Category: Family

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!”

Some times you’re in the weeds

And other times you are in some pristine field with a perfectly manicured lawn and the fresh smell of daisies wisps into your nostrils. But like I said some times its the smell of a poopy diaper and none of your kids will talk to you. Never mind that one of them is 9 months and physically can’t talk, this is the time when things just suck.

For example, that first week of school, things just suck. Unless you are a 3.5 year old and LOVE the hell out of school, want to bring all your friends donuts on the first day, and talk about school all the time, the first week most likely sucks. Why is this the case? Really it comes down to a change of pace. Like all summer things were going good. We finally figured out the timing and schedules of our kids. We had their eating patterns down and figured out how to manipulate the 13 year old to come out of his room and say more than 3 words. However, now all hell has broken lose and we have now idea of what to do.

Day one seems to go great, two-thirds of the kids come home in a decent mood. Its not really a matter of two out of the three kids, but each kid is 2/3 happy… more of less. We really have no idea of what to have for dinner, there’s football practice to contend with, it’s 4 trillion degrees outside and really all daddy wants is a glass of Jack Daniels. But we held strong and had the food that we bought, stay steady, get the kids in bed at some point and prepare for day two.

The second day is just kinda going through the motions. Somehow we’re already on auto pilot and at the same time trying to figure things out. The kids come home, one of them won’t talk to us, the other goes straight to bed, and the third is bouncing off the walls. JD anyone?? Nope, stick with it. Cook that food we bought, kill a few beers from the fridge and just keep on keeping on.

Day three and four are kinda the same except for the fact that all we want to do is not dirty up another dish and to just get the hell out of the house. Again the best plan of attack proves to be simply staying in and cooking the food we had. By now we’ve figured out what to do with the two kids that don’t have football practice and despite the 9:something bedtime for the 3yr old the night seems to go rather well.

So unlike the beginning of the weeks, where it was nothing but weeds, we made it to the field of green grass. Friday came, I got my mom to come watch the kiddos so Jess and I could have a meal that we didn’t have to prepare and could actually enjoy. It didn’t really matter what we had as long as we could enjoy it in the peace and quite of a noisy restaurant.

That’s how things go. Some times it sucks balls… though now that I think about it. Any way, it can always take a turn. No matter where you are at any point it can get better or worse. And on top of that its all about perspective. I “complain” about dealing with the kids and football and dinner and no bourbon, while others have much less than I. Other people would love to be in this position. And there are other’s out there that complain that their nanny was late and now they can’t go to the first session of hot yoga and will have to reschedule their $60 manicure. Each family is different and no matter what the case may be, I would never want anything other than the one I have. I love my boys and my wife. We have our ups and downs, but that’s what makes us a family. We all go through this together. Some days we can’t get the teenager to stop talking while other days I’m not even sure he’s home. The 3yr old will pretty much always be running somewhere and doing ninja slices but on occasion he’ll be running to just give us a kiss. The youngest can’t even crawl yet despite being 9 months old, but you know what, he’s also got a head full of teeth and is like 4 days long! Tomorrow that little guy will blow my mind with how big he’s gotten.

I love all of it. The weeds, the grass, the rocks and sticks, the leaves, the sun, rain, clouds, sky, sunset, and everything in between. Those were all metaphors for life at home in general. But I do actually love all those things too, but also metaphors people. Stay with me.

Until next week, I’ll leave you with this. The hardest rocker to Mickey Mouse ever. EVER. Period.
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Birthday boat day!

Happy TurnersEvery year someone in this house gets a little older. This year it happened to be Jess, and what better way to celebrate getting older than to spend the day on the lake with some great friends and perfect weather! For the past few years we’ve wound up on the lake near the end of the summer. Every time we go out we have a blast and make a point to do it more often. Of course the more often part never happens, but we still have a great time.

In years past we’ve had a bigger boat, more people, and MUCH MORE DRINKING! However, with every passing year our bodies get a little bit older and the responsibilities to ourselves and our kids goes up. The decision was made to tone back the consumption and tone up the fun. This turned out to be a pretty smart choice. Rather than ending the day feeling completely smashed and unable to take care of the kiddos, we came home a bit sunburned, maybe a little light headed, but totally able to hang with the boys and not wish we had made better choices throughout the day. I probably should have put just a tad more sunscreen on my arms, but that’s about it!

