trying a different approach...

Life here has been a bit rough lately. Rough is putting it mildly. Things are a changing & I do not like it one bit! There are growth spurts & there are brain spurts. I think we are having a little bit of both! These "spurts" are changing the tribe's behavior & with change there is havoc! I am no big fan of change so that makes matters even worse! The biggest change has centered around what we call "nap time". It is becoming non existent! Some days are different than others. This week has been a "no nap" week. They have had mini cat naps in the car coming home from an errand & that is it! This is NOT a good thing for me & my sanity! I have tried MANY things to get them sleep longer or better yet to just "rest their eyes". This is a FAVORITE saying of my mother. I used to LOVE it when we would catch her sleeping & she would say "No I wasn't, I was just resting my eyes". Well these children of ours do not even do that these days! They have WAY too much energy & just when they should be resting they are raring to go! Today I did the unimaginable, after going into their room for the fifth time, I climbed into the "non sleepers" crib to snuggle. Yes it was a sight to see! Amazingly they held my weight & we did not have a catastrophe! LOL! I think the "twins" knew I meant business because they were the only one's sleeping when I attempted this feat! They were SO adorable all snuggled up in their crib. Yes, they still share a crib. We will NOT go there! (=It was a CRAZY idea, me in their cribs, but I am up for trying anything to accomplish my goal! I figured if the cribs held me then me being in there would give them some comfort which in turn would let them fall asleep. You have to admit that it was a good theory! They loved it for about two minutes until they realized that they would not be getting away with anything having me there & promptly asked me to leave! It was more like a shove & I got the hint! I ended up putting Brendan in our bed. I was washing the linens so I got creative with his covers. There he was with one of his sisters pink cat hooded towels as his "blankie". It worked like a charm & I got him to sleep!For some strange reason he does MUCH better all by his lonesome & falls right to sleep when he is in our bed. That is what I tell myself. I know he just wants to sleep in his momma's bed! On the other hand Camryn never did sleep. She wreaked havoc in their room, broke a picture frame, tossed around many a blanket all while her sisters slept. When they are asleep they can sleep through ANYTHING! LOVE that! This seems to be a routine occurrence these days! Some afternoons they even tear down the verticals! We have some CRAZY CRAZY children! LOL! I take these pictures so my hubby can truly see what I am up against! ha!I ended up taking Camryn out of there before she woke them up & thoroughly ruined my day! Having only one "non sleeper" is better than having four of them! ESPECIALLY if they were woken up, not a pretty sight! So I was a bad mommy & let her watch her "show", ie: Nick Jr formerly Noggin. She LOVES to sit on the couch & watch what she calls her "show". She will even bring me the remote! She is the child that feels that she is OLDER than the others! I must say that she is definitely our TV girl. She can sit still & watch a show more than any of the others. Bad mommy & all I'd do practically ANYTHING to keep her quiet so I could accomplish something off my "to do" list!The list keeps getting longer & longer! sigh... I figure that I'll eventually get to the bottom of this no nap business before they start high school! Remember there is four of them so I want there to be naps until eternity! LOL! Most of all don't fault me for...

trying a different approach...

hog tying them or paying for preschool X4?

Everyone warned me that the three's are the new "terribe two's". I did not believe it, I filed the info away & really thought OUR kids would be different. I thought they would just skate through toddlerhood & it would all be a blur like their infancy was. Boy was I wrong! The tribe will be three in Jan & have become WILD children! They have been little busy bodies these past few weeks, getting into stuff they never would have gotten into. They climb out of their cribs & just plain make my "job" even harder!My mom jokingly tells me I need to tie them up when they are bad! Now that's an idea! LOL! Then my brother says they need to make Velcro pajamas so they'll stay in bed! Oh the things we all could come up with to deal with WILD children! (= I just continue to talk to them like they are little adults. Asking them why they want to make mommy's life harder than it already is. I really thought I was getting through to them! ha! I know, they are TWO year olds, but this is how I cope! LOL! It seems that I am SO overwhelmed lately! Things I used to be able to get away with I can no longer do. Just today I took them shopping WITHOUT their stroller & all in ONE shopping cart. What was I thinking? They were completely awful! I know what it is to have soon to be three year old's with me on a shopping trip but those poor customers at Home Goods had NO idea what they were in for. They either ALL Wanted to sit in the only seat up front, wanted me to "Hold you", wanted to walk or better yet cried. Yes they have turned into cry baby's. sigh... I finally relented & rotated who got to sit up front & who walked beside the cart. Remember EVERYTHING in this household is about taking turns! A simple shopping excursion turned into a truly a memorable experience, one that I will not forget for a LONG LONG time! LOL! People always ask me how I do it, or better yet say that I am one brave woman to bring them out by my lonesome. What people do not understand is that I would forever be locked up inside these walls of our home if I waited to have someone go with us. There are VERY few people that know what it is like to raise these munchkins of ours & VERY few people that offer to help. Those people who do help are AMAZING, they know who they are & we love them to death. We would not be able to function with out them! I just cannot wait till they are old enough for school. Sad but true. I love them immensely however they are just TOO busy for even me, the queen of multi tasking! I dread the cost of enrolling all four into some sort of preschool but I get excited over the thought of having "me" time. I need this VERY badly! I just need a break from this full time "job" of mine. At this point I wonder which would make my life easier...

hog tying them or just paying for preschool X4?

adventures in cardboard box land...

