Things that make my life easier....

On a daily basis we get to experience the challenge of two-year olds!  I must say over the past year my negotiating skills may have increased significantly, of course I think I would send my boys in to close the deal since they seem to usually come out ahead.  

Here are a few things that make my life easier.....

Bendy straws!  

We try to bring these with us to restaurants- yes that's us, maybe odd, but sure saves a lot of struggle.  Anyone who has battled the cup with a normal straw, which usually ends up getting spilled on may agree.

Here is a trick my friend Kristy told me that works really well, I use it ALL THE TIME....

For a while we went through a stage that the boys didn't want to get dressed or get PJ's on- mostly Carter. So if I say lets get PJ's on, he will basically say no, not PJ's and run off, but then I say Carter, do you want to put your PJ's on or do you want me to do it, then he will run for the PJ's and say I do it and put his clothes on!  Works every time!  Thanks Kristy!

Bathtub Bubbles!

Probably wouldn't ever get them in the tub without these.  I say who's going to put the bubbles in the tub, they say MEEEE, and we are off for the tub.

Electric Thomas Toothbrushes

Not sure how it goes at your guys' houses, but we don't really like brushing teeth around here- thank goodness Keith has taken charge in this arena or our boys teeth would never be clean.  We got them the electric toothbrushes and this has made a world of difference and for the past few months, Keith has been having them sing the alphabet while he brushes their teeth and then he can get them brushed really well.  Now they do pretty good with brushing their teeth.  

Marshmallows

This is a bad one- they love these and if I can't get them in the car in the morning, I offer these up and they rush right into the car!  

Yep, it was bad!

This weekend we went to Sibley, IA to Keith’s parents house, which is a little over four hours from my parent’s house.  It has been about 5 months since we have taken the boys on a long car ride, so I was a bit nervous and for good reason because this trip ranked in our top three worst car rides to date!  This trip competes with the trip when Dylan cried half the ride and ended up in the hospital with pneumonia.  Then there was the horrible drive when we got caught up in a scary tornado and spent about 2 hours in a gas station without power. 

I must say Dylan was pretty awesome most of the ride, but I have no idea what got into Carter.  First off, we made the mistake of taking Keith’s truck since the car seats are side-by-side.  He just kept crying and throwing fits- which I could handle, but then he would randomly pinch or smack Dylan in the face.  So finally we pulled over on a gravel road and moved the car seat behind Keith’s seat- which is really tight for driving.  This helped, well at least protected Dylan, but the screaming didn’t stop!  Two straight hours of screaming, and I think he just wanted to scream because no matter what you did to help, he would find something else to scream about, so these are all the things he was unhappy about:

            -He wanted to watch Thomas – big mistake, we didn’t have one in the car

-When we moved him behind Keith, then he couldn’t see the DVD player- this resulted in me strapping the DVD player on my head and sitting in the middle so both could see- a definite low as a parent, but gave us a few quieter moments

            -A LOT of screaming about wanting to be sitting in Dylan’s see

-Dylan yelling to Carter, Carter naughty, Carter’s response, I not naughty Dylan and repeat, repeat, repeat!

-He wanted a yellow vitamin (we have never had yellow vitamins??)

There was much more screaming beyond that, but I tried to zone it out for a good hour!  BRUTAL!! I hope Monday goes better. Or we are keeping the car rides to a max of one hour!!  Definitely confirmed our need to move to Iowa.  

Here are a few pics of the boys hard at work with daddy!  I love how serious Carter is with the shovel.  They put some sod down and watered it- Keith told them the grass was sick, so now every time we go by that patch of grass they tell me it's sick.

Bon Jovi!

