overwhelmed...

This past week has been a BAD week for me. It seems that the tribe does NOT want to listen and does whatever they feel like! They are becoming a handful! Now my version of their behavior & everyone else's version can be quite different. Let's just say that they can really snow people when we are out & about! LOL! I do expect a lot & when they are bad they are BAD! {Mommy's & Grandma's know this firsthand} I ask them to put something away or NOT to get into something & it is like I am talking to a brick wall! Yes they are three! But when do they start hearing what you say?! They will listen eventually, right? I SO want a vacation! I think I need some time away from them to appreciate their quirks! The bad part is that I have NO time to plan a getaway! So goes my life, sigh... If I have to clean up another spill of cheerios off the floor, have one of them help themselves to the water dispenser or better yet have a diaper flung past my face I think I am going to scream! This is when I take a DEEP breath & count to ten because I Lord knows I am getting...

overwhelmed!...

no diaper mommy...

Now one would think that when a child says "No diaper mommy" that means they are ready to potty train. I mean that is what that statement means isn't it? No more diapers. This is my latest challenge, understanding my children! They thoroughly confuse me! Is this their own language? Is it like reverse psychology? Do they mean what they say? Each morning when they wake up I ask them to go pee pee on the potty.I even put their potty's in front of the TV so they could watch their show while doing their business! We decorated them with stickers & their names. They pulled the stickers off! sigh... They will usually go sit on their potty or say no diaper mommy. What does that mean!? The even stranger part is that if I let them run around naked they will go sit on the potty & pee about 10x a day! If I put a diaper on them they will pee & immediately want it off! Hello! If you don't like the feel of pee next to your bottom then pee on the potty! It is a simple concept! LOL! Then there is the whole #2 issue. They would much rather do #2 in their diaper. OK, Brendan would much rather do #2 in his diaper because his sisters have done it on the potty without resistance. At times I feel like I am their personal pep squad. We throw out high fives & Yahoo's EACH & EVERY time they do anything on the potty. They even get something EXTRA when they go without me reminding them. I have tried it all! So here is the challenge I am faced with, What do they mean when they say...

no diaper mommy...

the case of the missing camera...

We have have a "mystery" on our hands over the past day or so while staying at Grandma's house. SOMEONE, we will not name names, misplaced mommy's camera. One hint, it was not me! Second hint, the culprit is under three feet tall. Third hint, they weigh about 23 pounds. Those determinants narrows my list down to four possible subjects. I have cornered each one of them & none of them will spill the beans. This is one tight lipped bunch! I keep hoping that one of them will miraculously appear with my camera behind their back but so far no such luck. They could have hid it ANYWHERE! I think we have looked in just about any place a two foot something could reach. Oh to get into the mind of a two year old. This is the time it would be SO worth it! LOL! My Mother in Law says to put a glass upside down on the counter & the missing object will return. You say silly old wives tale, but let me tell you, it works! We turned a glass over when Camryn lost her earring & about 3 days later we found it. So on Grandma's kitchen counter there sits an upside down glass! LOL! I think I will try just about anything just to not lose those precious photos my camera holds! Until we find the MIA camera or a "Camera Fairy" pays us a visit I regret to inform you there will be no recent pictures on our posts! I know, BOO HOO! (= {Please pray that we find the camera} I think a certain tall older fellow is happy about this because he dislikes having his photo taken ever so much. Maybe this is a conspiracy. Maybe it is fate. I just hope Santa remembers that this Mommy needs a new camera come Christmas morning! For now I will not rest until I solve...

the case of the missing camera...

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...

quad talk...

"Hold you...", This has been a favorite saying of the tribe for quite some time. I remember how my now six year old niece would say the same exact thing when she was little. At first it was SO cute to hear them express how they wanted you to hold them. Awhhh! It is not "Hold ME" it is "Hold YOU", TOO cute! They say this day in & day out. Having four toddlers makes it even tougher. They usually all want Mommy to "Hold you...". VERY hard to hold four kids at one time! SO you can see how it gets old pretty quick! Then there's the words that don't make any sense! That's when I am at a total loss! Miss Linz is the best at this. She will go on jibber jabbering FOREVER! She tells stories in her own lingo expecting me to understand. I just say "Really?" and she will usually say "Yes". Ha Ha little does she know her momma just pulled one over on her! When they are trying to tell me something they will just repeat it over & over until I "get" what they said. It's like a record that skips OVER & OVER & OVER! You want to grab that needle & stop it from skipping! hahah! I love our children more than life itself but just do not appreciate them when they repeat stuff ALL the time. Like last week when Dustyn got his haircut. Mr B, our best speaker, went around saying, "Dustyn... haircut... Dustyn... haircut...". We were like we know that he got a haircut Mr B! But he kept saying it! (= Oh was I gonna pull what hair I have left OUT! I think Dustyn was going to also! LOL! {BTW, D needed that haircut BAD!} Another part of hearing their "cute" statements of love & affection is how my hubby never "gets" what they say! He will repeat back something other than what they just said until I yell from the other room what they have been trying to tell him! CRAZY! Is this because I am around them all the time that I know their lingo? hmm... Trust me there are quite a few occasions that I actually make them repeat themselves SEVERAL times just so I can "get" what they are saying! I must admit there are still times that I do not "get" it & I just let them rattle on. I nod my head in acceptance in the hope I did not just agree to give them candy or something else they should not have! I figure at least I tried! LOL! I think my hubby just chooses not to "understand"...

quad talk...

masterpieces...

