random

(There is a whole lotta this going on around here!)

(the cute little toothless wonder)

(How adorable is this kid? Thanks again for the outfit Beth!)

Here is a random list of what's going on in the Turner home...

**Connor lost his other top tooth! Too bad the tooth fairy forgot! I told him the tooth fairy was confused because Connor lost his tooth on Wed but it was on Guam. In the states it is still Wed. So I am sure she will be coming tonight!!

**Harmony is having a blast at camp! She has made lots of friends, is Liesel in the Sound of Music, wrote a script for a skit they are doing, and is having a fabulous time. I am so happy to see her come out of her shell! It just makes my heart happy.

** The boys have named our house/van etc as the "boys club"!

**They are also pretending to be characters on movies and tv shows. In the car, they were watching Tom & Jerry. So they "called" the character that they want to be. It is cute but annoying when they fight over who gets what character.

** A long time ago, I participated in a lot of homemaking meme's. I kept putting them on this blog but I didn't want my followers to have to read them if they didn't want too. I created another blog as a place to put them. Well after I got preggo, I stopped updating it! Too much work. Now that I am back in the swing of things, I have started updating again. If you want to read it the site is here

**Mason does what Mason does best. Eats, sleeps, poops. But oh how cute is that little boy! The kids and I can't keep our hands off! :)

**Oh and the bugs are gnats. They are attracted to water and light. So with it being the rainy season here, we just have to wait it out. The pest control guy told me that we don't have as much as other people. Gross. So I just get to sweep up bugs 10 times a day. OH joy!

And that is it! You are updated!

pity party

(Just imagine this...all over our house. Blech!)


(It's kind of hard to see because our door is black but it is covered!)

There is a phenomenon that occurs every time Ben is gone. Actually, I believe it is a military wife thing. Once your husband deploys. And what is that phenomenon? Everything goes wrong. Seriously. I have had some nightmare situations in the past. Last summer was a whopper...Ivan's diagnosis, tv problems, van problems, vacums dying, Astro leaving his messes all over...You get the idea.

Ben has only been gone for 6 hours and I get to deal with the situation in the above pictures. Can you tell what it is? Bugs. Bugs everywhere. Last night they started appearing. We thought it was because of a window left open. When we got up to go to the airport...there were tons. It grosses me out like nothing else. They are everywhere. I called housing and they can't get anyone out until tomorrow. Ewww.

Connor keeps saying we have a bug "infection". I am letting myself have today to whine and pout and than the pity party is over. I promise. I just wonder what all can happen in 2.5 weeks...

2 weeks

Whew, this was a fast 2 weeks! Ben and Harmony are out on a date, and I am supposed to be making cookies for the boys. So this will be a quick update...

Ben is getting ready to leave for 2.5 weeks. I don't want him to go! :( I realize that 2.5 weeks is not that long of a time and I really shouldn't complain. But I am going to anyway! He will be home for a few days and than will be headed to Utah for a class for the rest of the time.

Harmony will turn 10 while he is gone. I can't believe that! The time has really flown. She is excited to head to Girl Scout day camp on Monday. She is leaving me with all the boys all day long! She is getting ready for school to start but is a little nervous about changing classes!

Ethan was lucky to have a dog walking companion while my Mom was here. He let me know on Thursday that he didn't want to go by himself. I had to tell him too bad! He has been playing a lot of video games and I think he is getting ready to go back to school too!

Connor has been fighting with Ivan non-stop. Those two are just driving me batty! He loves Mason though! I think he is a little nervous around him, but he loves to feel his soft hair and look at his tiny fingers and toes.

Ivan is really doing well with potty training. I can't remember the last diaper of his I changed. I hope he continues with his streak. My lucky Mom (sarcastic) got to share a bunk bed with Ivan. He was on the top but has loved being able to move to the bottom. He invites everyone to come and lay on his big boy bed!

Mason had his two week check up on Thursday. He weighed in at 8 lbs 12 oz. So he got back to his birth weight and gained some! We have noticed that he is starting to fill out some. He still has his blue eyes and is starting to get a little more hair. We were also told by the dr. that he is tongue tied. The skin(is that considered skin?)that connects your tongue to the bottom of his mouth is too short. She said it is not bad but he could have speech problems later. However, it is very easy to fix. You just clip it. She didn't seem to concerned about it.

The kids have all been great helpers. We are slowly settling in to this new routine. I think...

Back to reality...

