Bucket Head

When we returned from the river there were a few new toys that had made their way into our playroom. My mother the queen of, "I don't know where that new toy came from" had struck again. I have told her no more toys simply because of the limited space but she just can't control her Grammie tendencies. This time the new members of the family consisted of two little pull around dogs that make barking sounds. They are really very cute. She bought a pink one for Paige and a brown one for Ethan. Of course Ethan likes the pink one just to bug his Daddy! Ha ha. They are in the stage of pulling things behind them and they love the new puppies so I accepted those as good gifts.

The other new additions were buckets. Buckets with handles like you would use at the beach. I did not see the use in these considering we have a toy separator that has a bunch of plastic tubs. They already use these tubs to put toys in and out of, to stack, and to sit, stand, or jump on. She insisted that they "needed" buckets and she quickly changed the subject.

Don't you just hate when your mother is always right! They love those stupid buckets! They carry them around. They put stuff in them and then take it all out. They pick up the balls for the ball pit in the buckets and dump them back in the ball pit. They even wear them around on their heads. I even took the buckets over to Melissa's this week and all the kids enjoyed them. They played 'basketball' yesterday with them. Girls were against boys and each one would take the ball, run, put it in the bucket, and run back. Then another would get the ball, bring it back, and start all over again. Good times...

Who knew that two buckets could be so much fun... oh yeah, Grammie did!

Our First Field Trip

On Friday, August 1st the kids went on their very first field trip! Melissa and Paula (her mother in law) took the quads to the Dallas Aquarium. Paula rented a van to make it easier to take all four kids and their car seats out for the day. I was very excited for the kids and scared for the two brave adults when I dropped the kids off that morning.

On our way...

Melissa had planned to go on a week day so it wouldn't be too crowded but her plan backfired. Apparently it was "take your entire day care" to the Dallas Aquarium day! She said it was a little difficult to let the kids see everything in the 3 story indoor aquarium behind all the wild day care kids. The kids favorite animal was by far the penguins. She said it was probably because they could push the stroller right up to the glass and the kids could see above and below the water.

They did really well staying in the strollers the entire time. She switched them around and put Addi and Ethan together and Landon and Paigey together. The kids often play in this fashion so they were fine with it. At one point Addi even laid her head on Ethan's shoulder in the stroller. Aw how sweet! Melissa tried to get a picture but she was too slow. Addi tried to give Ethan a couple kisses too which is why he probably plays with her :) They have been known to go into the kitchen cabinets together and shut the door!

Melissa said that every time they had to walk through the gift shop all four kids would immediately stick their arms out to try and grab stuff off the shelves. I can just see them "flying" with arms out through the tight nit aisles. They never actually grabbed anything so I give kudos to the drivers of the strollers.

After they were done looking at everything they went to lunch at a restaurant in the aquarium. Yes I thought they were crazy too but it went really well. Melissa said the kids were very good at lunch and in the aquarium. They ate all their lunch and Ethan almost had to get his own order he was so hungry. That's my big boy! After they finished lunch everyone was exhausted and they packed up to head home. All the kids were sound asleep before they even hit the highway.

I figured the kids would be extremely cranky since they had had such a full day but they weren't. They were in the best mood playing and laughing all evening. They crashed hard that night and slept late the next morning. Paula wants to take a field trip once a week and Melissa compromised on once a month maybe! I am impressed by the both of them. I would not dare take four kids out in public without one kid per adult but as Melissa said, "I am more out numbered on a daily basis than I was today." Everyone pray for my sitter cause she is insane and we love her! Thanks again Melissa for being such an amazing babysitter! We are all so lucky to have you.

Poor Paigey

Thursday before we left for the river Paige woke up with a few red bumps on her face and body. By that evening she had an obvious rash on her body so I gave her benadryl assuming it was an allergic reaction or allergy of some form. I instructed my mom to give her benadryl and watch it. The rash was better but the few places on her face were getting worse. I told mom to put Neosporin on the spots and I would be back soon to take her to the doctor. They had their 15 month checkup Tuesday anyway. When I returned from the river one of the spots had gotten absolutely out of control. We were referred to the dermatologist on the following day to figure out the cause of the spots.