A few weeks ago we went to Bon Jovi!  Keith had gotten me tickets for my birthday, but I was starting to get nervous we would not make it to the show.  Originally mom was going to watch the boys, but she had a class.  This left a very pregnant Jennifer to help. I felt a little bad leaving her with three boys, two days from going into labor.  So we recruited uncle Jeff to help out until mom got home.  And really hoping Jennifer wouldn’t go into labor!! No worries, the troop managed just fine and Uncle Jeff even got to change a few dirty diapers and is now a pro.  (he also taught the boys to say they sharted- so that was a nice surprise:))

The concert was a lot of fun.   We went with our friends Mark and Autumn and another couple they know well, Brad and Carrie, who were a lot of fun!  The funny part was, all of us went to ISU, moved out of state and recently moved back to Iowa.  And all of us are living with parents while our houses are works in progress!  I’m thinking moving back in with your parents, while in your late 20’s, is the new black!  I know a few other couples doing the same thing! 

Our concert tickets were maybe a bit more of the nosebleed arena, so I felt the need to make an advance to the floor.  So we left the boys and after one failed attempt , we made our way to the front stage, which was MUCH BETTER!!!  We did end up getting split up when we got busted by one security guard, so I bolted to the side of the stage and was so excited to see some familiar faces – Rachel and Sue Logsdon, who had some how gotten bumped up to some sweet seats, so they let me hide out by them for a while!

As always, Bon Jovi puts on a great show and it was a really fun night out!  I was a bit on the sleepy side the next day at work though

Our Smile Mission is off to a GREAT START!!!

THANK YOU SO MUCH to everyone who has connected with me and donated things for Blank Children's hospital!  Below, I starred the items we have received, but don't feel like you still can't donate those items. I'm just trying to get one of each.  I also received some cash donations, so I will save that up until we get closer to December and buy a few of the big ticket items.  My goal is to do a weekly update so you can see our progress! 
Thank you again, your generosity is amazing.  Just think, your small contribution will completely make somebody elses day! 

----original post-----

A couple years ago I did a few "cans for comments" posts and donated formula to a local food bank. I was recently reading a volunteer page at Blank Children's Hospital and came across this Child Life list and realized I didn't get around to it this winter with the move. So I was hoping with an early start, before every ones budgets get extra tight with holiday shopping, some of you would be up for help me put some smiles on some little ones faces! Here is the list of items the hospital looks for people to donate, many are small- even things we get for free at times in the mail.

So my goal is every week to buy at least one of these items and hoping some of you will help out by buying some of these items and sending them to me. Week by week I will do an update and check off the items we have collected and then hopefully by December we will have a complete list. (Maybe excluding a couple of the really big items or gift cards)

When Dylan was 4 months old he spent a few days at Blank with a case of phenomena, it is a great children's hospital with all kinds of fun things specialized for children to make their stay a bit more pleasant. Every time I walked in and out of the hospital, I was so thankful that we were only there for a short stay!


I would appreciate any contributions to collecting these items - some things are as little as a bottle of bubbles - I'm sure there are some parents out there that have a couple they would love to get rid of! Or glitter or play doh! One thing- they do ask that all the items are new due to infection control.


THANK YOU IN ADVANCE!!!

You can send anything to my attention at:

Jessica Bormann
PO Box 278
Baxter, IA 50028

or if you have to do UPS/FedEx or I believe Speedy is super cheap, you can ship here:
Jessica Bormann
10447 Field Ave
 Colfax, IA 50054



 
Arts/Craft Supplies


Beads

Washable Paint (prefer Crayola brand 10 packs)

Glitter Glue

*Glitter

Sticker Foam Shapes

*Foam Art (i.e. door hangers, frames)

Foam Beads

Glue Sticks

*Coloring Books

*Play-Doh

Washable Markers

*Crayons

Disposable Cameras

Photo Albums

Journals (for boys and girls)

Embroidery Floss (for friendship bracelets)

Dry Erase Markers

*Sharpies

Infant/Toddler Activities

Lullabies CD’s

Plastic Infant Toys and Rattles

Light-up/Musical Toys (ex. Light Up Piano, Backyardigans

Guitar, Baby’s Learning LapTop, Fisher Price

Musical Stacker, Baby Einstein Color

Kaleidoscope)

Pop-Up Toys (Fisher Price Pop Up Farm)

Dora the Explorer Toys (nothing cloth-must be washable)

