our suburban....

My hubby Michael has ALWAY'S had a pickup. He says that every homeowner should have one. Where do you put the all of the stuff? In the back of the pickup of course! ha! Now that we have these children all I see is 4 less seats! LOL! We were lucky to find a used Suburban that had very little miles on it. PLUS it had 9 seatbelted seats! YAY! The things you get excited over when you're a parent! ha! I try to spy vehicles on my commute from work to home. Almost every vehicle that peaks my fancy is a convertible! Weird huh!? I just wonder what it would be like to be able to go places by MYSELF in just a 2 seater, to have the top down and the wind in my hair! Ohhh! Who am I kidding!! That will not be happening for quite awhile! For now we need vehicles that have 4 doors & at LEAST 7 seats. You have a BIG family you look for BIG cars! 7 seats is all we need that is if we do not have any guests riding with us. If you asked me 3 years ago what vehicle I'd love it would not be a Suburban!! SO after searching for a vehicle to fit our family of 7 the Suburban was the only way to go. 9 seats, YAY! It is definitely a gas guzzler and with gas prices the way that they are, it's CRAZY! But we need it & we all fit into it comfortably. So Suburban it was. I do have dreams though, like when I say, "When we win the lottery we will buy this type of vehicle". It is nice to dream! Time is all I need! It is funny how things change with time. Remember, Time is the light at the end of the tunnel. I joke about the lottery like we actually play it! ha! Maybe one day I will get to buy that 2 seater & be able to go places ALONE. For now Daddy puts his truck to good use while I trek them places in....

our suburban....

Paul Newman's eyes....

On Saturday when I heard that Paul Newman had died I felt such a loss. I did not even know this man yet I was sad that he had died! He had such a full life! (I want to live to be 102!) Having older parents gave me an appreciation for actors of their era. I think it makes my mother realize her own mortality. Scary! In reality I do not like hearing about anyones passing. Death is just too final for me & SO sad! I cannot place why his passing touched me so. Was it because he was a great actor, a husband, a father, a philanthropist? I don't know. What I do know is that I feel a connection to this man that I never met & I think it is due to Brendan. You see people have told us SO many times that Brendan has "Paul Newman eyes". My mom says they are bedroom eyes. WHAT is that!?? It has to be old terminology! LOL! People think his eyes look like Paul Newman's! WOW! To be compared to eyes like Paul Newmans is amazing! I ALWAY'S wanted blue eyes! But alas I inherited brown ones from my dad! I never even thought I would have blue eyed children because of that. God had other plans! I had wanted to write to Mr Newman & share this with him but I never did. Woulda, shoulda, coulda.. I never did what I wanted to. Note to self: Don't let life get so busy to forgot the little things. SO when I heard that he had died I felt SO sad. I wanted to rewind time & send him that note to share my story. I will never get that chance but I still have my Brendan with his ...

Paul Newman eyes....

We won the lottery!....

This has been one LONG weekend. The things we will do for the almighty buck! Over the past three days I have worked 36 hours and I have 8 more hours to go tomorrow. My work at my
other PAYING job. My alter ego as the police/fire dispatcher. I have been doing this job for so long that I do not know any better. I always said that I would be a stay at home mom once I became one. BUT as soon as they told me we were having 4 babies that plan changed! I knew that I would need to get out & be around adults. Going to work is my outlet. Not only is it a paycheck BUT I get to be around adults. YAY! You can always use some EXTRA money when you have a big family like ours! Raising 4 babies & a soon to be teenager is EXPENSIVE! Yes it has been rough, Yes there are times when I only get to see them for a few moments here & there BUT it is worth it. I keep telling myself that this will all pay off in the end. This is a journey & we learn as we go. I revel in the moments I do have with them. PLUS I have a WONDERFUL husband that is an AWESOME dad. He let's me do this. He is my equal in more ways than one & I love him so! I have been SO lucky! Now if only that luck would rub off so we could say....

We won the lottery!...

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....

party of 7....

