Things for Spring

The weather in Texas has dutifully warmed up even beyond our normal temperatures this spring, making me think our summer is going to be that much hotter. But for now we're all basking in the easy-going mid- to high-60s with a few afternoons peaking at 70 degrees. Flowers are blooming and I've broken out all the kids new sandals for the year.

I wanted to go into the weekend with just a quick post highlighting some of my favorite photos of our spring thus far, like a pretty arrangement of grocery store blooms I picked up and displayed on a $3 Target tray on our kitchen island. Flowers always make me happy!

If blooms are on sale or come in a bunch, I often split them up into various arrangements and use roses or carnations or even greenery as filler to get more bang for my buck. So far, I've got lots of flowers and greenery—both real and faux—scattered throughout the house to lend a fresh air for the new season. I even saved a couple of blue-green hydrangeas and dried them out so I could continue to display them on top of my piano because they were so pretty.

Our entryway table hasn't been officially decked out for spring or Easter, but for now it's got some fresh decor with more faux greenery, framed photos and a burlap bunny all in neutral tones. I've got a DIY Easter banner to string along the wall hanging and some more cute bunnies the kids will enjoy looking at. 

Speaking of good weather, today the kids and I enjoyed a walk through our neighborhood after their naps. They loved picking up sticks, weeds flowers, acorns and other nature finds. All four do a fantastic job of staying on the sidewalk, not running too far ahead and crossing the street carefully with me. It's a great opportunity to practice basic safety habits and get a little fresh air and exercise! Plus, the crew broke in their new shoes I get from Wal-Mart each year (one of the few times I go there, I'm a Target girl all the way!). They can easily slip the shoes on themselves and the kicks are perfect to wear around the house and yard in the summer. They're plastic slip-on, clog-type shoes for less than $5 each and can be hosed off and dried with a towel for easy clean-up!

A couple weeks ago, I got a chance to spend some one-on-one time with Trystan. We went to brunch with some of my girlfriends and a few of their kiddos then did a little shopping for the afternoon. I love any exclusive time I get with my kids!

We stopped in at Anthropologie and Trystan loved their unique displays, like a collection of paint brushes suspended from the ceiling. The beautifully illustrated books caught her eye and at one point she settled onto the couch to flip through one of them. I was so smitten that she was smitten so we ended up purchasing Anne of Green Gables and I've been reading a chapter to the kids each night before bed. They really enjoy "chapter books," as they call them, and between myself and my mom they are getting to hear many of the classics read.

I've only ever owned one pair of Sperrys, so when I saw these gold-toned beauties at TJ Maxx recently I snatched them up. Much less expensive than full-price versions and very comfy for days full of walking!

On a separate round of errands, I made a few returns at Marshalls and browsed around before leaving when I found these pretty blue glasses for just $1.99 each. They are 100 percent recycled glass (which is what it says on the front) and the husband and I decided they're perfect for our new whiskey and coke glasses! We like to mix up a few, especially on the weekends when we do a DVR late night binge after the kiddos are in bed.

As spring rolls on, we look forward to more outings and little adventures with the kids and have really enjoyed watching them learn so much and so fast at school right now. Next week is spring break and we've got some bonus time to spend with grandparents and our quad buddies, but first up is a day date I'm really looking forward to with the husband tomorrow! 

The quads turn four years old at the end of May, which is so hard to believe. They are truly turning into big kids now! I've settled on a dinosaur theme for their party and already have so many fun ideas and DIY projects I hope to accomplish for the bash. The kids are excited about the dino-centric day and I've already purchased their first gift!

These four sweet babies are the best of friends and we see evidence of that every day. Just this evening, while cleaning up the dinner dishes, the husband and I heard Harrison and Trystan getting frustrated with each other in the play room. Then Harrison says in a totally calm voice, "Trystan, I love you very much, but you need to build your own lego tower!"

We never know what they're going to say! One of our favorite post-dinner laughs often comes from asking the girls to clean Harrison's face if he's thoroughly enjoyed his dinner and dessert and left evidence of it all over his mouth. The girls will each grab a baby wipe then take off giggling and chasing after Harrison who playfully screeches his protests but eventually lets them all have their turn. It's the sweetest thing! The other night they had a tickle fest and the girls are piled on top of their brother trying to get the biggest laugh out of him possible and he was the best sport, letting them poke and prod while laughing hysterically. Nothing brings the husband and I more pride and joy then seeing the unique and incredibly close bond that our children share with each other. 