The group of people on the boat was interesting. Usually its a circle of friends that pretty much all know each other. Yesterday there were certainly some that had met in the past, but we also had some new friends. My sister and her husband were there, we had some old friends we hadn’t seen in a while, and some new friends who brought a great mix to the crowd. In addition to new faces, we also had a tube for pulling behind the boat. Usually we end up in a cove somewhere jumping/sliding off the boat and just kinda farting around the lake. This time we took turns tubing around and really being a bit more active. I think this was clutch in the assistance of not getting demolished by the son and a-a-a-alcohol.

So the birthday boat day was a total success this year. No one totaled their car the night before and had to spend the day in a sling and on pain meds and we subjected to the abundance of fireball in the sky and fireball in a shot glass. It was a great day and we will do it again. Hopefully sooner rather than later. Maybe next time we can take our boys out on the lake. I think they really would enjoy it. Maybe not Jack, but by the time we’re back on the lake he’ll be nearly two, so it might not be so bad. Wait… almost two?! That means he’s almost one now. EEK!! Where has the time gone.

Pics of the fun day!

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.

Time’s a changing!

And so is the bloggins. For the past several years, SniperBear.net has been dedicated to the life and times of Jess and I, and our growing family. Posts would range from new additions to the family to vacations to struggles with putting together furniture and even CrossFit. However, now that our family is complete it’s time to move things over to a new blog. So with that, I will now be posting over at Turner5.us. I feel the new blog, at least in name, represents the family as a whole now. Where as before, with SniperBear it was more of the beginning and middle of Jess’ and I’s journey as we started a family. I consider it the prologue to the full story. At Turner5.us, it’ll mostly be the same format, but hopefully posts will come in more frequently. I want to really capture the life of my family. Life isn’t all rainbows and kitten and uni-horses, there are struggles and aches and days when things are stains. But for every bad day there are countless good ones. Long nights lead to longer days, or maybe they don’t.

So that’s that. I may come back here and post from time to time, but my focus will be over at the new site. I’ll still post about CrossFit and end up making posts will a few manhattan’s into the evening, but that’s all part of being a dad to 3 wonderful boys and a husband to an amazing wife.

Thanks for sticking with us for the past 4+ years!

Seven days to Jack!

Jack!Where to begin…
What a whirlwind of an adventure these past few months have been. I can honestly only speak for myself, as I know Jess has had her fair share of ups and downs with this pregnancy.

In 7 days, yes SEVEN days Jack will be here. I can’t believe how quickly that crept up on us. Some how it’s flown by and crept along all the same. There were weeks and months that just wouldn’t end, but in hindsight they were gone in the blink of an eye. Jess has had a heck of a time with this one. A week ago we were in the hospital dealing with an ungodly migraine the likes that she had never experienced. A headache so bad it kept her home from work for 5 days! That’s not something you want to go through at the end of your pregnancy. Luckily, they subsided and she was back on her feet. I don’t envy what she went through, but am happy that it was relatively short-lived.

For me, I can say that I’ve gone through a lot of emotional turmoil, especially here recently. There were days when I resented Jack for taking away my wife and causing her pain, and for making her unable to enjoy things with Chase, Lane, and I. Before he was even born, I was already at a place where I was angry at him. How totally unfair is that?! My own child, who is merely growing and has no knowledge of anything other than his mother’s womb was making me angry. That only made me even more angsty. I got mad at myself for getting mad. But those days were few and far between.

There were other days when I thought how lucky I am to be able to have another child, and a boy at that! I would look at Lane or Chase, and just be utterly surprised at how wonderful they were. Two boys roughing around the house playing and laughing and having the best time of their lives. Not really knowing that in no time at all, they would have a 3rd joining their party. Lane would become an OLDER brother and get to pass down things that Chase taught him. The two of them would be best buds and go on adventures and play and do all the things that brothers do. Chase would be the older brother in the crew shuttling around his little brothers and rasslin’ with them. All the while, Jess and I would get to sit by and watch it all unfold in front of us. How did we get so lucky? Those days were far more numerous!

