new look

When Harmony first got her glasses, we had a very limited selection. So she chose purple Mary Kate & Ashley frames. They looked really cute on her. She was not the MOST responsible child with her glasses though. They were plastic and we had to take them in to get fixed soooo many times.

Yesterday, I went to pick her up and noticed right away that she wasn't wearing any glasses. Uh-oh. She happened to be in her teachers line, for the car riders, and he let me know that he had tried to super glue them back together, but they actually broke twice. This time they had broken right in the middle.

So I took her to the store to get some new ones. She is so quick to tell you exactly what she likes. She found these cute little red ones. We went with metal this time, hoping they might last a little longer. She later told me, " I think your glasses really need to match your personality. That is why I like these ones. They say that I am sweet and caring."

What a sweet girl. I love the new look.

fyi

Hey, if you have tried to call us with in the past few days, our phone is not working. We changed furniture around and it never went back on. The cable and internet are fine so we don't know what is the matter. It is on Ben's honey do list. So don't think we are ignoring calls or anything!

updated: Ben came home, after reading my blog, and got it fixed. So bring on the phone calls! :)

my attempt...

The other day the kids were all sitting on one couch. I thought it was the perfect opportunity to get a picture of them all together. However, they would not cooperate at all! Connor told me he wants our neighbor to take a picture of our family and let Astro be in the front. I guess he is thinking ahead to our Christmas card!

Army guys

( Ok the kid drives me crazy with his gun obsession, but this was the only picture I got that you can see his backpack etc)


With Ben's departure to E. Timor coming up rapidly(11 days), his gear is starting to come out of the many, many rubbermaids it was stored in. Time to get things washed and new patches put on and all that fun stuff. And I must say, that Connor is in heaven!

If any of our boys joined the military, I think it would be Connor. He told me yesterday that,"I want to join the Navy and fly their planes. And if I have a backseat Mom, I will give you a ride!" He loves wearing all of Ben's covers ( hats), his dog tags, his camel back, his backpack, his medals. Anything that he can get his hands on.

Once he saw Ben getting his stuff on, he told me he had to go and get his "army suit" on. He came down in head to toe camo. Then proceeded to put on a variety of different things. He then ran happily off to the park in all his gear. His friend Keegan, came over and saw him, and so rushed home to his house to get his army suit on. Unfortunatley I didn't get a picture of them together but it was cute.

Ivan has now decided that he needs one of the hats and is not an "army guy" " I is a happy guy."

Cute little boys!

house rules

(they look cute though don't they?)
"Guys, I really don't want Astro on the couches. OK? So when he gets on, you need to tell him to get off."-Mom

what?!

Ethan went in for a well child exam today. Weight-66lbs (holy cow!) Height: 4'3.5 inches

Mom's weight-so not telling Mom's height -5'3.5 inches. Uhm when did my 7 year old get that big? How is it that I am only a foot taller than him? So not fair...

new addition

Are we crazy? With our already insane lives, we go and decide to add another member to the family. We had decided that we would purchase a dog when we got home this summer. However, because of some issues ( passports being just one of those) we are not going home. So Harmony, immediatley caught on and said, " oh so we can get a dog earlier then." We told her we would LOOK. We had a budget that we were not going to go over and so I warned the kids, that we may end up coming home with nothing. I warned them if they threw a fit, they would come home with nothing.

Well we went into the pet store and the kids fell in love. His name is Astro. Because he was a shelter dog,they were not sure of his exact breed. The kids loved him though and he was way under our budget.

He was just neutered last night and so is exaughsted. The kids will not leave him alone to sleep though! Poor thing! He is going to get so much love from these kids. Anyway, here are some pictures of our newest addition. Welcome home Astro!

over 2 months...

It has been over 2 months since Ben and I went on a date.Is it just me, or is that just plain WRONG?! So tonight, we are going out. I can not wait. I love date night. Tonight it is just me, Ben, the new Indiana Jones movie and Tony Roma's. What a nice way to end the week!

quick question

Does anything beat homemade chocolate chip cookies and a glass of milk, for an after school snack? Didn't think so!!

dinner time

While Ben's parents were visiting, we took them down to the Chamarro village. We were there early in the evening and so we missed out on a lot of the hustle and bustle of the Chamarro village on a wednesday night. However, one of the things that really sticks out in Connor's mind was the "chicken on a stick". He absolutely loved the shish-kabobs and has asked me for them almost every night since.

