New Discoveries

Today was a day of discovery for the kids. Some were fun and others well...not so much.

Harmony discovered that her Mom is never going to let her take a bath first and then homework. Homework is the first thing done. She also discovered that if she keeps fighting with her brothers she is going to find herself grounded.

Ethan discovered that if he does not do "swing switch" ( the process of sharing the swings at school) that he is going to get in trouble, not only with his teachers, but with his Mom. He also discovered that talking rudely to his Mom, results in a nap.

Connor discovered that it is not a good idea to let go of your balloon while getting out of the car. He also discovered that if you are rude to your Mom, while waiting in the drive thru at Wendys, that his Mom will just drive off without getting him any chicken nuggets.

Ivan discovered helicopters. We were in the commissary parking lot when one flew by and he looked up in amazement. He watched it for a long time. He also discovered how fun it is to unroll toilet paper. You gotta love that one!

Hope everyones discoveries for today are a little better than my kids! :)

4 months today....

It is really hard to believe, but today marks 4 months since I have seen Ben. As I was chatting with him last night, he said that they are scheduled to arrive home on June 26th. Which would be exactly 6 months. It is amazing how fast the time really does go. Now some days have seemed like they were never going to end...but over all the time has really flown.

I know there is going to be a big adjustment period. I mean there has to be. I have gone 4 months without his help, without someone to help make decisions, someone to cook for that likes things other than chicken nuggets, etc etc.

I am so anxious to have him home and I know the kids are too. Ben has a hat that Connor loves to wear. He wore it to school today and I know that he just wants something that reminds him of his Dad.

The time is winding down and I am ready for my husband to be home!

This morning on our drive to school, Ethan saw a sign for a rail road crossing. He said, " Mommy are you really going to drive us over train tracks?" I said " yes Ethan I am. " After we had crossed, he said, " Man Mommy, all those bumps really shake my brain."

More about me...

I get a lot of forwards, as I am sure most people do. I rarely respond or send them on BUT I do like to read and answer the survey questions. I think it's fun. My friend Deborah posted this on her blog, and since I read it I have to answer it. So here goes:
1. What time did you get up this morning?5:45
.)2. Diamonds or Pearls? Diamonds
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? That would be Aquamarine
. 4. What is your favorite TV show? Beautiful People, Super Nanny, CSI, NCIS, etc
5. What did you have for breakfast?an apple and a boca burger
6. What is your middle name? That would be...Marie. Julie Marie Kennedy Turner
7. What foods do you dislike? seafood (except tuna fish w/ lots of mayo),
8. What is your favorite color? blue even though my boys tell me it is not a girl color
9. Your favorite Potato chip? Sour Cream and Cheddar Baked Lays
10. What is your favorite CD at the moment? Now #1's
11. What kind of car do you drive? a white Kia Sedona van
. Favorite sandwich? turkey on wheat
13. What characteristics do you despise? whining, dishonest, rude
14. What are your favorite clothes? cute shoes, capri's and t shirts
15. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where WOULDN'T you go? some where that I wouldn't want to go? Uhm...I don't know
16. What color are your eyes? hazel
17. Favorite brand of clothing? Old Navy and Izod
18. What food can you not live without? french fries
. Favorite time of day? 9:30-10:30pm when I get to chat with Ben
Where were you born? White Salmon, Wa. What is your favorite sport to watch? whatever my kids are playing in 22. Who do you think will not send this back? Since I never sent it to anyone...no one. Although since I answered so many of Cindy's...
23. Person you expect to send it back first?I don't know 24. Pepsi or Coke?diet Pepsi with vanilla
25. Beavers or ducks? I would get in huge trouble with Ben if I didn't answer correctly DUCKS
26. Are you a morning person or night owl? I used to be a morning person, but now I have to stay up late to chat with Ben, so right now I am a night person. When he gets back I will probably go back to being a morning person. Who knows though?
27. Pedicure or manicure? Pedicure
28. Any new & exciting news you'd like to share with everyone? yes I am pregnant...ok not really but for a long time whenever I would say guess what? that is what people assumed so... !29. What did you want to be when you were little?I wanted to be a private investigator, live in Hawaii and drive a red ferarri- just like Magnum
30. What is your best childhood memory? you know I have so many I don' t know...
!31. What are the different jobs you have had in your life? Cashier at Wal Mart, kitchen worker at Ricks, Dairy Queen and now I am a Mom, ,
)33. Ever been to Africa?
No34. Ever been toilet papering? oh yeah!
35. Been in a car accident? Yes,nothing big but...
36. Favorite celebrity? I don't keep up on them much
37. Favorite sports team? I don't have one
38. Favorite day of week? Sunday
39. Favorite restaurant? Applebees, Olive Garden, El Azteca,
40. Favorite ice cream? carmel toffee crunch
41. Favorite fast food restaurant? Subway
. From whom did you get your last e-mail? A lady on a commissary good deal loop
. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? Target, and any scrapbooking store out there, and Old Navy( man Deborah I didn't even have to change those answers!!)
44. Bedtime? it's different every night
45. Who are you most curious about their responses to this? Anyone!
46. Last person you went to dinner with? I haven't gone out to dinner in a long time:(
47. What are you listening to right now? Connor is watching Lazy Town
48. Favorite pastimes? Reading, scrapbooking
49. Dogs or Cats? Dogs
50. Favorite Flower? Roses
51. What time did you finish this e-mail? 12:01 pm
52. Favorite magazines? Creating Keepsakes, Simple Scrapbooks, Scrapbook Trends, Weight watchers
I think all of my secrets have now been told... :)