As I have previously posted the tribe is now into coloring! They seem to want to color just as much as they want to swim! ALL the time! I know they are 2 1/2 & they should have colored a LONG time ago but that's another story! This is a new phase & I am embracing it! Trust me it was a BIG transition for us/me! To have them be content & especially quiet! WOO HOO! PLUS I am just happy that they do NOT eat them like in the past! YAY! This is progress people! With progress comes change so realizing they know what to do with crayons meant they needed something to color in. So Grandma bought each of them their own coloring book, now we just needed to get them some crayons.


Remember, Dustyn is thirteen & has not colored for quite some time so we needed to bring crayons back into the house! (= While I was shopping at Costco, my second home, I found the coolest Art table built for a tribe! My original plan was to get it as a Christmas gift but after much thought realized they needed this now. So instead of waiting for Christmas we decided to have Christmas in August! LOL! There I was trying to put it together during one of their short naps. Needless to say they ended up "helping" me put it together.
It was fun trying to "referee" who got the first stool, then try to explain that mommy had to put them together & then each one of them would have their "own". They did not get it & their were MANY fights until the last stool was put together! Once I had it all put together I found some art pencils of mine & gave each of them ONE to color with. Camryn had an orange one, Brendan had a green one, Avery had a red one & Lindsey had a purple one. This was a BIG mistake! I had to do a double take when Avery walked up to me looking like she was in a battle! Note to self: Red colored pencil to the face looks just like blood!I then realized we needed those crayons, ASAP! I asked Daddy to buy some crayons on his way home to go with their new table. He found the COOLEST ones! They are made by Crayola, are toddler size & triangle shaped so they do NOT roll off the table! PLUS they are washable! WOO HOO! Mommy likes that! Once they had those crayons in their hands they put them to paper & created some beautiful creations. I think they colored in those coloring books for about two days! Then they were on to bigger & better things! Things here in the Fulton house seemed great! They were happy so Mommy was happy that was until all hell broke loose! They started taking those amazing crayons & colored on EACH & EVERY thing they set their sights on! It was BAD! Those that know Daddy personally know how he felt seeing the mess they created. Remember Daddy's alter ego is "Hazel" the cleaning freak! LOL! As soon as the tribe went down for their nap Daddy sent me to the store to get one of those "magic erasers" to clean up the mess! But of course before I left I had to take pictures for posterity! LOL! Pretty soon they will be putting those creative juices to good work & create us some...

masterpieces...

oooh...

As I am sitting here starting to write this post Avery has walked up to me telling me "potty". So I ask her if she has to use the potty & she says "yes". She is my "yes" girl. I mean that she is the only one of them that uses the "yes" word. The others will say uh huh, yeah, or YAY but not really "yes".After answering "yes" to my question she proceeds to put the death grip on my hand & starts dragging me off to potty central. Potty central is my name for the area in the middle of our home that I put all of their potty's so we have less accidents. I lined them up in front of the TV so they can do their business & watch some Sesame Street at the same time! LOL! Having Avery drag me there was most likely so I would witness her going pee but what I want her to do is POOP! I know TMI but this is my wish! It's just one step closer to not having to buy any more diapers! We have not had many of those monumental moments where they poop in the potty so I keep dreaming! It is my dream that if they poop more in the potty then we will be closer to having fully potty trained children on our hands. If this is not the case please do NOT burst my bubble. I am the mother of two and 1/2 quadruplets that I'm trying to potty train by my lonesome so let me have some hope! LOL! This past week has been a BUSY one around here. The tribe has reached many new milestones and we couldn't be any prouder!First off Avery attempted to "swim" to her Daddy without hesitation or prompting. I know, SCARY! There she was in Grandma's pool pushing off from the steps to Daddy who was about 5 feet away. He had NO idea that she was going to do this! If I did not witness it myself I would not have believed it! She is our "dare devil", absolutely LOVES the water. Swimming lessons are a TOP priority now! The next "adventure" has been in the potty training dept. This is where I want to pull my hair out! Potty training four munchkins is not much fun! We have tried this for the past 7 months, off and on. Even with Linz being the best "trainee". I dread training them each day. I sort of gave up for a bit just to keep my sanity while Linz kept at it. She will take her diaper off & sit on the potty for just one drop. Oh how I love her! Even with her being the best at potty training Camryn one upped her! She pooped on the potty WITHOUT freaking out! She has pooped before but ALWAYS had a melt down. She literally sat there & pooped. Oh I forgot to mention that she did this on the BIG potty! She received MANY "high five's" & the best present ever, chocolate covered raisins! Not a day goes by when Brendan then out does that! He did #2 while we were swimming! No he did not poop in the pool! Not that we have not had that happen but this time he did it in the potty! I have started to bring one of their potty's out with us when we go swimming, just in case. Usually Linz or Aave will pee at least once while we are out there but never have we had a poop! Yesterday was Brendan's big day because he did the deed. I was SO proud of him! I think he was a little proud of himself as well because he then tried to show it off! I do not think his sisters believed that he did it because they gathered around to see. After seeing that he did in fact poop they proceeded to say...

oooh...

