Its that time of year again!

Well, another December has rolled up on us. We’re now 4 days until Christmas and though the house is a glow with lights and decorations, it really doesn’t FEEL like Christmas. I blame it primarily on the weather. Current forecast for Friday is 73°/62° with a 40% chance of rain. What’s up with that?! Its supposed to be cold on Christmas. But then again we live in Georgia and I’ve somewhat come to expect that. You really never know what its going to be from one week to the next.

Weather aside, things are still just not quite Christmasy. Its somewhat hard to get into the holiday spirit when you have sick kids, work schedules that are hectic and crazy, and no Christmas Story on the TV! Jack has been sick with RSV for the better part of a week now which is just wreaking havoc on Jess and I. He’s not sleeping well at night, been throwing up due to a persistent cough and is just fussy, all the time. Its hard to get a full night sleep any night these days. No matter what time he goes to bed, chances are he’ll be up between 3 and 4:30. Granted, he’ll usually go back to bed, that’s just not an hour when anyone WANTS to be up. But thems the breaks. That comes with the territory when you have young kids. At any give time, one or more will be sick or hurt or needing something. And we, as parents have to provide that. Not always easy when you don’t know what they need or want, but we always figure it out.

Another thing thats rough is finding time for ourselves. Either Jess and I together without cleaning up toys/food/socks/sippy cups/puke and yelling at one of them to be quiet or stop running or calm down, or one of us being solo at the the gym or shopping or just being quiet for a minute. Its hard to find the time despite being off work. I have two weeks of vacation, but that just means I’m not working, doesn’t mean I have oodles of free time. On the flip side, it does mean that we get more time with our boys. We have time to reconnect with the kids. Time that’s been lost over the past few months due to work. We have an opportunity to just be at home, take our kids out to play or shop or on walk. We don’t have to send our sick baby to a “school” that has given him RSV, HFM, and 5ths over the past 3 months. We can be home with them and get back to being the best parents we can. On that note, we don’t have to take Jack back to his “school” at all! We have not been happy with his schooling for quite some time and now we don’t have to take him back. He will be home and in better care over the next several months. He will be away from the germs, he’ll be able to get more sleep and more one-on-one attention. All thanks to my mom who has retired (again).

So there’s just a big bag of mixed emotions right now. It doesn’t feel like Christmas, but it feels like family. I get frustrated at my boys for being crazy and waking us up at all hours of the day and running around the house and not eating, but I love spending more time with them. I finally get to see my wife more than 2-3 hours a day. I get to spend time with her and reconnect, but that comes with no less than 2 kids running around the house demanding our attention at all times they are awake. Its just a season. Seasons change and it takes some easing into it. Unlike the weather in Georgia things don’t just change overnight. We’ll ease into this vacation and by Friday, it’ll feel like Christmas. The boys will come down the stairs and be in awe at the wonder that’s under the tree. We’ll have our homemade cinnamon rolls, just like every year.

Haphazard post thrown together while the family sleeps. Just some thoughts I wanted to get out there. I keep meaning to post more, but that just doesn’t seem to pan out. As we always say in this house “Start fresh on Monday!”

Half a year later

I honestly don’t even know where to begin. My last post was in December of 2014, and it’s now July 2015. That’s WAY to long to go without posting. So today, I start again.

But where to start? Do I make a post about Jack, Lane, Tough Mudder, my new tattoo, the basement, work, beer, the gym, or somewhere else? Too much has happened over the past 7 months to capture it all. There’s just no way to get it all into a post, and I’m sure I’ve forgotten more things than I’d ever be able to share here.

So now that I’ve wasted the first two paragraphs talking about how much I haven’t talked about in the past year I’m just gonna get right down to things.

