Let's get Physical...

I can remember it like it was yesterday, I was about ten years old and my mom had sent me to go visit my oldest brother Jim in Maryland. It was my very FIRST flight & due to some family connections I was able to fly FIRST Class on Eastern Airlines. {Remember that airline?} You see my Dad's cousin Pete worked there & on the day of my flight we stopped in to see him. Somehow he finagled me a FIRST Class ticket. Don't know how but he did. I was excited just to be going on a trip let alone FIRST Class! This was back when they served you fancy food on REAL plates. Don't remember the food but I do remember that they did not seat anyone next to me! I was a talker even back then so no talking for an ENTIRE flight was just plain awful! When my brother arrived at the gate to pick me up I was literally speechless! LOL! My brother Jim is twelve years older than me so he had his own apt and a COOL job working at the Pentagon. I remember his stereo system the most. It was not normal tapes but something that looked like a movie reel. He had ALL kinds of albums for me to listen to but the one album that I really loved was Olivia Newton John. I listened to it OVER & OVER! By the time my trip was over I knew EVERY song by heart including the one I mentioned, "Let's get Physical". Boy am I dating myself!!


Fast forward to the other day when I had to bring Dustyn in for his fifteen year check up. He graduated from the eighth grade & next year it's High School! YIKES! So off to the Doctor we went! From the moment the nurse said "I have a few things I need to check you on for this physical" I just knew there would be a GREAT post in those words! Hehee! I immediately took out my camera & started taking some pictures! [=




Besides getting two vaccines he had his vision tested {FYI it was NOT as good as his Dad's}, his hearing tested & lastly his blood pressure. Let's just say that D was NOT happy to have me taking his picture! LOL! What? I write about the mundane yet funny things we do! And just like almost every other activity we do a song comes to mind when we do it! So the next time you have to take your kid in for a check up just remember me and sing...

Let's get Physical...

some things I just wanted you to know...

Recently we were given some very sad news about a family member that is near & dear to our hearts, our Uncle John. We found out that his cancer was terminal.After a few short weeks in Hospice my Uncle John passed away today. Hopefully his last moments were peaceful. My Aunt Donna & Uncle John were married for over fifty six years so this is going to be such a difficult transition for her. I ask that you continue to keep her in your prayers! May the memories she holds dear bring her comfort during this very sad time! As my children have reminded me this morning not only is he in Heaven but he is also in our hearts! Boy do I LOVE them! They know just what to say and when to say it!

In my almost forty years of life It seems that I have experienced a lot of death. I have lost all of my Grandparents, my Father, Great Aunts, Great Uncles, an Uncle, a cousin & now another Uncle. I have dealt with each death differently. Nothing makes losing a family member any less painful. I just deal with it as best I can and cherish the memories I have. I feel like I was SO very lucky to have my Uncle John live not that far from me most of my life. If ever there was a "favorite" Uncle it was him! I think he knew it too! I LOVED him SO much & feel I need to share some special memories of mine so our children will be able to know him. Here's some of the special moments that stick out to me!

During most of my life Uncle John as been this larger than life kind of guy. When I was little we would go over to their house at least once or twice a month. We would eat, hang out & most of all swim! This was a BIG deal because we did NOT have a pool! You see my ENTIRE family was involved in the swimming pool business yet we did NOT have a pool at our own house. My dad would say that the reason we did not have one was due to how expensive they were to keep up. I enjoyed those Sunday afternoons full of swimming! I remember when we would arrive at their door each one of his sons, my cousins, would get up from whatever they were doing & greet us with a hug & a kiss. I remember that like it was yesterday. Some part of me feels that those manners came from him & it's my hope that our children will follow in those good manners. Oh how I miss those Sundays spent at their house!

A few memories stick out in my mind about him. Remember how I feel that everyone has a "story" well I have a few to share about him! [= I was somewhat close in age to his grandchildren and he treated me just like one of them. I can remember how he would hold up four bills in front of his granddaughters and me; there was a one, a five, a ten & a twenty then he would ask me to pick one. He always asked me first because I was the oldest. Being older also made me know the real value of each bill. I started out picking the one & he would say, "Now Cathy you pick the one you really want!". I picked the one dollar bill a few times until he eventually made me take the twenty! Even then he knew what I wanted! [= He would then tell me to go down to the local grocery store & buy myself something. Even back them it was usually CHOCOLATE! [=

Another thing I will always treasure is his cooking. I LOVED his Greek food! SO SO yummy! Whenever we would visit he would ALWAYS have a pot of something on the stove. He made sure to feed us or send us home with food! His grape leaves were out of this world! Over the years my Aunt took over many of the cooking duties and although they are just as yummy they are not touched by his hands. Sorry Aunt Donna I still love you & your cooking! (= In fact MANY years ago he sat me down & taught me how to cook some of his family recipes! All I can say is that he puts even the BEST Greek restaurant to shame! While he was showing me how to fold the grape leaves he told me this would win over any man I ended up with! You know that old adage, the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. Well my Uncle John truly believed that!

