I am why we can't have nice things...

I have always saved my $ for the GOOD stuff. I just would much rather have something nice than something "not so nice" so I would shop around & save my $! Just after I started my current job I wanted to splurge on a new TV so I saved & saved for a 27 inch TV to keep in my room. At the time a 27 inch TV was a BIG deal. {Boy am I aging myself! LOL!} When buying an entertainment armoire for my first place I searched & searched till I found just the right one that fortunately was marked down a bunch which saved me a TON! =] When it comes to CHRISTmas I actually start buying gifts now! hahah! Anyhow, saving is how I & pretty much everyone is able to afford ANYTHING! Fast forward to today, to our family of seven. Money is EXTREMELY tight & trust me we are NOT getting anything new anytime soon. I would never change our life however boy do I get a tear in my eye for when I had less obligations! Oh to reminisce about the past! Ah... So you can imagine how much I appreciated opening up the tribes 4th birthday present from their Uncle Rick. He found these really cool T-Shirts for each of them that fittingly say...

I am why we can't have nice things...

the year of OUR blog...

I know that lately I have been one MAJOR slacker! These past few weeks, ok months, I have let my passion for writing slide. I have let other WAY too many things come before capturing moments for posterity! hehee! The tribe is at such a fun age, chatting each other up & where have I been?! I can tell you where I've been, M I A! Well I am here to say "I AM BACK!". Since they give me such great material I am going to be sharing quite a lot! =] SO Look out because 2011 is going to be...

the year of OUR blog...

down on the KEY...

Last weekend we had the good fortune to head South down to Key Biscayne with some relatives. Our nephews were in town for the week so Papa Bill & Florence were taking them down to Key Biscayne for the weekend & invited us to tag along. We headed down on Saturday afternoon to this cute place settled right on the Atlantic Ocean. The views were AMAZING! Once we arrived I took the tribe down to the ocean & was pleasantly surprised to find it WARM! YAY! They seemed frightened at first probably due to the fact that we hardly ever go to the beach, what can I say we're "Pool People". LOL!  Avery wanted NO part of it & took off towards Daddy, so our "foursome" soon became a "threesome"! LOL! Once the three of them got used to all the waves approaching them they were good! I did like a GOOD mommy & took a TON of pictures! [=

Bren, Cam & Linz taking in the view

Nothing like putting your toes in the surf!

Finding their way back to the pool

Linz & her Gram

Our B man!

The girls snackin' it!

Aave looking for some Iguanas!

 

Linz & that smile of hers! =]

The boy's at play! Donovan, Darius & Dustyn

"Nana" Florence & Taya

 

We became like little tourists, took in the surf, did a little swimming & spent some MUCH needed time away from home! They have their own "entertainment", real LIVE iguana's! They were BIG & WILD! Needless to say the tribe LOVED them! They even made their Daddy try to catch one! That was a sight to see! LOL! It was like we were on vacation while we were...

down on the KEY...

"not me"...

Oh how I wish this latest phase would just end! It seems that no matter what we ask the tribe these days they all seem to want to say it was "not me". Oh do I cringe each time they say it! Ahhh... When we are at Grandma's house she allows a different child to go outside to get her newspaper. She rotates this "treat" daily. Each morning when she say's "Ok, who got the paper for me yesterday?" they each will reply, "not me". Oh it just all goes down hill from there! LOL! Their next "treat" is when we rotate who sits in the "front" seat of the 'burb or better yet who gets to ride in Daddy's truck. They LOVE riding in Daddy's truck! Since we now have those Sunshine Kids Radian XT SL car seats in the 'burb we can fit THREE seats in one row, WOO HOO!, so that leaves one seat all by itself in the second row. It is crazy how EVERYONE wants that seat! Daddy usually takes the tribe to school so he always knows who last sat in that seat. It's when I pick them up do I make the mistake of asking "Which one of you sat up front last?". They all say "NOT ME!". I told you it was a MISTAKE! LOL! I'd just love to know who really is...

"not me"...

our NEW look...