I have thought about this for quite awhile. What it feels like when we attempt to actually go out for dinner, a treat for us, and for it to turn out being a not too great experience. I really think this occurs because businesses do not know about people like us. They do not know what it requires for us to have an ok time. Let's just face it the real world has no clue what it is like raising multiples & I sure do wish they did. I have a "bag of tricks" that I ALWAY'S bring with us when we go out. It has their "feeding" bib's a must so their clothes do not get soiled, sanitary wipes to clean off EVERYTHING, a few table toy's to occupy their time and the minimal diaper stuff just in case.. Now what we can not guarantee is that the restaurant we end up at will be able to accomodate us with seating. Do you know how hard it is to feed toddlers in a "big boy/girl seat"? C-R-A-Z-Y!! They need structure & restraints/seatbelts so they are not able to wander around the place. Let's just face it most establishments can not accomodate a family like ours. You go out to eat & you are LUCKY to get 2 highchairs let alone 4! (Remember there are other people thinking like us & need highchairs too!) I would have thought S Florida of all places would have plenty since so many people vacation here but alas no. We feel like we won the lottery if we find a place that has 4! So we plan our dinners out around what restaurant & what time we think there is not a lot of families going to be there. We had this happen to us over the summer in of all places the local zoo. We decided to have lunch at the normal time, BIG mistake! LOL! They actually had quite a few highchairs more than a normal place would have had EXCEPT they were all in use! We started to bring our quad stroller in to feed them out of but luckily another mommy from my multiples group was there & gave us 2 of their highchairs. We were 1/2 way to the 4 that we desperately needed. It is in times like this I feel I should stand up on my soap box & share with the world by "multiples" struggles. I feel if I can help one person see what it is like to be a quad mommy than maybe I can help create change. Trust me when I see something that could be just a little better I tell them. I have complained to local malls that do not have motorized wheel chairs. (Besides helping a handicapped person they can help a pregnant mommy tremendously!) I am alway's on a "mission" to show people there is a better way. Not that I have enough on my plate, I just care. Currently my mission is in the "Mommy & Me" dept. SO many places restrict us by making it a requirement to have a parent per child for most activities. I really do not feel that a mommy of twins or more should not be allowed to participate just because she does not have anyone there to help her. AGAIN this is just my opinion but I will stand up on my soap box & share it with whomever will care to listen. If I can make just one establishment have more than 4 highchairs or organization let me attend minus 3 other set's of hands I will have done my job. For now I just hope for the best when I say Fulton...

party of 7....

a trip to the ER...

It was a CRAZY morning. The babies were all over the place when Camryn started sobbing. This is unusual for even her. She kept grabbing her left arm and wanted to be held. I checked her ALL over & could not find any swelling or most importantly blood. We could not figure out what had happened to her. After about 20 minutes of hearing her cry I decided I better seek some medical advice. I called the Pediatrician's office & they told me to go to an Urgent Medical Care or ER. I then called Michael to tell him that he needed to leave work & come to Grandma's to care for the other three. Luckily Uncle Bob was nearby so he came and watched them until Daddy got here. As I put her in her car seat she cried so I knew that she was hurt in some way. I decided to take her to an Urgent Medical Care near my work they seem to have a shorter wait time than a hospital. As I am driving I realize that I did not have her insurance card. Uh Oh! I better call Humana to get her card # since I did not know each babies ID #. After TOO much discussion the insurance lady had me in tears saying that they would not cover our visit there since they were not on the provider list. What is that!!? I was SO upset!! I called Michael, who was now on his way to Grandma's, and he said to take her to Holy Cross. So I was now headed there. Mind you Miss Camryn was now only fussing a little. We decided it was better to be safe than sorry so off I went. After filling out some forms and explaining about her insurance card, etc. we were waited for about 45 minutes to be seen. I do not like hospital ER's. There is TOO many sick people with G-E-R-M-S! As the time passed she got better & better. You would never know her arm even hurt her! Little stinker! I just think she wanted some "mommy time"! The Dr finally came in & checked her out. After checking a few things he determined that she had what they call a "nursemaid's elbow". It is a pediatric version of a dislocated elbow. It already went back into place by the time we were seen in the ER. He said it is VERY common with children especially under the age of 3 and gave us paperwork on it. $50.00 later she is fine, jumping around and being a normal 20 month old! I do feel better having a Dr tell me that everything was ok. However I could have not used...

a trip to the ER....

bats, baseballs & just being boys...

