all tuckered out

Mason pretty much sums it up for all of us. A busy and tiring week! Lots going on! And sometimes, you just need a nap!

poem by Harmony

A Christmas Acroustic by Harmony Turner

Members of family flocking the house
Evergreen scent fills the air
Roast beef in the oven
Remember the true meaning
Yum, yum figgy pudding

Candy canes, delicious!
Holiday spirit in the air.
Remember your manners.
In happiness we greet the
Singing Christmas carolers
Toys sitting 'round the tree
Mistletoe hanging
Amazing gifts for everyone.
Share the experience far and wide!

Didn't she do a great job?!

Happy to be Home

( My kids are all so tall that they get put in the back row. So I always get pictures of just their heads! Annoying. This is before it began!)


(Ethan's teacher told them a story about a boy messing up during a concert, and his Mom posted the video on You Tube. Ethan made me promise I wouldn't do that!)

(after he was done)

Just looking at my calender for next week makes me want to cry!! It is jam packed. This season is such a busy & full time. We have gift exchanges, Christmas parties, field trips, Christmas concerts, GS, and more.

Yesterday I...
dropped Ivan off at school
Went to the commissary for a few things (it's never just a few is it?).
Recieved a phone call from the school nurse.
Scheduled a hearing/eye exam for Ivan.
Dropped Ethan's homework agenda off to him ( he left it on the couch)
Made it in time to watch his concert.
Meet with his teacher to get some paperwork.
Pick up Ivan
meet with his teacher about IEP's & assesments for him
dole out snacks
get home
walk Astro
get Mason down for a nap
bring in groceries
get Ivan some lunch
plant him in front of Tom & Jerry's Christmas Capers
breathe...

All before noon! Yep it was a long one. But as I was running around, I was hit by a wave of gratitude. I am so grateful that I can be an at home Mom. I can't imagine doing all that and trying to hold down a job also!

avoiding housework

(the water buffalo shared by our neighborhood. Nothing like having a "block party" while filling buckets of water!)

( just so you know, the boys LOVED the porta potty.They thought it was great to not have to come all the way inside! Ivan used it and said, "Mommy, we have a potty OUTSIDE!)

There are piles of neatly folded laundry sitting on the dining room table...being completely ignored! I will get to them...eventually!

Remember when Guam was on all of those typhoon/tropical storm warnings? Well I made a vow then that I would get my food storage/emergency preparedness up and going so that I wouldn't be one of those crazy people in huge long lines getting last minute supplies?

Well the storms passed with nothing but some rain and wind. So I...well...put off getting anything. I figured I had prepared for the storm (candles, batteries, flashlights etc)and so would be fine. We are near the end of the typhoon season and so I felt that I could relax.

I had set out a plan to get items, and Ben reminded me of our upcoming move. I didn't really want to go all out buying stuff, but then again, what if there was another storm?

The weekend before Thanksgiving we were given a notice that we would be having a 9 hr. water outtage the following Tuesday. I groaned but honestly, this wasn't our first one. However, I forgot about it. So Tuesday when Ivan was trying to wash his hands and no water came out...well I remembered. We have a water cooler, but the jugs are rrrrreally heavy so Ben has to change it. I had forgot to have him change it and ours was empty. I realized that I had no way to make Mason a bottle!

I had a few errands to do, so I hopped in the car and went and bought a gallon jug of water. Crisis diverted right?

Well that 9 hour outtage...turned into 36 hours of no water. I had only bought one gallon jug. And using it to make mac & cheese, used up over half. The water did come on for about 5 minutes, so I filled some pots and boiled them. I sent Ben to get more water.

Wednesday, they let us know that they weren't sure when the water would be back on, and they brought us...A PORTA POTTY. Yuck. And our whole cul de sac got to share. They also brought in a water buffalo so we could fill jugs & buckets.

Can I just say, that it was the dirtiest, nastiest 36 hours? Yuck. We all stunk (except Ben who went to the gym to take a shower!!)Harmony & my hair was greasy. The kids had to use wipes and sanitizer everytime they went to the bathroom. And the toilets were not flushed.

I can tell you that this was the first Thanksgiving that I had been so grateful for water!!

So what did I learn from this? Be prepared. No matter what. I found some awesome food storage/emergency preparedness sites and have begun to get some food storage. I have decided every time I go grocery shopping, to use $20 to buy essentials. I have a notebook where I keep all of my menus/shopping lists. That way I can keep track of what I bought the previous trip.