Connor, Connor, Connor

That kid. I tell you he can just about whatever he wants out of me. As soon as he looks at me with those big blue eyes and those long eyelashes...well what do you do? Today we were riding in the car and we passed a Wal Mart. He refers to Wal Mart as the doughnut store because a lot of times when we are there I get him one. So we drove past without and he says, " Mommy? My heart will be so sad without a doughnut." I didn't give in but it was still cute. On our route to preschool we drive past an airport on base. Connor asked me what it was and I didn't know the "official name" so I said it is the Navy airport. He was fine with that and then he said, "Mommy when my feet grow taller, I can go that Naby airport." He is soooo stinkin' cute! He drives me crazy but he is just precious!

Sunday update

Whew! Life sure moves quickly around here. The weekend seemed to just fly by! Friday was spent babysitting for a friend after school. Nothing too exciting, the kids were able to play with their friends. Saturday found us cleaning rooms and then heading to the Marine Science Museum. After walking around for a while we headed to McDonalds for lunch and a quick trip to the playplace. We barely walked in the door when a storm came. The big kids all watched a movie and I scrapbooked, while Ivan snored away. It was a nice relaxing afternoon/evening. Sundays always seem to be a blur!

Harmony is driving me crazy. Her two front bottom teeth are so loose and then she can turn them sideways. But she won't pull them out! She has a metal spacer in her mouth and it had fallen out. I took her to the dentist to get it back in and they told me that if she doesn't lose them soon it will cause problems for the other teeth. She is so stubborn though ( must get that from her Dad) and won't try to pull them out. I remind her about getting money from the tooth fairy but it doesn't phase her. She got her report card last week and recieved a B in writing...again. She cried and cried. It is so hard to listen to her be so upset about grades when she is only 6. So I have decided to just drop the whole subject of grades. I just feel she has to much pressure over grades.

Ethan is a busy boy. I have been feeling really bad for him, because he had been waking up in the middle of the night and throwing up. He would go right back to bed and I wouldn't hear from him until the next morning, where he would act just fine. I didn't know what to do for him because it wasn't the flu or anything. He had a field trip on Friday which must have "cured" him. His preschool class is involved in the Book It program through Pizza Hut and combined the kids had had over 200 books read to them. So they earned a trip to pizza hut. He enjoyed it and because we still had time to kill before we picked up Connor from school, we went to McD's for an ice cream cone. It wa nice to be with just him. That doesn't happen often.

Connor is making me hate the phrase, " Mommy look at this!" " Mommy, are you looking yet?" Every day he asks me to look at things. The same things over and over. He is so cute and curious. He is really starting to miss Ben and is constanly asking me when he is coming home. It is so hard. He is really enjoying soccer and really got into his last game. Kicking and throwing the ball in. It is fun to watch him. I am not sure if it is something that he is going to want to do long term but you never know. Right now it is just for fun. My neighbors bought their little boys a t-ball set and my boys love it. Connor plays with it a lot and so I know that there might be a t-ball set in their near future.

Ivan is my little crazy baby. He loves to scream whenever it is really quiet, mostly Sacrament Meeting. Although he has taken his first steps he really doesn't walk around much. Although I am noticing him do it more and more. His favorite game right now is peek a boo and he could literally play for hours. He also likes me to hide things under the couch cushions and play peek a boo with those. Last night, he was the last man standing so he got to take a bath all by himself instead of sharing. He loved it. He got to splash around and no one stole his bath toys. He is so cute and is really starting to let the kids know what he likes and doesn't like.