I was run over by a MACK truck...

This past week has been a rough one for me. I had the week off & since we're home I made a list in my mind of things we need to do around here. Things we have let go for way TOO long! The list is HUGE! There is so much to accomplish & not enough time to do it in. Everywhere I look there are MORE projects left un done. I have books to pack away or donate, bedroom's to finish painting, crafts to finish putting together, the mental list goes on & on... I really try to motivate myself but some days I just give up! I tell myself that tomorrow is another day! YEAH RIGHT! I try & I try to accomplish one thing but then another item takes presidence. Then I'm screwed! Before I know it chaos has entered our home. I do not like chaos! The minute the tribe goes down for a nap I start dealing with my stacks of stuff! I could never get things done when they are awake. I tried it once & it was a catastrophe! They were into EVERYTHING! SO I try little by little, stack by stack, project by project. The worst part is that seeing unfinished projects gives me such anxiety. I need to have everything in it's place. That is a terrible way to feel when you are a parent of multiples. I know that you cannot sweat the small stuff. I wish I could get over feeling that way! One thing I did accomplish is laying down the rubber mat in our den. Well sort of. I need help moving the BIG pieces as you can see. I get into a groove & then the tribe wakes up & I have to be "Super Mommy", fixer of all wounds and a woman that makes everything ok. Well I may be a woman but I do NOT feel "SUPER"! What I want is help! I want someone to realize that being in this house full of toddlers brinking on the "terrible two's" is tough! I am spent! It sounds terrible but I just wish for some alone time. Some time for me to take care of me. I can not remember the last time I went out by myself let alone with my husband, who's he? LOL! I also want to be able to get through the day without calling my husband in tears. Telling him that I want to drive off into the sunset because I cannot do this! They need SO much & I am spread so thin! Yes, we have made it pretty far into this multiples mayhem BUT I really feel like I am failing! Failing at being his wife because we never seem to have quality husband & wife time. I cannot tell you the last time we went on a date! YIKES! Then theres the household situation. A clean house? Yeah right!? At least we don't have bugs! LOL! I used to love making meals for Michael. Try out new recipes. That seems like eon's ago! I RARELY make a home cooked meal! If I do make a meal I almost always forget the side dish. You know to make it a well balanced meal. My meals are NEVER well balanced! It's more like making ravioli with sauce & that's it. Now my mom would make sure she made a salad & garlic bread with her ravioli's. Why do I not remember those things? Heck I am lucky if I remember to give them their sippies! I am SO bad about that! Now being a mommy X5. Thats the sinker. Having four toddlers at my feet crying because someone {Lindsey} bit them, or another one took the toy that they think is theirs. {You need to learn to share little people!}. If they fall down & get a scrape I try to not let it affect me. I will tend to them but I cannot get all emotional over that when there is bound to be another life altering event happening soon. I guess I have been in way TOO many Doctor's office when it was not a well check up that I just roll with the punches. I guess it's my way of dealing with a house full of screaming children wanting the one & only me! Now you may wonder if I have spoken to my doctor about how I feel & the answer is yes. I have had blood work done & hopefully he can "fix" me! A lot of this could just be hormones but the fact remains, I have quadruplets. My life is going to be crazy & different than most. Please keep me in your prayers! Who would have thought being a wife, a mommy & then taking care of the house would be SO dang hard! All I can say is that some days I feel like...

I was run over by a MACK truck...

the things I know for sure (part 2)...

Since becoming a mommy I have learned quite a few interesting things. Things that I may not have learned if I was not "taught" by my children. LOL! Here goes... The things I know for sure are... That I NEVER give the "tribe" rice for dinner without already knowing that they will throw it EVERYWHERE!... In order to not have a ton of laundry they need to be bibbed at ALL times!... That in order for us to have a good experience when we go out to eat we need to have their pocket bibs with us. They seem to catch EVERY crumb & serve as their plates!... ALWAYS have a travel container of wipes with you so messy faces & sticky hands can be wiped!... That even though their quad stroller is one MAJOR pain in the neck it gets the job done!... That most stores do not have enough stroller room for one stroller let alone a quad stroller!... When traveling hide a stash of small toys in the vehicle just to keep them amused!... That books are not only for reading but eating too! LOL!... That telling them you caught a bug will make them come to you EACH & EVERY time!... Never leave an open container out in the open or we will have a HUGE spill to clean up!... The tribe LOVES paper, any kind EXCEPT that which they sit on at the doctors office! LOL!... That certain seats in the 'burb are PRIME real estate & do NOT try to change the unassigned seating arrangement without a fight!... ALWAYS have another diaper under their bum when you are changing a poopy diaper!... and getting with the poopy theme I can now wipe a dirty bum with just ONE wipe! YEP!... That raising multiples is more expensive than I ever thought & VERY hard work!... Be prepared because people will ask MANY questions about our life... AND that no matter what I say people are going to have their own opinion about our "tribe"... These are...

the things I know for sure(part 2)...

