4.27.2014

Easter 2014 & First Egg Hunt!

Easter weekend kept us pretty busy spending time with our families. First, we headed to my mom's house on Easter Sunday for some festivities, dinner and the quad's very first Easter egg hunt! We were glad they were feeling well enough to enjoy the fun—all four had come down with colds and low-grade fevers several days before and runny noses and coughs were rampant.

But sickness aside, the babies quickly caught on to the idea of filling their baskets with eggs, although Trystan preferred to open them and eat the goodies inside as she went! We got lots of fun pics and one family photo in the process. Thanks to my mom and my younger brother for stuffing and "hiding" the eggs!

(Warning: photos galore coming up!)












My older brother and his family joined us in time for dinner, and their three kids were very excited to see the quads again! I thought it was cute when Harrison went to join his older cousins on the couch and the girls hung out with their older cousin watching Bubble Guppies. :) Plus my mom and step-dad fed the quads dinner in their strollers so that all the adults/siblings could actually sit down and talk and eat together! That was really thoughtful and special. It's truly something when I'm out with the babies and can not only eat a hot meal all at once but also not be drenched in sweat. It's the little things!



The husband was off work the next day and we headed over to this parents house for our Easter celebration there. It was extra special since the husband's grandmother had stayed in town an extra day so she could see both us and the quads. They loved getting to run around new territory and my mother-in-law gifted them adorable chick Easter bags filled with all kinds of goodies! Her house also got peppered with goldfish and mini M&M's, since she'd filled all the plastic eggs with treats and the babies were now pros at popping them open and gobbling up whatever was inside...minus a few stray pieces. ;)






I have to say, Harrison looked pretty dapper in his tie! He was able to worth it for both occasions, it was a very worthwhile $5 investment at Target. And the girl's were adorable in their pink sailor dresses (also an Easter gift from my mother-in-law) and pink and white straw hats I'd snagged in the dollar section at Target. Cute cute cute!




It was a great holiday for us and next year we hope to make it to church with the kiddos. In fact, attending a local church is something we'd like very much to be able to begin doing soon. Hopefully we can find a place that is a great fit for both us and the quads with a great children's ministry! Meanwhile, we certainly enjoyed reflecting upon our blessings and the wonderful miracle of Jesus' death and resurrection as well as spending time both with family and at home, just the six of us.

Well, I'm finally back in the saddle after dealing with the quads being pretty sick for the past week and a half, Kailey having a very bad allergic reaction to some meds—but no ER trip needed, thankfully—and recovering from making all the rounds for Easter. (It still takes me a couple days to get my energy back!) Look forward to a Weekend Recap and some Tyke Bites posts coming soon as well as deets on my very exciting upcoming weekend getaway!
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4.20.2014

Easter Festivities

I woke up this morning so grateful for Jesus' sacrifice on that cross and the price he paid for our sins. And I'm so grateful He chose to bless us with four happy, healthy babies and has stayed faithful to providing for our every need as we raise our instant family.

Feeling a little better this morning, the husband and I were in the kitchen fixing breakfast by 8:30am as the babies start rustling around and waking up. Fortunately they ate tons of waffles—they haven't been eating very well at all for the past week—even if it was hard for a couple of the cuties to wake up!



We surprised them with their Easter baskets in the play room after breakfast. They got cute little bunny bags full of goodies—a book and toy truck for Harrison, flower headbands and wands for the girls, plus rabbit ears, Smarties candy, carrot-shaped chalk and new art smocks from Ikea!






I also had some stick-on mustaches in one of their baskets, so of course we had to try those out! They lasted about 10 seconds.




Now the babies are down for naps and I've got a bag packed and ready and their outfits laid out so we can change them when they wake up then load the car and head for Grandma and Grandad's house! We'll have their first Easter egg hunt over there in the grassy green front yard followed by Easter dinner with my three other siblings and their spouses and kids. I haven't been with all my brothers and sisters since several years ago, my younger brother just moved back to the Dallas area after a couple years living in California, so we're looking forward to a sibling reunion this afternoon.


Hope you and yours are celebrating the reason for the season and remembering Him on this special day. Happy Easter!
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4.18.2014

This Week...

This week has been fairly busy with a few family outings, doctor appointments and several deadlines for work for me, and the quads have been sick to top it all off. So the blog had to take a backseat for a wee bit. This morning, however, my nanny happily agreed to come 30 minutes early (at 7am) and help me start tackling the endless mounds of clean laundry that needed folding and I was able to make a quick run to Kroger for more children's Benadryl. We wrapped up the quad's breakfast, had laundry folded, dishes started, more laundry in the wash, vacuuming done, linens changed and more by 9:30am. By the time the babies went down for naps just before 1pm, I felt much more caught up on things. My deadlines for work have been met and my cleaning list for the day is already complete. Not often I feel so efficient! Of course now I'm tired and getting a headache and I've already been fighting a cold or something, undoubtedly courtesy of my sickly crew.