I got to talk to Ben this morning. I hate that he only gets to call once a week. We do chat every night for an hour so I shouldn't complain. He said they were doing something to the phones that should make it better. Too bad it is a little late for us to take advantage of! We are busy making plans for this summer when he gets home. He is taking 30 days leave and I am excited to have him back. I know it will take some adjusting but that's ok.

As for me, not much to report. My life is not that exciting. I do the same old same old every day. Take care of my crazy crew. This week the calender is looking somewhat empty but I know it won't stay that way for long.

Wednesday marks 4 months since I have seen Ben. 6 months total since this whole thing began. The time is going by fast....

Tag x's 2

I must be really interesting :) because I have been tagged again. Different questions though...

4 jobs I have ever held:
1) Dairy Queen
2) Wal Mart
3) Ricks cafeteria worker
4) Mommy

4 movies I could watch over and over:
1.) Ghostbusters
2) The Burbs
3)Groundhogs Day ( I am a big Bill Murray fan)
4) Goonies

4 websites I visit often:
1)Two Peas in a Bucket
2)The Grocery Game
3) our family website Kennedy Kith and Kin
4) friends blogs

4 fav foods
1. chocolate
2. pizza
3. mexican food
4. subway

4 Places I would rather be than here:
1) In Bens arms
2) snuggling on the couch with Ben
3) In Afghanistan dragging Ben home
4) scrapbook store

4 Books I could read over and over
1) scriptures
2) To Kill a Mockingbird ( fav book of all time)
3) self help books ( I have plenty)
4) I don't really like to read books over and over

4 songs I could listen to over and over:
1)With or Without You ( U2)
2) anything by Hootie and the Blowfish ( I know they are "old" but I love 'em)
3)I have no idea what the song is actually called but it is the one on Maid in Manhattan " I'm coming out, I want the world to know...
4) my kids usually pick songs on their cd's to repeat so we listen to a lot of Disney


4 Reasons why I blog:
1) my life is nuts, hence the name of my blog, and sometimes I look back and go wow, I lead a crazy life
2) we are so far from family, I like to keep them updated
3) When I was younger I used to keep a journal and after I had kids I really struggled. So this is a way to keep a record
4) It's the little things. My kids do crazy, wonderful things every day. I want to remember them all. That is also the reason that scrapbooking is so imporant to me.

Tag

OK I have been tagged by a friend of mine. I have to write 6 wierd things about myself. I don't think I am that wierd though( although I am sure Ben would beg to differ!). We will see what I come up with.

1.) I don't like mac and cheese. I don't like any sort. I don't like the way it looks or smells. My kids love it though and so does Ben. However, I think it's gross. I also really don't like fried chicken.

2) I can cry at the drop of a hat. I don't have to be pregnant or pms or anything. I can cry at commercials, sad stories, problems friens are having, things my kids do. Doesn't matter. Maybe that means I am an emotional mess. I don't know, but I find it very easy to cry.

3.) I hate whining. I can not stand it. When people are constantly complaining about how unfair their life is. Now, I am not talking about talking with friends when someone needs to vent. I am talking about the ultimate "poor me stuff". It's annoying and I can't tolerate it in the least.

4) Some people, mostly family, know this but I am named after Marie Osmond. My parents, when they found out I was a girl, let my siblings decide on my name. The two popular shows at the time were Donny and Marie and Wonder Woman. My parents went with Marie ( thanks!). They felt it was more of a middle name then a first name thus I was given my full name Julie Marie. Although I go by my first name.

5) I can talk to anyone. One day I came home from Subway and Ben was like wow Marie you have been gone for awhile. So I started telling him about the conversation that I had with the cahsier at Subway who had just found out she was pregnant with her ex-boyfriends baby. I gave him all the details and he looked at me and said, " who are you talking about?" I said " the chick at Subway." He was shocked at how many details I had taken away from a 20 min visit.

6) I love ketchup. I loved it when I was a kid and love it today. I don't like ketchup put directly onto a bun. It gets warm and doesn't taste as good. I perfer to dip my hotdog or whatever into the ketchup directly. And so do my kids.....

See? I am not wierd at all!

