A Small Pity Party, With Some Good News At The End

As a parent or someone in charge of overseeing the development of other humans, have you ever wanted to give up?  Some days I feel like I have failed to achieve any of the desired objectives of my job. 

1. Be compassionate to each other
2. Serve others
3. Don't hit (kick, throw things at one another, bite, punch, pinch, scratch) be gentle!
4. No Whining
5. Come when you are called
6. Obey the first time, every time

They hit and kick each other, yell, disobey and are quite sneaky (most days I underestimate their sneakiness).  The even run in the opposite direction of their name being called.  My sprint across the green belt, sans bras and shoes, 7 1/2 months pregnant, chasing after a willful Maggie must have given my neighbors a good chuckle or a heart attack....  And somewhere in the middle of all this I should be teaching them how to read and write.  I feel like to the outside world my kids are pretty good and well behaved.  It's when we get behind closed doors that the Jekyll and Hyde movie starts rolling!  Sending my kids off to school looks really good some days!  But then I remember we would have to deal with all the garbage that entails, AND HOMEWORK!

AND NOW FOR THE GOOD, FUN, EXCITING NEWS!

Meet Lucy Marie Turner!!  She is due Monday, November 14th, but we have chosen a C-section date of Friday, November 11th.  For those of you that aren't as quick, that would be 11/11/11!!  Not really intentional, we just like having family and friends visit, so we figure the weekends are very conducive to that plan!  Please keep in mind that no Turner Baby has come exactly on their chosen date!  Bailey was scheduled to be induced the morning I went into labor, William came 3 weeks prior to his chosen Birthday and I went into labor the day before Maggie's intended day.  So you see, nothing is guaranteed!

Hope to see you all soon!  SMILE at someone today!!  Love, Molly



What Club Did We Join?

If you are reading this, you know who I am and my fairly intense dislike of running (my Mommy told me I was never allowed to say hate, but it would be a good fit in this case!!)  I played goalie in soccer, because I didn't have to run, in softball we only ran bases (and it was ALWAYS my goal to hit a homerun so I could "trot"!) and in football I remember throwing up a ton.  So you see.... running has never been my fortay.

But!  I don't like olives, mushrooms or eggs with runny yolks either, yet I feed them to my kids anyways.  Just because I don't like some things, doesn't mean they shouldn't get to experience them too!  No matter how icky I think it is!!

I signed Bailey and Will up for a RUNNING CLUB!!

(Insert sneaky "MUAHAHAH" laugh here)!

Today was their first day.  Many moms showed up to actually run with their kids (probably to be good examples).  Very noble women indeed!  Me?!  Well... I showed up in flip flops and put Mags in the umbrella stroller.  Not the best example of an "eager to get fit and run with my kids mom".  Bailey was our family distance runner today!!  She ran/walked 1 3/4 miles!!  Will started slow, walking with me, but still ended up with 1 1/4 miles!!  Mags and I meandered a respectable 1 mile.  Afterall,  I was pushing her in her stroller while wearing flip flops for crying out loud (and have I mentioned lately that I am a few months pregnant?)!!!  I loved watching Will and Bailey walking and running together.  On the way home they were even talking about their goals for next week!  They both think they could do two miles in one morning!

So if you are bored any Monday at 8:30am, come with us to Hollandia Park in San Marcos!  We will be running around the soccer field... actaully I will be walking!  Maybe I will have on my sneakers and consider putting Mags in the jogging stroller.  Just maybe.......

Ready to go home and begin our school day!!

Thanks for taking the time to read this!  Have a blessed day!  Love you!  SMILE!



1st week of School, a Blackout and a Renewed State of Mind

What an eventful week we have had! Started on Monday, when we took advantage of Daddy working from home! He helped us get 1st grade off to a smashing start. That's good, mainly because I made Bailey cry in the first hour of school and could hardly continue! But we all got over it and I revamped the week and put some school books away for the time being! I love that freedom! I also love watching my kid's light bulbs go on! Their eyes light-up when they grasp a idea that I have been harping on for the last two days, I mean gently instructing on in various subjects!! It's all about perspective!

For those who are curious about our curriculum, you can read the next paragraph. For those that are not, skip down to the bottom and you will find a picture of our first week and a video!

Bailey is doing Rod and Staff. So far we are all enjoying it. LOTS of information to be covered this year, so it may be a bit ambitious for a family that will be expanding this year, but we will just take it slow and do what we can! William has started "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons". We did it with Bailey and she had a ton of success. While Will is only 4, we will just keep it simple and go as fast as he wants, but so far so good! He seems to really enjoy having his own school book and working through it! The crazy thing is, Maggie is also learning just by being on the periphery! Yesterday William was explaining to Oma all the words he could think of that started with the "M" sound and Maggie chimed in and said "Me, Maggie, mmmmm!" CRAZY! And I really have to give Oma the credit! I really didn't think Will was ready to start anything formal. And I REALLY didn't want to push him. But she encouraged me to not sell him short and just try it for a couple of weeks! Brilliant Lady! Now Maggie will also be ahead of the game!

The pupils of that crazy school in Escondido, Turner Troupe Elementary!

