Merry CHRISTmas to all and to all a good night...

CHRISTmas was much more memorable this year than the past. The tribe really enjoyed themselves! We have been reading them the story of Jesus's birth. They really love Jesus. They even sing Happy Birthday! TOO cute! The other person they love talking about is Santa. They do not really like him they just know that he might bring them presents especially if they are good! Now that they are almost three they knew exactly what to do & did it VERY well!No sleeping in at our house! We were awoken VERY early to children on scooters/bicycles trying to enter our room, all at the same time mind you! LOL! They apparently stopped by the tree & found what Santa brought them, SCOOTERS! One glitch to the master plan was that Santa could not get all the scooters together due to a missing part. I guess that's what happens when "he" puts things together last minute! haha! Aave must have thought she was not good enough to deserve on because she said no scooter for me. Ahhh... We told her how Santa left us a note saying he could not find an important part on one of them. He wanted to make sure it was safe so since he could not do that he left us a special certificate to bring to the store to get it fixed & get a safe one! She liked that & went on to the next toy. Oh to see the joy on their faces from opening presents, presents & more presents. They really got the ripping open presents down to a science. This year it was NOT all about the box! hahah!Last month during one of my MOPS get togethers one of the women told us how they do Christmas in their house. Her husband happens to be one of the pastors from our church and way back when their kids were little & she attended MOPS a woman passed this along to her so she in turn passed it along to us. Giving your children three gifts just like Jesus received. You know the gifts the three wise men brought, Gold, Frankincense & Myrrh. I LOVED that idea! I wish she would have told us this in like April, when I started shopping! {Buying for 5 I have to start EARLY!} Trying to keep CHRIST in Christmas has been hard to do since everywhere you look there is Santa & not enough Jesus! We need more nativity sets around town too! That is why we now have a nativity set in front of our house this year. Keeping Christ in Christmas! Do not get me wrong Santa definitely visits the Fulton home. I think in the end they each received 5, hopefully next year we will be able to accomplish that feat. At the end of this busy & chaotic day we can say...

Merry CHRISTmas to all and to all a good night...

Disney World!...

You know the ad where the team just wins the Super Bowl, they run up to the MVP & ask him "You just won the Super Bowl, What are you going to do next?", and they reply "Go to Disney World!". Well that is how I felt yesterday! I got to take the tribe for their very FIRST visit to Disney World on of all days MY birthday! I just want to give a shout out to whomever thought up the get in free to Disney on your birthday sales promo! What a great idea! I do not think I could ever get my hubby to take us ALL to Disney World any other way. I was psyched! We invited our niece to tag along so our tribe of seven expanded to eight! Once we got to the hotel, Disneys Pop Century, and I saw the decade signs out front I knew I needed to get a picture! Being that I was born in 1970 it was perfect! Look really close & you will see me in the bottom zero! There was just one glitch to our last minute plan, the weather! We had a cold front come through & the temp's were frigid! This Florida girl is not used to COLD weather & Mother Nature sure did provide us COLD weather! Once in Orlando we awoke to FOURTY NINE degree weather, YIKES! It was a bit nippy & even with all the preparations we could not keep the tribe or ourselves warm! It was BAD! We ended up returning to our hotel just to warm up! CRAZY! I know, there is a blizzard going on up North but remember this is Florida people!We are used to WARM weather! Once we warmed our tushes up we headed out to the Magic Kingdom. All the tribe kept talking about was seeing Mickey Mouse. I knew this would be short lived because like most children they usually talk a good game until thee moment & then they bawl. I was preparing myself for that exact thing! Oh to be in Disney World with my family on MY birthday! It was such a fun day even if my hubby was "Grumpy" himself. He does not do well in the patience dept. and when you have 5 kids plus one to get ready & out the door by a certain time he just could not do it! Patience is NOT his virtue! LOL! Lucky for us we had reenforcements already at the park! Our good friends Andy, Laurie, Travis, Carol, Norman & their families were there to help us wrangle our brood. THANK YOU GUYS! They are pros at all things Disney so we followed them. The BIG boys went to do BIG boy stuff while we ladies PLUS Daddy went to see little people stuff. We decided to hit "Toon Town" first to nip the whole Mickey & Minnie experience in the bud.After waiting about 45 minutes in a line that seemed to go on FOREVER we finally met the Mr & Mrs of all Disney! Brendan of course freaked out & wanted out of there! I think his seeing Mickey was fine if he was about 50 feet away but once he got up next to him he wanted NO part of him. Lindsey felt the same way but not as extreme as Mr B. Avery was okay with both of them. Not overly excited but not scared either. Camryn on the other hand LOVED Minnie! She did not want to leave & kept hugging her & giving her kisses. "Aunt Larry" said waiting in that 45 minute line was worth every minute after seeing her reaction! awhh... After that experience I realized just how difficult it was going to be to take our family of 7 anywhere! Some of them are going to be "easy" and some are going to be "difficult". I am just going to have to figure out how to meet them halfway. Trying to get pictures was even harder! I ended up doing Disney's photo pass. What a great idea! Even if it will cost us an arm & a leg to get copies made at least we can say we went to...

