Beth, Will, Rod and the Quads

Izzie

2012-01-10T23:00:00.000-05:00

My sweet, funny Isabella Rose is a one of a kind! She speaks very well and she speaks a lot. Constantly. While none of the quads are identical, some people have a hard time remembering which is which. A friend of mine came over after not having seen the kids for a few months. As the kids and I greeted her, I asked if she knew who was who. She said she knew which one was Izzie. I thought she may remember Izzie's round face or blond curls, but no. She said, "Izzie was the first one to talk me when I came in and hasn't stopped since. I remember that she is your talker." Yep, she's my talker.

It's not just the amount that she talks (in a high, squeaky mouse voice, no less.) It is her funny perspective on the world. She somehow manages to be 100% confident in herself without being at all nasty or rotten. She is certain that she can do anything she wants and deserves everything. She is whip smart and hilarious. She challenges me and some days pushes me to the edge, but she always keeps things interesting around here!

Here are some of her recent gems!

-- Izzie is lucky enough to have a ton of thick curly hair. Unfortunately, she has a tender scalp and absolutely hates having her hair brushed! One day as she was crying while I brushed her hair I told her if she wanted, we could cut her hair shorter and it may be easier to care for. I added that I would hate to cut it since it is so beautiful, but I would. She patted her pretty blond hair and said, "Yes, it is very beautiful." Vanity is stronger than a sensitive scalp.

-- Sadly, Izzie was sick for a little while around the holidays. One night she woke up vomiting. The next morning Rod asked her if she was feeling better. She said, "Last night I coughed all of the food out of my belly." I guess that is how a three year old understands vomiting. Pretty decent (though possibly too colorful) description.

-- She also turned a colorful phrase to warn us when she may vomit again. She told me, "My belly is full of fire!"

-- One day I took Paige and Izzie out with me to run a bunch of errands. We had gone to a couple of stores and stopped for lunch. I asked the girls, "Where should we go next?" Izzie calls out, "California!" I said, "Well, I was thinking we would go to the bank." Izzie replied, "Oh, okay. Either California or the bank." It's important to dream big, but still be flexible ;-).

--That same day when I was out with Izzie and Paige, I had to take a dress in to be altered. While I was trying it on and the seamstress was marking it, Izzie was chattering on and on with all of the ladies. I'm so used to her dominating any conversation that I barely noticed until one of the seamstresses spoke up and asked, "Does the little one talk?"(Paige is a bit smaller than Izzie.) I answered that, yes, Paige can talk. Getting a word in edgewise is just a challenge!

--Another time I took Will and Izzie shopping. Izzie picked up a toy she wanted. I gave her my usual brush off, "Not today honey." Izzie put the toy back on the shelf and sweetly said, "Okay. We'll come back for it tomorrow." So funny. Her demands may be delayed, but not denied!

--Izzie absolutely loves the movie Annie. Some days she will declare that she is Annie and will often stay in character most of the day. On these days, she typically insists that Drew is her dog, Sandy. God love him, Drew plays right along with her. The other evening, we were all sitting down eating dinner and Drew starting talking. Izzie immediately cut him off and commanded, "Sandy, no talking, boy!" and Drew instantly stopped talking and sat quietly. While I talked to her about being nice to her brother (and everyone), I have to admit I was kind of impressed with the results she gets ;-)

I love seeing the world through these kids' eyes and my little Izzie is always willing to share her view!

My Little Grunts

2012-01-07T21:44:00.003-05:00

This weekend, our nephew Dylan graduated from Marine Corp boot camp. He was happy to come home for a few weeks and we were happy to get to see him. Earlier today we went over to my in-laws to visit with him for a bit.
(I forgot to bring my camera, so forgive the cell phone pictures)

Paige, Izzie, Dylan, Drew, Julia and Will
Dylan showing Paige how to do a push-up

She may need to work on her form...

Izzie thought Dylan needed to work harder. Added 30 lbs to his workout!

Congratulations on completing basic training Dylan! We are so proud of you!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T20:54:00.003-05:00

We had a very merry Christmas and hope that you all did as well.

We are incredibly blessed!

Funny Paige

2011-12-14T23:45:00.002-05:00

When I went to transfer the pictures of the kids at our church's Christmas party from the camera to the computer, I also found these pictures I had forgotten about. Last week the kids were helping me move some things around in the garage, including our beach bag. The kids started poking around in it looking to see what all was in there. Paige found a pair of swim goggles she played with for a bit.

That evening, Rod and I told the kids to go get undressed and ready for their baths. Paige went to take her clothes to the laundry room (which is right next to the garage.) When she came back, what did she have on?

The goggles of course!

In fact, she wore them the entire bath

Such a funny kid!

More Christmas-ing

2011-12-13T22:44:00.000-05:00

We have been thoroughly enjoying this holiday season. While it can be a bit tiring for Mom and Daddy, the kids are such great ages! They have really enjoyed all of the Christmas activities we have done this year. Last weekend we went to our church's Christmas party. It was a lot of fun and there was plenty for the kids to do. They had dinner, crafts, games, a Santa's workshop... We had fun helping the kids, but I didn't get many pictures.

our niece Ana and the kids with St. Nick

Father Mario read the story of Jesus' birth from the bible to all of the kids

the kids with Father Mario

(well, except Julia. She and Rod had wandered off...)

While we have loved all of the Christmas events we have attended, it was nice to reflect on the real meaning of the holiday.

Santa Lunch

2011-12-08T21:29:00.000-05:00

This weekend my multiples group had our annual Santa Lunch. We were really looking forward to it. It is always a nice event and the quads are at such a great age this year. They are really enjoying all of the Christmas preparations and were eager to talk to the big man.

Everybody was ready to go!

Once we got there we all ate lunch.

Paige

Izzie

Will (practicing for GQ)

Mommy with Drew

The kids met with Santa and they did a great job! Nobody was too afraid. They all went and climbed on his lap. Some even told him what they want for Christmas.

Once all of the kids had a chance to sit and talk to him, Santa went to leave. Well, once he stepped off of the stage he was swarmed by my kids. The wanted one more minute with Santa.

Not sure what they're telling him here...

but he was wonderful and listened to every word!

The family

Saint Nicholas Day

2011-12-06T21:16:00.003-05:00

Today is the feast day of Saint Nicholas so you know what that means-- Last night he visited and left treats for the kids!! Somehow this year I was unprepared. Really unprepared. Like running to the store after the kids were in bed last night kind of unprepared. Oh well. Everything got done and the kids had fun this morning. It may have been hectic for Mommy, but St. Nick's day was still a success!

I know that traditionally the gifts are left in shoes,

but we cheat and use the kids' stockings.

Drew showing off some of his goodies

(nice bed-head dude!)

The girls have been playing with their little bitty princesses all day.

When I was uploading these pictures I realized that I don't have a single picture of Will from this morning. He was the first one awake and had emptied his stocking before I even got the camera. After that, he had to go to school :-( He certainly was happy to come home this evening to his new toys!

The Christmas Parade

2011-12-05T22:38:00.003-05:00

This weekend out city held its Christmas Parade and Walk. The weather was absolutely perfect! A bit cool to really feel like the holidays, but warm enough to be comfortable. We took the kids a met up with some of Rod's family. We all had a good time!

Back Row: nephew Evan, sister Laura, Aunt Connie, Paige and Rod

Front Row: niece Ana, Julia, Izzie (turning to see if the parade had started), Drew and Will

The girls had the best seats in the house!

(This picture cracks me up!! The girls are pulling the guys faces up and the resulting expressions are hilarious. I probably shouldn't post it, but Rod never reads this blog, so- oh well!)

The kids loved the parade!!

There was a marching band

And plenty of floats

(everything was lit up, so my pictures are terrible, but it was very pretty!)

Then we walked around and enjoyed some of the activities the city had arranged.

They had cut-outs

(Izzie-Snoopy)

Delicious cookies-- With green frosting!

Julia (aren't those eyes too much?!?)

a big train display

and a couple of historic homes were decorated and offering tours

The crew on the porch of one historic home

(Will had gone off with his cousin Ana at this point. Some Nickelodeon star was there signing autographs. Will had no idea who she was, but wanted to be with Ana.)

It was a lovely night and such a fun kick-off to the Christmas season!

Imagination!

2011-11-28T14:25:00.008-05:00

While I know a few people who had imaginary friends when they were young, I never did. Honestly, I have always assumed that they were really just for only children, or maybe an oldest before siblings. I grew up the fifth of eight children. I felt no need to imagine any more peers. A friend of mine had an imaginary friend, but she was 9 years older than her only sibling. My sister-in-law also had one, but she is an only child. So for years now, I have been certain that kids in the middle of a medium-to-large family would not create any imaginary friends. And I have been wrong.

Drew has an imaginary friend. I was so surprised! I mean he is a quadruplet, surrounded by kids all day every day. Several people have thought maybe he just wanted another boy around. Nope! His i.f. is a girl named Maggie.

We first heard about her a couple of months ago. He would just be playing and having a normal day, then he would mention his friend Maggie. We don't know anyone named Maggie, so I asked about her. He just answered me plainly like this was all very obvious and I should know these answers. When I wasn't able to figure out who she was, I asked him where he met her. He told me he met her at church. I couldn't think of any Maggies at our church. At Mass we usually sit with my sister-in-law Laura and her family. I called her and asked if she knew who Maggie was, thinking maybe it was a friend of hers or one of her kids'. Nope. She doesn't know who Maggie is.

Drew loves to talk about Maggie. She seems to like all the same things he does! This morning he told me that it was her birthday. We had a small nirthday party for her complete with singing and imaginary candle on and imaginary cake (Drew told me she blew them all out.) He told me that Maggie wanted to hold my hand, so I held a little imaginary hand. We continued playing, then nealry an hour later, Drew looked at me and scolded, "Mommy you aren't holding Maggie's hand anymore!" Oops! These imaginary kids are hard to keep up with!

So far we haven't had any trouble with Maggie-- I have heard of kids blaming things on their imaginary friends and antics like that. She seems pretty well behaved. My concern is more with Drew. Occasionally he will tell me that Maggie is really sick and might die. A few times she has died. Unfortunately, my children have learned about death recently with Stella and Meemaw. I guess that he is just using his i.f. to work on this idea. I just try to assure him that if Maggie, or anyone else, gets sick we will take them to the doctor and help them feel better.

While I was surprised that one of kids has an imaginary friend, so far it is actually kind of fun. Drew loves to talk about Maggie and tell us what she is doing or what she wants to do and I like to hear him talk about her. I'm interested in just how long Maggie will be staying with us. At least she is one kid that never makes a mess and doesn't create any laundry!

Isn't Maggie a lucky girl?

Who wouldn't want to be friends with this sweet boy?

World's Worst Blogger

2011-11-26T21:06:00.002-05:00

I don't know what has been going on the last couple of months. I let a couple of weeks go without posting anything on the blog. I write a post and promise to do a better job of keeping up. Then I go another two weeks without posting anything. I can't seem to keep it up.

Well, I have received a few blogger awards and seen many more floating around. I'm sure that everyone knows what I am talking about. In honor of my recent suck-y-ness in blogging, I have decided to give myself the World's Worst Blogger Award! Typically with these awards, you need to list seven things about yourself, but I think with the WWB Award, you should list seven things that have happened since you last bothered to blog.

1. Will has a girlfriend. Or at least he has begun calling Macy his girlfriend. Macy lives up the street from us and she and Will have been in the same class since preschool. Her mother told me about a year ago that Macy loves Will and tells everyone she is going to marry him. I asked Will about this at the time and he said that he doesn't have a girlfriend and they are just friends. I told him that was good. He has a long time before he needs to be thinking about girlfriends. Well, just the other day we were talking and he casually mentioned his girlfriend. I asked what he was talking about and he says, "Mom, you know Macy." Yes, I know Macy, but a girlfriend?!? I tried not to make a big deal about it (because I know that it truly means nothing right now), but my heart broke just a little bit. How can Will be talking about girlfriends? Next thing you know he'll be driving and asking to stay out late. I don't like it.

2. Rod and I went to Will's parent/teacher conference. His teacher only had wonderful things to say about him. I am so proud of the little boy Will has become. Not only is his very smart, she commented several times on how considerate and respectful he is. Does this Mommy's heart good. I know that my son is wonderful, but I really love to hear other people say so :-)

3. We went to the mall with Aunt Laura. We played in the play area, then went and had lunch. Since the kids were so good, they got to ride the carousel.

Izzie and Julia on the carousel

Then Laura bought the kids funny knit hats!

They love them and every now and then will break into the closet and get them. I should be annoyed that they're dragging stuff out of the closet, but they are so cute, I usually let it go.

4. Will has been climbing the walls.
I have found him doing this very often lately.

5. We celebrated Thanksgiving. Twice! We had Turkey Day with Rod's family last weekend, then with my family on Thanksgiving. We had a great time both days. Delicious food and it is always so nice to spend time with our families. I love how excited the kids always are to be with their grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins!

6. This weekend we began getting ready for Christmas. We got out a lot of the decorations and (most importantly) watched Elf for the first time of the season. I absolutely love that movie. We showed it to Will for the first time last year and he thought it was hilarious. This year we all watched it together and all of us enjoyed it!

7. Just tonight, we were letting the kids play after dinner. They have a container full of costume jewelry they love to play with. Drew was digging through it and found a ring. He walked over to Paige, held it out to her and said, "Will you marry me?" I have no idea how he knew how to propose, but seriously-- how cute are these kids?!?! By the way, Paige said yes and took the ring. I asked Paige, "Are you going to marry Drew?" She said yes, then Julia said, "I'm not going to marry Izzie!" These kids crack me up! I love watching and hearing their little minds attempt to figure out this funny world.

Well, there you have it. Seven things that have happened since I last posted. With most awards, this is where I would pass it on to other bloggers, but this one is all mine. I am the World's Worst Blogger. Oh the shame... I won't bother with another promise to post more often. We'll just have to wait and see.

Give me a Wink

2011-11-13T22:02:00.002-05:00

The other morning while the kids were eating their breakfast, I winked at them. This started everyone trying to wink. The results had me cracking up!

Julia could not wink at all,

but she kept trying and saying, "I wink, Mommy!"

Izzie would just blink really hard. Not quite honey...

Paige, however,

was pretty good.

She definitely could wink,

but the faces she would make while winking were killing me!

Look at that cute little wink!

What did Drew do when I asked him to wink?

Yeah, thanks buddy!

Halloween 2011

2011-11-01T19:34:00.000-04:00

This year, Halloween was a month long celebration for us. We had several events through out October all leading up to the big day. The quads are old enough to be excited for Halloween and Will is still young enough to love it, so we went ahead and kept celebrating!

First we made and decorated Halloween sugar cookies.

The kids are always excited to help with colored frosting and sprinkles! Everyone set up and ready to go

(yes, I know I have an extra child. Will's friend Zach was over that day.)

Drew working on his.

Paige

Will

Izzie

The decorating got messy enough that everyone needed a bath afterward!

Then we went and celebrated at Rod's parents' campground.
This was the kids' first time to wear their costumes this year and they were very excited!!

As soon as we got to the campground, the kids took a ride with Grandpa on his golf cart.

The three little pigs and the big, bad wolf

a tough ninja

My in-laws camp with a group of their friends and this was all of the

group's grandchildren ready to go trick-or-treating.

Cuddling with Aunt Myra after trick-or-treating

(Drew loves her I-phone!)

Then playing in the camper afterward.

We also went to a party with my multiples group.

I didn't get many pictures, but this one makes me laugh.

