adventures from toddler HOOD...

Working for a police dept. you hear a lot about "hood's". You know, where you are from, your neighbor HOOD. Well my "hood" these days is Toddler HOOD and I am DEEP into it with NO chance of turning back! MANY people have scared me by saying 2's are nothing & I need to watch out for the 3's! YAY! Having that knowledge I wish we could just skip over the 3's entirely! Yes I love our children BUT remember we do have 4 of them! 4 whiny, CRAZY, neurotic and sometimes cannibalistic children! Who would have thought human flesh tasted so good!? LOL! Some days life here just really sucks! Sorry to use the "S" word but that is really how I have been feeling lately. I have never been one to hold back how I felt so why start now? This past week has been a real eye opener for me about my Mr B! He seems to have taken on a new role in our house, our CMM, better known as Chief Mischief Maker! I have found him on several occasions wreaking havoc in their bedroom. He has ALWAYS been the "good one" & now I am beginning to re think that title! He has singlehandedly given me SO much EXTRA work this past week! Diapers strewn all over the place, shampoo squirted all over the floor, pulled EVERY wipe out of the wipe container & today smeared zinc oxide all over himself & his sister! What am I gonna do with this boy? I am going to have to do some bedroom furniture re arranging ASAP! It may not look pretty but it will get the job done! (= What makes matters worse is that I am STILL recuperating from having my wisdom teeth extracted. I am the WORST patient when it comes to pain in my mouth! Not feeling all warm & fuzzy if you get my drift! These children have gotten on my very last nerve & it's only Tuesday! ugh!! I think my hubby wishes that I would lose his number so I would STOP calling him when they push my buttons. It's hard dealing with the 4 of them on a good day let alone a BAD one. Our life is just plain HARD! I just want some relief. Last night RELIEF came in the form of Daddy taking the tribe to the grocery store by himself & leaving me home, ALONE! I cannot tell you how much I needed that! I did not even have to ask him to do it! WOO HOO! Being that I was "off duty" & without kids I could then take a pain pill for my jaw. I try not to incapacitate myself when it's just them & me at home alone. That one pain pill did wonders! My head felt better, my jaw stopped throbbing & for once the house was QUIET! No one at my feet screaming my name or upset because one of their siblings ticked them off. I actually felt like myself again & not the lunatic that has been so upset lately. I actually cleaned up & organized a bit. I remembered how much I LOVE organization! (= I got to watch a TV show that I have had on the DVR for the past month. YAY! I love it when I can actually accomplish things! They were gone a little over 2 hours but it felt like FOREVER! I actually looked out the window wondering where they were! CRAZY but true! Oh to think of the MANY gray hairs I will get from these munchkins & it's just the beginning of...

adventures from toddler HOOD...

just another rainy day...

Today started out pretty good. I woke up earlier than normal, 630AM, to the start of a terrible storm, I could hear thunder, I am sure there was lightening somewhere & just knew that the rain would be coming. SO I ran outside TRYING to be pro active & started to fertilize the lawn. Yes I know that was VERY stupid of me but I could not waste the opportunity to get our grass back into the GREEN column.Ever since the pool was built our sprinklers are kaput then we had these munchkins well you know where the money goes! Just to set the record straight when I went out there was no lightening just some thunder in the distance. Anyhow, I succeeded & hopefully our lawn will start to take shape soon! While I was out in the elements the tribe was FAST asleep. In fact they did not wake up until almost 915! WOO HOO! I just love days like today! However I do not love having the kids INSIDE bored out of their minds but I just love a rainy day filled with thunder! If I did not have these responsibilities of this house & these buggers I would have slept in myself! But NO... I was outside in my bathing suit getting drenched! Once the tribe awoke they kept me entertained. Camryn always asks where Daddy is & I tell her he is at work. She then pointed to her wall like she did the other day. This is the same wall in their nursery that I have partially painted with a bi plane pulling a sign. She then tells me that she wants her Daddy to fly the plane! Awhh... These are the moments I treasure! Spending time with the munchkins when they are GOOD! Today was a new day! They got along & actually had some fun! We watched Yo Gabba Gabba on Mommy's bed. Yes it is "Our" bed however they seem to think it's just mine & I let them! LOL! They LOVE watching that show! Something about those goofy looking characters acting all goofy & dancing around gets them excited! I enjoy it because they are happy & there's no screaming going on! YAY! The rain stopped for about an hour and we actually got some sunshine so I took advantage & let them have a quick dip in the pool. I LOVE how they are becoming little pool lovers! Brendan especially! He LOVES swimming around the pool with mommy. We usually go in au natural, what a sight to see, 4 naked babies! No need for me to wash even MORE laundry! LOL! I was so happy when nap time arrived because I could get some more stuff accomplished. That is what I thought! They wreaked havoc the short time they were in there. I think Camryn is starting to corrupt her brother because HE was the mischief maker today! Diapers & wipes all over the place PLUS a broken picture frame! What am I gonna do!? And to think this was a GOOD day! Oh and it's...