It's time to pour another glass of wine and settle onto the couch with the husband and relax—the long week is officially over!

This is Real Life

"This is real life, and I'm totally cool with it."

me and the kiddos after a typical trip to the gym

I'm not kidding when I tell you those were my exact thoughts—verbatim, y'all—this morning when I looked up from my station at the kitchen island where I was dutifully preparing four lunches for the quads day at preschool. Normally they're made the night before but I decided to gamble with my life time this morning and do them on the fly.

our cat, bandit

I was slicing off pieces of Colby jack cheese when I heard a racket and looked up to see our cat, Bandit, feverishly batting around a ball that had joyously found its escape path from the playroom only to end up in the puncture-happy claws of a rough and rowdy male feline.

Then Harrison proudly marched into the kitchen, nearly tripping over the cat, to show me his three-foot-tall Lego tower he had just completed which then, honest to God, started looking like the leaning Tower of Legos before breaking in half and shattering into individual foot mines all over the floor. "Uh oh, guess I'll have to make another one!" At least his dreams weren't shattered this particular morning.

Meanwhile, Logan is asking me to look at her epic and colorful Crayon masterpiece of Minnie Mouse at the kitchen table, but doing it at about 35 volume bars above necessary and someone hit her "repeat" button. Kailey is singing a song known only to her fast-paced little mind at the top of her lungs. My feet hurt and I've only been awake for an hour.

It wasn't the breath of fresh air I'd been hoping for on a new day, after the extensive authority-negating tactics the kids had exerted the entire evening before. Granted, it was mostly because Kailey and Harrison had been gone for an entire weekend with my parents at their camper in the country. (It was an awesome experience, they loved every second and you can read about it on my mom's blog here.) Akin to any other time the kiddos have spent an overnight somewhere and been with doting grandparents for a spell, they always tend to come home and become extra challenging for a day or two for some reason. The husband and I refer to as it as a time we have to reassert our authority. My parents had dropped off Kailey and Harrison yesterday afternoon upon returning from the camper and within an hour "it" started.

I was going to give all the kids a shower with me in our master bathroom to lessen the to-do list when bedtime came around and I had them all stripped down and ready to get in the water when I turned around and realized at least 75% of the troops were missing. Then I heard Trystan hollering from the kid's bathroom and go in there to find Kailey standing on a stool in front of the toilet and she'd peed everywhere. All four are potty trained and proficient in using a toilet anywhere we go, so why she hadn't bothered to stoop her hind end onto the pot I'll never know. So I clean that up and we get through the shower, with my head threatening to explode the whole time from the merciless screams, yells and rants that echo between the walls from the tiny army invading my hot water.

new big kid beds for everyone! the two mattresses on the floor will go 

on bed frames later after paint and carpet work has been done.

I figured once they were all clean and in fresh pajamas, they'd have fun playing with each other for awhile while I cleaned up the kitchen and prepped dinner. After all, they'd been separated from each other in pairs for a whole weekend! It went well enough for a bit until Harrison started hitting his sisters and being unruly.

Punishment and time out.

Then Kailey started launching large objects from the top bunk in her room—the bunk bed being a surprise addition to their room upon their return from the camper! They were excited about it and loved it but lack of sleep and readjusting to being home is apparently a recipe for toy bombardment.

Punishment and time out.

Her reign of terror wasn't done, though, because she got in trouble a second time for throwing toys again. Next Harrison whacked her a good one.

Punishment and time out.
Punishment and time out.

Then she bit her brother (not too bad, but still...) and as I was coming up the stairs to get her I must've surprised her and she tried to bolt and ended up falling down four stairs before I caught her. No punishment on that one because it all ended rather tumultuously enough for her, I figured, but we still had a chat.

So basically I was trying to make a decent dinner for everyone to enjoy so we could eat right when the husband got home from work and the kids could go to bed on the early side. But every time you read "punishment and time out," I had to drop what I was doing and haul it upstairs or to the playroom or wherever they were congregating to handle the situation. And every other time, when I got back to the kitchen I'd forgotten what I was doing. Even with all the awesome memes and laughable photos going around on the Internet, I still don't think mom's get enough credit for all the multi-tasking we do! In the span of 30 minutes, we've already conquered the world and made cookies. Next, please.