65839600-5811-4401-B20E-63067F4660BEJack:
Jack is about to be 9 months old. We love this guy! He’s got so much personality and is such a Turner that it hurts some times. He’s not quite rolling over consistently yet, but he’s certainly done it a few times. He is on baby food, eats everything, and is growing like crazy. Right now he’s teething and about to cut his 8th… or 9th tooth. We’ve lost count as it happens so rapidly. The other week he started saying “dadadada” and then “mamamamama”. So talking isn’t far off. We’ve got a walker that he really enjoys being in because he’s mobile. I have a feeling this kid will be walking before he can craw, which is something he’s not really been keen on as of yet. So, this is a far cry from the last time I posted about Jack. He still frustrates the hell out of us, but I don’t know of any 9 month old that is just always the perfect baby. Oh, and he’s trending about 8-9 months ahead of his age as far as clothing, so that’s always fun.

OCR (Obstacle Course Races):

Watch these. That’ll pretty much sum things up. Jess and I have done both a Tough Mudder and Warrior Dash this year. I have 2 Spartan races coming up in the fall and can’t wait!

Work:
Work is work. I’ve been working on the same project for the better part of 2 years now. The good thing is, its not something that has either a budget or end date. I can always add more features and functionality and as long as our sales team sells it, I’ll be in demand!

The house:
I don’t know what I have / haven’t posted about in regards to what’s been done around the house. We’ve done more landscaping in the back yard, had some more trees cut down, painted some rooms, re-arranged furniture, contemplated finishing things, started new things and generally been home owners who own a home that always have something to do. Also, it seems that no matter how much water I put on the grass it doesn’t want to turn into a golf course.

Jack and LaneLane:
Where to even begin with this kid?! He’s grown so much in the past year that it’s hard to capture it all even if I posted every day. There’s nothing this kid can’t do, especially if you ask him. As a general rule he really can do most things, and even things he can’t he’ll give it a try. This kid surprises me all the time. He wanted some yogurt out of the fridge the other day, so he found a stool, took it into the kitchen, climbed to the top shelf of the fridge and got it. He only likes to ask for help, so you can watch him do something on his own. He loves his family, gets frustrated and communicates why, tells jokes, remembers things that both Jess and I have long since forgotten, is able to follow even the most complex of directions. I want to freeze time so I can keep him at this age forever, but I am also excited to see what’s next in his big little world.

Friends:
It seems that these days its becoming more and more difficult to make time to hang out with my friends. We’ve all got kids now and syncing up schedules and such is always such a chore. On the off chance that we do get to hang out, its a great time. I love my friends and have some really great people in my life.

Jess:
Speaking of great people in my life…. This woman. She’s my best friend. My companion. My wife. My everything. There are days when she frustrates me, days when I frustrate her, but at the end of EVERY day there is such a deep love and respect that I can’t imagine any other life. She has grown so much as a mother, teacher, and person in the past year and I am just so proud of all the things she has accomplished. There really is a never ending list of ways I love her.

The gym:
First off, I still HATE pull-ups. I have continued to get stronger, faster, better, and more well rounded in the gym. But my hands and my grip are still weak and no matter what I do, I will most likely rip. I did the Memorial Day Murph, which has 100 pull-ups and despite finishing I did some serious damage to my hands. Despite my pull-ups not getting much better, I’ve increased the weight that I can lift via deadlift, clean, jerk, push press, drastically. But with that being said this past week I discovered that we all have bad days and my bad day was an abysmal performance while trying to do a bench press. In my attempt to simply do the same weight/reps I’ve done before I failed. A lot. This left me with a sour taste in my mouth, but at the same time, it gave me a drive to get back in the gym and work on my weakness and turn it around.

Varicose veins:
I had them, not so much any more. Many, many, many years in the making and I have finally gotten ride of the veins that were so unsightly in my legs. I’m only about a week out from my final procedure, but I can tell that things are improving. In about 5 more weeks all the swelling should be down and I’ll have some silky smooth legs! Well, maybe not that much, but they’ll be tenfold better than they were.

Chase, Jack, JessChase:
We have a teenager. And a teenager he certainly is. One minute he’s dancing and singing in the kitchen with us, the next he’s completely shut him self into his room and won’t join us for anything. He has some massive mood swings and they come out of nowhere. With that being said, he’s still a really good kid. There are other teens out there that are just unbearable, but not Chase. He has all the signs of being a teen, and just like with our other two kids, eventually he’ll grow out of that phase and move on to the next one. Hopefully the football he’s signed up for that starts in the fall will help him with that.