just another rainy day...


w

the BEST daddy ever...

Three years ago on Father's Day we created these little buggers of ours! So I only saw it fitting to share with you some of the snap shots of our journey! We have had MANY wild but fun times these past three years! Here's a little glance down memory lane! We hope that all of our Daddy friends out there have a HAPPY Father's Day!






Here we are on our way to the Fertility Doctor's office












The tribe when they were just three.. Can you tell who is who? LOL!












When three became four!!!!















Three days BEFORE I delivered!















Co-bedding started REALLY early...













Party in Camryn's crib 12 o'clock sharp! (=















Four little Fulton's on their 1st Birthday!











Daddy & his girls, Father's Day 2008 (Brendan is sitting with Grandma behind them)











The tribe & their leader, Father's day weekend 2009







Daddy you are the BEST tickler, game player and in our eyes you can fix EVERYTHING! Just remember this when we turn sixteen and ask you for the car keys! We'll be saying you are...


the BEST daddy ever!...

I was run over by a MACK truck...

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

I was run over by a MACK truck...

ABC's & 123's...

Little did I know when I bought the tribe a "traveling" CD that we would ALL be singing the songs. This all began when I was invited to one of those Discovery Toys parties. You know the company that sells all of those developmental toys for children. You host a party at your house & then invite all of your friends. Well one of the mom's in my mom's club had a party & invited me. Like I need more toys in my house! LOL! They do have some COOL toys but I just have to watch my pennies if you know what I mean! LOL! I decided to buy them some play phones & a Sounds like FUN CD to play in the 'burb for when we travel back & forth to Grandma's house. Anything to make an hour car ride more pleasantWhen the CD finally did arrive I popped it into the player in our 'burb & I was not that excited by it. It sounded VERY boring! The woman doing all of the singing seemed to sing in the same tune. Dustyn was with us & he too was not impressed. We really thought the CD could have been better. Apparently we know very little about toddler music because the tribe has made us eat those words! They LOVE this CD! It has become a staple in our car rides, especially our road trips! They know EVERY song by heart & sing them all! Heck we ALL sing them! Last month when we were in GA my teenage nieces even started singing the alphabet song. Apple, Apple, Ah Ah Ah... Baby, Baby, Ba Ba Ba... See it is catchy! The words they use in their ABC song are cute too! E is elbow, G is garden, etc... There's even a song that discusses numbers. But not just 1, 2 or 3. It goes up to 100. Ten, twenty, thirty, forty & fifty... I find them counting up to numbers I did not even realize they knew. When we were at my brother's house in GA they counted the stairs up to twelve. They are not even 2 1/2 yet! It's AMAZING! This CD has really jumped started their little minds & opened up their vocabulary. They LOVE using their words especially when they are put to music. And to think all of this came about due to a silly CD of...

ABC's & 123's...

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

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

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

Tuesday Toot...

Ok I was "nudged" or better yet reminded to join the ranks of the many that did a "Tuesday Toot" today. I LOVE Tuesday Toot's! I just can never figure out the linky thing to add it to our blog. Remember I am computer challenged! LOL! Actually I have missed a few "Tuesday Toot's" since we went on vacation. It was HARD trying to keep up since I was viewing things through my tiny phone! We're FINALLY home & I am sitting in front of our computer! YAY! During our mini vay cay it rained a lot in S Florida, so much that the pond in our back yard is now a HUGE lake that even has fish in it! Yes fish are now swimming around where our yard used to be! TOO funny! Don't get me wrong I prayed for rain! We have been in a drought & our yard looked terrible! I just would like a yard & not a lake! (= This is a perfect example I give my hubby on why we need to bring in some fill to raise the yard up. I keep telling him that I'd like to bring in a few loads of dirt to raise the yard up a few inches. He says it is a waste I think of the future. That way when we get our NEW "used" swing set it will be high & dry with no standing water! The other bad thing about all the rain is with it comes the mosquitos! Man are they BAD! The county we live in even has mosquito control where they fly planes to spray. Linz ALWAYS gets bitten & bitten BAD! They must think she is SO sweet! She sure has those skeeters fooled! Only kidding! LOL! Here's to hoping for a DRY...