Tokens of Love

Harmony made honor roll again this quarter. The ceremony is in a few minutes and I arranged babysitting for the boys. Not to mention the girl that I babysit for, just so that I can be there. Last night, I mentioned something to her about the fact that I would be coming to see her get her award. Then we had this conversation....
H-So what are you going to bring me?
M-What are you talking about? What am I supposed to bring?
H-Flowers or balloons or something.
M-Why?
H-So you can show me that you love me.
M-Doesn't me coming and being there to support you show you that I love you?
H-But I want something that I can hold.
M-Harm, you better make me something really good for Mothers Day.


And before I forget, I was trying to get Connor up and ready today. The kid does not wake up well. I told him that for his sake, I hope he doesn't have early morning seminary or we are in for some trouble. Anyway, I was trying to get him ready and he was being a stink. So I looked at him and said," Connor you are being a little stinker boy." He looked at me very seriously and said, " Mom I am not little."

Boys! Ugh...

My boys have decided that today is the day that I am going to go crazy. They are all 3 testing me. Connor doesn't have preschool on Tues & Thurs. So he and Ivan and I all went out to the Y. While on the 15 min drive he did not stop for a second. He asked me question after question after question. Drove me nuts! I asked him why he asks so many questions and he looks at me with those big blue eyes and replies" because I am 4." I just looked at him and said, "yeah I think that is the perfect answer." The questions didn't stop but he was cute. My friends husband just came and was mowing the lawn for me. So Connor was out "keeping him company". Connor comes in, and for those who have never been to our house, we have a storage unit in the backyard which Ben keeps all of his building stuff in, and asked me if he could get something out of "Daddy's building house". I looked at him and asked what he wanted. " Just a wheel". Me- " A wheel?" C- "yeah Daddy told me I could have it last week" me-"nice try Connor. We didn't get to talk to Daddy last week." C-"aw phooey".

I'll admit-this one was my own fault. I had set a glass of crystal ligh, red of course, onto the computer desk. Now, that is a no-no at our house. " No food and drinks at the computer" is the rule. Well not only did I break the rule, but I left it unattended. Ivan reached up and grabbed it spilling it everywhere. He did it, looked at me and crawled off. The big boys come in and see what happened and they said, " uh-oh Ivan you are in big trouble" They were also very quick to tell me..."we didn't do it."

And yet there is still more. One more boy. I offered him to my friend, who only has girls but he wouldn't take him. Ethan and I have been butting heads all morning. He and Harmony could not keep their hands off of each other on the way to school. So I said ok that's enough, neither of you will be watching tv or playing computer today. Although we all know who that actually punishes, don't we? I figured that I would get off somewhat easy because they have soccer tonight at 5, and the weather is nice so they could play outside. But oh no. Ethan screamed and cried when I said no to his many, many requests to play pbs kids. Finally he looked at me and said, " that is it Mommy. I am going to go run away and live with Heavenly Father and the Holy Ghost." Can I come too?

What a day!

Yesterday was a little crazy. Harmony's best friend, is our neighbor girl Jessie. Well Jessie is moving in June and so they are going to miss each others birthday parties. There birthdays are only 2 weeks apart actually. So I had the idea of taking the girls to the Build a Bear Workshop. Then as we were talking about it one day, Ethan starts singing the song and telling me exactly what you do at the workshop. I was shocked as I hadn't realized he actually knew what it was. I asked the girls if they cared if he went too. They said they didn't care so Ethan was pretty happy. However a couple days later, Connor started talking about it. Ugh! My idea to take just the girls had backfired just a tad.

Anyway, yesterday was the big day. We went out to the mall and they did their thing. It was cute watching them. They really got into the whole process. Harmony and Jessie picked matching cats that were pink and white, Ethan picked a brown teddy bear and Connor picked a white and brown dog. They each got to pick out a shirt for their bear but that was it. The accessories for those animals are almost as much as they are for kids!

I decided to take them up to the play place for a little bit. When we got up there what happened? It was closed for repairs. Dang. Headed to get some lunch and as we were leaving, we saw one of the boys friends from preschool, Alex. His Mom stopped me and they had a free coupon for 10 kids to ride on the carosuel and would the kids want to go on. So we all went on and I ended up getting on this "extra spinny thing". I was sick until I went to bed last night! I am getting old!

We got home and I watched my neighbors son while they went and did some errands. Harmony and Jessie were busy playing together too. Everyone was busy playing outside. Ethan by this time was getting really tired. Thus he started acting like it. I put him on a time out, thinking that he would probably fall asleep, which he did. However it was 4:30. As he was stomping up to his room he yelled, " you are the worstest mommy ever". Love kids.