Izzie and Paige claimed to be afraid of the giant spider web,
but kept wanting to play with it!

Then it was time to carve a pumpkin!

Rod and Will did most of the work while the quads watched, but everyone had fun.

scooping out the guts

Will was very proud of their handy work.

Finally, the big night-- Halloween!

The crew was all ready to go!

We let the kids eat a lot of candy last night, but now I need to get this out of the house! A month of trick-or-treating times five equals a ton of candy. While I was sorting through the kids bag, I did find a really gross piece of candy- An ear. (I think it's chocolate, but I didn't investigate to find out.) It even has hair coming out and a jagged 'bloody' edge as though it had been torn off. Eeewwww!

I hope that everyone had a happy and safe Halloween!

Goodbye Meemaw

2011-10-30T21:59:00.002-04:00

Last weekend my husband's Grandmother (Meemaw to her grandchildren and great-grand children) passed away. She had battled Parkinson's and Alzheimer's for several years. She and her husband, Peepaw, moved in with my in-laws a few years ago. My mother-in-law, Judy. and several home-health nurses took excellent care of her. She passed away in the comfort of her home surrounded by those she loved and that loved her dearly.

Meemaw and Peepaw had been married for 64 years and were a wonderful example to all of us of a loving union. Peepaw was with her until her final moment and his devotion to her was beautiful. They showed all of us what our marriage vows truly mean.

This was also the first time my children have lost a human they loved. I explained to the quads that Meemaw had died. I told them that she had gone to Heaven to be with God and that she would look over us. "Like Stella?" they asked. Well, yes. Stella was their only experience with death. I told them that Meemaw was in Heaven with Stella and God. They understood this as well as three year olds can. Will, on the other hand, has a slightly better idea of what this means. He asked a lot of questions and I answered them as well as I could.

While we were certain that the quads were too young to appreciate the funeral and would bea distraction, we had to decide if we were going to bring Will with us or not. We decided that he would come with us to her layout the night before, but not attend the funeral. Once her headstone is on place, we will take all of the kids to lay flowers at her grave. We talked to Will about funerals and what he would see. He knew that he would see Meemaw, but that her soul is already gone and it is just her body. We had told him that even though we are glad that Meemaw is with God, people will be sad that she is no longer with us.

The evening of the layout, I was a bit worried about Will and how he would handle everything. I did not want him to be scared or overly upset. He really impressed me. He did a great job. Me hugged Judy and told her he was sorry her mother died. He hugged Peepaw and told him that he was sorry his wife died. At one point I saw him, completely unprompted by anyone, standing in front of Meemaw's casket with his hands folded and his head bowed. He told me that he said a prayer for her. He behaved very well and we stayed the whole time. I was so proud of my big boy!

Well almost all night... Toward the end of the layout, most of the guests had left and Peepaw went to the casket to have a moment with his bride of 64 years. Will joined him for a moment and they talked. Later, I asked Peepaw what Will had said. He told me that Will had told him that soon Meemaw would be a skeleton. Oh man! We almost made it! Luckily, Peepaw understood and wasn't bothered by it. He just said, "But doesn't she look pretty right now?" Of course, Will agreed with him.

We love you Meemaw and we are so grateful to have had you in our lives for as long as we did! The love you gave us will always be remembered and passed on through our family.

Meemaw and Peepaw with the kids and us at the quads' first birthday party

The Binky Fairy

2011-10-25T17:25:00.000-04:00

My quadruplets turned three last month. I am embarrassed to admit this, but they also still slept with pacifiers. I know, I know that is way too old to be using a pacifier. I started off with good intentions. I let them use their binkies pretty much whenever they wanted until they turned one. After that, they were only allowed at naptime or bedtime. My brilliant plan was to then take them away completely by age two. Well, they are three, so clearly that plan went out the window!

The problem is, I like to sleep. I really, really, really like to sleep. I love that my children let me sleep all night and I have been afraid to mess with a good thing. For the last week or so, my kids have been suffering from seasonal allergies. Nothing too serious, just some majorly stuffy noses that have made sleeping much more difficult. Our nights have been pretty rough as different kids have been waking up fussy at different times. It may sound kind of crazy, but I figured if we already weren't sleeping, this was the perfect time to go ahead and take away the binkies.

Since this had gone on for so long and the kids had developed such an attachment to their binkies, I decided that we had to make it a big deal. So we had the Binky Fairy come visit!

Before bed one night, the kids gathered all of their binkies and left them on the kitchen table for the Binky Fairy. All of the binkies out of their bedroom (even a Halloween pumpkin one.)

Then the Binky Fairy came and took all of the pacifiers to give to little babies that need them. In exchange for the binkies, she left toys for the kids.

Yes, Will got a toy as well.

(I have no idea why other than that Binky Fairy is a sucker)

The last couple of nights, the kids have gone to bed to without their binkies. The first night was pretty rough, but I could still blame that on their stuffy noses. I am very happy to report that last night everyone slept all night long. With no binkies!

An Important Reminder

2011-10-12T21:15:00.001-04:00

I didn't think that I would post about this since I mostly just write about the kids. What I have again been reminded, however, is that every single thing that happens to me now, is about the kids.

I recently went through a health scare. Specifically, I had a breast cancer scare. During my routine appointment, my gynecologist found a lump and sent me for a mammogram. After a mammogram and ultrasound, the radiologist expressed his concerns to me and scheduled a biopsy and an appointment two days later to receive my results.

Just a brief side note--A good nurse is an angel on earth. I actually learned this during all of my hospital/NICU time with the babies, but it was reinforced. All of the nurses at St. Elizabeth's Women's Wellness Center were so wonderful. None of this was fun, but a gentle hand on my shoulder and a kind nurse asking about what my kids will be for Halloween made an uncomfortable biopsy bearable.

I am very happy to say that everything is fine. I do not have cancer! From the moment my doctor told me he felt something until I was told that everything was fine (nearly two weeks later), I was very anxious. I worried about everything, but mostly I thought about my children.

While I worried about missing big moments in their lives, I mostly was upset thinking about not being there or being too sick to enjoy all of the little moments. I want to be the one playing with my kids. I want to push them on the swings. I want to cuddle and read books. While I like to think that they need me, I know that I need them. I am greedy and want to suck up as many moments with these kids as I can. As hard as some days are and as tiring as my crazy crew can be, I am so lucky to be the mother to these sweet little people. I need to remember that all of the time and I hope that I never get a reminder quite this big again.

I am cancer-free, but the doctors do want to keep an eye on things with mammograms every six months for a few years. While having a mammogram is not that much fun (I could think of many better ways to spend an hour...), I will be certain to make each and every appointment. I have too much I'm not willing to miss!

Playing Catch-Up

2011-10-08T16:25:00.000-04:00

Yes, I know that it has been way too long since I have posted anything. Time just seems to slip away from me! Well, here is a quick recap of the last few weeks. Some things seen, heard (Will is always good for some great comments) and done around our little corner of the world.

-- This summer, Will joined Cub Scouts. He absolutely loves it! Recently he earned his first badge, the Bobcat Badge. He is very proud of his badge- and we are proud of him.

Will getting his badge

Will with his Den Master

--Lots of playing around the house

Izzie taking her Calico Critters for a ride in the dump truck

--Will has been an interesting kid since he was born. You just never know what he will say or do. He often says funny stuff. One recent quote that is both funny and sad-- I was picking him up from Tae Kwon Do and had the little kids with me. A woman commented to Will that he has a lot of siblings. He replied, "Yeah, I have one brother and three sisters. One fish (one of our festival fish has died. more on that later), one turtle and one dead dog." I'm pretty sure that woman was not expecting to hear that!

--So yes, another fish died. I never really knew which fish was Dad and which was Emilio, so I'm not sure which one it was. Since our surviving fish seems to be sticking around for a while, we had to find a place to put him. Will's room was the best spot. Since the fish is in his room, he talked the other kids into letting him re-name it. Will's BFF Zach is a Nascar fan. Because of this, Will says that he likes Nascar too. The thing is, Will has never seen a single Nascar race, so he just roots for Zach's favorite- Jimmy Johnson. Therefore, he named the fish Jimmy George(Will's favorite name) Johnson Lachmann. Pretty big name for a teeny tiny goldfish.

-- We went to the zoo for my nephew Huck's birthday. Shortly after we arrived, my niece Kate found Drew and announced, "I am a princess and you are my prince." She then insisted that they hold hands all day. If Drew dropped her hand or wandered away, she hurried over and grabbed his hand again. They were so darn cute holding hands all day!

Prince Andrew and Princess Kate

group shot of all of the cousins that made it that day

(except baby Ellie. She was in her stroller.)

--After the zoo, my parents joined us all for dinner. Will was sitting with his cousins and I heard him suggest, "Let's go talk to Grandpa. He's really smart!" Then he walked down, leaned on the table by my dad and asked, "So Grandpa, you want to talk about anything?" I love how much this little man adores his grandfather. We certainly made the right call naming Will after him.

--My multiples group had our used clothing and gear sale last week. Afterward, I was sorting through my remaining clothes and putting away some of the kids' summer things. I had a couple of totes sitting out while I sorted everything. The girls were playing and this is what I found when I went to check on them-

Julia and Paige put Izzie in a tote!

(don't worry she loved it- I could hear her giggling the whole time)

--The injury reports just keep coming. A few days ago, the kids were playing inside and playing 'Ring Around the Rosie.' They were all laughing and having fun. They had played many rounds when the ashes fell down a bit too hard. Paige bonked her head. I cuddled and comforted her, but she was really upset and kept telling me, "My head really hurts!" She hadn't broken her skin and I couldn't feel a knot or any swelling, so I wasn't too concerned. (Paige has always been quite sensitive and can carry on much longer than the others.) So, I was quite shocked and scared when she began vomiting. I called the pediatrician and they told me to bring her right in. I called the lovely Aunt Connie to come over and watch the others. When we got to the dr's, she gave Paige a neurological assessment. Thank God, Paige passed with no trouble. The doctor said that it was probably a very minor concussion and as long as she did not vomit again or show any other symptoms (which she did not), she wouldn't need a CAT scan or any further testing. I just kept a close eye on her for the day.

--To prove that Izzie had way too many injuries this summer, when I explained to the kids that Paige's head was hurt and I was going to have to take her to the doctor, Izzie asked, "Are you taking her to my hospital?" My hospital? Yeah, she definitely spent too much time there!

-- I'll file this under, It Will be Funny one Day. Just last night, we put the kids to bed like normal. Nothing out of the ordinary, tucked everyone in, gave kisses and didn't hear anymore from them. Then a couple of hours later, I heard voices in their room. I went upstairs to see what was going on. I found Drew and Izzie awake. In the dark, I went over to tell them to be quiet and go back to sleep. When I got closer, I could see something all over their little faces. That was when I saw a tube of lipstick and a lip liner in Izzie's hand. The little stinkers had snuck into my bathroom and swiped some of my makeup! I grabbed them and brought them into my bathroom where I could assess the damage in the light. I did make sure to snap one picture since I'm sure this will be funny eventually, but last night I saw red. Or more specifically, Clinique Berry Freeze lipstick!

It was awful! They had done quite a number on themselves and lipstick does not wash off easily. I ended up putting them both in the shower and scrubbing. Then I had to go in and examine their bedding. Not pretty! (thank God we have not gotten their new beds and bedding. I was angry enough with old sheets!) The bedding is currently being washed a second time in hopes of getting at least a bit more out. Is it wrong to put kids to bed in cages? Just wondering...

-- One last funny Will comment. This afternoon he and I went shopping for his Halloween costume. We bought one and he was so excited to get home and try it on and show Daddy. He said, "I'm going to go try on my costume. If I look fantastic, you can tell me." That little guy keeps me laughing!

5,4,3,2,1...

2011-09-17T15:36:00.005-04:00

BLAST OFF!!!!!!

For his birthday, Will got a rocket kit. He and Daddy worked together to assemble it and had even taken it for a test launch. Today, Will's friend Zach was over, the weather was beautiful and everyone was finally healthy. It seemed like a perfect opportunity to take everyone to watch the rocket!

The kids watched Rod get the rocket ready

Then he got it set on the launch pad

Everyone counted down,

the big boys pressed the button

and the rocket blasted off!!
(I love Julia covering her ears in the background!)

Then came the kids favorite part--Running to try to catch it!

It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

2011-09-16T14:00:00.000-04:00

I absolutely LOVE fall weather and today was a perfect example of why. It was a little bit windy, but sunny, clear and the perfect temperature. While Will was at school, the little people and I got out to take a walk around the neighborhood. The kids were so darn cute, that I had to take a couple of pictures.

They've been doing such a good job at holding hands and staying together!

Izzie and Paige in front

Drew and Julia in back

(and yes, Julia took her purse with us)

They insisted on stopping to smell every flower we passed.

Loving this beautiful day and hoping this perfect weather sticks around for a while!

Three Year Checkup

2011-09-15T15:28:00.002-04:00

The other day I took the crew to get their three year checkups. Once again, we got a clean bill of health! Everyone is growing and developing right on track. For my own records, I want to go ahead and put in their heights and weights.

Isabella-- Height: 38"(80%) Weight: 32 lb (60%)
Julia-- Height: 37"(60%) Weight: 29 lb (30%)
Andrew-- Height: 37"(60%) Weight: 33 lb (60%)
Paige-- Height: 36"(50%) Weight: 28 lb (20%)

We are so blessed to have such strong healthy kids!

While I always love hearing that my kids are doing well, my favorite part of their appointment came after the exam. Our pediatrician's office gives out little tokens to the kids they can use to get a prize out of machines after they behave through their appointment. There is a wide variety of little trinkets to choose from. Izzie and Paige each got a miniature plastic animal. Julia got a sparkly ring. There was one option that made me wonder why it was there. What kid would pick that toy? Oh yeah, Drew would.

Drew picked a false moustache.

(it was even grey!)

He loved it

He was so proud of his awesome 'tache!

The Festival

2011-09-14T16:46:00.003-04:00

Once again I have fallen way behind in my blogging. I still want to include a few things we have done recently. Last weekend was our church's festival. Even though we had an unusual drop in temperatures, we went and had a great time. It was such a big-kid day for us. We went without any stroller or wagon. We just held hands and everyone did a great job of staying together. The kids went on rides and played games and ate festival food (we learned that they love funnel cake-- and one funnel cake split seven ways goes pretty fast!)

They best part of the entire day had to be Elmo. Can you believe that he came to our festival?!?! The kids were so excited when they saw him walking through the crowd. We had to stop and get a picture taken with him (Unfortunately, I hadn't brought the camera so I had to use my phone.) Drew talked about it for days. He would say, "He was big and hairy, hairy, hairy!"

Drew, Julia, Elmo, Izzie, Will & Paige

While we were all excited to see Elmo, Mommy was less excited when the kids played a game and won goldfish. Excellent. We won three, but one didn't even survive the first night. The next morning we woke up and the kids wanted to check on the fish. I asked what they wanted to name them and Izzie didn't hesitate one minute. She pointed to the fish and said, "Dad and Emilio." In case you are wondering, I do not know anyone named Emilio and can't imagine where Izzie has heard that name. It cracks me up though so here are our new fish.

Emilio and Dad

(I have no idea which is which)

We had a great time at St. Cecilia's festival!

My Quads' Third Birthday!!

2011-09-08T23:20:00.006-04:00

Today was my babies' third birthday. Yes, they are three years old. Yes, they are still my babies. I've spent quite a bit of time lately thinking about the fact that a stage of my life is ending. Assuming I do not have any more children, I will never have a true baby again. We soon (hopefully) saying goodbye to diapers and cribs. While I am excited about these changes, it is hard to believe that a big and very special time in my life has ended. I love watching the kids grow and learn new things, but as the stages slip by, it does make me a little sad.

