's worth on the floor.
• The boys are talking a ton, stringing lots of words together.  They are starting to use "I", "me", "you" now, I am hearing a lot of "I need".
• The boys are OBSESSED with Mickey Mouse Playhouse, we watch it more often than I want to admit
• Carter is still really into wearing underwear over his diaper every day and he also has a pair of PJ shorts that he thinks are underwear, so right now he has the shorts and pants on and the pants and shirt do not match
• We have been building some pretty sweet train tracks these days
• Dylan is obsessed with trying to take Stella out, the kid will go get his shoes, attept to put them on, get his coat and hat on and Stella's leash.  One day Carter was trying to go too, no pants on, so Dylan went back to their room and brought him out an outfit to put on.  So we all had to go out! 
• We took the boys swimming last weekend, they had a blast!
• Carter thinks he needs a band aide about every day - it must cure all!

I really will try to write more tomorrow, but to be honest, don't be surprised if I don't!  But I will get back to blogging soon, I really do enjoy it, I just need to make myself sit down and do it. 

Off to bed friends!

THE MOON!!

So the boys are in this phase where they just love talking about the moon and the stars.  This generally takes place inside, with books, pictures we draw and this frog toy we have.  One day Carter ate his waffle into the shape of a moon (not on purpose I'm sure) and he thought that was pretty cool.

So after lots of talking about this, one night Keith got the boys out of the car and they looked up and saw the moon and were just ecstatic that they saw the real thing and went on and on about the moon, the moon.  They get so excited and point at it and jump up and down. 

My biggest battles

My two biggest battles right now are the refrigerator and the pantry!  My boys have turned into these little grazers, constantly in the pantry.  They don't know what they want, they just want to look around and ultimately end up with something they shouldn't have, then five minutes later after two bites they are on to the next thing.  About a month ago we had a big battle with marshmallows (a word we don't bring up), mom was in the kitchen with them and had answered the phone, looked over to see Dylan had climbed 5 shelves to the top of the pantry and was handing Carter the bag of marshmallows.  You should have seen how proud he was, grinning ear to ear. 

I'm trying to put a stop to their constant snack buffets, but they have even figured out the the child proof locks on the pantry so the battle continues. 

Training them young....

I've got the boys trained to do laundry now!  They will drag the basket out from our room and throw all the laundry in, then they each get to push one button.

 I guess Carter likes to show me all the underwear before they go in.  And he basically never wears clothes anymore, besides the undies!  I'm lucky to get these two dressed by nap time, the within an hour, Carter usually has his off.  Endless battle! And the undies he is wearing in the picture, he borrowed from Cade and  when he wears them he will tell you they are Cade's undies.

Keef

So about every time I yell "Keith,"  Carter will start yelling, "Keef, Keef, Keef."  Tonight when Keith got home Carter started in on it.  Dylan never says it and neither call me Jessica, but Carter sure likes to call daddy Keef.

I've made one major decision on the new home front....

{Dylan and me, he wanted me to sit on the bench with him}

 that I am probably the pickiest, most challenging buyer on the market!  So at this point I have probably been in 50 homes and basically have the MLS memorized, I can drive by half the houses in Ankeny and tell you the price and the year they were built.  For our poor realtor, we are pretty much open to limitless possibilities.  It sorta goes like this, some days I'm like lets live in Ankeny, then Baxter, then Polk City.  Then I think I would like a two story, certainly wouldn't mind a story and a half and I do like ranches (or ramblers for my MN friends) because they have large basements to finish out.  I prefer a newer house, but am open to older ones because we can probably get a little more size, Keith says no to a fixer upper!  Some days I think we should build, others days I want to skip the hassle, but have a hard time spending the same amount on something I don't love.  Even on price, we have a good $75,000 swing of things we look at, so like I said all over the board!  If it were 2006 again, I probably wouldn't be so picky, but after taking a good hit on our house, we are both a little nervous about what we buy.

Last week we met with a builder in the Strahan development in Ankeny, no progress at this time!  Saturday we looked at a few homes in Polk City again.  We do like the home in the picture, but have concerns with the size of the living room and would need to finish the basement right away.  They have a buyer coming back for the third time, so it may be off the market.  Then on a completely random note, we saw a home of one the slip knot band member's house.  Let's just say, Keith and I both felt a little on the funny side when we left! 