Road Trip May '09...

We took the tribe on a "Road Trip" last week. We actually planned this for quite awhile. You see my niece Katie, the one I took everywhere as a baby, was graduating high school! We just had to be there. Michael worked EXTRA just to cover the expense of the trip. He is such a good doobie! We love him SO much!! Going to her graduation makes me think of mine, had to believe that it was almost 21 years ago that I had my own graduation. NO way!! I still feel like a "spring chicken"! LOL! For those of you that know me personally.. Katie is the niece that I babysat from birth until her 1st birthday and then they moved away to GA! She was my best bud & we have a special bond. She has such a beautiful heart & I love her so! Hard to believe she is all grown up and graduating high school! YIKES! This is going to be a LONG trip with 4 toddlers but we just have to be there when she gets that diploma! (= I packed up the 'burb & off we went, GA or bust! Even Grandma went with us on this adventure! We tried to keep them occupied as we drove. Sometimes it was easy other times it was HARD! They crave attention! There was only 1 of me to go around so I amused them however I could. There was even a time I sat in the BACK of the 'burb. This was quite the feat! People driving by probably wondered what some GROWN woman was doing climbing over seats & sitting in my kids laps. YES I was in their laps! hahah! ANYTHING to make my kids HAPPY! (= We even searched for FUN play areas for them to stretch their legs. This trip sparked an interest in me to write a book on cool kid places to visit! That's ANOTHER story! LOL! Overall the kiddos did great. Remember, I have high expectations. I wanted them to appreciate the view, sit in THEIR seats & never fuss. What was I thinking? They are 2 year olds!! One important detail you all need to know is that we took them on this adventure WITHOUT even a DVD player. What can I say, I am a product of my upbringing! We would just play games, read or play the I spy game. I can remember my dad giving the first kid to spot the Washington Monument a quarter! That was BIG money back then! hahah! I cannot wait till they are older so we can play the ABC game, check out license plates or even play car BINGO. {I found this game at Restoration Hardware} Another reason no DVD was that they are not really movie watchers anyway. I know, I know, a DVD player is a "Must have" when travelling with tot's. Not us! We were roughing it! I'm sure if you ask my hubby he will say NEVER again! LOL! There we were singing, "reading" books & eventually throwing balls around the 'burb. Brendan LOVED that! He had this nerf football & a tennis ball that he would throw up to the front of the 'burb. Then Daddy & Grandma would throw them back to him. He would laugh & laugh. Laughter is SO much better than crying anyday! We also had a few "new" car toys that we inherited from my cousin. One was this lacing toy. It was this THICK cardboard bunny that you lace w/ shoelaces. That lasted quite awhile & they each had unique ways to lace it that was until they ATE it! Yes, they ate the cardboard bunny! They will eat practically ANYTHING!! There are knawed on things all over this place! You'd think we were raising animals!! LOL! Our trip lasted about 11 hours if you included the few "pit" stops. Daddy made great time! Being that we arrived on Thursday night we took them to the Atlanta Aquarium on Friday. It is unlike most aquariums. One of the tanks sort of reminded me of the aquarium we visited BEFORE KIDS at Paradise Island in the Bahama's. They have all kinds of fish! We saw sawfish, whale sharks, Pompano of all things, sharks & even some otters. The tribe LOVED the otters! We happened upon their section just as they were being fed. So they came face to face with them! They even got a kiss from behind the glass! TOO cute! Needless to say they were conked out on the ride back to Uncle Rick's. We had Katies graduation on Saturday. Her school is one of the largest in Gwinnet County. They had 729 students graduating that day. Her principal gave a speech saying how incredible it was having so many students graduate & all the places they would be attending college. Practically all the Ivy league schools were covered. I wish I had a copy of that speech, it was AMAZING all the facts he recited! Graduating itself is such a HUGE accomplishment! HOPEFULLY, Katie will continue her education by attending some sort of college. She has mentioned that she wants to become an ultrasound tech. Wouldn't that be cool!? She could do ultrasounds on pregnant women maybe even some multiple mommies!! We hope that she applies soon so she can attend in the fall. There we were trying to spark interest in her, getting her to register. That is one thing that I regret, not finishing school. In fact most of the family did not finish college until MANY years later. Hopefully she will do better than all of us combined. (= On Sunday we went to Rick's church. I cannot tell you how long it had been since we'd been there. It was so nice to see all the people that prayed for us during our pregnancy & after their birth. We are part of their church family now. AMAZING! We were busy little beavers for the 5 days we were there. After the graduation we had a few BBQ's to celebrate her accomplishment. We even met up with some more "extended" family, Dorsey & Eleanor, in downtown Roswell for their Memorial Day festivities. It was SO nice to meet up with them. They kept us all entertained! Dorsey he is quite the character!! We are gonna need another vacation to help us recoup from this one! haha! I will say that the best part of our trip was that by the time we left Katie had enrolled in college. YAY! On our way home we even found an AWESOME playground at of all places a local Burger King in Dublin GA. It was HUGE! Like what you'd find at a local park. TOO TOO cool! I am SO stopping there again!! Since we left GA rather late our stop over in Savannah was not meant to be. Hubby SO wanted to go eat at Paula Deen's restaurant! He & Grandma watch her show EVERY weekend! No Paula Deen's for us! He was left with just a drive by!)= Maybe next time! When your one cranky child is FINALLY sleeping you DO NOT wake them! LOL! We kept on driving until we hit Amelia Island, FL. It's a very quaint seaside town! They even let you drive on the beach! TOO cool! Of course we let the tribe out of the 'burb to walk on the beach & put their toesies into the surf. They LOVED it until that first wave came. We had kiddo's running EVERYWHERE! haha! It was quite the sight! I took some pictures which I'll post when I get home! We stayed at the Days Inn there, you know the kind that has the swimming pool in the middle of the parking lot! LOL! It brought back SO many memories of my childhood. We used to stay at places like that ALL the time! Practically every trip we took was by car! My mom even commented on how she is reliving some of the moments she had with us but now as Grandma. They LOVE having her with us too! Now I am the Mommy & we're doing things with our kids that my parents did with us. TOO wild! Road trips can be so cool if you appreciate those moments. Other than Miss Avery catching croup this was one AMAZING...