Infant Mirrors (attaches to crib side)

Elmo Toys

Peekaboo Block Toys (i.e. box, giraffe, fish)

Bath Toys

Trains

*Bubbles

Dolls (hard plastic)

Cash Registers

School Age Activities

Barbie Clothes

Hot Wheels/Matchbox cars

Chalk (anti-dust)

Scissors

Superhero Figurines (i.e.Hulk, Superman, Spiderman)

Bald plastic babies (needs to be all washable)

Spongebob Toys (nothing cloth—must be washable)

Disney/Pixar Movies (DVD)

Fisher Price Doctor Kits

Puzzles (24 and 63 pieces)



Activities

Gameboy Advance SP, Nintendo DS and Games

PSP and Games

Hand-held Games (20 Questions, Connect 4, Battleship, Yahtzee)

Game Cube Games (rated E-Teen)

Nintendo Wii Games (rated E-Teen)

PS2 Games (rated E-Teen) especially sports and racing themed

New Release PG-13 Movies (DVD)

Misc. Items

Batteries (AAA, AA, C and D)

Gift Cards (Best Buy, Toys ‘R’ Us, Wal-Mart, iTunes)

Stress balls


Electronics

Portable DVD Players

Digital Cameras

I-Pods/MP3 Players
Board Games

Guess Who

Connect 4

Monopoly (traditional and electronic banking)

Sorry! Or Sorry! Sliders

Battleship

Yahtzee

Checkers

*UNO or UNO Attack or UNO Flash

*Decks of Cards

Skip-Bo

RACKO

Mancala

Backgammon

Memory

Catch Phrase Jr.

Sequence

Operation


Misc. Items

Batteries (AAA, AA, C and D)

Gift Cards (Best Buy, Toys ‘R’ Us, Wal-Mart, iTunes)

Stress balls


Electronics

Portable DVD Players

Digital Cameras

I-Pods/MP3 Players

It's a random one....

Lately….

Looking forward to the long holiday weekend!!! We are spending most of the weekend at Keith’s parents, but on Saturday Keith and I will head to Omaha for a wedding! The wedding should be an absolute blast! A great couple, celebrating with many friends from college.

Carter and Dylan have pushed Mickey to the side for a little bit more Thomas time lately! Which I think is good, b/c they have seen the DVD in my car a zillion times!

They are obsessed with fruit snacks- drops of gold I guess.

Both have been playing with the trains more, but Carter is so into it! And I just think a little boy down on his knees driving his little train all around the house is the absolute cutest thing- makes me smile every time! Probably like watching a little girl carrying around and comforting a baby doll.

Our daycare is so-so, can’t wait until we switch to Polk City. One teacher seems to not have any type of filter and just says anything that comes rolling out- gets a little awkward.

Carter absolutely will not wear his new shoes. The other ones are in such awful shape- I’ll have to post a picture, I think his toes will be sticking out soon.

These two are talking SO MUCH!!! I love it, but sometimes it is non-stop. Lately at night – maybe since they don’t have their pacifiers they just chat up a storm! FOREVER, sometimes I wonder if they are going to go to sleep. One night this week, Carter was crying for his paci, then I hear through the monitor, “Carter, stop crying.”

My office has summer hours starting FRIDAY!! YEAH. This means we can leave at 12:00 on Fridays, but we have to make up the four hours during the week. I’m pretty excited about short Fridays but it’s hard to make up the time right now because it takes me an hour and fifteen minutes to do the full commute with drop-off and I don’t want to wake the boys up any earlier. So I am trying to take short lunches, stay a little late and then one day a week if Keith takes the boys I can get in at 7:00. If stay too late, I don’t get home until 6-7 and the boys go to bed at about 8, so I don’t like to stay too late. It will be much easier once we move and daycare is five minutes from our house!

Lately, the boys have been into feeding each other- and are so polite in doing so…”Here you go Carter” as he puts the spoon of food in his mouth, “Thank you Dylan” – and this goes back and forth.