Disney World!...

Don't call Pete!...

I have the good fortune of being able to work outside the home at a place that I have worked at for YEARS! 20 years to be exact! I started working as a dispatcher at a VERY young age and because of these children I kept working part time after their birth! I knew that I would need a break from this chaotic life I lead. It also brings home the bacon if you know what I mean. Life is good. In working there I have met quite a few people, fellow dispatchers, firefighters & most importantly policemen. These connections have come in handy with the tribe! I never thought about how the tribe would react to running into one of my friends from work until that day at Costco. I think that is when I first realized how depending on the persons uniform they can get quite upset. Apparently they do not like Police uniforms. LOL! Avery is the worst, she freaks! She is the one that has stranger anxiety. She will flip out if you come too close & she is unsure of you! She has done this a few times to her Uncle & it was quite the sight. She wailed & held on tight till she was safe in my arms. CRAZY but true! Well on this particular day we were at Costco, one of our favorite places, when we ran into my friend Pete. Pete is a sheriffs deputy & he happened to be there on a premise check so he came over to say hi. She took one look at him & she freaked! I tried to explain that he was Mommy's friend but she just cried while keeping her distance. He continued to say his "hello's" and off he went. As soon as he left Avery was fine! We ventured out into the store because it is SO tempting. We made a few purchases & decided it was time to leave. The tribe was in one of those moods and was not listening. There I was trying to get them all into the "burb, strapped in & the groceries put away so the person waiting for our spot would not get ticked that I took too long when Pete showed up! I must have looked frazzled because the next thing I knew there was Pete telling them to get in their seats! I never saw them move so quickly! They were scared & did exactly what he said! I was SO happy! Not that I want them to be afraid of policemen but I know have a new tactic to get them to behave, Pete! From that day forward all I have had to say is that I am going to call Pete & they say, Sorry Mommy...

Don't call Pete!...

scared of Santa pic...

This has been one FUN holiday season! All the houses decked out with lights, beautifully decorated Christmas trees & especially all the talk about Santa! I have been talking him up quite a bit with the tribe. Telling him how he knows if they are bad or good, etc... He is one person they are quite intrigued about these days. When they are bad I throw out "Santa is watching!" and they will usually apologize for something! haha I figured they are another year older so MAYBE they could handle a picture with the big guy. Last year was HYSTERICAL with them all about jumping off Santa's couch in fear! LOL! This year we actually made a "date" with our multiples group to get our pictures taken. We would all meet up at the mall & get them taken. We did stop to see him at another mall BEFORE Thanksgiving. Can you believe they had Santa out BEFORE Thanksgiving?! CRAZY!Anyhow, there I was in line with the tribe. I did not spot any of the other multiples from our group until we were halfway through the line & then they appeared. They were WAY ahead of us & had just finished. SO we stayed where we were & waited for our turn. The tribe did VERY well for being two years old & having to wait for about 15 minutes. Little did they know who would be waiting for them at the end of that line! LOL! I think everyone thought I was crazy to bring them there by myself but this is the way I get everything done, by myself! I was split 50/50 on how I wanted the pictures to turn out. Yes it would be nice to get a shot of them smiling while sitting on Santa's lap but on the other hand a shot of them screaming would be quite funny! {BAD Mommy!} It's the dealing with them screaming that's not so much fun but the end result is priceless! I guess I'm just a glutton for punishment because I endured the latter. Here is our 2009...

scared of Santa pic...