From what I have been told he was very excited to hear that Michael & I were finally expecting! Then when he heard it was quadruplets he shared news of our pregnancy with everyone. Gotta love Uncle John! [= I also think he had a hand in the prayer dept. For if not for so many people praying for us I do not think the tribe would even be here today! Since having them I tried to make it a point to stop in & see them as I ventured South towards my mom's house. In the beginning they would be in their infant carriers & I'd bring them in one by one to see him. On a few occasions my Aunt was not even there. Oh the aroma of their kitchen... All I can say is YUM! As the tribe got older they would walk in, what a sight seeing all four of them waddling in like little ducklings! Uncle John was SO proud of them. One visit he made me take pictures of him with each one of them. Oh do I remember that day! The babies were NOT cooperating! Cranky is an understatement! A picture is a picture but I really would have liked to catch them smiling in one of them! [= Family is SO important & people tend to forget that!

This morning was EXTRA hard, I had to tell them that Uncle John was in Heaven with Grandpa. You know what they did?! They proceeded to tell me that he was in their hearts! Oh how I love them so! They knew just what to say to me! Here I am trying to let them know who he was & they remembered him! Brendan tells me I played with Kristee, my cousin & Uncle John's granddaughter. Then Linz said I gave him a kiss. I couldn't believe she said that! Some children may get scared of seeing people with wires & oxygen tubes but not her, she had compassion. She saw through all of that! These children of ours have this AWESOME memory! I really do not know where they get it! They can remember things from last year, CRAZY but true! I am just SO happy that I was able to bring them to see him before he passed! These are just...

some things I just wanted you to know...

everyone has a story...

First off I got up out of bed because I knew I needed to write about yet another funny in the Brendan dept. You see each morning he is the first child to ask me for his sippy cup, actually he asks for his chocolate milk. Yes, we gave in a LONG time ago & allowed the chocolate syrup to enter the sippy cup. I know, I know, not very healthy & I'm a TERRIBLE mommy! But I have to say that I did fight it in the beginning but in my haste to not have a bunch of crying children & to possibly bulk them up I allowed it. I figured what could a little chocolate syrup do to them? Little did I know what a problem I created! They cannot have milk any other way! It is now ingrained in them, they HAVE to have chocolate syrup in their milk! They will even tell me when there is not enough! UGH! Maybe after I get over the other challenges I will work on removing the chocolate syrup from their milk. Maybe...

As most everyone knows my goal with writing this blog is to have each one of our children read it one day & smile at all of their funny stories being told by their crazy mama. Yes at times even I am crazy! LOL! Each one of us, my siblings that is, has a story, you know the one story that everybody & anybody has heard our mom repeat for like the zillionth time about us! I am one of four children and the only girl so you can just imagine what my life was like! Only kidding, growing up I loved my brothers! (= Being the youngest I have to go from memory of being told these stories over and over because I was not around when they happened. Funny how that happens!

From what they, my parents, say my brother Jim's story is how at the age of 6 he would recite the 23rd Psalm as my Dad would sing for the prisoners at our county jail. Don't know where this idea ever came from or why they ever allowed a 6 year old to enter a jail but they did! Crazy but true! What is even crazier is that my brother Jim does NOT remember ever doing this! When I asked him about it to make sure I had all my facts straight he said I think you have me mistaken for another brother! Luckily I had my mom's memory there to back me up! I knew that I was not imagining being told this story over & over throughout my life! It just strikes me funny he never heard it being said! Hmm..