But I digress...back to this morning. I'd finally gotten the kids dressed, fed, lunches packed, bag packed and everyone into the suburban. We were running late and I was feeling bad, because I'd really wanted to get there on time today and start on my own list of to-do's. As we pull up to school, I do that simultaneous turn-off-the-car-open-my-door-and-start-unbuckling-car-seat-belts move that only moms can do. You know the one. We were headed inside as quick as possible if it killed me, dammit. One by one, I lift each kiddo out of the car and onto the sidewalk where they so patiently and obediently wait next to each other. (My kids are typically polite and well-behaved and adorably cute, in my opinion. The last day was an abnormal revolt.) I grab their school bag and we make for the door, where I greet a familiar face with a smile and herd my crew inside.

On my way back out, a wonderful little moment happened. My friend—who sings in our church's praise team every Sunday morning with a most beautiful voice—had been chatting with a fellow mom who'd since departed. As I wished my friend a great week, she told me that after myself and the quads had walked inside, her friend mentioned how together I seemed. That I "always have it so together," to quote her words. I beamed but mimed looking at where a wrist watch would be on my arm and tapped the imagined dial while laughingly joking about how late the mom "who has it together" was today. Then I added that while having it together is certainly not the case for me every day, it sure gives me inspiration on the days I feel like my "together" is falling apart.

As I drove out of the parking lot and headed toward my first errand of the day, her words stuck with me. And, honestly, they really made me feel good. Because I realized the mom who'd complimented me sees me nearly every morning we drop off our kids at preschool. I recognize her though I don't know her personally, and her child is in a younger class than my crowd. But the fact that even though I'm pretty much always in my "mom uniform" of leggings or workout pants, a t-shirt or sweatshirt and tennis shoes with no makeup, and I'm herding my four three-year-olds with barely enough time to exchange pleasantries with anyone, and I'm often late, she still thought I had it together. It made me realize that the way we feel isn't how others always perceive us. And that we're often—especially moms—way too hard on ourselves.

the "mom uniform"

skechers sandals (similar)  |  VS PINK t-shirt   |  Nike capri leggings (similar) 

In the challenges, blessings and chaos that come with having quadruplets (or just any number of kids, really), I've learned to make peace with a lot of things and I'm still constantly working on others. Early on, when the quads were still babies and had all come home from the hospital and we were doing 32 bottles every 24 hours, I learned to accept the fact that we needed help and that help involved having other people (mostly family members) in our house all the time. Having others in your home on a constant rotation takes some getting used to, and I know the control-factor part of my personality struggled with it greatly. From wanting to tell someone they were putting the laundry away wrong or weren't loading the dishwasher very well, I had to realize those were insignificant factors when it came to my sanity, health and well being. Because those family members were there to help us survive and to help care for my four babies.

Additionally, I've also learned to let unplanned alterations in my days roll off my back. Take yesterday for instance. I get a sparse number of hours each week to myself—thanks to two wonderful days of pre-school and my mom, who's a saint and watches the kids once a week—and they're typically planned out down to the minute with errands, grocery store run, work (I'm a freelance writer and often work out of my home office or Starbucks!), cleaning, organizational projects and the list goes on. So running late to school drop-off by a whopping 15 to 20 minutes can affect those plans, for example. But I just alter what I need to, move faster or cut something off the list to accommodate whatever changes have affected my day because continuing to stress over it or change the situation doesn't do anyone much good. Plus I've got enough stress in my life and don't need more!

And with that long post, my friends, I'm back on the blog and hoping to keep at it. I had to take a break I hadn't really planned on but, as you just read, I try to take the day-to-day in stride and focus on whatever's most important.

my "awesome" new wine glass - $2.99 at Marshalls

In the meantime, my kids have pretty much demolished the downstairs portion of my house with toys and other potential tripping hazards while I finished off this post. It's time for damage control and dinner prep.

"This is real life, and I'm totally cool with it."

Damn, go me.

Our Halloween Weekend

Halloween was an exciting event this year! It was the first time for two things: for the kiddos to select their very own costumes, and for us to go trick-or-treating in our neighborhood. The past two years we dressed them up in outfits of our own choosing and last year we took them to each of the grandparents house to trick-or-treat there and visit for a little while. That was enough excitement to wear them out and don't you know they still got plenty of sweet treats!

This year, though, we've mastered going on group walks throughout our neighborhood and they totally get the whole concept of Halloween, costumes and trick-or-treating so we went with the whole shebang!

I can thank Target for making most of our costume search easy—we scored a Spiderman, Rapunzel and Ariel costume there at 50% off with a coupon on my Cartwheel app—and then Kailey picked out her cute little Minnie costume when she was with me on a shopping excursion at Costco a week before. They'd worn them a couple times before the big night, once for a Halloween party with our quad buddies, the Shawvers, and once earlier this week when we visited the husband's parents for an pre-Halloween outing and they trick-or-treated there then stayed for dinner while the husband and I got a date night!