Tis the season...

This week has been one LONG week! I have noticed lately how much the tribe has grown both physically & mentally! With growth comes curiosity and with curiosity comes BAD behavior! I cannot begin to tell you what all we have dealt with this past week! UGH! Needless to say this momma was NOT happy! We had quite a few incidents where I was caught asking them, "Why do you like making mommy's job even harder than it already is?". {This has been a favorite saying of mine lately!} Here's an example of a recent evening in our house.

I was making them some chicken for dinner. We bought this yummy organic spice from Costco, you know the kind that comes in a HUGE container that does not fit in with all your other spices? I ended up storing it next to the stove since it's SO big. I think up until this point we had only used a 1/4 of the bottle. I had already spiced up the chicken & was quite proud how it was turning out. The aroma was captivating! As I'm preparing the rest of the dinner Linz, our very own private eye, came up to me saying "Avery Buddy". Avery of course being her sister & Buddy being Brendan. That is her special name for him. Usually when she comes up & says someones name it usually means they did something or took something from her. I sort of blew her off. I was cooking & had no time to referee a silly squabble I thought they were having. Looking back I think she actually came up to me three times when finally I had enough time to see what they were up to. The first thing I saw was Avery holding this dirty brown stuffed object. I did not recognize it at first but then I saw what it was, Brendans baseball bear. {It is suppose to be a white bear!} Then I saw what Lindsey was trying to tell me all along, a huge pile of my seasoning all over the living room floor. When I say huge I mean HUGE! Avery & Brendan must have taken my bottle of spices & dumped it EVERYWHERE! The bottle was completely empty & they were now rubbing it into the cushion of our ottoman. I did not know if I should laugh or cry! Trust me I wanted to cry! This was just the tip of the iceberg of my BAD week! If Michael was there he would have been beside himself, he is majorly anal about anything on the floor. Luckily Dustyn was there & he helped me clean up the mess. "D" was so funny, as he swept it up he said to them, "Don't laugh if you were older YOU would be cleaning this up!". I guess I am rubbing off on him! LOL! As we cleaned the floor all I could think about was...

Tis the season...

there was a bra in my toilet!...

I know I have had some WILD nights in the past when I woke up not remembering exactly everything that happened the night before however last night was not one of them! My day started out like most mornings with the tribe jumping into bed with me. I am not a person that will get up to pee during the night so first thing once I wake up I will make the trek to the bathroom. I was on that trek this morning when lo & behold I see something in the toilet. I had to do a doubletake when I finally realized exactly I was seeing, my bra! "Someone" put my bra in of all places the toilet! In my wilder days I could probably take credit for this but today it was one of the fab four that pulled this number! Needless to say after much interrogation no one fessed up! There I was half asleep retrieving my undergarment from it's soggy fate & then hurridly throwing it into the sink so toilet water would not be all over the floor. Ewwwwh... They completely submerged the darn thing! Nothing like reaching your hand into a toilet first thing in the morning! arghh! One of my friends said "At least they did not flush!". YES I have to thank God for that miracle! Especially since they LOVE flushing anything down the toilet! I was indeed lucky! I'm telling you these children really do think they have free reign of the house & all it's contents once they wake up. I SO wish they would not know how to get out of their cribs! It seems like all of these adventures & their curiosity peaked when that started happening! We are doomed! Getting back to the bra, I can just imagine how it went down & who did it! Usually they will rat each other out but this time no one said a thing. I even asked my hubby if he did it since they didn't fess up. I guess I should just be thankful that I did not have to call a plumber to find out...

there was a bra in my toilet!...

