flying solo...

For the past two weeks now I have allowed one child to make the trek down to Grandma's with me when I have to go to work. I always stay over at Grandma's if I have an EARLY shift, just makes life easier & less driving in the middle of the night. It was only recently that I decided to let one child tag along with me. I think I realized how important it is for each of them to have that "special" time ALONE without the others being around to pester them. I also know that they need their one on one time with their Mama too! Last week I brought Brendan. Do not ask me how he got to be the "first" one to fly solo but he did. I was working a short shift {3am-7am} so other than making sure it was ok with Grandma I had NO worries about doing this. I have to say that he was AWFUL during the hour drive South. UGH! Not only did he ask me a million questions, scream at the top of his lungs then he even picked up his flip flop, hit me with it & then laughed! Man is he becoming quite the terror lately! I told his he will NOT be coming down to Grandma's with me again for a VERY long time! {Sadly a LONG time will only be more like 4 weeks since I am trying to rotate this "treat" around! LOL!} This week it was Miss Avery's turn. It's only fair to do this rotation in age order. LOL! You should have seen her once I told her she was coming with me! She started bragging like she was in middle school not like the 3 year old that she really is! It was crazy! There she was in the middle of the restaurant saying "I'm going with Mama in Daddy's truck and your not going!" then "I'm going to Grandma's!". Except this time she was going to stay overnight at LuLu & Uncle Bob's house not Grandma's. You see Grandma was out & I did not want to take a chance of her not agreeing to watch her, the little pistol that she is, till Daddy arrived with the rest of the tribe. I was SO happy that Uncle Bob agreed to let her spend the night. FYI this is not the first time she has spent the night away from us just the first time by herself. I dropped her off w/ her blankie, her new stuffed "Pooh", PJ's, an extra set of clothes & Pull Up's. I think LuLu was just about as excited as she was to be staying over! I said my goodbyes & off I went to catch some ZZz's before my early shift. I knew that she would be just fine...

flying solo...

know how to french braid...

Now that our girls hair has been getting LONG & most especially having their bangs cover their eyes I have begun my latest mission of learning how to braid. I think when you have daughters it's your duty to learn how to braid. Now I know how to do a simple braid on a ponytail it's the fancier "french" braid I need to conquer! When I was little, heck up until about 5 years ago my mom would braid my hair. I could never braid my own hair, not for trying trust me! One time my own brother braided my hair! Yes even I was AMAZED! It was nothing elaborate but a braid to say the least! Do not know where he learned how but he did! SO I figure if they can braid I need to learn how to do it too! Sad thing is that I really thought it would be old hat by now since not too long ago I inherited a Barbie styling head. I wanted one SO bad so I could practice, practice, practice! But finding the time for me to study up did not happen so here I am using my daughters heads for practice. It has been ALL trial by error here. Some days I think I do pretty good and they allot me the patience to sit in my "chair", other days it is just pure HELL! There's screaming & even tears rolling down their face like I'm torturing them! Oh what I wouldn't give to just...

know how to french braid...

surgery recuperation...

Just to recap I had emergency gallbladder surgery while on vacation in GA. Yes that is my luck! I go on a vacation which I really did enjoy only to have it interrupted with of all things an emergency surgery! CRAZY but true!


They did the surgery laporoscopely so it was not as bad as it could have been. I left the hospital with 4 bandages on my belly. What's even harder to believe is that we were literally suppose to drive back home to FL the next day. Again this is my luck! You all know that trip home was not going to happen! The Dr told me I had to stay there an EXTRA week to recoup.Luckily we have family there so we stayed with them. It was one WILD week! Daddy & the tribe stayed at my one brother's house & I stayed at my other brother's house. This way I did not have to do anything strenuous with them while I recuperated. I have to say that Daddy & his bosses were real sports. They told him to do whatever he needed to & take care of me. Awhhh... I LOVE it when people really care how you are feeling. So that started his week of single parenting the tribe! Off Daddy went keeping the tribe occupied while I was basically on lock down "recuperating". He took them all over the place just so they would not get restless! The first night he took them to Stone Mountain to see the laser show with my cousins. This was something I wanted to do but I knew my limits & MADE them take plenty of pictures! I was surprised when he actually did email me pic's! This is SO unlike him! I did not say one word for fear he would revert back to his old self & I'd be left TOTALLY in the dark! At least with pictures I could feel like I was there with them!