Road Trip May '09...

It takes a village...

Some days I wake up feeling that I may not get through the day. That the kids will not eat their breakfast or lunch & will be just plain CRANKY! Which ends up making my life even HARDER! This is not exactly the life I imagined when I asked God to allow me to be a mommy! They have turned into little busy bodies that seem to get into EVERYTHING! OR they like to antagonize their siblings & take toys from one another so I can become the "referee". I do not like that job in the least! The house is a wreck, there is SO much stuff to clean up, put away, etc. I feel like it will never get done! Do I care? Lately, NO. Then there is the days that we have activities to attend. I have to make a conscious effort to plan for those days. Because pretty much each activity we attend it's just me with them. Yes there are the few days that they throw me for a loop & do everything I need them to do. But most days it is just hard! That is the reason I do not plan that many activities during the week. It is usually just me & them so I keep my battles to a minimum! This past weekend we went to a family birthday party. Our cousin Denny was turning 5 & they had his party at a "water park". Just the thought of a water park scared me but I knew that I had to bring the quads. Monika & Don, my cousins, have helped us SO much! Almost all of our hand me downs come from them! So we were there! Now I just needed to rearrange my work schedule so I could get the day off, then find some helpers! Luckily I was able to swap my shift to get the day off. All the helpers I thought of were busy so I enlisted Grandma! (Daddy could not make it due to work) He would miss out on the FUN, can you tell the sarcasim!? hahah! I slathered them all up with sunblock, got their bathing suits on & then loaded them up. We had about an hour drive which they slept 30 minutes of. Once we arrived there I had to figure out how to get them to the "kiddie area" safely. There was a HUGE adult pool at one end & the kiddie area on the other. Usually I just ask them to hold hands & they will pair off in two's. Some days they do this willingly other days it is a challenge. Well, today was a good day! There I was leading our "tribe" past the pool into the play area as they followed gazingly behind. The water in the "kiddie area" was about knee deep so once they got used to it I knew they'd LOVE it. Maybe TOO much! LOL! The only BAD part was that Grandma did not bring her beathing suit & was NOT going in the water so that left just ME to corral them. UH OH! Well, this is what I thought was going to happen. I was pleasantly surprised when most of my relatives came to my rescue. They willingly helped me! I did not even have to ask, they are just there to help! I SO love that!WE WERE THE VILLAGE! I LOVE having a BIG family! There was SO many set's of eyes watching the "tribe" that I could actually relax a little. Well sort of. They LOVED the water a little too much & did not want to leave. Camryn even tried going back in AFTER getting her bathing suit off! There I was in my capri's & sandals running in after her! Luckily she did not get THAT soaked! Can't say the same about me! (= I just want to say a BIG "THANK YOU" to everyone for all of their help! Some days I can not say "Thank you" enough! Other days I am SO tired that I can barely get a "Thanks" out. Just know that I appreciate all the assistance I get! When I am having a "bad" day I just think about all the mommies out there that have it harder than me, whether with children that are sick or just having MORE kids to deal with. I take a DEEP breath and remember...

It takes a village...

MOPS...

