M I A...

Last night I was FINALLY able to attend a MNO, {Mom's Night Out}, with the ladies from my mommies of multiples play group. We went to the Melting Pot for dessert! YUM! You can imagine how much fun it was for us! Eleven women {all mommies of multiples}, three bowls of various flavors of chocolate & ton's of dipper's. ie: strawberries, rice krispy treats, brownies, you name it we had it! We had the best time chatting away about anything & everything when I noticed I had a missed call. It was from my hubby. He NEVER calls me when he is in charge of the tribe! Scratch that, he did call me one other time & that was when we ran out of diapers. Yes we ran out of diapers! You can imagine how that went over! LOL! So I knew that it had to be important for him to pick up the phone & interrupt my fun.What fun we did have but that's another story! (= Anyhow he proceeded to tell me when he was putting the tribe to bed he could not find "Patty", Lindsey's "lovey". She was MIA, For those in the airline biz NO I am not talking about Miami International Airport, I am talking Missing In Action! "Patty" is the stuffed panda bear that she can NOT live without! He searched EVERYWHERE & she was getting upset that she was going to have to go to bed without her. Daddy did some quick thinking because after searching the house with no luck he remembered "Patrick" out in the 'burb. Patrick is a let's say "plumper" version of Patty, so we said he was "Patty's" "brother" & then named him "Patrick". I keep him out in the 'burb just for moments like this.Nothing like having a child hysterical because her best friend is missing! He gave her Patrick & all was right in the world. YAY! I'm telling you this is why I do not want them having "loveys"! Another thing to make my life even harder! ugh! Needless to say I did my own search this morning. It's weird the places you know to check when you are around them 24/7! I finally found her in of all places Dustyn's room. This room is off limits when "D" is not here. I remembered that they had "helped" me with the laundry and carried a set of his clean sheets to Dustyn's room for me. So I picked up the sheets & there she was under them! YAY! I am just happy that I will not be dealing with "Where's Patty?" ALL day long! Nothing like dealing with a lovey that is...

M I A...

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...

you gotta have friends...

It's amazing how things come full circle once you are an adult. How my friends have kids that now play with my children. Heck my friends children even babysit my children. CRAZY! I never thought this day would happen but it has & I'm loving it!Just the other day we had an unplanned "play date" at my good friend Kathy's house. Her oldest daughter Reyna is six months older than the tribe. We live like 25 min's away from one another however we rarely get together. Sad but true. Life with quads has really been rough that I pick my battles when it comes to activities. It was not until recently that I will venture out of my norm with them. I have been trying to get them involved in more things. So now that we joined My Gym which happens to be in the same town as Miss Kathy we are making a conscious effort to get together. I sort of hid out at her house after the bad exiting experience from My Gym. I was SO flustered and upset that I called Kathy up & asked if we could come over to her house to calm myself down. She was such the hostess, besides finding bathing suits for each of them she fed us all! What a friend! The tribe did exceptionally well especially with NOT having a nap! Their backyard is like a toddlers paradise. They have a swing set, a sand/water table & TWO kiddie pools. We slathered SPF 50 all over them & you would never know they were outside. She even had her hubby put the canopy up over one of them so my fair headed angels would not fry. SO thoughtful! They even put one of the pools at the end of the slide {DO NOT DO THIS WITHOUT ADULT SUPERVISION}& the kids slid into it. I really did not think my kids would do it but 3 out of 4 did. See how they amaze me every day! We ended up spending the ENTIRE afternoon & evening there. They played & played! I got to catch up with my dear friend & they made new one's. It was SO cute seeing Reyna with them. She would hold their hands & say come on kids, come in my room! The funnier part was that they actually listened to her! LOL! I hope these play dates form a lasting bond between them because...


you gotta have friends...

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...

adventures in "barber land"...

My Brendan, aka Mr B, was in need of yet another hair cut. It seems like yesterday that Uncle Bob, Brendan's Godfather, took him to get it cut. He has taken him quite a few times. I've been told that Brendan can cause quite the scene! }= Besides getting freaked by the "buzzer" aka clippers, he also gets SO many compliments on his platinum white hair. He has quite the fan base! awhh... This boys hair grows SO fast! He gets a haircut & before the week is over it has grown back! During the "in between times" I have "tried" my best to trim it but he really needed a professional cut! That is why we decided to go for a drastic cut today. Less "in between times" for me to worry about! Lucky for us Grandma found a coupon for $4 off a boy's cut at Sports Clips in her recent Valuepak. YAY! Sports Clips is such a COOL place for men of all ages. It's all about sports right down to their "shower" room. They happen to have one in the shopping mall just down the road from Grandma's house, so today was the day! We took the entire tribe there & it was an experience! They did good for about the first 5 minutes. After that I was NOT responsible for theirs or my actions! They proceeded to take out EVERY magazine in a failed attempt to read them, ha!, hid behind the register & then played with the various sports flags, stickers & decals like they were wind chimes. If that display fell down I would have been mortified! I was chasing after them & even broke a sweat! ugh! This is the craziness that comes with multiples. It gets even better when one tries to push on the other, out do the other, out scream the other. Yes there was screaming! It was more like what they do in Grandma's shower, singing/screeching like they are in their own personal recording studio. I am sure the guy before us getting his hair cut did not appreciate my munchkins being all CRAZY! But I was a mommy on a mission, my son needed a hair cut & I had a coupon. Don't mess with me! LOL! I was making sure he got the BEST cut & that I saved money at the same time! WOO HOO! When it was finally Brendan's turn he knew his fate. He started to cry as we climbed into the seat. I told Agnes, the barber, that he was going to be upset either way so to use the buzzer & keep on cutting, QUICK! We chose a 3 on the top & 2 on the sides. My niece Katie said I should do that, so that's what we did. This was the FIRST time that I took him to get his hair cut by a barber. Grandma on the other hand had prior experience. She has accompanied him once before. She said he did MUCH better this time. YAY! Maybe it was because he had his Momma there to hold him.Well that's what I'm telling EVERYONE! LOL! (= Looking at his after shot you'd think we shaved his head! Trust me, there is hair! One day I hope to get a shaver/buzzer/clipper set of my own to cut his hair. Yep I'll be the "barber". I guess I am preparing him for his future fate, when Mommy will be creating her own...