Hanging out while the boys played football!



What an AMAZING mountain!



I think this pictures makes the mountain MUCH prettier! LOL!

The next day Daddy & a few of my nieces took them to some game ranch about an hour away from where we were staying. It's sort of like a zoo but with less wild creatures & NO walls separating you. The animals were out there amongst them. SO cool! They said they saw deer, goats, bunnies & many other animals. Again I was left at home. This was getting old REALLY quick!





All I can say is that this week was one LONG...

surgery recuperation...

the latest boo boo...

Having clumsy quadruplets you tend to deal with MANY Boo Boo's. Mostly are just minor scrapes & bruises but occasionally we get those MAJOR one's that take us aback. The other night Avery scared the beejeebers out of us. While we were out getting something to eat & AFTER dinner she decided to sit on the booth side of our table. Well you know how toddlers can be, WILD, she fell out of the booth & her head hit her booster seat. The second she came up from the floor she had this HUGE hematoma on her forehead. As you can see it looked BAD!



The next thing I knew Daddy was out the door getting ready to take her to the ER! You all know Avery & Daddy hold a special bond so there was NO question she was going to get checked out by the ER! Daddy & "D" loaded her up & off they went to the hospital she was born at, St Mary's! What is it with ER visits & this family? Seems like we have been giving them tons of business lately! ]= While there they did a cat scan of her head just to make sure she had no fractures. My poor baby! In the end all was good & she would be as good as new! Sooner than we'd expect I'm sure! LOL!



I have to thank EVERYONE for all of their prayers! I truly believe you all helped our baby heal faster than she would have otherwise. The bad part is that I know this will not be our last ordeal in the Boo Boo dept. I just know that I'll be sending out requests for more prayers again seeing that this was just...


the latest boo boo...

the things that make me go hmm...

I have come to the realization lately that I really LOVE blogging! I LOVE sharing things about our family, LOVE recreating some of the funny stuff the tribe says or does & mostly LOVE just having a place for my thoughts. Only problem is that since Four little Fulton's is suppose to be the tribes online baby book I decided I better start a new blog that's just for me! I know TWO blogs PLUS a review blog that's CRAZY right? NO WAY! [= I realize that even though I may not have all the time in the world to blog if the content is interesting then it shoudn't seem like "work". I know I talk a good game. This is a new adventure & I'm REALLY excited about it! So now that I've created the new blog I'm ready to jump right in! Remember it's going to be a place for me to write about the things I find interesting & that affect other women like me! I'm hoping it will become a place that I can retreat to when I have something on my mind or when I just want to share! So PLEASE check it out & tell me what you think! I'm still working out all of the kinks. When all is said & done it will be a place for some of...

the things that make me go hmm...

belly shot...

It was recently brought to my attention that I do not have a shot of my belly while I was pregnant with the tribe. Now first of all you need to know that I started this blog months after they were born so apparently I never posted one! OOPS! I am including two shots. The first shot is one of my cousin Kristee & I. She was pregnant with ONE baby & of course I was pregnant with FOUR. Freaky how our bellies looked VERY similar isn't it? I tell everyone I must have had a cavern in there because they seemed to have a TON of room! LOL!



The second photo was taken the day after the first one just BEFORE Dr V told me I was being admitted {I was TOTALLY unprepared!} The third photo was taken the next day in the hospital which was the night before I delivered. Yes I was in the hospital a whopping 3 days!





What's even crazier is that these four miracles were inside there! WOW!



When I showed the tribe the picture of my belly they just LOVED looking at it. They kept pointing to my belly & told me where they were in there! Like they can even remember that! TOO cute! So here it is, the infamous...


belly shot...

We interrupt this vacation with an emergency surgery...