Who's your favorite Uncle?...

This question has been asked of the tribe quite a lot lately. You see my brother, their Uncle Bob, likes to ask them this question each time he sees them. Being that we stay at my mom's house when I'm working he sees them quite frequently. Well this question has turned into one BIG joke. You see we have a set of funny bones in the family, namely Avery, that likes to tease her Uncle Bob. She knows how important it is for him to have each of them say he is their favorite that she teases him ALL the time. I think in the beginning he just wanted them to be able to say his name but now I really think he wants to be their "favorite". On Thanksgiving Uncle Bucky, Daddy's brother, had his name thrown into the hat as well. SO now not only does Uncle Bob have to contend with Uncle Rick he now has Uncle Bucky to worry about. Just wait until Christmas when all the Uncle's are around. Uncle Bob is going to have some MAJOR competition! LOL! Little does Bucky know that after spending the afternoon with him when asked Brendan said he was his favorite! awhh... Whatever this is, joking, teasing, brainwashing, etc... these kiddos thoroughly enjoy the attention. They LOVE being asked this question & love yelling out a name, sometimes it's the name he wants to hear & some times it is not. When their is four kids the ratio shifts quite frequently. Three could swing either way but Avery is a lock, she almost always gives an automatic "Uncle Rick" response. Funny thing is that Rick does not have to do anything to get them to say his name. You think it could be due to the fact that he is her Godfather? It is strange that she is the one that usually always shouts out his name! hmm... It does not matter what Avery is doing, she will not even turn her head she just shifts her eyes, and says "Rick". TOO, TOO funny! Like I said it has become quite the joke! She really does see how important it is to him & she, as my mom would say, wants to get his goat. I have to share a funny story that happened recently. One morning I dressed both of the "twins" in the same exact dress. Being that they are identical it is VERY hard to tell them apart. I was trying to get an extra leaf put in to Grandma's table so Uncle Bob helped me. In fact the entire tribe tried to help! There sitting at at the table across from one another & next to Uncle Bob were the "twins". For the life of him he could not tell them apart. He later said that he decided he would ask the one next to him who their favorite Uncle was and if she answered him he would know it was Lindsey. Well he asked the question and the girl to his right said "Uncle Bob". He then said "Hi Lindsey!". She smiled & then giggled. Little did he know that the real Lindsey was seated across the table next to me! She had fooled him yet again! We all had a good laugh over that! See what happens when you keep asking...

Who's your favorite Uncle?...

a stylist...

This has been a LONG week. We ended up staying at Grandma's longer than anticipated. My hair was telling me "I need a haircut" SO Daddy made me a hair appointment since she lives closer to civilization than we do. Grandma & I trekked down to the mall with the tribe for me to accomplish this task. Finding a place that gives a good cut & is reasonable is VERY hard to find! While there we decided to get the girls haircuts too. This was their very FIRST haircut at a REAL salon. I cannot believe how well they behaved. I have taken their brother to get his hair cut & he did not behave as well. In fact he shed quite a few tears! Pat, my hair stylist, brought out kid sized robes & a booster seat for them to sit on. They climbed up & sat perfectly. Wouldn't you know I forgot about needing to take pictures until AFTER Camryn had hers cut! arghh...




I do not even think they really needed me to be there except I wanted those pictures!!! Trust me I took plenty! (= They ended up getting about an inch taken off their back as well as getting their bangs trimmed up! They SO needed this! I must say that they looked SO cute when she was done! Once Lindsey was finished Pat made sure each one of them got a lollipop for their effort. That was all they cared about! They kept their eyes on the prize & were quite happy once they had a sucker in their mouth! Even Brendan who did NOT get his hair cut got one! He enjoyed that perk! (=


I think after seeing Pat cut their hair with scissors they finally realized exactly what they were for. They were a well hidden secret till today! Well you know how they say "knowledge is power", Miss Camryn took it literally. You see today while I was changing Avery's diaper Camryn found Mommy's scissors & proceeded to "trim" Lindsey's hair. Yes she cut a few strips of hair off someones head! After process of elimination I know it was Lindsey she sheared by the color & length of the pieces I found. For the life of me I cannot find where on Lindsey's head she cut it from! I guess since her hair still looks good we could say that Camryn might have a future being...

a stylist...

