Catching up...

I have been a blogging slacker. SLACKER. I am getting started on my Christmas cards and that usually includes a family letter. And that includes an update. And there is a LOT to update.

So this post, is an update, Christmas card style!

Harmony: This girl is busy from sun up to sun down. Band. Reading. Writing. Drawing. Hanging out with friends. She has had so many fun opportunities lately! Playing in the half time show at a UCLA game, going to the Disney studios to learn about art...and of course there are all the band competitions, football games, dances, hanging out with friends, movies, sleepovers...her schedule is tough to keep up with!

Ethan: is getting to be as busy as his sister. He too, is a band geek. With Ben & I having absolutely no musical abilities, we find this odd! I have loved to see him progress in his playing. He took up the baritone last year and has worked his way up, in a little over a year, from beginning band to advanced. He has totally shot up and now towers over me, which he loves to tease me about. He, has a lot of the same talents & interests as Harmony. Reading, writing, drawing & music.

After a year, Connor gave up on the band life! He decided to do something different and it is much more up his alley...yearbook! He has loved walking around the school with his "press pass", taking pictures and using the computer to design pages. He is a "techie" kid and loves anything to do with electronics. Of course he still loves Legos, and designs detailed bases. Mason considers Connor to be his personal slave, and Connor is too sweet to say no!

Ivan: This kid is...fun. He worked hard to prove that he could be safe while riding his bike to school. He has done a great job (even though it still scares me) and loves the freedom of riding back and forth. He has had his struggles at school but we have been working through them. He still loves Legos, pirates and playing video games. He had a rough Thanksgiving break, as his best friend moved. We all took it hard, and were sad to see them go!

Mason had an interesting start to kindergarten...a few of the boys decided to use their scissors to cut each others clothing, lunch bags, back packs etc. Mason ended up with a hole cut into his favorite hat, 2 shirts, and his backpack strap cut. Luckily the kids learned their lesson and we are no longer dealing with it! Mason is, just like his Dad and brothers, a Lego kid. He also loves playing at the park. He is learning to read & write and it is fun to see him learn & grow.

Ben & I are trying to keep up with the kiddos. It is hard to believe how time has passed & how the kids have grown and changed. Ben still travels quite a bit for work. We are currently waiting on our newest set of orders, which will most likely be in San Diego.

So there you have it. Our life in a nut shell.

On band camp, hot weather and Harry Potter

No matter what I try to do to slow our lives down...nothing ever seems to work! We are always BUSY.  But I suppose if we weren't busy, we would be bored...so I guess it is a catch 22.

Harmony, had freshman band camp this week. Since she didn't go last year, and never really learned all the fundamentals of marching, she decided to do it this year. Which means she and I were up and out of the house by 7:30, so we could pick up her friend and get her to camp on time. 8:00-12:30, they practiced marching, were given new music and made new friends with the kids just joining. It was followed up by marching in the parade at the Ventura County Fair.

It has been a hot week (by Camarillo standards) and so the boys and I have spent a lot of time indoors...at least until the sun started to go down anyway! Then out came the bikes, scooters, light sabers, swords and shields. The boys spent pretty much every evening watching the sun go down as they played. I love that even though they are "too old", that Ethan and Connor still get out and play with Ivan & Mason.

Speaking of setting suns, we had the most glorious PINK sunset the other night. I love living in such a beautiful place.

Sunset photos courtesy of Ivan :)

Friday (July 31st) is Harry Potter's birthday! So after dropping Harmony off at band camp, the boys and I headed to Simi Valley for a Harry Potter birthday party. There is a used book store called $5 or less and not only were they hosting, but each child was given a bag, that they could fill with free books.

We had a great time combing through the shelves, reading all the HP signs, searching for the Golden Snitch and coming away with tons of free & cheap books.

Harmony starts school on the 21st and the boys on the 27th. So the end of our summer is filled with one more band camp, orthodontist, optometrist and well child exams. As well as a couple of shots for Connor and getting Mason ready for kindergarten!

Whew. I think I could use a little bit of boring in my life!

A Baby Story

(We took Harmony out for a clothes shopping trip. This was her favorite outfit!)



(such a sweet girl)

(enjoying dinner with Aunt Darla)

(enjoying her birthday dessert at Olive Garden)

Once upon a time (Aug. 9th, 1999 around 10pm) a beautiful little girl was born. Her parents were so happy and fell immediatley in love.

Then they blinked and 11 years passed. And that precious girl is now a beautiful pre-teen.

With a love for music, animals, Pokemon, reading, writing and art.

And her parents are still totally in love!

Happy 11th birthday sweet girl!

Reunited

...and it feels so good! Maybe for Harmony! Monday morning, Harmony and I headed out for a day of shopping and to pick Astro up from the airport. It was a long day and suffice it to say, nothing went perfectly! However, the two were finally reunited. It looked like Harmony was going to cry when she saw him again!