After naps, all four were super excited to start putting on their gear and get ready to go. We'd picked up four dollar pumpkin buckets earlier that day and reviewed how trick-or-treating works and that they only take a piece or two of candy from each house—not handfuls! They did AWESOME. They traipsed all over the neighborhood and had an absolute blast the entire time, with not one complaint about all the walking, carrying their pumpkins (that got heavier with every door knock!) or getting tired. In fact, they were doing so well that when we got back to the house we loaded up in the suburban and headed to my mom's house for a surprise trick-or-treat visit there!

I brought pajamas with us, so once the fun was over we dunked them in the bath tub and got everyone dressed for bed then drove our wired but tired and very happy four little pumpkins home. They slept right up until the last minute on Sunday but thanks to the time change and falling back an hour, we made it to church only a little late. My mom sat with us then we all went to lunch afterward before heading home for naps. The kids didn't exactly cooperate on the latter, but they did get some quiet rest time in their rooms while the husband and I got a break to watch a show together on the couch and relax for a minute. 

To cap off our weekend focus of spending special time with the kiddos (which included our first-ever date day!), the husband took Harrison to an indoor bounce house for a couple hours while I stayed at the house with the girls and had a fun afternoon with them. I painted 70 nails—including my toes!—then we had cupcakes and watched Frozen Fever and a couple episodes of Team Umizoomi. They really enjoyed all the attention, and I was so glad we had been able to carve out time with all the kids.

Now I just need to check myself into Binge Candy Eaters Anonymous and find a better hiding place for my sugar stash....like the trash, if we're being honest.

Fall Days & Big Kid Update!

Kailey was sitting on my bed in my room, absent-mindedly flipping through a book when she looked up and eyed me questionably. I figured it was because I had makeup on (the kids always love seeing me get "done up" since it doesn't happen everyday) but instead she said, "Mommy, you're not pretty yet!"

Uhhh, thanks for the confidence booster Kailey Poo! We were getting ready for a family outing and I'd opted to try and look more presentable than my usual workout attire. But I hadn't picked out clothes yet and still had on sweat pants. I pulled on jeans and a top and checked myself out in the mirror when she exclaimed, "Mommy, you look so pretty now!"

Holding me to a standard already at just three years old! The kids are most definitely at that age where we never quite know what they're going to say or do, and their level of independence is reaching an all new high. They put on their own socks and shoes much of the time and when people ask if I still dress them, I quickly inform them that the kids have been picking out their own clothes—with just a little guidance from mama—for awhile now! They ask to be excused from the table after a meal and clear their dishes to the sink and put their milk in the fridge. They take dirty clothes to the laundry hamper downstairs and put their shoes away in their own individual shoe bins. It's our latest shoe storage system, complete with name tags to identify each other's bins, and it's been working out pretty well so far. I added a basket to collect dirty socks because those were just getting scattered on the floor.

We are all still enjoying their two days a week at pre-school, which they love and are learning so much so fast. Their teachers are great and they do all kinds of fun projects and really blossom in a class setting! After I picked them up on Thursday we came home and they helped me sort all the clean laundry into two piles: one for Harrison and one for the girls. Meanwhile, Kailey worked in the kitchen and emptied all their lunch bags. She puts the cold packs back in the freezer and the tupperware in the sink for me to wash. They are very helpful around the house and I've seen each of them voluntarily clean something up on more than one occasion without any direction from myself or the husband! I think eventually we will start chore charts, but I've got to get a little more organized for that to happen.

Most days I still feel like I'm flying by the seat of my pants, but I still will get a productive afternoon here or there to make up for the mess. I've recently come to realize that I thrive somewhere in between the neatly organized and the organized chaos. If I had everything in a place and a place for everything, I think I would go a little crazy and feel too categorized. But if my house gets super messy or everything is out of control and nothing is in its semi-rightful place, then my left eye starts twitching. You know, that whole balance thing.

All four kids were laughing hysterically and having a grand ol' time earlier this morning. When I went to investigate, I discovered they'd dragged pillows, blankets, books and a bunch of random toys to the landing in the middle of the stairs. They asked me "not to touch it, mama" during their nap time so they could play there some more when they woke up, because they had plans to have a tea party together. Needless to say, I've stepped it over many times and haven't moved a thing! Happy laughter and four three-year-olds getting along is worth a mess any day. (And let's be honest, that mess is the least of my problems when you look at the pile of laundry and dishes that have accumulated.)

