Many Blessings

There have been too many times this year that I have struggled to find something to be thankful for. And for this I feel sad. It shouldn't take a day like thanksgiving to make me realize all the many blessings I have. Yes it has been an EXTREMELY challenging year for me and my family but I have a family. Not just any family MY family. A wonderful husband who has been beside me through all the heartache, tears, and heartburn. He works so incredibly hard so I am able to stay home with my babies and for that I am truly thankful. My beautiful daughter. Tears come to my eyes when I think of how fast she has grown. I don't know how it happened but she is already 3 going on 16. My handsome little boy. Again how the time flies. I cannot believe that he is crawling around and for the very first time yesterday (perfect) he said "mom". I know I sound like the grinch when I complain about Christmas coming too soon. My reasoning is this; there is only one day a year that is set aside for us to think of all we are thankful for. Just ONE day. And that to me is not enough. So do me a little favor and remember Thanksgiving this year. Not just on Thanksgiving but maybe throughout the year when you might be having a hard time thinking of something to be thankful for.

*HAPPY THANKSGIVING*

Spotlight

Just in case you didn't get enough pictures of my kids in the last post I decided to spotlight my little 8 month old baby boy. I can't believe he is 8 months old (almost 9). This year with him has gone by so fast. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect baby. He's always happy to see just about anyone. And he makes my day every time he smiles. He has now started crawling and getting in to EVERYTHING. He is going to be a handful. So much more then Olivia was I think. He is also trying to pull himself up on things but doesn't quite have the balance for it yet so he ends up falling over and bumping his head a couple hundred times a day. We love you baby Caleb.












8 months old and getting his first hair cut already! Kacy did an awesome job. His hair is already growing in thicker.

Fall Festivities

So here I am once again WAY behind on my blogging duties. I really have no excuse besides a super slow computer and not enough time. Let me start out by saying I LOVE FALL!! Now it's November and the weather has been fabulous. I hope it stays this way. I don't want it to end. We had so much fun in October getting ready for Halloween and doing a bunch of fall things. We visited pumpkin patches, carved pumpkins, went trick-or-treating, and ate way too much candy. I have a bunch of pictures to post. I will try to be better at this but I say that every time.

A fun fall day at the park. Caleb LOVED his first swing ride. He couldn't stop laughing and slobbering. I love watching him enjoy and explore the fun things in the world.

Picking pumpkins at the "PATCH". Olivia took about an hour to choose just the right pumpkin. She was so excited about them all. It was a beautiful fall evening. What a great place to spend time with the family.


Carving Olivia's pumpkin. Caleb was in heaven. He couldn't believe we were letting him play with messy, goopy stuff. He would put his hand in, grab a handful, then look at me and giggle. Olivia on the other hand wouldn't even touch it......."EEEWWWWW"






Once again it's cycle cross season for Nic and my dad. We spend almost every Saturday morning at his races. The Halloween race was a blast. Nic was super bee. He finished 2nd despite the costume. He kicks butt!!







Princess Snow White. She was so in to it this year. She is already talking about what she should be next Halloween.
Mr. Happy the "Gwarf" as Olivia called him. He hated his costume and most people didn't know what he was. But I think he looks dang cute.

Olivia as usual is yelling "GO UTES!!!" Cody was at the game so he missed out on all the trick or treating fun.

Lessons Learned

This morning, like every other morning I woke up to a baby babbling away in his crib. After that a 3 year old called "MOMMY!" Like she does every morning when she is ready to start the day. Yep just a normal day except today I am a year older. When I was younger there was nothing I loved more then my birthday. Now with each year I dread it more and more. Why? I'm not really sure. Maybe it's the realization that I'm not a carefree 16 year old anymore, the tole gravity and child bearing has taken' on my body, or just plain old grumpiness. In any case I am trying hard today to take deep breaths and enjoy. It is my day. I'm going to eat lots of nummy and bad for me foods, give my kids lots of kisses, enjoy hanging out with my mom and husband, and stop worrying about getting older. That being said, I am a year older. And being older I would like to share some things I have learned this year.

*Being a mom is the hardest, most rewarding, full filling, and exhausting job in the entire world.

*It is okay to ask for help.

*Nobody expects perfection from you.

*Nothing can make your day better like a smiling baby.

*Baby puke is a nice accessory.

*I married the most supportive, patient, and understanding husband.

*Prayers may not be answered exactly the way you want them to be but they will be answered.

*Having dog hair on the carpet is much better then not having a dog.

*Laughing with a friend can save you from what was a rotten day.

*Family is more important then anything in the world.

Now you may all go forth with the wisdom of a 29 year old (phew) yep 29 year old women. The best is yet to come I have been told.

