{Weekend Recap} A House Full of Family!

The big headline for the past several days is...we have all our stuff! The movers came on Friday and spent about six hours loading up our two storage units and bringing it to the house and unloading everything. We now have an actual living room set-up (with no baby toys in it!), a very well functioning playroom for the kids, bed frames and chairs and tables, oh my! I'm ecstatic to have my stuff back. It'd been too long.

not in a picture taking mood, mom!

Last week, my BFF and former college roomie Lisa and her kiddo came to stay with us for a few days. She and her husband are moving to Malaysia this fall so we only have a little bit more time to spend together before she's continents away. Warren played great with the quads, who have been working through some crankiness that past two weeks—ever since they got their 12 month vaccinations. Combined with ongoing teething and they've been little hell raisers that have made me question my sanity more than a few times in the last couple weeks. But, like I told my mom, I can't lose my mind because I don't have time to find it!

Fortunately after adapting to their new home and playroom and a couple days of Infant Advil and extra cuddles, everyone came around and they've been doing great. Thursday evening, the husband and I stuck 'em all back in their playroom clad in just their diapers while we fetched pajamas and prepared to start dressing them for bed. They were all in such a good mood and happily playing that we jumped in the playroom with them and hung out for nearly an hour, cracking up at their antics and watching Kailey chase Harrison around and push each other down, laugh and do it all over again.

Their mood transition was good timing because we've had a round of visitors over this weekend. My mom stayed with us Friday night while the movers brought everything. And miracle of all miracles, the babies still took their regularly scheduled naps and hung out in their room with Grandma until the movers were done. Saturday we were unpacking boxes and my mom unpacked and put away our entire wet bar's worth of wine glasses, margarita glasses, martini glasses, beer glasses, shot glasses...well, you get the gist. And I swear we don't drink that much. Wait, how much is "that" much? ;)

My sister, Summer, Sabrina and her granddaughter, Rayne, all came to see the house on Saturday afternoon. Shortly after they arrived, both of the husband's brothers as well as his older brother's wife and kids plus the husband's parents all arrived. We had a house full! But even with seven kids, ranging in age from one to five, going to town in the playroom it still held up great and there was room for everyone. We added two recliners and a hutch for the TV and DVD player to the playroom and the magnetic chalkboard fireplace cover the husband and I made has turned out to be great. (I'll have a DIY post on that soon.) I loved seeing our playroom full of kids having fun, and both the husband and I loved seeing our house full of family. Better yet, all with room to walk and talk and hang out!

cousin hailey playing with logan

kiddos everywhere!

cousin harper with kailey

dad and logan - future aggie?

harper loved the aggie hat too!

me and the big man

Our last house was half the size of this one and then after nearly four months living in a small apartment, we are relishing every single inch of space we have in our new digs. And we've managed to fill it up, too. I have no idea how we made everything fit in our last house while accommodating all the pack-and-plays, swings and tummy time mats we had out during the babies' first year of life. It's incredible to set up shop in a place that works so well for us, has a great layout and enough room to really settle in. I look forward to sharing photos of the rooms in progress!

uncle mark and cousin harper, on the left, with daddy and harrison

the husband's older brother and his wife and daughter

messy dinner!

Originally, the husband's parents had wanted to get the whole family together for dinner since everyone was in town for once. But we weren't able to pack up the quads and go anywhere since we were still sorting boxes and recovering ourselves. Since everyone was already at our house, we decided to have dinner there and my mother-in-law picked up barbecue at Dickey's down the street, we fed the babies and put them to bed, then cracked open some bottles of wine and ate around our (new-to-us) dining table. It was so nice to have a family meal and enjoy time with everyone while continuing to bask in the glow of finally having a home that accommodated everything. We seriously can't get enough of it. Both the husband and I enjoy having people over frequently, throwing parties, hosting dinners and entertaining. It's been a long while since we've been in a position to do that, but now that the quads are bigger and bed time is a lot simpler, we look forward to returning to those things. However, impromptu family gatherings are always the best in my book!

