Just a few things going on...

There are quite a few things happening here as of late. Let me fill you in.
First off - Shawn and my dad are working in the kitchen!! Yes it's true!! The cabinets are coming together - and they are beautiful. They are now hickory and gorgeous. We still have to put some varnish on, but they will stay the natural light color and then we will do a dark trim around them. I can't wait to see a finished product. Soo exciting to see progress in there. It's definitely been a bit of a pain to have the cabinets emptied out all over the place. Took awhile to find a fork tonight at dinner, but not too bad. It seems to be good motivation to get things done.
Second - it's been snowing/sleeting/icing all day here. We were suppose to get like 8 inches, but we only have maybe 3 or 4. Apparently it is a "heavy" snow though, because our big tree in the backyard that shades our whole deck is falling apart. It's not looking good, we actually saw a huge chunk out of the top fall out. So sad, I hope it recovers, but it's not looking good...not sure what will happen with that. How are we suppose to hang out on the deck and drink wine when there's no shade??
And third...potty training. Can you believe that? Yes, Gabriella is potty training. I started Friday and have had only 3 accidents. She is doing awesome, but I still can't believe how well it is going. She is so stinkin' cute in her little dora panties - wish my tushy looked that cute! She has pooped in the potty three times already which is HUGE (for those of you that don't know what a feat it is to potty train). I am a firm believer in the 3 day potty training. It has worked with my first two and so far is working with Gabriella. Time will tell. I didn't want to start yet, but last week she told me two days in a row that she needed to poop and wanted to do it on the potty. And when she was successful I decided I guess it was time. Man, they grow up fast. I don't look forward to having to carry extra outfits everywhere we go, but I will be happy when it's over. Send some prayers our way (for patience...lots and lots of patience).
I think that's about all we can handle here for now. I'm off to bed and hopefully won't be woken up until feeding time around 4am.
Hope you are having the time of your life!!
ST

Officially a fire hazard.

I was told today that my family is a fire hazard. I was talking to a guy about getting a hotel room for our family and he told me I had so many kids that we were a fire hazard and would have to get two rooms. Of course, I laughed, but he was actually serious. Yes, the Turner family is now a fire hazard. My only question is, wouldn't it be more of a hazard to put all 4 of my kids in that second room by themselves??
Hope you are having the time of your life!
ST

A little lonely?? Naaaaaaaa

Well, it's spring break '09 here. Austin and Ashlyn got to head out to the farm for the week - they were SO excited. I wasn't sure Ash was going to want to go back since she was there all last week, but she insisted that she needed to be at the farm with "brother". So, I am the mom of two kids again this week. So strange when I'm missing a few...much quieter...almost eerie! Nice to have some time with just crazy Gabriella and sweet little Lucas though. The weather is gorgeous here - 80 today! It's hot!! Got to hang out with my ol' college buddy, Jay, today and her adorable little boy (Heath look-alike), Peyton. He's hilarious. We had a great time playing in the back yard. Shawn got all our lights put in in the kitchen over the weekend!! YIPEE!! It looks awesome and we finally can SEE in there! Of course, that means we can now see how bad the kitchen really looks...nonetheless, shawn did awesome with the lighting - I love it. Our cabinets are suppose to all be done and delivered in about a week! Now we need to decide on a counter top ASAP. We are trying to decide if we want to do granite tile or not...just can't seem to decide. We go back and forth. We don't have a whole lot of counter space so it wouldn't be all that much, who knows. I just want it all finished!
I am going to enjoy the quiet here before Gab and Lucas wake up. Hope you all have a happy St. Pat's Day! I'll be drinking a green beer for you all!
Hope you are having the time of your life!
ST

He is SO cute.

Need I say more??!


I love this outfit - thanks Melissa!

Hope you are having the time of your life!
ST

Back To Life!