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...

teacher work days!...

Today we had some surprise guests at our door. Well the people were not the surprise rather than the time of day they arrived. Today being a Friday & a school day made it also surprising. You see one of Grandma's neighbors has three daughters & they came a knocking around 9 am to play with the tribe. They even brought a friend so their was plenty of hands to go around. YAY! If I did not already know that they had off from school I would have been worried. But they were here to play & that made me happy. (= These girls are the BEST! They come over quite a lot to see the tribe, keep them entertained & even give us hand me down's galore! They even help out as a "Mother's Helper" on days that I work. It will be Grandma & them watching the tribe till Daddy arrives. It is ALWAYS great to have help when you are raising a tribe! hehee! SO they came over this morning & I was SO greatful! Gotta love a teacher's work day! Their occupying the tribe gave me opportunity to get quite a few projects finished. Hubby hates when anything is done "half-assed". His words not mine. So here I am posting about our day. The girls had them playing "dress up", turned on their "show", took a walk outside & even had them play in their own "band". Their music might not have been in tune but it was quite amusing to watch! They LOVE it when they come over to play! So even though the tribe's not school age yet we can still appreciate one of the perks...

teacher work days!...

a day off with Daddy...

I must say that we LOVE it when we have our Daddy home with us mid week. Such a treat that does NOT happen that often! The only bad part of this equation is the reason he is home, he is sick. In fact we both are sick. He is worse off than me & for him to take a sick day is a feat within itself. He by far is the WORST patient ever! When he is feeling under the weather he is like my sixth child! ugh! {Do you think that is why God chose women to give birth instead of men? hmm...} (= So even though it is nice having him here it really isn't much fun! We made him some of my Uncle's famous "Greek Soup". SO SO yummy & great to eat when you are sick! Nothing like chicken soup when you are feeling ucky!

Now if I could just get some of my "to do" list accomplished I'd be a happy camper. Never seem to get those "things" accomplished so I am going to try & sneak a few things in today. It's a rarity to have an EXTRA set of hands, especially ones belonging to Daddy, that I better take advantage of it. Even if Daddy has to "watch" them while lounging on the couch I AM CLEANING TODAY! There is SO much crap to sift through and get rid of. Sigh... It seems that we have an over abundance of "stuff". Especially with Christmas & their birthday coming up! We need to de clutter! They will not even know what they are missing! Right? I just need to get their Daddy to assist me in this activity. That is going to be difficult! ugh! If he can keep them occupied long enough for me to accomplish my goal I'll be SO happy! Oh to have...

a day off with Daddy...

six plates!...

There has been a growth spurt going on in our house lately. It all started the other night when I made a pork roast & our new favorite, jasmine rice for dinner. LOVE that stuff! YUM! The aroma of the roast filled up the house I think it was intoxicating to the tribe because they could NOT wait for their daddy & D to get home to eat it! They kept saying "Eat, Eat". I guess they wanted to make sure I got their point LOUD & CLEAR! LOL! There I was in the kitchen making up their plates before 530. {We usually eat around 615} Rice is one of those dishes that you LOVE to eat but is a HUGE mess to clean up. When you have toddlers you learn to choose wisely in the food dept! I never really know which way it is going to go when I put a plate of rice in front of them. Some days it is a disaster where they fling rice like animals & get it EVERYWHERE or other times they surprise me & eat like royalty all proper & dainty! Well that night was a good night! They devoured pretty much every morsel! Camryn especially! There she was munching down, plate after plate. Yes she ate every last bite on her plate & then asked for more! AMAZING! Now why can't Mr B do this!? He is the one that needs more meat on those bones of his! LOL! Either she was VERY hungry or she is having one MAJOR growth spurt! When dinner was finally done she had cleaned off more than her fair share...

six plates!...

trying a different approach...