We FINALLY did it! We updated the design of our blog, it only took me about TWO long years to do it! LOL! I hate to admit this but I am SO technologically challenged that I needed a LOT of help with this project! =] Thank heaven for Hilary from ScrapblogdesignsbyHilary, she came to our rescue just when we needed her! YAY! She gave me MANY different designs to consider & I finally chose this "BON VOYAGE" theme. I feel like we are always going some place so it was quite fitting! What do you think?! Didn't she do a GREAT job?! I just LOVE...

our NEW look...

divine intervention...

Have you ever have one of those days weeks where you feel like nothing is going right? Well,  Welcome to my world! School started on Monday & we have been BUSY little beavers since. A lot of stress comes with the start of school. I do NOT like stress! The tribe moved up to the 3 year old class & D started HIGH SCHOOL! YIKES! Seems like yesterday he was in Kindergarten! We would drop him off & all of the girls would chase him around the playground! Ahh... now those were the days! Funny how life comes full circle to where we are now! He is in a NEW school & I can just about imagine the girl situation! LOL! =] Not only does Cam have regular preschool like the others she ALSO gets to attend a speech program too. EVENTUALLY she will be riding a bus to & from preschool & I must say she is VERY excited about that! Of the foursome she is by far our most acclimated child. She can pretty much go with the flow & thoroughly enjoys school! YAY for me since I have had to take her until the bus gets set up. There have been MANY challenges this school year. I am the parent that needs things mapped out, I need a time line & wish for things to run smoothly. After MANY bumps in the road we are hopefully where we need to be. Dustyn has his schedule, he's getting used to his new environment, the tribe has been assigned their classes, teachers & Cam may FINALLY know where she will be attending speech. The best part is that I really like this school & hope that she gets to stay. I tend to look for "signs" to see if this is meant to be & when I saw signs, I saw signs! =] The staff there are WONDERFUL, very accommodating & really LOVE the children. When I walked into her classroom it was completely set up unlike the other one. They gave me paperwork on what was expected of me whereas the other school gave me nothing. Now I am not trying to knock the alternate choice but remember I am new to this game, I need instruction, I need to know what is expected of me. But even putting all of that aside the BIGGEST sign would have to have been learning what their mascot was, an eagle. My Dad LOVED eagles, in fact my mother still has his HUGE collection of them at home. If ever there was a sign that this was where she needed to be it was that. I feel like he is watching down from above & it was sort of like...

divine intervention... 

the things that make me go hmm...

I have come to the realization lately that I really LOVE blogging! I LOVE sharing things about our family, LOVE recreating some of the funny stuff the tribe says or does & mostly LOVE just having a place for my thoughts. Only problem is that since Four little Fulton's is suppose to be the tribes online baby book I decided I better start a new blog that's just for me! I know TWO blogs PLUS a review blog that's CRAZY right? NO WAY! [= I realize that even though I may not have all the time in the world to blog if the content is interesting then it shoudn't seem like "work". I know I talk a good game. This is a new adventure & I'm REALLY excited about it! So now that I've created the new blog I'm ready to jump right in! Remember it's going to be a place for me to write about the things I find interesting & that affect other women like me! I'm hoping it will become a place that I can retreat to when I have something on my mind or when I just want to share! So PLEASE check it out & tell me what you think! I'm still working out all of the kinks. When all is said & done it will be a place for some of...

the things that make me go hmm...

get him a back scratcher!...

