things will get better...

This past week has been a rough one. The leader of our tribe got sick which affected our ENTIRE routine. It's amazing how much you count on someone/something until you don't have them. The biggest change in our schedule was being OUT of the house ALL day & not getting any naps. The tribe needs their sleep! The things we will do just so Daddy could get his rest AND so we did not catch his cooties! He is NOT a happy camper when he is sick! I guess none of us would be in good spirits if we didn't feel good. Daddy in a weak moment, I blame it on the drugs they had him on, said "Go to My Gym". If he was in his "right mind" I really believe he would NOT have told me this. LOL! This is a luxury we can barely afford but is SO needed! I did not look a gift horse in the mouth so I agreed with him. Luckily I had been corresponding with the owner of our local My Gym & was able to finagle getting the tribe into a class that day.FYI the first class you attend is FREE! They will also assist you with your kids if you don't have "helper's" to attend with you. As a parent of multiples this is HUGE! So we rushed through breakfast & hurried off to our very FIRST My Gym experience. I was sort of worried since it was going to be just them & me. They have never been in a "classroom" situation before & I did not know how they would deal with that structure. We arrived about ten minutes early. For anyone that has multiples knows that this is a MAJOR accomplishment! We are never early for anything! We did our meet & greet with a few of the other kiddos there. It just so happens that Dustyn's fifth grade science teacher brings her daughter there. What a small world! We ended up having quite a big class which made me even more worried. More kids meant more time for them to learn how to wait their turn. This is something we have been trying to work on forever! They are NOT good at this! And I am not good at dealing with four kids that don't listen. I SO did not want to be the parent of that kid that did what she wanted & did not listen. In the beginning they were allowed to play on all of the cool kid "gym" equipment. Brendan LOVED the ball pit! In fact they all did! {I promise to post some pictures when I get them} Then there was the balance beam. Avery wanted to get across it to get back into the ball pit. (= Once Camryn spotted the trampoline she was smitten. She just walked in front of every kid there & hopped up on it. This was where things got hard for me. She did not get the concept of taking turns. This is when having just me there to wrangle them takes it's toll. I wanted to cry but I held it in. If I could have managed it I would have grabbed them & headed out the door. I think a few of my mommy friends knew this because they reassured me that it would get better. That their kids were just like this in the beginning. I had to keep reminding myself that they need this. Getting out amongst other kids & having this structure is SO important for them. Heck I need this! After all was said & done we signed them up! We will attend a class a week & any "free play" we can manage. I was psyched! We said "Bye" to Miss Kristin & off we went. Not far mind you because my tribe became animals! If I was upset at their behavior inside My Gym I was really upset at their behavior outside! They ran in all directions & refused to hold hands as we left. I was getting SO upset. This nice woman must have seen how upset I was because she came out from a restaurant & offered to help me walk them to our car. I wanted to die! There I was yelling for Camryn to come with us & hold her brothers hand & she basically flat out refused. She acted like she could not even hear me. I walked the three of them to our vehicle as this woman, God love her, held on to Camryn's hand. I rushed them into the 'burb & started it up. Then I hustled over to Camryn to get her into the 'burb too. I was SO mad. Mad at them for not listening & mad at myself for letting them get the better of me. After everyone was buckled in & sat there for what seemed like 5 minutes telling myself that I can do this, that...


things will get better...

garden hose...

Lately I have taken an increased interest in our lawn. Since we had the pool put in a few years ago our sprinkler system has never been the same. I think the pool builders broke a few lines in the process & financially we can not afford to fix it especially now AFTER quadruplets! SO me & the good ol' garden hose is now our sprinkler system. YAY me! LOL! I have been known to frequent the yard in my PJ's carrying the hose & a hand held sprinkler attempting to accomplish the job. Hopefully by Hurricane Season we will be good to go! haha! I am sure that when our neighbors peek outside they think I look like one BIG fool! I do not mind if it does the job & the grass has been staying green! Woo hoo! The worst part about having a "crunchy" lawn is that ants seem to like to live there. I despise ants! So I am on a mission to exterminate them all! Don't want any ant bites on my babies! =) It is even funnier when our munchkins follow me out & decide to play with the hose. They don't care about the grass or the ants they just want to get wet! They would start flock to the hose like it was one BIG snake. Yes we have outdoorsy children! They LOVE snakes, lizards, ants, bugs, etc. They will try to grab the hose & then say "hands"? & then put their hands out as if they needed their hands washed. You see we live on a dirt road & there is a TON of dirt they seem to LOVE to get into! Well I bought it! Then they would then run into the stream of water to get TOTALLY soaked giggling all the way. At first they succeeded in their mission to pull one over on me but then I caught on to them! Now I make sure their hands are the ONLY thing in the flow of the water OR they are in their bathing suits & then I drench them! We had such a fun afternoon & it started out with just one...

garden hose...

piggy bank...