He is now here at my parent's home and is also trying to get acclamated to the weather. He loves having so much room to roam. Although he doesn't have any gecko's to chase, he has found plenty of squirrels and birds!

Pink Sunset

The other night, I was trying to rock Mason to sleep. Harmony & Ethan were watching tv. I looked outside and noticed that the sky was almost completely pink. We all jumped up, grabbed our cameras and got some pictures of a cool pink sunset!

Harmony and the Bee

One day Harmony came home from school and very casually said, "Mom I am the finalist in my class for the spelling bee."

She was very excited. I asked her when it was so I could be there. Once again she was very casual and just shrugged.

A couple of days later, while dropping Ivan off, one of the other Mom's mentioned attending the spelling bee. I asked her what time and made sure I was there. Ben was also able to come for a little while.

I swear I have never been more nervous for her! She made it through 3 rounds and then was one of the 12 finalists. They had to continue on to get the top 10. Harmony got out the very next round.

She started walking over to me and just burst into tears. She was so upset. She kept insisting that she spelled it right. Unfortunatley, she didn't.

I am really proud of her. The 5th grade in their school is huge. There are over 100 students. So to come in 12th was really good.

I can't wait to see if she competes next year!

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?!

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...

Kids are funny...

Some funny stuff going on around here...

Harmony and I were discussing something ( I don't remember what) and she didn't agree with my view of things. I looked at her and said, "are you fighting with me?" Her reply..."maybe, but I don't want to get into trouble."

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Connor had smelled some baby oil and said, "hey this smells just like Mason!"

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Ivan brought me a bag of chocolate chips and said, " If I give kisses then I get some of these for a snack."

After much convincing, I put 4 in his cup. "What?! Only four?" I told him, "there are four for my four year old." Ivan: "But I am 16!" I started cracking up and put some more in. He ran off happily and said, " I like being sixteen!!"

Ivan starts pre-k tomorrow and although I am going to enjoy the quiet, I know I am going to miss this kid!

How do you spell drama?

H-A-R-M-O-N-Y!!!!

Picture the scene: Mason is screaming his head off in his swing. I am trying to hurry through "Oh the Places You'll Go" so that Ivan can go to bed. The older kids are SUPPOSED to be playing nicely. I hear Ethan crying and here comes Harmony...

H: " I just want you to know that I am trying to make Ethan feel better."

M: "Well why is he crying in the first place?"

H: "Because Connor and I told him that we were sick and tired of him."

M: "Why on earth would you say something so mean to him?"

H: "Well don't worry, I am trying to make him feel better."

M: " You shouldn't have said it in the first place. You and Connor just earned a one way ticket to bed."

H: "THAT ISN'T FAIR! I WAS TRYING TO GET HIM TO STOP CRYING!" Walks out of the room and slams her door.

I go make her come back to Ivan's room and walk back into hers without the hissy fit. I than said, " I don't know why you are acting like this." Her response:

" I don't know either. I am just a bad person aren't I Mom? Admit it, that is what you think about me too!"

Huh? What?

Me: "just go to bed. Not one more word. Not one. Just go to bed."

If she is this bad at 10, how bad can the teenage years be?

This is why I only have one girl.

catch up

******Blogger won't let me upload pictures. So I will try again later!*********

Mason decided that he and I didn't need any sleep the past two nights. That we should just stay up and rock and cuddle and watch whatever is on tv at 2 am! And of course, he is sleeping the morning away while I am up with the other kids. Ahh the life of a newborn!

Last Sunday my oldest turned 10 and the next day, my youngest turned a month old. I realize that it is totally cliche but, "WHERE HAS THE TIME GONE?" I swear, as soon as you have kids time just speeds up.

Harmony had probably one of the most laid back birthdays that we have had around here for a long time. We are trying to get on a rotation of every other year we have a friend party. So she is on the family one this year. Thank heaven because with Ben gone, I don't think I could have handled anything else!

The Saturday before Ben left, he took her out to lunch, the bookstore and to do a little shopping. On Sunday I made her her favorite breakfast (scrambeled eggs with him and poppy seed muffins). I let her open her gifts before church. Then we came home and I made her favorite dinner (fettucini alfredo with brocoli and chicken and strawberry cake with vanilla frosting and strawberry ice cream). Then we all laid around and watched National Treasure 2.

Like I said, nice and laid back. I don't know where we will be next year but I am sure she has some plans for a more exciting party!

What will the double digits bring? We will soon find out...