This morning, Ben went back to work...after dropping my Mom off at the airport. I am officially on my own! No one to take Mason at 3:30 in the morning so I can go back to bed. No one to keep the big kids while I go run errands. No one to help me keep Ivan in check. No one to have an adult conversation with in the middle of the day. Sigh...Mom you will be missed! Thanks for taking 5 weeks out of your life to come and help me with mine. I honestly have no clue what I would have done without you here!

So now it is just me. The 3 older kids are playing Legos. Ivan is watching Alvin and the Chipmunks and Mason has crashed. I am starting to wonder how well I can handle this. Why is that you worry about that AFTER the baby is here? I guess it is back to reality...my new reality. Stay at home mom of 5...

Brothers,baths & billi blankets

(all done and wrapped up)

(getting ready)

(Mommy's boys...does Ethan not look HUGE next to Mason?!)

(Our little "glow worm")

Well Mr. Mason has had quite the first week (almost) of life! Sunday and Monday the kids wouldn't take their eyes & hands off of him! I found myself trying to stop them from fighting over who gets to hold him. Now that he has been around for a little bit it is starting to wear off! Not completely but...

Mason left the hospital with a mild case of jaundice. We had to bring him back in, and his levels had risen. So we went and got him a billi blanket. Ivan also had to do this but he did it at the hospital. Mason got to spend the next few days in just a diaper and laying on the blanket. Luckily it worked and his levels are down. Today was the first in a while that he got to wear clothes!

His cord has fallen off and his circumcision is healing nicely...so he got to take a bath! Newborns really don't smell badly, but he had kind of a formula smell! He wasn't too sure about the bath and didn't like the lotion afterwards. But a bath, bottle, some lovin' from Grandma...and he was out like a light. So maybe it wasn't all bad!

We are adjusting. I think the kids are rotating days of when they behave and when they don't. Lately it has been Ivan. But before that it was Connor. Who knows who will be next! :)

Welcome Home Mason!

The house is quiet. Everyone is asleep or on a quiet time. So I thought I would update while I have the chance!

Tuesday afternoon I went in for an appt. with my doctor. These have been going on for the last few weeks. I had been on a monitor for a non-stress test. One of the doctors, came to check it and said, "how would you like to have your baby today?" I was shocked but said yes. He then said, "well than you need to have some more contractions." He laughed, I rolled my eyes and was sent on my way, very unhappy.

Friday same thing. A little change in my cervix and than I went to go get on the monitor. A different doctor (the one I see most often) came in and said, "how would you like to have your baby today?" Everbody is a comedian right? No, not this time. He said that my pockets of fluid looked a little low, Mason wasn't responding on the monitor and that basically my body was ready to go and that I wouldn't do Mason any good by staying pregnant.

So I called Ben and told him to meet me in the mother/baby unit. I got in about 10, and they started IV's. I am notorious for "not having veins".I got poked 3 times before they actually got it! Grrr. I hate getting IV's! My water was broken about noon. I had told everyone that I wanted an epidural so my nurse said to let them know when I was ready for it. Well I go through a battle of "I don't want to be a wimp and get it early but I don't need to be a hero either". Finally I got it.

I still was feeling contractions in my back though. My legs were numb but nothing else. The nurse decided to check me again. Apparently she gave the anethesiologist a look and went to get the doctor. Ben told me about "the look" later. According to her, it wasn't that the epidural didn't work, it was that Mason was on his way out! My nurse was praying I didn't sneeze while she got the doctor. :)

A little later, there was Mason. He was a healthy 8lbs 2 oz. The consensus is that he looks like Ethan. Although Connor was very excited to see that Mason has blue eyes, just like him. We will see if he keeps them!

Mason and I stayed an extra day in the hospital, since he was born before 37 weeks. Uhm yeah, one day before 37 weeks. We spent an exciting day in the hospital watching tv and snuggling.

He is doing well but he does have a case of jaundice. We are hoping to see the sun peak out a little this rainy season so that he can use it.

Other than that, we are just trying to adjust to life and to take it easy. I have pics posted on facebook and my Mom also has a few on her blog (hers is Avis La Fin which you can find a link on my side).

Oh and we also celebrated 4th of July so I thought I would add a couple of those pictures in!

I made it...

Now what? I am 36 weeks. A few contractions but nothing regular. I am ready to pop. I am off the anti-contraction meds and they really seemed to have done their job. I am ready. Ben's ready. The kids are ready. My Mom's ready. Come on Mason!