The story my mom shares about my brother Rick is a funny one. He used to spend a lot of time at our neighbors when he was little. If he was not home he was there. One day he apparently left their house & did not go directly home. He instead decided to take a trip! At the age of three he rode his tricycle a mile & a 1/2 down the road to tell my brother Jim that Mom wanted him home for lunch! Note to Mom: NEVER say wouldn't it be nice for Jim to be here for lunch to a 3year old! Rick took it literally & off he went to go get him! LOL! Once she realized he was not at the neighbors she went off searching for him. Apparently several people in the neighborhood saw a young red headed boy on his tricycle riding down the road with NO adult & did not do a thing. They just pointed in the direction he was riding and said he went that way. Hello?! Why would you not stop him? This is the God's honest truth! Again this is HIS story. By the way, he does remember being told this! (=

Bob's story occured shortly before I was born, he was four years old. My Mom took him shopping at JCPenney, two weeks before Christmas you can just about imagine how crowded the place was! Anyhow he wanted to walk BY HIMSELF around the escalator and meet my mom on the other side. She walked on one side, almost 9 months pregnant with me, and he walked on the other. When she reached the other side he was no where to be found! Back then they only announced missing kids & such in the store you were in. Luckily there was a woman in JCPenney who had previously been in Burdines shopping and remembered seeing a small 4 year boy there. {Hopefully I have the names of the dept stores correct} It took a few hours to finally reunite mother & son. I don't think my Mom ever let go of my brothers hand after that!

And finally that leaves me. Well as you can tell I have never been an introvert. Hard to believe I know! LOL! I LOVE people & apparently my parents found this out at an early age. You see we all went on a family vacation to Disney World when I was like 4 year old. This was back when they still had "The Electric Parade". Anyone remember that? What a cool parade, anyhow, we all sat down in front of the castle to watch it pass by but I was just not close enough. There was a nice couple sitting in front of us who offered to let me sit with them and my parents allowed me to do this. note: PARENTS NEVER ALLOW YOUR CHILD TO DO THIS! We watched the parade & once it ended everyone got up & before they knew it the crowd swept me away. I was GONE! They frantically searched but could not find me so they sought out security. They said the security guard said no problem, once she starts crying we will find her. That was mistake #1! I was an extrovert! They said she is NOT going to cry! Then they got scared. They finally found me a few blocks down talking to some complete strangers telling them how I was there on vacation with my three older brothers, my mom & my dad. Now don't get me wrong I realize this is a good story but I either hear about when I was lost at Disney World or "Oh, I remember when you were little how your Dad used to stand you on his hand!". Yes my Dad did this, he was a STRONG guy, he swore that only girls do this feat due to their balance. I was his balancing guinea pig on several occasions. I even have the pictures to prove it! What all of these stories brings me to is how I do NOT want our kids to only have one or two stories. I want them to have MANY memories. I want each & every funny, scary, silly, thoughtful, terrible, loving thing they do to be theirs. I intend to post many of them. Today happens to be Buddy's, aka Brendan, he really moved me to write this post tonight. SO here goes.

So now after explaining everyone's "stories" I will share with you what occured this morning. Mr B asked me for his chocolate milk & I obliged him. There I am doing a million things at once. Trying to fill up the empty sippies, make my coffee {MAJORLY important![=}, get the laundry washed & folded, etc. As I am doing all of this he proceeds to say "Mommy my sippy sounds like a bird!". I have him repeat himself to make sure I heard him correctly. He again says "Mommy my sippy sounds like a bird!". This is one of those moments where I wonder who raised this kid? I mean I do not have all the time in the world to teach them these things. This is a learned behavior from somewhere. SO I ask him to take another sip so I can hear it. Thinking what does this crazy kid hear? He takes a sip & wouldn't you know the darn sippy does sound like a bird! Where does he get this stuff from? In that moment I knew this was going to be yet another one of his "funnies". Remember...

everyone has a story...

I'm calling Grandma...

The other night, okay last week, Camryn came up to me saying she wanted to call Grandma. I said OK & went on with whatever I was doing. You see she usually will walk around the house with her fake phone & call all kinds of people so I never gave it much thought. The next think I know I see her talking into MY cell phone! It happens to be an i Phone & you know how warranties are on those things so I freaked! {Do NOT need to pay for a new one if she breaks it!} As I take the phone from her I hear my mom's voice. My mom is an hour away! I look into the phone & she actually made a call! She called Grandma just like she said! Now I know she could not feasibly do this so I ask Michael is he dialed the number for her. He had NO idea what I was talking about. I told him what happened & he tried helping me come up with how she could have called her. I did not recently call her so it was not on a recently dialed list. I even asked her to show me how she did it! Of course she could not "recreate" it! I am stumped! I think I will pay closer attention the next time she tells me...

I'm calling Grandma...

Here's to 2010...

Here's some pictures from our New Year celebration to share. Oh the memories we made over the past few days!