Don't you hate it when you go to your local wholesale club like Costco, buy a TON of stuff & cannot find a box to fit everything? This happens to me a lot! I find that I am always looking for that "perfect" box. Then you have to have the box fit in our vehicle! sigh... When you are feeding a tribe like ours you tend to shop BIG so Costco is our place! LOL! On our latest trip to Costco I got SO excited because the clerk gave us the BEST box ever! {LOVE it when that happens!} It was the perfect size to house ALL of our purchases. Not only was it the right size for the milk, eggs, cheese & various non perishables BUT it was the PERFECT size PLUS sturdy enough for the tribe to play in once it was empty! Yes to most a box is just a means to get items from one place to another. To me it becomes a new "toy" for the tribe! hahah! The minute that empty box hit the floor they all jumped in it! To watch them explore made me feel good!It amazes me how they have more fun with this plain ol' box than any toy in our house! I guess it is very true that give a kid a box & it will entertain them for hours! We've gotten more out of this box in the last 24 hours than I can say! I have caught myself sitting back trying to imagine what they think the box becomes each & every time they climb into it!I am sure it is something SPECTACULAR! (= I just wish I could tell by looking into those cute little faces of theirs what exactly it is at that precise moment! Does the box transform into a race car? Maybe a roller coaster? Could it be a train? Better yet a spaceship? Oh to be two years old, have an AWESOME imagination & be able to have...

adventures in cardboard box land...

Writing yet another post!...

Today has been one of "those" days. It was suppose to start out SO wonderful by me getting a well needed EXTRA hour of sleep. You know, Daylight saving time, Spring forward, Fall back. I don't like when we lose an hour but I certainly like when we gain one! (= What a great night to get it too, HALLOWEEN! I had every intention of getting some extra rest since I would be working a double today. Halloween was SUPER busy & the tribe was EXHAUSTED! You'd think that their mommy would be too but no... I wanted to take full advantage of that hour by doing our Halloween post! That must be the multi tasker in me! LOL! Most of the chatter on FB or Twitter last night was if the time change was going to effect their kids sleep patterns. I wondered do they have that internal clock that people talk about having? Time changes can wreak havoc on your life when you have children. Having your child wake up earlier than necessary is a BIG deal for a momma when you are on a schedule! I LOVE that the tribe wakes up at 8am, no way do I want to now start waking up at 7! YIKES! SO there I was worrying if the tribe would keep to our schedule or sleep in. But even with me worrying about it their Dad would be the one dealing with it since I'd be at work! That's what I do most weekends, WORK! Well needless to say that Halloween post was never finished & I was up WAY later than expected. Then all I did was toss & turn ALL night long. I kept worrying that I did not set the alarm clock correctly or I would sleep through it. That has happened on a few occasions. Basically I could NOT fall asleep if my life depended on it. When that alarm clock finally sounded this morning I was NOT a happy camper. I dragged the ENTIRE day! Could not wait for my shift to end so I could go to bed. But where do I sit?...

Writing yet another post!...

rid the neighborhood of their candy addictions...