Tuesday Toot...

Tuesdays Tribute #2...

Before I even started to write this post I knew who I would be giving a "tribute" to. I am SO lucky to have an AMAZING friend, a friend who happens to be another mommy of multiples! She has a set of quads & a set of twins! CRAZY! She handles it all with grace! We used to work together MANY eon's ago and WAY before children. She moved out of state after getting married & then she had her "clan"! One summer few years ago Michael & I went up to visit them & here is a pic from that trip.One day I hope to get back up north to visit them! For now our visits are online or over the phone! (= All I can say is that I really do believe that the Lord looked out for me when he put us together & we became friends! She really is the best! She gives me advice on things I may be facing or will be facing in the near future, she'll lend a listening ear when I need to vent, whenever I am having a BAD day, there seems to be quite a few now that these children of ours are soon to be two and a half & CURIOUS! LOL! I will call her up saying "I cannot do this job!". She then turns into my very own "Pep Squad" by telling me that she knows I can do it! Raising multiples is HARD work but the end result is SO worth it! She is practically the ONLY person that I know PERSONALLY that seems to know what it's like having SO many kids! SO Joellen, if you did not know already you are my...

Tuesday Tribute #2!

Which would you choose?...

Our oldest, Dustyn, is SO spoiled! He was recently given the opportunity to spend a month, yes a MONTH, at our cousins lake home in NC. They usually spend their summers up there & invite people up to visit. Their youngest son Dylan just so happens to be the same age as Dustyn. Pretty cool huh!? They just LOVE hanging out toegther. Deciding between staying in FL or going to NC was not going to be a tough decision! We did not have to ask him twice! Since he is a BOY & BOYS do not take pictures to capture moments, LOL, I knew I would not get any pic's from his trip. I searched through all of my photos to give you a glimpse of what he is probably doing. You see BEFORE these munchkins we too visited them. The pic's are a few years old but they serve their purpose. (=

This is the sweet view from their dock. Blue Ridge Mountains baby!




This is a typical afternoon, TUBING! In fact today they went tubing AND hiking! He is having a blast! Trust me he is not even thinking about us! LOL!



We are SO lucky to have such wonderful family members! Thank you!! Here is a pic of their beautiful home that they fill with love.










We on the other hand get to enjoy days like this!














I do not think it was a hard decision do you? LOL!


Which would you choose?...

pigeon toed...

After all of the drama we have had to deal with over the past 48 hours I have to share an important fact, Camryn is pigeon toed! She is forever tripping over her own two feet. I feel SO bad for her but have been told MANY times she will out grow it. Let's face it, Cam is not the most fluid child in the world. She can be rather clumsy. She likes to run REAL fast and 9 times out of 10 she will wipe out. Sometimes she will get up, brush her hands off and go even faster the next time OR she will cry, run to me & show me her latest boo boo. She has quite a few! Our kids all get boo boo's but she is the only one that I can say has an excuse, her darn feet! To make matters even worse we recently found some really cool CROC "imposters" at a steal. TOO good to pass up if you know what I mean! They are a little too big for her & make her pigeon toes even worse! If you can believe it they actually make her trip! Tonight while all the neighbors were outside chatting Cam went for a walk with Emily. She is our neighbors ten year old daughter & lives a few houses down from my mom's. She's a certified "mother's helper" and helps us out a TON! She & her sisters usually come over to play with the babies quite often. Tonight she took the entire tribe for a walk, since I had their stroller in my vehicle at work they just walked. On this walk she tripped & hit the same spot she had stitches several weeks ago. I am told that blood gushed all over the place! I can just about imagine how poor Emily felt. She ended up carrying Cam back to my mom's to get help. Not only did Camryn have blood all over her clothes so did Emily! Of course Michael then calls me at work to give me all the details and tells me that I need to come home. Yes there are four kids that he has to deal with but he can handle this. I was already coming home on my dinner break so I would see how things were when I got there. I SO did not want another 4 hour ER visit! ugh! I have had my fill of hospitals this week! I know it's terrible that I feel that way but it really sucks when you get to the ER, wait around & then they do nothing for you! I could have done that staying at home! LOL! Once I arrived at the house Aunt Kara was already there bandaging her up. She has all the goodies when it comes to boo boo's! We ended up using 2 butterfly bandages & one big bandaid. It looked SO pretty after we were done with her! ha! The good thing was that the bleeding had stopped & she was good. We decided to see how it was in the morning. No ER visit, YAY! I went back to work knowing that she would be seeing a doctor of some sort tomorrow. FYI, I have mentioned her being pigeon toed to our Pedi & they are not concerned. They continue to tell me she will outgrow it. WHEN!?Maybe after they see how many boo boo's she gets or how many stitches she continues to get they will be. LOL! I think for now I need to take stock in BandAids, peroxide & steri strips! I have a feeling this is just the start of our traumatic moments. I just hope that she grows out of being...