Well today marks our 7th Anniversary as husband & wife. I cannot believe that it has been SEVEN years already! Seems like yesterday he was at my work down on bended knee handing me a candy heart with the word "Marry Me" on it asking me to be his wife! WOW! See what seven years and 4+ kids can do to you! You lose your mind! LOL! We surely have been through a lot these past seven years! Including the last 4 which seem like they have been one HUGE blur! I wish I would have blogged from the beginning of our marriage. I know I would have had plenty to say!Plenty of funny stories to share. I would also tell you how that first year was the hardest by far! We were two grown adults trying to meld our wants & wishes into one healthy happy home. Oh was that difficult to do! Two STUBBORN people who lived what seemed a lifetime before me met. Oh those were the days. I would clean the kitchen counters only to have Michael come clean them after me once he got home from work. He is a MAJOR cleaner. He ALWAYS has a broom or hand vac in his hands! In fact his nickname is "Hazel" after that TV show from the 60's named the same. I have had him run into the laundry on MANY occasions to stop the dryer so his pants would not be wrinkled. Better yet he followed after us with the dust buster as we put up an artificial Christmas tree because it was dropping FAKE needles all over the floor! Yes he is THAT anal! LOL! I love him just the same. He is my ROCK & I do not think I would have been able to handle this parenthood "trip" we've been on these past few years if not for him. We balance each other out in SO many ways! In honor of today I found an old pic of the two of us from back then, back when we thought we knew it ALL! I think it was taken 6 months AFTER we were married. Again those were the days! LOL! I thought it would only be fitting in the year of Wool, aka the year of the 7 year itch to...

get him a back scratcher!...

Our Dad ROCKS!!!!...

Here is a little something I created for the man of the hour, scratch that, man of the day! The tribe thinks Father's Day means it is his birthday! They want to sing him Happy Birthday! LOL! Oh how fun it is to be a kid! Honey this one if for you! I hope you realize just how important you really are to all 6 of us! [=

Free scrapbooking design made with Smilebox

So after watching our little creation do you even have to wonder that...

Our Dad ROCKS!!!!...

that is a TRUE story...

Each night as we are either relaxing after dinner or as I'm laying with them at bed time I ask them about their day. Now that they are in preschool their days are filled with a TON of stuff I do not have any part of so I want to be filled in! LOL!I always ask them what they did, if they ate their lunch & who they played with. Somehow I always seem to end up asking them who their "boyfriend" or "girlfriend" is. Basically I just want to know who that "important" person is that rocks their world! Usually I can guess who it is but now that regular school is out & summer camp has started it could be anyone! So I continue to ask. Tonight before bed I asked Camryn who her boyfriend was, she got this serious look upon her face & proceeded to say "Amanda". I tell her "Amanda is a girl, I want to know who your boyfriend is". No sooner did those words come out of my mouth when she matter of factly said "I don't want a boyfriend!". Kudo's to her! I started laughing at her honesty! Now...

that is a TRUE story!...

Let's get Physical...

I can remember it like it was yesterday, I was about ten years old and my mom had sent me to go visit my oldest brother Jim in Maryland. It was my very FIRST flight & due to some family connections I was able to fly FIRST Class on Eastern Airlines. {Remember that airline?} You see my Dad's cousin Pete worked there & on the day of my flight we stopped in to see him. Somehow he finagled me a FIRST Class ticket. Don't know how but he did. I was excited just to be going on a trip let alone FIRST Class! This was back when they served you fancy food on REAL plates. Don't remember the food but I do remember that they did not seat anyone next to me! I was a talker even back then so no talking for an ENTIRE flight was just plain awful! When my brother arrived at the gate to pick me up I was literally speechless! LOL! My brother Jim is twelve years older than me so he had his own apt and a COOL job working at the Pentagon. I remember his stereo system the most. It was not normal tapes but something that looked like a movie reel. He had ALL kinds of albums for me to listen to but the one album that I really loved was Olivia Newton John. I listened to it OVER & OVER! By the time my trip was over I knew EVERY song by heart including the one I mentioned, "Let's get Physical". Boy am I dating myself!!


Fast forward to the other day when I had to bring Dustyn in for his fifteen year check up. He graduated from the eighth grade & next year it's High School! YIKES! So off to the Doctor we went! From the moment the nurse said "I have a few things I need to check you on for this physical" I just knew there would be a GREAT post in those words! Hehee! I immediately took out my camera & started taking some pictures! [=




Besides getting two vaccines he had his vision tested {FYI it was NOT as good as his Dad's}, his hearing tested & lastly his blood pressure. Let's just say that D was NOT happy to have me taking his picture! LOL! What? I write about the mundane yet funny things we do! And just like almost every other activity we do a song comes to mind when we do it! So the next time you have to take your kid in for a check up just remember me and sing...

