{My Recipes} White Bean & Chicken Pitas

A few days ago, I really wanted a light, healthy lunch. In a pita pocket. I had some of those pocket thins on hand so rolled with it.

In a bowl, I threw some torn pieces of rotisserie chicken, a couple roasted garlic cloves, kalamata olives (both of the latter from the olive bar at the grocery store), feta cheese, cannellini beans (rinsed & drained) and freshly ground sea salt and black pepper.

Then I squirted in a shot of spicy mustard and gave it another stir...

...and stuffed it into my pita. Yum!

A fresh glass of black iced tea and some baked sour cream & onion chips and I was good to go!

This would also be good with diced purple onion, torn basil leaves, diced tomato, etc. Be creative and make it your own. I have found that having a small container of marinated olives and roasted garlic cloves from the olive bar at my local grocer and a rotisserie chicken to eat on for several days (tacos, salads, sandwiches, etc.) make last-minute meals much easier. And tastier.

Happy eating!

{Daily Pics} Head Stands & Cake Pans

daddy thought he'd go play with the babies while drinking a beer. wrong! 

trystan's favorite new face

logan at it again - kid has to climb on top of everything!

before their birthday party, i made a "practice" cake to be sure they'd eat it. no problem! 

talking to daddy on skype while he was out of town for work 

"are you serious?"

headstand-ing harrison

{Quad Squad} Birthday Celebrations

While we're out at the lake wrapping up the quad's birthday party weekend, I wanted to share some photos of the babies' one year celebrations that began even before their actual birthday! It's so awesome to have four cutesy babies turning one all together and the husband and I have loved every minute.

someone (logan) wasn't keen on pictures!

My Aunt Deanie and my Grandma both came to visit and brought early birthday presents for the crew—books! They love books, especially the hardbacks like my Aunt Deanie gives them and immediately started flipping through the pages. It was also special for them to play with their great grandma, who got on the floor to get in on all the action! She is nearing 90 and had a stroke many years ago that left her speech impeded, but she's still every bit the grandma she's always been. ;)

Next, my nanny was so sweet to show up that morning with gifts for each of the babies plus a group gift. They all tore into their gift bags filled with tissue paper, sampling many of the pieces as they went, ha. The girls got adorable matching dresses and Harrison got a polo in the same color, and they loved their group toy as well.

Then my mom and step-dad came to see the babies that afternoon. My mom said she couldn't let the real occasion go by without seeing them in person! I treasure the fact that these kids are growing up so close to their grandparents, who put in a lot of sweat and tears to help raise them from the very beginning. It most surely takes a village! The quads loved playing with the wagon full of giant lego pieces that grandma brought, it's a favorite toy to date.

Right as my parents were leaving, my mother-in-law dropped by to bring some fun birthday balloons and some sweet clothing sets for the quads. I never thought I'd like dressing them in matching outfits, but as babies there's something so endearing about seeing the girls outfitted in coordinating clothes and Harrison in something boyish of the same color scheme.

I even got flowers for the apartment :)

When daddy got home from work, we broke out the bubble machine that was a birthday gift for the babies from their fellow quad buddies. At first they didn't know what to think, but quickly attempted to catch a couple bubbles in their fingers and jumped when they popped at the touch.

It's been a great week of celebrations and there's more to share once we're back from the lake. It's also been awesome for my husband and I to simply relish the fact that we feel closer to each other, even through all the craziness, chaos and exhaustion of the past year. It's only made us stronger and a better family unit and we feel we have fully embraced being parents to our amazing quadruplets. It's enabled us to discover an entirely new side to each other as a mom and a dad, and I credit much of our success to the fact that we continue to put each other first—as a husband and wife—in order to be even better, happy, connected parents.

I also want to express my gratitude to all who have been reading along on the blog—some of you for years now, and others for just weeks. I enjoy sharing our story and am so thankful for such a supportive group out there, sight unseen, that takes the time to leave thoughtful comments, celebrate our accomplishments and lift us up in times of need. Thank you!

The 28th Year

I am now 28 years old. Never (ever, ever, ever) thought I'd be 28 with four one-year-olds! Sometimes the unexpected in life is the best in life. I've been married for six and a half years now and love my husband more and more every day. We've gone through many life experiences, including living overseas in Scotland for a year, and through all of them we've become so much closer. It's amazing to share your heart with someone and continue to grow with them throughout your new life together, always finding ways to continue surprising each other, romance each other and share in new adventures. We embarked on our own big adventure(s) last May when we welcomed our quadruplets into the world!