All the rest:
Like I mentioned earlier, I can’t begin to cover everything. My goal is to keep posting and try to capture as much of the day-to-day as I can. Pics, videos, Tweets, etc., I’d like to get it all, or at the very least a majority of it.

And so begins middle school!

He's only 11?!
He’s only 11?!

A few weeks ago our baby started his school and since then we’ve been buzzing around getting things ready for our 11 year old to start middle school. So after much preparation and double checking our supply lists, that day came, and boy was everyone excited!

The morning started off like any other, with getting Jess out the door in time to get to her school by 7:30 and me getting BLT Jr up and fed and out the door to get to his school by 8. Today, however we had one more task to mark off our checklist. Chase had to get to the bus stop by 8:30 and he didn’t want to miss it on his first day. Now I’ll go ahead and preface this with the fact that Chase is a bit of a nervous kid when it comes to new things. Something of this magnitude was like on another level.

For the past few years he had been in the same school where his mom taught. If ever anything were to come up, he could always just go right down the hall and get it resolved or taken care of. He wasn’t going to miss a bus or be late, unless she was. They were together and when he didn’t have her, he had his friends. Chase had built relationships with a lot of kids over the past few years and all that was about to change. This was a new school, in a new county, with new procedures, teachers, kids, everything. Walking in yesterday, Chase didn’t know a soul (other than the friend he made over the summer).

Jess was a bit nervous prior to yesterday, and in fact she stayed nervous throughout most of the day. However, I knew otherwise. I drove Chase to the bus stop just… you know, because that’s what parents do. I did make sure to park a good distance away so that I wouldn’t interfere with the establishment of social hierarchy. What happened when Chase got out of the car was a masterpiece! He had his notebook in one hand and as soon as he got out an 8th grader tossed him a football. Rather than duck or fumble it, Chase caught it like a boss and kept on walking over to the group of kids that were there. I couldn’t have been more proud and I knew that things were gonna be just fine. I sat there for a few more minutes until the bus showed up. Chase lined up with the rest of the kids, boarded his chariot and was whisked away to his next adventure. His mom and I pondered throughout the day how things were going. She had made sure he had a “cheat sheet” with all his bus numbers and home room numbers and such on it, so he was good to go, but you never REALLY know unless you’re there.

The bus crew
He fit right in!

When Chase got home that afternoon, the flood of information began. And let me say, I don’t recall ever seeing this kid so excited about something. He was gleaming and literally couldn’t contain himself. Ear-to-ear smiles and chatter about his day. From the lunch to the “freedom” between classes, to the gym, it was all he could think about. He wanted it to be day two already! That’s the thing about Chase, this kid LOVES learning and being in school. He is super smart and bright and willing to learn. He is genuinely eager to excel in class. At school, he made sure to write important things down and get lists of what he needed on day two. He actually had a chance to be in class with the friend he made over the summer so he was at ease with that. This young man had a blast!

So that was day one and it was a success! The next day (today) Jess started her first day of teaching in a new school, so stay tuned for a post about that. In the past three weeks we’ve since shipped off three family members to three schools! Its craziness! Things are certainly changing around here with new schedules and routines, but change doesn’t necessarily mean a bad thing. Stay tuned for most posts on how things are progressing!

I told him to stand in a "cool pose"
I told him to stand in a “cool pose”
Taking a photo
The whole crew!

 

The week that never ended

Well, I mean eventually it ended, but damn this week was a pain in the ass.

When I say “pain in the ass” I literally mean it when it comes to what we’ve had to deal with this past week. Lane, Chase, Jess, and I all have had the doom stomach sickness. It started with BLT puking in his bed last Thursday night and rolling around in it all night. He proceeded to throw up again all over himself and highchair Friday morning. Then Saturday, it hit me like a ton of bricks, or a ton of feathers, either way, I was down for the count. JT was a trooper and took care of Lane and I… that is until she got smacked with the black death around 3am on Sunday. Now we had a baby that was recovering from being sick, Jess feeling the effects, and me doing my best to hold it together. We thought our lil’ guy was on the mend, that was until he lost the contents of his stomach all over again.