Well with school being almost done,and homework is lacking, I decided to take the kids down last night. The kids were so excited to go down there. The food is cheap and you get a ton! I snapped some photos but I don't really think I did the place justice. I did find some local rubber stamps, so that was fun.

As we were driving home with our "chicken on a stick, red rice, lumpia, and another dish that I can't think of the name, the boys kept saying, "look how beautiful the sunset is" and "look at the water, it looks so pretty!" Finally they asked me why I didn't stop and take a picture. So I did. I am glad I didn't miss it!

only 7:48?

A little while ago, my friend Mary(who I found her blog not long ago!) had a post about her morning. And I thought it was a cute post...until I started having the same kind of morning!! It is only 7:48 and the morning has not gone as smoothly as I would like!

So far I have...
**slept in ( which you would think is a good thing, but not if you have 3 boys running around and 1 girl who has not bothered to get up and get ready for school-she was reading)

**told the boys to "stop fighting or so help me I will ground you for a week" to which Connor replies, "but I am already grounded!"

**refused to let Ivan watch Noggin until he ate some breakfast, which caused him to run up to the boys room and dump almost every single lego out ( I think we are getting close to about 5,000 pieces by now)

**fought with Harmony about going to slow

**told Ben that no everything would not be ok

**the house smells b/c someone left a plate on the stove,and I decided to set muffins on top of it. Which resulted in a house smelling to high heaven. (And we are out of eggs so I can not make another batch)

**running out of milk, which means back to the commissary. I have been to the store (either commissary or NEX) every day. At least now I can get those eggs.

** starting off the morning tired, because Ben and I stayed up and watched a movie. I had already watched it during the day, I bought it, and so really there was no need to stay up. Yet I did. And now I am paying for it!

**A diet Dr. Pepper for breakfast. It is the new "breakfast of champions" right? Please someone say it is!

Ah...what a way to start the day. Things can only get better right? I think I am going to try to sneak a nap in today!

**

commercialism

"Mom, guess what? I know how to spell free. It is f-r-e-e."

"Very good Connor. You spelled it right."

"Yeah it's like "free credit report dot com baby!"

Oiy!

whew...

There were a lot of times this week when I had planned to sit down and update. But the week just got away from me. It has been such a busy week and this one looks like it is shaping up to be one also. But here is just some of the stuff that has been going on...

Friday night I had a Close to my Heart party. It went wonderful! I was so happy. I have alot of bookings and people who want to join a hostess club that I will be doing. I need 9 people and I had 5 sign up! So fun, so exciting. It was just...fun. One lady had never scrapbooked before and so we made a page, and she said, " I am so proud of my first page! Thank you!!" Feels good...

On Saturday, we got up and grocery shopped, cleaned house and all that fun stuff. Harmony made brownies and I started cooking to take things up to Harmony's briding ceremony.

The ceremony started at 3. We headed up there with the boys who were not at all eager to be there. Other little boys were running around and I made them sit on the couch. Because after all, they were there to support their sister. They were so not happy! I tried to get a picture of the pouting but all I got were hands covering faces.

Harmony is no longer a Brownie scout. Once the girls go from one level to the next, they have to cross a bridge into the next one. Harmony actually helped sand the bridge she is standing on! She was cute and it was fun to see her with the other juniors. They all got awards and new badges. ( Christy, remember the lady with the blue hair? Yesterday she died it a nice bubble gum pink!)

The asian girl is Harmony's best friend Victoria. They are in the same class at school and also in her troop. I have to make sure to get her number so the girls can hang out this summer. They have a blast together.

Well by the end of the day...one little boy had had enough. Ivan's favorite thing to do ( and Mommy's biggest pet peeve)is to lift the cushions up and hang out in there. Ben and I had been upstairs when we realized something was wrong. Ivan was making no noise. And that was how we found him!

Sunday was full of a lot of Indiana Jones. Ben bought me all the dvd's. However Connor loves them! He asked me the other day, " Mom, can you change my name to Indiana Jones?" So every now and then if I call him Connor, he rolls his eyes and says, "my name is Indiana Jones!" This morning, I went in to wake him up, and I whispered his name. With eyes barely open he says, " no Mom, I am Indiana Jones." The Indiana Jones fever has struck the boys. Connor wants to be Indiana Jones for Halloween. Although he has let me know that, " you can't be him if you don't have a hat!" So we are going to look around for awhile and see if we can find something.