Enough of Mommy moping. On to the important people-- The birthday kids!

Unfortunately, our day did not begin well. All of the kids woke up with fevers. Julia and Paige had very low fevers, but Drew and Izzie were more like 101*/102*. Basically, they had no energy. They wanted to do nothing but lie around and cuddle with Mommy.

How we spent their birthday morning.

That was what we did all morning. Then everyone (sort of) ate lunch and took a nap. After nap, the crew had a bit more energy and they were in much better moods. We had to go pick Will up from Tae Kwon Do, so I just pulled pants on over their pajamas. The kids said they wanted to get dressed and go somewhere. We already had their birthday party (pictures coming soon), but we still had planned to go out to dinner tonight with my parents and two of my sisters. When everyone was feeling so lousy this morning, I had called my family and told them that we had to cancel. Well, once I saw they were feeling a bit better, I called Rod and we talked about it and decided to go ahead and take everyone out to dinner.

I'm glad that we did. The kids were still a bit under the weather, but they had a good time and it was nice to celebrate their big day.

Julia and Daddy

Izzie and Aunt Sara

(Izzie was definitely not 100%)

My beautiful niece Alex

When she saw me taking pictures of people, she came over and asked me to take hers. Seriously though, if you were this cute, wouldn't you want your picture taken all the time too?

We went out to a Mexican restaurant, so the servers brought out desserts for the kids along with sombreros for them to wear while we sang "Happy Birthday!"

Izzie blowing out her candle

Julia

Drew

Paige

The Four Amigos

My kiddos

Now, the annual comparison pictures...

I do not have their one month or one year pictures on my computer, but you can find them here.

Two Years Old (9/8/10)

Three Years Old (9/8/11)
***Paige is actually smiling. She isn't looking at the camera, but she is smiling!!***

This is them showing off their muscles.

Showing how big they are!

This is their 'funny face' shot

I love these silly little people. Let's hope that they continue feeling better.

Three amazing years...

These Kids Have Big Plans

2011-08-31T20:13:00.003-04:00

This morning the girls were playing with a new dollhouse they got for their birthday. Drew came along stomping and growling, trying to knock down the house. I stopped him before he could do any damage and asked what he was doing. He informed me, "When I grow up, I want to be a monster!" I don't think that the kids have ever referenced "When they grow up" before, so I took the opportunity to ask the others what they wanted to be when they grow up.

Drew- Monster

Paige- Person on TV

Julia- (made Mommy proud!) Doctor. After hearing Paige's answer, she briefly changed her answer to, "A doctor on TV", but then went back to just a doctor.

Izzie- Aunt Connie (my husband's beloved aunt. She is like a rock star in our house!)

This is the first time that we have talked about their dreams for the future, so I want to make sure to remember their big plans!

A few other funny things that have been said recently----

I was trying to explain to the kids that Grandma and Grandpa were my parents. This was really weird to them. I went on to explain, "One day when you guys grow up and have kids, I'll be the grandma and Daddy will be the grandpa."
Drew then chimed in, "And I'll be Aunt Joanna." Yeah, they may not get it yet...

In other Aunt Joanna news, the kids were playing one morning and Julia informed me she was being Aunt Joanna. I asked her where Alex, Kate and Ellie (Joanna's daughters) were. Without missing a beat, she looked around and yelled, "Oh no! I lost my babies!"

Izzie seems to be learning the art of "butt kissing." A few nights ago, she was being quite naughty at the dinner table. She was sent to time out for a couple minutes. When I brought her back to the table, she said, "I like your shirt Daddy. That's a really good shirt." Little brown-noser ;-)!

I love watching these funny little personalities come out!

Medieval Times

2011-08-26T17:40:00.001-04:00

A few weeks ago Rod's cousin, Alex, got married. He and his bride, Chapen, decided on a medieval theme and asked all five of my kids to be in their wedding. I have to admit that I had no idea what to expect. I had never been to a medieval wedding and had a hard time picturing one. It turned out to be a lovely day! Alex and Chapen were sweet and seem to be a great couple. My crew spent the day looking adorable in their outfits and chatting, laughing and dancing with family and friends. We had a great time and thank Alex and Chapen for allowing us to be a part of their big day!

Here are a bunch of pictures from the day. Sorry for the picture overload, but it was such a unique and special day!

Rod's Uncle Mark and Aunt Connie proudly walking their son down the aisle.

I don't know the names of all of the bridesmaids and groomsmen, but they looked great.

(Rod's niece Taylor)

(Alex's twin brother Jarod was his Best Man)

Will was the Ring Bearer and he took his job very seriously!

Rod's niece Ana was a beautiful flower girl

Then the wedding planner lined up my quads. They were the "Butterfly Keepers." They had sticks with silk butterflies and ribbons. They were supposed to walk down the aisle waving them and calling, "Here comes the Bride! Here comes the Bride!"

They walked and kind of waved, but there was no calling (the one time these kids are quiet...) Oh well, I was very proud of all five of my kids. They were adorable and did a great job!

Then we were off to the reception!

With knights standing guard of course!

Some of the kids

(Drew, Emily(family friend), Will, Ana and Izzie)

My kids were ready to party! Shortly after dinner, the DJ began playing dance music. Will wanted to go out and dance, but Rod and I were still helping the quads finish eating and get cleaned up. We told him we would take him out in a second. Rod's sister Laura was sitting at the table next to us and her this. She said, "Come on Will. I'll go out and dance with you." They headed out to the dance floor and we continued fussing with the little guys. Suddenly, we hear cheering. I turn and see a circle has formed on the dance floor. Who do you think is in the middle? That's right. Will was out there busting some serious moves! Eventually we all joined him and everyone had a blast!

Drew

Julia

Paige dancing with her cousin Daniel

Izzie dancing with Aunt Connie

Alex and Chapen cutting their cake

The bride and groom met in class at Northern Kentucky University. Toward the end of the reception, we had a guest appearance by none other than Victor the Viking! The mascot of the NKU Norsemen. He came out to the school fight song and danced with several people before leaving. It was a fun surprise!

Victor

The girls (my boys were still off partying with the ladies)

Julia, Paige and Izzie

The getaway car!

We had so much fun attending and being a part of our first Medieval wedding. Congratulations to Alex and Chapen! We wish you two a lifetime of happiness!

Our Swing Set

2011-08-23T14:41:00.005-04:00

With all of the craziness this summer, I forgot to post any pictures of a fun new development right in our backyard. We got a new swing set!! After a ton of shopping around, we picked one on-line and ordered it.

This was how it arrived. Boxes and boxes of wood pieces!

After a lot of hard work by Daddy and Grandpa

A lot of hard work...

We have a great swing set the kids love!

Under one slide is a sand box, under the other is a picnic table

A couple of swings and a glider

Mostly, though, the kids love the play decks!

They use them as a clubhouse. The last couple of weeks we have had beautiful weather and this was where you could find us most days. We have already logged hours and hours of fun on our new swing set.

Thanks so much Daddy and Grandpa!!

This is how our crazy-lady Izzie likes to swing. She throws her head back until it nearly touches the ground, then kicks her legs up and wraps the chains around her ankles. I have corrected her a dozen times about how to swing safely and correctly, but I can not count the number of times I have found her like this. I need to start wrapping that girl in bubble wrap...

Songs That Make US Sing Saturday... well Sunday

2011-08-21T22:01:00.002-04:00

So I have seen several people linking up to a fun weekly link. "Songs That Make US Sing" by, (Not) Just Another Mom of Twins. I've never joined in for two reasons.
1) I mostly write about the kids and things to do with them
2) How could I pick one song? I almost always have a song going through my head and often walk around singing it out loud. (Yes, I've become my mother. I just have to accept it.)

Well, this weekend, both of those problems were solved. Saturday, we were out and this song came on. It is extremely sing-along-able (yeah, I'm pretty sure that's a word), so of course I was singing along. It made my day when Will joined in and sang with me (the "Oh, oh, oh"s at the end-- you can't not sing them) Like I said, I always sing, but what makes me seriously happy is singing with my kids. Love it!

Then today we were in the car again with the radio on (two days in a row of listening to the radio in the car instead of a kids cd. How did I get so lucky?) when this song came on again. Once it got into the chorus, Will recognized it and said, "Listen Mom. It's our song." So what's a mom to do? We turned it up and sang along-- loud. I loved it. I know that he won't sing along with me forever. In fact, he'll probably be embarrassed enough just by me singing (remember, I get this from my mom. I remember being a twelve year old in the back seat horrified that my mom always had to sing-- even when I had friends in the car!), so I'm definitely going to enjoy this while I can.

Here is 'mine and Will's song'!

First Grade!

2011-08-17T22:03:00.001-04:00

So today was the big day- Will's first day of 1st grade. He went to half-day kindergarten last year, so this was his first full school day. So far, so good. This morning went smoothly. He was very excited about school. Last year when he started preschool, my sister gave us the book "The Kissing Hand." If you have not read this book, you need to. It is a sweet book about a young raccoon who is nervous to start school. His mother kisses the palm of his hand and tells him any time he needs to, he can put his hand to his cheek and feel her love. We read it again this year and he was ready to go!

My big First Grader

He wanted to make sure and get one with his cool 'Mystery Machine' lunch box

waiting for the bus with our neighbor Cole

(he is a big 4th grader, but has always been very nice to Will)

Now, when the bus pulled up, Cole hopped on and suddenly Will ran over to me and whispered, "I'm scared Mommy." My heart just melted. Part of me wanted to just take him inside and tell him he could stay with me all day. Instead I gave him a hug and told him it would be great and he would have a good time. He didn't look entirely convinced, but he got on the bus. I love when my sweet little guy shows his tender heart.

He did get on the bus :-)

Then he got off this afternoon with only good things to say about his day. He said his teacher is very nice and he only needed to use his 'kissing hand' a few times. Seriously, the sweetest boy ever!

Izzie's Up & Down Week

2011-08-16T23:50:00.002-04:00

This last week was quite a week for my little Izzie.

Up-- She got her cast off on Wednesday.

Down-- Thursday, she fell face first into the wooden base of the bed in our spare bedroom. Her nose immediately swelled and began bleeding. Profusely. It was terrible and I must admit, I didn't handle it well. Back when I was graduating high school and trying to decide what my college major should be, a teacher suggested that I consider nursing. While I have great respect for nurses and would enjoy parts of the job, I rejected the idea because I hate blood (and other gross bodily fluids) and don't deal well with emergencies. Guess what? I ended up in a career (motherhood) where both of these come into play. So Izzie, Julia and I were all freaking out (Julia saw the whole thing happen and the blood combined with Mommy losing her mind must have scared her...) while Izzie bled all over herself and me. In my panic, I called Rod and he came home from work. I was finally able to pull myself together enough to take Izzie to the emergency room.

The doctor there examined Izzie and said that her nose appeared to be broken, but otherwise she was fine. Her nose was still really swollen, so we would need to wait for the swelling to go down to determine if she needed surgery to set it. The doctor assured us that 90% of broken noses do not need to be set.

Up-- A few days later we took her to the pediatrician and she does not need surgery!!

Down-- Her nose still looks like this:

It is actually getting much better.

It is still a bit swollen, but the swelling has gone down a lot.

Also Down-- There is a very real possibility that this girl is going to give her mother a heart attack if this rate of injury continues. At the very least, a social worker will be visiting our home if we (God forbid) return to the hospital any time soon.

Catching up with Will's Birthday!

2011-08-15T22:34:00.008-04:00

Well, in keeping with our zero-luck summer, my laptop died last weekend. I was able to use my husband's laptop in the evenings, but he kept hassling me that he had work to do. Hello!?! I need to facebook and blog. Where are that man's priorities?

I now have a new computer and a lot of catching up to do. I am still waiting on pictures from the wedding, so I'll skip ahead to my big boy's birthday. Will is six years old! Such a big man. He is a very curious guy and wants to understand how everything works. He has always been very into science, so for his birthday this year, we took the whole family to COSI. COSI (the Center of Science and Industry) is a hands-on science center in Columbus, OH (about an hour and a half north of us.) We had a blast and the kids really enjoyed playing and learning. I have a ton of pictures here, but there was so much for the kids to see and do!

My handsome 6 yo on the ride up

This was a cool harp the kids could play in the lobby. There were no strings, the music was made by lasers running through the open space. Really neat!

Will loved the area dedicated to space travel.

Here he is landing a space shuttle.

Izzie

Julia and Paige

Will also loved "digging" up some dinosaur bones

He got Paige to help him

Drew really liked this digital finger painting

They had a great water table that the quads loved!

Izzie

Julia

Drew

Paige

Hands down the kids favorite part was the construction area

Lachmann & Lachmann construction

Paige and Will

Julia

laying out her cones

working hard

Daddy and Drew helping Will build his home

We had such a great time that we ended up staying longer than planned and ran out of time for cake that night. We still sang 'Happy Birthday' and Will blew out a candle.

Happy Birthday to my big boy!

Looking Forward to Some Happy Times!

2011-08-05T17:00:00.001-04:00

The last month or so has been pretty rough around here. Okay, it stunk! We had Scarlet fever, Stella got sick, broken arm, had to put Stella down, basement flood, stomach bug, bathroom flood, pinkeye, emergency heart surgery for my husband's grandfather... I could go on, but I think you get the idea. I don't know who or when, but I'm pretty sure someone has cursed my family. Even through this lousy, miserable, terrible, awful, no-good time, we have had some happy moments...

-- We introduced the kids to the movie Annie and they love it! Any time I ask if they want to watch tv or a movie, they yell out, "Annie!" So lately the quads having been 'playing' Annie. All three girls play the role of Annie. Now there are a few male roles for a boy-- Daddy Warbucks, Rooster (the bad guy), Pun Jab... Who do the girls make Drew play? Sandy. The dog. He follows them around on all fours barking while they sing, "Dumb dog! Why are you following me?" For a while I kept suggesting human parts he could play, but really he seems to like being Sandy, so I guess it's okay.

--The other morning I was getting everyone dressed to go play out back. I helped Julia get her shoes on. Then she said, "Mommy, you need to go get dressed." I told her, "I'm already dressed." (I was wearing capri yoga pants and a t-shirt, but remember we were playing in the backyard, not going to a royal ball!) She made a face and said, "Oh. You're wearing that?"

Seriously?!? She's not even three and she's already picking on my clothes? I thought I had more time!

-- Will attended our parish's vacation bible school. We bought a CD of the music to enjoy at home. He was singing along and showing me the moves they taught him at vbs. He thought that they were actually sign language (they weren't-- they were just gestures and things) and he said he could use them to sing about God to people who can't hear. How sweet is that boy?

-- My birthday is at the end of June. My best friend Alyssa's is in mid-July. As our b-day gift to each other, we went out on "Beth & Alyssa's Day of Fun!" We met before lunch, ate lunch out, spent the entire afternoon shopping and strolling and chatting. We ate dinner and even went to a movie afterward. It was so great to spend an entire day together relaxing! We weren't rushed, didn't have our kids with us to wrangle and didn't need to worry about our husbands getting bored with all of the girly activities. We looked at hundreds of shoes, smelled dozens of fragrances, admired aisle after aisle of accessories (and even bought matching rose rings), drooled over expensive jewelry... It was perfection. I needed it now more than ever. What would we do without girlfriends?