We went into the weekend with such high hopes, even visited the local farmers market in search of fresh produce and such. But it quickly turned into a festering pool of dispair and unmentionables. Surely come Monday we could kick it into over drive and plow through the week.

Oh, my bad… I must have been thinking of some other week. Jess was still writing on Monday and had to stay out of work. Since she was mobile for the most part she stayed with BLT and Chase and trucked on through the day. Got the sheets clean and windows open. Things were looking up and by Tuesday we were all back to work/school!

BAM! In your face good mood! Tuesday afternoon turned out to be probably the worst, or at least second worst day of the week. For starters Lane is getting to the point where he just LOVES to hear him self babble and yell and blow raspberries and spit out his food and… well, here lemme show you.
Lane in the car:

Lane “eating” dinner:

This is what Jess has to put up with for upwards of 3 hours a day JUST in the car. She gets home before me and has to try and get him fed too. That’s just insane. Anyone else’s kid and they would be out back with the coyote. Yeah, we have those now apparently too. I mean bajeeze this kid is loud. Any way, she puts up with this and has a splitting headache on Tuesday only to find out that she does not have a key to get in the house. So now she’s suck outside of her safe haven with a fussy baby, a hungry 10 year old, and a migrane. Damn you Tuesday, you suck worse than the whole weekend combined.

So Wednesday rolls around and its rainy and we’re running late in the morning and this weeks in the shitter, but we’re gonna push on, right? Well Wednesday is my usual work from home day and I am usually able to get work done because the fam is off at school/work. Well Jess has asked me to keep Lane home with me. Admittedly I was somewhat of a turd and didn’t want to keep him. I wanted my peace. ME ME ME!! That’s totally not fair to her at all, do you remember the videos? So stomped my feet, pouted like a little girl, but kept BLT home with me. We made the best of it, I put on my big boy pants and I got the majority of the work I needed to do done. By the time Jess got home I was needing a break just as bad as she did on Monday.

Whew, time for a breather. We had dinner, watched Survivor, and did our best to just be calm for the remainder of the night Chase had to go to the bathroom a few times, but honestly that was nothing new since he really chew his food as much as he inhales it. What we didn’t realize was that it was the precursor to the mudbutt.

Thursday morning and we’re getting ready to head in as if it were any other day and SLAP! Reality hits us in the face. JT calls me to come to Chases room where we are greeted with a delightful crime scene art project. This kid has some how rolled over in the middle of the night, and blew chunks from the top bunk down to the white carpet below and went back to sleep. I mean, hot dog bits mixed with ketchup and vegetable soup. It was literally a 4 foot splatter radius. I don’t think he ever even knew he did it. Earlier when I said that Tuesday was the second worst day, it was second to this. There was simply no way that JT or I would be able to handle this day alone so we both elected to stay home. She watched BLT while I went to the store to rent a RugDoctor.

The rest of the day was spent tending to a sick Chase and a fussy Lane. Oh and working and cleaning the house and doing other chores and you know… living. The afternoon wasn’t that bad and we even managed to squeeze in a family walk, which is good considering we’re doing Tough Mudder in like 4 months.

So we made it to Friday and just as we’re on our way out the door Lane’s baby sitter texts and says that her grandson has the stomach bug. WTF?! Can we not escape this damn thing?! Now we have OTHER people’s kids preventing us from simply having a normal day. Well, we decided to take Lane to the sitter and she would just quarantine the sick child in another room. Whether or not that work remains to be seen and I’m sure if anything comes of it we’ll be cleaning it up in the morning.

At this point the house is pretty much sterile, the carpet is pearly white, the family is happy and resting and we have a game plan of attack on the leaves and duties of the house tomorrow. Grammy is gonna watch Lane while we move stuff to the attic and deal with the leaves outside and then its shopping and decorate-fest 2k12 all over again!

This week has been a bitch, but we pulled through so far. There’s still two days to go, but I feel like we can make it. It’s not the worst this family has ever been through and I’m sure we’ll deal with this sort of thing again. We’re better than little things like puke and yelling babies. We can pull through the strife. We’re the Snipers! Its what we do.

