FOUR little FULTONS

Sunday, December 16, 2012

cannot find the words...

After hearing about the tragic events that unfolded in New town, CT yesterday all I want to do is cry. Being a parent of four kindergardners made it even harder on my emotions. Why would anyone harm any innocent child? These parents did what they did every school day when they dropped their children off at school. Who would have thought that morning would be the last time they saw them alive? They go to school to learn, not to die. School should be a safe haven, a place where children should not have to worry about who might bust through the door wanting to harm them! Police officers are the ones that carry guns to protect us not a deranged man on a mission to kill. So I still sit here trying to wrap my brain around it. I have had many moments where all I do is cry. I don't know what to say to my children when they ask me why I'm crying. I don't know how or better yet what to tell my soon to be six year old children about this tragedy. I want to reassure them and myself that each day that we send them to school that they will be safe. I want to believe that senseless acts like this will never happen again & that no parent will have to deal with this again. I just...

cannot find the words...

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Read my lips, "NO MORE SAND!"...

I will be the first one to admit that I DISLIKE sand! I dislike it so much that if I can help it the tribe would never go to a park with sand. One might say that's wrong of a mother to feel that way but when you have four sets of feet tracking the dirt into YOUR car you might feel differently. When we hit the beach we rinse off competely to help limit what mama needs to cean up. Seriously a bottle of hand sanitizer & a mini vac are this mama's best friends! =) I have on SEVERAL occasions arrived to a park only to see sand & promptly pull away in search of a "sand-free park". Not only is it GROSS because who knows what animals & even children have done their business in it. DISGUSTING!! I know, I know I'm a bad mommy for not embracing it but seriously I really really do NOT like sand!...

Read my lips, "NO MORE SAND!"...

Thursday, March 1, 2012

on their way to Temple...

Last week while down in Miami Beach visiting "Grammy", aka Aunt Judy, in rehab we had a Fulton "funny" occur. It was a Saturday almost noon and we were searching ALL over downtown Miami for a place that sold soup. I never thought soup would be so hard to find but it was. Apparently it's too hot in Miami Beach for them to sell soup during the day. LOL! Well during our trek around town Linz notices these people by a bridge all dressed up. She proceeds to say "Look Mom they are getting married!". I am a sucker for a wedding so I looked up from playing "Bejeweled Blitz" on my iPhone (love that game!). Do I see a bride & groom? No. I sort of chuckle to myself and then proceed to explain that these people that are all dressed up were not getting married but walking to church. Yes you guessed it they were orthodox Jews...

on their way to Temple...

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

year of being 5...

The #5 has many meanings in our home. It's their Mamas favorite #, it also happens to be the # of children in our tribe and most importantly it's how old our four little fultons just turned. Yes, they turned the ripe 'ol age of FIVE! Can you believe that they are FIVE already?! Time sure has flown by now hasn't it?! It's been a WILD ride that I am so very grateful for even if I do have a few more gray hairs for it! LOL! Each and every day they give me plenty of strife but also a TON to smile over. Life just wouldn't be the same without them. I cannot wait to see what sort of adventures they allow to me tag along with them on in their...

year of being 5...

Friday, December 16, 2011

CHRISTmas 2011...

MIA in 2011...

SO much has happened in the Fulton house over the last 4 months or so. The biggest being that we have not had a computer! I know what is a momma to do without a computer right?! I think it bothered me more that everyone else since I had to use my phone to do pretty much everything. sigh... I know that is not an excuse to not blog but it is what it is. So before Momma posted a 2011 CHRISTmas pic she thought she should at least explain where we've been. The tribe started PK4 in October at a new school & in a new town. Since Grandma fell & broke her leg on Father's Day we have basically uprooted our lives to take care of her. It's been an adjustment but we would not have it any other way! The tribe LOVES their new school. Just when we were sort of getting used to a schedule or what one would look like Momma's work changed. She had to go back FULL time a week after they started school. If we did not adjust before we did after that. Arranging people to take them to & from school was CrAzY! Let's just say it truly does take a village to raise a tribe!! We thank all that make that possible! In November we traveled back up to GA to attend their cousin Mikes wedding. Not only did we get to see Mike & April get married but the tribe participated in the wedding! VERY cool! For the first time in what I think was forever we had Thanksgiving away from home & stayed up in GA to celebrate with the GA Mechtly's. It was a real "adventure" not just for us but for them too! These are just a few of the reasons we were...