Yesterday I bought flour, sugar, water, tuna fish and top ramen. Not much, but it is a start.

So are you prepared? Do you have any ideas or suggestions? I would love to hear 'em!

Growing pains

With the 3 older kids gone all day, I feel like I mostly facebook/blog about Ivan and Mason. They are the ones that I hang out with the most. But the other kids are alive and well. (:

I was laughing at my sister's Halloween post, as she described her son's "costume" as a "moody pre-teen". But it's not so fun when you are the one dealing with it!

Harmony has always been a *tad* dramatic. Enter puberty and you better watch out!

She is constantly mad/grumpy with everyone in our house. Her teachers are all mean and picking on her. She has no friends. She is not good in school...etc. etc. Life isn't fair right now. (All of this is according to her)

Every night between 7-7:30 she tells us " I am tired I am going to bed." Growth spurt maybe?

Lots of changes including BO, and buying her first...well I promised not to tell about that, and yesterday she woke up with a zit on her forehead.

She was washing her face and I told her that unfortunatley, that was just a part of growing up. She said, " I am just not ready to grow up."

I am not ready for her to grow up either...

sleep deprived

(This picture is actually kind of an old one. I just didn't want to go grab my memory card!)

Our sweet little Mason. So cute. So smiley. So stinky!! I am not sure what to do with that kid. Please do not get out the pitch forks but...Mason sleeps on his tummy. All my kids did.I know, I know, "back to sleep". But I can never get my kids to sleep on their backs. Anyway, Mason is now rolling from his tummy to his back. How fun right? Not so much. He keeps rolling over in the middle of the night and waking up. He won't sleep on his back so he just cries and cries.

I tried rolling up blankets and "wedging" him in...didn't work. I have tried letting him cry it out...hasn't worked. He just refuses to sleep on his back. Meanwhile we are having to make sure he is SOUND asleep before putting him down. Where just a few weeks ago, he was going to sleep on his own, and sleeping all night. It feels like I am back at the newborn stage. I do not know what to do with him. I spend all day rocking him. I know I should enjoy it, but I have other things that have to be done too.

3am is the new 7am for him...and this Mom is tired!

update

(anyone want a recorder?!)


(this is actually an old picture from Halloween. We told Ivan to go get his jammies on after trick or treating. We found him on a blanket on the floor with just his shirt on sound asleep!)


I swear, I don't mean to go a week between updates. Hmmm, I guess it just happens that way. So let's see, where shall I begin.

Ms. Harmony got to go visit the eye doctor yesterday. We knew that her glasses were no longer the correct perscription but was SHOCKED to find out that hers were worse than both mine and Ben's!! At the rate she is going, she is going to be legally blind by age 12. We went to a GS activity on Tuesday where she spent half her time goofing off with our neighbor. She explained that in the two hours they hadn't seen each other, they were having seperation anxiety! What? I showed her the pictures I took of her and her friend, and she replied, " oooh I really like my outfit". Can we say tween?

Thursday was parent teacher conference day. Before I left, Ethan said, "Mom, when you get home, will you tell me if it was good or bad?" I looked him in the eye and said, "trust me Ethan, if it is bad you will hear about it!!" Lucky for him, he has been a very good boy. Ethan is an ice cream fanatic. Seriously. But yesterday, he got to try pumpkin pie. He looked at me wide eyed and said, " I think I might like this more than ice cream!!"

Connor was caught with his DS in his bed, on a school night, at 9pm. He lost it. For a long time. He just barely got it back. He has barely blinked since. Connor is still adamant about joining the military. His favorite song is Danger Zone and his new favorite movie is Iron Eagle. Let me tell you, you don't realize how many swear words are in a movie until you let your kids watch it!!

Ivan is doing very well. He has surpassed all IEP goals and may be saying goodbye to special ed. We are not sure as he still needs to be tested by our pediatrician and a developmental ped. Once they look at him we will see where he is placed. It is exciting to see how far he has come. He keeps me on my toes but I just love that little man!

Mason is the happiest, smiliest baby you have ever seen. He has figured out how to go from his tummy to his back. He doesn't go the other way yet! He was just about 17lbs at his 4 mo. well child. He has chubby little thighs and just gets bigger every day. Just a precious little boy.

Ben and I are busy. Always. We are gearing up for Thanksgiving next weekend. We have 7 people coming over (so far) and I find myself getting a little nervous about cooking for that many people!! I am sure it will be fine...right?