Once we arrived back in GA that's when the real fun began! We had by now already decided to stay an extra night & then leave for FL on Wed. We would leave early in the morning & get home by dinner at least that was the plan. If you have read any of my previous posts about this vacation you would know that even the best laid plans have flaws & we were about to encounter a BIG one! You see those plans were thrown out the window when I woke up Tuesday morning in EXCRUCIATING pain! I had such pain that I needed to be taken to the hospital! I cannot really describe it other than I really felt like I was either having a heart attack or dying! I had BAD chest/abdominal pain, cold sweats, nausea, the whole shebang! My hubby took one look at me & said you need to go to the emergency room! So he woke up my niece Katie & she took me to to the closest facility, Gwinnett County Medical Center. I must say if I had to go to an emergency room I was glad it was there. They treated me great & the people were VERY friendly. I would totally recommend their facility to anyone needing assistance in Atlanta! Once I was seen they determined that I had a fever so they pumped me with antibiotics. Then they gave me some good meds for my pain. Oh did I feel good after that! After a few tests of my Appendix & Gallbladder this nice, rather TALL Doctor came in & basically told me...



We interrupt this vacation with an emergency surgery...

,

ROAD TRIP 2010, NC edition...

Oh was this part of our mini "vacay" FUN! We headed over by car AGAIN this time to North Carolina to visit with my cousin Lori & her family at their house on Lake Toxaway. They have the MOST beautiful house on quite the lake! Not only is the view BEAUTIFUL, of the lake & mountains, it is also VERY peaceful there too!



This is the view from the back porch! Oh do your stresses just melt away when you look out on that!



Our road trip to NC was SO much better than the first leg of this journey. They actually cooperated & snoozed a little. YAY! The first morning in NC we took the tribe Gem Mining! It is a MUST if you visit the area! You buy a bucket of whichever type of rocks you want to mine & let them go to town! We decided on polished stones this trip. They each have their own "rock bag" to hold their "gems"! I think we had just about as much fun as they did!





After Gem Mining we headed over to my cousins house. She has this BIG porch that looks out onto the lake that we all eventually hung out on. It was SO relaxing to just rock on those rocking chairs! Ahh... I almost forgot that I had four munchkins there with us! hahah! You know Uncle Rick even put one of them to sleep! LOVE that! We drank wine & ate VERY well!













We started off the 4th of July weekend by heading back to Lori & Andy's house. It has everything a family needs to keep themselves occupied. I took a LONG strenuous walk up some steep hills with Lori before lunch. That mountain altitude does your lungs some good! Boy was I winded! Ahh... We then hung around the house & let the tribe just play. They rode their scooters, a bike & even did drew with some sidewalk chalk. They had a blast! We later lounged on the porch, went boating and just hung our with our "clan". Heck for those who saw us coming this is just a small sliver of those who claim to be related to us! If you think our family is big you should see the rest of the tribe! We are VERY outnumbered!





By the morning of the 4th it was time to get ready for the boat parade! You see the Lake Toxaway community holds their annual 4th of July boat parade & my cousins family participates EVERY year! They have judges & even give out prizes for the winners! So we strategized on what we should do & decided on the BP oil spill theme. Actually Missy, Mason's girlfriend, came up with it. It was done in good taste & the tribe took center stage. They each held up signs saying "Save our wildlife" and then Brendan was at the end holding up a rubber chicken with a black plastic bag wrapped around it's neck to look like it was oil drenched. Creative huh?! The big boys got the boat all decked out looking like it was in the middle of the oil spill ie: black garbage bags all along the sides & then we rubbed Sarah's black mascara ALL over us! Who would have thought one tube of mascara would go do far! LOL! Thank you Sarah for your contribution! Just as we were to approach the judges stand Camryn dropped her sign in the lake. Uh Oh! Just as soon as she dropped it Dylan dove in after it! He really saved the day! He got back in with the salvaged sign just in time for us to be judged! Quick thinking Dylan! Best part is that we took 2nd place! WOO HOO! They won a $400 tube to use on the lake! We know that tube will be used MANY times over!