-- This weekend all five kids are going to be in Rod's cousin's wedding. We have been practicing and I'm pretty confident that they are going to do a great job. The kids are excited and I am really starting to get excited as well. I'll definitely post with some fabulous pictures. It is a Medieval/Renaissance theme (no, I'm not kidding) so the kids have costumes and are pretty awesome! Just you wait...

In addition to the rehearsal dinner and wedding this weekend, we have a family reunion on Sunday. Then Monday is my big boy Will's sixth birthday! Busy, busy, busy! We're hoping that we can put the unhappy behind us and focus on all of the good, happy times we have ahead!! I am really, really ready to post some happy updates.

Rainbow Bridge

2011-08-02T22:54:00.002-04:00

I'm sorry that this blog has been so sad lately (believe me I wish this weren't the case.) I was unprepared to lose Stella so quickly and even less prepared for just how hard it would be. I still 'see' her a dozen times a day. Any time I see a dark pillow on the chair, I think it's Stella. A stuffed animal out of the corner of my eye looks like our girl. I turn to call for her whenever we go outside. It is just so hard to believe that part of our family is gone.

I will move on, and I promise some cute pictures and funny stories coming, but first I wanted to share something. In the mail today, we received a card from the surgeon who was going to operate on Stella (during her pre-op exam we discovered that the cancer had spread too much to save her, so we cancelled the surgery and brought her home to spend her final days with her family.) It was a nice condolence card expressing sympathy for our loss and talking about what a sweet girl Stella had been. They included a lovely story that I wanted to share.

Sweet Stella

Rainbow Bridge

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge

When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.

They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. Her bright eyes are intent. Her eager body quivers. Suddenly she begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, her legs carrying her faster and faster.

You have been spotted and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face and you once again look into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together...

Goodbye

2011-07-30T12:56:00.002-04:00

Today we said goodbye to our sweet Stella. It was the hardest thing we have done, but she was terribly sick and we are relieved that she is finally at peace.

Rod and Stella

Stella with three of her babies

(Izzie, Drew and Paige)

the kids visited Stella while she was in the hospital and brought get well cards

Will hugging Stella goodbye.

Mommy kissing her girl goodbye

Stella, we love you and miss you!

A Tough Break

2011-07-20T14:45:00.003-04:00

I want to thank everyone for the kind comments left on my last post about Stella. Unfortunately, she is not doing much better and we are making some tough decisions about her care. Yesterday I had to pick her up from one veterinary hospital and take her to another for further testing. She was so excited to get in the car with Will and me and then so sad when we left her at the second place. She thought she was coming home :( Broke my heart to leave her there.

So after another day of caring for and worrying over my dog, I was wrapping up the day and ready to get the kids in bed. We had eaten dinner and Rod was at a Cub Scout outing with Will. The little people were running around while I started getting pajamas and things together to start the bedtime routine. Suddenly I heard screaming and Izzie came running to me with blood coming out of her mouth. She had fallen on the wood floor in the entry way. I scooped her up and began checking her over. She had bitten her tongue when she fell and it was bleeding badly. The bad news about mouths- they bleed a lot. The good news about mouths- they heal quickly. I wasn't too concerned, just trying to comfort her and get the bleeding to stop. She told me that she also hurt her arm, so I gave her a quick kiss on the shoulder and continued tending to her mouth. I gave her ice to suck on and her sippy cup. I got some ibuprofen to ease the pain and any swelling. When I handed her the dosage cup, she couldn't hold it in her left hand. She screamed when I tried to put it in her hand. I hadn't been very worried about her bitten tongue, but now I was worried.

I felt along her arm and had her move her fingers. She was able to move everything, so I focused more on comforting her. She was inconsolable. Not just for a minute or two, but for nearly an hour! She would scream if I touched her arm at all, no matter how gentle I tried to be. Now, Izzie can be a drama queen sometimes, but she is tough. Tough as nails. She does not cry in pain for more than a minute or two, even after a pretty big injury. I knew that something was definitely wrong. I called Rod and he came home. Izzie and I headed over to the emergency room.

She was hilarious at the ER. She was chattering the whole time (of course, she's Izzie.) She was in a pretty good mood as long as no one went near her arm. She was happy enough that a couple of times, I started thinking I had made a mistake bringing her in. Then she would move her arm or someone would go near it and she would freak out. Yeah, she needed to get checked out. She loved that she sat on a bed in the examining room. It was a real bed with a pillow, not just a table like at the pediatrician. Who knew that was so exciting?

The doctor examined her then had some x-rays taken. Sure enough it was broken. She had broken both bones. Poor sweetie! No wonder she was so defensive of her arm. I was told that they no longer put casts on at the ER. They would brace it in a splint, then I would need to take her to an orthopedic doctor to have it cast.

They wrapped it in gauze

Then wrapped a bandage around the gauze and a splint.

This morning we got her into the ortho. He showed us her x-rays and assured me that we would be amazed at how quickly she was going to heal (these kids are amazing!). He said she would only need to wear a cast for three weeks (as long as all goes as planned.) Then came the exciting part- she got to pick out the color of her cast!

No shock here-- She went with purple!!

One Sick Puppy

2011-07-16T21:55:00.002-04:00

Okay, she may not be a puppy anymore, but our dog Stella is sick. Really sick. We still aren't positive what is wrong, but she is in the doggy hospital right now receiving iv antibiotics. Rod and I are worried sick.

For as long as I have known Rod, I've known that he is a 'dog person.' He made it clear that he wanted us to have a dog of our own as soon as possible. When we first married, we lived in an apartment for two years. Since he wanted a medium sized dog or larger, we knew we had to wait until we bought a house with a yard to get our dog. We bought a house with a nice little back yard in July of 2002 and Rod immediately started talking about dogs. Truthfully, at this point I wasn't too excited about the idea. I put him off for a while, but knew that this was something he really wanted and I couldn't deny him. In December of that year, I went to a local pound with my girlfriend Jennifer looking for a dog to give Rod for Christmas. There were a lot of dogs there to be adopted, but I immediately was drawn to a little boxer/lab mix puppy (since she was abandoned they didn't know her exact age, but estimated her to be about 3 mos.) The pound had given all of the dogs "Christmas-y" names in hopes of getting them adopted as Christmas gifts. She was named "Merry." I was sucked in and signed the papers that day. She had to get all of her shots and get spayed before I could take her home, so I still had to wait a week to actually get her. That year we had already made plans to celebrate Christmas with Rod's family on Christmas Eve at his sister Laura's house. I called Laura and asked a big favor. Between picking up our dog and Christmas Eve, it was 4 days. I asked if she would keep the dog at her house until I gave her to Rod. She agreed and Christmas Eve when we arrived at her house, Rod went on a scavenger hunt I had arranged for him. It ended in Laura's backyard where Stella was hidden under their swing set.

Rod was so happy with his gift! That night, he decided to name her Stella. She is a perfect Stella. Lady-like, but feisty! Rod was immediately in love, but that was no surprise. The bigger surprise was how quickly I fell for this little bundle of fur and love. She was absolutely adorable and sooo sweet. How could I have ever thought I didn't want a dog?

As we brought home the kids, she showed what a sweet, sweet girl she is. She is loving and protective of all of the kids. When Will was a baby, if she and I were in a different room than him and he started crying, she beat me there nearly every time. She puts up with the kids pulling her tail and ears, sitting on her, loving her a bit too roughly and never snaps at them. She is a great dog.

As I sit typing this, she is off at the hospital being treated. We hope and pray that the vets can figure out what is wrong with her and fix it. We want our sweet girl back soon. The horrible part of a veterinary hospital is that we can't stay with her. I'm sure that sounds crazy to people without pets-- heck it would have sounded crazy to me nine years ago! I just hate the idea of her being alone and possibly scared or in pain. The quads don't really understand what is going on or where she is. They have missed her and asked where she is, we just told them, "She is at the doctor." Will, however, has a better understanding. As soon as he heard that she had to go to the hospital, he wanted to make her 'Get Well' cards. He got his crayons and some paper and made a few. At bedtime tonight, he cried that she wouldn't be able to sleep with him (she sleeps in his room with him every night.) I hope that we get to celebrate her coming home soon. For us and the kids.

On top of the worry is guilt. I feel so bad that Stella has been put on the back-burner. I have five human children to take care of everyday and sometimes caring for one more living creature is too much. She gets a bit neglected. I also wonder if there were signs I would have seen sooner if I had paid more attention. I know that she is "only a dog," but she is our first baby. The first animal Rod and I ever loved and cared for together. She has been with us through infertility, pregnancies, babies and kids. We love her very much. If you could please pray that she will be okay, I would appreciate it.

Will and Stella

October, 2007

Stella with a binky stolen from Rod's niece Ana.

December, 2002

(don't even try to tell me you've seen a cuter picture of a cuter dog. You haven't)

My Animals Meet Some Animals (and a Splash-Pad)!!

2011-07-12T15:30:00.004-04:00

The crew had a play date with a couple triplet families at an area park. This park is really nice and has big splash-pad (which was perfect for the crazy-hot weather we have been having!), but even better was the nature center. Another triplet mom in our multiples group works there, so she brought out some animals for the kids to see- and even touch!

Julie brought out some tree frogs

Will held one

Drew held a toad

She even brought out a corn snake

(which made me very nervous, but the kids liked him)

Drew even pet him!

A bit after this picture was taken, the snake pooped on the floor. I think that was the boys' favorite part of the entire day. They still talk about snake poop.

She showed everyone an owl

The boys even touched a scorpion.

(Once again, the girls were not interested in getting too close)

After this, we went on to the splash-pad. I didn't take too many pictures there because counting to five over and over and over ended up taking most of my time. We had never been to this park before, so I didn't realize how wet I would get just watching them and didn't wear my swimsuit. This made for an icky ride home in wet clothes, but lesson learned. I'm sure we'll go to this park again and next time Mommy will be prepared.

Will

Drew (in the Elmo trunks) and Julia (in the orange suit)

I finally got a group shot when we took a break for lunch

(Julia, Paige, Drew, Will and Izzie)

It was a wonderful day and the kids had a great time meeting animals, especially Drew. Since then, he has given several presentations. He'll have us all sit on the floor, then he brings around his stuffed animals. He tells us what they are, then lets us touch them reminding us to "be gentle." I love my little animal lovers!

Go Daddy, Go!

2011-07-08T15:24:00.004-04:00

This summer Rod has been playing on a men's softball league with a team from work one (now two) nights each week. Most of his games have been late, so the kids haven't been able to watch him play. We finally got the chance last night. Rod had some early games and my nieces Taylor and Ana were able to come along and offer a couple extra sets of hands, so the crew got to watch Daddy play. The kids were so excited to see Daddy out on the field! For these kids, Derek Jeter has nothing on Daddy!

Daddy playing shortstop in the field

Julia sitting with her cousin Taylor

Paige was really interested in the game

Drew wanted to be out there with the guys

Seriously cute cheering section!

Drew, Taylor, Ana, Julia and Izzie

Will insisted on sitting right next to the dugout.

He just wants to be one of the guys.

The kids were so excited when Daddy came out to join us between games!

I know that it's good for Rod to get out a couple of nights a week and have fun, hang out with his friends and get some good exercise. He really appreciated me bringing the kids. Who wouldn't want those cheerleaders?!? I also love watching how excited the kids are to see their father play baseball! We'll definitely try to make it to a few more games before the season ends.

Independence Day Parades

2011-07-07T22:09:00.003-04:00

With Paige still not 100% and Daddy having a lot of work to do putting together our new swing set, we had a pretty quiet holiday weekend. The only real celebrating we did was attending a couple of parades. We went to our town's and my hometown's. The kids have learned to love parades and they are so stinking cute! They wave and yell to everyone and get so excited to gather candy.

The quads

(yes all of my group shots are this good)

Drew taking a break with Grandma

getting ready for parade #2 with their cousins

then it started raining.

(I love little Ellie holding the umbrella with her Mommy)

Alex, Will and Kate taking cover before the parade starts

The rain slowed down and it barely drizzled during most of the parade. By the end though, it was pouring! We were all completely soaked for the ride home.

Julia loved the parade, even if it was too loud!

I hope that everyone had a happy Independence Day!!!!!

The Good, The Sad and The Bad

2011-07-01T23:49:00.005-04:00

Once again, I can't believe how much time has passed since I posted anything. Our summer has been good, but I guess with so much going on, I haven't really been writing as regularly. I'll catch up with a recap of the last couple of weeks around here.

The Good:

--Will took swim lessons for the last two weeks. He took them at the same high school from which Rod and I both graduated. He did a great job!

He thought it was neat to be in our old high school!

practicing his kicking

He was even brave enough to go off the diving board!

taking the plunge!

-- Will and Rod have gone fishing several times with the guys in the family. They have even eaten their catch for dinner a few nights!

here is my nephew Evan showing his catch

-- We have been watching Will's best friend Zach one day each week. It is going well. The boys love spending time together and the quads think it is cool to have another 'big boy.' I've been looking for fun activities to keep them busy.

here they are decorating cookies

their main goal was to use every color icing and every kind of sprinkle I had!

seriously, only a five yr old boy would decorate cookies like this!

then I found wood build and paint your own race car kits

(somehow I did not get an after shot of the cars, but the boys loved them!)

-- We ordered a new swing set for the backyard and it should be getting assembled this weekend. I hope to show pictures soon!

The Sad:

My good friend Stacy moved away :( I'm so sad to see her go. Stacy was one of the first quad moms I met. Hers were even GGBG like mine. She is smart and funny and one of the nicest people I've ever met. While this move is great for her family, I hate to see her go. I have tried to spend as much time as possible with her the last couple of weeks. On their way out of town, we met them for lunch at a Burger King with a play land so the kids could play together a bit and we could say goodbye.

My friend Jennie (a triplet mom) moved a few weeks ago, so that's it! No more of my multiples mamas can move!!

The Bad:

My little Paige had a small scratch on her knee. Not a big deal, it looked like maybe she had scratched a bug bite. It had begun to go away, then yesterday I took her pajama pants off to get her dressed and found it looking like this

red, angry sore

It was warm to the touch and clearly painful to Paige, so I called the doctor to get it checked out. Later that day, I found a rash creeping up her belly. By the time we got to her appointment that afternoon, she was running a fever. Well, it turns out that her knee was infected with strep. The strep had caused Scarlet Fever. My poor little girl is feeling pretty lousy! She is on medicine and seems to be improving. In the mean time, I am watching everyone else like a hawk watching for any sign that someone else may have caught it. Hopefully we caught this early enough that she will bounce right back. I need my crew back to healthy!

Well, there you go. That is a pretty quick glance at the last couple of weeks for our family. I hope that everyone enjoys their holiday weekend!

Father's Day Pictures!

2011-06-18T23:12:00.002-04:00

As part of Rod's Father's Day gift this year, I took the kids to get their picture taken. We wanted him to have some new pictures to put up at work. I had planned to take the kids' picture myself, but at the last moment I chickened out and called a portrait studio. We went to Portrait Innovations where you can have your pictures developed the same day. While it wasn't the original plan, I'm so happy with the results!

The crew's special picture for their favorite man!

Even though I only planned to get the one picture, I couldn't resist when I saw my adorable little kids. A lot of money later, I left with a bulging packet of pictures. Oh well, the challenges of having gorgeous kids!

Will

Izzie

Julia

Drew

Paige

This was one of my favorite pictures of the day.

my girlies cracking up!

Happy Father's Day to my wonderful husband, Rod! The kids are so lucky to have such a loving and dedicated father and I could never take this wild journey with anyone else. Love you!

A Day at the Park

2011-06-17T22:06:00.003-04:00

We all went out to enjoy the warm weather at the park the other day. I somehow didn't get any pictures of Izzie, but here is everyone else.