Today Uncle Bob took Dustyn & Brendan to a Marlins game. The Marlins played the Phillies at 4:05pm. It was the last baseball game of the regular season. The best time to take a 20 month old who still takes naps. Dustyn has been quite lucky to be invited to a few games but this was Brendan's FIRST invite to a Marlins game & hopefully not his last! We prepared the night before to make sure we had EVERYTHING. It was so strange planning what to bring for ONE kid. I set out the CUTEST outfit for him to wear. Had to make sure that he had plenty of sunscreen on before & during the game. Sippies with PLENTY for him to drink & of course a "manly" diaper bag with all the necessities. I packed him a toy doodle pad. I had wanted to pack some grapes, that never happened. Daddy decided on the snacks & packed some pretzels since they were going to feed him "JUNK" ie: pizza, hotdogs, popcorn, etc. once down at the game. Today was a special day so we allowed it. Having just the 3 girls home alone without him that is going to be weird. We do everything in pairs so when one of the 4 is missing things go awry. A few times Daddy asked them where Brendan was & Camryn got a concerned look on her face when she could not find him. This happened quite a few times. We wanted to see how they would react and what they would do once he finally came home. They got to stay up later tonight to wait for the boys to get home. Once Brendan arrived they each loved on him and squealed when they saw him. That reaction reassured us that we will continue with activities like this. Once home they shared what a BUSY afternoon Brendan had watching the game, eating, seeing the Mermaids, running the bases & meeting Billy the Marlin. Now we are going to have to think of a good activity we can take just the girls to. Anyone have any GOOD ideas?? Because we need to make it fair. What can we "Mom's" do with our little girls that can be just as fun? (Pictures of their "boy's day out" will be posted as soon as I get them!) Brendan is such a sweet little boy. He stays pretty content most of the time. I just wish that I could have been there to see him watch his first baseball game. To see him watch them swing their bats & hit those balls. There was a home run but it was a Phillie that hit it. Such our luck! It was a boy's afternoon, a great oppurtunity for him to get in some male bonding time with his Uncle & BIG brother. Maybe they can make this a new activity to do on the last game of each season. Uncle Bob bought him another cute toddler baseball cap. He is starting a collection. Of course he has an FSU cap just for Daddy's team! After all was said & done The Marlins ended up losing to the Phillies by 3 runs. Darn! After the game they let the kids run the bases so Brendan had his chance! Dustyn, Uncle Bob & he ran from 1st base to home plate where "Billy the Marlin" greeted them. From what I was told Brendan was a little afraid of the large fish. If I was just under 3 feet tall I'd be afraid of the 7 foot giant too! (= I guess we will have to re introduce them later! Today was just their day for...

bats, baseballs & just being boys....

our monkeys at the zoo....

We took our little munchkins to the "Palm Beach Zoo" this past summer. It was a HOT day but went anyway's. Luckily there is plenty of shaded areas & even a fountain for the little one's to play in. FYI in Florida you need activities to cool off in!! So many people told me aboutthe zoo but I thought it would be WAY TOO EXPENSIVE for us to go. Then I was told about the annual pass. I never even thought of buying a annual pass to the zoo. Annual passes, What are they?? Well it turned out to be the best thing we ever did! Saved us a TON of money! Dustyn shared in their first zoo experience. We all had a blast! Seeing 4 babies all the same age is always a spectacle especially in their stroller, aka "BIG BLUE". Dustyn says don't make eye contact so we do not get distracted. Funny how you learn that. I am glad that we have it but I cannot wait to not HAVE to use it. They just LOVED the zoo. There were alligators, flamingo's, Lions, Tigers, Zebra's, the list goes on & on. Daddy showed them the Reptiles, his favorite area! I wanted them to see the monkey exhibit. Let them see them jump from tree to tree. I ALWAY'S wanted to have a monkey for a pet when I was little! I wanted to dress one up as a ballerina. Don't ask me why maybe I saw one on TV or something. Needless to say I never got one. Now I have these 4 monkey's to occupy my time. They are just as mischievous & funny as the one's at the zoo! LOL!
I took their picture in front of the main entrance. I should say that I took about 8 pictures until I found one that came out halfway decent! My children never seem to oblige me when it comes to picture taking. They must get that from their father! He is not a picture person like me!! I am just going to have to train them!! haha!