We've had a busy start to fall and plenty of fun so far. Not long ago, we hosted a Halloween party at our house for our quad buddies, the Shawvers, complete with a festive-themed lunch! I made English muffin "mummy" pizzas, ghost bananas using chocolate chips, pumpkin oranges (the stem is a piece of celery) and Mickey-shaped veggie chips I found at Target. My quad mama buddy, Amber, brought some pumpkin books to read and the kids did a great and after lunch they got to eat popcorn, watch a Halloween Mickey Mouse episode and exchange treat bags. They had a lot of fun!

I was super excited to have my long time bestie (and former college roomie) Lisa and her son, Warren, come stay with us for awhile. They currently live in Malaysia so time with them is very treasured. Warren is 16 days older than the quads, so they are perfect playmates and five fast friends!

The husband has pulled out all the Cowboys and A&M gear he can find in the kids closets for them to wear during the games and the kiddos have all learned to cheer at the TV—Kailey is the loudest!

Kailey also has an affinity for mommy's shoes, she's always traipsing around the house in whatever pair she can find. Flip flops, house shoes, wedges and, lately, my boots. Because of the cooler weather that's finally arrived, the boots have been pulled out from the back of my closet and put back in rotation!

The husband still travels often enough for work, so we enjoy family activities on slow weekends when he's home. The kids watched him carve our first family Jack-O-Lantern this past weekend and we've been enjoying walks in the neighborhood, too. They've done so well staying on the sidewalk, watching for cars and keeping the pace! And bedtime stories with Dada is always a highlight. :)

Lately, rainy weather has kept us a bit more house bound. But it's actually a welcomed change of pace, since we normally get out every day. Which still isn't always a simple undertaking with my foursome and often I'm completely exhausted by the time we've come and gone. I still do grocery shopping trips, Target outings and afternoons at the library with my crew on my own, and did several swim lessons at the end of summer and attend play dates regularly with no assistance. Anything bigger, and I like to have an extra set of hands!

When it's dreary out though, the answer is to make a run for Sonic ice and shakes then head back home to dry off, light some pumpkin candles and snuggle under blankets while watching movies. Or a Paw Patrol marathon, since we're talking about real life, ha!

Most importantly in the middle of all the chaos—especially as the holiday season kicks off—is time with my husband. Our relationship is still our number one priority, because happy mommy and daddy equal happier, better parents for the quadlings! We try to manage a date night once every two to three weeks, even if we're exhausted (like we were at dinner in the photo below taken earlier this week!). Time alone together to have an entire conversation without being interrupted by little voices, a chance to sip an adult beverage and relax or simply sit together and hold hands while watching a movie at the theater are all important opportunities for us to reconnect and prioritize our relationship. It's vital for us to survive! Some folks ask how we manage it and others assume we get frequent breaks all the time and it's no big deal. We usually plan an outing one to two weeks in advance and schedule kid care with the grandparents or a baby sitter or with a close friend. I prep everything needed before leaving, like laying out PJs, setting out dinner supplies and sometimes even bathing the kids beforehand to make it easier on the folks that are watching them while we're gone. It can be hard work to get a "break" but is always worth it!

What's really cool is that I feel like we are already setting a good precedent for our kids to follow. They know that daddy takes mommy on dates and understand that it usually involves going to a restaurant and a movie. We have explained it's our special time together and they always see me get dressed up and put on makeup and dada puts on nice clothes and drives mama in the car. In an effort to begin establishing healthy relationship goals early on, we've decided to take our kids on "dates" periodically. For instance, tomorrow the husband is taking our three girls out on a lunch date and I'll be taking Harrison on a date with me! They are so excited and have been talking about it all week! We'll let them all pick out some dress clothes to wear, I'll braid the girls hair and the husband and I will dress up as well. We're both taking our respective parties to real restaurants, not fast food joints, and are excited ourselves at the opportunity to spend some special time with them. I am beyond grateful God blessed me with such an amazing man as my husband and the father to my children, to teach them what a true, Godly man is like. Harrison has a pretty awesome role model!

I snapped the picture above last Sunday when the husband took the girls to church while I stayed home with Harrison who was under the weather. They looked so grown up in their dresses and boots! Someone suggested that was a good look for our Christmas card photos this year, and I'm thinking that's a great idea...

Onward to the next project on my list and another day as a quad mama. To borrow a phrase from Paw Patrol, "Do my best and forget the rest!"