Today has been a cloudy, gray and rainy day. The babies slept in until 8:15 this morning, at which point the husband and I jumped up to get them all changed and made fried potatoes, scrambled eggs and fruit for breakfast. We've just been hanging out in our pajamas since, moseying around doing a few things, watching Madagascar 3 with the kiddos, eating and doing laundry. It's the perfect end to a busy week and the bit of R&R we needed to get ready for another one. Happy Sunday folks, and come on back tomorrow for a major giveaway!

{Home Decor} Metallic Spray Paint Chandelier Makeover

One of the things our new house has is a lot of gold fixtures. Gold chandeliers, gold door knobs, gold faucets. It's not an overabundance, since some things have been updated to bronze. But not everything. Like the traditional gold chandelier that was hanging in our dining room. My mom taught me to waste not, want not. So I wasted not and grabbed a can of Rust-O-Leum's oil rubbed bronze metallic spray paint and went to town. And now I want not, either.

Before...

During...

After...

I have some lampshades I might add to it that are coming from storage, I'll have to see how they look. And the dining table and chairs were a $250 Craig's List purchase and another future makeover project. Slowly but surely, things are coming together!

Making the Move!

It happened. There was a lot of blood, sweat and tears involved (okay, maybe not tears), but it happened. We're in! And the new house is everything we'd hoped it'd be for us. Lots of spaces, the perfect layout, warmth and character, roomy yet cozy. We love it.

This actually marks our sixth move in less than seven years (our seven year anniversary is this September). We moved into our first house right after our wedding, then put everything in storage, rented out our place and moved to Scotland for a year. Then we moved back to Texas, lived with friends for four months, then moved into our second home. Less than three years (and one set of quadruplets!) later, we sold our second home and moved into an apartment back home in DFW. Now we are moving into our "forever home" and, after never living in a place for longer than three years, I'm ready to put down some roots!!

Grandad's truck was temporarily turned into a carnival!

We started the moving process last night. I'd multitasked like a circus master all day long. I woke up an hour before the babies to pack some more boxes, then packed even more while my nanny fed the quads breakfast, then we double teamed baths, then my step-dad arrived and we loaded his truck then unloaded it at the new house, then we went to pick up a dining table I'd purchased and took it back to the house and stored it in the garage, I checked on the contractors who were busy painting then we picked up my mom's dog for her across town and met her back at the apartment where she was manning the couch while the quads napped. Then everyone left and I showered, then the babies were up so I tended to them then let them play in their room while I packed yet more boxes in there, then I finally gave up and sat with them all in their play pen because they'd started screaming bloody murder. Then my step-dad came back over and the in-laws showed up and we fed the babies dinner, ate ourselves, then loaded up a U-haul and the back of a truck and the guys took it over to the house and hauled it all out. Then I deflated like a wheezy helium balloon crawled into bed for a little TV and went to sleep.

And now we're here. After a day that you might as well say was a quadruple repeat of yesterday. What? We do things in fours around here... ;)

the babies enjoyed their new chairs :)

I was a bit disappointed that our contractors still hadn't finished the paint and put in the new baseboards and trim yet, and there's even a little paint to finish up in one of the babies' rooms. And there's dust everywhere. But they're supposed to show up early tomorrow so hopefully they'll get it wrapped by day's end.

Meanwhile, our set-up is minimal but everything's in working order. My mom and step-dad have worked hard all day helping us get unpacked, and my mom literally tore through kitchen boxes and found a home for everything! My mother- and father-in-law also came and the husband was glad for the help since he had to return to the apartment for the two cribs still there, our bed and other key items. We've all been running crazy all day as well as tending to the babies, who have done absolutely wonderful with the transition. They're rock stars!

Lawn guys are also coming in the morning to get our front yard in shape. Next,  I've got to schedule movers to empty out our two storage units and unload it at the house next week. It will feel so damn good to have allllll my stuff back at long last.

Now my arms are about to fall off because it's taken every bit of energy (and brain power) I had left to assemble this post. G'night one and all!

I Have Walls + A Central Market Discovery!