I just love this picture of Camryn. I especially LOVE the pig tails! Do you know how long it took for her hair to get long enough for pig tails!? A LONG time!! This is why I will not cut it. I want to be able to have more pictures like this!! Thankfully she allows me to put her hair in pig tails & does not take them out!! (= PLUS she LOVES to pose for pictures! Mommy LOVES that!! YAY!

Here is a photo of our CLAN from that day. This is a RARE shot since most of my family, lets just say it, the men, do not like having their pictures taken! I MADE them pose for this as a gracious zoo goer took it. THANK YOU!! The things I have to do just to capture a moment in our life. I'd do it all again just to see....

our monkeys at the zoo....

there's 20/20 vision, 20 years, & 20 months...

I cannot believe that the babies are 20 months old TODAY! Our life is SO busy that I cannot believe in 4 short months they will be 2 years old! Oh My Goodness! TIME sure does FLY by! LIFE has been BUSY, BUSY for us! SO much stuff going on. My niece Clari turned 20 years old (I remember the day she was born!) & I will be celebrating my 20 year highschool reunion. YIKES has it been that long!? 20, 20, 20.. I just wish I had 20/20 vision to go with it! ha! The good Lord does not give you more than you can handle however at times I felt he did! I am just SO happy that they are becoming more & more self sufficient. We can actually take them places without their BIG stroller! YAY! I do not think I could EVER do the baby thing 24/7 again. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE babies I just do not want another one of my own. I will just have to wait for another 25 years when hopefully they will give us some grandchildren to spoil. That would be WONDERFUL! NO pressure just hope's & aspirations! Remember I ALWAY'S have a light at the end of my tunnel! heehee..

Let me share a little bit about each of them.

Miss Camryn is such an old soul. She understands practically EVERYTHING you say or don't say to her. It is like she just "knows" stuff before you explain it to her. Some days she can just read my mind & does what I am thinking. Like putting dirty clothes in the hamper. It is just TOO amazing for words! She LOVES to sing & dance if her sisters are dancing. She is also the little mother of the bunch. She tends to them & cares for them like she is me. VERY funny to observe. Michael says that she is MY baby. Since she still want's me ALL the time. I do not understand it completely because the rest of them do not need me as much. If there is a choice between Mommy or Daddy she wants me hands down. It bothers Daddy more than he lets on. Hopefully she will grow out of this!

Mr Brendan, our tow head. He is growing emotionally as well as physically. He is toughening up too! Those 3 sisters of his better watch out! He now take's things from them instead of the other way around. Any way you look at it living with 3 sisters is hard. We hope that when he grows up he will have a better appreciation for women having grown up with his 3 sisters! AGAIN this is my hope! Brendan is a VERY loving boy. He loves to show affection. He gives everyone kisses & hugs. He is also quite vocal. You can get him to repeat most words you throw at him. Most recently he said "Doctor" when we went in for their shots. TOO cute! He is definitely in the running for being the 1st talker of the bunch. Of the 4 of them he says the most words that you can understand. I cannot wait for the chatting to begin!

Avery, where do I begin. She is the WILD one! She love's to get into mischief & take the other 3 along with her. I cannot tell you how many times she has gotten them into "trouble". She is a leader & LOVES doing things first! She is like her mommy in that she loves an adventure. She is also our dare devil that thinks she has 9 lives. She is quite the dare devil. She is always falling down & scraping her knee. She is also very familiar with "boo boo's". She does not like the word "No". We are in for T-R-O-U-B-L-E! (= When we are all in the pool she will jump in without a second thought. Goes under the water and comes up laughing. This scares me immensely & she is the reason they will be getting swim lessons real soon. She takes care of her siblings similar to Camryn however she just does it. She will pass food along before taking some for herself just to make sure everyone got some. TOO cute!

