And the Changes Keep Coming!

Along with a new house and a new school to come for the boys, now Jeremy will be working a new job!  He interviewed today for a Utility Operator job still with Pella Corp.  He will be moving to a totally new area in the factory and will have the oppurtunity to start advancing his career and expanding his company knowledge.  I am so proud of my hubby!  We love you!

Our busy week

Well it has been quite the busy week for myself and our family as a whole.  Monday started out great with the call we had been waiting for from my aunt/our realtor.  The bank had finally accepted our offer and we were ready to move forward and close on our new house ASAP.  We met with our mortgage company just to be sure we had everything needed to move things along and were excited to find out that we should be able to close in 2-3 weeks.  Then comes Tuesday, which is always a busy day because I babysit, Nile has preschool and I have an online lecture while Aubrey and said babysitting child nap.  While I was "in class" our realtor called again and I was to call back when I had time.  When I did I found out that our new house had been winterized just a few shorts weeks ago, even though the listing agent knew full well that we wanted the house and were doing everything we could to make that happen quickly.  This lead to a flood of anger and frustration along with a few phone calls to get things turned back on at the new house and put into our name, so even though the house isn't ours yet we are going to be paying the bills a little early because things have to be on for the appraisal.  If memory serves Wednesday came and went and then Thursday I got an email from some with our mortgage and upon looking at the forms I noticed that there were some mistakes!  A few calls to them cleared things and then I had the fun of home owners insurance as well.  Now today our insurance company called at 5:03 PM to let me know that they received something from the mortgage and the closing date was different than we thought and they had down we weren't doing escrow when we actually are - insert raising blood pressure and stress!!  Hopefully these little issues are easily fixed and we are still able to get into the new house before Aubrey's birthday next month.  Right now we are down to close on Monday April 9.

Now on to another - much less stress full topic for the week.  We went to Thesiens this week to get a few things since they are having an 18% off sale.  My mom and I started looking at the display to make your own laundry detergent and I mentioned that I knew several people who make their own.  She mentioned that we were getting low on detergent so we decided to try it.  When we got back home I got on Pintrest.  This is something I had signed up for but hadn't used but even though everyone is always raving about it.  I just am not very crafty so I didn't know what to look for.  I started looking for homemade laundry soap and have been hooked since.  Yesterday we made our first batch of laundry soap and it was super easy!  Now today I made a second batch of laundry soap, fabric softener, and dish washing soap.  Along with homemade pizza and angel food cake for dinner.   I have now decided I want to make homemade granola bars, tomato sauce, and apple pop tarts!  I am silly excited for all of these fun new ideas and cant wait to get into the new house, be unpacked and settled, and get to work!!

Well as you can see it has been a little crazy around here this week but things are progressing with the house which is what we want and we are all healthy and mostly happy ;-).  I don't believe I will be moving again after this very difficult process though so hopefully we are happy at our new house for a very long time!

Blessings,
The Rozenbooms

Blank Park Zoo

Today we made our second attempt at going to the zoo.  On Wednesday we drove up to DSM after Jeremy got home from work only to find out that the zoo was only open 10-4 during the week right now.  We planned to try again this weekend but originally Jeremy was going to have to work on Saturday so we thought we might try Sunday.  Well it turned out the Jeremy didn't have to work today but Aubrey has been a little under the weather.  In the middle of the night Thursday night she woke me up crying and I went to check on her and she had gotten sick in her bed.  This was a first since the boys rarely get sick in their beds and Aubrey had never thrown up.  It was quite a mess and after giving her a bath and running a load of laundry we both got back to bed.  In the morning she seemed fine but didn't eat much for breakfast and then she got sick again in the highchair.  After that I was more careful about giving her much to eat and just gave her water to drink.  After running errands and picking up some pedilyte I gave that to her and she seemed just fine.  She wasn't fussy other than wanting to go outside and play and she didn't have any other symptoms.  We thought she was over it only to find her the next morning in bed where she had gotten sick again.  So strip the bed again and put her in the tub this morning to clean her up and she was happy as can be.  No temperature or any other symptoms.  We decided to see how she was after lunch and just give her some bland foods but of course she wanted what we were having and she seemed to do OK.  We decided to go ahead and head up to the zoo. 
The zoo was very busy but it was a beautiful day and it was fun to see what they had gotten done on the remodel and what new was in store.   The kids had a good time and Aubrey didn't have any problems. 
So far tonight she ate dinner fine and is in bed now.  I am keeping my fingers crossed that she is over this bug now and tomorrow morning we wont have anymore surprises waiting in her bed when we all get up for church!