Some new pictures for your enjoyment as well!!

My best friend Jenny took a bunch of pictures of Caleb for me. This is one of my favorites. I just want to squeeze his face everytime I see it. Thanks for the awesome pictures Jenn!!

I wish I could chop my head out of this picture not the best picture of me. But the kids are dang cute!

Enjoying the fall leaves. Nothing is better then fall.

If anybody has seen this dog let us know. He got out last week and we haven't found him. We are all heartbroken over this. He was just starting to blend in to the family.

6 months!

This little boy has my heart in the palm of his hand. I can't believe 6 months have passed. I love this baby more each day. I do feel a lot of guilt because I waisted a lot of time with postpartum and trying to adjust and didn't spend enough time soaking in every sweet moment. Now that I finally feel I am in control of my emotions I am not waisting time. My BFF Kacy is having a new baby this week. It makes me realize how precious time is. They are only newborns for a short time. And although you are sleep deprived, emotional, and stressed it is worth it.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Yesterday my little brother turned 24! I can't believe it. He's become such an awesome guy and one of my best buds. I love him so much and I'm very proud of all that he has accomplished. My mom put together a great party for him at his new pad it was awesome! Happy Birthday Nic!!!!

Thank goodness my mom doesn't read my blog. She'd kill me for using this picture. It cracks me up how weirded out we get by human contact in our family.

My new nephew, Juke! I went with Nic to adopt him last week. He's a handsome guy. He loves Nic and fits in perfect with the family.

I Want To Ride My Bicycle!!!

Life has been super busy this month. I can't believe it's the middle of June and the weather has been this crappy. I can't wait until summer officially comes and I am sweating to death. Yesterday me and my dad had the opportunity to ride in the Tour De Cure. It's the bike ride that raises money for finding a cure for diabetes. It was so much fun getting to ride with him. Nic came up as well and rode with us for awhile. Although he did the whole 25 miles in about 45 minutes. Even though it was rainy and a little chilly the ride went well. I am proud and not too shy to say 25 miles to me now isn't that bad. Now on the other hand last weekend I did an all women's ride up in Logan for cancer research. It was 40 miles and I thought a few times I wasn't going to make it. But I did and I am kind of proud of myself for accomplishing these little goals. It's not much but it makes me feel good. Also I'd like to thank those of you who opened up your wallets and donated money so that I was able to partake in Tour De Cure. I would have been bummed if I had to miss out on it and thanks for your support!

WE DID IT!!!!!

Life Goes On

Well life certainly doesn't stop because you are sad that is for sure. It's totally true that the grass seems greener on the other side of the fence. I just read Kacy's blog about how annoyed she is with work. Every morning in the middle of dealing with temper tantrums, breastfeeding, baby puke, baby poop, Olivia missing the potty: I find myself daydreaming about waking up in the morning, putting on a nice outfit and heading off to work where I can actually talk to an adult and make some money maybe feel like I accomplish something. Don't get me wrong I love Olivia and Caleb but if one more person says to me, "so it must be nice not to work" I'm going to explode. Okay there is my venting for the week.

So I have such a hard time after a long weekend. I love having Cody home to hang out with and to help with the kids. It seems so sad when he goes back to work. We had such a fun and busy memorial day weekend. BBQ's, 4-wheeling, campfires, and refinishing hardwood floors. Yep leave it up to me to take what should be a relaxing weekend and make it stressful. I thought "hey we have 4 days we can re-do our kitchen floors easily" This project has been put off for 3 years and now I know why. After 4 coats of polyurethane, not being able to use my kitchen and a living room full of crap it is still not done. Not only is it not finished I am totally obsessed with every imperfect line I see. I have been staring at the floor for hours while biting my nails. Today I plan to do one more coat and hopefully call it good. Maybe by this weekend the kitchen will be functional again. If you come to my house just tell me it looks awesome even though you will probably notice a bunch of flaws.

Some fun pictures from this weekends events:

Caleb and grandma Brose singing Peas Poridge. He laughs everytime she sings it with him. Such a cute baby I love this smile!

Olivia's first 4-wheeling ride. It was a blast and she definetly needed the mommy and daddy time.

Our "campout" at grandma and grandpa Turmans. This was also tons of fun even though Cody and I didn't sleep over we went home to our nice cozy bed.

Mmmm S'more's!!!

Poor Caleb! I know he's only 3 months old but I truly think he hates when I put him in this bear suit. It's so nice and warm though.

Saying Goodbye

My heart hurts and I'm sure it will for a long time. When I needed to talk she would always listen, when I wanted a friend to go hiking with she was always ready never too busy, she always protected me when I was home alone, always made me smile when I felt sad. I'll miss her more then words can explain. Goodbye Bazil May you were loved and will be missed.