Lots going on this week. I have about a hundred emails to respond too. So I am going to try to get things done. This is kind of random, I realize, it has just been a crazy week!

validation

Connor is absolutely the worse kid to bring to the store with you. Seriously. From the minute he finds out he is going, the "can I have's" start and don't end until we are back in the car on the way home. Yesterday I took Ethan to spend his birthday money. I gave Connor plenty of warnings, "please do not ask me for anything. If I decide to get something it will be my decision." He kept asking for things. I told him ( and yes all of us adults realize that this is an idle threat but...) I told him if he didn't stop he would be sitting in the car until Ethan and I were done. But he kept it up. He came up to me with a Star Wars Lego set and "please Mommy it is just something small." But by this time I had literally told him 30 times to stop asking. So I made him put it back and told him he would be getting nothing.

The drama, the tears. Oh we were quite the site. But I was VERY calm, and stood my ground. We finished up at the store and were getting ready to go. Connor still crying, still upset. Amazingly enough, Ivan behaved wonderfully! When we get to the cashier, she asked him what was wrong. He didn't answer but I gave her a quick explanation. She said "good for you" and finished bagging our stuff and we left.

In the car he was kicking Ivan's seat, huge sighs, crying and just going on. I marched him straight into the house and straight upstairs.

As he was upstairs, throwing a fit,and I am feeling like an unfit parent, Harmony comes up to me. I was sitting at my desk and she noticed a package of business cards. She asked me what they were for. Very non-chalant I said, " for my business."

She just looked at me, angrily, and said "What?! Now you are going to go to work too?"

I was shocked but said, "would it be a problem for you if I did?"

She was all upset and said, "yes it's important for you to stay home. I want you here."

I told her that she had never told me that before and I appreciate it. I then explained that the cards were just for me to pass out at my ctmh parties so people could have my webiste info. She said oh and walked off.

Later I told her, " you know Harm, Mommy will always be here for you. I am not going to work outside of our home." She smothered me with kisses and went on her merry way.

It was such a heartwarming moment for me. It actually matters to her. I always thought, "oh my kids will appreciate it later." But I guess later came a little faster than I thought.

Crazy Jack play

Because of the serious last minute notice, Ben wasn't able to make it up to Harm's play. So here are the videos. I have been taking so many videos lately, but it is nice for those who miss it right? Towards the end Harm started to be a little stinker but... you still get the jist!

this & that

The fact is that, my house is a mess. I believe a tornado has actually gone through here. Or maybe I should pretend that the earthquake (6.7) that we had on Saturday is what did the damage. Yeah I think that is a good idea. However, I am not actually going to clean it. Yet. I need to update the old blog. Priorities right?

My Mothers Day gift is actually going to be a trip to Bali in October. So I told Ben that he didn't have to buy me anything. I am so nice huh? However, Ben and the kids did make me dinner. Ethan has learned how to make pancakes. I have to mix it, but he pours it on the griddle, flips them and then puts them on the plate. Impressive huh? Harmony and Ethan worked together to make pancakes, Ben made juice and sausages and bacon. It was very sweet and I loved all of the kids homemade cards, paper flowers and sweet mothers day wishes. I am a lucky mom!

Yesterday morning, Harmony came down stairs with her uniform on, but with an extra outfit in her hand. When asked about it, she said, " well it is for my school play." I was like what on earth are you talking about? It turned out that all the 3rd grade classes were acting out a folktale. I asked her when and where. She said, "well at around 9:15 but I don't know where." I told her I wouldn't be able to come if I didn't know the time and place. Tears welled up but I told her she could go to school and than see if she could call me with the info.

I was in the bathroom when the phone rang, and so I didn't actually answer it. Her teacher told her that he left a message, but she was very worried I wouldn't make it. Well being the SuperMom that I am, I was there. Her play was cute. She played a cat. "I love cats Mom. This is like a dream come true!" Her class actually went first so that worked out well. Ivan only sits in the stroller for so long! By the end she started putting her instrument in front of her face. I hope she does not go through a stage of not wanting to get her picture taken. Not with this camera happy Mom!

**the top picture is just for fun. E got a Nintendo DS for his birthday. Do you think the other boys were interested in it, at all? Not to mention Daddy who snuck and played with it last night! Boys!

Happy Mothers Day

Some are short.
Some are tall.
Some are "plump".
Some are tiny.
Some are patient.
Some have bad tempers.
Some cook.
Some sew.
Some scrapbook.
Some read.
Some play video games.
Some bake cookies for their children's friends.
Some always have a craft to do.
Some play sports with their kids.
Some have babies growing in their bellies.
Some are nursing babies in the wee hours of the morning.
Some are up making sure their's our home before curfew.
Some are strong.
Some are stronger than they think.
Some have one.
Some have a lot.