Julia

Paige (wearing my extra pair of sunglasses)

Drew

Paige and Julia swinging on their bellies

Will

Then Will borrowed my camera for a bit. So, we have a bunch of pictures that look like this

and this.

and a bunch that look like this

and this

(Will had a scrape on his chin)

This is Will's picture of the two of us together.

We love summer! It's great to be able to get out and let the kids run around and burn off their energy!

My Sweet Little 'Mommies'

2011-06-15T22:12:00.003-04:00

A few days ago we went to the children's museum. As always, the crew had a great time. There are several different imaginary play areas. One was set up like a nursery and the quads loved it! We spent a lot of time there and it was so sweet watching each kids different interactions with the babies.

Izzie was the most interested in taking care of the babies.

She would cuddle and rock the baby,

then tuck each baby into bed.

Drew also showed his sensitive side in taking care of the babies.

He got the baby dressed, cuddled him

then tucked him into bed.

Julia didn't play with the babies too much,

She mostly just napped on the cot between the cribs!

Paige had no interest in the babies at all.

She just sat and pretend ate pretend food.

As I watched them, I had to laugh. I can't decide which one is the most like me. I love cuddling and taking care of my babies, but I also really like napping and eating...

Partners in Crime

2011-06-14T21:49:00.002-04:00

Today was a rough day. I'll spare everyone the details and just say that 'nap time' was awful. Absolutely awful. No napping took place. There was a rowdy party going on in the quads' room. I went upstairs and tried to calm them. I had barely made it back downstairs when I could hear the good times starting up again. This went on for quite a while before I gave up. I was frustrated and angry and done! I brought everyone downstairs and they all went in to timeout. Noses on the wall.

Well, those four kids lined up with their noses to the wall was stinkin' adorable. I had to grab a picture. Then I left the room to call Rod and vent about our day.

Drew, Izzie, Paige and Julia

Wouldn't you know it, I came back and found they had dialed up the adorable meter! I needed another picture.

How sweet are they?

I swear, it's like they know when they need to be cute to help Mommy remember that she doesn't really want to box them up and ship them to Taiwan.

What Have We Been Doing?

2011-06-09T23:10:00.004-04:00

Oops... I took a much longer break than I meant to. With the beginning of summer we have been busy, then I left my camera at my sister-in-law's, then I had a couple of migraines... Next thing I knew it had been a couple of weeks with no posts. Oops! Well, here is a quick recap of just what we have been up to for the last couple of weeks.

We went swimming at my sister-in-law Laura's.

Julia, Dana, Drew, Ana, Taylor and Paige in the big raft

Will playing with Great-Uncle Mark (with a frog float on his head)

Izzie swimming with Daddy

(those puddle jumpers are GREAT! Would definitely recommend them to anyone!)

We shaved Will's head.

He wanted to be bald, so this was a compromise.

Paige tried on Aunt Sara's sun hat.

Love the face!

Mostly, we played outside and enjoyed the sunshine!

slide races

playing at the sand table

Drew dressed as a knight,

but wearing his shield as a turtle shell.

Well, there you go! That pretty well sums up the last couple of weeks. Just hanging out and having a fun, relaxing summer. I'm looking forward to the rest of summer!

Do You See a Resemblance?

2011-05-25T14:45:00.002-04:00

So I mentioned that a couple of weeks ago I went out to California with my parents and sisters to see out extended family. While we were out there, my father got a box of mementos from his sister Jane. Their mother died years ago and Jane had finished going through the last of Grandma's things and had a box of things she thought Daddy might want. Included in the box was the picture below. Yes, take it in and enjoy all of that seventies awesomeness! This is my parents and siblings when I was the youngest. As soon as I saw it, I thought that I saw a resemblance to one of the quads. I have shown it to several people since and been met with mixed replies. So I am asking all of you-- Do you think I (the little baby in the middle) look like one of my kids?

The Kluthe Family circa 1978/79

back row: Cathy, Daddy, Mom and Sara

front row: Tom, Me and Joe

For comparison purposes, here are pictures of the quads around the same age.

Julia

Paige

Drew

Izzie

I have never thought that any of my children look very much like me, and I get so excited when people think that they see some resemblance. It is somehow just further confirmation that these kids are mine and came from me! I know that it sounds weird and vain, but I love the idea of one or two of my traits being passed on to the kiddos.

So let me know in the comments, do you think that any of the quads look like me? Which one? If you don't think that any do, that's okay. I can take it.

Visit to the Dentist

2011-05-24T13:32:00.004-04:00

Will was due for a dental appointment and I decided that it was time for the quads to begin seeing the dentist as well. I know that some people begin taking their kids much younger, but we first took Will at three and figured we would just stick with that. I was able to get all five in at the same time, so Rod went into work late so that he could go with us and the whole family headed out together.

The girls playing in the waiting room

Paige and Izzie

Julia and Paige

Drew reading books with Daddy

Will went first (he has been several times before, so he knows the drill) and he set such a good example or the little ones. Actually, he is so sweet! Yesterday I told him that we were all going to the dentist and he said that maybe we should call him "the Tooth Fairy" instead of the dentist to make sure the babies wouldn't be scared. Isn't he such a good big brother?

I had talked about this appointment with everyone and the quads were excited about seeing "the tooth doctor." Still, I wasn't sure what to expect. Everyone was wonderful!! No crying, no fussing, everyone sat nicely and let Dr. Haas examine and clean their teeth. At the end of the appointment, one of the hygienists came and thanked me for bringing them in. She said they made her day-- Well, she made mine!

Will getting examined

Drew getting settled in the big boy exam chair!

Getting his teeth checked like such a big boy!!

Izzie letting him have a look

Julia getting ready

Opening wide!

Paige helped the hygienist get everything ready

then sat back for her exam

Everyone got a good report! Nice, clean teeth. My favorite part? The dentist assured me that Drew's teeth which stick out from his finger sucking are not necessarily permanent. He said that the baby teeth move, but the adult teeth are not always affected. Hopefully we can get him to stop sucking that finger in the next couple of years before the adult teeth come in. We are so grateful for the wonderful staff at our dentist's office. I hope this always remains a simple exam we can check off with no drama!!

Fun Summer Weekend!

2011-05-23T15:33:00.002-04:00

Yes, I know that we are still, technically, a month away from summer, but it felt like summer this weekend. Here a just a few pictures from our fun weekend!

I found Paige giving Izzie a ride on the little kids' tea cart

It was hot enough Saturday afternoon to break out the kiddie pool!

Will went to a rollerskating birthday party!

He had fun and eventually even let go of the wall ;)

A fun weekend and we are looking forward to a summer full of fun!

Weekend in California

2011-05-17T14:50:00.001-04:00

I was born in Anaheim, CA. When I was very young, my family moved to Kentucky, but most of my extended family is still in California. This past weekend, my cousin, Craig, got married, so I went out with my parents and my sisters Cathy and Joanna (and Joanna brought her 6 mo old, Ellie.) That's right. Just me. No kids, not even Rod. It was a strange, but lovely break.

A brief bit about our actual flights. First of all, I have to say Ellie was amazing!! Seriously, she never cried on a plane and barely fussed. She was happy and pleasant or sleeping. An absolute angel!!

Also, on our way there and back, we had a layover at Dallas/Ft Worth. On our way out, Friday morning, as we were sitting at our gate for our connecting flight, we could see a crowd gathering. Then, we heard cheers. There was a second floor balcony over our gate and an entire flight of soldiers were returning. They walked to the end of the hallway and fell into rows. There had to have been 150 or more. Down on our level, the crowds were waving flags and cheering, some holding handmade signs. Then they began to play "God Bless America" over the speakers. It was an incredibly moving moment and I'm glad that we were there for it.

(Me, the Duke, Joanna)

We flew into Santa Ana.

The John Wayne International Airport

Our first evening there, we met up with my father's four siblings and two of my cousins for dinner.

(John, Jane, Daddy, Mary and Carol)

My father with all of his siblings

(Daddy, Mom, Cathy, Joanna and little Ellie in her stroller)

The next morning we got up early (our bodies were still 3hrs ahead) and headed to Newport Beach. It was cold and windy, but nice to get out and put our feet in the sand.

Even though it was early and freezing, the surfers were out

Little Ellie's first time on the beach!

She loved it!!

Joanna, Ellie and me in the ocean.

(Sorry about the faces, it was really cold and windy)

Then we stopped for lunch at MexiCasa. This is a little Mexican place where my parents spent a lot of time while they were dating and in the early years of their marriage. Delicious food! Trust me when I say that it is hard to find Mexican like this in Kentucky.

Ellie thought the menu looked good enough to eat!

My parents under the sign for "their" restaurant.

That afternoon was the wedding. It was lovely and so great to get to see so much family. We all had a good time and Ellie was wonderful again! I'm telling you, this girl was the best traveler ever!

Joanna with our cousin Anna

My cousin Nathan, Cathy and cousin Bob

Cousin Sue, Me, Cathy and Anna

Joanna with Ellie- she put her in the sling, went out to the dance floor, started dancing and Ellie promptly fell asleep. I'm telling you, best baby ever!!!

My Aunt Jane with her boyfriend Bruce and my parents.

All of the cousins!

We had a great weekend! It was lovely to see family that we don't get to see often enough, get to at least be at the beach and get to relax. It was so nice to not change a single diaper all weekend, eat while the food was still hot and linger in bed in the morning. At the same time, I missed my family and was very ready to come back.

T-Ball Time

2011-05-10T21:37:00.003-04:00

This weekend we had Will's first T-Ball game. He has been excited for this since we signed up for T-Ball two months ago. It actually went really well. Mommy of course took tons of pictures, so please humor me.

#8 in your programs, #1 in your hearts!

(the jersey numbers were given out at random, but his is perfect! His birthday is 8/8)

(love the pose!)

Will was ready to go!

The quads were ready to watch

Sitting in the dugout getting ready for the game to start

The cutest cheering squad ever!

Will in the field

Will's first at-bat

He got to first base!!

Then made it home to score a run!!

(of course, he insisted on sliding even though there was no reason...)

Then everybody slapped hands at the end.

Then the kids got to run around on a giant field of dirt!!!

The Kids Club

2011-05-09T21:34:00.003-04:00

I had planned to blog about something else tonight, but I had to write about this. Today, the weather was really nice, so we played outside all afternoon. I witnessed what is probably my favorite moment with my kids yet. Drew, Izzie and Julia were sitting at a round table under the deck. Will asked, "Hey! Can I join the club?" They scooted over and made room for him. Then he called Paige over and said, "Come sit down and join the Kids Club!"

To start the Kids Club, Will had all of the kids pile their hands in the middle of the table. Then Will said,

"I pledge allegiance to the flag

of the United States of America

and pray that we will be

brothers and sisters, forever. Amen"

Then he had them all throw their hands in the air and yell, "Brothers and Sisters!"

I ran up and grabbed my camera. I casually mentioned that maybe they should end Kids Club the same way. I wish I had thought to switch to video and record it, but at least I got a picture. I want to remember how sweet my kids are and how much they love being brothers and sisters.

Happy Mother's Day!

2011-05-08T20:08:00.001-04:00

The Luckiest Mommy in the World

(even though this is the best picture we could get. Seriously, we took like 11. This is the best...)

(Julia, Paige, Me, Drew, Will and Izzie)

Dinner With the Family

2011-05-05T22:37:00.003-04:00

This weekend, my nephew Max got his First Communion. After the mass, my family went out to dinner together to celebrate. We're a pretty big crew, so we needed two tables to fit everyone. Max was sitting at a different table and I didn't get a single picture of the guest of honor (or Will who wanted to sit with his cousins.) Sorry Max, but we love you and are so proud of you!

We had a nice evening. It is definitely getting a bit easier to take the crew out as they get a little older. I got some cute pictures of our family.

My Mom and her youngest grandchild, Little Nora (4 mos)

My sister Joanna and her youngest daughter, Ellie (6 mos.)

My sister Sara with Julia and Izzie

Julia with my brother Joe

Joe with Drew

Paige and Me

Our Little Escape Artist

2011-05-03T15:09:00.002-04:00

A couple of weeks ago, I posted about Drew getting out the back door and falling down the deck stairs. I couldn't figure out how he had gotten out since we had a cover on the door knob. Well, just yesterday, out little escape artist was at it again!

I was getting everyone dressed on the first floor. I was helping one of the girls put on her pants, when suddenly I felt a cold draft on my back. I turned and saw that the front door was open! (the doorknob cover was still on.) I went and found Drew dancing on the front porch. He was wearing nothing but a diaper, my heeled boots and a Santa hat. He was holding a plastic teapot and dancing around. (sometimes I wonder what our neighbors really think of us...)

Drew- Proud of his accomplishment

So this time he was safe, but it still scared me. With five kids running around, I can't always see all of the kids and I need to know that no one can get out of the house without me knowing. What if it had taken me a minute or two longer to realize that he got out? What if he headed toward the road? Too many scary possibilities.
Looks like we need to reinforce security at all exits here at The Rock.

Easter Egg Hunt

2011-05-01T21:30:00.003-04:00

Yes, I know that Easter was a week ago, but the weeks before Easter were so wet around here that most egg hunts were cancelled or postponed. Our church, St. Cecilia, postponed theirs until this weekend. At least it gave the quads a little more time to figure out the whole concept. Since Easter, we have had dozens of egg hunts at our house. We'll keep all the kids on the first floor, then Will or I will go down to the basement and hide empty plastic eggs. The quads come down and find them. We can spend an entire afternoon hiding and finding eggs.

Anyway, this Saturday we took the crew to the Easter Egg Hunt up at St. Cecilia. It was supposed to be beautiful, but ended up being a bit cool and windy. After weeks of storms, a bit of wind wasn't going to stop us. We had a great time and the kids got TONS of candy and little goodies.

Everybody at the big hunt

Drew, Daddy, Julia and Will lined up to start!

Izzie and Paige gathering eggs

Daddy helped Julia

Cousin Ana and a friend helped Drew

Izzie loves Easter Egg Hunts!!!!

While the 0-3 yr old hunt was going on,

Will waited patiently on the sidelines...

Then the 4-7 yr old hunt began and Will got his turn!

There were a lot of eggs

Paige and Julia enjoying the reward for their hunting-- suckers!!

Pretty Little Piggies

2011-04-27T22:31:00.005-04:00

Back in my past life-- you know, before kids-- I liked to pamper myself. Nothing too over the top, but I got my hair done regularly and often went one step further and got a pedicure for myself. Since having the kids, I rarely get my hair done and never get pedicures. On Easter, I wore open-toed heels. I quickly threw some polish on my toes to at least be presentable. My girls were fascinated by it. They kept saying. "Mommy's toes are red!" (they weren't red they were sort of a peachy/coral, but it was still cute!)

I realized that I had never painted their toes, so today I decided to correct that!

The girls showing off their toenails and Paige admiring hers.

(I took a bunch of pictures like this and Izzie was doing that in all of them- goofball!)

40 pretty little piggies

they love them!

Easter

2011-04-26T14:39:00.002-04:00

I already wrote about the Easter Bunny bringing the frogs, but I wanted to go ahead and briefly touch on the rest of the day. I was a very bad Mommy and took almost no pictures! I had my gorgeous family all dressed up in coordinating outfits and I didn't take a single family picture. I am still kicking myself so hard for that!