Let's get Physical...

Do your boobs hang low?...

You know the song, Do your ears hang low, do they wobble to and fro'... Well it's the same song just with MY lyrics! My boobs definitely wobble to & fro'! LOL! I tend to make up songs depending on what is going on in our lives! It sort of makes whatever we are going through a little bit easier when you put it to music! [= SO since I was having my second mammogram last week I started started singing my song about my boobies! BOOBS, you either love them or hate them & if you have to get mammograms you probably feel the latter. Well am I am here to tell you that does NOT have to be the case any longer! I have had two PAIN FREE mammograms & want to share MY story with everyone. In my rush last year to get in & out of my very FIRST mammogram appt I never thought to check out the machine or ask the nurse about the technology they use there. You see I had heard TONS of horror stories from many women each saying oh how they hated getting their mammograms, how they had their boobs squished & mostly how much it hurt! So needless to say I freaked myself out and went in thinking the worst! All I remembered from that day was how much I had freaked myself out & that there was this "pillow" for my booby, in fact you can read about that adventure here! I never really looked at the machine or read the literature they had posted on the walls.All I remember thinking was that they say this is gonna hurt so I better brave! Next thing I knew my mammogram was over & there was NO pain! I was SO surprised to find out that all of those horror stories I had heard about were untrue! Well at least for me & now after mammogram #2 I believe the facility I went to made ALL the difference! You see the facility I go to uses what they call a Mammo Pad. It is like a temperpedic pillow for your boob to lay on. Now mind you these pads are not cheap & cost upwards of $10.00 per pad. But what I have found out is that some places charge YOU the patient to use this pad & I am proud to say that Wellington Regional does NOT. {FYI, They also have a coupon for a discount on getting your mammogram done there in the month of May!} I did some research & called around to other facilities near me & they do NOT use Mammo Pad's for EVERY mammogram. Why not?! I, as a patient, would choose a facility that was pain free over one that gave me pain! Wouldn't you?If you want more women of risk or women over 40 to take these preventative measures by getting their yearly scans then PLEASE do the math! Get Mammo Pads! I for one would check to see if the place I'm getting my mammogram at has them. You can do that by either calling the facility OR by checking out Mammopad.com. Here's some more interesting facts about these Mammo Pads, each pad is used only ONCE & better yet it's biodegradable!They have a sticky side to them that adheres to the machine so it stays in place. Once they finish taking those precious shot's of your boobies they peel the pad off & send it back to the company for them to recycle it! Cool huh?! So the next time your Doctor tells you that you need to have what you think is the dreaded Mammogram just think of me, make that appoitment & start singing...

Do your boobs hang low?...

some things I just wanted you to know...

Recently we were given some very sad news about a family member that is near & dear to our hearts, our Uncle John. We found out that his cancer was terminal.After a few short weeks in Hospice my Uncle John passed away today. Hopefully his last moments were peaceful. My Aunt Donna & Uncle John were married for over fifty six years so this is going to be such a difficult transition for her. I ask that you continue to keep her in your prayers! May the memories she holds dear bring her comfort during this very sad time! As my children have reminded me this morning not only is he in Heaven but he is also in our hearts! Boy do I LOVE them! They know just what to say and when to say it!

In my almost forty years of life It seems that I have experienced a lot of death. I have lost all of my Grandparents, my Father, Great Aunts, Great Uncles, an Uncle, a cousin & now another Uncle. I have dealt with each death differently. Nothing makes losing a family member any less painful. I just deal with it as best I can and cherish the memories I have. I feel like I was SO very lucky to have my Uncle John live not that far from me most of my life. If ever there was a "favorite" Uncle it was him! I think he knew it too! I LOVED him SO much & feel I need to share some special memories of mine so our children will be able to know him. Here's some of the special moments that stick out to me!