Spoiled hubby

Seems like here lately my husband has been getting pretty spoiled.  We bought Jimmy Buffet tickets to see his concert at Wells Fargo in April.  I don't mind Jimmy Buffet but I could go without seeing him and survive just fine.  It will be a good time though because we are going with another couple and I will enjoying seeing Jeremy so happy.
Then this past weekend we were shopping for our new smart TV so we can get rid of cable - see a previous post.  Turns out that the TV we thought would work for us wont and we ended up with a TV that wasn't double the price of our original "regular" TV but triple!  We are now the proud owners of a smart 3D TV - but hey it did come with a free 3D bluray player and two pair of glasses.
Now tonight we are going to Iowa City to see the Hawkeyes play in the opening round of the NIT. 

This post sounds a little like I am pouting or something but truly I am spoiled everyday to be able to stay home with our kids and not work right now.  So it is nice for us to be able to do some things for Jeremy right now since he works so hard to take care of us.  Love you! 

First day of Spring Break

Well the first day of spring break started well with the kids all sleeping in.  It went down hill fast with Nile having a bloody nose - he seems to have these from time to time.  It continued to bleed a little off and on throughout breakfast.  Then we all got dressed and out the door to take Hayden to his dentist check up.  On the way to the car Aubrey got moving a little too fast and couldn't slow down before coming to the cement landing at the garage so she had a fat/bloody lip and was a little sore.  All went well at the dentist and for most of the day until the kids were playing outside with the neighbors while I was working on dinner.  Jeremy was out at the grill with Aubrey and the boys were playing basketball next door.  Next things I hear is crying and screaming and I am not even sure who it is.  I run outside and Jeremy is walking over with Hayden covering his mouth.  If you know me very well you know that I don't do well with blood or "serious" injuries.  I ran inside to get a damp washcloth for Hayden's mouth and let Jeremy take care of him for a little while.  Hayden was crying and very upset for quite a while.  Jeremy mentioned that he was close to punching a hole in his lip and I literally almost passed out and had to sit down.  Now two of my three children have fat lips and Hayden's poor mouth is all black and blue.  Luckily no one injured their teeth during either falls today.  Hayden now says he is never going outside again.  Apparently he tripped and landed with his face on the neighbors steel trailer that is in the driveway by the basketball hoop.  He did eat dinner fine last night so I think they will all be fine in a few days.  Hopefully he is feeling better today so we can go to the park and enjoy this beautiful weather!  And hopefully we will stay injury free for the rest of the week!

Des Moines Date Day

Today Jeremy and I are headed up to DSM to pick up our new smart TV and do a little shopping together - with no kids!  Thanks to my wonderful MIL for watching the kids!  We have a coupon for Kohl's for 30% off and we are hoping to find some good deals.  It will nice to be able to take our time looking around and not having to keep track of or keep happy three kiddos.  Jeremy and I have been trying to add little things to our life/marriage to "keep the spark" so we decided that some dates now and again would be a good idea.  I am so thankful for the man God made for me and bringing us together. 
I won a gift card from Famous Dave's a while back so we are planning to eat dinner together there - I am not a big BBQ fan but you cant beat a free meal! 

Sale Pending

Jeremy happened to be on the computer tonight and told me that our house is listed as sale pending online now.  This doesn't actually change anything with where we are in the process but it does feel more like we are getting closer to that SOLD point and that will be a very exciting day indeed!!  Cant wait to take our picture by that sold sign with our family of 5.  We still have the picture of Jeremy, Hayden (as a baby) and I with the sold sign from our first house and my how things have changed since then!  We have been told that at this point we should hear back in 2-3 weeks but we are hoping for faster and preparing for the longest time.  God has certainly be teaching us patience between 3 children, selling our house ourselves, and this short sale process to buy our "dream" home.  We have been picking out paint colors for the downstairs family room, the boys' room, and the upstairs bathroom and I think we have some great ideas.  Just need to get the house so we can see how the little cards look on the wall and then the fun of painting!! 
I am really hoping that we can be in the house and at least a little settled by Aubrey's 2nd birthday since I was hoping to have her party there.  We usually do a big first birthday with all the family and fun so I think this year it will be just close family but should still be a fun time.  It is hard for me to believe that she will be two already.  Seems like just yesterday........ 