I feel like a new woman. Sunday afternoon I went downhill fast - holy cow I was more sick than I have ever been - I would not wish that on anyone! I am SO much better - today I finally feel completely back to normal. And through it all I think Lucas didn't miss a beat. He even slept last night from 8pm-4am. Awesome! Usually he eats at 3am, but 4am was a nice change. My girls have been at the farm since Sunday and just made it back this morning. We were on our way home from my brothers and stopped at the farm for a bite to eat Sunday evening. Ed and Norma said the girls could stay for a few days so we left them there as they were SO excited when they found out they got to stay. It turned out to be such a huge help since I got so sick. Shawn even stayed home from work on Monday. Austin thought this was way cool since daddy got to take him to school and pick him up. Shawn got a little taste of what it is like to get Austin up and ready for school. Let's just say Austin is a bit distracted in the mornings and it takes a bit to keep him on task and out the door by 8:15. They barely made it and Shawn didn't even have to get anyone else ready to go! I'm not convinced he could get the girls, Austin and Lucas all dressed, fed and the kitchen clean all before 8:15. Not to mention all loaded up in the van. Anyway, I'm so happy to be feeling better and have the girls back home. I love to get a break, but I always love to have them back.
Hope you are having the time of your life!
ST

A quiet house

Yes, this mother of four has a quiet house as we speak. And it's been that way for about a half hour! Shawn is working late tonight so I had to put all the kids to bed...well...of course mom and dad were here to help. I'm sure I could have done it on my own - there would have been a lot more crying, but I could do it. Why say no to good help, right?? I'm spoiled rotten and I love it. Anyway, it's finally quiet here and as I sit here with my glass of wine and laptop - ahhhhh.
Don't really have a whole lot to write about today. Just felt like blogging, trying out twitter - check out my right hand column, and watching Glenn Beck - one of my faves - even if it does get me all fired up (have you seen the stuff actually in that stimulus package? are you kidding?). Probably shouldn't watch right before bedtime.
Lucas had his 2 month appointment today and Gabriella had her 2 year appointment today. They are both getting big and healthy as can be. Lucas weighed in at 13 pounds 4 ounces and Gab is 25 pounds. Not bad! Lucas is still sleeping awesome and eating great. Goes to bed by 8 and doesn't get up til 3am. Love it. I hope his 4 shots don't mess him up tonight - time will tell.
Gabriella's 2 year check up chart said she should be able to say about 20 words...hmmm...according to that she is some kind of crazy genius - look out Mensa! She has been talking in full sentences for months - not that she knows what she is saying, but she sure acts like she does. Austin and Ashlyn have taught her WAY more than she needs to know. I still think she may have a bit of asthma, not sure yet. She spontaneously pukes. If she gets to coughing for whatever reason she'll just yack. Nice. Or if she is throwing a crying fit (not that she ever ever would) she'll make herself throw up. Doc doesn't really think there's a whole lot we can do - we're trying some acid reflux meds on her to see if it changes anything. She also may just have a really bad gag reflex - who knows. She's our little wild child.
Shawn and I have started looking at the summer calendar in hopes to plan some fun stuff this summer. Mostly camping adventures. We are planning 2 canoe trips, one with friends and one with work people. And he also goes on a guy canoe trip too. We are camping with the fam over July 4th. And would like to camp out at my brothers over Labor Day. I would also like to plan a camping trip with friends and kids sometime this summer. Looks like we will be spending most of the summer in a tent. So fun!
My eyes are now getting heavy - must head to bed or at least take a nap here on the couch til Shawn gets home.
Hope you are having the time of your life!
ST

Birthday Bowling...hmmmm

Miss Gabriella turned TWO on Saturday! I thought it would be fun for us all to go bowling. So, the six of us, plus mom and dad, Shawn's parents, and my sister and Nick came along for the excitement. We have never ventured out to the bowling alley before so I should have known it would be interesting...The kids were totally excited for it and had been talking about it all week. The fun started with Gabriella dropping a ball on her foot before we even started. Her toe instantly swelled up, bled and turned completely black. She recovered pretty quickly and was ready to give bowling shot - even though i think she thought we were crazy. Shawn took her up to the lane and helped her roll the ball. She got so excited that she decided it would be a good idea to run after it - yes, she took off down the lane. Instinctively, Shawn ran after her only to end up totally wiping out as he grabbed her. It was a bit scary, but completely hilarious!! Everyone ended up ok - Ashlyn smashed a finger when her ball shot out as she wasn't paying attention, my mom threw her ball backwards almost taking us all out as her fingers got stuck in the holes...what a great time we had! Well, at least we laughed a lot - and the kids have already asked when we are going back!!
Happy Birthday Gabriella!
More later - 2 hours of 24 tonight!!!
Hope you are having the time of your life!
ST