Oh, and in case you were curious how our Friday night went, this should give you a good indication.

Welcome to WRESTLEMANIA…art

Chase is probably one of the biggest wresting fans on the planet right now. He watches it every week, has a million “wrestle guys”, knows all the names, has shirts, and hats, and posters, and is pretty much all about some WWE. For Christmas he was fortunate enough to get some Wrestlemania tickets. This was the first time in the 27 years of the PPV that it has ever been to Atlanta. I wanted to go super bad, but the joy it would bring him was well worth it for me to not.
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‘Mudcat’ Malley

Locust Grove Mudcats

Yesterday was opening day for the Locust Grove Little League. For weeks Chase has been going to practice, out in the yard throwing the ball or catching the ball or hitting or swinging, or running or anything he could do to prep for “the big game”. He didn’t get his uniform until the morning of so he was a bit concerned about that in addition to all the butterflies about being on the field with all the people watching. As it got closer and closer to the actual game you could tell that it was all he could think about. He was ready!

So the Mudcat’s took the field (Chase playing first base) and were all set to get this game started. Since this was the first official game all the kids were still a bit unsure of where to throw the ball or when to run or which one of the dozen’s of yelling adult voices to listen to. Chase may have missed a few catches for a play at first, but he also was right there to get a few kids out. His eye was always on the ball and he was focused. Eventually the Mudcat’s were up to bat. Chase was deep in the line-up to bat, so it took a while for him to get out there. Once he did he got a base hit. It wasn’t the grandslam he wanted, he didn’t send the ball soaring over the fences into someone’s windshield, but he got on base. He did exactly what he was supposed to, listed to the first base coach, ran like the dickens and stayed put. That inning the Mudcat’s didn’t score any runs.

The game went on and eventually the Cats lost. Their very first game was loss in points but a gain in fun. Those kids were out there having a blast! They were doing what they had been practicing and trying their best. No hard feelings where had cause they knew there would be other game and much more fun to be had.

Since this was opening day there was a wonky game schedule. If they lost the first game they would play again at 2:30, if they won the first game they would play at 4:30, then if they lost that they were out, but if they won that there would be a 6:30 game. Luck for us, we only had one more game that day. So Chase hung out with his dad and Jess and I went and had some lunch and piddled around the house trying to get chores done we knew we’d have to do at some point this weekend. We made it back to the game just in time to watch the first pitch (parking was a mad disaster). This game was between the Mudcats and The Braves!

You could tell the kids were tired but somehow more into this game. They were more focused on where throw the ball or when to swing. It was like a different team! Chase had 2 turns to bat in this game, the first was a double! He slammed the ball into the outfield getting it just shy of the fences. Had the kids not thrown the ball when they did, ‘Mudcat’ Malley would’ve been on third. The next kid up didn’t do so well, so that inning was over. As the game went on The Braves just couldn’t hold up to the onslaught that the Mudcat’s were bringing! A few more outs here, some more runs there, and the game was over. Final score was like 8 to 5 or something. The Mudcat’s could now celebrate their first victory!

Chase played SO well out there. He was working with his teammates, listening to the coaches, focused on hitting the ball and really made us proud. He really likes playing baseball and we’ll keep him at it for as long as he wants. I never thought I’d be a dad out there with a camera filming my son in a little league baseball game. Those kinds of things just never came as a thought to me. Sports were just not something I did growing up so it never occurred to me that I’d be out there with a kid enjoying them as much as I did. I’m so proud of him and can’t wait to be out there again with my camera, cooler, sunflower seeds, and wife, and anything else I can bring to make these moment’s last a life time.

J-Dog in the house!

Jan Turner
Jan Turner - Day 1

This post has been a long time in the making. Well, more like a month in the making. The story goes a little something like this.

Jess and Chase had been wanting a puppy for ages, however we were extremely reluctant due to the fact that we live in an apartment. There are extra fees, the clean up, the 2 flights of steps, the noise, etc. All that adds to to a very problematic situation. Couple that with the fact that our schedules didn’t really give us a lot of time at home and we just were destined to not get a new addition to our family any time soon.

