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?...

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!

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...