Bed time

Ivan is spoiled. He is. Being the baby. Having some of the problems that he does. Well it leads to a lot of, doing what you can to keep him happy. And for the next couple of months, he can enjoy that position! Lately, we can only get him to go to bed if we let him lay on our bed and watch a movie. After a good 20 minutes he is sound asleep. No harm no foul right? Wrong. Because he also needs, "Mommy you come lay me". I have to go lay down with him. And in all honesty...I am usually asleep before he is! :) I mean we have all the lights off,snuggling under covers...it is hard to not close those eyes. So for the past few nights, I have been going to bed at around 8:30. Today I got up at 3:30am, and couldn't go back to sleep. Maybe because I had already slept for 7 hours. I don't see how my kids can be so grumpy when they wake up, they sleep from 8-6:30! Hmmm...anyway being up early has allowed me to have a little bit of quiet alone time. It is nice. I have also been getting my house straightened up without little interuptions.

The whole point of this is to share something I read on a blog. I don't remember where I found it, and am misquoting ( I am sure) but the jist of it was this...
The blogger was saying that in these days ×, girls know how to use computers, cell phones, ipods. They learn quickly how to text and how to find their favorite celebrity online. But they don't know how to boil an egg, or use an iron. They don't know how to clean house or cook.I thought it was really interesting. I admit that I struggle with cooking every day, cleaning every day etc. But I don't want Harmony to lack all of these skills. After all, she will have her own house to take care of some day. So I have been trying to have her help me in the kitchen every day. One day it was just showing her how to turn the oven on, set the timer etc. But she has also helped make a Watergate salad, Chicken Divan, apple crisp (although she was not a big fan of peeling apples) and a few more. Every time she helps make something, I write it down on a recipe card and put it in her box. I just hope that when she heads off to college or after getting married, she can pull that box out and feel a little more comfortable in the kitchen. After all, she will have made it before!

All right, I am off to clean up. I have to use the quiet time while I can!

Growing up

There was a time, not that long ago, when my life as a mother was basically "hands on". The job description required little in the way of, counseling, disciplining, deep talks etc.

Although it wasn't that long ago, I sometimes forget about those days. Those days which were filled with having 3 children in diapers all at once, 2 kids drinking from bottles (which were kept seperated in the diaper bag and with different kinds of nipples so wouldn't get mixed up), Ben being gone at school a lot, days spent at home because who is crazy enough to take all those kids out at once. Life was a lot of work. But it was, dare I say...simple.

I had a lot of people tell me that, it is easier when your kids get older. I don't think that is true. I think it is just DIFFERENT. You go from being completely hands on to dealing with bullies, fears, anxieties, school situations, and all that good stuff!

I may not need to run the kids bath for them...but they do need me to explain things to them.

Where is all this coming from you might ask? Well, last Saturday, Harmony spent the day at a GS activity. When we got home, we all worked to move our freezer from the garage to the house. This was a lot of trips back and forth to the house. And as we were finishing up, Ben said, " ugh, Harmony smells." I went over to her and the stench of BO was overwhelming. I sent her straight up to take a shower. PU!

And so it begins. Harmony is going to be 10 this summer. That means a lot of changes coming our way. I just ordered an American Girl book for her that goes over a lot of it.

Needless to say, this Mom is wishing she could go back in time and enjoy those days when Harmony was little, dressing up in princess outfits and cooking in her little play kitchen. **Sigh**

Soap

(Doesn't she look so sweet and innocent in the quilt that Grandma Kennedy made for her?)
It was bound to happen. After months and months of dealing with a smart mouth, back talk, and being rude to her brothers, it finally happened. I am still kind of shocked that I did it. But I am also kind of shocked I didn't do it sooner. I washed my daughters mouth out with soap. She knew what was coming and so she would turn her head and try to get away. I did get some in though. After much screaming and crying and telling me her mouth tasted awful ( to which I replied I hope you remember that taste every time you want to say rude/mean/obnoxious things) the girl crashed. She slept for a good couple of hours. So it was obviously very traumatic for her. I can't wait for the teenage years let me tell yah!

fyi

Just to let everyone know, that after months now, Harmony has updated her blog. In case you don't have the address it is http://harmonysgazette.blogspot.com I am sure she would love for you to check it out and leave comments! :)

only fair

Ooops! I neglected to do this for Harmony. I did it for the boys, so it is only fair. Or so she tells me! :)

Harmony is running out of time to sell Girl Scout Cookies. ( All totals have to be in on Sunday). Money is not due until cookies are in, so if you would like to order some, please do! If you are not interested in the cookies but would just like to donate $$ to go towards her troop, that is great too. Just let me know how much and we can do it in your name.

If you are local, let me know and we will bring the form to church, or by your house. Thanks for your support!

Choices and misunderstandings

(talking to her friend)

(Enjoying his cupcake after winning the very first round of the cake walk)

(the ghost that "followed" Ivan)

( I made these cupcakes for the trunk or treat and thought they turned out pretty cute!)

Whew. I have a mile long to do list but I also have been wanting to update on a few things.

