One at a time, it is decided!

We had our 15 month check up on Tuesday July 29th. I had taken off that day to recover from our river vacation and to put up all our stuff. Dallas ended up having to work but was able to get off early enough to attend the visit with me and thank goodness. Our appt was at 3:20 pm but the office had said to come in around 4 pm. We arrived a little after 4 pm and I received a call from the office saying she was behind again and for us to come in about 30 mins. We were in the parking lot, Hello! Nope not leaving and coming back so we let the kids run around outside for a while. They loved it and I was hot. We ventured into the office to let them play. They played well for a while then they got bored aka adventurous! They feel at home in our doctor's office and everyone knows them by name. They feel free to do as they please which makes controlling them more difficult. One would take off down one hall while the other went down the opposite hall with Dallas and I right behind them. They did not want to be held especially Miss Paige. We finally were called back to our room and we could rest easy they were now contained!

Ethan weighed in at 26 lbs, 15 ozs and 31 inches tall. Paige weighed in at 25 lbs, 14 ozs and 31 3/4 inches tall. I don't believe for a second that she is taller than Ethan but she sure was more wiggly than her brother! We took the measurement and moved on. We went back to our room and waited for our turn. The wait is always horrible but so worth it when she gets to you. She never rushes me through my questions in fact she usually goes above and beyond what I need to know. D and I love her and her office. I had mistakenly not brought dinner with us thinking we would be home in plenty of time. Dallas had to rush to a near by restaurant and dig up some chicken for them to eat once she had gotten into our room. Dallas fed the little pups "bites" as Julie (Dr. Tomberlin) and I talked.

We talked about everything from their head to their feet. They are really growing and developing well. She wants us to work on body parts starting with one a week. I have decided to start with nose and work my way around in no particular way. She said to point out every one's nose over and over throughout the week then switch body parts while still referring back to the nose. I know the kids recognize some of the body parts already simply because I say give me a foot and they do. They follow commands very well and that is right on track for their age. Woo hoo! I have always tried to get them involved and it seems to have worked well. Instead of saying "get out, no" when they get into the pantry I say "can you shut it" and they do. Its like a challenge and our stubborn kids wouldn't let a challenge pass by! I have never been the best about drilling the kids with words, objects, or actions. Part of me feels like they will be "schooled" for many years in their future and it is not necessary to drill them with every object at such a young age. However the other part of me wants them to have the best education possible starting now to better support and guide their futures. For now I guess we will just start with nose! Ha

Back to the check up... We talked about the new nap schedule we switched to about 1 1/2 weeks ago. We went from two naps to one nap simply because the kids were all obviously ready. All four of the quads (mine and Melissa's kids) were not napping well at their second nap. We now put them down at 12:30 after lunch and they sleep until around 3 pm. We are still having some issues but on a whole they seem to be adjusting well. The biggest problem thus far is that by 6 pm one or both of my kids are super cranky! They will adjust I imagine but geez they sure are pissy in the evening. The only other problem we have had with the new nap schedule is that they only took about a 1 1/2 hour nap at home this weekend instead of 2 1/2 to 3 hours like at Melissa's house. It was the first weekend attempt at the new schedule and we were at the river so they weren't in a normal routine anyway. We will see this weekend how it goes and I will let everyone know.

While examining Ethan Dr. Tomberlin discovered that all 4 of his molars have broken through! No wonder he was such a crabby handful last week, poor baby. Paige's molars have been swollen for weeks but none have broken the skin. I can't very well check myself because I don't have the magic sugar sticks that she gives them for distraction. I have "borrowed" a few before but they don't work the same at home as they do at the doctor.

We talked about discipline and what our next step should be. I have a slight problem with discipline considering my kids are only in my care a few hours a day five days a week. They are slowly becoming more and more curious and discipline is starting to be important. Thus far the only real problem we have had has been the couch. Ethan is starting to throw screaming tantrums when he doesn't get his way but I just ignore him and he gets over it. I now must find something to use as a time out chair that they can not get out of immediately. I still think it is hard for them to understand the concept of time out but you have to start somewhere. Whatever I decide to use for time out at home has to coincide with time out at the sitter. I guess I have to get with Melissa and decide what we should do. Lord help her if she has no discipline and the quads take over!!!