Hopefully everyone out there has heard of MOPS, Mother's of Pre Schoolers. This is a WONDERFUL organization just for us mommies of little one's pre school age. I attend a local MOPS group at our home church, Christ Fellowship. It was a LONG road getting me there but well worth it! It has been such an important part of our lives this past year. Motherhood itself is challenging enough but when you add multiples to the mix it can get down right CRAZY! When the babies were little I did not think I could handle getting them up, dressed, fed & out the door by MYSELF so I did not join. Silly me! It was when they were really little that I needed the support the most. I ended up joining just after they turned one. It was the BEST decision I could have made. These bi-weekly get togethers help me keep my sanity! To meet other mommies out there who have it just as rough as me helps me more than you could ever know! Today our MOPS group had their last event of the session, a Mother's Day Tea. VERY fitting since we mom's will be celebrated this Sunday. When I think back to where I was a year ago it's scary! I was SO disorganized and unfocused. I was living day by day. Sometimes it is better to take one day after the next because life itself is HARD! Now I'm dealing with the "terrible two's", PRAY for me!! I cannot wait for the day when things will get a little easier but have been told it never will! (= When I decided to join MOPS the thought of having to wake up EXTRA early to get the four of mine ready did not sound appealing at all. Sleep was a hot commodity & I was not willing to give it up so easily. I was a good planner but not the night before. I now had to prepare food, clothes, etc so we could get out of the house by 845am. (Sorry but 845am is EARLY when they usually sleep till 830am!) I decided I was going to do it. 2X a month I would deal with the lack of sleep but I'd do it, I needed to do it! I'm telling you that getting up that extra 2 hours was HARD & I am SO happy that I did! I even joined the hospitality committee. I knew that I could not get there EARLY to set up but I could help clean up. So that is what I did. If I did not make the effort I would not have met the WONDERFUL women that I did. I just love the ladies in my group, our group leader Elrika & LOVE LOVE LOVE the various speakers & the fun events planned for us! I would not have had those "AHA" moments that helped me helped me cope in the CRAZY life I lead. Experiences are not what makes you who you are, it is how you handle them that does. I have really seen how MOPS has helped our children grow over this past year. They LOVE going to church and being around all of their little friends. I too have fun being there, meeting new people & learning new things. To have other mommies around to lend an ear & give support is WONDERFUL! I really do enjoy myself! Thursdays has now become our day! The best part is that I can also feel my relationship with God getting stronger. The Lord does AMAZING things! I wish I would have pushed myself sooner to join! For any mom out there with little one's you really should check around for a MOPS program near you. IT is AMAZING & will change your life! It is enriching for you & especially your children! I cannot wait till August so I can start back up with...

MOPS...

WANT AD...

While I was at work the other day I mentioned to my friend Jackie how we are desperate to find some outside entertainment for the munchkins. They are driving me crazy & desperately need a controlled enviornment that they can enjoy but not be on top of one another. When you have multiples you tend to need a bigger space for them to play with many of the same things so they do not fight. Who am I kidding!? They would still fight but it is a good theory! LOL! I decided that a swingset would fit the bill & it needs to be BIG! Something to accomodate all of them for our back yard. She then asked if I ever checked Craigslist, Freecycle or Ebay. I tried once & got so lost that I gave up! I am SO computer illiterate! Jackie told me how she was asking her son to try & sell some of her Holiday Villages on Craigslist & Ebay. I thought maybe while he was selling her stuff he could check to see if anyone had a swingset up for grabs! Then she gave me the BEST idea ever! She said why not post it on our work website. They have a classified section like the newspapers have except it is just for employees to list things they are selling, want or need. I had never even thought about doing that. After giving me the idea, I decided why not!? MAYBE someone knew of someone that could help us. SO there I was posting my "want ad". This is how my ad read...

** WANTED ** LARGE swingset in good condition able to accomodate my 4 toddlers. Preferably has 3 swings. Will disassemble if needed. I left my name, district where I work, contact number & that was that.

I had to make sure I put in LARGE since our tribe will be abusing whatever we get. LOL! Never in my WILDEST dreams did I think I would actually find someone out there in BSO land that had what I was looking for. I literally put this ad on the website at 6am and by lunch time someone had already called me. He said he saw my ad & that he has a swingset in a box, brand new, never opened that he would not be needing & would give it to me for free if I was interested. INTERESTED!? Who was he kidding? I was like when can I pick it up! SO SO psyched! This was an answer to our prayers! I cannot wait till we have our "new" swingset set up in the back yard! And to think this all came from one..

WANT AD...

curiosity killed the cat...