So now I'm 28. I kid with the husband all the time that I've still got a whole two years to go before I even hit 30. And no, I'm not trying to make anyone reading this feel old. (Or feel too young, ha.) My husband's only 31 anyway, so only a few years separate us. But I've loved my 20s so much that I will be truly sad to leave them. Yet with four toddlers running around behind me by the time I hit 30, I know life won't be slowing down any time soon!

For a simple celebration this year, we went to a nice dinner at Nick & Sam's. It's one of Dallas' best steakhouses and we are infinite lovers of Vic & Anthony's but they only have four locations: Las Vegas, Atlantic City, New York City and Houston. And since we no longer live in the latter it's no longer an option unless we're making a getaway to Sin City.

Anyway, I was running through Target and spotted these airy black silk-like blouses on a rack and thought it'd be great for my birthday dinner. You know, when you spot something and you immediately know it'd be perfect for a specific occasion and it was just what you didn't know you were looking for? Except I went to grab the top in my size and, of course, there's none left. I checked the rack three more times just to be sure then felt completely disappointed in my aforementioned euphoria at finding a nice blouse. However, a few seconds later I feel better knowing that everyone else is also apparently wearing the top in a size large since they're all gone. Then I realize another Target is only about 10 minutes away, so I squeeze in the detour on my way back home and, BAM, there's the top in a large and off to checkout I go. My face might have passed for the latest lottery winner I was so happy. Should I be slightly concerned or outrageously upbeat that something so small got me so excited? I'll just say it made my week. After having quadruplets, clothes shopping isn't necessarily something I look forward to.

Blouse story aside, after our delicious steak dinner—we split the 22 ounce Cowboy ribeye, by the way and whoa delicious heaven—we headed over to my favorite hotel, the W. The cocktail lounge was just busy enough to keep us awake and entertained but not too boisterous to annoy the hell out of me. We talked and joked and laughed and felt like we used to a couple years ago, BQ (before quads). When we were lookin' all swanky and out on the town in a nice place drinking our nice drinks and having a nice conversation. Good to know those former lives still exist in us from time to time. ;)

In my 28th year, filled with four babies and all the diapers, bottles, laundry and slobbery kisses they bring, little heroic moments make all the difference—blouses and all. And I hope they continue to do for years and years to come! I have certainly learned to live for the little moments, just as much as I do for the big ones. I've come to appreciate taking a few minutes to just sit with one of my babies and look them in their big blue eyes or drop everything once I put them down for naps and read that book I've been dying to finish (which is Close to the Bone by Stuart MacBride, by the way). To relish a wonderful dinner with my husband or to enjoy all the excitement that comes with a lakehouse getaway for the babies' birthdays. Which is where we're off to now! So happy weekend and enjoy a few small moments of your own...

{Quad Squad} 12 Month Update & A Special Video!

I now have four one-year-olds on my hands. Life is never boring!

It's amazing to stop and think back on just how far we've come. I was measuring more than 50 weeks pregnant by the time I had the quads and they were born a full two and a half months early. At 10 days old, we nearly lost Harrison to various complications mostly caused by his premature lungs. I'll never forget that day for as long as I live. The small scar underneath each of his arms from the chest tubes he had will always be a small reminder at what a strong boy he is and how much he had to overcome. While thoughts of those scary days and fear of the unknown during the pregnancy are beginning to fade every so slightly, they're always in our mind. We feel blessed and eternally grateful on a daily basis for where we are today. There are little moments that happen often that make our minds jump back in time for just a second, and squeezes our hearts for these four miracle babies that make up our instant family.

Here's a quick video I made to commemorate the babies' one year birthday and our success at surviving the first year as new parents...and to quadruplets, no less!

One Year Video from Texas Take on Vimeo.

The quad squad is truly beginning to evolve into toddlers. We're slowly leaving "baby things" behind and beginning to recognize speech sounds, eat more real foods and I'm certain we'll have two walkers very soon. Their personalities are becoming stronger and you can almost see the wheels turning in their heads as they figure out new toys and surroundings.

Currently, each day we go through 64 ounces of formula, 72 ounces of homemade baby food and 25-30 diapers. Our daily schedule has also continued evolving, reflective of the babies' ever-changing needs. At 12 months, this is what our morning-to-evening looks like:

8am - morning spoon feeding & bottle
10am - nap
11:45am - lunch time & finger foods
2pm - nap
3:30pm - bottle
4pm - finger foods
6:30pm - dinner & bottle
7pm - bedtime!