Life here has been a bit rough lately. Rough is putting it mildly. Things are a changing & I do not like it one bit! There are growth spurts & there are brain spurts. I think we are having a little bit of both! These "spurts" are changing the tribe's behavior & with change there is havoc! I am no big fan of change so that makes matters even worse! The biggest change has centered around what we call "nap time". It is becoming non existent! Some days are different than others. This week has been a "no nap" week. They have had mini cat naps in the car coming home from an errand & that is it! This is NOT a good thing for me & my sanity! I have tried MANY things to get them sleep longer or better yet to just "rest their eyes". This is a FAVORITE saying of my mother. I used to LOVE it when we would catch her sleeping & she would say "No I wasn't, I was just resting my eyes". Well these children of ours do not even do that these days! They have WAY too much energy & just when they should be resting they are raring to go! Today I did the unimaginable, after going into their room for the fifth time, I climbed into the "non sleepers" crib to snuggle. Yes it was a sight to see! Amazingly they held my weight & we did not have a catastrophe! LOL! I think the "twins" knew I meant business because they were the only one's sleeping when I attempted this feat! They were SO adorable all snuggled up in their crib. Yes, they still share a crib. We will NOT go there! (=It was a CRAZY idea, me in their cribs, but I am up for trying anything to accomplish my goal! I figured if the cribs held me then me being in there would give them some comfort which in turn would let them fall asleep. You have to admit that it was a good theory! They loved it for about two minutes until they realized that they would not be getting away with anything having me there & promptly asked me to leave! It was more like a shove & I got the hint! I ended up putting Brendan in our bed. I was washing the linens so I got creative with his covers. There he was with one of his sisters pink cat hooded towels as his "blankie". It worked like a charm & I got him to sleep!For some strange reason he does MUCH better all by his lonesome & falls right to sleep when he is in our bed. That is what I tell myself. I know he just wants to sleep in his momma's bed! On the other hand Camryn never did sleep. She wreaked havoc in their room, broke a picture frame, tossed around many a blanket all while her sisters slept. When they are asleep they can sleep through ANYTHING! LOVE that! This seems to be a routine occurrence these days! Some afternoons they even tear down the verticals! We have some CRAZY CRAZY children! LOL! I take these pictures so my hubby can truly see what I am up against! ha!I ended up taking Camryn out of there before she woke them up & thoroughly ruined my day! Having only one "non sleeper" is better than having four of them! ESPECIALLY if they were woken up, not a pretty sight! So I was a bad mommy & let her watch her "show", ie: Nick Jr formerly Noggin. She LOVES to sit on the couch & watch what she calls her "show". She will even bring me the remote! She is the child that feels that she is OLDER than the others! I must say that she is definitely our TV girl. She can sit still & watch a show more than any of the others. Bad mommy & all I'd do practically ANYTHING to keep her quiet so I could accomplish something off my "to do" list!The list keeps getting longer & longer! sigh... I figure that I'll eventually get to the bottom of this no nap business before they start high school! Remember there is four of them so I want there to be naps until eternity! LOL! Most of all don't fault me for...

trying a different approach...

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...

Writing yet another post!...