Crying Girl and Smiling Boy

This week has been challenging for me to say the least. Tuesday Olivia woke up with a fever and cried all morning long. This is not like Olivia at all. So I took her to the doctor and found out it was strep. Not fun for me or her. She continued to cry for the next 7 hours (not exaggerating!) I found myself praying for strength to deal with it. Finally around 6 p.m. she sat down on Caleb's bouncy chair. Silence!!! I couldn't believe it she had finally fallen asleep. A few doses of antibiotics did the trick and she is almost back to herself.

While Olivia was crying, Caleb was working on his smiling skills. He is the sweetest little guy. Every time he wakes up he just looks at me with a big grin. It totally makes it all worthwhile. I sometimes ask him not to become a 2 year old and just stay my little baby boy. This picture isn't the best but it seems like at this age they never smile when a camera is available so I did the best I could do at the moment.

Tulips, Tulips, & More Tulips

A few weeks ago my mom & I took the kids up to Thanksgiving point to see the Tulip Festival. It was so beautiful!!! Last year I was disappointed because the tulips hadn't bloomed. This year we chose the most perfect day. It was 80 degrees and tulips were everywhere. Olivia had so much fun running around and wearing me and my mom out.

2 months!!

Yes I just realized Caleb is almost 3 months old and I haven't even posted pictures of him at 2 months. What can I say about this little guy? I find myself loving him more & more everyday. He has made our family feel so much more complete. Olivia cannot get enough of him and I'm so glad. She tells everyone how much she loves her brother and the first time he smiled was for her.

Caleb's Stats:

Weight: 13 lbs. 5 oz.

Height: 24 inches

Favorite Food: Mom's Milk

Favorite Time of Day: Bath time

Favorite Friend: Big Sister Olivia

SO I GUESS I'LL TUTE MY OWN HORN

Well once again I've fallen behind on my blogging. I'm still trying to figure out how to take a shower before noon with 2 kids wanting my attention. So needless to say my blogging takes a major back burner to everything else.
So I'll start out by bragging about myself. Just what you have been waiting for I'm sure. I have been slowly trying to get back in shape after having Caleb. Of course my favorite exercise and activity right now is riding my bike. So to push myself into riding better I decided to sign up for the Salt Lake Marathon bike tour this year. Well let me re-phrase that. My brother talked me into signing up I was scared to death. It wasn't a race just a 26 mile ride along the same path as the marathon. We started at 6 a.m. (way too early) and it was about 40 degrees. As usual my dad was late picking me up so as we were unloading, getting gear on, and pumping up tires, we could hear the announcer counting down the start of the ride. It was hectic but dad and I were able to peddle down the hill and join the ride. Nic caught up within' seconds (of course) and very quickly past us up. I didn't see him again until I finally finished the ride. It was a beautiful ride and so much fun. I rarely get to ride with anybody so it was cool to be in a huge group. I think there was over 1,000 of us this year. And also so cool to be able to ride on busy streets without cars to worry about and not stopping at the stop lights was awesome as well. After about an hour of riding my dad left me in the dust and I slowly chugged along with the slow end of the group. Finally after making it up the what seemed like 200 mile hill on State Street I peddled through the finish line at Gateway. It felt great! I have always had a goal that I wanted to do the marathon but knew I would never be able to run (thanks to Davis High gym teachers running makes me sick). So I was very proud of myself for finishing. It's hard for me to do these kind of things because I am very intimidated by other peoples abilities compared to mine. But I did it!
My next group ride is June 6th --38 miles this time. I am scared to death but Nic keeps telling me "if you can do 26 you can do 100..easily." Yeah easy for someone with zero percent body fat that has nothing else to do besides ride all the time. Anyway I'm looking forward to that ride and forward to challenging myself more and more.

WHAT'S THE DEAL?

It's 10:15 a.m. and I just barely forced Olivia out of bed. Usually by this time of morning I am ready for a nap. Caleb woke up once at 4 a.m. and quickly went back to sleep. Needless to say I actually am not sleep deprived today! So with 2 sleeping kids you would think I would be getting some things done: get my work-out in, laundry, vacuum, clean the house. Well of course none of that happened. Instead I got on the computer and thought about all the things I need to get done. You cannot even walk into my front door without tripping over something or someone. The past two days of sun have made me selfish. I have forgot about house work and takin' every opportunity to be outside. At this point I think my mental health needs more work then the dirty kitchen and the sunshine does wonders. I took a bike ride on Monday (not long enough) but it's amazing how it rejuvenates me and I've been trying to work out at least an hour a day. Today I have plans to clean my house but here's what will probably happen instead: sit on the computer until 11, realize how late it is and work out until noon, realize Olivia needs lunch, 1 p.m. think I stink must take shower, 2:30 p.m. finally all clean for the day need to go grocery shopping, 4 p.m. finally home from grocery store.....damn my house needs to be cleaned but Caleb needs to eat, 5 p.m. time to get dinner ready, 5:45 eat dinner, 6:30 why am I so tired? I need to clean the house, 6:45 plop my butt on the couch and watch T.V. until 11 p.m., wake up tomorrow and do it all again. Life goes on.







