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?

math problems

( I found this picture on my camera the other day)

How come I haven't updated for a while? Let's tell it in story problem form shall we? If you take...

1 Mom +
5 kids +
a 4 month old who is teething +
same child who won't sleep for longer than 2 hours +
a Mom who doesn't get more than 2 hours of sleep +
1 10 yr old who has Achievement days & Girl Scouts +
2 cute boys who are doing Scouts +
1 cute little 4 yr old who is struggling in school right now +
3 kids and a Dad who have sore throats, coughs and runny noses +
a Dad who is busy with work +
church +
cooking +
mountains of laundry +
homework +
a dog that is not potty trained +
meetings +
social obligations =

No blog updates. Life is busy. We are worn out. Mason and I have slept a grand total of 9.5 hours the past two nights. Yes that is our accumulative for TWO nights. Tonight we are staying in. Here is one more math problem...

ordering Dominos + renting movies + popcorn + blankets + pillows= family movie night!

heart sick

A few weeks ago, Mason and I hurried to the BX on the Air Force base to get some formula. We got out of the car and I noticed 3 security vehicles pull into the front. Lights flashing. Guards were carrying huge guns and not letting anyone into the building. Everyone who left the store, was stopped, taken their ID card away,and not allowed to leave. We all sat in the heat wondering what was going on. Finally, we were given the all clear. Apparently, an alarm had gone off and they couldn't let anyone leave until it was cleared.

Only a few days later, as I was driving home from picking up Ivan, we were stopped by security cars. On the side of the road, there were 4-5 soldiers with a man face down on the ground. His vehicle pulled over to the side. I looked and realized that the man being handcuffed, was in uniform. Later a friend told us not to worry, it was just security doing an exercise.

We also drove by as a car was pulled over and searched. It was said that there was a suspcious package.

I have always felt so safe living on a military base. But with the events in Fort Hood today, my sense of security is a little shattered.

I am grateful for those who are here to protect us. Thankful to those guards that stand outside and check id's, search cars, and makes sure that we are safe. I often complain about having to show my id to come into my own home. Or annoyed when they let me know that I need a new sticker. But I know that they are to there to keep us safe.

My heart breaks for those in Fort Hood. The military is like a big family. Despite being in different branches we all have one thing in common, we are all united in our desire to protect the freedoms of this country. So sad today...

motor mouth

There was a time, not so long ago, that we were very concerned about Ivan's speech. At two he really didn't talk. By three he wouldn't engage in conversation and did most of his communicating by grunting/pointing/screaming.

Well, believe me, we are not worried anymore!

The other night, I decided to go to the store to grab some pizza. Ivan told me "I can go with you because I have my shoes on." So I let him come.

In the half an hour that we were gone, he didn't stop talking. Not once. Question after question. It went kind of like this...

" What store are we going to?"
"Why are we going to that one?"
"Why does Daddy's car have a cd player?
"Why can't I watch a movie in here?"
"What is that bird doing?"
"What do dragonflies eat?"
"Did you know that I love to have pizza?

We get to the store...
"Why is that ice cream up there?"
"Why are there posters on the ceiling?"
"Did you get that one?"
"If you run around in the store like a crazy boy you will have to sit in the cart."
"I don't like the cart Mommy."
"What do bugs eat?"
"Why is that hanging from there?"
"Can we buy this Mommy?"
"How much is this? Do we have that many dollars?"

On the way home...
"Why don't we have stairs at our house?"
" I really like stairs Mom."
" I wan to live in that house because they have stairs."
"I live on the down from Shawn and he lives on the up. (Meaning he lives up the hill and we live down it.

It was a long trip to the store, believe me.

But the cutest happened the other day. He was watching Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull. At the end ( hope you all have seen it) Indy and Marian get married. So I said, "Ivan did Indy get married?"
Ivan "yucky, no"
me- "What getting married isn't yucky! Are you going to get married?"
Ivan "no"
Me- "So are you just going to live with me forever?"
Ivan " No, I just want to live with Ethan forever!"