During most of my life Uncle John as been this larger than life kind of guy. When I was little we would go over to their house at least once or twice a month. We would eat, hang out & most of all swim! This was a BIG deal because we did NOT have a pool! You see my ENTIRE family was involved in the swimming pool business yet we did NOT have a pool at our own house. My dad would say that the reason we did not have one was due to how expensive they were to keep up. I enjoyed those Sunday afternoons full of swimming! I remember when we would arrive at their door each one of his sons, my cousins, would get up from whatever they were doing & greet us with a hug & a kiss. I remember that like it was yesterday. Some part of me feels that those manners came from him & it's my hope that our children will follow in those good manners. Oh how I miss those Sundays spent at their house!

A few memories stick out in my mind about him. Remember how I feel that everyone has a "story" well I have a few to share about him! [= I was somewhat close in age to his grandchildren and he treated me just like one of them. I can remember how he would hold up four bills in front of his granddaughters and me; there was a one, a five, a ten & a twenty then he would ask me to pick one. He always asked me first because I was the oldest. Being older also made me know the real value of each bill. I started out picking the one & he would say, "Now Cathy you pick the one you really want!". I picked the one dollar bill a few times until he eventually made me take the twenty! Even then he knew what I wanted! [= He would then tell me to go down to the local grocery store & buy myself something. Even back them it was usually CHOCOLATE! [=

Another thing I will always treasure is his cooking. I LOVED his Greek food! SO SO yummy! Whenever we would visit he would ALWAYS have a pot of something on the stove. He made sure to feed us or send us home with food! His grape leaves were out of this world! Over the years my Aunt took over many of the cooking duties and although they are just as yummy they are not touched by his hands. Sorry Aunt Donna I still love you & your cooking! (= In fact MANY years ago he sat me down & taught me how to cook some of his family recipes! All I can say is that he puts even the BEST Greek restaurant to shame! While he was showing me how to fold the grape leaves he told me this would win over any man I ended up with! You know that old adage, the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. Well my Uncle John truly believed that!

From what I have been told he was very excited to hear that Michael & I were finally expecting! Then when he heard it was quadruplets he shared news of our pregnancy with everyone. Gotta love Uncle John! [= I also think he had a hand in the prayer dept. For if not for so many people praying for us I do not think the tribe would even be here today! Since having them I tried to make it a point to stop in & see them as I ventured South towards my mom's house. In the beginning they would be in their infant carriers & I'd bring them in one by one to see him. On a few occasions my Aunt was not even there. Oh the aroma of their kitchen... All I can say is YUM! As the tribe got older they would walk in, what a sight seeing all four of them waddling in like little ducklings! Uncle John was SO proud of them. One visit he made me take pictures of him with each one of them. Oh do I remember that day! The babies were NOT cooperating! Cranky is an understatement! A picture is a picture but I really would have liked to catch them smiling in one of them! [= Family is SO important & people tend to forget that!

This morning was EXTRA hard, I had to tell them that Uncle John was in Heaven with Grandpa. You know what they did?! They proceeded to tell me that he was in their hearts! Oh how I love them so! They knew just what to say to me! Here I am trying to let them know who he was & they remembered him! Brendan tells me I played with Kristee, my cousin & Uncle John's granddaughter. Then Linz said I gave him a kiss. I couldn't believe she said that! Some children may get scared of seeing people with wires & oxygen tubes but not her, she had compassion. She saw through all of that! These children of ours have this AWESOME memory! I really do not know where they get it! They can remember things from last year, CRAZY but true! I am just SO happy that I was able to bring them to see him before he passed! These are just...

some things I just wanted you to know...

BOOBIES...

