the JOYS of motherhood...

Today is our day! A day that we mom's are celebrated for all that we do! With as crazy as things have been over the past few months I sure needed this day! To be pampered & loved on was WONDERFUL! We started a little early by going over to my mom's neighbors house for an impromtu get together Saturday night. Two of their daughters had a joint birthday/slumber party & they invited us over to join in on the fun! Their house was full of a bunch of nine & eleven year old girls! OH MY! The things I can look forward to! We brought along my cousin Raine who was visiting us. Having some girls her own age to play with had to be more fun! It was SO nice hanging with adults & having margaritas! I LOVE a good margarita! (Thank you Vicky!) It was a BEAUTIFUL evening filled with great conversation. Too bad our evening was cut short due to one sick child. Miss Linz was SICK! She ended up waking the rest of the tribe up so we then had four crying babies to deal with! She had thrown up earlier in the evening but we thought it was due to her gulping down her food. She has a very bad habit of inhaling her food when shes hungry. Well, she threw up again in her crib. It was EVERYWHERE! YUK! I am SO glad I made that deal with Michael years ago, I do poop, he does vomit! He deserved a medal for what he cleaned up! LOL! We ended up setting up a pac n' play in our room as her bed for the night & put the rest of the tribe back to bed. They did not want to go to sleep without her, kept calling out her name. I felt SO bad but we did not want to have to deal with four sick babies. Linz on the other hand was feeling rather perky now that she was done feeling sick. In fact you would have never known she was even sick! She kept talking to us & even refused to go in the pac n' play. We tried putting her between us but I just cannot sleep with a child in our bed. Afraid we'll roll over on them or maybe it's because of all the stories I hear about how it's a BIG no no. How you should not let kids sleep with you because they will get too comfortable & never be able to sleep in their own bed again. I do TOO much thinking!! haha! So there I was climbing into the pac n' play at the foot of our bed just to get her to lay down in it. REMEMBER she still shares a crib with her twin. Weird how that was all it took. She needed to have someone next to her I guess. I was afraid I'd collapse the thing but it held us. She must have thought I was CRAZY for climbing into her "bed" but it did the trick! I layed there for almost 2 hours until she was tired enough to not care when I got up. In the end I lied to her as I got out saying "Mommy has to go pee pee and I'd be right back". She bought it & fell fast asleep! All I wanted was for her to be well & to get a good nights rest! I cannot tell you what time I finally fell asleep but I knew that I would remember this Mother's Day forever. Oh...

the JOYS of motherhood...

finger lickin' good...

I hope EVERYONE out there took Oprah up on her link & downloaded the FREE coupon from KFC before it sold out! It was a marketing bonanza to get us to try their NEW Grilled chicken! KFC with Oprah's help gave out FREE meal coupons! Anytime there is FREE anything I am on it! My Uncle Nelson actually gave us the heads up on this offer. He wanted to make sure that this family of 7 got our FREE meals! LOL! It just so happens that I tape Oprah every day but do not necessarily watch it until days later. That is one of the pleasures of having multiples, NO TIME! LOL!Anyhow, I printed off about 12 coupons before the ink ran out on our printer. We decided that we would take Grandma there tonight for dinner. It was Grandma, Dustyn, the tribe & me. Daddy was going to meet us there. Uncle Nelson made me promise that I would take pictures of our "outing". So here goes... as you can see it did not pan out as we had hoped! We got the same sign posted in the window that most of America did as we walked in. NO grilled chicken for us! (= The tribe tried to sit patiently at the table with their big bro Dustyn but in the end it was not meant to be. Since they only had 2 highchairs we decided to get our rainchecks & go. No use trying to corral them while we ate. After filling out the "rain check" paperwork we hit the road. Sorry, But I really cannot tell you if their grilled chicken is...

finger lickin' good...

MOPS...

