5.28.2013

{Weekend Recap} Houston, Weatherford & Quads Doubled!

When Memorial Weekend rolled around, we'd heard that our good friends back in Houston had rescheduled their annual crawfish boil to this past Saturday. So, a couple weeks ago, the husband and I talked it over with our parents and put it to a schedule so we could get away to H-Town overnight and surprise our buddies. I worked hard to get everything ready and prepped in regards to the quad squad, so that things were straightforward and simple while we were gone. The revised daily schedule was printed and stuck on the fridge, their spoon feedings were pre-bagged in the freezer and only needed to be thawed, snacks were planned and set out and bottles were made the morning we left. The grandparents did a fantastic job taking care of the fab four, who also did a great job themselves sticking to the schedule!

harrison and grandpa
We fed the babies in the morning and packed our tiny overnight bags then bid the husband's parents good luck and goodbye and hit the highway! It was awesome to cruise for a couple hours, listening to music, talking, stopping for a quick lunch and not having to worry about eight little hands and feet in the car, who's watching them, is it feeding time yet, who makes a run inside first while you stay with the car and so on. We pulled up to our friend's house about 3pm, after stopping to pick up the husband's younger brother. They were shocked to see us walk in the door and everyone gave us a blank stare for a couple seconds until it registered we'd actually come in town!






We had a great time catching up with everyone and in our new constant state of change it felt good to be around familiar faces and surroundings for a little while. Midnight rolled around pretty quick and we hit the sack, waking up about 7:30am to shower and get on the road back home. A couple hours drive, a lunch stop and we were back at the apartment in time to put the babies down for their afternoon nap. My mom and step-dad gave us a good report and headed back home while we took our own naps while the babies slept. It was a good thing, too, since that evening Kailey decided she was not going to bed until three hours after their usual bedtime. She hung out with me, cried and fussed on and off and finally went to sleep around 10pm. I'd rather it be then and not at 3 in the morning!




Monday we decided to buck up and join the husband's family in Weatherford at his grandpa's house for fried chicken and homemade peach ice cream. Plus it was the quad's first time to meet their cousins, the husband's older brother and his wife's two cutie girls—with red hair just like Trystan! The babies got to crawl all over the place and received plenty of attention and even logged some time outdoors. We only stayed just over two hours and it was a 40-minute drive each way plus loading and unloading time, but it was definitely worth it to spend the afternoon with everyone and get the babies out.




memorial day with the family!
Then this morning I loaded up the crew myself and drove out to our friends, the Shawver quads, for playdate number 2! (The kiddos all met once already.) I think today went much easier since Amber Squared—yes, that's really how we refer to ourselves—knew what to expect. Logan's "stranger danger" upsets and crying came and went a couple times, but at least it didn't last the entire day! She even slept for nearly 2.5 hours during naptime, which was awesome. Actually, it's awesome that we even put eight babies down for naps and they all go to sleep while Amber and I eat lunch. I love that we have little opportunities throughout the day together to chat, swap ideas, discoveries, experiences and inspiration and just talk about what's going on in our lives. We instantly relate to pretty much everything we're both dealing with right now and there really is strength in numbers. Knowing someone else is surviving the same day-to-day reality that you are helps you feel normalized, like you're not the only person you know that's going through that right now. And normalization with quadruplets is a major thang.

amber s with seven of the babies 
nobody said nap time was easy!

my little trystan girl
eight babies at play :)

As our lunch winds down and we refill our tea or curl up on the couch to rest a few moments, the action starts again. One by one, the babies awake and we bring them back into the living room for more playtime. At one point, I laid on my stomach, covered my head with my hands (to protect my hair from 80 prying, pulling little fingers!) and let the babies crawl all over me. I'm pretty sure my little Lolo Bear needs a jungle gym soon, I caught her standing on her chair in the middle of her play pen at home the other day. Sneaky little baby...

'hey mom, look what i can do!'


'you mean, sit like this?'
Whew - so that was the weekend + a day! Tomorrow my nanny is back for a few short hours in the  morning and I'd be lying if I didn't say I wasn't looking forward to it. It'll be nice to stay at home without the hassle of loading up the quads and I can recover a little bit from the weekend. I've had to wear an abdominal binder again lately as I've overdone things a bit and have been having some pains in my stomach, but they do seem to be improving already. Pacing myself hasn't always been my strength but I'm working on it! Having quadruplets, as Amber and I talked about today, certainly helps you come to terms with the day-by-day concept much more quickly. Plus, the husband and I are waiting to hear news about a house we've been pursuing and hope to move forward with, so I look forward to sharing that with everyone before long.

Hope you had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!

2 comments:

  1. It was GREAT for you guys to get away for a bit! Y'all live life at such a fast pace I swear I can see SMOKE! My FAVORITE pics in this post are the ones of Logan standing on her chair!!! PRECIOUS!!

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  2. Wow what a jammed packed weekend! Hope you are taking advantage of the Nanny being there today and you are getting some rest, and Amber time.
    Love all the pics,especially Logan's feat of standing on the chair, you can tell she is very proud of herself.
    Praying that the house you are persuing comes thru!
    Thanks for sharing:)

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