I decided to end our week with "The Blackout of 2011". Remember, how I kinda think I am responsible for all the weird weather patterns in our Nation lately (flooding, major storms, heatwaves, etc)?! Well... "Mommy Brain" has been hitting hard the last couple of weeks... and soooo... maybe we should all stop blaming the poor guy in Gila, Arizona who unplugged the Southwest or even the terrorists that came into our city last month and now the FBI can't seem to locate them.... Maybe... just maybe, the fogginess of "Mommy Brain" moved beyond a fog and into a full fledged blackout. I am just sayin'... coulda happened!

Next week for school, we will put together an Emergency Kit. I hate being unprepared!

SO I leave you with my new FAVORITE song... I smile, by Kirk Franklin. It is also my new ring tone on my phone! SO please, do as my husband does, and call me all the time! I love hearing the tune coming out of my purse! I just can't help, but smile!!! It is my new mantra... SMILE!! I hope this song makes you smile too!!

Love you!!

Christmas, feeding ducks the beach and Vermont... they are related how?!?

Family pictures recently discovered on an old memory card!!!!

Hope you enjoy this trip down memory lane!



Bailey, mommy and an old neighbor that visited us on Christmas Day.



That Christmas Bailey got a singing Barney!

All I wanted to do on my birthday was go to Dixon Lake and feed ducks.  I was still having morning sickness from being preggo with Will!

Bailey and Daddy

Sleepy girl.

Pajamas I wore as a girl and lipstick I wear as a mom!  Zeke, in the background, was NEVER far from Bailey!

He just loved his little girl.  I still miss him some days.

She is wearing a Washington Redskin's jacket that her daddy used to wear!

Daddy and daughter.  Hard to believe she is old enough now, for him to be thinking of teaching her to surf!

VERMONT, Family Reunion, July 2007

I loved showing Nate my family's history.  Oma loved helping me!!

"The Farm"

Where my grandma grew up (she was born in 1932) and her sister, Barb, raised her family.  So beautiful.

Aunt Julie, my mom and Oma crossing the road from where the actual farm was, walking towards the house.

Uncle Jeff lining up the photo of ALL of us in front of the house.  Those rolling hills used to have cows roaming!



Don't EVER spell Petersen with an "O".  We are are very proud Danes!  This is my grandma's (Oma) family plot.



My great-grandfather.

My great-grandmother.

My grandma really hates having to tend to her own stone!  Under her name it says daughter.  I love thinking of her as a little girl in Vermont on the farm.  My grandma is some one's daughter.

My beloved Uncle Jimmy.
Sure do wish he was here to meet my kiddos!  Love you Uncle Jimmy!



Oma's little brother, Billy.  My William, was born on his birthday.  Awesome legacy.

Oma's older brother.

Beautiful surrounding for my family.

Me and Will and Oma.  William was born about 2 weeks after this picture!



And all is right with the world... at least my world!

Yesterday was one of the most incredible days of life my life as an Aunt!  Nate's sister, Hannah and her husband Nick have blessed us with not one but TWO reasons to be an Aunt and Uncle!  Little Miss Elena, is two and her very ruggedly handsome brother, MY NEPHEW, is 3 1/2 months and now they are ONLY 1 hour away from us!!  Yes folks, that is right!  My niece and nephew (along with their pretty cool parents) have moved from beautiful Santa Barbara down to Irresistible Irvine!  Basically this means I can be the stalker aunt I have always dreamed of being!!

But yesterday was supremely awesome because we got to hang out with Elena all day!  (Alex was busy eating and napping most of the day and Nick and Hannah were unpacking boxes and setting up bedrooms.)  I just hope we didn't ruin her!  She ate lunch a little later than normal and her nap was about two hours late, all in the name of hangin' with the cousins.  But we had so much fun at the park and then Chick-Fil-a, where they played some more after lunch in the indoor playground.

My aunts and uncles have always been such an incredible part of my life.  I love having relationships with them separate from my mom.  I guess that might sound weird, but it makes sense to me.  They have always been people I could cry on, laugh at (I mean with) and talk to.  I hope to have the same kind of real relationships with my niece(s) and nephew(s) (Yes, guys! I am hoping for more!) that I do with my own aunts and uncles.  The bond is indescribable.

The Turner's and Sibersky's have already started making plans about getting together on the weekends, double dating while the grandparents watch the kids and surprising Elena and Alex at daycare during the week!  The future for this aunt, uncle and cousins looks blindingly bright!!

Blasts from the past!!!

Yippee!  I got a new phone last week!  And it's all mine!  Not a hand-me-down from Nate!!  But getting a new phone meant I needed to purge my old phone of some pictures!  Glad I did, because I forgot how many cute ones I had on it!!  These are in no order.  As with most things in my life, they are totally random!!

 No explanation....

 He set up his own shot!!  This is really not from the past, it was last week!

 

Maggie

 Maggie's first feeding.  I think Bailey is feeding her.  After this, Will insisted on trying a bite and promptly threw it up all over the floor.

 Got Goldfish?!

 Bailey's foot taped.  Not too bad, seeing how I am used to size 13 stinky smelly football guys!

 My guy!

 Watchout Jimmy Johnson!

 Flying outside of the Aerospace Museum.

 Daddy's Birthday Breakfast last year and our lesson on cutting!!

 Fresh picked apples from Julian.

 The Girls

 Maggie

Will with a tattoo and hat.