Another big topic was food simply because Paigey won't eat sometimes. She will always eat her fruit, mostly eat her meat, and rarely eat her veggies. Ethan loves his veggies and picks them out first. What a good boy! Miss Paigey on the other hand won't try anything new at all. We are now cutting her milk during lunch and dinner and giving her only water until she eats well. This has seemed to help thus far but truly she would rather not eat than eat something she doesn't like. The food is definitely a work in progress and will be for a long time.

We were at the doctor until 7:30 pm which is 30 mins after their bedtime. It was not fun once we got in the car. We have decided that we are going to take one baby at a time to well checks from now on. Dallas said he would rather take a day off work than take them both at the same time ever again. They just get really cranky after a while and D is the one watching the kids while I talk to the doctor. It is always easier to keep one baby happy rather than two. All in all it was a very good check up and the kids are doing excellent!

PS I had this blog saved from the week it actually happened so the time line might be messed up. We have been on one nap a day for weeks now, etc...

Noah's 5th Birthday Party

It's My Birthday!!!

On Sunday we went to our friend Cheyenne's son, Noah's, 5th birthday party. It was at 2pm at her Mom's house out in Mansfield. We arrived about 2:10 which is really good for us. We unloaded the car; floats, towels, lawn chairs, cooler, diaper bag, and oh yeah the kids. Paige got excited the minute she saw the pool! She just loves the water. We can usually get away with putting her in the float and she will stay in it for a while.

It doesn't take her long and she wants out. She want to swim like a fish but she just can't yet. She gets rather frustrated sometimes. I have figured out if I hold her by her hips then she can move freely while I still have control of her body. I don't know why but both of my kids like to drink pool water. I think that is one of the most difficult things about taking them swimming is trying to keep the chlorine injection down to a minimum.

April, Mike, and Reese were already in the pool when we arrived and Reese was showing off her "diving" skills. We later learned that her new found art of jumping in was quite scary. She is too young to understand you can only jump in when someone is there to catch you! April and I were nervous wrecks half the time. Kids and pools always put moms on high alert.

After swimming for about an hour we decided we all needed a break. The hamburgers and hot dogs weren't ready yet so I proceeded to get the kids snack I had brought them. I am so glad I always bring "just in case" food! I started with puffs thinking that would hold them over till snack time which was only 30 minutes away. Wrong! They were like savage beast! I couldn't put the puffs out fast enough. I was feeding them off a picnic table bench out back where we were all sitting. Suddenly a gust of wind came along and puffs went everywhere. No worries my children had no problem eating them off the ground grass and all. I tried to pick them up and avoid too many bites of grass but it was pointless. By this time other kids had started to line up and I had puff piles everywhere. The puffs weren't doing the job so I pulled out the grapes. The bench wasn't big enough for everyone so Cheyenne took Paige across the yard to a lawn chair to eat. Safe to say the grapes, grilled cheese sandwich, and almost an entire can of puffs were demolished in minutes. They say swimming makes you hungry and that's no lie!
Puff, grapes, & grass... Yum and a little dirt... even better!

Once the kids finished eating I decided to take Paige inside the house since she was so red. We had covered her a million times in sunscreen but she still was glowing red. The house was by no means child proofed and had no toys. I figured there would be a few toys so I didn't bring any but all the toys were too old for them. I literally chased Paige throughout the house putting thing up. I shut all the doors possible and moved pictures and books but I was outnumbered by house plants! It was a little trying but she looked so much better after having time to cool off.
Playing inside Napkins were a favorite

Everyone had eaten and it was time for the cake and cupcakes. We went outside and sang to Noah as we tried to keep a candle lit in the wind. As we were singing I noticed Ethan out of the corner of my eye dancing to happy birthday! Oh my, he is so freaking cute!

See Dallas pointing at Ethan dancing!

