Just as Quick

Just as quick as we listed it.....okay, so maybe not.

We have had our house listed what seems like forever.  It has been a while, since May, almost 5 months.  We have decided to stay put for now and make the best of what we have been given.  Which is so much!

The consensus on the house from what seems to be thousands of viewers, they wish there was a basement.  Well, we can't really do anything about that...sooo like I said, we are going to make do with what we have.  Maybe do some renovations this Winter that we have talked about doing since buying this house 6 years ago.

I honestly, don't think I have ever been so happy for someone to call and cancel.  I've made so many plans for the coming year that involve this house and I'm about to get to work.

We've been busy these past three weeks visiting friends and family out of town, now that football season is here and the weather is cooling off it seems like a perfect time to do some projects!

All while the house was listed we've tried to keep on top of the kids and getting them more involved with activities.  Dan's pool league started back up, Kenzlie and I are doing Dance Class together, Kypton is going to Hope Kids at Church, I started in a Moms monthly group last night at Church that meets once a month. I'm thinking about doing more.  Kypton will be doing twice a week PreSchool in a couple months.  We are keeping busy that is for sure!

Just wanted to do a quick update as some were wondering how the house was going, where we were going and so on.  Hopefully this will help a bit.

I don't have a ton of photos as of late, when we are out of town I tend to leave my phone either in the car or in the suitcase. It's not on purpose, but Dan has his just in case work needs him, so he captures the photos during those times :)

Hope you are all doing well, and enjoying the fall weather!

Love, The Buchholz's

Listed..and Ready...

The house is officially listed with Iowa Realty!!!

I am ready for it to be sold...ready to be on to our next adventure, and be able to celebrate.

The photos were taken today and that was the last thing to get it all listed....now we wait...some more...

While we've been waiting on the house to sell, we've done some looking, cost comparisons, debating, updating of the budget, and some more selling.  We're technically not really waiting.  We are believing our home is going to sell fast and we are planning for the future. As much as possible, that is.

We've sold our living room furniture. 1. We thought we wanted recliners. Now, we hardly use them because the kids are either trying to play under them, or are running around them and we don't want one of them to fall on the metal piece. 2. They are HEAVY and BULKY, also something we thought we wanted. 3. EVERYTHING goes under them because they recline and we have wood floors there is a larger gap on the bottom.  Which means, every toy car or every small toy has at some point claimed it as their hiding spot.  When you have more reasons to get rid of something than you do to keep it in our house...it goes...sell, donate or trash. Depending on the size of our next place we have two options/styles of furniture picked out and the color.  Basically, we have made a profit selling our furniture and buying new furniture to go towards our next financial goal. Can I get a whoop, whoop...SCORE!

Meanwhile,  Kenzlie decided she no longer wants to wear diapers.  We've been working on potty training for about two weeks and she has it down. We haven't tried night time yet, we're still working on naps.  However, I haven't bought diapers in two weeks and she has done awesome, especially this week, going in to the bathroom on her own. Ahh, the joys of no longer having to buy diapers.  Another SCORE for the budget! She picked out her own undies and of course of all the different ones Target has she got Doc McStuffins. She loves her show and doesn't like when Kypton choses to watch something other than, "Doc."

Last night, being the house is cleaned and ready to go we didn't really want a mess, it worked perfect that my Brother and Sister-In-Law invited us to the ICubs game.  It was a 1st time for the kids, they did great.  It was puppy night so of course Kenzlie was in puppy heaven.

My Sister-in-Law is going to have her baby boy any time now, so I just keep hoping and praying! Kenzlie loves to say his name and Kypton told me last night, "Jenna already had the baby, remember? Paxton." I think he is going to be in for a rude awakening when he doesn't have his Yenna and Uncle G to himself anymore. Another waiting game to throw in the mix.

Do you ever feel like life is all hurry and wait? You can't do one thing until you know what yada, yada, is going to do/happen.  It literally makes me crazy some days.  I know, I have to let go and trust God.  But, seriously, just seriously.  Everything always works out the way it is suppose to. I honestly believe that. We may not like that we have to go thru the Valleys to get to the Mountain tops, but man it feels so good when we get there, right?