Saturday night Will lost another tooth, (This is his 3rd tooth and he is now missing both top teeth! He has a huge gap in his grin and I love and hate it. It is stinkin' adorable, but it makes him look like a big boy. How did my little man get to be a big boy losing his teeth?!?) so we had a couple big visitors come over night. (I was a little concerned about mythical characters running into each other in the house in the middle of the night, but it all went well.) Will woke up super early (about 5 a.m.) and came in to show us the money the tooth fairy left him. Luckily, we were able to talk him in to cuddling in bed with us for a couple more hours. Once we started hearing the babies stir, we all got up and went to see what the Easter Bunny brought.

Our silly Easter Bunny hides the kids baskets, so we spent a while running through the house finding every ones goodies. Once all the baskets had been found, we went to the kitchen table so the kids could sort through their treats.

They got magic wands, books, stickers, notepads, some candy... lots of stuff.

They seemed quite happy with their take.

After playing for a little bit (and eating more candy than they should consume in an entire week!), we had breakfast. Then everyone got baths and started getting ready. This was where things began falling apart. I somehow always think that I can get everyone ready in just a little time. This can not happen. I should know this by now, but in my head it all works. It just doesn't play out that way in reality. So, we were way behind schedule. We ended up missing Easter Mass completely. Yeah, the holiest day of the year and not a single member of our family went to church. Not our finest moment.

We rallied and managed to make it to my sister's house for Easter lunch. It was lovely. We had an Easter egg hunt. This was the first year the quads had some idea of what was going on. They still needed someone to walk around with them, but they found some eggs on their own and enjoyed collecting them. We also had a delicious meal and enjoyed some good time relaxing with our family.

Will was excited to play Mario Cart with his cousins

Izzie playing with a balloon with Aunt Sara

Julia had a blast!

We then went to my sister-in-law's for dinner. Again, it was great food and good times with family. The kids love getting to see everyone and had a great time. Just after dinner, we worried that we had to bail. After missing nap-time, the kids were just starting to melt down. After a couple of minutes, though, they rebounded and we ended up being able to stay and have a nice night.

We had a wonderful and blessed Easter!

That Easter Bunny is a Softie!

2011-04-25T20:42:00.002-04:00

Like I mentioned in an earlier post, Will wanted a frog for Easter, Really, really wanted a frog. I don't like frogs. I don't like them at all. But I love that my rough and tough little boy has such a tender spot for animals. What can I say? When that sweet little boy begs for an animal and tells me how much he loves it and wants to take care of it and make it part of our family, I melt.

Luckily, we were able to find a compromise. I found these little self-contained frog habitats. This plastic cube is a little froggy paradise. The frogs never come out and we never go in. We don't even take the lid off to feed the little guys (yes, they are both boys so we will not have any baby frogs.) There is a hole in the lid we drop four pellets through two times each week. Will gets to have frogs, but Mommy doesn't have to touch frogs. Everybody wins!

Will named his new little buddies Scooby and Shaggy.

Best Spring Break Ever!

2011-04-17T22:06:00.006-04:00

Since we decided not to go out of town for spring break, we instead enjoyed something of a "stay-cation." We had a great week and never drove more than about an hour. Unfortunately, Rod wasn't able to take the week off, so I was on my own with the crew most of the time. That is my excuse for taking almost no pictures. I already wrote about our weekend stay at the Great Wolf Lodge and here is a quick rundown of the rest of our spring break:

We went to Dan and Evan's (the kids' twin cousins) 15th birthday party!

We drove down to Lexington to spend a day with aunts and cousins.

We spent an afternoon at the Cincinnati Zoo with 2 other sets of quadruplets (and one little sister.) Three Moms and fourteen kids! We tried to get a group shot of the kids, but...

take one...

take two...

We spent a day at Totter Otterville, a local play area.

We took Will to see Shrek the musical! He loved it! I mean, there are fart jokes- perfect for a 5 yr old boy!

We had planned to go to an Easter egg hunt, but it got rained out (or so we thought.) Just after we had put the quads down for their nap, my sister-in-law called and said they had not cancelled it, they just changed it. There was no hunting for eggs. The kids could go and get their pictures taken, then they were given a bag of candy. We didn't want to wake the little ones, so I just took Will. He had a good time. He asked the Easter Bunny for a frog. Ugh...

He was a bit afraid of the Easter Bunny, but wanted to ask for that frog so badly,

he went ahead and braved it!

We went to our friend Eva's 3rd birthday party!

Rod took Will bowling for the first time. Will loved it!

It was a great week, but very busy and Mommy is tired! I'm ready to slow back down a little bit, but very happy that everyone enjoyed spring break.

Drewser the Bruiser

2011-04-15T15:59:00.003-04:00

We have had a fabulous time together this week on spring break! We have taken some trips and really enjoyed being together. I'll post more details about our fun later. Unfortunately, we also had a big scare last night. Yesterday, Rod came home from work early. Will had already planned out the baseball field he and Daddy were going to make in the back yard. He had made the bases out of a cardboard box. Rod and Will went out back to get everything set up and I was getting the quads ready to go out so we could all go play baseball together. I had my head in the hall closet getting the kids sandals. I looked around to check on the kids and saw all three girls playing. Then I saw Drew had somehow gotten out the back door (we have a door knob cover on the door) and was standing on the back deck. I turned and closed the closet door. In that second, I heard Rod yell, "Oh crap!" I looked up and I could no longer see Drew on the deck, but I saw Rod running across the back yard. I ran out and found Drew lying on the concrete landing at the bottom of the deck steps, still and silent. Fortunately, by the time I reached him, he had started crying. I was still scared, but the silence was terrifying. Rod got to him before I did and picked him up. He was screaming and crying, but not actually bleeding that much. We brought him in and checked him out. He had several bumps and bruises around his left eye, but really that was it. I gave him some Motrin and put ice on his boo-boos. Once he had calmed down enough to talk he said, "I want to play baseball!" Well, we figured if his biggest worry was playing on our cool new baseball field, he must be okay. We kept an eye on him for the rest of the night, but he never acted out of character and finally I was able to breathe normally again. Thank God my little man managed to avoid serious injury!

the bumps and bruises around his left eye.

they looked even worse this morning.

Ever since we brought the quads home, Drew's nick-name has been "Drewser the Bruiser." We called him that since he has always been significantly bigger than his sisters. Well, he certainly has earned his title! I still feel so bad that this happened. I have no idea how he got out on to the deck or what made him fall. I'm incredibly grateful that his Guardian Angel was able to pick up where Mommy left off!

Will's Weekend

2011-04-10T23:20:00.002-04:00

This weekend was the beginning of Will's spring break from school. We had been considering taking a trip during spring break, but decided against it. We still wanted to make sure that it was a fun break from the daily routine of school for our big boy. We started out big! Saturday, we took Will and his best friend Zach up to stay at Great Wolf Lodge. If you do not have a Great Wolf Lodge near you, it is a hotel with an indoor water park. My wonderful sister Sara stayed at our house for the weekend and kept the quads so that we could focus on the big boys and play!

in the car on the way up

they were so excited!

(and yes, Will lost another tooth- love that gap-toothed grin!)

they loved our suite!

they (sort of) had their own room with bunk beds and their own tv!!

(they seriously would have been happy just to spend the weekend in the room)

We did manage to pull the boys out of the room with the lure of the water park. We had so much fun. It was great to watch them run around and be so excited. Everything there is very family oriented, so it was easy to let them take the lead and have a blast. One thing that was funny to watch, was Will's odd sense of fear. The water park has a multi-level splash tower. There are tons of geysers spraying up from the floor, water cannons, and waterfalls. They were having a great time squirting each other and us (and anyone else walking by...), but suddenly Will was too scared to go up to the next level. This is a completely sturdy structure with rails on both sides, I have no idea why this would be scary. The next place we went was the wave pool. Will immediately swims up to the deep end. He could not touch bottom and is only on 'okay' swimmer. He goes from complete scaredy-cat one minute to fearless wild-man the next. One funny moment in the wave pool. Will had gotten a wave in the face and came up sputtering. I asked him, "Are you okay?" He answers, "Yeah, I'm still alive." Wow, guess it takes a lot for him to not be 'okay'!

Rod and the boys getting ready to leave the water park

The boys and me

We went back to the room for dinner and the boys loved sitting in their bunk bed together!

At night, the hotel has "story time" in the lobby. They encourage the kids to come wearing their pajamas and slippers.

Will and Zach are ready to go!

it was packed, but we found a spot on the floor

the people and creatures came to life and sang a song

(frankly, it was more than a little creepy if you ask me...)

Then a lady read a story with Violet, one of the wolf mascots

After the bedtime story, there was a showing of How to Train Your Dragon. It was a very cute movie-- all four of us enjoyed it! The boys were exhausted from a busy, exciting day, but they were interested enough in the movie, they managed to stay awake.

the next morning, we woke up and did it all again!!

Such a great weekend and just the beginning to a fun spring break!

Cousins!

2011-04-06T00:20:00.004-04:00

This week my oldest sister's boys are on spring break from school. They live about an hour south of us. Not far, but far enough to keep us from spending as much time with them as we would like. Yesterday they came up for the day and we got nearly all of the cousins (on my side of the family) together to play. My sister Karen and her two kids weren't able to make it and were missed, but we had eleven of the thirteen grandchildren there. We had a great time!

Everyone gathering for lunch

Will and Alex ate at the craft table

All of my kids love little baby Ellie (she is 5 mos old now), but Julia simply adores her!

At one point Eleanor was playing in her Exersaucer and Julia pulled a little chair up to sit near her and play with her.

My favorite picture of the day!

We turned on The Princess and the Frog for the kids and Drew cuddled up with his oldest cousin (Gus, 10) to watch.

How adorable are they?

I love how much my kids enjoy playing with their cousins! They are very lucky to have so many cousins near their age and I hope they remain close as they grow up.

Rainy Day

2011-04-04T20:50:00.002-04:00

The last couple of days have been rainy and yucky. All of this rain is no fun...

Well, unless you're a five year old!

Splash!

Will talked me into letting him puddle-jump after school today

He had a blast

and got to burn off some energy

He got so soaked, that we had to dump muddy water out of his boots!

Fair is Fair... Or Is It?

2011-04-02T21:24:00.004-04:00

I grew up in the middle of a large family. I am the fifth of eight children. As a child, I remember being obsessed with everything being "fair." I had to have the same number of cookies as my siblings. It was the end of the world if I felt like I was doing more chores than someone else. I was always watching to make sure that things were even and fair. My mother did a good job and went out of her way to make sure that we all were treated well and had everything we needed, but I still remember her reply when I thought I saw injustice and cried, "Not fair!" Mom would simply reply, "Life is not fair."

Now, I find myself in the opposite role. I am the mother of a (somewhat) large family. My struggles with being fair began as early as the NICU. I worked out a rotation for holding babies during my time there. Paige, however, struggled some at birth and I was not able to hold her for a few days. Once I could hold her, should she get extra cuddles to make up for lost time? How could I be most fair?

In the 2 1/2 yrs since the NICU, my worries about being fair have surfaced in dozens of other areas. When I am out with the kids by myself, Paige really craves freedom from the stroller. Not only does she want to walk, she can be trusted to stay close to me and keep her hands to herself. Well, some of her co-quads simply can not be permitted to walk on their own yet. They wander off or touch things they shouldn't. Is it fair for me to allow Paige to walk, while others are forced to stay in the stroller? Is it fair to force Paige to stay in the stroller even though she can behave so well?

This is an issue even just in "Mommy time." Some of the kids really want to be with me nearly all of the time, while others are more independent and are completely happy by themselves. I feel guilty sometimes about how much time a couple kids spend in my lap or arms, but if all of the kids are happy, is this really unfair?

I even already worry about the future. What if one does well in school with little effort, while another struggles to maintain a 'C' average. Am I going to set the same standards for these kids?Is it fair to reward one child for an 'A' and another for a 'C'?

I have worried about this for years now, and I have finally reached a decision. I don't discuss politics here, but the is not my position on world politics, only my parenting in my family. In parenting, I am a socialist.

"From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs."-- Karl Marx

From here in, my focus is going to be more on my children as individuals. This doesn't mean that I'm going to stop trying to be fair. They will likely always receive similar size gifts etc. I mean that I will try to fill each child's individual needs, while encouraging each child's individual abilities. This may mean that one child seems to be getting more assistance at one point or another may receive more praise at. I cannot guarantee things will be equal. The only thing I can promise will always be equal will be my love and commitment to each child. I love each of these kids with all of my heart. I am completely committed to filling each child's needs and assisting and encouraging each child's growth. I can hear my childish self crying, "That's not fair!" Yeah well, "Life is not fair."

My First Baby is Getting So Big!!

2011-03-26T00:11:00.003-04:00

This weekend is my multiples club's sale. All week I have been sorting and tagging clothes like crazy trying to get ready. This evening, I went to start setting up. My sister Sara was home with the kids (Rod had plans as well.) Late in the evening, my cell chimed that I had a text message. I opened it up to find this picture waiting for me.

Will lost his first tooth!!

I know it is hard to see in the picture, but one of his bottom middle teeth came out. Earlier this week he had shown me that it was loose, but I still can hardly believe that it is out.

So, since I have been home, the tooth fairy wrote a letter thanking him for letting her take his tooth and encouraging him to continue taking such good care of his teeth-- she only wants healthy white teeth. He also, of course got some money.

Unfortunately, I have to leave bright and early tomorrow to get to my sale. I wish I could be here when he wakes up. Oh well, I'm sure this is the first on many, many teeth to come.

The Bedtime Routine

2011-03-23T14:40:00.007-04:00

I have always been grateful to have kids that are good sleepers. Right now the quads go to bed at 8:00 p.m. and typically sleep straight through until 8:00 a.m. Not too bad! I get a few hours awake with my husband, then a good night's sleep before facing each day. I love to sleep. Love it. So, I am paranoid about my kids losing their good sleep habits. Because of this, I will do anything if I think it may help them sleep. At this point, the bedtime routine (at least for the girls) has become a bit absurd, but I want to document it.

Each of them has a few toys they keep in their crib which must be put in a special place. They each have several blankets which must be tucked in a certain order or laid in a particular place (I sometimes wonder how they don't melt at night!) Here is a break down of the drill which I must complete before my little princesses will go to sleep.

Izzie: Izzie has the biggest assortment of toys in her crib. Probably the oddest is an old wallet of mine. I got a new wallet a couple of months ago and gave my old one to the kids to use for play. Izzie took it and decided it should be in her bed with her. (Don't ask me. I have no idea.) Last time I washed their bedding, I took it out and didn't put it back. Sure enough, that night we're getting ready for bed and Izzie stands up in her bed and yells, "Where's my wallet?!?" (Yes, she got it back.) She also has a bunch of stuffed animals which must be arranged just so. She must be tucked into her purple fleece blanket "snug as a bug in a rug." Then she has a white blanket and a blue blanket laid on top of her. The final layer is a Snoopy quilt, but she doesn't know who Snoopy is, so she calls it her "doggy blanket." The animal print quilt which matches their bedding must be hung over the top of her crib.

Julia: Jules is the only one with a true "lovey." When I was pregnant and on bedrest, Rod's Aunt Connie taught me how to knit. I made a small (about 18in. x 18in.) yellow blanket with a green and blue border. Will carried it around for a while, but once the babies came home, he gave it to Julia (what a sweet big brother!). She has not slept without it since. So once she is lying down with her blankie, she has a pink fleece blanket I use to tuck her in "snug as a bug in a rug." Then she has a blanket her Godmother Taylor gave her with her name embroidered on it. This is the next layer, with her animal print quilt going on top. She also has a Lightning McQueen blanket of Will's she wants hung over the foot of her crib.