pigeon toed...

the pros & cons of life in the SAME bed...

CO Bedding has been on my mind a lot lately! I wonder if it has affected our children for the better or for the worse. I mean we still co-bed our little ones! OK not all 4 but 2 of the 4! The identicals which we sometimes refer to as the "twins" sleep together. They seem to be happy, healthy well adjusted children but are they really? I decided to write a post about it since we dealt with this arrangement on our last trip. Whenever you go away with little ones you always have to think of the sleeping arrangements. Our situation is a litle different since 2 of our 4 still sleep together. This may have started out as a necessity but has turned into something I think they crave. Don't get me wrong, we have an EXTRA crib in our garage but we have never had to set it up. The reason I know they want or need to be together has shone through or a few seperate occasions. You see whenever they go to bed, one of the "twins" will ALWAYS asks where the other is if she is not already in the crib. And once that other twin arrives they get a HUGE smile on their face & then lay down & get all comfy in their side of the crib. They actually have sides if you can believe that! Once they are asleep they are side by side. SO adorable! I bring up this co-bedding topic since we just got back from our latest adventure where sharing the same bed came in handy. I have to admit that we have co-bedded our quads since day one. Once they all got home from the hospital we had all 4 in the same crib for at least the first month or so. It was just easier in the beginning for me PLUS that is how they were in the NICU towards the end of their stay. On a few occasions they have even held "sleepovers" where another one of their siblings will get to sleep over in their crib. Then that ousted kid gets to sleep in the "invitees" crib. They like those rare moments but mostly they just like sleeping together. It is AMAZING to me how the "twins" just LOVE sleeping together! I myself like having a bed all to myself! LOL! When we went away for a family wedding in April they stayed with family& the "twins" cried the first night they were put in seperate pac n'plays. Once she put them in the same one they were fine. UH OH! Did co-bedding them cause that or are they actually so close that they WANT to sleep together? My hope is the latter & they WANT to be together. So after hearing that I knew that they would be ok when we brought them to GA and had just the one pac n'play for them. We actually brought a rather LARGE pac n'play, heck let's just call it a play YARD. The "twins" slept in there TOGETHER and my brother borrowed 2 other pac n'plays for Cam & Bren. There I was laying out liners in each of them & making sure they all had their snugglies. Everyone was happy & their "bed's" took up less room. Getting back to the whole co-bedding topic... We have discused this with our pediatrician several times & they say that the American Pediatrics Association condones co bedding. It helps with multiples especially, remember they were in the same sac in utero! I LOVE that I am actually doing something that is recommended! YAY! We are now getting close to the age that they will move on to their next stage of bed. I I SO WANT THEM TO STAY IN THEIR CRIBS AS LONG AS POSSIBLE! Whether it be a toddler bed or a twin is up for discussion. I cannot see having the expense of buying 4 toddler beds. I'd rather buy BIG boy & girl bed's, the ones that will last them FOREVER. SO I ask you, Did you co bed? If so for how long? and When is it TOO long? Oh...

the pros & cons of life in the SAME bed...