The kids were running free around the backyard having a great time. Paige had found a big rubber duck and she was carrying it everywhere. Ethan apparently wanted to go swimming again because he went over to his float and crawled in it. He just sat there by himself in his float. That boy cracks me up! We decided to get back in the pool before we headed home.

Ethan was really having a good time in the pool at this point. He was splashing and laughing. Paige on the other hand was squirmy and wanted to be let go. I had let her run around a minute and we were on our way back down into the pool when I fell. April, Reese, Paige, and I were all at the steps that enter the pool when Reese suddenly dove into the water. April and I lunged for her and I slipped. I fell all the way down the steps dragging my right foot upside down underneath me. It hurt like hell! I managed to keep Paige from going underwater and she didn't even know anything had happened. I sat there in pain hoping it wasn't as bad as it felt. April took Paige and as soon as I could I got out of the pool. I could move it so it wasn't broken or anything. I hobbled into the house and gathered our things. It took everything I had to get out of the house without tears streaming down my face. I dressed and changed both the kids with the amazing help of April and Cheyenne. It is so awesome to have wonderful friends! We left around 5:30 pm and the kids were getting really cranky. We had skipped evening nap all together and it was starting to show. We could not get home fast enough. I propped my foot up with ice and Dallas started the nightly routine. He gave them baths and everything else Sunday night. I could barely walk but nothing serious just a bunch of bruises. The top of my right foot is swollen but I will survive. The kids were so worn out from swimming they slept until 8:15 am on Monday morning! Wow what a busy, crazy, fun weekend!

The weekend continues...

After we had rested for a while our best friends; April, Mike, and Reese, our God daughter came over to hang out. The kids were being rather fussy since their naps had been short and I was thrilled to have Reese over to play with them.


Ethan chasing Reese, mid run.
The kids had a great time chasing each other through the tunnel, into the ball pit, and everywhere else in the house. They brought over their wii and rock band game. We got a glimpse into what the world would be like if Mike Schumann was a singer... Thank goodness it is only a game! Just kidding, love ya Mike!

Aw, all our babies watching Mickey Mouse!

We had a wonderful Saturday afternoon hanging out with friends!

Busy Busy Weekend

This past weekend turned out to be a busy one. We went to a small family reunion on Saturday for my Pap Paw's side of the family. Many years ago this reunion consisted of an entire weekend spent camping in rvs, playing games, and visiting with family. Over the years it has dwindled into a one day meeting with a pot luck lunch. I have mixed feelings about the reunion as it is today. On one hand I miss the weekend experience. I miss the camping, watermelon seed spitting contest, egg toss, and yes even the cow patty toss! We used to have teams racing "skies" on land. Four or five people would stand on a board, tie their feet down then they had to walk in sequence to avoid falling face first. The first team to the marker and back won! I have a lot of fond memories growing up of this reunion and my grandmother's family reunion in the canyon in Oklahoma as well.

However I also greatly appreciate the simplicity of the reunion today. My main objective when attending a reunion is to visit with family and show off my kiddos. Since the kids are generally running crazy at this age, I find it very difficult to visit with anyone at any time! I enjoy not having to pack an entire car full of stuff. I enjoy showing up, seeing everyone, eating good home cooked food, and then going home!

We were doing better on time than we usually do getting ready Saturday morning. It wasn't until it was our turn to get ready that we suddenly started loosing ground. Dallas and I couldn't find anything to wear. We spend so much time making sure everything is ready for the babies that we often forget about ourselves. We finally threw on something. We hurried out the door and we were at this point about 30 minutes later than I had wanted to be.

We had fed the kids twice already, breakfast and morning snack but once again had neglected to take care of ourselves. We tried to swing into a 7 eleven to grab something small but of course they had nothing. We finally got something to eat and raced out of town. It was almost 11 now and I had wanted to be there 11:15am. We were officially late! I called my older brother to see where they were and they were pulling into the parking lot of the church. CRAP! I hate when he shows up on time or early. In the past I could always count on him to be as late if not later than me but lately he has really disappointed me. He was already there and we were just leaving. I so needed a Zanics!