Hope everyone had a great Summer, and is ready for Football season to start soon..Yahhh Fallll!!!

Love,
The Buchholz's

Simply Living...

So, I know one of my recent posts was about living a simpler life.

I'm about to take it to a whole new level.  I mean starting from scratch...

Many of you know me from the college days, and I will admit I was high maintenance.  That might even be putting it nicely.  I don't know if I didn't realize it at the time or if I was just okay with it because I had a standard of life that I wanted.

Enter the real world, a mortgage, jobs, cars, kids etc. Not only did I realize how I was living wasn't making me feel better it has actually done the opposite.  A while back we did Dave Ramsey...twice.  We follow some of his stuff still, but really have lost sight of what we were initially going after.

Four years and two kids later, we've done a lot of reflecting, talking, praying and now taking action.  As most of you know, our house is on the market, today was the last day of 'for sale by owner,' tomorrow it's going to an agent.  We've been talking with him throughout the whole process and we've finally decided after a lot of talks that its time to take the plunge.  Maybe we were just taking our time with the listing self consciously because we weren't sure if it was the right thing, now we are fired up and ready for the big leap.  We are crossing our fingers it goes FAST!

I know the big question everyone has for us..."Where are you going."  Right now, honestly, we have no idea.  And it doesn't really bother us either.  We have a lot of things we want to accomplish in a short amount of time.  We've talked about the idea of moving South (as in southern states, not southern Iowa.)  It's always been a dream to live down South and we aren't ruling it out, just adding it to the bottom of list for now. Lucky for us, Dan loves his job and team here but if he did decide to go with another team, we do know his company has locations in Georgia and Alabama (two of our top choices!)

Our list is long, first and foremost, concurring those pesky student loans (AND FAST.) Second, we've always talked about building...but doing it DEBT FREE.  Building has turned in to me wanting an acreage, where I can work the land, have some pets, maybe some big kids toys ;) and be out of the suburbs. I know some of you are re-reading that saying, "is this the same girl?"  Yes, still me, I still like cute clothes and all things girlie.  But, I've also seen how peaceful a simple life can be.

So, if you are curious about what things are going to be happening with us you will have to keep up with the blog.  We won't be posting much on FB about our new journey and the changes we're making, but I'll try to update the blog with all the changes: budgeting like crazy, everything from scratch, going green, simplifying the closet, decluttering, and decorating our new place. This is the short list.  We are so excited to be stepping closer to our dream life!

This is going to be a long, exciting journey and we are excited to see what God has in store for it all.

Are you living simply? Have you given up the "American Dream," of material must haves and debt? I'd love your tips!

Love,
The Buchholz's

Sunshine

ITS FINALLY A NICE DAY!!

I feel like this summer has been days full of too HOT or rain....am I the only one?

It's Wednesday, but I keep thinking its Friday.  The kids are being crazy about taking naps. Ive put Kenzlie down three times now.  The 1st time she drank to much water and started a coughing fit, the second time she was just screaming and talking as loud as possible, go in to check on her and she took her diaper off, threw it out of the crib with her shorts, and peed all over.  Got her and the bed cleaned up and put her back down.  She's still not sleeping.  Kypton has gotten up to use the bathroom at least three times, complained of being hungry, had a snack and is still playing in our room NOT napping. He confuses being tired with hungry.  See, he is like his Mom. Not enough sleep makes my stomach hurt and he is the same way. This is just this afternoon after getting home from the store and playing outside.

Let me hop back to last week and VBS for Kypton. It started off a little rocky because he hated drop off and would get super nervous when we got to his classroom.  After day three it went great, so much in fact we checked on him early Thursday and he was being ornery with one of the teachers.  It was one of the young helpers, pretty sure he had his 1st crush.  She was telling him bye as she wasn't going to be there for the last day and he wanted a hug AND a kiss. Haha, at least he shows affection.