(you can see her little yellow blankie under her cheek)

Drew: Drew is my dude. He doesn't require all the details that the girls demand. He wants his pillow, a few blankies (but he doesn't like to be tucked in,) and his stuffed Elmo and Tiny. Then he conks out and typically sleeps on top of everything.

(Unfortunately, he is a finger sucker. Always sleeps with his first finger in his mouth.

Yeah, those orthodontist bills should be a lot of fun!!)

Paige: Our little Paige has her own unique list of bedtime demands. She also has a group of stuffed animals (and a yellow rubber duckie,) which must be positioned by her pillow. Then, I use her yellow duckie fleece blanket to tuck her in "snug as a bug in a rug." Next, I cover her with her Mickey Mouse quilt and a yellow afghan. She needs her music blanket hung over the side of her crib and her animal quilt hung over the top. Her funniest request, though, is when I kiss her goodnight, I have to kiss her forehead, then each of her ears. For a while, this request made me paranoid that her ears were infected, but nope-- she's just a funny little girl!

Yes, some nights it seems like I am jumping through dozens of hoops, but if it means that Mommy gets a full night's sleep, I'll keep jumping through them! You notice after all of the positioning and tucking, they end up completely untucked and sprawled across the bed. Sometimes I think they're just messing with me- seeing how far I will go for my desire for sleep.

A Potty Training Setback

2011-03-17T15:22:00.005-04:00

I wasn't sure if I was going to post about potty training at all. I started this blog as a baby book and potty training is certainly a big step for toddlers. It has also been used as a place for me to get down my thoughts and feelings (if I ever need therapy-- potty training might send me there.) While both of those make me think I should, I do realize that this is being put out to the world and one day my children may look back and read this. I have no memories at all of being potty trained. I clearly was (not bragging, just saying...), but aside from one or two cute pictures of me on the potty (and yes, I did have to take a few of the crew), no memories. And I'm okay with that. I don't really need to know the details of me earning my big girl panties. Just when I decided against blogging about it, I realized how interested I get when another quad-mama blogger writes about potty training. Knowing that this was coming up for us, I would wait and make sure I read the post when I could really devote my full attention to it. I wanted to hear what they tried, what worked, how long it took, how they knew the kids were ready, how they knew they were ready... I couldn't get enough! I finally decided that I was going to write about this, but probably be a little vague about things.

I have been dreading the whole idea of potty training. I thought the kids were kind of ready, but I knew that I was not ready, so I just kept putting it off. Last week they officially turned 2 1/2 on Tuesday. That same day, one of the girls announced that she didn't want to wear a diaper-- she wanted panties! I kind of tried to ignore the panties and put her in a diaper, but she insisted. She actually started crying! I figured that I needed to "Mom up" and take the plunge. I put her in panties. Once she was wearing panties, the others wanted them as well. Heaven help me. I had four toddlers wearing big-kid bottoms. Yikes!

I'll spare you the details of an insane first morning. I had the kids' potties in the hall outside the bathroom. Well, I was running myself ragged trying to sit kids on potties while trying to keep an eye out for accidents or other mischief from the others in the family room. By evening, I had worked out a system.

The potties came into the family room. I sat the crew on them at the same time (putting them in the family room also allowed us to watch Elmo's Potty Time while sitting on the potty.) Still not easy, but I had a system.

We had some highlights. Almost everyone had at least one success on the potty. My favorite moment as a mother-- I was giving M&Ms as rewards. On our second afternoon, the crew asked if they could have baby carrots as a reward instead. Um... okay!

We also had some disappointments. One girl simply does not have the patience to sit on the potty for more than a minute. What's worse, is having an accident didn't really bother her Even if each kid only has a couple of accidents each day, times four that is a lot.

Before actually starting to train the crew, I had been hopeful that once one quad had it down, he/she would kind of teach the others. If only. Instead, my child who was least ready, brought everyone down with her. A day or two into the process, she decided she didn't want to wear panties, she wanted a diaper. Since she clearly wasn't ready, I agreed and put her in a diaper. Well, by yesterday, all four kids were back in diapers. No one is willing to wear panties no matter how nicely Mommy asks or what she gives as reward.

I'm trying not to make too big of a deal over this. It is just a setback. I'm considering the last ten days to be my trial run. It was the crew's way of telling me that this is coming. I better get used to the idea and figure out a way to make this work. Now Mommy is ready. As soon as anyone (or the whole crew) feels like they are ready, I'm going to start getting these kids out of diapers. As much as I'm dreading the process, I dream of the end result. No more diapers!!! I can hardly imagine such a thing, but it sure sounds lovely!

A Swinging Good Time

2011-03-12T23:40:00.004-05:00

This winter has been long. Way too long. That made today even more exciting! It was warm (well warmer) enough to take the crew to the park! It was nice to get out for a little while and let the kids run around. It was really windy, but we were willing to put up with the wind to actually get to spend time outdoors again!

Julia and Paige on the swings

It is incredible to see how much the kids have changed since the end of last summer! My crew has always loved the swings! Our problem is that most parks don't have enough for all of the kids. We used to be able to put 2 quads in 1 toddler swing. We would sit them back to back and put their legs through the opposite holes. No way was that working anymore! I tried with Julia and Paige (the two smallest) and nearly squished them to death! The good news is, they are big enough now that they can sit and hold on on the big kid swings. Paige (always our daredevil) couldn't go high enough. I was a bit nervous with her on the big swing, so I didn't want them to go too high. She kept yelling, "Higher! Higher!" When it comes to physical things, that one is fearless! Now put her in a room with a stranger and it's a different story...

Anyway, everyone had a good time and burnt off some energy. We are keeping our fingers crossed that this is only the beginning and we will see more spring-like days ahead!

I Wanna Hold Your Hand

2011-03-08T15:07:00.002-05:00

As the crew gets older and bigger, it is crazy how much is changing around here. One big difference is when we take everyone out somewhere, we no longer discuss which stroller to take. We instead decide if we are going to use a stroller. We have taken a few outings completely stroller free. This is a whole new world for us! Overall, the quads do a great job of staying with us and holding hands (Izzie is having the hardest time, but she is getting better.) Will is a big helper and will often hold hands with one (or even two) of the little ones. So far we are loving this! The quads behave better with a little bit of freedom. They are able to get out and see everything better and interact more with their surroundings (this is good and bad...) One perk to this that we hadn't considered is we are a bit less of a spectacle. We blend in much more and get far fewer comments and questions.
The family walking around the museum center last weekend

Rod is holding hands with Izzie and Paige

Will is holding hands with Julia

I was bringing up the rear with Drew

One downside to this is we do not get anywhere quickly. We only go stroller-free at places where we are going to be doing a lot of wandering. Getting everyone to move their little bitty legs in the same direction is not a particularly fast process, but we are working on it. Lots of small steps for my two year olds, but a really big leap toward growing up!

Will's Army

2011-03-07T14:22:00.003-05:00

I am incredibly fortunate that my big boy is able to entertain himself for good stretches of time. One of his favorite things to do is to build and play with his Legos and Playmobil figures. He has a bunch of characters and things to make his medieval castle. This morning he was up in his bedroom setting up his castle and an army to protect it. He was very proud of his work and brought me upstairs to see it. He did a great job! It was awesome, but my favorite part was the army he assembled.

His castle and its guards

(can you see Shrek in front?)

Spiderman backed up some soldiers

MegaMind, the tiger from Kung Fu Panda and a couple of Robin Hoods stand guard

The blue Power Ranger

This area was heavily guarded by a shark (on land?),

a dinosaur and a couple Star Wars guys

My favorite was Shaggy from Scooby Doo.

Wasn't he supposed to be a scaredy-cat?

And he's armed with a giant hamburger!

I absolutely love my little guy and his wild imagination!

Julia's Gems

2011-03-06T21:30:00.000-05:00

Little Miss Julia has spoken very well for quite a while now. She speaks clearly, has an excellent vocabulary and definitely speaks her mind. This week she has come up with some really good ones (including her fairy tails comment earlier.)

-- One day I was wearing a t-shirt with a heart on it. She said, "You have a heart on your shirt. It is because Daddy loves you!" I thought it was adorable and told her she was right. When Rod go home that night, I asked her, "What is on Mommy's shirt?" wanting him to hear what she had said earlier. She looked at my shirt and said, "Um, applesauce?" Okay, she was right, I had spilled some applesauce on my shirt. Still, it didn't need to be pointed out! Not the cute moment I was hoping for.

-- While playing the other day there was a minor collision (nothing major, just Julia and Paige bumping into each other. Happens all the time around here.) Julia burst into tears and yelled, "Paigey bopped me onto my booty!" Not sure how she learned that word, but it cracked me up.

-- The other evening when Rod came home from work everyone yelled, "Daddy!" like they usually do, but sweet Julia says, "Daddy, you look so handsome!" He did look handsome (of course) but I'm not sure what drew the comment. He was wearing the new shirt we bought him for his birthday. Maybe that was it? Anyway, it certainly put a smile on Rod's face!

-- This afternoon we went to my nephew's second birthday party. Before bed tonight, I asked the crew if they had fun at Malcolm's party. Julia replied, "Yeah! I like partying!!" Uh oh! Better keep an eye on that one in her teen years!

I love this age and listening to their language explode. It is so much fun to hear their view on this funny world. I certainly never know what these guys will say next.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

2011-03-04T22:24:00.004-05:00

Yesterday was Rod's birthday. The big 3-5! It was pretty low-key (funny how unimportant your birthday is after you have kids), but we still had to celebrate a bit. The kids used finger paint to make cards for him.

Julia working on hers

Izzie was being very particular about how she painted hers

Will is an old pro at finger paint

Drew loved it! He went through a ton of paint.

Paige showing her red finger

Izzie

Julia
(ever notice how nearly all kids' finger painting turns into a grayish-brownish blob?)

Then that evening we gave him his cards, a few small gifts,

sang Happy Birthday and (most importantly) had cake!

Will actually ate an entire piece!

(very unusual-- he doesn't usually eat sweets)

Izzie

Julia

Drew

(he was so excited to eat cake he was actually in tears by the time we finished singing)

Paige

Unfortunately, Mommy was lazy and did not put the finger paints back in the closet (I thought I had put them high enough the quads couldn't get to them. I should know better, they can get almost anywhere.) This morning I was playing with Izzie and Julia in the family while Drew and Paige were playing in the dining room-- or so I thought.

They got the finger paints and partied in the living room!!

Spread them around...

Made sure to even get the dog!!!

Not a fun clean-up, but thank God we buy Crayola washable. Almost everything is clean tonight (including the poor dog!) I'm still working on a couple spots, but the chair and carpet are fine.

When will I learn?

Fairy Tails

2011-03-01T21:43:00.002-05:00

This morning we were watching Sesame Street while I got the kids dressed. The girls were going through their hair things and picking out what they wanted me to put in their hair. Julia brought me two ponytail holders. I asked her if she wanted pigtails. She said, "No. I want fairy tails. Like Abby."

Abby Cadabby is one of the kids' favorite Sesame Street characters.

Julia wearing her 'Fairy Tails.'

Seriously, could these kids be any cuter?

Our Top 10 Reading List

2011-02-28T16:59:00.003-05:00

Multiples & More's question of the week is

What are Your Favorite Books to Read With Your Children?

I love to read and all of my children love to be read to. We have tons of books and everyday read some. I had a hard time trying to pick my favorites, so don't consider this a thorough or exact list. These are the first ten books that came to mind which we read often or that I treasure.

10. Love You Forever by Robert Munsch and Sheila McGraw

Yes, this is a classic baby shower gift, but there is a reason for that. It is very sweet. It gets a little nutty (climbing through you grown child's window?), but it is about a mother's love never ending. As the mother in this book says, "I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always. As long as I'm living, my baby you'll be."

9. I Love you Through and Through by Bernadette Rossetti-Shustak

Sweet book about how we love every part of our little ones. My kids love the illustrations and laugh at them.

8. How do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague

Love this series of books!! If you have a dinosaur lover (like my big boy Will) you need to check these out. They ask how dinosaurs do everyday things, such as say goodnight. They ask if the dinosaurs are wild or loud or rough. Surprisingly, the dinosaurs are very well mannered. These books are funny and cute and encourage good behavior.

7. How do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food? by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague

Our other favorite in the series.

6. Pajama Time! by Sandra Boynton

We love Sandra Boynton!! Her books all have wonderful rhythm, making them so much fun to read out loud. They also have adorable illustrations of her silly animals. I had to go ahead and list a bunch of hers (they are probably the most read books around here) and I could recite any of them to you anytime. They've been read that many times.

5. Moo, Baa, LaLaLa! by Sandra Boynton

4. Barnyard Dance! by Sandra Boynton

3. The Belly Button Book by Sandra Boynton

This was the first book that Will loved. We read it over and over and over. It will always hold a special place for me.

2. You Are Special by Max Lucado

Absolutely LOVE this book!! Will was first given this book by his Aunt Cathy and I have given to many others since then. Wonderful Christian fable about not judging others and, even more so, not letting others' judgements of you affect how you see yourself. A must read!

1. I Love You the World by Allia Zobel-Nolan

This is my favorite children's book. Will calls it, "The book that makes Mommy cry." It is a sweet book exploring how much mommies love their "bunnies." If you haven't read it, it is certainly worth checking out.

I love reading with my kids and they love to be read to, so I'm really excited to look at everyone else's favorites! Hopefully I'll find some new books to add to the mix!

Three Years Ago Today...

2011-02-26T20:48:00.004-05:00

February 26, 2008. A date which changed the world. Well, our world anyway. By this date, we had already had a positive home pregnancy test. I had blood drawn which confirmed that I was indeed pregnant-- my level was really high, but the nurse that called said that didn't necessarily mean multiples (yeah, whatever...) This was the day of my ultrasound to get our first look at that little baby. Since this was my second pregnancy, I was pretty certain I was indeed pregnant. I had all the same symptoms I had with Will and, in fact, they were stronger this time.

We got to the RE a little early. I am never early for anything! That tells you how eager I was for this ultrasound. When the doctor came to see us, he could see that I was nervous. I told him I would feel much better once I got to see a heartbeat. He reminded me that at 6 wks, we wouldn't necessarily see a heartbeat. This sort of small talk continued while he started the ultrasound. Then the room fell silent. I could feel the change in the room. I asked what he saw. He said, "There is definitely more than one."
I asked how many and it was Rod who answered, "Four."
The doctor said, "Yes, there are four." He snapped off the monitor and said, "Get dressed and we'll talk in my office."

The rest of the appointment was an ugly blur of talk of reduction, tears and, by the end, yelling and storming out. Rod had to go to straight to work, so we had driven separately. I was still a wreck and couldn't drive, so Rod and I sat in the lobby of the building for a long time (I honestly have no clue if it was 15 minutes or an hour.) I sat and cried, while he held my hand and told me everything was going to be alright.

Finally, we left. I had to go pick Will up at my sister Joanna's. On the way I called my sister Cathy. I told her there were four. She laughed excitedly and I quickly cut in and said, "Nope, it's not good news. The doctor wants us to reduce. We won't. He told us most if not all will die before they are born, then any that are born will be severely handicapped!" I talked to her and cried the whole way to Joanna's. God drove my car that day, because it is a miracle I wasn't in an accident (this would be the first miracle of many for us.) When I got to Joanna's I told her and we looked online for information about quadruplets. It helped some, but my head was still spinning when I left.

These are our babies at 8 weeks.

The doctor didn't give us pictures from the six week ultrasound.

Since he was still hoping we would reduce,

he didn't want us to get too attached.

Baby A&B

Baby C&D

They couldn't get all four in one picture,

so he had to take two separate pictures.