Today has been one of "those" days. It was suppose to start out SO wonderful by me getting a well needed EXTRA hour of sleep. You know, Daylight saving time, Spring forward, Fall back. I don't like when we lose an hour but I certainly like when we gain one! (= What a great night to get it too, HALLOWEEN! I had every intention of getting some extra rest since I would be working a double today. Halloween was SUPER busy & the tribe was EXHAUSTED! You'd think that their mommy would be too but no... I wanted to take full advantage of that hour by doing our Halloween post! That must be the multi tasker in me! LOL! Most of the chatter on FB or Twitter last night was if the time change was going to effect their kids sleep patterns. I wondered do they have that internal clock that people talk about having? Time changes can wreak havoc on your life when you have children. Having your child wake up earlier than necessary is a BIG deal for a momma when you are on a schedule! I LOVE that the tribe wakes up at 8am, no way do I want to now start waking up at 7! YIKES! SO there I was worrying if the tribe would keep to our schedule or sleep in. But even with me worrying about it their Dad would be the one dealing with it since I'd be at work! That's what I do most weekends, WORK! Well needless to say that Halloween post was never finished & I was up WAY later than expected. Then all I did was toss & turn ALL night long. I kept worrying that I did not set the alarm clock correctly or I would sleep through it. That has happened on a few occasions. Basically I could NOT fall asleep if my life depended on it. When that alarm clock finally sounded this morning I was NOT a happy camper. I dragged the ENTIRE day! Could not wait for my shift to end so I could go to bed. But where do I sit?...

Writing yet another post!...

rid the neighborhood of their candy addictions...

We decided this year we would dress the tribe up as our own "medical team". Brendan was a Doctor {We told him he could be a neonatologist since he is a NICU brat!}, Camryn was a surgeon {scrubs & all} & the "twins" were patients. St Mary's was kind enough to lend us some hospital gowns so we had the full effect. They looked ADORABLE! We made it to THREE Halloween parties in these costumes & each time they looked even cuter! I must say after the first party they did not need a tutorial on what to do come Halloween night! Candy has become their new favorite five letter word. They talk about it ALL the time! With all this talk you would think that we give them candy all the time. Well that is partly true, it's not us, but their GRANDMA! Yes I have one of those mothers that keeps candy dishes ALL over her house! I think the tribe stumbled upon her stash one day & the rest was history!She has jelly beans, butterscotch & most of all various forms of C-H-O-C-O-L-A-T-E everywhere! Their sweet tooth has to come from their Dad because my only vice is DARK chocolate & he loves ALL sweets! Give me DARK chocolate & I'm happy! (= Now that the tribe has found out Grandma keeps a HUGE stash they ask her for it ALL the time! We constantly hear "Candy?", "Candy?". Remember they like repeating things! arghh! Sad thing is that she gives it to them! And before anyone says a word, Yes we brush their teeth, floss too! This is one of those instances where Grandma's can get away with about anything! She says she cannot deny them a piece when she herself is having one. What a line! Oh am I in trouble! (= Tonight of all nights, Halloween, candy played a HUGE role with us. The tribe now knows ALL about "trick or treating"!They know if they carry their pumpkins around & say those three words they will get the motherload! Little do they know they will NOT be eating it anytime soon! {Daddy & Grandma will! LOL!} In order to get the kids dressed & out the door all we had to do was ask them if they wanted to get "CANDY". There they were lined up at the door with their shoes on waiting for us! CRAZY! Then when we were sitting down for dinner & they about refused to eat another bite so all we had to say was if they wanted to get more candy they needed to eat their food & their mouths opened & food was consumed. It truly was amazing! It was the BEST bribe! There we were "Trick or Treating" at my cousin Lori's house. It has become sort of a tradition that we hope to continue. She lives in a safe neighborhood where we do not have to worry about people or cars. I have to add that the tribe did NOT get a nap today.They were champs! Remember they had "CANDY" in their minds so as long as they kept their eyes on the prize {candy} they were good! haha! It truly was the BEST time had by all! This was the first year that we actually went to a ton of houses! It was a LOT of walking but the tribe persevered! One funny moment was when Brendan plopped himself down in the middle of the sidewalk to consume some of his treasures! TOO funny! Candy, it does a body good! haha! I must say hearing "Trick or Treat" out of their mouths made me almost want to cry! I cannot believe how grown up they are getting! Time sure does fly by! Everyone loved their costumes & I felt like we did our part in trying to...

rid the neighborhood of their candy addictions...

What exactly is a STAY AT HOME Mommy?...