In school and at home, we talk to Ivan a lot about making choices. That he is not a "bad boy" but he made a bad choice. Or he made a good choice. And I realized the other day that these lessons were really sinking in. How? Well, Astro had got a hold of Ivan's diaper and was attempting to chew it up. Ivan went up to him and said, " Astro you are going in your tunnel (kennel) because you made a bad choice." I cracked up. Then later he asked me if he could go to the park and I said not right now. He started crying and said, "Mommy you are making mean choices about me!" So cute.

*************************************************************************************The other day Harmony let me know that she was voting for John McCain. I asked why and she said I don't think Obama will be good for our country. I said ok and left it at that. Today when she got home from school, she saw the yahoo page where it said "voted the first black president." She started bawling. I mean hysterical. I was not prepared for that!! I didn't realize she had such strong political positions. I finally get her to calm down and asked her what the matter was. She said that she had a really bad day and began to tell me about it. Well, she had written on a paper that "Obama used to be a terrorist." Some girl got all mad and ripped it up. Harmony was bawling, " Mom I didn't know it wasn't the truth!" It turns out, she thought that Obama and Osama were the same person. So I explained it to her and she is going to talk to the girl tomorrow, and let her know that she just got confused. What a crazy time!

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The past couple weeks there have been an increase in phone calls around our home. However, they are not for Ben or I. They are for Miss Harm. She has never really been one to talk on the phone, to anyone, but she has been taking the phone into her room so that she can talk. What is next I ask yah?

And lost but not least I just had a few Halloween pictures from our Trunk or Treat that I thought it would post. I was cracking up because they had this floating ghost that scared Ivan half to death!

The girl who cried sick

Not too long ago, I went in to wake Harmony up for school, and she complained about being too sick to go. A headache and a stomach ache. I told her if she was really sick, than she could stay home. BUT she knows the rule about staying home. She said it was fine. A little later, she was watching tv and building legos, and I said that's it, what is going on? I knew she wasn't sick. Well it turned out that she had not done her homework (after begging to be able to do it in her room). So she was scared of what would happen. We quickly got her homework done and I booted her out the door to school. No harm no foul right?

So yesterday, same thing. Not feeling well when I tell her to get her uniform on. This time though, I know that there isn't anything going on. Homework? Check. Fights with any friends? Nope. Feeling bad about election? (I will get to that post in a little bit) Nope. So I thought ok she really is sick. With Ben and I both having colds I knew it would just be a matter of time before it was passed around. Once again I reminded her of the rules of staying home.

And what are those rules you might ask? If you are too sick to go to school then you are too sick to play videogames/to go outside/to go to any friends houses etc. You lay in bed or on the couch ALL DAY LONG. Even once school gets out.

She laid around all day. But once those boys were home and they were busy playing video games, and running around playing, suddenly she felt a ton better. Imagine that!! Too bad for her though. Mom is tougher than that. But I can tell you one thing, she jumped right up today and got ready for school.

She is a pretty good faker! But darn if she isn't adorable! And Astro was happy to have someone to snuggle with all day!

it finally happened...

I knew it would. The day would eventually come...when Harmony asked for help with her4th grade math homework...and I had no idea what the answer was. Not one clue. It was bound to happen eventually!

expectations...

In dealing with Ivan's autism/situation/diagnosis whatever you want to call it, there are things I expected to deal with. I knew we would have mountains to climb, but I also knew there would be valley's. With all the frustrations and upsets, that Ivan would have his good days, and he would learn and grow. But when I was reading in all the books, websites etc, there was one thing I didn't think about. I was so focused on Ivan...that I forgot how it affects my OTHER kids.

Harmony, being a typical oldest child, can be pretty bossy. Well last night, the kids had put a huge bucket of legos on my bed and were busy playing. I told them all the legos had to be picked up before bed and I wouldn't help. So they had finished, when Ivan came in, and dumped them out. Harmony was screaming. "I am so tired of him doing things like that." I asked them to please re-pick them up, and I had Ivan help pick up toys downstairs and tried to keep him away from them. Then he went in and got into her polly pockets. " Can't we just put Ivan outside like we do to Astro?" she asked.

I went in and talked to her. Talked to her about how special Ivan is. How he doesn't understand things the way she does. That his thought process is not like hers. I tried to explain to her, and she agreed that it would be difficult to try to get through life like he does. I told her that Heavenly Father sent Ivan to us, because we are the right family to make him feel loved and take care of him." I just wish we could get a break from him. It's not fair. It's like everything we do is focused on Ivan, Ivan, Ivan. Ethan and Connor and I have to do everything. It's not fair." And I told her no it isn't fair. I tried to put myself in her shoes and really listen to what she was saying. I promised that I would try. I would try to get them time away, but the fact is that we are a family. We stick together.

I don't know what to do. I have a hard enough time dealing with Ivan, let alone everything else that goes along with it.