The kids slept on the way there but since the reunion is near Mineral Wells it wasn't very far. They only got about a 30 minute nap which is not long enough but better than nothing. I had gotten directions from my Mom during our leaving fiasco and was having trouble remembering the FM road number. I could have swore it was 313 two miles after Mineral Wells. I was questioning the location when we zoomed past FM 113 and Dallas thought that was the correct road. I informed him that he did not know and he just thought it sounded right. I couldn't get a hold of my Mom due to the crappy reception in BFE. We were now in Mineral Wells and I was questioning where we were. I finally reached my brother and discovered that the turn was in fact FM 113 two miles outside of Mineral Wells not after! CRAP!!! I hate when the man is right and so obviously too. I had to sit in the enclosed confines of our front seat and watch Dallas gloat with all his might about his rightness! Oh well can't be right every time I guess.

We finally arrived at almost noon and hurried inside. I was very excited to see my cousins and all the kids. We let the kids down and they were off!

Paige loved running around all the tables and from one side of the room to the other.





Ethan had a more important mission- getting his shoes off.

We fed the kids when they got hungry and I was glad I had brought food with us for them. The kids give me a very hard time eating anything that they are not already used to eating. I often take food with us if we are going somewhere I don't know the exact menu. They ate lunch and of course were done before Daddy and I had time to eat hardly any of our food. I made them sit and wait. We were hungry too. Once we were all done eating the kids got down to go run again. I had brought a basket of toys for them to play with but apparently I didn't bring enough. No one else brought toys and I was very happy I had thought to bring them. We found a little room in the back of the fellowship hall and made it the nursery. I hid all the "older" treasures, brought in the basket, and turned them loose.

The kids had a good time playing together and thankfully Grammie was willing to stay in there with them. Us parents would wander in and out of the room but only because we felt we had to. You have to remember how many kids were in our group. My cousin Nikki has twin boys that are 2 1/2 and a 3 month old little boy. My cousin Krissa has a little boy under 2. My brother has twins that are 16 months and then my twins at 15 months. Craziness but I love it.

Me & Meghan What is that, a girl!

Now the time had come for pictures. Taking group and family photos has always been a big deal in our family. We have large pictures posted from all the years past of the entire group. I love looking back at all of them and remembering those good times. In years past I was always sitting by my cousin Meghan and we have tried to continue our tradition. Now we are trying to control wild children but nonetheless we are still together in the picture. All I have to say about pictures this year is... hurry the hell up! My Aunt Wanda thinks it is easier to have the entire group scoot together rather than backing her butt up. Paige was not happy and did not want to be held. She wanted to run and there was nothing you were going to do to stop her. Kids were pulling hair, kicking, crying, and trying to run away. Then Wanda wanted a picture of all the kids that were in attendance. HA! I said good luck with that one and walked off.

Just our group All the kids

We did manage to get a picture of my grandparents with all 8 of their great grandchildren!

We loaded up the kids at around 2:30pm and headed home. The kids fell asleep immediately and I could have too. It is absolutely amazing how exhausted you can get in a few hours chasing kids in a non kid friendly place. We arrived home, unloaded, and happily laid on the couch. It makes it all worth it to see my grandparent's faces. Everywhere I walked that day I heard people talking about all the kids and my grandparents were just glowing. Everyone in Stephenville, Texas will see the picture of them and all their great grandchildren. What a blessing it is to have them here! I love you Granny and Pap Paw!

Its just plain scary

Awww, Look it's Paigey!

& Little Ethan in a dress!

Ok I must clarify... both of the above pictures are of me when I was little! I did not dress my son in a dress at least not today. I just thought it was amazing how much they both look like me. Have a great day!

Swinging

Yesterday evening it was finally cool enough for us to go outside for a little while. The kids love their swing set they got for their birthday but it has been so hot we haven't been on it in a while. After they finished dinner last night we took them out for a swing. They had so much fun! The storm was blowing in and it was so nice and cool. We went in right before the rain started. After the kids went to bed Dallas and I sat outside watching the rain. Aw, how relaxing!