 a few days old at the hospital 4/10

 first birthday party 4/11

Valentines day 2/12

Winter in Iowa - misc info

Well this winter has been very different in Iowa.  Typically we have lots of snow at least the majority of the time and cold temps all the time.  I believe the forecast right now says somewhere in the 60's for next week.  Along with the weather being different my family's total environment has changed.  The kids have been taking everything really well and we are so thankful for that.  It is nice to not have the stress with the added stress of our living situation already on us.
As you know in late December we were contacted about possibly selling our house and letting someone look at it.  We said sure and she loved the house.  We began the process of selling our house on our own and things we relatively smoothly other than all the trouble we ran into with our radon system.  After shelling out over $500 and still not having things resolved we went ahead and agreed to sell it as is and our buyer can move forward how she chooses.
During this time we found a house that we love and feel like would be the perfect place for our family of five to grow together.  This process however has also not been as pain free as we had hoped.  The house had been purchased by the owners last summer and due to things out of their control they needed to move.  So this brings us to the short sale process.  This process is by no means fun or easy - for us as the buyer or for the seller/agents.  We have been waiting on the bank for this and that for over a month and after renegotiating a slightly higher price from us the contract is moving to the investor meeting and we should hear back in two to three weeks.  I by no means have hard feelings towards any of the parties in this fun mess with us other than the darn bank.  This is not a route I would go in the future just because we have been feeling abused and not respected as the good buyers/homeowners that we are by this process.  Jeremy and I owned our last house for seven years and we never late or missed one payment.  We are responsible with our things as God calls us to be and it feels like the bank it taking out their pain from the short sale on us rather than the previous owners.  I know things happen that we cant control everyday and we don't know what other peoples lives are like so we shouldn't judge but it has just been a very long and stressful process. 
We are however very thankful that we are in the position to wait out this house since my parents are allowing us to live here at their house and they have actually been gone all but one week of the time we have been here.  This is giving us time to save lots of money and make some decisions for our family's future and our budget planning.
I have decided to stop buying pop which doesn't truly affect the kids at least not at this point since they want nothing to do with anything with carbonation.  Jeremy has gone along with this - a little grudgingly at first but now I think he is doing OK with it.  I have given up pop for Lent so I don't drink it anywhere at this time.  Jeremy will still have it at our family's favorite restaurant McDonald's - OK the kids favorite but it is inexpensive and we don't have to keep reminding them to eat their dinner.  Plus not much beats a drive through when you have kids!  I may buy some pop again this summer to have a little on hand for camping and car shows but I am hoping to find a healthier alternative for us by then. 
The second change for us is something that I honestly never thought we would actually do and I am very excited about the options.  This will sound silly to some of you who already do this or it isnt a big deal for your family but we are giving up our dish and not having cable!  If you know my husband you understand this better!  He is a sports nut to say the least and loves to watch the Hawks, Cubs, Cowboys, Bulls, you name it!  We have no off season at our house!!  I mentioned trying to save a little money in this area of our lives and my concern that the TV is on way too much.  The kids, like most kids, will sit and watch darn near anything for hours on end and between video games and TV this was becoming a concern for me.  Jeremy talked to some friends at work and was actually quite excited with the options he came up with.  He can get a years subscription to MLB TV and B1G Network for $125 each.  We were paying around $70/month for Dish Network and nothing against them but this was just too much.  By cancelling our contract with them and purchasing a smart internet ready TV we will be good to go.  Now you may be asking "what will the kids watch?"  After getting some great feedback from my Facebook friends we are going to get Netflix online so we can watch pretty much whatever they have available whenever we want!!  Not sure what the commercial situation is like on this option but I am excited about it. We were spending approximately $850 a year and that will be knocked down to $350 a year!  That is a savings of $500 a year!!  We will not have that saving the first year though since we will use that money to go towards our new smart TV.  We were already buying a new TV for the new house so it will just be a little more expensive this route.  We may also have to pay a little more a month for a higher internet speed but we will cross that bridge when we get there.
Just like everyone else we are looking for ways to save a little cash and maximize our budget so we can continue to pay for my classes upfront and make ends meet on one income.  It is amazing how God does supply.