adventures in "barber land"...

kicked OUT of the house!...

Today I took the tribe on an afternoon adventure. It was really just running errands but I always bill it as something "SPECTACULAR" to them so they will get excited! We were sort of kicked out of the house due to Daddy being sick. He has the flu or something close to it, feels yucky & was in a foul mood! He could not take their abundant energy or whines any longer! When he is sick you better stay clear of him or else! hehee. I needed to get the tribe out of dodge before they really ticked their Daddy off! He ROARED & we fled! LOL! We needed to drop off his RX at the local pharmacy so that was stop #1. To go anywhere you have to drive like 20 miles so they spot cars as I drive. This has become one of their favorite activities! It seems that EVERYWHERE we go they are always on the hunt for certain cars. Like Grandma's car, Mommy's car, I never get that one because we are always IN it! LOL! Then there's Vinny's car (My mom's neighbors son) & Daddy's car, they both drive a truck. I guess it's better that they don't yell out their version of "truck" so we just say car. It is SO cute how they can spot their car's a mile away. They only do this with these four types of vehicles. Weird huh? We, I mean I, decided to do a little shopping. If we needed to waste some time why not at a store? LOL! We needed to waste some time & stay FAR away from home. SO there we were at Home Goods. This is one COOL store! First off I have to plead with the company to get some bigger shopping carts! Not accomodating for multiples in the least! I had all 4 of them crammed into the SMALLEST cart ever! I whipped out my stash of chocolate & they soon forgot how crammed they really were! hah! I do think seeing 4 kids in a tiny shopping cart was even more of a spectacle than our BIG blue quad stroller! We got a few stares & MANY comments! (= I really LOVE Home Goods! They have SO many neat home decorating things & best of all they are cheap! I even found us a 5th Anniversary gift, funny because we just celebrated our 6th Anniversary! LOL! We had wanted a BIG wooden bowl since wood is the gift for the fifth anniversary. I scored a HUGE one at a GREAT deal! Now on to Iron which is the gift for your sixth! hmm... At this particular store they are attached to a Marshall's. So I had housewares on one side & my next favorite thing, clothes & purses on the other! Needless to say I got some of my Christmas shopping taken care of today! We stayed later than expected & started to venture into the nap hour. These kids of ours need their nap! When they need sleep they get CRANKY! I think I pushed my shopping excursion to the limit & we needed to head home. The tribe has this new game they like to play regarding where they sit. The "twins" will rush the door & grab the two front seats, Camryn & Brendans normal seats, and then start buckling themselves in. YAY for helping mommy BUT this is when the fight begins about their seating assignments. Again I turn into a referee. Brendan starts whining about how he wants HIS seat and after TOO many bad experiences with one of the twins harassing or harming him I agree. No "twin" sits next to Mr B! SO to stop the crying & commotion I tell Cam that I need her to sit next to him because she will "love" on him. I could tell that she really wanted Avery's seat in the back but she obliged me. Everyone gets buckled into their proper seats & we're off! We get about a block down the road when what does Cam do but try to grab her brothers arm. She is SO smart. I think she figured if she also treats him bad she won't be made to sit next to him in the future. She has another thing coming because I am on to her! LOL! Despite Daddy being sick it was fun running errands with the tribe even if we were...

kicked OUT of the house!...

I'm vomit, you're poop!...

These words actually came out of my hubby's mouth tonight. CRAZY but true! You see we made a pact a LONG time ago that when the kids vomit he will clean it up & when they poop I would do the same. This was one deal I had no problem making! I do not care how many poopie diapers I have to change as long as vomit does not come my way I am good! I think I'd throw up just looking at their vomit forget about the smell! YUK YUK YUK! SO tonight when Miss Avery told us that she had poopies her Daddy proceeded to tell me...

I'm vomit, you're poop!...