I got a foot to the face a few times. The things you do for pictures...

Just another Wednesday- NOT!

Today started out like every other Wednesday morning. I woke up a little late and really didn't want to get out of bed. I managed to drag myself out of bed and jump in the shower. I was too tired to make the babies food last night so I opted to do it this morning. Mistake number one! Every time I leave the food to do in the morning something happens and I end up being late to work.

The kids woke up at around 7 am. I changed Paige first as usual and decided to let her go play in the playroom while I got brother taken care of. I didn't put clothes on her yet because she had not had her morning poop. Mistake number two! On most mornings once I get finished changing Ethan's poopy diaper she is ready for another change. I usually dress Ethan immediately and Paige after her second diaper so she doesn't get it on her clothes. Sometimes I leave them without clothes until after breakfast so we don't go to Melissa's with banana stains all over our clothes.

Once I finished up Ethan's diaper I walked into the play room to give them their milk. Paige was bent over looking at something. My first reaction was she threw up. Wrong, worse! She had apparently pulled her diaper off as soon as she got in the room. She was covered in poo! It was all over her! She had stepped in it, tracked it across the room, and stuck her hands in it. It looked like a small cow had meandered across the play room.

I grabbed Paige under the arms and took her to the bathroom. I turned just in time to see Ethan go for the closest pile. I ran for him but he managed to get a couple fingers in for a feel before I reached him. I closed the playroom door and tried to get Paige back in the bathroom. She had been running around in the hall spreading poo from her feet as I retrieved Ethan. I managed to get them both in the bathroom long enough to shut the door.

I turned the water on to warm up and proceeded to somewhat clean Paige with a wipe. In the meantime she had tracked poo all over the bathroom floor and on the knee pillow left in the floor from last nights bath. I decided to forget washing her with a wipe and waited for the bath to get ready. We had one close call with a poo covered green bean that Ethan found but hand to mouth transfer was avoided.

I threw Paige in the bath and scrubbed her down. The entire time Ethan had one leg lifted up the side of the tub trying to get in himself. I finished her up and dried her off. Ethan still stubbornly trying to get in the tub, I took her to the nursery and went back for brother. Remember the hall is tracked with poo so I must keep them out of there also.

I put on Paige's new diaper and a pair us shorts to avoid this entire issue from happening again! I transferred them to the living room before they destroyed the nursery and figured out my game plan. I was already late, I needed to feed them, get them ready, get me ready, and clean all the poo. Hum... So I started in the living room. I turned on Toon Disney, picked up everything they could get into, blocked the couch as best I could and went to get their breakfast ready. Mickey Mouse bought be enough time to get ready. I fed them breakfast and tried to do as much of the daily food preparation as possible. In the rush I burned their grilled cheese sandwich, dropped grapes everywhere, and tripped over dogs at least four times.

Gotta Love Toon Disney when you are in a bind!

Once they were done eating I tackled the bathroom and hall mess. I moved onto the playroom next while they beat on the doors wanting in. They aren't ever locked out of their playroom and they did not appreciate it. I figured we were even cause I didn't appreciate cleaning poo all morning either.

I managed to get everything done and everyone in the car by 8:30 am. I was 30 mins late but in the grand scheme of it all I didn't figure that was too bad. I knew the day would come when I would have to clean poo off the walls or something similar but I was hoping it would be on a weekend. I was also hoping their Daddy would be home to help too but that is okay. I stepped back at one point this morning and thought, "This would make one hell of an episode on Everyone Loves Raymond."

What would my life be like without my babies... BORING! I love the little stinkers! Have a great day!

The Couch!!!!

I have about had it with the couch!!! Last Tuesday Ethan finally figured out how to get on our living room couch. They have both been trying for quite sometime but they were just too small. Ethan is now big enough to get that leg up over the far side of the couch and use his strength to pull himself up. He thinks that he is the biggest boy ever when he gets on the couch. He laughs and runs. It makes me a nervous wreck!