Well, as soon as Jess started back to school it became apparent that the overall mood and stress of our current living arrangements was not conducive to a happy life. So after much deliberation and and a rash decision to “just go SEE the puppies at the pound” we headed to the Atlanta Human Society.
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Wrestle Bowl Fest 2010 (Chase turns 8)

First ever Candle vs. Chair match!
Wrestle Cake!

For Chase’s 8th birthday we decided to make him a Rasslin’ Cake. He’s pretty much the biggest wrestling fan on the planet right now and Jess and I are bound and determined to elevate or cooking/baking arsenal. So, after several failed attempts, scouring of the interwebs for the perfect recipe, several trips to hardware stores and/or cooking supply stores, and countless hours standing in front of the oven, we made the best cake we could. It may not have been the perfect cake, but to our 8 year old, it was magical.

The party itself was a ton of fun. We had it at the bowling alley in Griffin. Chase and several friends spent the day bowling, playing arcade game, eating pizza and cake, and generally having a great time. He got a ton of cool presents. Everyone had a great time! In addition to all the kids having fun, the adults did as well. Speaking of adults, this was the first time Jess’ mom and my parents got to meet. They seemed to get along really well! I have a feeling they’ll be seeing a lot more of each other at future functions!

This was my first birthday with Chase and I can’t tell you how great it felt. I really did feel like a dad. Getting to watch him interact with the other kids, watching the joy on his face when he opened all his presents. Cheering him on while he bowled. Helping him try to get that elusive strike. It all just felt right. I can’t wait until 9, 10, 21, 30, etc. He’s such a great kid who deserves the world, and I intend on being there to give him that.

The Pics:
[flickr-gallery mode=”photoset” photoset=”72157624340881556″]

Muthaz Day!

SniperChef
Sniper Chef

Today was Mother’s Day, and I have to admit, it was the best one in recent memory. I got to spend it with my two favorite mothers, my own mom and Jess. What made it so great was that it was low-key, stress-free, and full of love.

This morning, Chase and I got up and made Jess a fantabulous breakfast (biscuits and sausage gravy). Then we sat around and just chilled before heading over to my parents. Usually an afternoon at my folks is filled with stress and hustling and moving food from here to there and dozens of family (which I love the family, don’t get me wrong) and all the usual stuff, but today was different. It was just Me, Jess, Chase, Mom, Dad, Heather, Jason, and the twins. We grilled up some burgers and dogs while Chase ran around outside. Then we had a lunch and just enjoyed some time chatting and playing with the kiddos. After helping with some stuff around the house, it was time to head back to Sniperville and enjoy some downtime with my own little family.

We took a short little nap before Jess jumped right into her first writing assignment for her masters program. I have to commend her on sticking with it. She’s been out of the world of writing and learning and going through the learning process for a while, but she did it. I read her paper and it sounds like she hasn’t missed a beat.

After the paper was done, we put Chase to bed and just enjoyed the rest of the night on the couch watching some TV and just being together. It seems like only a shot while that Jess and I have been together, but at the same time, it feels like a lifetime. She means the world to me. She is a fantastic mother to her son and she is a great woman to me. She is strong, independent, caring, understanding, patient, and eager to grow with me. She’s there for me when I am down and need some help getting back up, and she let’s me help her when she’s not at her peak. We work together, listen, understand, and strive to make every day better than the previous.

I love this woman who has come into my life. I love her for everything she is and everything I know she will be in the future. I will try my hardest to remind her every day how special she is to me and how much I truly do love her.

Thank you Jess for being you. I love you.

Take me (us) out to the ball game!

Chase with game ball
Game ball!

Being from Philly, SJ’s mom gets tickets to the Braves vs. Philly’s game every year they are playing in Atlanta. It just so happened that this was one of those years. Also, with Jess’ spring break coming up she decided to take a look at the Braves schedule to see if there were any games that week we could take Chase too, it just so happened that the Braves were playing the Philly’s that week. Jess gave her mom and ring and come to find out, she had 4 tickets. We totally jumped on board with that and were all set for some good old fashioned ball game fun.
Continue reading “Take me (us) out to the ball game!”