I worked really hard to set up those two mandatory nap times about two months ago. At first, they wanted nothing to do with it and I maybe only got 20 minutes out of them. Now they typically go to sleep within 5-10 minutes and last anywhere from 45 minutes to two hours. There are days, though, that they fight it so hard and only sleep for a tiny bit. I put soft toys in their cribs and try to let them stay in there as long as possible. If one's going haywire and hasn't calmed down after awhile, especially after waking up, I'll get them out. Those two naps are my real breaks during the day! A time when the babies are confined in a safe place and I do not need to keep my eyes on them. I can shower, update this blog, watch a show, start dinner, make baby food or simply sit and read a magazine. I try to do more of the latter because I tend to work really hard during the rest of the day when they're awake.

Slowly but surely we're coming around with the food. We dropped down to three bottles a day a couple weeks ago and it's been going fine. We plan to switch to milk around 13 months as I just feel they aren't ready for it yet. They still rely heavily on their spoon feedings for most of their nourishment and seem to have begun weaning themselves off the bottle a bit. They all drink out of straw sippy cups wonderfully and are guzzling water and decaffeinated herbal tea all day. They love it! My mom got them started on it one day several months ago and now I literally make a small pitcher of tea each day just for the babies. We use this instead of sugary juices and I sweeten the tea with a little bit of Truvia for flavor. So far, they love decaf green tea and lemon zinger. ;)

I've struggled with finding new finger foods to introduce to the babies that they will actually eat. Trystan has decided when it comes to food on the table, she wants no part of it unless it's a carbohydrate. Every now and then I'll see her eat a piece of cheese or fruit, like she forgot that's what it was and then immediately grimaces when she swallows as if she made the biggest mistake by even putting it in her mouth! Kailey doesn't do so well with slippery or squishy textures and tends to gag on those. Sometimes she manages fine, but once the gagging starts we stop feeding her that food item or she'll throw up her entire meal. Ugh! Harrison and Logan are both good eaters and Logan will literally try anything at least once or twice and hasn't completely refused much at all.

Current finger foods on the docket are: all-natural baked Cheetoh puffs, strawberries, cheese crumbles (I crumble up a stick of it among all four), graham crackers, Annie's organic cheese bunny crackers, Plum Organics teething wafers, puffs, (a HUGE favorite on the daily), small pieces of banana and strawberry, Gerber's graduate cookies (they'll eat 1/2 of one at a sitting), bread & cheese (microwaved for 20 seconds and cut into cubes), rotisserie chicken, sweet potato fries, cheerios and, most recently, mashed potatoes.

I'm still making pureed foods for their three spoon feedings each day and they eat them all so well. I worry sometimes that most of their snacks are cookies or crackers, but they get a ton of fruits and veggies in their daily spoon feedings. More recent combos are raspberry, spinach, Greek yogurt & applesauce; sweet potato, spinach or kale, strawberry, applesauce w/ rice cereal; squash, banana & carrot. Once they are able to actually eat enough table food to better sustain themselves, we'll begin to back off on the spoon feeds, they're just not quite there yet.

The babies all have such distinctive laughs and I've learned they're ticklish when I squeeze their thighs or poke them in the sides of their stomach. I'm guilty of doing this all the time because I LOVE hearing them laugh! They are happy so much of the time, although Kailey still yells and grunts a lot to be sure she hasn't been forgotten for one second. We doubled the size of their play pen several weeks ago and look forward to moving into a house soon, in which the entire dining room will become their play area. Can't wait for them to have lots of room to roam around and practice walking! Harrison and Kailey stand on their own completely unassisted quite often and Trystan and Logan have both begun to do this as well. All four babies, especially Kailey, can walk along the edge of something for support. Mobility, here we come...

Everybody has multiple teeth and three out of four now have their top two teeth. Poor Kailey has only sprouted one top tooth on her upper gums for the time being (she has three on the lower gums), so we lovingly refer to her as Snaggletooth. I'm sure she'll thank us for that temporary nickname in the years to come.

Over the past several weeks, we've taken the babies on their first trip to the zoo, which they seemed to really enjoy. They behaved so well and even ate their lunch spoon feeding in the quad stroller in front of the giraffe and elephant exhibit. It was a lot of work hauling them all there, loading them in the stroller, pushing that thing around and packing all the necessities for several hours away from home, but worth it all.

We've also gone out to lunch and an early dinner with the quad squad, taken a shopping trip to Sam's and Target, visited the husband's grandpa for a second time in Weatherford, had more multiples play dates and visited with their great grandma on my side of the family, made our first trip to a mall (on a busy Saturday afternoon - be impressed!) and learned that bathing four babies at a time is the worst idea ever.

So there you have it! The quad squad's 12 month update! Right on the heels of their birthday is mine, which I'll be celebrating Thursday. Then Friday morning we head to a lake house for the weekend where we'll be hosting the babies' birthday party and I also plan to take their "official" 12 month photos out there. Fun times ahead!