Yesterday Kacy took some awesome pictures of my kids. So far the pictures I have seen are awesome! I can't believe they are my kids they are so dang cute. Yes I am one of those moms who brags about her children constantly and I don't care. Thanks Kacy for the pictures and all your creativity.

Last but not least an update on Bazil. Well after much praying and talking Cody and I decided to give Bazil surgery. She went in last Thursday and is still recovering. I talked to the vet yesterday and the biopsy of the lumps shows that the cancer is much more advanced this time, ultimately we probably only have a few more months with her. I try not to think about it. Right now I'm just happy that she isn't bothered by the lumps and we have a few more months to spoil her and enjoy her. I guess we should've said our goodbyes because the surgery cost a lot more then we were told and we have our own hospital bills to pay, but I like to think there is a reason we went for it besides selfishness.







Our lazy morning












Sleeping on the couch.

Finally eating breakfast at 10:00 a.m. Or should we call it brunch?

I hate this thing on her head more then she does. My newly painted walls have scuff marks all over them from her. One more week and it comes off!!

I think I'm Back!!!

Well I was going to stop blogging but I realize that it kind of helps me vent when I am either happy or not so happy. And today I really need to do some venting so I'm back hopefully I can keep up on it a little better. We have had a lot going on so I will just start with the most exciting event. On February 19th we were blessed with our 2nd child. Caleb Manuel Turman. I went into the hospital at 7 a.m. to be induced turns out I was already in labor! At 12:45 he was born. I still can't believe he was 9 lbs. 4 oz. I knew he would be big but wow!! And such an easy labor I am still in shock. He came out screaming and hasn't really cried since. He is such an easy going little guy. Usually just tries to be patient with me while I deal with his sister or patient while his over eager big sister snuggles him to death. She loves being a big sister and loves Caleb more then I could have imagined. Every morning the first thing she asks is, "Where's my brother?" So she has to go see him and give him hugs and kisses before she can start her day. She has not shown one sign of jealousy towards the baby, even when I am buisy with him (usually feeding him) and can't play with her right away. We were able to bring him home for 2 weeks then he got very sick with RSV. We had to admit him to the hospital for a few days for oxygen and breathing treatments. It was harder on me then Caleb I'm sure. It was a balancing act trying to keep one parent at the hospital with Caleb while another took care of Olivia. And since I am breast feeding I stayed at the hospital the most. Every night I would leave for the hospital and Olivia would just cry and beg me not to go. It still breaks my heart thinking of it. But luckily we were able to bring him home after 3 days in the hospital. He was on oxygen at home for another week but I could handle that as long as I was home with him. I feel very ashamed to admit this but I think I am just barely really falling in love with Caleb. It's horrible to say that but the month has been so full of emotional rollercoasters I haven't had a chance to just enjoy the little guy until now. He is absolutly beautiful (I know I have a biased opinion) and everytime I take him out someone comments on his hair. I can't believe Olivia and Caleb are my kids. I'm a mother of two and as hard as the last month has been I feel so incredibly blessed to have them in my life. I try to remind myself that everyday when I sit down to look over our outrageous hospital bills. So what we are poor at least we have each other and things will get paid off in time. I would also like to say thank you to my friends and family that helped so much with meals and mental support during the last month. Not having to worry about dinner helped out more then I thought it would and I really appreciate everyone thinking about us and supporting us.

Some pictures!!!

And now for some difficult news. I know I posted a few months ago about our sweet dog Bazil. Well unfortunetly the tumors are back and much worse. We have been given 2 options: Pay $700 (which we don't have) for them to be removed (they will come back and worse), Or say our goodbyes. Now this decision has been eating both of us up. We have had Bazil for 8 years and she has been nothing but a perfect, loyal pup. We might be saying goodbye soon but I guess I'm just asking for prayers. Cody and I are really having a difficult time with this and luckily Bazil isn't suffering the tumors just itch so she licks all day long. I remember somebody telling me that the only reason they never had pets was because they couldn't stand the pain of letting them go. I never understood that until now. Anyway I know this isn't a happy story but I just feel that the more prayers out there maybe the easier the decision will be for us.

We love you Bazil May!!