Uncle Rick, fireworks extraordinaire, getting our fireworks display ready this year! He & Michael usually put on quite the show for us. They are like our personal pyromaniacs!I don't know what happened between 4th of July & New Years because the tribe wanted NO part of the fireworks display! Grandma's front porch was as close as they got! (=What a cool kite! Uncle Rick got it for the tribe! They took it out for a spin since we had just the right amount of wind. They LOVED flying it!Uncle Rick & his newest best bud, Lindsey! She just loves snuggling with her new favorite Uncle, Rick!I just LOVE this picture of Camryn on her new bike! Just look how adorable she is! Love her!
One of my new favorite photos! Brendan & Aave have THEE best smiles! I just want to eat them up! (= Happy New Year...

Here's to 2010...

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...

Happy HALF Birthday to you...

Today is the tribe's HALF birthday! They are 2 1/2 today! Scary but true! At approximately this time of day 2 1/2 years ago the tribe was born at St Mary's Medical Center. Boy time sure does fly by! Seems like yesterday they were little wee people laying in a row in the SAME crib. Not able to do that anymore! (= You may ask why celebrate their HALF birthday? Because we want to! Nah.. I ALWAYS wanted to celebrate my own HALF birthday being that my birthday is in December. Having my birthday 4 days BEFORE Christmas was not much fun! Fast forward 36 years & what do I do?? I give birth to my only children 3 weeks AFTER Christmas! LOL! I think it was fate that things happened the way that they did. Since my parents never obliged me so I figured why not allow this special "treat" for the tribe. They can now have that HALF birthday celebration I always craved PLUS it's WARM out in July! WOO HOO! Can you say pool party!? We LOVE a party surrounded by the people we love! This birthday snuck up on me & before I knew it their day had come & I was NOT prepared! We decided to keep it low key & have just a few people over. NO presents, just the presence of the people they love. These kiddo's of ours have quite the fan club! Over the past few weeks we have been practicing singing the infamous "Happy Birthday to you..." song but added HALF in the middle of it. Each rendition we'd add a name so they all got to hear their name & then the birthday song. They just LOVE to sing & the happy birthday song is becoming one of their favorites! I am making them their cake. This is something my mom always did for us & I want to keep up the tradition. Trust me I am NO Betty Crocker! There I was googling & searching online looking for the right recipe. Yellow cake with homemade butter cream frosting & strawberry filling! YUM! I cannot wait till we sing...

Happy HALF Birthday to you...

remember when...

Today is the day we remember those we lost, like Grandpa. What a SAD day! We are "sort of" on vacation in GA so while on vaca what do you do?!? You visit family & friends! We have been EVERYWHERE! Today we went to Roswell to see Dorsey & Eleanor who are practically family. So when in GA we have to stop & see them! They are HUGE Georgia Tech fans! They even transformed their RV into the "BUZZ Mobile"! TOO cute! Dorsey is quite the character & always keeps us entertained! We were in for a FUN time! We met them in downtown Roswell for their 12th Annual "Roswell Remembers" Memorial Day Celebration. The had an AWESOME band, MANY military vet's & even some POW's! There was not a dry eye in the place. They had all kinds of military vehicles, guns & even a fire truck! Brendan LOVED it! I think this will be the start of a new tradition for our family. I am just SO proud to be an American & live in a land that is FREE! GOD bless America!! There I was trying to take as many pictures & video of the tribe as possible. I just want them to be able to look back at all the pictures & video & say...

remember when...

the Pumpkin Patch...

Today we took the babies to the Parkland Pumpkin Patch. I figured this would be a fun thing to do while we were still at Grandma's house. I found this place on Pumpkinpatchesandmore.org. It is this website that you can search the US for Pumpkin Patch's and U-Pick it's. I guess they are dwindling so they advertise this way. This was their first outing to a Pumpkin Patch. Having grown up in Florida I do not have the memories I wish that my children would have. Things in Florida are MUCH different than the stories I hear about up north. I wish we could have wooded areas to drive to, the hay rides, hot apple cider and especially the Fall leaves. Where we live used to be all wooded but over time that has changed too. We Floridians have sandy beaches, the HEAT & Palm trees instead. I guess we can travel for the experience! (= This pumpkin patch was about 15 miles away from Grandma's house. The drive was nice but hectic since it was in the late afternoon & everyone was out & about. I do not like traffic! Once we arrived there the babies seemed EXTRA excited to see all of these orange "balls" on the ground. They seem to think anything round is a ball. There were SO many pumpkins in various sizes all over the place. It was such a neat find! They donate all of the money from Pumpkin sales to local charities. I LOVE THAT! The organizer, Debbie, had a few areas set up for photo ops. AGAIN I'm all for a photo! We took quite a few & hopefully we got a good one! As soon as I get them processed I will post them. We just had a great day spending the afternoon at ...

the Pumpkin Patch...