It all happened so fast. Just yesterday we were TALKING about getting pregnant, right? But at the same time, we had done so much these past nine months. Granted this summer was not as adventurous as last summer, but we still did a lot! We had still managed to cram a ton of things into our plate and get here to the end.

The house is ready and stocked with clothes and all the necessities needed for Jack’s arrival next week. Jess is eager to have him, if only to start the recovery process, and I simply can’t wait to meet him. I think Jess has made more of a connection with him than I did. I feel like with Lane I made a quick connection, mainly because he was my first child by birth. I had never been through something as wonderful as holding my son for the first time and all the preparations. So I was able to connect and really get involved. With Jack, it seems to me that I’ve actually grown closer to Lane and Chase. Mainly because at least over the past month or so, Jess has been unable to really participate in everything and I typically take the reigns when it comes to managing the boys. Getting them to/from school, baths, play time, shopping, etc. I’ve really had to stay on my game when it comes to their day-to-day happenings. So that has brought me closer to them. On the flip side however is that it hasn’t really allowed me to be as close to Jack as I want to be. That will all change next week. I will actually be able to hold him, see him with my own eyes, care for him, and provide the things he needs. Something only Jess has been able to do for the duration of this pregnancy. I just can’t wait to hold him and talk to him and give him all the love and attention I can.

Jess said it when she was pregnant with Lane and I didn’t fully understand it then, but the love in our lives doesn’t get divided amongst our kids, it simply grows. We somehow get more! We don’t love one kid more than the other because that’s all that we have. We love all our kids more because they bring us love in return. Jack will be a wonderful addition to our family. There will be days when we’re all fed up or sick or frustrated or tired, but those days just like any other will pass. We’ll go on adventures, take vacations to places we’ve never been, tell stories, take pictures, and keep on being the amazing family we are. Jess and I can’t wait for the next chapter in our lives, and lucky for us, we don’t have to wait much longer to experience it!

 

“Get out of my butthole”

Oh the things kids say these days! That’s just a small sample of the wonders that Lane continues to utter these days. For instance, yesterday he and Jess were getting his hair cut when he walked over to a table where there was a tea pot and some plates out and Lane said “oh, some one was having a tea party!” He then proceeded to have his own tea party. The other day while pooping he had a little nugget in the toilet and he says “look out little poop, big poop is coming for you!” And he promptly dropped a giant turd into the toilet.

He really does have a fantastic imagination. He’ll sit and play with his “friends” (various Lego or Mickey Mouse figures) and make them interact with one another and go on adventures. Having never really been around a lot of kids, I’m not sure if that’s just totally the norm or if he’s like inventing new things that have never been seen by mankind. My guess is that it falls somewhere in between.

Speaking of this weekend and things our kid has done, I went to an open casting call for Survivor!! Being on the show is something I’ve wanted to do since the second season. I’ve sent in videos and applications in the past, but this was an opportunity to actually be in front of someone who makes the decisions! It was a fun and nerve-racking experience. After leaving all I could think about were things I wish I had said. Things I could have said differently or anything to really put myself over. We only had about 5 minutes to answer 4 questions that we didn’t know ahead of time. So it was all off the cuff responses. I have no idea how I actually did, but my gut is telling me that I didn’t stand out enough. With that being said, I can always still apply online. I will most likely make a video this week and submit another application. Never hurts to keep on trying! After all, I gotta make them dolla bills!!IMG_5546.JPG
Oh and there was this guy…

This kid…

Some kids go to sleep with a blankie or a stuffed animal. And though Lane has both of those, tonight he chose to go to bed with a book in his arms. Why? Cause on the cover is a silver sticker of a guy with glasses and a beard. Lane thinks it’s “daddy” so he wanted to sleep with the book tonight. My heart grew tenfold. This kid never ceases to amaze me.
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That’s just a small indicator of how today has gone. And we needed a day like today. This past weekend was hellacious. For what ever reason, Jess and I’s patience had just run out. Lane wouldn’t listen, he was an utter terror and we just we not the best mommy and daddy. He was frustrated and so were we. It really was just a matter of being frustrated and most likely tiredness catching up. So we went into Monday needing a break from Lane as much as he needed a break from us.