I go back downstairs and where is Harmony? Connor is right in the front where he is supposed to be. I go outside and here is Harmony way past the light pole which is her boundary line. I yelled for her to come here. Usually we do not have a problem with her following this rule. So here she comes and as soon as she sees that I am mad...complete hysterics. Crying and blaming the neighbor boy for what she did. Ugh! She wouldn't listen or stop crying so I sent her to her bed. She is yelling, " You have ruined my whole day". I went up after a little bit and talked to her about choice and accountability. Although sometimes I think those lessons go in one ear and out the other.

By the time all of this stuff is over, it is about 5:30. We have a primary activity at 6:30. The kids open an Easter pkg from Grandma Harmon ( thank you!) and thank heaven there were clothes in there. They put their clean clothes on ate dinner and we were only 10 min late for the activity.

We get home at about 8 and as we are driving there is lightning. By the time the kids are in bed it is pouring and a huge storm hs broken. Ivan's crib is close to the window so he couldn't go to sleep. Ethan decided to have a sleep over with me. Ivan finally goes to sleep at 9, I stay up and chat with Ben until 11. I go to bed and a couple hours later what happens? Ethan is up throwing up. First all over the bed, then he runs and makes it to the bathroom. We get him and the bed cleaned up and try to go back to sleep. About an hour later here comes Connor, crying that his feet hurt. I was not happy by then so I told him to go back to sleep. He went and got in his bed. Two hours later Ethan is up throwing up again. At least this time he made it to the bathroom. Half an hour later here is Connor. I let him get in the bed but he kept crying and Ethan and Connor were taking up the whole bed. I was just like oh forget it. I went downstairs at 6 and fell asleep on the couch.

7:00- Mom? Whats for breakfast? It begins again....

Spring Break

Whew! I was anxious for Spring Break to come to get a nice break from commuting. However, the kids are stir crazy and it is only Tuesday! We have something planned for each day and it feels like we have had kids in and out all weekend. Life is hectic and crazy. Although sometimes I perfer it that way. It makes me grateful for those down times.

Right now the house is quiet. All I can hear is the bathroom fan, which I tell the kids repeatedly to turn off and they never do! My neighbor and her husband decided to take everyone but Ivan to the park in our complex. So right now just Ivan and I are hanging out.

After a weekend of fevers, throwing up and other problems, I think the kids are back to normal. Amazing how that happens over a holiday weekend! They are excited for the Easter bunny to come and for the ward pancake breakfast. Last year, Ivan slept the whole time in his car seat, I think this year will be a little different.

Ben was given this week off because of Easter. I guess it is also Muhammed ( I am not sure if that is spelled correctly) birthday. He said he is not sure if he wants that much time off. The days go a lot faster when he is working.

I miss him. I can't wait for him to come home. It is hard to remember what he has been home for and what he has missed. The first day that he left was Nov. 2nd and it is already the 11th of April. I found this quote today and immediatley thought of Ben. " How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard."

Clifford field trip

Thanks to good friends, I was able to go on Harmonys field trip to see "Clifford live on stage". The boys always repeat the "live on stage" part. We had a fun time. I really haven't been able to spend much time with just Harmony. So it was nice. A few of the boys thought that Clifford was "a baby show" but all of the kids loved it. They danced and sang. Harmony's favorite part, was a song about when you work together as a team, you create Harmony. The word Harmony was used many times and so she had a lot of people singing and shouting her name. Then a boy behind me, from Harm's school but not her class, said, " hey we have a girl named Harmony and she is sitting right there. " So she got lots of attention for her cute name!

The boys are excited because tomorrow is a big Easter party at school. Ethan had a lady come today who owns rabbits and guinea pigs. Since I was gone I didn't get to ask him about it until a couple of hours later. So I asked him how he liked the rabbits and he said they didn't come. I was surprised because there had been a few letters home about it, and then he informed me that they were only bunnies. Oops!

I wanted to share a cute thing Connor told me the other day. We were headed to the store and one of the quick routes is through a Lowes parking lot. Connor said, "Mommy that is a boy store. Me and Ethan and Daddy need to go in there." I asked him what he would buy there and he said " fix it things". Connor and Ethan both say they want to be just like their Daddy when they grow up. " A builder and be in the Navy". It's cute.