apple & onion moments...

At my most recent MOPS meeting they had an AWESOME speaker talk about forms of parenting. Trust me I am NOT doing her talk justice but one part really struck a chord with me, well actually two parts. She mentioned how in her house they teach forgiveness. I thought we did too but something she has her kids do made me rethink what I should teach our tribe. When someone does something "bad" I have them sit in the time out chair to think about their actions & then I have them apologize to the party that was wronged but what I have not done was to have the wronged party say "I forgive you". I never realized how important that was until she spoke about it yesterday. WOW was that an "AHA moment" for me! The 2nd part of her talk was connection we need to have with our children. Having that 15 minutes together as a family whether it be at breakfast or dinner. How we need to communicate with each other about the good & bad moments from each day also known as the "Apple & Onion Moments". This was not the first t ime I had heard about this but today it really hit home with me. Now we almost always eat together so that was not new to me but asking about their good & bad moments was. I would always ask about their good moments & never thought to ask about what they did NOT like. How that played an important role in their day. I was not quite sure the tribe would understand what that meant but boy did they surprise me! I asked each of them what they enjoyed about their day & what they did not like at all. It was amazing to see what things they came up with. Cam told me that her "Apple" moment was going to speech & "Onion" moment was not being able to go to the park with her siblings. {We go to the park when she attends speech}. Bren said he liked the ducks at the park & did not like being up in the TALL tree. {He actually let me put him up on one of the branches!}. Aave liked going to the park but did NOT like the brown duck. {It was this weird duck that bounced his neck up & down as he/she walked}. Linz loved going by Daddy's work for a visit & did NOT like that TALL tree.{After looking at the tree she did not even attempt to climb it!}. This is something I am going to do every evening at dinner time. To make things more interesting I  am going to go out & get some props to use for these...

Picture taken from http://www.giftsforeducators.com

picture taken from http://www.gourmac.com

apple & onion moments...

when we were little...

Lately the tribe has been enthralled with watching OLD family videos. Anything older than today is OLD to them! LOL! Luckily I figured out how to play what I have on our video camera PLUS I have found a few on DVD so we are not watching the same video OVER & OVER again! Trust me, I love my family but there is only so much of my niece's highschool graduation I can take! =] *** If anyone out there has any video of my Dad that they could send us we'd be very much appreciative! We do not have any of him for the tribe to watch! =[ *** Here's to watching OLD videos of...

when we were little...

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...

your four year olds purse...

Having three girls can be quite entertaining at times. Yes there's a TON of DRAMA but they also give us quite a few giggles on a daily basis! Each has their own personality of course. There's Camryn who is NOT afraid of anything or anyone. She is our social butterfly who loves to "mother" EVERYONE! She likes role playing & will not only be the mom but the baby too. She will try to "help" me but in the end causes me more work. =[ Sometimes she does what I am thinking but most times not. Avery is our own personal DIVA. She LOVES LOVES LOVES to dress up, play "Mommy" & almost ALWAYS has a purse on her arm! When we go out to dinner she has to bring her purse in with us & even takes it with her to the bathroom. I think she carries a purse more than me! Like I said she is our little DIVA! LOL!

Then there's Lindsey, she is Mommy's little helper. She does not hesitate to get her hands dirty with an job I have for her. She will even volunteer to do stuff! She has done the laundry, scrubbed a few pots and even makes our bed! She too likes dress up & has been known to carry a purse around the house. Just like her twin she puts practically ANYTHING in her purse. So you ask what might anything be? There was a hankerchief for the occasional runny nose {Grandpa would be SO proud since he ALWAYS carried one!}, an ear scope just in case they stuck something in there! =], Brendan's toy race car, a pink bracelet because it's "girly", a pet dragon "just because" & last but not least a rubber snake! Yes, a rubber snake! {Gotta have one of those to scare Grandma! =]} So what can you find in...

your four year old's purse... 

LIONS, RHINOS & GIRAFFES, OH MY!!!...

We went on an ADVENTURE for the tribes 4th birthday! We took them to Lion Country Safari {LCS}! This wildlife refuge is situated out in the middle of the woods in western West Palm Beach! For those who do not know where that is just think of the "hanging chad" from the 2000 elections & it's about 15 miles west of where that all took place! LOL! This place is SO cool! You get to drive out amongst the animals, play in a kid friendly amusement park & even feed giraffes! Yes we fed a giraffe!! What made this adventure even better was that it happens to be out in our neck of the woods! WAhHOo! The MOPS {Mothers of Preschoolers} group we are part of had their annual LCS trip on of all days the tribes birthday so we just had to go! We even met up with a few friends to make our adventure even better!

First thing we went on was the safari! You drive thru in your own vehicle as the animals wander about. Sometimes you get stuck because they decide to walk right in front of your car & decide to stay there! =] But the best part of having that happen is that you get up close & personal with them & get great pics!! LCS has all kinds of animals wandering around on their refuge. There were antelopes, water buffalo, monkeys, rhinos, giraffes & even a few lions! I'm sure that I omitted a few, heck probably a BUNCH, of the animals that reside there but you get my drift, they have pretty much EVERY animal with the exception of a Panda, much to Lindsey's chagrin! LOL! Below are pictures of our African Safari adventure...

LIONS, RHINOS & GIRAFFES, OH MY!!!...

restored my faith in humanity...

The other night Grandma & I decided to go to Red Lobster for dinner as a treat & to celebrate the tribes upcoming 4th Birthday in one fell swoop. Money is EXTREMELY tight around here but we had a few gift cards & Grandma LOVES to eat there so off we went. We were lucky to get Daddy & Uncle Bob to meet us there. This was NOT our first time going to this particular one in fact the wait staff knew us pretty well. Heck who else around has quadruplets running around?!. They could not get over how much they had grown especially since they would be turning 4 in a few short days! My how time flies!

When we go out anywhere if we have enough BIG people with us we will separate each child with a BIG person, that way they are separated so no one fights. (Usually this works! =]) This time we had just enough to seat two in the middle of the table & the other two at each end. I thought it would be perfect, they'd be spread out but no, they ALL wanted to sit next to their Uncle Bob. In the end only the "good" one's had that priviledge! Let's just say Camryn was NOT one of the chosen ones that night! She was ALL over the place, sitting on the table was the last straw! So she had the good fortune of sitting next to her Daddy & FAR away from me since I was not happy with her behavior. Their Daddy seems to have a way of keeping them in line that this Mommy will never get! Maybe one day! LOL!
 

As we sat there looking over the menu a few of our previous waiters came by & chatted with us. I would have to say that they see us about every other month. Once they found out we were there to celebrate their birthday they said we needed to get them some dessert. I told them only if they were good. I must have seemed like a MEAN mommy but I just cannot see rewarding BAD behavior even if it is their birthday celebration. I mean we are out at a restaurant & other people are trying to have a good time too! So I feel that they should be on their BEST behavior! You have to be consistent at least that's what I tell myself! LOL! I do have to say that the thought of possibly getting a slice of chocolate cake that night made their behavior get a little better.


Just as we were about to get our dinner a older woman & her husband approached us as they were leaving. She said she had heard that they would be celebrating their birthday soon & she wanted us to buy them each an ice cream or something then handed me four 5 dollar bills. I was so thankful for her generosity. What a nice thing to do for a struggling family of 7! We worry about how we are going to pay for pretty much everything & a total stranger gave us $ to spend on them! How AWESOME is that?! Her husband was funny, he said she doesn't even give me that for my birthday! Whatever compelled her to do that I am grateful! Her gesture totally...

restored my faith in humanity...

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...