I have previously posted about all of the COOL things we inherit from various people. Well, we have recently inherited a Fisher Price piggy bank toy from their cousin Veronika. The babies just LOVE this toy! Mostly it is Camryn that takes possession of it, she will start with the "mine" thing, which we need to break her of, and then play for hours with it. She really likes to play by her lonesome & dislikes when her siblings come along & take something from her. I just cannot get over how much she LOVES this pig! It comes with several coins that have different colors & shapes that fit into the top of the pig. It plays songs or will add as you drop the coins in. Now that we have had this piggy for a few weeks & they see how much Camryn likes it, they come up with "new" ways to tease her. You see Brendan & Lindsey have taken to "stealing" the coins from her as she trys to put them in. It is funny & terrible at the same time to watch them do this! They know that it really bothers her that she does not have ALL the pieces and that she does not like them bothering her as she put the coins in. She actually knows that we have seven coins & will search for the missing coins if she does not have all of them. There go Brendan & Linz with their fists up in the air clenching what coins they could grab giggling all the way with Camryn right behind them, crying as she runs after them. I think she is on to them because she now hoards the coins & brings them to me as she goes after the rest of them. Terrible as this is to watch I just sit back, giggle a little bit myself (I know I should not laugh but it is hard not too) & try to let them settle their dispute. The funny thing is that this is all over a silly...



piggy bank...

something hard to admit...

As I am sitting here listening to the Sprout channel on in the other room I reflect on my past ideas regarding Barney. I NEVER liked him! But our children have a different opinion on this purple fellow, they LOVE him! BEFORE kids I would speak ill of this creature. Basically just that I never "got" him. What is it with a humongous PURPLE dinosaur that gets kids all excited!? I just could not figure it out. WELL, fast forward my life several years to where I sort of "get" it. He is a fixture in our home just like Sesame Street. Again I never saw it coming! It is SO hard to admit that we watch this show, even sing his songs to the babies. My hubby on the other hand sings his own "version's", we won't go there! LOL! . I guess the truth is the truth! Our children just LOVE him! They will stop practically anything when they hear the intro to Barney and come running. I know, I know, Barney is a BIG, PURPLE Dinosaur brought to life from your imagination. I guess that is what makes him so special, that they use their imagination. I think the other reason he is so popular is due to the music. Children love to sing & dance! The creators of Barney knew what they were doing many, many years ago! LOL! It is AMAZING that when there is chaos in our house watching Barney will calm them down. They LOVE him, who am I to argue! I still can only take him in SMALL doses. I am not one of these parents that will buy everything with his image on it either & I will not be buying them Barney stuffed animals! I must admit that we inherited a SUPER LARGE Barney stuffed animal. It was a hand me down from my cousin. They climb all over him & again I did not have to buy it! (When you have 4 to buy for this is very good rationale!) The last thing that I should probably admit is that I sometimes even break out in song while I am at work. ANY song! ha! My ONLY defense is that I have quads & it's the only thing that keeps me sane!.. (good theory huh!? ha) So after 20 short months of being a parent I cannot get over the fact that we watch Barney! It is...

something hard to admit....

birds on a wire...

The babies LOVE to go to Grandma's. They just love her house. It is their home away from home. They have all their toys in their "play room", their cribs in their nursery and most of all they have the birds on the wire. When we arrive at Grandma's they run immediately to her back room aka their "play room". They have their favorite toys but I think they love what is out the window even more. You see out Grandma's back window there is always birds. They LOVE climbing up on her couch & watching the birds. This activity is one of the few things that can really occupy their time. No matter what they are doing if we say "Ohh there's a bird!" They will drop whatever it is & come running! They start looking out the window for their "friends". They just LOVE watching them! There must be something about animals that amazes them. Sometimes there is just one or two sitting on the power line. I think they would freak if anymore appeared. They just stare & point in the direction of their new friend. I think they would even try to catch one if they could! It is so cute to watch them search the skies for anything that flies. Planes, the Blimp and especially birds! I cannot wait to bring them to Butterfly World & let them feed the birds. They will be SO excited! For now they will just have to settle for...

birds on a wire...