Of course since Ethan is on the couch Miss Paige thinks that she too should be enjoying the fun. By the second day she had figured out that if she moved to the far end of the side with the pull out bed she could get up. The bed side is lower than the other side of the sectional. I looked up one morning and saw two heads running across the couch. Oh No. I tried covering the couch in fitted sheets to minimize the grip for pulling themselves up. I even blocked the couch with their chairs but it was nothing but a small speed bump. Ethan simply moved them and continued to climb up.





After my blockade had failed so miserably I tried to stop the behavior with a simply "no" and taking them down every time. That too was pointless! They now thought it was a game and they were looking for my reaction. They are too young for time out and really this is the first thing that I have not been able to just fix. The fireplace we covered in Plexiglas, coffee table we put in the garage, and the dog door stays in when they are up. We have always been able to solve or avoid every problem with the house thus far.

At this point I thought I would just let them learn. After they fell a few times they would learn to not run on the couch. Well that was stupid. Paige fell a few times and I couldn't handle that one. I decided to put blankets under the cushions on the bed side of the couch to make it higher thus harder to climb. This stopped Paige from being able to conquer the couch but not Ethan. He is simply strong enough to pull his body weight up. Paige did not like the new turn of events and now screams if he is on the couch and she can't get up there. Oh Fun!

I don't really mind them being on the couch I just don't want them standing and running on it. If they would just sit down and crawl when they want to move I would be happy. I thought by this point maybe I could make Ethan understand to sit rather than get down. Ha Ha Ha on me! Every time he got on the couch and stood up I would sit him down and say "sit." I swear I said "sit down" a million times in an hour. He seemed to start to get it somewhat. He would sit as I walked towards him but the minute I walked away he would stand right back up and run. He learned a new word in the mist of all the couch drama. He can now say "sit" too bad is sounds like "shit"! So now he was not only going to break his neck on the couch but he was going to cuss while doing it. Wonderful!

By this time it was Thursday evening and I was cleaning the couch before we had company. I gated in the couch to keep the dogs off while it dried. I left it gated in the next day just to see what happened. The gate around the couch made Ethan so mad. He cried and cried when he saw the gate. He immediately tried to pull it down or move it. The gate worked for one day but it also kept the adults off the couch which makes it pretty pointless to even own. I knew the gate wasn't a permanent fix but I just needed a day of peace.

On Saturday morning Dallas tried another approach. He would not only say no and take Ethan off but he would also go put him in his chair. He would say "this is Ethan's chair" and put him down in it. This seemed to be working after a few times but in reality it was only because we were in the room with him. They got to play on the couch with Grandpa John and Grandma Be Be on Saturday because we were all sitting on it and it was just impossible to try and keep them down. They wanted to sit with us on the couch but they were really running not sitting at all. We tried putting the dog protectors (plastic spike pads) that we borrowed from my brother on when the kids were up but they just moved them. Ethan even stepped on one and made an awful face then he did it again. I swear!As of today, Tuesday, it has been a week since the entire couch issue started and we are exhausted with the whole thing. Paige has gotten over it somewhat because she can't get up by herself any longer. Ethan is still extremely determined to get on the couch simply for a reaction from us. We are continuing to do the exact same thing time after time. Take him down and put him in his chair. Tell him no this is Ethan's chair. He seems to be getting it slowly. Now sometimes when we come to get him he runs to his chair and sits down. He still thinks it is a game but what more do you expect from a 14 month old baby. Everything they do is a big game. Throwing sippy cups to the floor, running when I need to dress them, and even washing their faces in the bath is a game of bite the washrag. I wouldn't change the games for anything its what keeps them happy.

It seems that slowly Ethan is loosing interest in the couch. When he gets on it I see him look at me immediately for my reaction. Sometimes I ignore him and he gets down but if he knows I see him then I take him down and follow procedure. Persistence is the key and I will not give in to a person who still counts his age in months! I will win the battle of the couch at least until Paige gets big enough to start it all over again!