7.02.2015

Busy Days of Summer!

Summer time is here and we are making the most of it! It's not all being spent pool side just yet, since I can't take four small kids anywhere with water more than ankle deep unless we have four dedicated adults for each child. Though we had swim lessons last year and hope to have a few more this year, we'll have four little fishies soon! (One of my best friends who just happens to be the head coach for my synchronized swim team, The Pirouettes of Texas, teaches the quads and she's amazing! She does private lessons all over the DFW area, by the way...)

However, when dada is around who needs swim suits?! Clothes and an impromptu water hose sprinkler work just as well. This was the scene I walked out to in the middle of cooking dinner tonight—which was a delicious cilantro lime salmon I'll be sharing soon! This weekend's plans include a family trip to our favorite local splash pad that the kids absolutely love and I enjoy as well, especially the tan lines that come with each visit. Last time I took the quads, they came home and napped for just over three hours!! Praying for a repeat of that?! You bet!


Life has stayed busy lately, but it's not the typical feeling of having too much to do or that things have been chaotic. It's more a result of the quads having a busy little social schedule to keep up with—including two days of summer camp each week, which has been a fantastic investment for both them and us as parents! It gives me two wonderful, much-needed opportunities each week to do things unencumbered while providing a fun, learning, friend-filled environment for the kids. And they really enjoy their teachers, too, who are so sweet and light up every time they see the quad squad coming down the hall to class! The camp is hosted by the same school the kids go to, which is at our church. They've done a lot of fun things already for summer, including a petting zoo right outside their class rooms!


The husband and I have had a chance to get out and be social ourselves, like attending a friend's birthday at a local brewery then picking up the kids later to join them at their home for dinner and lots of play time. And I'm not just talking about the little guys. Both dad's got in on some basketball mini-hoop action. ;)


When we're not out and about, the quads stay plenty occupied (and equally as entertaining) at home. The other day, Kailey got her purse, jewelry, baby, play keys and a pair of mama's tall wedges and announced to me she was ready to go! That's my girl...


Speaking of my pretty girls, look at Logan's hair!! It's gotten so long and continues to become even more voluminous and beautiful. That girl has the perfect curls! She wakes up in the morning and shakes her head back and forth to make her hair swing around like a little super model, and it seriously looks like it's been completely styled. Envious!


Bedtime reading has always been a favorite event around our house, but even more so since I scored the collection of Bear Books at Costco. The Bear Snores On is the kids' absolute favorite and they can quote many of the lines from it. I also rotate in fresh books from the library, like a few Disney princess tomes that the girls were super excited about. And their sweet dada read every word...


And on evenings that dada works super later, four little munchkins somehow wind up in bed with momma for a little Mickey Mouse to end the day. Can't say I don't mind the extra snuggles!


It quickly became even more important to us to maintain a close connection to family when we found out we were expecting quadruplets. We were very blessed to find a new home we love (which this weekend marks our two year anniversary in it!) after four dreadful months of apartment life.  And it was just like we'd hoped it be—we live close to both sets of our parents, who help us out with the kids all the time and we're all able to be involved in each other's lives on a regular basis! No afraid to work hard for what we want, the husband and I took on the giant task of relocating from Houston to the Dallas area with four babies in tow; worked even harder to find the right house in the right part of town; and we make sure visits go both ways as we like to get out and see people and don't always expect people to come to us! My mom watched the kids so I could get to a doctor appointment and since it was Tuesday, which is art day at her house, each one of them got to add a few swipes of paint to her Santa Clause oil painting she's been working on. Kailey even sat with Ruth Ann, my step-dad's sister-in-law, and quietly watched her paint. Bam Bam does not often sit still and peaceful! Art can definitely have a calming, focusing effect.



I'm just so glad that the kids get such a variety of experiences on a regular basis, and are also regularly around the family and friends nearest and dearest to us. Another prime example is my longtime friend Jo Ann, who is affectionately referred to as JoJo by the quads, and her husband, daughter and baby boy. I've been sick off and on (mostly on) for about a month, ever since I had strep at the end of May. Another virus had taken hold this past week and I was really feeling down for the count. Without any prompting or fan fare, JoJo said she and the kids would be heading over first thing Monday to watch the quads and take care of meals, naps and all so I could rest. I literally dozed in bed for about five hours while they were here and it helped so much! I truly think it enabled to finally start to turn the corner—in addition to my visit to my doctor the next day that entailed a steroid shot—and I am happy to report I'm officially on the mend. God has always delivered on His promise not to give me more than I can bear, and always has angels ready to go right when I need help the most!


As my overall health improves, I'm still battling with some severe foot pain and am now wearing these not-so-fashionable arch supports on both feet when I'm walking a lot. This will help in the interim until time for a small procedure on each foot to get rid of some scar tissue that's causing my ligaments to not be able to fully stretch out, hence the pain. I'll be sharing more details on all that as things get worked out—it's alway something! I have been recovering from my quad pregnancy ever since those babies were delivered and it's definitely been quite the journey as it took a huge toll.


But for now, we're focused on a long holiday weekend and the fact that the husband is off work Friday and the 4th will be the quads first time to witness fireworks! They're night owls just like their parents so we aren't worried about them making it late enough to see the sparkling nighttime show, and they are completely stoked about it. At school on Thursday, they made a firework craft with paint and glitter, which as only fueled the excitement! To kick off the extended weekend, we had a family movie night complete with popcorn and lots of cozy blankets.



I appreciate you sticking with me and following along with us on Texas Tales! This summer, I am working on a whole new design for the blog, new categories and more frequent posts and will also be hosting a couple fun giveaways as well as launching a special series of guest posts featuring some close friends of mine. So stick with us, and happy 4th weekend!
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2 comments:

  1. Amber I love this post! I am so happy for you & family ❤️
    You always warm my heart 😀
    Lovz

    ReplyDelete
  2. What wonderful summer fun!!! We just did a similar family movie night, and it was a hit. I think it'll happen more often. I can't wait to see all the new plans for the blog as they unfold. Xoxo

    ReplyDelete

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