To our surprise, Monday went really well. Lane seemed eager to go to school and all was right a home. Tuesday (today) was even better! This morning went off with out a hitch, both Jess and I were very productive in our respective jobs, Jess had a great check-up at the doctor (only 10 more weeks until baby Jack!!), Chase came home in a great mood and did really well at baseball practice and Lane was suuuuper sweet. He even managed to have a picnic at the ball field with mommy and I while Chase did his baseball. It was such a treat to have us all together rather than divided up. I think doing so brought us closer together. Yeah we need our breaks, but they make the time together even better.

So that’s where we are at today! Lane went to bed with no problems and actually wanted to stay in bed. He has his daddy book and all is right in his world. That makes for a happy mommy, daddy and Chase. Our family is growing in more ways than one, every day and I’m in love with it. <

I no longer need an alarm

Lane has decided that regardless of the previous nights bedtime, he needs to get up some time between 5:15 and 5:45 on most days. Today he came and got us at 5:20. Though I am happy he is sleeping well in his big boy bed and no longer needs a diaper or pull-up, I do wish he would master the art of sleeping just a little bit later.

Honestly it really was fine when Jess was in school since I needed to be up that early to get the day going anyway. But now that summer is here and we have the luxury of taking our time in the morning, a little more sleepy time would be nice. Also, it is much easier to make coffee and breakfast and prepare a lunch to-go while not juggling a 2 year olds want need to “help” with everything.

Still it’s all good cause it means my little guy is growing up. He’s curious and playful and honestly he does do a good job of helping when you want him to. And helping us means that he’s still learning more things. How to stir eggs or where things are in the kitchen or problem solve are skills he’s picking up with ease.

So bring on the early mornings with Lane, cause they will soon be replaced with early mornings with T5. Then I’ll wonder where the time went.

The Big Picture

In the pendulum of blogging, I’m ready for the upswing. I love that we document our crazy lives, and I honestly don’t post for anyone other than my 5 or 10 or 20 years older self. I can’t wait to look back and read and gain even more perspective or make fun of how silly we were.

I’m feeling immensely happy today. I blame it on the weather (mostly). It is officially Spring time! March is the busiest month of the year for teachers (especially ones with a kid in sports and another who’s 2), but that vitamin D is something else. I literally feel it filling me up and pouring back out in the form of annoying happiness and introspective blog posts.

I also think the key to it all is figuring out what my “big picture” looks like. I spent so much of my life trying to wipe away the (self inflicted) cobwebs and clutter so I could get a glimpse of what my big picture was. On an given day the picture looked different, so I became frustrated and fickle and my actions reflected that. I think the simple answer is maturity (coupled with making the wrong choices for so long and finally learning from mistakes. Is that the definition of maturity though??). I never knew what I wanted because choosing what I wanted meant deciding what I didn’t want. And I didn’t want to miss out on anything. I realized for me, it’s simple. I want to be happy. I want a family. I want a job that allows me to feel fulfilled while helping financially and not stealing all my time or taking over my life. I want the cliche suburban life; kids in activities and vacations to the beach. I want family dinners and big holiday meals and a best friend to share it all with.

The best part? I have it. I have that exact big picture. Here’s the fine print though. I am not happy every single day. Some days I’m miserable. Some days I’m tired and sore and broke and frustrated with the politics of my job and have zero patience for my children and nothing seems right or good or settled. But on these inevitable days, I always have my “big picture” looming over my shoulder. It’s become my role model. It’s my bully. It’s the responsible parent I never had. It’s the light at the end of my dark days that tells me not to run away or shut down. And my dark days are so few and far between now. That big picture has become a part of me and here’s the kicker. The more I honor it, the bigger and brighter it gets.

It doesn’t mean I do every single thing I want, but it means I do the things that I do, because I know what I want. It’s been a long time coming, and it feels amazing. Figure out your big picture, and fiercely follow it. You’ll see what I mean.