Paige and I went to the doctor the following day and it was eczema. What? Ethan has eczema not Paige? Apparently most kids develop eczema around a year to a year and a half. News to me! Since the spots were eczema the Neosporin did not help and the major spots on her eye had turned into impetigo. Impetigo is a bacterial infection and is the same thing Ethan had when he was misdiagnosed with chicken pox before his first birthday. She was given Penicillin and I was instructed to use the Albatrax topical cream that I already had at home for Ethan.

The doctor was extremely concerned about the location of the bacterial infection. Since the infection was so close to her eye and on top of her eye lid he was very worried about it getting inside her eye. He made it very clear that if any redness or crusty stuff showed inside her eye or eyelid then she was to go to Cook's Hospital immediately. Okay, I get it. I am scared shit less thanks doc! Apparently if the bacteria were to get into her eye it would quickly spread through the blood stream to the rest of her body and make her very sick.

As if that wasn't enough for one day... Dallas and I were terrified of giving her the Penicillin! They dosed down the Penicillin because of her size and age because she needed something strong. I am allergic to Penicillin and haven't had it since I was a small child. The doctor said it was very important she start on the medicine as soon as possible which was as soon as I got her home from the sitter. I had to go back to work after her doctors appointment. The problem I was having was giving my daughter a dose of a medication that could make her swell and quit breathing right before bed. How was I supposed to make sure she wasn't having a reaction? Were we just supposed to hope she woke up in the morning? I don't think so! Dallas and I pretty much had a panic attack trying to decide what to do.

I decided to take off a few mins early and go get her medication before I went to get her. I gave her the Penicillin as soon as I arrived at Melissa's house to allow ample amount of time for a reaction. I had directions to Cook's Children's Hospital in the car ready if necessary. Dallas even took off the next day to make sure that if Paige showed any sign of bacteria in her eye or had a reaction to the meds he could rush her to Cook's immediately. I can not tell you how many times I looked at that child's face and body in the two hours before she went to bed. Thankfully she had no reaction and was looking better even by the next morning. She was fine but we were not. How are we ever going to be able to handle the truly horrible things that will inevitably happen over the years? Guess it is time to up the Lexapro again!

It has been a few weeks and Paige is doing much better. She still has a faint red mark on her eye brow but the doctor seems to think that it will disappear over time. They said whenever you have deep tissue damage it can take a very long time to completely go away. She is having outbreaks of eczema on her legs and elbows but we have been through all this with Ethan so we know the drill very well. It is something that will hopefully pass with time but until then we will just apply creams and continue the other precautions we have always used for Ethan. Glad to see my baby girl feeling better.

Fun with Kingston

A few weekends ago Cheyenne came over with her youngest son Kingston. He is 10 months and loves playing with the twins. Ethan usually is the one who makes sure he feels included. However this last visit Paige was very interested in him. No matter how old the kid they all love to pull stuff out of the kitchen cabinets and play 'pot & pan' band! They all had a great time playing together and all slept really well that night!



Ethan loves to stand in that pan!

July River Trip

It was beautiful and we were right by the water.

So much has happened since our trip to the Guadalupe River on July 25th - 28th but I better just start there. We left the kids with my mom, Grammie, and headed out on Friday morning around 8:30 am. We drove girls one car and guys another car so we would still all like each other when we arrived. Ha! April, Cheyenne, and I rode in one vehicle and Dallas, Mike, and Ryan in another. We met three other couples there. We made good time on the trip down and stopped at a store for groceries when we exited I-35. We reached the Rio Raft Resort at around 1 pm and checked in. We had rented two cabins and an RV for everyone. Dallas and I stayed with Mikey and Stacey in a cabin until Sunday evening and we moved to the RV.

Our group arrived hours before everyone else and had plenty of time to get set up and relax while we waited. Once our other friends arrived we went down to the river side and "played" in the water. It was too late for a river float that day and the water was ridiculously cold!! We cooked fajitas on the grill for dinner and I think we were all in bed before 10:30. It was obvious that all of us had kids at home and needed a vacation!