No matter what, we are all mothers. Trying everyday to do our best. So whether you have just had your first, or enjoying your empty nest...to all those that I love and admire. Happy Mothers Day! Enjoy your Day!

for those of you who missed it

it's just like being here

Happy birthday Ethan!!

As some people may have noticed, I hadn't blogged about Ethan's birthday at all. His birthday is Cinco de Mayo, but as we were having a sleepover we had to wait until Friday to really celebrate! So here is the break down, from A-Z...

A- all boys spending the night, an excited 7 year old
B-balloons, boys,
C-cake, craziness, complaining,cereal for breakfast, candy
D-decorations, dad making pizzas,
E-ETHAN! energetic, entertaining,
F- friends, family, food
G-giggles, grins, games, goofing off
H-Harry Potter cake, hardly any sleep,
I-Ivan trying to keep up with big boys, Ivan getting no sleep, Ivan eating way too much candy
J-jumping, juice, junk food
K-kids,
L-little sleep, lots of fun, LOUD, laughing, Lego Star Wars
M- "Mrs. T", mayhem, mustaches from juice
N- nerds candy all over the floor, no sleep, naps for Mom today
O-orange juice, on the go constantly, out numbered
P-pizza,pinata, presents, parents, playing at the park
Q- quiet? What's that?!
R- rowdy, running, remembering past birthdays (Mom), rambunctious
S-sleepless, Superman pinata, silly, Star Wars, sanity gone
T-tv, tons of fun, thank you's,
U-understaffed,
V- video games
W- webkinz,
X-tons of eXcitement
Y-yawning,
Z-zoo, " and sometimes the mother felt like she was in a zoo".

Happy Birthday Ethan! You are a bright spot in our family and we love you soooo much!

did yah know?

Today, May 9th( at least it's May 9th for me) is Military Spouse Appreciation Day? And isn't it kind of interesting that it falls on Mothers Day weekend? It is like a double whammy for us.

I don't really know any Navy husbands. I realize that they do exist, I just don't happen to know any. For our purposes today...we are speaking of Navy wives only.

I happen to know quite a few military wives. And I am in total admiration of them. These are some of the toughest bunch of women you will EVER meet. They have to be strong for their husbands, so that they can do their job. They have to be strong for their children. Explaining why Daddy can't be there for their big day. They have to be strong for their family. They have to be strong for their friends who need a shoulder to cry on, when their husband is gone. They have to be strong for themself. They serve dilligently in spouses groups. They serve in church. They volunteer. They bring their kids to activities, all by themselves, so that their little lives can be enriched. They sacrifice. They love. They....do everything and a lot of times they do it on their own.

So I encourage you, to give all those military wives a hug. And a huge thank you. It is because of their sacrifice that we are the home of the brave.

somedays

Somedays, my life is so crazy, busy that I can barely catch my breath between the moment I wake up from the moment I go to bed.

And then there are those days, like today, that the most exciting thing that happens is that Guam now has TBS!! Ah well....

a perk

one of the perks of living on an island...the GORGEOUS sunsets...

lazy dayz at the beach

(busy building)

(getting ready to go out and snorkel)

And now on to more lighter subjects....

Saturday morning we decided to head to the beach. The kids and I absolutely love going to the beach. Ben usually prefers the pool (since it is cleaner) but ever since he got his snorkeling gear, he is much more willing to go!

We headed out around 10 and I think we were the only ones out there. It made it so nice and relaxing. The last time I took the kids to the beach, Ivan was a wild man and I spent half my time chasing him up and down the beach. Not fun. This time though, he decided to stay with the rest of the family. Thoughtful huh?

We swam, snorkeled, cut our feet on rocks, stepped on a lot of sea cucumbers, built sand castles, played with a hermit crab, found cool sea shells, lost a pair of sunglasses (poor Ben), ate snacks, got dirty and just had fun. I think we need to get an underwater camera though!

a rant...

Because I worked at Dairy Queen for many, many years. Because I worked a seasonal shift at Wal Mart, I am generally pretty nice when it comes to dealing with customer service. I realize that people make mistakes and try to be really nice. Well there is one company that I have been dealing with and I can not take it any longer. I tried to call Ben so I could get this off my chest however, he didn't answer his phone. Maybe he is phsycic...he just had a feeling he shouldn't answer! :)

So you,my lovely blogging audience get to hear my story. One I will call I Hate Sprint. It all started when we got our orders to come here. I called Sprint and was told that they will cancel my account if I just fax in a copy of Ben's orders. No problem right?