There are walls in my house! In all my house! The contractors got all the dry wall installed in all the former holes that had been torn out due to mold. (That's since be treated and cured.) I'm so excited that all they have left now is to finish painting! And they should be done TODAY. Carpet cleaners are coming this morning to make the floors pretty and to fog our air ducts one more time—one of our a/c  units had a small mold infection as well. This house is going to be cleaner than a penny whistle!

The hole in the living room ceiling is now patched and the whole ceiling has been painted since I took this photo. Woo hoo!

And the paint is almost done in Harrison and Kailey's room. The room was red red red and it took them three coats to cover it and make it white. After that, we realized the ceiling was very tan! The red had been so disconcerting that it was hard to tell. So they've painted the ceiling white and are now working on the built-ins and trim everywhere. I can't wait to decorate their rooms!

After checking on the progress at the house yesterday morning, I needed a couple grocery items and decided to check out the nearby Central Market and let me tell you, I was in looooove. In case you don't know, I'm obsessed with H-E-B grocery stores. They have them everywhere in Houston and they always have fresh produce, nice stores, Texas-made fare and even their own store brand goods are worth the buy. Central Market is owned by H-E-B so I'm thrilled to have one a short drive away! They had tons of fresh produce, including lots of organic choices, a huge deli, seafood and meat section, an olive bar a mile long and a cafe area chock full of freshly made foods from veggie egg rolls to jicama cole slaw. Yum!

Now I'm EXCITEDLY gearing up for us to move into our new house tomorrow!!! Many of you have been counting down the days with me!

{HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY DANCE}

I'll do my best to get some photos and a quick post up by day's end tomorrow to update everyone on our move-in progress and quad-baby setup. Let's do this!

Learning How to Thrive with Quadruplets

To say my life has changed since having quadruplets is most certainly an understatement. If you'd asked me five years ago what I thought my life would be like now, I would've have answered that hopefully we'd be trying to start a family or just now have a baby on the way and that I'd still be an editor for a magazine somewhere and we'd be enjoying a little country house on the outskirts of Houston.

I would have blinked in utter dismay and gone into shock had you told me I'd have one-year-old quadruplets, a beautiful new home in the Dallas area and my own (currently on "hold") freelance writing company. In fact, I'm pretty sure that was my reaction when the ultrasound tech pointed to the fourth baby on the computer screen.

There are countless ways in which my life has changed, the most obvious being the four children I now care for around the clock. Running out to meet a friend for lunch or the husband and I deciding to drop everything for dinner and a movie are things of the past. I was launched into a very difficult and hazardous pregnancy then two months of hospital bed rest on awful medication that challenged my very will to live. Then I was catapulted into being a mother of four and watching my tiny little babies fight for life in the NICU for nearly two months. Next, I immediately began making 32 bottles every day and feeding said babies around the clock. I'd never been so sleep deprived in my life!

Now we're moving into the toddler stage and the kiddos are starting to show more recognition of things, of words, of your movements and vocal sounds. They've actually started mimicking us on occasion and their curiosity for the big wide world out there is captivating. I've begun to realize what a role model I will truly be setting for these kids. I want them to be strong, unafraid, motivated and smart. I want to drive them to be the best human beings they can and to go for their dreams and follow their hearts.

The weight of this realization, times four impressionable minds at one time, can be stifling at times. I wonder if I'll do a good enough job, if I'll say the right things at the right time, set the right example, comfort them when needed and push them when it's time to get tough.

As the babies grow and we become more mobile and active and able to participate in the "outside world," the husband and I have both begun to experience the public's reaction to a couple walking around with quadruplets. We got glimpses of it before during trips to the hospital or doctor's office, when we had four tiny infants in car seats snapped onto two twin stroller frames. Now it's simply in full force. We can't go anywhere in public without being questioned, judged or congratulated. It's a whole new slice of life that we're gradually learning how to handle.

Recent events motivated me to write this post. To share the thoughts and feelings we encounter nearly daily. We are really enjoying getting out with our crew more often, but I often end up bracing myself when people follow behind us or come up to us directly to "catch" our attention and ask questions. They always assume we did IVF (we didn't) and they almost always comment on the fact that we're either done having kids or that we must be so tired and have our hands full.