Tomorrow we are going back to this home and are meeting with the builder to talk about options with finishing the basement as well as building.  The downside with Polk City is there aren't a ton of homes on the market, so building might be the best option there.  I have been in a few of the homes by this builder and really like some of the things he does, so I'm excited to meet him.  I'm sure I will come home more confused than ever. 

{Looks like we can just hire Dylan for the home inspection}

Mystery....help please!

So lately Dylan will say to us, "Nina...Nina, chicken," and just start laughing really hard.  We have NO IDEA what this means!!!  Is this a character on a show that I have missed?  We have no clue where he came up with this.

Day care!

Leaving Cradle Club was one of the hardest parts about moving, so I knew finding a new daycare that was similar would be though and it turns out I should have started hunting much sooner.  Keith started searching when he first moved back, then we slowed down on the hunt and are now left with only a few options. 

Our biggest issue would be that Keith and I work in opposite directions, so the ideal solution would be to keep them in Baxter.  Then they wouldn't have to spend an hour+ on the road every day.  I checked with a few homes and everyone is full, we looked at the center in town and decided against it for right now. 

So then we thought we would take them to Bondurant because they have a daycare that Keith really liked, which was right on my way to work. They have about 5 kids on the wait list.  So we landed to taking them to Ankeny.  The good is, if needed both of us can get there quickly from work, the bad, it will add an extra 30ish minutes to our 30-45 minute commutes.  So one of us will drop and one will pick up.  Here is where we landed with day cares (if any of you know much about these places, please shoot me an email) and we did just do tours and mostly based our decisions on instinct and how comfortable we felt with the staff at the places, so I'm sure we missed out on many pros/cons on these places in our short search:

La Petite - Keith toured and said no

Apple Tree - we had a couple really good referrals, but too pricy

Tender Years - they have several locations, all the Ankeny ones were full except the location right by 35 and it was OK, but we didn't love it and received a couple negative word of mouth comments from people.  I do want to check out a few of their other facilities.

The Tree House - we still need to tour this and I have heard great things, but they said the boys probably couldn't get in until March 2012 - WOW! 

Little Endeavors - we got great recommendations here and toured it as well today.  We are 12th on the list, so the boys may make it to kindergarten before we get in. 

So we landed at a place called ChildTime.  They don't take infants, so that is a negative for when that time comes.  We took the boys there for a few hours today to start adjusting.  It sure was really hard for me to leave them, they have really gotten comfortable with me being home with them and in Minnesota they have been at the same place since they were babies, so it wasn't really like I left them with a bunch of strangers.  They said they did pretty well, but when we walked back in, Carter grabbed my hand and went straight to the door.  They must be tired though, they have been taking a long nap today. I hope they like it there and depending on where we end up living we may change, especially if we end up in Polk City. 

There are a couple other places that I will check out as well.  I'm looking forward to going back to work, but am dreading having them back at daycare full-time.  I know I am going to really miss being with them.  

Also, I should note, on our quick search we didn't even dig into homes, so I am sure there are a lot of great ones out there that we didn't explore.

The new job!

I recently accepted an offer from Innova to be a Marketing Strategist on their PR and marketing team.  I will be in their downtown Des Moines office, which is great for a Des Moines commute.  Plus my good friend Nicole is a few blocks away, so I think we will be going to Panera often for lunch! 

Overall, the job will have some similarities as my job at JT Mega, but different in many ways as well.  At JTM I spent the majority of my time working with Hormel and the Di Lusso deli account and everything at JTM was food focused.  Here I may support any of their accounts as needed and they have a broad variety of clients.  So it should be fun to learn different industries.  I certainly think it will be challenging and am excited to see what kinds of projects we get in to!  My first day is Thursday, one week from today! 

A Valentine's day crush...

So this year on Valentine's Day I started a huge crush on a new community!  We have been looking at many houses in Ankeny and are considering building a few houses down from our good friends, the Boyingtons, but this weekend I decided to hit up some open houses in Polk City and really liked what I saw! 

No decisions have been made, but I'm starting to really like it!  Here are the pros/cons so far.

We have been torn between small school, big town convenience, Polk City has the best of both worlds if that is what you want.  It is practically in Ankeny, but we would be in a much smaller school district. 