Our 4th of July was not over yet because we still had the big BBQ at the club to attend. They had bounce houses, games & face painting. It truly was a kids paradise! Luckily for us we had a TON of family there to keep an eye on the tribe! Each child got some one on one time with someone. Cam of course had her Sarah. Bren had his fill of the boys! Devin, Mason & Dylan took good care of him. Aave & Linz bounced till they could bounce no more & later when the music got going they danced & danced! We had the best time! It was going to be yet again a LONG night! I know we are on vacation but they did not go to bed anywhere near their bed time! LOL!









Before leaving this mountain top paradise we just had to take the tribe tubing! This is a favorite pastime for all of the kids, adults too! In fact Dustyn is usually out there tubing when he is up here. However he could not make the trip this year. He had better things to do like going to the Daytona!! I think I might pass on a road trip with four three year olds too if I was invited there! LOL!





We were even able to sneak in a family photo again missing our "D". Too bad the lighting on either of them were not good or these photos would have been winners! [=





And that folks was our...


ROAD TRIP 2010, NC edition...

o

ROAD TRIP 2010, GA edition part 1...

I wanted to leave REALLY early so we could arrive in Atlanta BEFORE dinner but Daddy & the tribe had other plans. Heck I guess I had other plans too because after staying up late to pack the final stuff I too slept in! So instead of leaving at 5am we left around 730am. I really thought I planned this trip well. I packed the few days before & made sure we had plenty to eat & drink. I even made sure there were toys inside the 'burb to keep them entertained. Well I am here to tell you that even the best laid plans have flaws!

We slipped away from S Florida for this MUCH NEEDED mini vacation/road trip to see some family in GA. We would be gone for a total of 5 days! Our first stop was just outside of Atlanta to visit my two brothers. All I can say is that the road trip there just plain awful! The tribe did NOT want to sleep & felt it was their mission to scream at the top of their lungs pretty much the entire time. I finally broke down & cried halfway there. My hubby looked at me & said "Why are you crying?" to which I replied "This is not the trip that I had planned!". Needless to say I needed to remind myself SEVERAL times that when you travel with toddlers you need to expect them to act this way! It was BAD! This was NOT what I had envisioned when I planned this trip! We arrived just in time to meet up for dinner. My nephew works at this Italian place called "Luciano's". All 14 of us sat at one LONG table. We spread the tribe out & for the most part things were good. Each one of my relatives took a kid & that was that. I needed a STIFF drink actually I think I had two after that car ride. LOL! Here's a few pic's from that dinner! Thank you Michael for making us some YUMMY food! [=









Our plan was to stay in GA for 2 nights with our family & then head over to NC to visit my cousin who has a house on a lake. Since we were FINALLY in GA I arranged a play date with a friend of mine that I've known practically FOREVER! My friend Des has a 6 year old daughter & a son a few months younger than the tribe so having a play date with our munchkins was perfect! She happens to live near Atlanta so we decided to meet up for a play date at Monkey Joe's. If you've never heard of Monkey Joe's you really should check them out if you have kids. It is this BIG inflatable playground place. Needless to say the tribe LOVED it! The girls loved it from the minute they arrived but Bren needed some coaxing! Remember he is "Safety Patrol"! LOL! By the end of the day they were having a blast in fact I think we may have a future couple in the works! Camryn & Christoffer looked SO cute together! heehee! Getting back to my oldest & dearest friend, it is really hard for me to believe that I have known her for practically all my life. We lived on the same street until she moved away at about 5 years old. Best thing is that we kept in contact over the past 35 years! LOVE that! {Note to all young girls out there: Keep in contact with your far away friends. You will thank yourself years down the road that you did!}











Here's our couple in the making! We are just going to have more play dates so they do not forget one another! LOL!



Here is Sarah & her "twin" showing off their MEAN face! Cannot get over how much they look alike! Way too FREAKY!



We went swimming at my brothers pool. They LOVED it along with their new "swimmies" which are called PUDDLE JUMPERS. We purchased them a few weeks ago at BJ's our local wholesale club. They are WONDERFUL! I have to say that I felt so at ease having them swim with those things on!









After swimming we took to my brother Jim's back yard. It really is an adventure back there! They have a nice patio, a nature trail, a tree swing & even a trampoline which the tribe LOVED! I even took a turn at it! Oh to be young again! Ahh...











And that was...

ROAD TRIP 2010, GA edition part 1...