Our children are getting SO curious lately! This is a good thing I know but it makes my life SO much harder! Instead of asking me questions about things they just do what they want! I feel like I am always running after someone & telling them "NO!". I dislike resorting to this but I am at my wits end! I keep reminding myself that they need structure but it is SO hard being consistent with a two year old! When will this end? I have been told by many "NEVER". LOL! These past few weeks have been SO rough! Keeping up with them, our house, my mom's house has made us just been plain TIRED! The kiddos have run us ragged. I also think that the terrible two's have set in! They seem to get into EVERYTHING! They get into Dustyn's room & RANSACK it! Luckily I fix it before he notices! Little does he know how much they LOVE his XBOX system! LOL! Other than locking his door I do not know what to do! Yesterday I had them outside while I was cleaning the gutters. I know this is not a "mommy job" but it needed to be done so I did it. It was actually not that bad. I felt like I actually accomplished something! YAY! The kiddos were EVERYWHERE! Camryn was my "assistant". She would help me however she could. Bringing me the hose, herding the children, etc. TOO cute! The rest of them definitely needed corralling. I would continue to talk to them while I worked. Sort of like keeping them in line. Sometimes it worked sometimes I was coralling them myself. Our "new" Neighbor saw me out there with all of them & must have felt pity on me! He yelled out "Looks like you have your hands full!". Yep! This is my life! Just this morning I found them in my bathroom with the tub running. Lately they seem to LOVE playing with water. Scary since they do not know how to swim yet. This has been such a challenge for us. I must say that we take them in the pool & teach them ourselves but it is not the same thing. Having quadruplets, four kids of the same age at the same time is TOUGH! No matter what people say they just do not know what it is really like. Some days I want to pull what hair I have left out! SERIOUSLY! Each & every time I stop a near catastrophe I just remember the saying...

curiosity killed the cat...

starting from scratch...

I decided that today will be a new day. That all of the past "BAD" days will be washed away like I have no memory of them. Sort of like starting from scratch. This is good in theory but can I really do it. Well I am trying. I figure I need to do something since I have at least another year & a half of them at home with me so I better do something to make it easier on myself. So here are some of the things that I have done to "change" things.

1. Pray more for guidance from God. I need this!!
2. Get a playset so they will have another outdoor play area.
3. Work EVEN harder on potty training so we don't have to deal with any more diapers.
4. Remember that coffee is not to be left any place within their reach. =)
5. Create some "mommy" time so I do not feel overwhlemed.

These 5 things do not seem unreasonable. Half of them I can do. I just have to put my mind to it. Things can be SO overwhelming at time that my mind gets scattered. Please pray for us, or better yet me. Since there is only one of me I need it!
remember I'm...

starting from scratch...

a VERY good day?

Today I had one of those days where EVERYTHING went wrong! Camryn has started climbing out of her crib! Yes, my life has taken yet another turn. It seems like each day there is something NEW going on in this household. They have continued their "nakedness" by taking off their diapers whenever they feel like it. No, it's not to be a BIG girl or boy, I believe they do it just to drive me CRAZY! LOL! They seem to think that taking OFF their diapers & peeing on the floor or better yet in their crib is now the FUNNIEST activity of the day! I cannot wait for the day when they ALL will be potty trained! Pray for me! Another "trick" is to climb on various toys, namely their toy drum, to reach TALL things. They will turn the lights off & on, open the front door to try to "escape" (Thank heaven for deadbolts! LOL!) or climb up just to get COOL things off the counter. Usually it is my purse that they are after & they will porrage through it like little scavengers! Today was an even EXTRAordinary day. Today Avery dumped my coffee (thank goodness it was cold!) all over the dining room table. Daddy better be ok with my clean up job because they wore me out! I tell ya they are QUICK little devils too! They get into even more messes while I am cleaning up their last one! The BAD part about all of this is that they do all of this right in front of me. I tell them "NO" & they do it again! Some days I feel like I just ran a marathon and it will only be 9am! These are my VERY bad days! It is in these moments that I usually call my hubby to tell him that they NEED preschool. He will reassure me that I am doing a "great" job but I do not feel that I am. It is days like today that make me feel that life as a SAHM is not for me! I do NOT do well with days like today! Makes me feel that my life is like that movie "Groundhog Day"! You know where he wakes up to the SAME day EVERY day! That is my life! In the end I know that I do not have much choice in the matter. Michael & I cannot switch positions in our lives. He is the main breadwinner & I am the SAHM. He will continue to watch them on the days that I work & I'll continue to have work as my outlet from my CRAZY life! There is no way that we can afford to send them to preschool. The cost is just TOO much! We will be lucky if we can get them into a voluntary Pre K at almost 4! Let's just say that life in the Fulton house is ROUGH! Having four two year olds is ROUGH! For now I just perservere & wake up each day trying to make it better than the last. That HOPEFULLY I will have more good days than bad. I ask myself when will I feel like I have made a difference? When will they listen to what I say? & most of all When will I have...

a VERY good day?

booster seats...