Just the first time we witnessed how hard

it is to get a decent picture of all four ;o)

I want to write this all down while I still remember how I felt that day. In a matter of minutes, I went from excited and hopeful to devastated and hopeless. When I look back at that day, the hopelessness is what breaks my heart. I want other women to know that things can be fine-- even great! I have four smart, funny, beautiful 2 1/2 yr olds. They are all healthy. Completely healthy, although the last three years have taught me that even if they weren't, we would have dealt with it (yeah, I know-- easy for me to say.) I'm not saying it would be easy, I just mean that I've learned that you take what you get and make the best of it. Like I say when people ask me how I do it, "You just do it." I never planned for quadruplets and certainly never thought that this would happen to me, but it did. And I couldn't be more grateful.

I LOVE/HATE

2011-02-25T21:30:00.004-05:00

The other evening, I was so excited to see that Andrea at The Mays Twins had given me The Stylish Blogger Award! I love Andrea's blog. She has boy/girl twins that just turned three years old, Luke and Molly. They are absolutely adorable (and I love their names!) She works full-time outside of the home and still manages to keep it all together. Very impressive! You should go check out her blog.
Thank you so much Andrea!!

So, yes. initially I was excited. That is, until I realized that I was supposed to list seven things about myself. The problem here is, I'm not particularly interesting. I was so unsure of what to list, that I put it off for days! Finally, I decided that I would make a list of things I love or hate. Simple, but still gets the idea across, right? Well, I hope so. Here goes...

1. I LOVE the sitcom Friends. I know all of the story lines and can quote way too much. I love singing Phoebe's terrible songs. It has been off the air for years and I still reference it nearly daily. It is still probably my favorite television show.

2. I HATE laundry. I'm not a great housekeeper, but try to keep the house decent. In order to achieve this, I must close the door to the laundry room. It is horrible!! I have dirty clothes waiting to be washed. I have clean clothes waiting to be put away... I fear I will never be caught up.

3. I LOVE white wine. Yeah, maybe that isn't okay to say, but it is true. I never have more than one glass, but I love, love, love that glass!

4. I HATE driving in bad weather. We have had a rough winter around here which means I don't go anywhere. I am a nervous driver no matter what, but if there is ice on the roads, no way! We'll just stay home, thankyouverymuch!

5. I LOVE reading. After the quaddies arrival, I took a break from reading. Just didn't have time and I was so tired I would fall asleep after one paragraph when I tried. Things are somewhat under control at this point (I said somewhat...), so I have picked up my books again. Yay! I am still reading the old fashioned way-- from books. I swear I change my mind at least once a day about purchasing a Kindle or some other e-reader. (If any of you have a strong opinion about them, leave a comment and let me know what you think.)

6. I HATE night terrors. Seriously, Will had them as a toddler and they have resurfaced. Even though I know what they are now, they still scare me. Not to mention waking me and the rest of the house in the middle of the night. Not much fun.

7. I LOVE getting the kids out of bed in the morning. Well, truthfully, this is a LOVE/HATE. I am not a morning person and I usually hate to get out of bed, but the quads are always so happy to see me. I walk in the room to clapping and cheers! Shouldn't we all start every day that way?

I know that technically I am supposed to pass this on to other bloggers, but I am wussing out. I love a bunch of blogs and can't pick who should get it, so... I'm cheating and just avoiding that whole part.

Boy's Best Friend

2011-02-21T15:14:00.004-05:00

Last evening, Rod was playing with the quads downstairs while I was making dinner. Will came in and asked me to play Sorry! with him. I told him I wasn't able to right now, but promised to play with him after dinner. I feel terrible telling him I don't have time to play, but sometimes it is just a fact of life. While fixing dinner in the kitchen, I looked over into the family room and saw that Will had found a solution on his own.

He was playing Sorry! with Stella.

Will was green and Stella was yellow.

Yes, she looked this excited the whole time...

In case you are wondering, Will said that he won. Stella took the loss pretty well, though. My little guy is so funny and I love how much he loves our dog. She is the sweetest dog ever and puts up with his antics. They are best friends!

That's EnterTRAINment!

2011-02-20T12:04:00.006-05:00

Yesterday we took the crew to EnterTRAINment Junction for the first time. EnterTRAINment Junction is a train themed play place. We took all five kids, my niece Ana and my in-laws. Everyone had a really good time!

Jim(FIL) and Julia looking at a train crossing a bridge overhead

Judy (MIL) helping Paige check out the display

Will and Ana checking out the trains.

The kids liked the train displays, but the quads are still a bit young for that to hold their interest for long. They need things a bit more interactive. Luckily they have a nice play area.

Izzie climbing up to the slide

Paige ready to come down the slide

They also had smaller displays where the kids could work some features by pressing buttons.

Drew loved this!!

Julia checking it out

There were some craft projects for the kids as well.

Drew coloring

A small train they could ride

Julia, Paige and Izzie

Will, Drew, Izzie and Ana

We had a lot of fun, but probably won't be back for a while. In a few years, I think my crew will like it even more!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T15:29:00.003-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day!!!!!

(Izzie, Paige, Will, Julia and Drew)

Hope everyone is having a good of a day as we are!

We started our day off with yummy heart-shaped cinnamon rolls for breakfast.

Everyone loved them--

Especially the frosting!!

Also-- Grandma just stopped by with some really good looking cupcakes.
Valentine's Day is the prefect day for sugar-overload, right?

My Valentine

2011-02-13T20:51:00.003-05:00

So the question of the week over at Multiples and More is- How did you meet your Valentine? This story goes way back and varies a bit depending on which of us is telling it. Well, it's my blog, so you'll get my version. His is a gross exaggeration anyway...

Anyway, when I was 13 years old and in the eighth grade, I met a handsome young man named Rod. He was a freshman in high school and super dreamy ;o) I had a crush on him right away. My older brother, Tom, was in his home room, so I had him pass notes to Rod (in hindsight- what a nice big brother! I'm sure he wanted no part of his little sister's crush, but he always delivered the notes for me.) Rod replied with friendly notes, but being a big man in high school, he wasn't going to go out with a little girl in middle school, so eventually my crush faded away. We both moved on and dated other people. I dated a couple of his friends over our years in high school and he actually dated a good friend of mine for two years!

So, years passed and we were friends, but nothing more. Then in December of 1996, we were both home from different colleges for winter break. I went to the movies with my friend Alyssa and he was there with his friend Jon. We ran into each other and ended up sitting together, then going out for a bite to eat afterward. Our first official date was January 2, 1997. We knew right away that this was it, but since we were still young and in school we dated nearly four years before we got married. And the rest, as they say, is history-- those kids had no idea what lay ahead.

For those of you wondering about Rod's version, he likes to tell people that I never really got over my eighth grade crush and stalked him for six years until he finally gave in. The truth is, I did not pine for him for all of those years, but I did get my man!

A Matter of Perspective

2011-02-10T21:16:00.002-05:00

When Will was around two years old, he saw his first movie at home and fell in love with it. It was Dumbo. He loved this movie and would watch it as often as we would allow. I had seen the movie as a child, but it was a whole new experience for me to watch it as a mother-- specifically a mother who had struggled with infertility. The opening scene can move me to tears if I am feeling sensitive. The storks are delivering babies to all the circus animals. Mrs. Jumbo (Dumbo's mom) watches each little bundle drop hopeful that this little baby is for her only to be disappointed to see the baby go to someone else. She watches all the other animals get babies to cuddle while her arms remain empty. Finally, her stork (who had gotten lost) finds her and delivers little Jumbo Jr. (Dumbo.) Yeah, some of our storks are really bad with directions...

Then we watch Mrs. Jumbo fall in love with her sweet baby. She is fiercely protective when others are cruel to her son. This leads to the scene that makes me cry regardless of my mood. When Dumbo goes to visit his mom in "elephant jail" and she rocks him in her trunk and they play "Baby Mine"? Waterworks every time! Then at the end, when Dumbo is the star of the circus, he makes sure his mom has her own fancy train car. I would make sure to take the opportunity to remind Will that when he makes it big, he needs to remember to take care of Mommy ;o)

Anyway, the point of this long story is that we decided to show the quads Dumbo a couple of nights ago. When Rod mentioned it, I told the babies that we were going to see a movie about a Mommy that prayed for a baby and loved him soooooo much and protected and defended him... I was met with blank stares from all four quads. Then Rod jumped in and said, "Who wants to see a movie about a flying elephant?!?" Everyone started clapping and asking to see the flying elephant.

They'll see my perspective one day...

My Little Superheroes!!!

2011-02-09T15:22:00.002-05:00

I can't believe what a terrible blogger I have been! I didn't realize how long it had been since I posted anything until I signed in today. Well, not too much going on here, but I'll catch up on some posts and pictures. For today, though, here a my little superhero girls! It is absolutely freezing here, so we aren't going anywhere we don't have to go. This means a lot of playing indoors, but luckily my kids are great at entertaining themselves and each other.

This morning, the girlies got out their capes they got for Christmas from their wonderful Aunt Cathy. They had so much fun running around "flying", but what was so adorable was they were a team. They wanted to stay together and tried to hold hands as much as possible (though Mommy had to step in when we saw that running and holding hands is a dangerous combination-- someone always seemed to be being pulled to the ground.) My little crime-fighting trio...

Julia, Izzie, and Paige

Yeah, it's February and they are wearing Halloween shirts and sandals. Long story...

Izzie and Paige holding hands

Izzie flying

Julia flying

Would You Like That Starched?

2011-01-21T14:24:00.002-05:00

Oh my. In our area, we are on snow day #2. We have a lot of snow, but more than that-- it is freezing!! Eight degrees with a wind chill below zero. This weather is fit for neither man nor beast. I'm not leaving the house. Since we weren't going anywhere, we have had a pajama day. No one has gotten dressed. We've had a fun day playing together inside. The girls were in the living room playing with Will's Scooby-Doo Haunted Mansion. Drew and Will had on their superhero capes and were running around saving the world. A perfectly nice morning.

I left them all playing happily and went into the kitchen to get lunch started. After a few minutes, I heard Will say, "Uh... Mom? The babies got into something." I went to find out what had happened. Well, this is what I found...

I keep a box of corn starch by the changing pad for diaper rash.

They found it and emptied the entire box.

All over everything!!

The table and kids were easy to wipe clean and I was pleased with how well the couch cleaned up with the vacuum attachment. The carpet? Well, I've gone over it several times now and it is still not completely up. Good times, good times...

Just Some Cute Pics...

2011-01-19T14:48:00.002-05:00

Not much to report right now. Just hanging out and having a good time. Here are some pictures from this last week.

This weekend, my sweet niece Eleanor was baptised. After the baptism, my sister had a get-together at her house to celebrate. Here is Joanna holding little Ellie and my sister Karen holding her little Nora. I love that Joanna and Karen are smiling so pretty while Nora is passed out and Ellie is screaming.

I don't know what started this, but the other day at lunch, Paige started feeding Julia. They both loved it and it was adorable, so I grabbed a picture and let them continue.

Izzie taking her baby for a walk just like any other Mom. Well, any other Mom wearing no pants and cowboy boots...

The other day I was in the other room with Will when I heard Izzie and Julia laughing. I heard Julia yell, "We're riding our horsies!!" I went to see what they were doing and found them riding the arms of the rocker like horses. A better Mom might have made them stop right away, but I took a picture first!

The girls created a little secret hideout under the kitchen table! They were so cute! They brought over blankies and books and hung out reading books, chatting and laughing for a long time. It was girls only, though. They yelled for me when Will and Drew tried to crash their party.

There you go! Nothing major going on, just hanging out and having fun!

Snowy Fun... Or Not

2011-01-13T21:55:00.003-05:00

We had more snowfall here in the last week. The kids get so excited when they see snow! They wanted to go out and play. I thought it would be good to let them go out and burn off a bunch of energy. After a solid half hour (minimum) getting everyone in their snow gear, we headed out.

Drew was so excited to get out there! He started his funny little Drew-chuckle immediately and smiled and laughed the entire time.

Paige really wanted to build a snowman (No-Man? as she kept asking), but the snow was really light and powdery. We weren't having much luck, so eventually we gave up the mission.

Drew making a snow angel

Ultimately, the kids ended up loving just throwing snowballs. Really, they were just throwing handfuls of snow (since it was so powdery), but they loved it.

They had a "snowball fight." No actual balls were formed and they weren't throwing it at anyone, but they stood there throwing snow for a long time and loving it!

Yeah, they were cute and they had a lot of fun. Sadly, however, their mother is a complete klutz. I was walking down the hill to the kids (which bundled-up two year olds had traveled with no trouble) when I slipped and fell in the snow. I twisted my knee really badly. Fortunately, it has been a day and a half now and it is starting to feel a bit better. I'm pretty sure that it's just pulled muscles- nothing too serious, but I'm still limping and quite pitiful (and really wishing we had bought a ranch!) Oh, yeah-- the best part is in two days my husband has a big work party and I'm supposed to wear high heels and dance all night. Uh, we'll see how that goes... I'm glad that the kids had a good time playing in the snow, but they aren't getting back out there until Daddy can take them.

Way Back When-esday

2011-01-12T16:37:00.003-05:00

I was going through some old pictures, when I saw that this picture was taken exactly two years ago today! My little man Drew sacked out on his Boppy pillow. He would have been just over 4 mos old. Adorable even way back when...

1-12-2009

I'm linking up for the first time over at Twinfatuation.

You Never Know What These Kids Will Say Next...

2011-01-09T21:32:00.002-05:00

The Question of the Week over at Multiples and More is about the cute things kids say. It seems like everyday at least one of my kids says something that makes me laugh out loud. I never know what they will say next. Here are some of my recent favorites...

This was actually a little while ago, but my sister-in-law brought over some costumes her kids had outgrown. Will was very excited to find a Batman (I guess...) costume. He ran around in this for a few days trying to make the quads his sidekicks. Drew was the only one who stuck around for long. Anyway, while we were waiting for the bus one day Will told me to watch for the Bat-signal while he was at school. If I saw one far away, I was to drive him there in the car. If I saw one close by, he would ride his bike there. If I didn't see one, I was to say, "Nothing to report, sir." He even made me practice my line before he got on the bus. I have no idea where he comes up with these!

Batman Will and his sidekick Super Drew

My husband has a formal event coming up for work, so I had to go dress shopping. I took Izzie with me for some one-on-one time. I was carrying her around on my hip and she was craning her neck and looking up at me kind of funny. I asked her what she was doing and she answered in her big loud voice, "I'm looking for any boogies in your nose Mommy!" Yeah, I was more than a little horrified. She made up for it just a few minutes later though. I was trying to decide between two dresses. I took them into the dressing room. When I slipped the second one on, she said, "Mommy, you look like a princess!" Well, that made up my mind. I didn't think that I would get a much better compliment than that!

Drew speaks the least out of the quads, but what he does say is simply adorable! Before Christmas he learned that Santa says, "Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Christmas!" He loves to say that to people. Anyone. Our neighbors, the man we pass in the grocery store. It has become his standard greeting. The funniest part is that he is still saying this. Just last night I took him out to run some errands with me and he wished everyone we passed a , "Merry Christmas!"

The "Merry Christmas" is really cute, but it's not my favorite thing to hear Drew say. I have an old cell phone of mine that I let the kids play with. It has become a favorite toy of theirs. Whenever Drew gets a turn with it, he always has the same conversation. He holds the phone up to his ear and says, "Hello, Mommy? I love you! Okay, bye-bye!" Melts my heart!

Seriously, those eyes and the sweet talk...

He knows the way to my heart!