Saturday morning we cooked a huge breakfast and prepared everything for the river float. We had to make sandwiches, pack coolers, and generally get ready. We headed out for a 4 hour float around 1 pm and we had a blast! It was almost exactly 4 hours when we floated back to our camp. There were so many people on the river this year which made it more fun. Out of 12 people in our group no one lost anything important and not one person got severely burned. April's feet were red but nothing a little aloe vera couldn't fix. We grilled burgers and brats for Saturday night and sorry to say it but I think we were all in bed by 11 again. Isn't that sad!
Sunday morning everyone was busy packing to leave. We had only rented the cabins for two nights and the RV we had for three nights. Since it was our anniversary we decided to stay an extra night by ourselves. We packed our stuff up and moved it to the RV while everyone else packed up the cars. By noon the camp ground was silent. It was almost scary the difference once all the people were gone. It was so peaceful but very weird for me. It took a conscious effort for me to sit and be still but once I did it was so nice. We sat outside under a shade tree while D played the guitar. We ate some lunch and decided to start getting ready for another float. By the time we were ready for our float there were a few people trickling in but for the most part it was still empty.

We decided to go on another 4 hour float by ourselves after all we weren't in a hurry. It was much more relaxing all around on this float. We didn't have to wait for an hour to get shuttled to the drop off or worry about waiting for everyone to get in the water and get ready to go. We simply jumped in a van, got out, put our tube in the water, and floated away. It was so calm. I really didn't know what to do with myself because it is extremely hard for me to relax but eventually I really got the hang of it. It was amazing the beautiful scenery around us that I had never noticed before. There were not quite as many people in the river on Sunday but I was surprised how many were there.

We had made it about 2/3 of the way back to our camp when we started loosing air in our tube. Oh crap! We got out and made our way to the side embankment and sat down. I didn't really know what we were going to do. I couldn't walk on the rocks very well and the tube wouldn't make it with anyone on it. The water was extremely cold and I was starting to panic. Of course Dallas just sat there devising a plan and eating a sandwich. We had rented a float for the cooler from Rio Rafts so we decided I would ride on that tube while the cooler balanced in the dead tube. Wait where would Dallas ride... well he didn't ride anywhere he pulled me and our stuff back to camp. He was truly my knight in shining swim shorts that day! It was so cold and I don't know if I would have made it back without him. We even managed to have a really good time in spite of the tube. We met some people and hung out with them the rest of the way back. Dallas was beat once we got back and fell asleep in the chair outside the RV. I decided to let him sleep for a while and then we would go get something to eat.

I woke him up in an hour or so after I had cleaned up and taken a shower. (Yes I moved him into the RV shortly after falling asleep. I didn't leave him sleeping outside!) We went down River Road and tried to find somewhere to eat in BFE. We went inside a little bar by the tube drop off spot but the kitchen was already closed and we didn't want to drink we wanted to eat. We decided to head back toward I-35 to find somewhere to eat. My half asleep husband was in charge of directions and we turned the opposite way of the highway and thank goodness! We happened across a hole in the wall Italian restaurant and it was amazing! After dinner we went back to the RV and were asleep not long after that.

Monday morning and it was time to go home. I had a wonderful time but we both missed our babies so much. I had done really well not thinking about the kids until Sunday evening. While D was sleeping I wondered around outside. The camper next to us had kids with them. Seeing all the little kids made me want to jump in the car right then and head home but I resisted. We packed up and headed out around 11. We stopped in Austin and ate a nice seafood lunch that made us extremely tired. We made it home around 3:30 pm and unpacked everything. We went to get the kids asap which ended up being around their normal pick up time of 5 pm. They were just as happy to see us and we were to see them. It was the longest I have ever been away from them and I was very proud of myself but damn I missed my babies! It was a wonderful trip but it was great to be home.

I know, I know

It has been so busy I haven't had a minute to blog. I have so many stories and no time to type them. Maybe if each blog wasn't a five page essay then I could keep up with this a bit easier. I blame the public school system and all my past English teachers for training me to "over" write everything. I apologize to everyone about the delay but I should have a calmer day tomorrow and will be spending some time updating. The kids are wonderful as always! Have a great hump day everyone!

Love, Lisa

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!