MIA in 2011...

Thursday, September 8, 2011

a kiss on the head before bed...

I'm sure having three sisters can be quite challenging for anyone & probably even more so when you are the lone brother! Our boy Brendan sure does put up with a lot in that dept. but in the end he has such love for the little ladies, aka sisters, in his life. He has such a sweet side to him that I get to witness it almost every night. You see each night just before bed, before actually getting under the covers himself he walks around their bed & gives each one of his sisters a kiss. He does have "rules" because he makes sure they are in bed when he does it, maybe so they cannot swat the kiss away. LOL! On occasion I have seen him chase them down & make them lay down just so he can give them...

a kiss on the head before bed...

Our Story...

Ok I am now over 8 years into this "job" of mine, being a mommy to multiples, high order multiples to boot! They say that if you try to conceive without protection for one year with no success then you are infertile. Those words were a lot to take in. I sought answers from everyone. We started out with our 1st OB/GYN Dr William Casale doing the normal testing that they were equipped to do. We did it all, IUI's, spermwashing, etc. I then contacted RESOLVE, a wonderful organization for people like me (could not get pregnant). I started making mental notes of what I needed to achieve my dream, to be a mom! The next step was to go see a Fertility Doctor. We chose to see Dr Mark Denker. After checking me out he then referred Michael to see a Urologist who ended up putting him on clomid. Yes, men can take this RX too! It helps make more sperm just like it helps a woman create more follicles. It is AMAZING the things you learn when you are trying to conceive! After further testing we were both told we had fertility issues, I had fewer eggs than a woman my age & they were "tough", Michael had double vericasils so that in order for us to have the "best odds" we needed to go the IVF route. I had this feeling that it was not going to work right away, call it my intuition. So we bought a package, can you even believe that they sell "packages" like a travel agency? Our "package" included 3 rounds of IVF with ICSI, minus all the meds I would need. The drugs are an expense we did not even think of but had to purchase for this entire thing to work. Well, it ended up taking all 3 rounds of IVF & accupuncture courtesy of Dr Susan Schiff for me to get pregnant & boy did I get pregnant! (Trust your intuition!) We started out with very few follicles, only 3 fertilized into embryo's and all three took. I was finally pregnant! 8 weeks into my pregnancy one of the embryo's split & became identical. Can you believe that!? What are the odds? No one told me that could happen! AMAZING! We had a lot of decisions to make. No one thought that we should keep all four. In the medical world it is called a "selective reduction". Only a few doctors even do this procedure. We did not know what our future would hold just that we could not reduce anything! In the beginning we had a hard time finding a doctor that felt like we did & wanted our four babies to thrive! We finally found Dr Moises Virelles, a fellow Christian & my now OB/GYN. He then referred us to an AWESOME Perinatologist, Dr Gary Cohen. Having the two of them on our side we knew ANYTHING was possible! My pregnancy was really uneventful. I was put on "bed rest" at 22 weeks. I later found out my "bed rest" was unlike other women's bed rest. I was just not allowed to work. I continued to do things, just stayed off my feet as much as possible. If I went shopping I would ride a motorized scooter. If I went to a party I sat pretty much the entire time. I had no issues, my cervix was long & rock solid. I really feel that God wanted me to be a mommy! The babies were great! They kicked each other more than they kicked me! People would look at me & could not believe that I had four babies inside me, I tell you I was meant to carry quads! Now don't get me wrong, it was not a joy ride, I was miserable towards the end & felt it very difficult to breathe. I never even went into the hospital prior to January 15th. Even though I asked them to admit me MANY times!! On January 17, 2007 we welcomed our GBGG quads; Camryn, Brendan, Avery & Lindsey into this world. 1 set is fraternal & 1 set is identical. They weighed 4 lb 7 oz, 4 lb 4 oz, 3 lb 6 oz & 3 lb 3 oz. I made it 32 weeks 5 days when I delivered them at St Mary's Medical Center. They were all HEALTHY and they did not need to be intubated! WOO HOO! They were little miracles destined to be here! I had nurses come up to me & tell me how wonderful it was that I carried them so long, that it was a better gift holding onto them as long as I did than a Harvard education! WOW! We were SO happy, excited & most of all unprepared for how much our life was about to change. I will say it was a GOOD change! I cannot imagine my life without them! Everyone watches our little ones in amazement & they still do. This is their story....

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