So around August, Eric faxed everything into sprint. I was told "oh don't worry your account has been cancelled." The next month...I get a bill. I was told, " it probably just got sent out before your fax came in,no problem. Account canceled." And I have now been told that every.single.month.since. I have been calling and being told that it is canceled since Aug. I am so fed up. One of the last calls I made, when she said it was taken care of, I actually said yeah right I will talk to you next month. For rude I know. I couldn't help it.

Then what happens? They put my account into collections. Ben was like just pay it. I was about too until...I get a new bill today. Pushed me off the deep end. I called. I yelled at some poor customer service girl. I yelled at some guy who told me not to get upset. That was the wrong thing to say let me tell you. I let him have an earful. He transferred me to someone else. I told her I was not getting off the phone until this was dealt with. And do you know what she told me? " Well we reactivated your phone back in January, and than you got charged an early termination fee. But don't worry, I fixed it so you don't have to pay it." Wait, back up there.Sprint decided to REACTIVATE my phone and then had the nerve to not only charge me for that, but than to charge me an early termination fee! Holy crud. I was floored. I said some choice words, told her if I got another bill I would be going to go visit JAG ( a little dramatic I know but...) and gave her a few more choice words ( not swear words!) and hung up with yet another confirmation number.

Needless to say, I will never use Sprint again. Never. So this is how I start out my day. FANTASTIC!

Boy that felt good to get off my chest!

videos

Cinco de Mayo celebration

I will admit it, I love going to the kid's school programs. Let me rephrase that just a little...I love going to the kid's school programs when I don't have to wrestle with a 3 year old boy. ( Thanks Cindy for watching Ivan!!)

Ethan has been so excited about this program. They have been planning it for weeks and learning the dances since the beginning of the year. Ethan's teacher sent home a notice about the program, asking for the boys to wear white shirts, blue/black pants, and black shoes. So every day, Ethan has been reminding me of what he needs to wear. (Reminded me of his Dad, just a touch!)

So finally the big day was here. Ben had originally told Ethan that he would be there, and then didn't think he was going to be able to make it. However, he called me at 8:30 to let me know that he would be there. Ethan was so excited to have both of us there. Of course he gave me the little "hi Mom!" wave.

Ethan is a very good dancer and knew all of the dances. One of the classes, didn't have enough boys, and so Ethan was asked to help out. He knew every single step and did a wonderful job. We were laughing because he was so stiff as he was doing the dance. I loved watching it. He was adorable.

His class performed a dance and unfortunatley my camera battery was dying. So I wanted to hold out and tape his last dance.

This one was his absolute favorite. I don't remember the name of the dance, but it has something to do with a gorilla. Ethan was chosen along with 3 other kids from his class to perform it. ( 4 kids were chosen from each class.

It was a fun morning, and I loved watching him perform. What was also cute, was that Connor was in one of the first few rows. So they kept waving to each other. One of the girls in E's class told me, "Oh that is Ethan's best friend." I told her," not only are they friends but they are brothers." She was shocked by that news!

I am hoping that these videos work. Only one of Harm's worked so I am crossing my fingers!

the traveling bug

When we found out we were coming to Guam, we had many people ask us if we were going to travel. We said no. We hadn't really planned on it. The reason? Bringing 4 kids on a vacation to a foreign country doesn't sound like an ideal vacation!

However, there are so many people here that we know, who have gone to Hong Kong, Japan, Bali, Palau...the list goes on and on. And I have sort of been bitten with this bug to go out and see new places.

So that is where my trip to Bali comes into play. But...I still wanted to do something more. The other day, we were eating lunch with a friend of ours, who is now living in Japan. I asked him, if I could convince Ben to go, would he be willing to take us around Japan. He said absolutely. That very day we started talking about it. And let me just tell you, it didn't take that much convincing! Ben was all for it.

We figure the easiest way to handle the kids, since we want this to be a couple trip, is to have each one go to a different home. I know I have some volunteers already.

So the plan is to go in January. So, so excited. Can you tell? That is a loooong way off, but I am still excited. I have been looking at this site

guest post by Ethan

I can't wait to go to Grandma's house this summer. Cause I will be so glad to see her. I want to play cards on Grandma Turners computer. And I want to play with my cousin Dylan. I get to see my other cousins too.

I have a concert tomorrow. It's about Mexico. 3 days after the program it's my birthday!! I am almost 7. I want to have a Star Wars cake. I get to pick where I go to my birthday dinner. I really want to go to Del Taco.

That's it. I'm done. Bye!

Love,Ethan