As many of you know I work part time to keep my sanity in this CRAZY life I lead. Not only just it help my sanity but it helps create funds to pay for the expense of having soon to be three year old quadruplets as well as a soon to be fourteen old son. They could eat us out of house & home if we let them! LOL! Michael working FULL time & me working FULL time at home PLUS working PART time outside the home does not give us much "couple" time but we persevere! I try to stay active & get the tribe involved in MANY activities. Sometimes it is overwhelming but that's when I take a step back & choose my next activity wisely. I never thought about my "outside" career until the other day. Let's fast forward to a quick conversation I had with another mommy recently. She was telling me upcoming events for Halloween & then told me about a play group she attends with her child. Don't know why that came up but it did. I mentioned how I would LOVE to get the info so when I am in town I could maybe meet up with them. That is when those words I never thought I would hear came out of her mouth. "It's for stay at home moms". What exactly is a "Stay at home Mom" these days? In today's society & certainly with the economic struggles we all are having I cannot see how anyone makes it on just one income alone. I was rather hurt that she said that to me because I interpreted it as mom's that work outside the home are less important to those women. I feel that I can contribute just as much to conversation as those that stay home ALL the time. The fact that I work PART TIME excludes me from that group?!?. It's like segregation is back! Hello people it's almost 2010! We all need to help one another out & accept EVERYONE! Needless to say If asked I would not join that group if my life depended on it. Sad that one comment can dissuade me SO much. I just do not think if I ran a play group I would exclude people just because they chose to help out their family by working OUTSIDE the home. So I ask you...

What exactly is a STAY AT HOME Mommy?...

Grandma the snake slayer...

We had an "incident" the other day & it all started with our normal morning ritual. You see we are what you would call "newspaper people". We HAVE to read the paper each morning to feel that we know what is going on in the world. This practice has gone on for ages & I must say that my parents have rubbed off on me because I now read the same exact sections of the paper that they do or did. One of the first sections we read is the Local section to see what happened in and around our city & especially to see who died. Yep, we read the obituaries! Morbid I know but when you have lived in one place as long as my parents have you are bound to know someone. Never saw anyone my age UNTIL I saw the name of a former classmate listed. He was ONLY 22 years old! CRAZY! Anyhow this was a long standing ritual & there Grandma was beginning her day as she always did, getting the newspaper. There she was walking toward the yard when she kicked what she thought was one of the tribes toys. Don't know exactly what toy she "thought" would be laying like a rope in the middle of the walkway but this was HER story. She tells the tale that she kicked the "toy" & went on to pick up the paper. She NEVER looked at what she kicked because it was TOO dark. You know how Grandma's wake up BEFORE the crack of dawn! LOL! She walked back inside, continued her daily ritual, sipped on her cup of BLACK coffee & read the news of the day. It was not until I went out several hours later to get the mail did we realize what "toy" she kicked! There laying in the middle of my path to the mailbox was a VERY much DEAD snake apparently killed by major blunt force trauma! ha! Grandma has since said if she would have seen that it was a snake there would be no story to tell because instead of kicking it she would have ran FAR FAR away! She is completely afraid of all slithery creatures! Little does she know that after that one small feat she is now known as...

Grandma the snake slayer...

pee pee in your diaper...

I just HAD to share this since it was definitely a first & I am sure not be the last time this will happen! As many of you know I have been trying like the dickens to get these kids potty trained. There are days that they do REALLY REALLY good & then there are days where I feel like a complete failure! I know, they will eventually get the concept & I will look back at this stage like it was nothing! But each time I run out of diapers I secretly wish I will not have to buy any more. Oh the secret wishes we keep, LOL! Well the other day we; Grandma, the tribe & I, went shopping. We went to one of the COOL malls near Grandma's house. Ok the only thing cool about it is the types of stores we get to window shop at! There I was pushing their BIG, monstrosity of a stroller when Cam looks up at me & says "Pee pee on the potty". I can honestly tell you that in that moment I did NOT want to hear those words! She said this like she pee's on the potty ALL the time & that is NOT the case whatsoever! Like couldn't she tell me she had to pee when we were at home & not out in a public place! I was a BAD mommy & uttered the following, "No you don't" & then proceeded to say...

pee pee in your diaper...