Hopefully everyone out there has heard of MOPS, Mother's of Pre Schoolers. This is a WONDERFUL organization just for us mommies of little one's pre school age. I attend a local MOPS group at our home church, Christ Fellowship. It was a LONG road getting me there but well worth it! It has been such an important part of our lives this past year. Motherhood itself is challenging enough but when you add multiples to the mix it can get down right CRAZY! When the babies were little I did not think I could handle getting them up, dressed, fed & out the door by MYSELF so I did not join. Silly me! It was when they were really little that I needed the support the most. I ended up joining just after they turned one. It was the BEST decision I could have made. These bi-weekly get togethers help me keep my sanity! To meet other mommies out there who have it just as rough as me helps me more than you could ever know! Today our MOPS group had their last event of the session, a Mother's Day Tea. VERY fitting since we mom's will be celebrated this Sunday. When I think back to where I was a year ago it's scary! I was SO disorganized and unfocused. I was living day by day. Sometimes it is better to take one day after the next because life itself is HARD! Now I'm dealing with the "terrible two's", PRAY for me!! I cannot wait for the day when things will get a little easier but have been told it never will! (= When I decided to join MOPS the thought of having to wake up EXTRA early to get the four of mine ready did not sound appealing at all. Sleep was a hot commodity & I was not willing to give it up so easily. I was a good planner but not the night before. I now had to prepare food, clothes, etc so we could get out of the house by 845am. (Sorry but 845am is EARLY when they usually sleep till 830am!) I decided I was going to do it. 2X a month I would deal with the lack of sleep but I'd do it, I needed to do it! I'm telling you that getting up that extra 2 hours was HARD & I am SO happy that I did! I even joined the hospitality committee. I knew that I could not get there EARLY to set up but I could help clean up. So that is what I did. If I did not make the effort I would not have met the WONDERFUL women that I did. I just love the ladies in my group, our group leader Elrika & LOVE LOVE LOVE the various speakers & the fun events planned for us! I would not have had those "AHA" moments that helped me helped me cope in the CRAZY life I lead. Experiences are not what makes you who you are, it is how you handle them that does. I have really seen how MOPS has helped our children grow over this past year. They LOVE going to church and being around all of their little friends. I too have fun being there, meeting new people & learning new things. To have other mommies around to lend an ear & give support is WONDERFUL! I really do enjoy myself! Thursdays has now become our day! The best part is that I can also feel my relationship with God getting stronger. The Lord does AMAZING things! I wish I would have pushed myself sooner to join! For any mom out there with little one's you really should check around for a MOPS program near you. IT is AMAZING & will change your life! It is enriching for you & especially your children! I cannot wait till August so I can start back up with...

MOPS...

WANT AD...

While I was at work the other day I mentioned to my friend Jackie how we are desperate to find some outside entertainment for the munchkins. They are driving me crazy & desperately need a controlled enviornment that they can enjoy but not be on top of one another. When you have multiples you tend to need a bigger space for them to play with many of the same things so they do not fight. Who am I kidding!? They would still fight but it is a good theory! LOL! I decided that a swingset would fit the bill & it needs to be BIG! Something to accomodate all of them for our back yard. She then asked if I ever checked Craigslist, Freecycle or Ebay. I tried once & got so lost that I gave up! I am SO computer illiterate! Jackie told me how she was asking her son to try & sell some of her Holiday Villages on Craigslist & Ebay. I thought maybe while he was selling her stuff he could check to see if anyone had a swingset up for grabs! Then she gave me the BEST idea ever! She said why not post it on our work website. They have a classified section like the newspapers have except it is just for employees to list things they are selling, want or need. I had never even thought about doing that. After giving me the idea, I decided why not!? MAYBE someone knew of someone that could help us. SO there I was posting my "want ad". This is how my ad read...

** WANTED ** LARGE swingset in good condition able to accomodate my 4 toddlers. Preferably has 3 swings. Will disassemble if needed. I left my name, district where I work, contact number & that was that.

I had to make sure I put in LARGE since our tribe will be abusing whatever we get. LOL! Never in my WILDEST dreams did I think I would actually find someone out there in BSO land that had what I was looking for. I literally put this ad on the website at 6am and by lunch time someone had already called me. He said he saw my ad & that he has a swingset in a box, brand new, never opened that he would not be needing & would give it to me for free if I was interested. INTERESTED!? Who was he kidding? I was like when can I pick it up! SO SO psyched! This was an answer to our prayers! I cannot wait till we have our "new" swingset set up in the back yard! And to think this all came from one..

WANT AD...

trenches...

I am DEEP into the trenches of the "terrible twos" and I do not know how to get out of them. The last week has been a rough one! I have cried practically every day. God love my hubby for taking those tear filled calls. What I have been experiencing my girlfriend Desiree says best, "Tantrum Rodeos". LOL! Some days thats exactly how I feel, like I fought a bull & the bull won! I'm SO EXHAUSTED! I feel like I cannot listen to another hysterical cry or anymore stomping feet! This one took this one's toy or that one has this one's cup. They sure know what buttons to push! They make my nights LONG and my days even LONGER! Each day I wake up telling myself that this day will be better than the last & I am ALWAYS wrong! I have all of these ideas on how to make our home MUCH more liveable. Like first off since we cannot have a basement( SO want a basement!) to corral them into then I want a "kid" room. A place for them to have completely. A place they can do whatever in. We do not have a home big enough for us all so we need to do something QUICK! It is terrible how they wreck the place. They think they have free reign over everything & just when I clean up one mess there goes another one. Other than putting EVERY item from inside our home out in our garage out of their reach, I do not know what I should do! The only time they listen is if I tell them I have a bug. Yes our kids LOVE bugs. I cannot tell you how many times I have lied about catching a bug for them to come to me. CRAZY huh!? They bang things on the windows, they try to unlock doors, pull things off the counters, grab things off the side of the fridge or better yet wave the broom towards the walls trying to knock down the pictures. They are WILD! I take them outside & they try to push out the screens or make holes in them. Then when they have something they should not have they will run faster as I chase them through the house like it is one BIG joke. I know I'll laugh about it when they are older but right now all I want to do is cry. I get SO upset & I feel that they are putting me to an early grave. My wish to become a mommy was not granted for me to get this upset. There are few people that I can call that can relate to my struggles. We had it SO easy when they were babies. They ate when they were suppose to, slept through the night since 4 months, rarely cried & most of all loved being in their stroller! Now the hell begins! Most people including my hubby say they are just kids. Yes I realize this BUT no woman should ever have to go through what I go through. My quad PLUS momma friend Joellen will call me from time to time because she has been there, done that. She senses my frustration and trys to make me see that this too will pass. I really do think that I have aged quite a bit these past few months. Some days I have no energy to red up anything. I hope when they grow up they will appreciate the sacrifices I have made. I hope they will remember the happy times instead of these CRAZY times! Does it ever get better? PLEASE help me get through this! If there is anyone out there that knows how I feel or experienced the same PLEASE give me pointers on what to do! With a LOT of prayer I hope to get out of these...