Lindsey, well she is our joker. She LOVES to giggle & belly laugh. She can find humor in a grape falling on the floor. She take's after her twin & does her own stunts. One of which is going down the slide HEAD first. She never hesitates, she just goes full force ahead. She LOVES to dance. She hears a beat & her body moves to it. She also has this scary strut. Daddy was worried about it & had to mention it to the doctor. It reminds us of a person that hurt their back. She will be walking around & then start walking like Frankenstein. It is weird & that is her. The Dr. said there is nothing to worry about. She is just being a kid. I guess we notice things more since we have 4. Overall she is a lovie dovie who LOVES to laugh & smile. She can grin from ear to ear & is quite the ham. She loves to pose for a picture. Mommy just LOVES that! (=

We LOVE each of them for their unique personalities. They amuse me each day & I try to recapture some of it in my posts. I hope you all enjoy them too!

there's 20/20 vision, 20 years, & 20 months....

finally....

Well I finally did it... I took the babies to McDonald's. This is a BIG thing since I am more of a Chick-fil-a kind of girl but decided I should take them to a place I used to go as a kid. In fact it is the same one I went to when I was little they just re built it. They took the play area away which I was kind of happy about. (Less germs to worry about!) Grandma & I decided we would go for breakfast. I cannot believe that it has taken me this long to bring them! They did not have 4 highchairs SO Miss Cam Cam sat in a "big girl" seat. She LOVED it! She did really well and even ate all of her food. OK this will "date" me but, I did not know that they even had Happy Meals for breakfast. See how often I go to Mickey D's for breakfast, hahah! We ordered 2 Happy Meals because I knew if I ordered 4 they would not eat it all & as it was they ate just enough. We ordered them a Pancakes & a Egg Happy Meal & OJ for their drink. After we split all their food up we were good to go. They ate most of it. This morning Camryn was the BEST eater & cleaned her plate! Looking at her you would think she eats like that ALL the time but it is usually Lindsey that eats the best! It was nice to have the place almost to ourselves. It is unusual for us to not be approached about them but this day we were left alone. It was quite nice! I guess this is what happens when you go mid week after school starts. YAY! Before we left the manager gave them each some cookies which made their morning! I must say that Grandma, the babies & I had a nice breakfast at Mickey D's...

finally....

making peace with the past...

One year ago today my father passed away. He had a stroke in March of 2001, was partially paralyzed and basically was not a happy person for quite a long time. Don't get me wrong, he had a lot of life left in him but he just gave up the fight. In fact he had told us for YEARS that he wished that the good Lord would take him & he finally did on 9/11/07. I wanted my Dad to be around for his children but mostly his grandchildren, my children. He did not even get to know them yet. I did not even have picture's of him with them. That was a VERY selfish reason for me to think of before he died. The last few years he made all of our lives very difficult. My Mom was his care taker & had it the worst. Her own health deterorated due to taking care of him. Someone once told me to not do a thing for him so he could do for himself first. Well, that flew out the window the first week he was home. From time to time I think back to the type of relationship I had with my Dad. It was one WILD ride, some moments of smooth sailing but definitely some turbulance. LOL! When I was little I looked up to my Dad, I remember holding his hand as we would walk down the street. It was not until I hit puberty that things became difficult. I started to have a voice and an opinion that was not always his. We had a challenging relationship to say the least. We both spoke our minds and were stubborn. It must be a German thing! ha! The sad part is that my father rarely ever gave me a compliment. (Dad's need to compliment their daughters! I tell Michael this all the time now that he has three of them!) Even during my pregnancy with these four beautiful babies he would often be the critic. He would say "You act like you are the first woman to give birth to four babies at once!". I was the first woman I knew to do it! LOL! This played out a lot in my relationships with men. I had a hard time taking compliments from anyone and I still do! I continue to THANK Michael each day for sticking with me & showing me that not all men are like my Dad! I definitely did not marry my father! LOL! There were many times that I wished my Dad would be like my friends father's but that was not him. He would tell it like it was, and that was that. Many people could not handle his candor. In hindsight that is one thing that that I valued from him, his honesty. He was an HONEST man. He might have had many faults but he did not lie to you. I have way too many people that tell you what they think you want to hear instead of the truth. My Dad would do ANYTHING for anyone. One time he brought home a customer's dog because they had no one to watch him when they went out of town. This dog was MEAN! My Dad did not care, he was helping someone. Just one of the many things he would do for someone else. No matter how difficult our relationship was he was still my Dad & I loved him. My father was quite the patriotic man. He had an eagle collection that most would envy. He LOVED the military & anything patriotic. His own father died on the 4th of July. That is why it is amazing that he died on 9/11, Patriot's Day! I think he planned it that way! It AMAZES me how my father has touched other people. My sister in law Laurie's, aka "Aunt Larry" (It's a LONG story), parents Dorsey & Eleanor LOVED my Dad. They gave me a beautiful plaque with a picture of my Dad on it which hangs in our living room. Dorsey is quite the character & had them ingrave aka Spencer Tracy on the plaque. He thought my Dad reminded him of him. My Dad LOVED that! It was SO sweet of them to remember him! The babies now go over to that plaque & point to it when I ask them where Grandpa is. Well, they either point to the plague on the wall, up in the air to say he is in heaven or better yet to their hearts. I always's point to their hearts & tell them that he is in there. I FINALLY taught them something! YAY! So much has gone on over the past year. These children have grown up SO much. They really need their Grandpa, I need my Dad. But that is not to be. It is hard to believe that he is really gone & will not see them grow up! That part hurt the most when he died. You see my fathers father died many years before I was ever born. So I know what it was like to not have a grandfather. I really hope that my Dad is watching us from above. I hope he wishes he had a few more years with them & us. You can never change the past just learn from it & look to the future. So on Patriots Day of all day's I am...