I can remember when I was little I just HAD to have boobs! I mean my Grandmother, almost all of my Aunts & most of all my Mom all had BIG boobs so why didn't I? I can remember when I was about thirteen my Mom said "Cathy if you do not have them by now you will probably not get them!". I cannot tell you how upset I was hearing that coming from my well endowed mother! Say it isn't so! Needless to say I took in those words as a grain of salt & proceeded to do everything I could think of to get BIG boobs!I even repeated that phrase " I must, I must, I must increase my bust!". We all know how well that worked out! LOL! Well low and behold a few years later between sophomore & junior year of high school I blossomed. Yes I got those boobs I had been dreaming of! I think everything I wished for came back twofold! LOL! You know how they say the grass is not always greener on the other side? Well I could now relate to that saying! All that time I wanted to be just like the women in my family and have BIG boobs I never realized the pain having them would be! I think I have spent the rest of my adult life wondering why I wished that upon myself. Having boobs definitely does NOT make you a better person, it does not make people love you more, they just become two things people will eventually stare at. Oh do I have my stories in that dept! Unless you can afford a breast reduction you are stuck with them for life! Do not think for a second I did not already consider that! Anyhow when I finally got pregnant I knew that I would breast feed. If all those years of carrying these suckers gave me grief I would put them to good use & nourish my children! Nourish is an understatement!I got SO much milk I could have fed four more kids! Knowing that I was having quadruplets I think the good Lord made sure I would have more than enough milk to go around! LOL! A small part of me even hoped they would get smaller AFTER breast feeding but sadly that did NOT happen! Now for all you small breasted women I don't mean to complain but when you spend YEARS with neck & shoulder pain you tend to be a little insightful! I mean WHY would anyone want to get a boob job? I know that they, media, put up images of large breasted women everywhere but come on is having small boobs that bad? and please do not say that your self esteem is in your chest! Whenever my girls are around while I am changing we have the "anatomy talk". I want them to know their body parts & what better way than to also have mommy point out hers to them?! LOL! They now know where they came out of mommy, that girls have "coochies" {I know it's not the correct terminology but at least they got my drift!}, that boys have penises {Good thing there was one boy in the mix because the girls sure do notice that he is different than them!} & they know where their boobies are! They always tell me that when they grow up they either want to have BIG little boobies or boobies like Mommy's. I cringe when I hear that because I know all too well about what the pain in having them is! Not only pain in my neck & shoulders but I also have such a hard time finding clothes, bathing suits, dresses & most of all bras to fit me. I do not want them to have those challenges. Now I know that I cannot change genetics and they will get whatever they are meant to get. Knowing that I am raising three girls the one thing I can change is how they feel about their...

BOOBIES...

everyone has a story...

First off I got up out of bed because I knew I needed to write about yet another funny in the Brendan dept. You see each morning he is the first child to ask me for his sippy cup, actually he asks for his chocolate milk. Yes, we gave in a LONG time ago & allowed the chocolate syrup to enter the sippy cup. I know, I know, not very healthy & I'm a TERRIBLE mommy! But I have to say that I did fight it in the beginning but in my haste to not have a bunch of crying children & to possibly bulk them up I allowed it. I figured what could a little chocolate syrup do to them? Little did I know what a problem I created! They cannot have milk any other way! It is now ingrained in them, they HAVE to have chocolate syrup in their milk! They will even tell me when there is not enough! UGH! Maybe after I get over the other challenges I will work on removing the chocolate syrup from their milk. Maybe...

As most everyone knows my goal with writing this blog is to have each one of our children read it one day & smile at all of their funny stories being told by their crazy mama. Yes at times even I am crazy! LOL! Each one of us, my siblings that is, has a story, you know the one story that everybody & anybody has heard our mom repeat for like the zillionth time about us! I am one of four children and the only girl so you can just imagine what my life was like! Only kidding, growing up I loved my brothers! (= Being the youngest I have to go from memory of being told these stories over and over because I was not around when they happened. Funny how that happens!

From what they, my parents, say my brother Jim's story is how at the age of 6 he would recite the 23rd Psalm as my Dad would sing for the prisoners at our county jail. Don't know where this idea ever came from or why they ever allowed a 6 year old to enter a jail but they did! Crazy but true! What is even crazier is that my brother Jim does NOT remember ever doing this! When I asked him about it to make sure I had all my facts straight he said I think you have me mistaken for another brother! Luckily I had my mom's memory there to back me up! I knew that I was not imagining being told this story over & over throughout my life! It just strikes me funny he never heard it being said! Hmm..