They are in this phase when we do something for them, with a lot of enthusiasm, they will say “THANK YOU MOMMY” or “THANK YOU DADDY” We kinda like this one.

They seem to be enjoying their stroller again- or maybe for the first time. I told Keith we should take advantage of this as much as possible.

Both have been really enjoying drawing and coloring.

Both have been extra sleepy-heads lately since they have been staying up late chatting. Usually Dylan will get up first- definitely more of the early bird- one morning Keith was working on waking up Carter and I hear a soft “wake up buddy” from Dylan- I have no idea where that one came from

Lately I have been thinking we should try to split the boys up a bit more for some one-on-one time. We used to do that more when we lived in Minnesota, but they are rarely apart anymore. I wonder if they get tired of each other?

Sometimes they are nice to Stella trying to pet her and always giving her bones. Then sometimes I will catch them trying to kick her. Sometimes I’m too late, sorry Stella!

They have been really liking bubble baths and they like to make bubble beards

American Idol ends this week, so bummed I was doing really well in my work pool, but looks like I will finish 4th, I think prizes are top 3!

They still like their ice whenever they think they are hurt, one day Dylan pushed Carter and Carter wanted ice on his head, so we did for a while and I took it and said, all better, Carter said “not all better Mommy” and put the ice back on his head.

Dylan saw Alec’s belly button and then said his belly button had an owie, so we had to have a band aid on it for a few days- I don’t think it felt too good coming off.

Isn't this BEAUTIFUL!

Last week Keith made a quick trip to Canada for work.  Literally a quick trip, he left Monday and was back about midnight the next night.  Neither of us have ever been to Niagara Falls, it's gorgeous.

BUSY WEEKEND!

I am a bit on the tired side tonight, we were go, go, go all weekend!  

After work on Friday we picked up the boys and went straight to the house for a while, then went to Ankeny for dinner.  Apparently Ankeny was jammed packed, so after four restaurant attempts we settled on Culver's.  After we ate, we went to Walmart to find the boys a new outdoor riding toy.  We landed on big wheels!  Unfortunately, they are still a bit to short to use the pedals.  It was well past bedtime by the time we got back to Baxter, so we got the boys to bed.  My friend Kristy was at the bar, so I met her and ended up staying out a bit later than I probably needed.  But we had fun catching and traded war stories on the pains and challenges of moving your family to a different state!

Saturday morning we took the boys to see Sesame Street Live!  I bought the tickets weeks ago.  This was the first time we took them to a show (outside of the not so great circus we went to), they did pretty well sitting most of show - with the help of some popcorn.  Dylan seemed to like it better than Carter, neither were jumping up and down dancing- but seemed to enjoy it.  Two Elmo balloons and $20 later we were out the door.  We figured they would fall asleep pretty quick in the car so we decided to eat lunch downtown.  I was hoping to hit up something good from the farmers market, but most of the vendors were closing up, so we ended up eating outside at Legends.  Then we made a couple quick stops and went back to Baxter to put our big wheels together and played at the park.  After lots of playing outside we made a stop to visit Cade and Alec, then headed to Altoona for a graduation party.  The boys enjoyed the cake and had a lot of fun running around outside.  After the party, we picked up a few groceries at HyVee, then headed home and had them into bed by about 10:00, right before a big storm hit.  

Today we left early at met Whitney, one of the boys' favorite teachers from their daycare in Minnesota at the play area at Jordan Creek mall.  The boys had so much fun playing with her!  We did a little bit of shopping, then made a quick stop at our house.  

By about 3:00 we made our way to Woodward to do the boys' two year (or  2 1/2 year) pics.  Despite a weak car nap, they did pretty well!  I can't wait to see them. When we got back to Baxter, Jennifer and Cory brought the boys over, so the boys ran around non-stop until bedtime.  Now I am tired!!!  I'll be taking a bath and hitting the sack.  

Oh, and I must give a shout out to the CMB boys track team, this weekend they won the state shuttle hurdle and set a new state record!!  I had no idea they were doing so well this season!  That is AWESOME!!!  Now that I live in Iowa again, I would love to go and watch the state meet again- probably haven't been there in over 10 years.  