making peace with the past....

what happened to my sweet little Brendan?...

I cannot believe that I have posted every day this week. Yikes! Life here has been pretty active to have SO many postings! I should say that life has been HECTIC! My SWEET little Brendan has turned into a BOY! That is my mom's explanation as to why he has been so bad! He has been SO sweet for SO long that his boy roots are finally coming through! He was unlike most boys we would meet at play dates. He was the sweet one, not the "rough n' tough" one. Now he picks up ANYTHING he can find & proceeds to throw it. He has even hurt his Grandma one too many times. He used to be her little man but now I think she is weary of him. I would be afraid of getting another "boo boo" too! Just today he found these toy maraca's made by Leap Frog & proceeded to hit Lindsey on her head with one! I do not know what to do with him. They ALL need to learn how to behave but lately he has been "testing" me. Any mom's out there have any advice on how to get him to play "nice"? I need some help here! Thanks for letting me share my latest challenge. I just keep asking myself..

what happened to my sweet little Brendan?...

WINDY in West Palm....

Well, we were SO lucky!! Hurricane Ike took a southern turn & we escaped it's wrath! However, the Turk's & Cuba were not so lucky! All we seemed to get was WIND! I must say that I love a windy day! The babies loved it too! The wind it their hair & the humidity was nill. I am just happy that there was not a rain cloud in sight! We do not need any more rain to add to the lake that was once my back yard! ha! It is weird how we have been in a drought for so long, had water restrictions, etc.. & now after 4 tropical storms we do not the rain! Lake "O" is pretty full to where they almost want to drain some water off if another storm passes our way. Why is that?? I do not think that I will ever understand their logic! I cannot wait for November 30th or should I say Dec 1st when Hurricane Season will be officially over! YAY! For now it is just...

WINDY in West Palm....

yesterday....

OK, I forgot to add to their blog yesterday & wish all the Grandma's & Grandpa's a "Happy Grandparents Day". Yes, Yesterday was "their" day! I had all intentions to get my act together & give all their grandparents a little something from the babe's BUT time escaped me & I am giftless writing a belated post. OOPS! Maybe I will make today honorary Grandparents day & do something special today! Not a day goes by that we do not think of Grandma M aka "Grammy", Nana, Papa Bill, Grandpa Buck & lest us not forget Grandpa M in heaven. I cannot believe that it will be a year this week that the good Lord took him from us! If you ask the babies where he is they will either point up to the sky or better yet their chest to say that he is in their heart. It is my hope that they never forget the short time they had with him! It is weird how the circle of life works. My Grandfather on my Dad's side died when my oldest brother Jim was 7 months old. My Dad was his "baby". So he lived to see his baby have his first baby. Now fast forward 49 years and my Dad lived to see his baby, me, have my first baby well we all know it's babies but you get the drift. My children were 8 months old when he died. TOO weird! I cannot believe he is gone. I think he watches them from above & is proud of them & me. I hope!! SO, to all you grandparents I hope that you had a VERY special day...

yesterday....

