Saturday morning the babies slept until 8:30am, which was really nice. Because the rest of the day I was pretty much working constantly to clean up parts of the house and prep everything the quad squad would need from 4pm after. Two of the babies, Logan and Trystan, had already developed runny noses and I knew colds for the entire crew were imminent. But the husband and I had plans to join friends for a concert by 5pm and my friend Jo Ann, her husband and daughter had graciously agreed to come baby sit as well as feed the kids dinner and put them to bed. No small feat for quad parents and definitely a bigger one for babysitters! (I have to note that Jo Ann is one of those really special people that totally "gets" me and my schedule, she does great with my kids, who all love her, and she's so trustworthy and reliable. Seriously, everyone needs a Jo Ann in their life!)
I ran laundry and set out clean pajamas, medications for the two sick babies, put clean sheets on all their beds and put away toys from nap time, laid out sleep sacks in each kid's crib, prepped dinner for the kids, set out all necessary dinner supplies, filled sippys with milk, cleaned up the play room, wrote out a note for dinner and bed times as well as other pertinent details, pre-made their snacks and got everyone up from naps, bathed and diapered before we left. I even set out wine glasses for Jo Ann and her husband because I always want people to know they can take time to relax while at our house! I don't want folks to have a stressful, overwhelming experience when they're left in charge of our crew. Though I was pretty tired by the time we got in the car, I was happy to leave for awhile as Jo Ann ushered us out and made us promise to take our time and enjoy.
Our break was over when we woke up Sunday morning to four very sick babies. There was a lot of TLC doled out throughout the day, poor things have runny noses left and right. It's hard work keeping up with all four being sick at the same time, I just sort of have to gear myself up for the ensuing week of illness.
To top it off, our dryer wasn't working so I hadn't been able to do laundry in a couple days and now I had dirty sheets and clothes I needed to wash and sanitize. Fortunately, the husband found a washer and dryer on Craigslist for not much more than it was going to cost to fix the one we had (also Craigslist purchases from years ago), so he picked them up during the babies' nap time. The kid's Aunt Sabrina came over to help wipe noses and dole out Pedialyte for a couple hours so the husband was able to install said washer and dryer while I prepped dinner for the quads and made my Tuscan soup. Done and done!
Although it was meant to be a day to sort of recuperate from the past week, we ended up working hard from start to finish. The husband spread out some work he had to get done on the dining room table after the babies were in bed and I was starting to feel bad with allergies and nausea, so I went to bed soon after.
Monday was a little better since my nanny came for a couple hours in the morning (traditionally, she's with us Monday and Friday mornings) and I managed to get in a workout at the gym, pick up and drop off dry cleaning, we took the babies out for a walk, bathed them all and fed them lunch and had them in bed for naps by 12:30pm. Then my mother-in-law came that afternoon to watch the girls while I took Harrison to his last follow-up appointment with his urologist. He had his circumcision done a few months ago and got a great report and we're happy to close out that chapter of his health care. He went with me to Stein Mart afterward and got lots of admiring glances and compliments for being so adorable and well behaved!
Up next: our system for taking care of four sick babies at once!
Sounds like a great Saturday night out. So sorry to hear the kids are sick, looking at the picture of Mike and Logan you can tell she feels miserable, poor baby:(
ReplyDeleteHope they are all feeling better soon, and you and the hubs don't come down with colds.
Thanks for sharing:)
Oh, my!! I LOVE this post! I LOVE seeing pics of the babies - sick or not! Glad y'all had a good night out under your belt before having to settle down to the ensuing illness of all four! As for Jo Ann! She is a TREASURE, isn't she?? She goes way back with our family and is a great friend who is more like family! Granddad and I will see y'all in the morning!
ReplyDeleteGlad y'all got a night out! I laughed at your prep to leave process because I do the same thing. So, I get you :) And I agree everyone needs a "Jo Ann"- mine's named Marsha! Such a blessing. Hope your kiddos are all better soon!
ReplyDeleteWow lady! That's a lot of work just to leave the house! Glad you had a great time though.
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