You can get A LOT more house for your dollar and I'm loving the builder of this home above.

We would be a little further from Baxter than I would like, but it is only 5 minutes further West than where we might build in Ankeny.

Keith's commute would be great, under 15 minutes, mine would probably 20-25 minutes.
There are a few houses on the market we are going to look at this weekend, the builder has a couple spec homes that are complete and one that is still at studs, so we could still customize somewhat or we could build. 

A downside is we don't really know anyone in the community, if any of you have friends or know anyone that lives in Polk City, we would love to connect with them or email them to learn a little more about the community, so please let me know!!!  We were spoiled with great neighbors and are hoping to still have fun neighbors, which is partly why we are loving the Boyington's neighborhood! 

My final hours at 28...

and I'm blogging!  Only a few hundred days left of my "twenties"....REALLY, how did this happen?  As much fun as I had turning 21, I'm certainly glad attempting 21 shots is not on the agenda for tomorrow.  I have grown up and do appreciate life beyond college.  But, I'm getting up there and have been seeing signs....

I had a few white spots on my skin I asked the dermatologist about, her answer, "you are just getting old" - ouch! 

Keith recently asked if that was a "varicose vein" on my shin, I quickly said no, then said, "OH NO" (NO WORRIES, my husband is not mean to me like this, we both laughed about his)

I'm going on a ski trip to Breckenridge with a group of girls for a bachelorette party, Keith mentioned to me about a month ago that I should probably start working out or maybe do the elliptical a couple times a week, so I don't die on the slopes! Very true, hasn't happened!

Today, I'm really sore, especially around my ribs and I have no idea why, Keith asked if it was from vacuuming the house today.  Maybe?  All I know if I am sore from that, I am going to be in serious trouble when I go skiing! 

So hopefully 29 will be a great year, I think I will try to make the most of it!  You always have moments in life when you think back and if you could go back in time there are always things you would do different, wish you had of done, or many things you would definitely do again...so to my readers, please share with me any of your if I were 29 I would......and maybe I will add it to the list of things to do in life! I welcome your wisdom! 

Lots of news from the Bormanns!

 A lot has happened over the past few weeks and I have been terrible about blogging.  So a few big things and I will try to write more about each soon....

The house is sold, as of today we are no longer home owners!

I accepted a job last week and start next week

We spent the last two days in Minnesota packing (or watching the movers pack) our home and saying final goodbyes

On a quick daycare scramble, we have a temporary solution for right now

The house hunt continues...

I hired this guy....

 for my blogger customer service department to handle all the lack of posts / no pictures complaints.  Super annoyed with blogger right now, I have Picasa viewer that I use to sort through my pictures, then I just select and click blog, then they go straight to the blog.  Super fast, super easy, until NOW!  For some reason it is not working and it doesn't give an explanation.  So I need to upload one-by-one and our b-town Internet speed is like four steps up from dial-up and it takes FOREVER! 
Anyhow, I have so much to blog about and have been terrible keeping up.  No promises, but hope to have lots of posts to you soon!  Lots of big news to share as well!

We are ready to tailgate!

Thank you Aunt Brenda and Uncle Sid!  We love the new chairs and I think Dylan loves them the most.  He loves pulling these chairs out of their bags and setting them up! 

My random little dudes....

Two weeks ago, we went up to the Algona area to celebrate Christmas with Keith's G & G Bormann and his Grandma Ludwig.  We drove up in the morning and spent all day there.  Keith's parents, along with Adam, Sarah and Oliver spent the day there as well.

We enjoyed some really good ham balls and the boys had a blast playing in Grandma Bormann's basement. 

They got these adorable little cups and absolutely LOVE them!  As you can see from the picture in the car, they kept a tight grip on them all day!  I'll post some more pics soon.

Guess what time of the day it is?

Yep, this was taken about 3:30ish!  First of all, Carter basically refuses to wear clothes, but loves wearing shoes.  I did have him dressed, which was a battle, then he stripped down on me. 

Second, the boys are obsessed with eating waffles right now.  Really, Dylan is obsessed with getting them out of the freezer and is really in to toasting things right now.  If he even sees a piece of bread, it's "toast, toast, toast."  Drives me nuts, oh and the kid wouldn't eat a slice of bread if it was the only thing I offered him all day.