This is the latest plight in my life, why restaurants never seem to have ENOUGH booster seats?! I agree that we happen to have a "tribe" & we may not get the 4 that we need. HOWEVER, most families have at least one kid, maybe two. Why not splurge & get a few to accomodate the many!? It really bugs me when a brand new restaurant that has just as many booths as they do tables would they only have 2 for the ENTIRE place! This is what happened to us when we went out to celebrate Grandma's birthday! The place Grandma chose just re opened as a NEW Steak House. It used to be a Hop's restaurant. You know the place that used to make their own beer. Well, they went under just like most other places due to the economy. I think people just did not want a microbrewery anymore. So enters the NEW "Original" Roadhouse. Now do not get me wrong, the food was YUMMY but they made us a LOT of promises getting us in the door. First they took our reservation for a party of ELEVEN at 6pm over the phone and once we arrived they said they do not take reservations. HOWEVER they had our name on the list & then told us they gave our table away. Michael was a bit peeved about that. As a family with 4 toddlers we ALWAYS plan ahead & there are a few "needs" that we have to have for us to have an enjoyable meal. The BIGGEST need is either a booster chair or high chair with straps. They just do better restrained with no means of escape! LOL! Being that we were a LARGE group they now had to get creative in trying to accomodate us! It ended up that we could not all sit together which was fine BUT they did not think of the arrangements before they sat us down. We were across the aisle from each other & 1 table was about a foot higher off the ground than the other. You know the kind that you have to step UP to get into? I did not think it would be a problem once we had our 2 boosters that they promised us. Well, the next thing was that they could not find ANY boosters for us. It ended up that they only had 2 for the ENTIRE place & they were already taken. Imagine they only had 2! YIKES! I pity all of those other families also waiting for a seat! In the end they expected us to put 2 highchairs at the end of each booth. Remember the table is about a foot higher than the other booth so it was going to be interesting. Knowing that the aisle should not be blocked as a fire hazard I kind of got worried. First was the two highchairs at the end of a HIGH booth. Camryn & Avery did not like it one bit! Then just 3 feet behind them was another set of highchairs. The waiters had to squeeze in between the 4 highchairs just to get through with their food orders, etc. The weird part is that no one ever thought to move us! You can already tell that it was not much fun mostly for me but we were there to celebrate Grandma so we made the most of it! People can not believe that we take our "tribe" out to eat, but they LOVE it! AND for the most part they are VERY good that is with restraints! LOL! No one understands our plight because they do not deal with this day in & day out. You view things TOTALLY different when you are raising multiples. I decided right then & there that I am going to purchase our own boosters so we NEVER have this problem again. We left after dinner, no coffee & dessert. I just wanted to get out of there! Michael told me that the manager told him that they would take care of us the next time we came in. Little does he know that we will not be taking him up on that anytime soon.
So my message to all of you restaurant owners out there, Buy more...

booster seats...

Little things...

It is the little things that matter most to me. Today I was reminded of that! Why I took on this job, why I wake up at 730 am & go to bed way after 11pm. It is in the little things they do! These kids of ours bring me SO many happy moments. Each day a different child steps up to the plate to give me joy! I guess they realize how I need a little joy each day to even out the hard times! LOL! Today was Camryns day to shine! She always likes to be asked to do things for me. It is like she is older than her siblings. There are times when she will take care of things just like I would do. She will go around shutting all the doors something I always do! If we are going out she will get everyones shoes passed out. She even attempts to strap them in their car seats! Oh how I appreciate her help! She even gets everyone's sippy cups & places them where each of them sit. When we are going to eat she'll put each of their bibs on them. I am not surprised that she wants to help me it's just that today she did something EXTRA ordinary! I had to make their beds before nap time so as I worked Camryn was being "Mommy". Little did I know that while I was in their room Camryn was cleaning up. The rest of them straggled in to see what I was doing. After changing the last bed I went to clean up their plates, I should say MESS! Well, Camryn had already started taking care of that. She had picked up the food they dropped by their table. She TRIED to clean up their mess & then proceeded to take her fork and scraped their leftover food into the garbage. I could not believe what I was seeing, she was imitating what I do day in and day out! It is in these moments that I appreciate the...

Little things...

CRAZY!

I FINALLY had some free time to call Dustyn's school to check on prices for the quads to attend preschool there in the fall. Dustyn has attended there since he was their age, PLUS it is a Christian school which is VERY important to us. When she went over the fees with me & rounded everything off I just about died! She could tell by my silence that I was not expecting that! LOL! The fee for all four to attend is just over what we spent to conceive them! YIKES! Let's just say it is over $35,000. CRAZY! We are going to have to get VERY creative to find the money to cover this expense. NO, I am not about to hand out that kind of money for preschool. I just needed numbers so I know where to begin. Now I just have to work out the details, but know this, preschool is a necessity! They need the structure of a classroom, to be around other children besides a play date setting & most importantly I need the break! LOL! We were VERY fortunate to have been given a scholarship for each of them when they were born. This will help us out tremendously! The Lord definitely looked out for us. We have happy, healthy children, what more can we ask for!? My hubby would say "Winning the Lotto!" haha! As they reach each new milestone we realize exactly how expensive it is to raise them. I could never imagine having more than these 4! In this life we lead I would not change a thing, I just need to get more creative! After scholarships, the multiple child discount (For the first time a discount that has nothing to do with having multiples! ha!), etc, it is still quite EXPENSIVE! I knew that sending four children to preschool would be steep but I just had no idea exactly how steep it would be! Somehow, some way we will find the money to pay for this. For now just pondering it all makes me...

CRAZY!