Another reason I don't like bubbles.  Carter cried over this for an entire car ride because he wanted Dylan's.  Both exactly the same, even the same color.  Then Dylan basically spilled this entire bottle.

Love this idea!!!

Saw this here!  What a great idea!

Those Robinson boys....

So I was thinking Alec was looking a lot like Cade when he was a baby, so I looked back at some pictures and would you agree- they are definitely brothers!  If any big difference, I think Alec might look even a little more like Jennifer than Cade did at that age.

Alec above, Cade below

Cade above, Alec below

We did it!

They decided to take them all out of the bags and put them on Alec.  Of course, both tried to stick one in his mouth! 

The boys are exactly 2 1/2 years old now, so it was well overdue time for us to give up these pacifiers!  Something I have not been looking forward to for a long time.  Our pediatrician told us to get rid of them before one because around one they start to get attached to things.  Clearly we did not listen!  They were just so helpful to getting a bit of peace here and there, plus with so many car rides and the first year and a half of back to back doctor's appointments with every illness under the sun, they were a big help.  I always said I wouldn't let them go much past two, but then we made this huge move and I figured the boys were going through enough transitions that this could be one thing they could keep.  And we had it down to just naps at home and night time.  We didn't help things out either because at bedtime and nap time we would say you want to get your paci and take a nap and they would run and jump right into bed.  Trust me, I had many rough naps when I was home with the boys so I did anything I could to make it happen! 

I had planned on trying a few tricks like cutting them or poking holes in them, but never did.  On a couple occasions they threw them away because we have been telling them they were icky for months and they would pull them out and say "paci, icky" and throw them in the sink.  Of course, not icky for too long!  So if it were just one, I would have said, nope you threw it away and have gone with that, but that's not quite fair with two. 

So I finally decided with baby Alec on the way, they would be a gift for the new baby in the family.  This somewhat worked.  For weeks we had been telling them this and they were totally getting the idea and said they would do it.  Then last night came the night!  I had them find all their pacis, put them in a gift bag and bring them to Alec. They were all about it and really excited to give them to Alec.  Until....we left.  Then they started putting two and two together and started to have some concern for what may have been one of their closest companions.  Dylan asked Keith, "daddy, two pacies in your pocket"?  Then Dylan got really sad when we got home, but I was able to cheer him up.  He has always been much more attached.  Then bedtime was a bit rough.  Dylan did AWESOME!!!  Carter on the other hand was absolutely heartbroken and probably cried for about an hour.  We brought him books, trains, water anything to make him happier.  Finally I ended up holding him and all three of us snuggled up on the floor until they calmed down.  Carter ended up waking up four times crying for it and Dylan did great.  So far tonight has gone great.  Carter really hasn't asked and Dylan started to look for one, but didn't make a fuss.  Now I'm hoping they don't get too upset with Alec or hunt for them at his house! 

I feel absolutely awful taking these! I know it's the right thing to do, but they are so attached and love them so much, it's like taking your kids favorite stuffed animal or blanket away.  They don't really understand that toddlers shouldn't have pacifiers, they don't know any different!  I hope it continues to go well! 

Holiday planning....in May and I need your help!

A couple years ago I did a few "cans for comments" posts and donated formula to a local food bank.  I was recently reading a volunteer page at Blank Children's Hospital and came across this Child Life list and realized I didn't get around to it this winter with the move.  So I was hoping with an early start, before every ones budgets get extra tight with holiday shopping, some of you would be up for help me put some smiles on some little ones faces!  Here is the list of items the hospital looks for people to donate, many are small- even things we get for free at times in the mail.  

So my goal is every week to buy at least one of these items and hoping some of you will help out by buying some of these items and sending them to me.  Week by week I will do an update and check off the items we have collected and then hopefully by December we will have a complete list.  (Maybe excluding a couple of the really big items or gift cards)  

When Dylan was 4 months old he spent a few days at Blank with a case of phenomena, it is a great children's hospital with all kinds of fun things specialized for children to make their stay a bit more pleasant.  Every time I walked in and out of the hospital, I was so thankful that we were  only there for a short stay!  