While Kypton was in school Kenzlie got Mommy time for the first three days.  We went for a walk, colored, checked out the pond at Jordan Creek, did a little reading, and just enjoyed girl time.  That doesn't happen often.  Thursday and Friday, Dan joined us.  We had a tropical sno date at Jordan Creek and walked around the pond, and a Panera Date with cookie dessert at the Mall.  Lots of fun for the little one.  She had fun until her teeth started hurting so Daddy brought us home and then went  back to pick up Kypton.

In all that crazy, Dan is still incredibly busy at work, which is great for their team.  He was given a raise, and offered a position he has been wanting.  However, He didn't take it!  He's excited his boss knows what he wants to do, now just to be patient to get all the details exactly where he wants them to be.  I'm proud of his hard work and everything he does to better himself as a business man, husband, and father.

I was a single Mom for most of the weekend.  Let me just say, IT WAS AWEFUL. I don't know how single parents do it.  The good days, okay, they are good days.  I know they outweigh the bad days, but seriously.  The bad days, are BAD.  I started counting down to bedtime at like four.  Neither of the kids napped and they were cranky, it was too hot to be outside, it was just not a pretty sight in our house.  This week has been much better now that our schedule is back to normal. I've started a Blog focusing on helping others in their faith and fit journey.  I'm excited to share what I'm doing to help others and hopefully learn a lot from my readers as well.

This week, we're working on potty training with Kenzlie, it's going miserably. Kenzlie has managed to color on our pantry door with crayons and our bedroom wall with permeant marker, and white board markers all over her arms and legs. She's a bit on the ornery side. Kypton is just as crazy. Keeping them both busy is key, but sometimes I just have to sit back an watch it all. Parenthood is just a crazy roller coaster sometimes.

This weekend we have a family reunion for Dans side.  All the cousins will be there and were excited to see everyone. The last time we went to one Kypton was just learning to walk so it will be great to catch up with everyone!

Hope you all have a great rest of the week (the end is in sight!)

Love,
The Buchholz Family

Simplicity...

Ive always been a big journal girl. I have multiple going at one time usually; on my computer, a couple of notebooks, and I typical make notes in whatever I'm reading, too.  Recently I've started one of just thoughts. Whenever there is something that overcomes me with emotion Ill jot it down. So far, its filled with some goals, some dreams, sorts of a bucket list if you will, things that have angered me, as well as quotes and verses that have brought emotion or hit a cord. 

As some of you know we are trying to sell our home. To be honest its taking a lot longer than we thought it would.  However, recently a lot of my devotionals and prayers have been about patience and not really as far as the house but it has taught me that I need to be patient and wait on the Lord.  He is preparing us for the next phase in our faith and his plan for us, isn't that awesome?  Now, I know there is a difference between lazy and being patient and sometimes I can blur those lines, but I'm working on it. ;)

A pretentious, showy life is an empty life; a plain and simple life is a full life.

                                                               (Proverbs 13:7)

While trying to be patient Ive learned a lot and I believe a lot of it is how God wants us to start living. Ive prayed on how we can simply and live more like Jesus and to start I think he wanted us to simply our surrounding.  Yes, it needed to be done when we listed our house, but never in a million years did I think I was going to learn anything from it. 

But here we have it;

- How nice it is to live simply.  If I was working in an office I think it would be a little different but for me this is how it is.  When we decluttered the house I literally emptied my closet to just a handful of items.  A few nice shirts and pants, and a few yoga pants, a pair of jeans, and a couple sweatshirts.  Anything that could fit in my dresser stayed.  I have to say, doing laundry in no longer so daunting. It's actually nice that I can do a few loads a week and there is no giant pile (in anyones room for that matter.)

-Making the beds in the morning makes the house feel so much put together even if the living room and kitchen are covered in toys. I have been making the beds in the morning as part of my routine, not because we might have someone come look at the house, but because as much as I hate to say it my parents were right.  It just feels better even if you are just going to mess it up when you go to bed that night.  Or in my case the kids like to lay in the bed, Kypton takes his nap in our room so I typically have to make it 2 to three times, but its been worth it.