While some comments may be true, many of them get old after awhile. Partly because of repetition, partly because of the way people act like we're a science exhibit. I always smile briefly and just try to keep moving, running my errands or whatever that may be. Whenever we stop we tend to draw extra attention and, since we never know what people are going to say, we try to avoid it for the timebeing. We went to the mall a couple months ago and stopped for a few moments outside a store and in a matter of minutes were surrounded by a circle of people. One couple stopped to look at the babies, then a group of girls, then other people noticed people were gathering so they gathered to point and look. I felt like an exhibit or a freak show.

I know quadruplets aren't something you see every day. Heck, I would be amazed and nudge my husband in the ribs and try to discreetly glance at the babies. I'd also just smile and keep walking by or comment to the mother how beautiful her children were or how great she looked or something to make her happy. I've always been that way when I see moms out with their kids, even before I had my own. I firmly believe that you never know how a nice comment bestowed on someone might positively impact their day! Years ago, I made a pact with myself that whenever I was out, I'd say at least one nice thing to someone.

Thanks to a very supportive group of fellow quad moms both in Texas and around the country, I usually feel pretty normal. I'm used to having quads now so everything in our crazy house is normal to me these days! Our group is very involved and has been great for advice and support, especially on those long, hard days when you're keenly (painfully) aware that you have four small children all the same age. And only one of you.

In the quad group, we've often shared support when people have been quick to cut us down. Most of the time, I think it's because others don't understand our situation. I've been told that it's terrible I have quads because now their tax dollars are paying for my welfare (what!?), that it was unfair to the infants themselves to try and have four babies (yes, I did that on purpose), that I shouldn't whine when I don't have help or that I should hire a nanny and not turn my family into slaves (no one's in shackles, I swear!), that I'm an idiot, that I'm an octomom wannabe (I assure you with all my heart, I am not) and the list goes on. I've quickly learned the bottom line is that curiosity trumps manners. And people love to judge.

I love this video on YouTube, I've been asked every single one of these questions! The video also sort of portrays the cynicism that can so easily come to me—and other moms of multiples—when responding to people's prying inquiries. Finding a balance between privacy and politeness and protecting your children so they don't feel like an attraction at the zoo is a very fine line to walk.



Fortunately, this is not the majority of our experience with the general public. Just a small percentage. It comes with the territory, I always say. We knew while I was still pregnant with the quads that these sort of things were likely to be expected. And I've comforted and stood up for other quad moms when folks said similar, or even worse, hurtful comments to them.

Dealing with folks that we cross paths with is definitely something we're working on. I never know what people are going to say, but I never want to cut down people that are going to say something nice. And I certainly don't want to be selling my kids short. By that I mean, they are really cute babies with big ol' smiles and I want them to be admired and appreciated. Apples of my eye and all, right? But the minute you make eye contact or entertain a question or two, you never know where it'll end! Will that be the last question? Or are they going to have the IVF discussion and accuse me of being irresponsible for having so many kids? Or will they smile and nod and leave me in peace? One can never be sure. And whenever we are out in public, I'm already keeping an eye on all four kids in the stroller, the shopping cart I'm either pulling behind me or my husband is pushing, searching for snacks in my purse and making sure I don't run over anyone in the process. It's not exactly the most convenient time to have a conversation with a stranger. Oh, and both the husband and I are trying to "enjoy" our family outing as much as possible. ;)

I've certainly made my blog an open book about our life with growing quadruplets and I did for two reasons: to support other quad moms, especially those who come after me and email for support or advice as they embark on their pregnancies—as well as any moms or moms-to-be in general, there's strength in numbers!; and for those who are interested in reading along and hearing the tales of a high-order multiples family. I have loved reading the comments many readers leave on my posts and getting to know some of you readers even more personally!

That said, it's probably high time for another FAQ post so if you have a question (that's polite and clean!) and you're dying to ask, leave it in the comments section for me and I'll be answering them all in an upcoming post.

And, I want to thank all of you for reading. And sharing. And supporting us! We're not any more special than any other family and we're not above the challenges that comes with raising any number of children. We're just a family with four babies that get asked a lot of questions. ;)

As always, I look forward to continue sharing about our life with quads and how we make the most of every day, one tale at a time...