I would appreciate any contributions to collecting these items - some things are as little as a bottle of bubbles - I'm sure there are some parents out there that have a couple they would love to get rid of!  Or glitter or play doh!   One thing- they do ask that all the items are new due to infection control.  

THANK YOU IN ADVANCE!!!

You can send anything to my attention at: 

Jessica Bormann

PO Box 278

Baxter, IA 50028

Arts/Craft Supplies

Beads

Washable Paint (prefer Crayola brand 10 packs)

Glitter Glue

Glitter

Sticker Foam Shapes

Foam Art (i.e. door hangers, frames)

Foam Beads

Glue Sticks

Coloring Books

Play-Doh

Washable Markers

Crayons

Disposable Cameras

Photo Albums

Journals (for boys and girls)

Embroidery Floss (for friendship bracelets)

Dry Erase Markers

Sharpies

Infant/Toddler Activities

Lullabies CD’s

Plastic Infant Toys and Rattles

Light-up/Musical Toys (ex. Light Up Piano, Backyardigans

Guitar, Baby’s Learning LapTop, Fisher Price

Musical Stacker, Baby Einstein Color

Kaleidoscope)

Pop-Up Toys (Fisher Price Pop Up Farm)

Dora the Explorer Toys (nothing cloth-must be washable)

Infant Mirrors (attaches to crib side)

Elmo Toys

Peekaboo Block Toys (i.e. box, giraffe, fish)

Bath Toys

Trains

Bubbles

Dolls (hard plastic)

Cash Registers

School Age Activities

Barbie Clothes

Hot Wheels/Matchbox cars

Chalk (anti-dust)

Scissors

Superhero Figurines (i.e.Hulk, Superman, Spiderman)

Bald plastic babies (needs to be all washable)

Spongebob Toys (nothing cloth—must be washable)

Disney/Pixar Movies (DVD)

Fisher Price Doctor Kits

Puzzles (24 and 63 pieces)

Activities

Gameboy Advance SP, Nintendo DS and Games

PSP and Games

Hand-held Games (20 Questions, Connect 4, Battleship, Yahtzee)

Game Cube Games (rated E-Teen)

Nintendo Wii Games (rated E-Teen)

PS2 Games (rated E-Teen) especially sports and racing themed

New Release PG-13 Movies (DVD)

Misc. Items

Batteries (AAA, AA, C and D)

Gift Cards (Best Buy, Toys ‘R’ Us, Wal-Mart, iTunes)

Stress balls

Electronics

Portable DVD Players

Digital Cameras

I-Pods/MP3 Players

Board Games

Guess Who

Connect 4

Monopoly (traditional and electronic banking)

Sorry! Or Sorry! Sliders

Battleship

Yahtzee

Checkers

UNO or UNO Attack or UNO Flash

Decks of Cards

Skip-Bo

RACKO

Mancala

Backgammon

Memory

Catch Phrase Jr.

Sequence

Operation

Misc. Items

Batteries (AAA, AA, C and D)

Gift Cards (Best Buy, Toys ‘R’ Us, Wal-Mart, iTunes)

Stress balls

Electronics

Portable DVD Players

Digital Cameras

I-Pods/MP3 Players

busy at the chalk board

Notice the line!  What seems to be an innocent activity can get a bit rough at times.  First off, we only have one eraser!  Am I surprised that is an issue?  Probably shouldn’t be.  Again, a toy that seems harmless, then it gets loaded with chalk and they think they should use it as a telephone or tap each other’s heads with it.  Regardless of the battles, they have been having a lot of fun with this lately.  Maybe on a nice Saturday I will get the paint out and let them paint on it.  Overall, they have taken a much greater interest in coloring and drawing lately.  They are always telling me all the funny things they are drawing:  turtles, Stella, mommy, a new straight line- of course I have to ask to be sure:)

I was impressed by this one from Carter, I told him to draw me a sun and it is actually pretty darn close.