trenches...

motorsuckers...

It seems that lately these children of ours have had some growth spurts in the brain dept! The words that have been coming out of their mouths! WOW! I especially noticed this after we got back from our trip. They have a wider vocabulary than they did before we left. I guess that had to do with their new enviorments. They had more people & things around them. I know that they are children & not animals BUT it is still amazing how they are learning even when we are not "teaching" them. Those little brains of theirs are like sponges, they just grow & grow & grow! Lately Brendan has taken a liking to motorcyles or as he says it "motorsuckers". VERY cute to listen to his pronunciation! My mom's neighbor Jim was the first to really pay attention to how he said it. Thinking he was calling him a "sucker". Then we all laughed when we realized he was saying motorcycle. The funny things that kids say! When he is being razzed by his sisters I will bring out a motorcycle & it seems to solve everything in his eyes. At least this is what I thought until he started having a favorite one. If I did not have the small white Hess motorcycle he wanted no part of me! It is part of a set that I think Dustyn got it as a gift from my Dad years ago. You know the yearly set that Hess puts out before Christmas well we have them all. It was sort of my Dad's thing. Dustyn LOVES trucks & stuff so my dad bought him a Hess truck each year. Now Brendan will have his own collection. However instead of trucks it may just end up being a collection of...

motorsuckers...

once in their life...

We were SO lucky this past weekend to get away MINUS the munchkins! My 2nd cousin Jackie & her fiance' David got married in Louisiana & they invited us! We were SO SO appreciative to have this mini vacation I cannot tell you! This was not the first time they had an overnight HOWEVER it was the first time we split the foursome up! We are SO lucky to have such WONDERFUL people in our lives offer to take them just so we could go away. AMAZING! Debbie, aka "Auntie Debbie", took Camryn & Brendan. It was a no brainer for that choice! She LOVES Camryn! Not that she has a favorite! LOL! She has been SO good to us. She will watch all 4 of them when I work during the week. Our cousin Linda took the "twins", aka Avery & Lindsey. She has a grandson, Roman, that is one year younger than them so there was another child there for them to play with. We are SO blessed having them in our lives. Not just anyone would offer to watch your kids when you go away on a mini vacation let alone out of the state! I prepared the munchkins for weeks on who would be where. I wanted to make sure they knew were everyone was. Like a two year old can tell! ha! Anyhow one day I quizzed them, I asked them to raise their hands if they were going to Auntie Debbie's. Both Camryn & Brendan raised their hands, I was in TOTAL shock! I guess those brains are sponges! I think they needed this mini vaca as much as we did! I just hope they do not wear out their caretakers! This is how it all went down... I put Camryn & Brendan's car seats into Debbies car a day earlier. Then I arranged for my good friend Delia to spend the night at my mom's house the night before we left. She planned it perfect & was there to play with them before they went to bed. Our flight was EXTRA early so I did not want them to have to spend another night away from us. It worked out perfectly! We left around 530am for the airport as they were sound asleep in their own cribs. They got up around 8am & had their breakfast not knowing we were LONG gone. Then Debbie & Linda came to get them shortly there after. They each had pack n'plays for each child PLUS highchairs & a BIG bag full of all their stuff. I packed for it all! They had toys, snugglies, clothes to play in, eat in, swim in, sleep in, go out in & even COLD weather clothes! (Just in case! LOL!) Then there was the diapers. It was hard for me to figure out how many diapers 2 children would go through! I figured it's better to have more than less! Linda had her hubby drop her off at my mom's so she could just take the BURB with Avery & Lindsey's carseats already in it. MUCH easier for me! I told them before we left that I would try to call twice a day but not before bed. I did not want them missing us & then have to go to sleep thinking about how much they missed us. Well... that was in my dreams because they never even missed us! There were times we would call & they said they did not want to talk to us! Can you believe that!? Those little rascals! They were having the time of their life while we were away! We felt so good knowing that they were being loved on even if it wasn't us doing the loving! LOL! We kept ourselves busy so we did not miss them too much! The first day was SO strange! There was NO food to cut up, NO nap time or schedule to follow, no baths to run. It was VERY surreal! I hope everyone with a ton of kids can feel this...

once in their life...