HOT & humid in Florida....

It looks like S Florida might be spared from the wrath of "Ike". I do not wish harm on anyone but I am glad that we are staying out of the cone of destruction! It was looking like we were cruising for a bruising! Thank the Lord that it has steered clear of us! I must admit that after dealing with SO many Hurricane's I can actually say that we made every attempt to be prepared. I mean how do you prepare to bunker down during a category 4 storm with four little one's? This would be our first experience in doing so. We got off lucky last year! Mom & I went to Costco to get all our Hurricane supplies. We now have PLENTY of water, canned goods & ton's of batteries. My niece Lauren advised me on what type of batteries most toys require. She says that they use a lot of double A's. Ha! It is better to be safe than sorry so we stocked up! Now we just wait & see if we need to close up the shutters. THANK YOU Mom for investing in the easy kind of Hurricane shutters! All we have to do is slide them out & lock themin place! If only it was all this easy! IF "Ike" continues to stay away & we are not affected we can at least say we were prepared! This Hurricane Season reminds me of the summer of 2005. We seemed to have a new storm every 10 days! No matter how often & "routine" it may seem for us Floridians it never gets old. It is always on our minds. SAFETY, SAFETY, SAFETY! So getting back to the preparing four small children part.. Dustyn & I brought a few ride on toys of theirs from home for them to share or should I say learn to "share". Grandma has a bunch of toy's already here so it should not be that bad. To make matters even worse all of the babies are sick. They all have a cold & yuckies in their nose's! I think that this will be a learning experience for all of us. I just hope & pray that we do not lose power. We are spoiled & LOVE our A/C! Remember, even though we have some beautiful beaches & we're known as the Sunshine State, Florida has a...

HOT & humid Hurricane Season....

once in a lifetime moment....

I FINALLY have a picture of the babies & me to share! I am usually the one taking the pictures & video so I never get to be in any of them. This picture is EXTRA special since they all actually climbed up in my lap to sit with me at the SAME time. hahah! Thank you daddy for caputuring this moment for me! I can hardly remember what it was like gaining the 86 lbs during my pregnancy & then having to carry all four of them around. It takes moments like this for me to remember. It is AMAZING how such a wild ride can be so distant in my mind. That I can actually say that I almost do not remember how difficult it was to get up & down or even sleep toward the end of my pregnancy or better yet how much my feet swelled & hurt after giving birth. If I was a crazy women I would ALMOST want to have another but I am sane & happy with the family I have. Happy that our babies are HEALTHY & that they complete us. I cannot remember what it was like BEFORE kids. TOO weird!! I must say that I do know that carrying 15lbs of baby is MUCH different than carrying what they weigh now!! I really treasure moments like this! They do not come around that often! Thank you for letting me share my...

once in a lifetime moment....

NO mail Monday!...

Today is Labor day! YAY! I slept in till 730 am! OK that is not sleeping in but it sure felt that way! My WONDERFUL hubby was already up & made us some yummy coffee! There is nothing like the smell of fresh coffee to wake up to! I think we had about 30 minutes till our WILD one's stirred. They inherited my chatting gene & woke up "jibber jabbering" with each other until we went in to get them up. We are grateful to have them be so happy in the morning. It is a treat to have daddy home with us for ANOTHER day. They eat, drink, sleep Daddy, Daddy, Daddy! I must admit that I love him too! He is quite the catch & I am such a LUCKY girl! Also, we get a LONG weekend at Grandma's! YAY! The only bad part about having a holiday occur on a Monday is that there is NO mail!! I live for "junk" mail. Macy's ads, People, Real Simple & Parenting magazines.. I may not have the time to REALLY read them but I LOVE them! So, even though today is a holiday & we will have some family fun, I just wish that it was not a ....

NO mail Monday!...