It doesn't hurt that the photo above has been my view each morning as soon as I open my eyes in bed. I love the super green landscape of trees and creek bed behind our house, especially because our home has windows facing out there in just about every room. It's a beautiful view and I feel like I'm in a tree house in our second-story bedroom since I can see all the branches and tree tops!

This week, I've pulled out my crock pot and have been making some slow cooker meals to cut myself a break in the kitchen. Last weekend, I simmered this delicious balsamic pot roast all day and it was a smashing success for all six of us! Tonight's dinner is nearly finished cooking in the crock pot and is this Asian glazed chicken, another recipe from the Six Sisters' Stuff website I'm loving!




We've also had donuts for breakfast twice this week. Don't judge.


I managed to squeeze in a quick trip to Target several days ago and found some more super cute stuff in the dollar bins they keep at the front of the store. Hello adorable sunglasses for the quads, Easter "carrot chalk" for this weekend, goodies to fill up an Easter bag I gave to our nanny this morning (along with a pretty Starbucks cup!) and, outside of the dollar section, a pair of cute and comfy Champion workout capri pants for me. There's nothing wrong with stylish fitness motivation.





To change things up and keep our routine from getting stale, as well as to get the kids out for just a few minutes since they tend to go a little stir crazy when they're sick, I loaded us all up in the suburban for drive-thru errands (pharmacy, gas, Sonic for a coke and ice, ATM, dry cleaners, etc.). 


Here's how I get them out of the car when I'm by myself!


I also did a PB&J lunch one day in the play room, picnic style. They loved it!


The quads have been pickier eaters than normal while sick, can't blame 'em since they probably can't taste as much as too much drainage has left them with little appetite. Trystan refused to eat her carrots at dinner one night, but had no problem occupying herself by making little carrot towers. Win some, lose some...


I really hope they turn the bend on this cold or whatever it is they caught last weekend and soon! I want them to enjoy their first-ever Easter egg hunts! At least Kailey's lip is looking much better and will be healed in a few more days. No more trips to the ER or Urgent Care so far this week, so I chalk that up to a success!





On Wednesday, my sweet parents spent the whole day and night (plus the night on Tuesday) helping me keep my head above water. Laundry and dishes have stacked up all week because I've been dashing from one kid to the next wiping noses, comforting them on my shoulder (often two at a time), rocking them to sleep at length at night, waking up four or more times at night when each one wakes up crying or in a coughing fit, soothing many a baby in my bed in the wee hours when rocking just won't do, doling out Benadryl and Infant Advil all day and so on. It was great to have some extra hands and, despite the exhausting daily efforts, I was ready to get out of the house and so were the kids. So off to Ikea we went! Our first trip for momma, babies and grandma.


They behaved like angels and did great the entire trip—until the very, very end when Logan emphatically announced she'd had enough and would have no more and screamed all the way home right into Grandad's arms. Poor little baby. But prior to that, the crew enjoyed looking at the giant store full of interesting things and also exploring the children's area, where I spied a train table inspiration that Harrison absolutely needs to have at home! 



We even ate lunch there (though I have to say I wasn't impressed with the food at the cafe) and shopped a little more afterward. I think we were at Ikea for over three hours! I picked up a table runner for my dining room, 49 cent kitchen scrub brushes, place mats for the kids and both my mom and I picked up these adorable fabric food sets ($.799 each!) for them to enjoy in their play room. They have been a hit!

After Ikea, we brought the babies home, changed everyone's diapers and put them down for a much-needed (delayed) nap. Then LD went with me to the orthopedic doctor I'm seeing where I thought I'd be getting injections in my knees. I have advanced arthritis in both my knees and have been dealing with increasing pain in them all day, every day. It's really starting to affect my ability to do things, ugh! But before the doctor treats them with injections, he wants to be sure I have not torn the meniscus in my knees and so I'll be going for an MRI next week first.

In the meantime—while I slowly continue my journey back to health—the husband said I've been bitten with the spring cleaning bug because I've been relentlessly cleaning out closets, bedrooms, outgrown clothes and dusting the heck out of anything within arm's reach. But I've not been going at it alone. My little cleaning helper, Logan, isn't afraid to get down and dirty with momma! She tackled the kitchen floor....


...and then relaxed with her siblings later over a Baby Einstein DVD in their play room. I love my fab four!


Kailey also has an obsession with not only jeans but also shoes, and it doesn't matter what size they are!


And to kick off the weekend with a smile on all our faces, a longtime beloved blog reader surprised the kiddos with a box of brand new board books that arrived just moments ago—thank you Bernice!!!! I can't wait to dig into those pages and read them to the quads! They've already developed a sincere love of books and reading and will spend hours in their play room thumbing through the pages and "reading" to each other, babbling out their own stories to the pictures or sharing books on their laps. It's so sweet.





Hope you have a hoppy weekend :)
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