We decided this year we would dress the tribe up as our own "medical team". Brendan was a Doctor {We told him he could be a neonatologist since he is a NICU brat!}, Camryn was a surgeon {scrubs & all} & the "twins" were patients. St Mary's was kind enough to lend us some hospital gowns so we had the full effect. They looked ADORABLE! We made it to THREE Halloween parties in these costumes & each time they looked even cuter! I must say after the first party they did not need a tutorial on what to do come Halloween night! Candy has become their new favorite five letter word. They talk about it ALL the time! With all this talk you would think that we give them candy all the time. Well that is partly true, it's not us, but their GRANDMA! Yes I have one of those mothers that keeps candy dishes ALL over her house! I think the tribe stumbled upon her stash one day & the rest was history!She has jelly beans, butterscotch & most of all various forms of C-H-O-C-O-L-A-T-E everywhere! Their sweet tooth has to come from their Dad because my only vice is DARK chocolate & he loves ALL sweets! Give me DARK chocolate & I'm happy! (= Now that the tribe has found out Grandma keeps a HUGE stash they ask her for it ALL the time! We constantly hear "Candy?", "Candy?". Remember they like repeating things! arghh! Sad thing is that she gives it to them! And before anyone says a word, Yes we brush their teeth, floss too! This is one of those instances where Grandma's can get away with about anything! She says she cannot deny them a piece when she herself is having one. What a line! Oh am I in trouble! (= Tonight of all nights, Halloween, candy played a HUGE role with us. The tribe now knows ALL about "trick or treating"!They know if they carry their pumpkins around & say those three words they will get the motherload! Little do they know they will NOT be eating it anytime soon! {Daddy & Grandma will! LOL!} In order to get the kids dressed & out the door all we had to do was ask them if they wanted to get "CANDY". There they were lined up at the door with their shoes on waiting for us! CRAZY! Then when we were sitting down for dinner & they about refused to eat another bite so all we had to say was if they wanted to get more candy they needed to eat their food & their mouths opened & food was consumed. It truly was amazing! It was the BEST bribe! There we were "Trick or Treating" at my cousin Lori's house. It has become sort of a tradition that we hope to continue. She lives in a safe neighborhood where we do not have to worry about people or cars. I have to add that the tribe did NOT get a nap today.They were champs! Remember they had "CANDY" in their minds so as long as they kept their eyes on the prize {candy} they were good! haha! It truly was the BEST time had by all! This was the first year that we actually went to a ton of houses! It was a LOT of walking but the tribe persevered! One funny moment was when Brendan plopped himself down in the middle of the sidewalk to consume some of his treasures! TOO funny! Candy, it does a body good! haha! I must say hearing "Trick or Treat" out of their mouths made me almost want to cry! I cannot believe how grown up they are getting! Time sure does fly by! Everyone loved their costumes & I felt like we did our part in trying to...

rid the neighborhood of their candy addictions...

What exactly is a STAY AT HOME Mommy?...

As many of you know I work part time to keep my sanity in this CRAZY life I lead. Not only just it help my sanity but it helps create funds to pay for the expense of having soon to be three year old quadruplets as well as a soon to be fourteen old son. They could eat us out of house & home if we let them! LOL! Michael working FULL time & me working FULL time at home PLUS working PART time outside the home does not give us much "couple" time but we persevere! I try to stay active & get the tribe involved in MANY activities. Sometimes it is overwhelming but that's when I take a step back & choose my next activity wisely. I never thought about my "outside" career until the other day. Let's fast forward to a quick conversation I had with another mommy recently. She was telling me upcoming events for Halloween & then told me about a play group she attends with her child. Don't know why that came up but it did. I mentioned how I would LOVE to get the info so when I am in town I could maybe meet up with them. That is when those words I never thought I would hear came out of her mouth. "It's for stay at home moms". What exactly is a "Stay at home Mom" these days? In today's society & certainly with the economic struggles we all are having I cannot see how anyone makes it on just one income alone. I was rather hurt that she said that to me because I interpreted it as mom's that work outside the home are less important to those women. I feel that I can contribute just as much to conversation as those that stay home ALL the time. The fact that I work PART TIME excludes me from that group?!?. It's like segregation is back! Hello people it's almost 2010! We all need to help one another out & accept EVERYONE! Needless to say If asked I would not join that group if my life depended on it. Sad that one comment can dissuade me SO much. I just do not think if I ran a play group I would exclude people just because they chose to help out their family by working OUTSIDE the home. So I ask you...

What exactly is a STAY AT HOME Mommy?...

Grandma the snake slayer...

We had an "incident" the other day & it all started with our normal morning ritual. You see we are what you would call "newspaper people". We HAVE to read the paper each morning to feel that we know what is going on in the world. This practice has gone on for ages & I must say that my parents have rubbed off on me because I now read the same exact sections of the paper that they do or did. One of the first sections we read is the Local section to see what happened in and around our city & especially to see who died. Yep, we read the obituaries! Morbid I know but when you have lived in one place as long as my parents have you are bound to know someone. Never saw anyone my age UNTIL I saw the name of a former classmate listed. He was ONLY 22 years old! CRAZY! Anyhow this was a long standing ritual & there Grandma was beginning her day as she always did, getting the newspaper. There she was walking toward the yard when she kicked what she thought was one of the tribes toys. Don't know exactly what toy she "thought" would be laying like a rope in the middle of the walkway but this was HER story. She tells the tale that she kicked the "toy" & went on to pick up the paper. She NEVER looked at what she kicked because it was TOO dark. You know how Grandma's wake up BEFORE the crack of dawn! LOL! She walked back inside, continued her daily ritual, sipped on her cup of BLACK coffee & read the news of the day. It was not until I went out several hours later to get the mail did we realize what "toy" she kicked! There laying in the middle of my path to the mailbox was a VERY much DEAD snake apparently killed by major blunt force trauma! ha! Grandma has since said if she would have seen that it was a snake there would be no story to tell because instead of kicking it she would have ran FAR FAR away! She is completely afraid of all slithery creatures! Little does she know that after that one small feat she is now known as...

Grandma the snake slayer...