-Toys on toys--no more.  We severely limited the toys.  We have three baskets that they can play out of and thats it.  Now I miss having more options only because I get sick of playing cars and building things, however, the kids have GREAT imaginations and can usually keep them selves pretty busy. 

-MORE TIME!! When the house is picked up, the dishes are done, the laundry is done, the kids are napping....guess what?  I HAVE MORE TIME FOR ME!! That's right..call it selfish, whatever, I have time...look, I'm blogging and its not 11PM! I got in a shower and Im ready for the day, I got to ENJOY my devotionals without worrying if one of the kids was going to need me to do something, I got to think and actually hear myself, and I got to work WITH instead of talk at a stranger on her health goals. 

I'm telling you the thought of living simply is a bit intimidating.  I never thought decluttering would be this nice.  I never thought my kids could go without so few toys or me without so few clothing options.  It has been a blessing in disguise, really.  Consumerism is out of hand and I no longer want to be a part of the problem. Trust me I have a list of things that are waiting to be sold.  As soon as we know our next step, things will be rolling out! 

10 Months Later....

What do they call that?...oh yes, a time hop.

It's been 10 months since the last post.  Not that our lives are crazy busy, but just busy enough that when you do get some a lone time blogging isn't the 1st thing to come to mind.  Reading, Facebook, Pinterest, working out...just to name a few that are on the top of my list.

Ill brief you on the last 10 months with out getting to wordy--

Lets see:
Kypton turned 3 (now almost 4). He tried "school" again, it seemed to go better. He played soccer for the 1st time in the Spring. He spent more time running around making siren noises than actually playing soccer. He had is first visit to Disney in June and LOVED every minute of it. He gets to enjoy  VBS for the 1st time this week. Hoping that goes well.  His favorite place to eat is Jethros. Any chance he can convince us to go there, we go. He's growing like a weed, loves his Mac and Cheese, is a really good brother especially when Kenzlie is feeling down. Loves to watch shows, and by watch I mean he likes me to turn them on for noise.  But, he always asks to have them on.  Loves the train set he got from Grammie and Papa for Christmas.  We painted his "big Kid" room and he hates it. In fact he has peeled some of the paint off because, "I wanted red walls." Needless to say we are having a wonderful year of 3s with everything he can do and wants to try.  The new adventures are the best!

Kenzlie, oh Kenzlie.  She is our spit-fire. She knows what she wants and what she doesn't, and she will not sugar coat her attitude for anyone. She loves to play with and torture her brother. She got her 1st hair cut at Disney World and hated every second of it. Obviously, there have been a lot of 1st this year with her but she is so much fun.  She is still our little peanut but she is not afraid to try anything. She loves to be a little monkey, she likes to do pull-ups on the dishwasher and is started to really talk up a storm (even if you can't understand her stories.) She finally likes pretties in her hair and getting her toes painted. You won't find her very often without her blankie and of course her paci. The paci will be a lot harder to break than it was with brother I think. She is my daughter she eats just about anything once.  She is starting to become our little cuddle bug and we have no complaints there, unless she's trying to steal our drink :)

Dan and I are keeping busy between the kids, his job, and Advocare. We've been to multiple trainings this past year and continue to grow our team. We enjoy family time on the weekends and the traveling we have done these past 10 months. We got to meet Dan's Uncle, Grandma/pa, and niece while on our way home from Florida.  Was a great time even though it was only a couple hours.  It was great the kids got to meet them and we got to take some photos of them. We hope to be seeing them again soon! We put our house on the market this Summer. Unfortunately, we are still waiting on a buyer.  We aren't really in any hurry as we don't know where we are going next.  Were being patient and waiting on the Lord. The Summer will be over before we know it and next month we get to meet our 1st Nephew and we are so excited to snuggle him!!

We hope our family and friends are doing well and staying cool whoever you may be this Summer.

Ill end with some photos--most of which are out of order...but enjoy anyway :)