The story my mom shares about my brother Rick is a funny one. He used to spend a lot of time at our neighbors when he was little. If he was not home he was there. One day he apparently left their house & did not go directly home. He instead decided to take a trip! At the age of three he rode his tricycle a mile & a 1/2 down the road to tell my brother Jim that Mom wanted him home for lunch! Note to Mom: NEVER say wouldn't it be nice for Jim to be here for lunch to a 3year old! Rick took it literally & off he went to go get him! LOL! Once she realized he was not at the neighbors she went off searching for him. Apparently several people in the neighborhood saw a young red headed boy on his tricycle riding down the road with NO adult & did not do a thing. They just pointed in the direction he was riding and said he went that way. Hello?! Why would you not stop him? This is the God's honest truth! Again this is HIS story. By the way, he does remember being told this! (=

Bob's story occured shortly before I was born, he was four years old. My Mom took him shopping at JCPenney, two weeks before Christmas you can just about imagine how crowded the place was! Anyhow he wanted to walk BY HIMSELF around the escalator and meet my mom on the other side. She walked on one side, almost 9 months pregnant with me, and he walked on the other. When she reached the other side he was no where to be found! Back then they only announced missing kids & such in the store you were in. Luckily there was a woman in JCPenney who had previously been in Burdines shopping and remembered seeing a small 4 year boy there. {Hopefully I have the names of the dept stores correct} It took a few hours to finally reunite mother & son. I don't think my Mom ever let go of my brothers hand after that!

And finally that leaves me. Well as you can tell I have never been an introvert. Hard to believe I know! LOL! I LOVE people & apparently my parents found this out at an early age. You see we all went on a family vacation to Disney World when I was like 4 year old. This was back when they still had "The Electric Parade". Anyone remember that? What a cool parade, anyhow, we all sat down in front of the castle to watch it pass by but I was just not close enough. There was a nice couple sitting in front of us who offered to let me sit with them and my parents allowed me to do this. note: PARENTS NEVER ALLOW YOUR CHILD TO DO THIS! We watched the parade & once it ended everyone got up & before they knew it the crowd swept me away. I was GONE! They frantically searched but could not find me so they sought out security. They said the security guard said no problem, once she starts crying we will find her. That was mistake #1! I was an extrovert! They said she is NOT going to cry! Then they got scared. They finally found me a few blocks down talking to some complete strangers telling them how I was there on vacation with my three older brothers, my mom & my dad. Now don't get me wrong I realize this is a good story but I either hear about when I was lost at Disney World or "Oh, I remember when you were little how your Dad used to stand you on his hand!". Yes my Dad did this, he was a STRONG guy, he swore that only girls do this feat due to their balance. I was his balancing guinea pig on several occasions. I even have the pictures to prove it! What all of these stories brings me to is how I do NOT want our kids to only have one or two stories. I want them to have MANY memories. I want each & every funny, scary, silly, thoughtful, terrible, loving thing they do to be theirs. I intend to post many of them. Today happens to be Buddy's, aka Brendan, he really moved me to write this post tonight. SO here goes.

So now after explaining everyone's "stories" I will share with you what occured this morning. Mr B asked me for his chocolate milk & I obliged him. There I am doing a million things at once. Trying to fill up the empty sippies, make my coffee {MAJORLY important![=}, get the laundry washed & folded, etc. As I am doing all of this he proceeds to say "Mommy my sippy sounds like a bird!". I have him repeat himself to make sure I heard him correctly. He again says "Mommy my sippy sounds like a bird!". This is one of those moments where I wonder who raised this kid? I mean I do not have all the time in the world to teach them these things. This is a learned behavior from somewhere. SO I ask him to take another sip so I can hear it. Thinking what does this crazy kid hear? He takes a sip & wouldn't you know the darn sippy does sound like a bird! Where does he get this stuff from? In that moment I knew this was going to be yet another one of his "funnies". Remember...

everyone has a story...

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...