And he has to do the syrup too.

Now Carter, he likes the waffles, just isn't really into the toasting part, he eats them frozen.  No worries though, he still likes to add the syrup.  Sometimes we even do cinnamon and sugar on the waffles, that was Dylan's idea.

It seems.....

That little message telling me I need to update my background, is no longer a warning!  I have been wanting to do a complete revamp forever, maybe I will start focusing on that soon!

I'm a sucker for little boy hats....

So all of you know I can't buy enough cute little boy hats, but my little boys HATE wearing hats!  I found a way to convince them to wear these hats for just a little bit:)

I've been wanting to buy hats like this for sometime, but Keith feels I should no longer invest in hats for them, other than stocking hats.  However, I was at Von Maur killing a little time between a couple job interviews and found a few great bargains! 

I got these hats for $6 each, originally $26 and I even got two in their sizes!

Another set of winter hats for $3 each, originally $16

And the best deal of the day, a pair of boots for me, $32, originally $129!  (Dad asked me if I got a deal because one was size 6, the other size 8..funny, funny!) 

I love getting a good deal! 

Now I just have to get my boys to start liking hats.

We are guessing Dylan!

27 months and I have a couple big boys!

Well, I must say we have TOTAL BOYS!!!  It sure seems like they have been growing up so much, so fast.  Here is a little of what we have been up to....

• I really, really, shouldn't write this, but we haven't been to the doctor since December 1...ALL TIME RECORD!  We had weeks we went 3 times and I would say we were there at least three times a month. 
• Dylan can definitely be my most difficult one, but just the sweetest little boy at other times.  He constantly pushes me, when he wants something, he wants it and DOES NOT give up resulting in 20+ minute tantrums at times.  A few of these a day does a mom in.  But then he can be so caring, so kind and so sweet.  He is a great big brother.  Every time he gets his milk or anything, he gets one for Carter too.  Even if it is a little treat or something special, he asks for one for Carter too.  He is always bringing us random things he thinks we need.  It's funny, you will be looking for something and here comes Dylan with it.  He'll even bring Carter his blue blanky.
• They are good little helpers at lunch / dinner time.  I try and let them poor in all the ingredients and help out
• They wrestle ALL THE TIME!!!  They pick each other up and will throw each other down roll around, sometimes they laugh, sometimes they cry, sometimes I just let them fight it out.
• I think they eat too many bananas, because I have a couple of monkeys who really like to jump on the bed and are obsessed with jumping off the bed.  Which we don't allow, but sometimes you aren't paying attention and all a sudden you see one fly off. 
• These two have NO FEAR!!  They try to climb up everything, no fear of heights! 
• They are starting to string together a lot of words and say the funniest things and sometimes they seem to sit and have conversations.
• I'm trying to find a source of energy deep within to potty train them!
• Carter is so funny how he is obsessed with Thomas right now.  He will basically only wear Thomas PJ's.  We have four pairs we rotate between and Dylan gets the rest.  He can get really picky about certain things and Dylan is pretty good about letting him have what he wants.  He still loves to play trains. 
• I always love snuggle time when we get it!
• Dylan can be very particular about things, like he has to help coffee.  Both mom and I made coffee once without him and the poor kid was heartbroken.  Seriously, so sad.  Oh and now he is all about getting bread out and trying to make toast.  He won't eat bread, but sure will eat a lot of toast!
• I have to try to sneak out to let Stella out because if Dylan hears the words, he wants to go out too.  One day he was at the door with his coat on trying to get his shoes on. I felt bad and ended up letting him go with. 
• They LOVE playing in the snow, making snowballs and snow angels. 
• Carter gets really excited about things.  I was gone all day today and when I got home he was so excited, he was jumping up and down and started to take my coat off. 
• They are starting to get little imaginations, so funny!  Dylan was making food in his kitchen and he was telling me the corn was hot! 
• Carter always wants to walk, as soon as we get out of the car he says "walk"!
• Carter loves playing with Cade, when Cade comes, when he gets to go to his house, so excited!
• They are both pretty big momma's boys and always want to be right by me at our house, but when we leave the house....DIFFERENT STORY, see you later mom! 

Guess who picked out their PJ's!