We'll Be Home For Christmas!!

That's right...when I spoke with the contractor this afternoon he said we SHOULD be in by December 21st!! I signed over a check for our flooring from the insurance company and he was working on getting the cabinets finished. Almost the entire house is painted and just needs a second coat in some rooms and touch ups when it's completely finished. They still have to paint the boys room and the garage but it's looking good. Since it's been so nice we were able to take the kids over to the house and we played in the backyard. The kids loved being home. They hated to leave and explaining to them we couldn't stay there for a few more weeks was difficult. We are all ready to be back home. We were able to get Lego, our new puppy out of the hotel and introduce him to our backyard. He seemed to like it. We are gearing up for the holidays. Shopping is almost 100% complete. Stocking stuffers are always a last minute purchase and of course I'm not done shopping for my handsome hubby. Hoping he buys some good things for me. HINT, HINT! Drew's school program is this week. I'm very excited to see him perform. Last year he was goofy and well....I wanted to hide. Other than the holiday and house excitement, Brian and I found out we are going to be Aunt Sara and Uncle Brian. My sister Stacy and her husband Nick are expecting their first baby in June. We are thrilled! The quads have all been enrolled in Preschool. Emma and Parker love it. Jack and Maddox start tomorrow. It's going to be interesting with Maddox. He's so stubborn. Hoping he shapes up! I fear that we will be good friends with the principal once he starts at Saint Susanna next year. Well, this might be the last post from "the box", I need to finish Christmas cards...or maybe even start them. :) XOXO

Just Another Day

We made it to the weekend! It's been a rough week, everyone has been sick and not sleeping well. We played with our good friends Kiersten and Nolan today. It was about 50 degrees out this afternoon and we took advantage. Brian worked all day and when he came home (to the hotel) he told me to go relax in the hot tub. THANK YOU DADDY!! It was nice and peaceful. Just what I needed. I stopped by the house today to see what kind of shape it was in. The construction crew tood down the boy's bedroom ceiling and sealed it with a fire sealant. This prevents the smell from ever coming back. They have done the entire house with this sealant, but needed to take the ceiling down to get into the attic space they share above the garage. The house is smelling so much better. They painted all of the doors in the house yesterday. It's looking like a maze in the living room. This is where they left them to dry. They ripped out a few cabinets in the kitchen for restoration, and have taken some damaged subflooring out. When I spoke with one of the painters on Friday he said they would be able to paint a few of the rooms starting on Monday. Meaning: Master Bedroom, Drew's room, Emma's room and the two upstairs bathrooms. It's a start! I'm beginning to feel more at ease with the thought of moving back in. The smell really takes a toll on your mind. As the smell has improved my fear has disappeared. I'm beginning to get excited about having a new kitchen and floors. :) In more upbeat news, our quads turn THREE on Saturday. It's hard to believe I've been a mommy to five kids that long. I love them all so much and couldn't be happier to be their mom. We have new LEAP PADS for them as they are all obsessed with my IPAD. I think they will all be super excited. They no longer have to fight over whose turn it is and they all can play whatever they want. Thanks to Grandma and Papa for helping fund operation birthday present!! I'm not sure I'll get the chance to post before Thanksgiving, but everyone have a wonderful holiday and travel safe. We will be heading to Wisconsin for some much needed room to run and snuggle with my family. Hopefully we will have a new addition to the family when we return. HINT HINT DADDY!! XOXO

Making New Friends.

It was laundry night this evening and of course the kids were excited. That means we get to ride the "alligator" (aka elevator). First we ran the hallways to get change for the laundry, then we needed a vacuum, and then we needed to return the vacuum and take the laundry upstairs. We managed to run into a lot of the people who also call the hotel home. An older gentleman sat on the hallway floor with the kids and told them all about Santa. It was so cute. One of the older couples a few doors down stopped and talked to us about school. We might not be cozy in our box as a big family, but the people here are wonderful. Emma is loving preschool. She always tells me "I had fun!!" Makes a mama smile. Parker, Jack and Maddox were tested for Developmental Preschool this past week. I was amazed at how far they have come. Both Jack and Maddox scored above average for language and communication. WAHOO! They both scored well in all other areas too. Parker did well in most areas. He qualified for speech and had a few things in OT that he struggled with. I'm anticipating the boys going to preschool within the next month. Drew is doing well. He's missing home and Bailey. He mentions her almost everyday. This past weekend we did make it a point to drive by the house and play in the park across the street. It was so much fun. The kids felt so much better and at ease. We've been talking about our "new" house. It's no longer the "smoky house" which makes me feel better. Not as depressing.

Our house is starting to move along. They have the north half of the house cleaned and ready for paint. The south half of the house is still being taken apart and inspected. I got a good look at the attic and the garage rafters on Monday. It's a little toasted. The furnace and air conditioner have been removed and will be replaced as quickly as possible. IT'S BEEN FREEZING HERE!! Hopefully the paint colors will look as good as I envision them. I guess I really wont care too much as long as my bed is as cozy as it was before. I have to get a new matress first! :( I've been working on our house item inventory. Who knew I had that much stuff??? I think I counted about 20 different screwdrivers, 15 rolls of tape, 25 cans of paint and more. IT WAS RIDICULOUS. Lets just say it won't all be coming back. Mama would like to park in a nice warm garage. That's about all for now, gearing up for a Thanksgiving trip to Wisconsin next week. Grandma and Papa better be ready...we are ready to run. XOXO

Still Hanging On (one month after the fire).

It's been a month since the fire. We are slowly adjusting to hotel life. The kids are ready to go home and ask to go there multiple times a day. They are trying their best to get along, but it's so difficult. There's no room to run, we can't be too loud, and we are always on top of each other. I'm sure we are going to look back at this experience one day and laugh at how we fit seven people in a two bedroom hotel suite for months. Last weeks house progress seemed slow. The cleaning crew worked hard on most of the second story of the house. Three rooms and the upstairs hallway will be ready for painting by Friday. They will begin to rip out the drywall in the garage tomorrow and open the walls in the boys bedroom as well. Everything will be cleaned and sealed while being deodorized and tested for any toxins and gases left behind. The main level of the house is just starting to be cleaned. We discovered some rotted sub-flooring today from a leaking patio door. :( My finger went right through the rotted floor. We are assuming this is why there were so many layers of flooring under the hideous white one we had. On the upside of things, we picked out and agreed on flooring and paint for the whole house. I love it when Brian doesn't put up a fight. Although, I might be in for the surprise of a lifetime when I enter the basement. It's all MAN-CAVE! Well, maybe the second biggest surprise of my life...it's kinda hard to beat those cute little quads we discovered three years ago!! Our contractor gave us an estimated move home date of January 31, 2013 but thinks we will be in sooner. We were hoping to be in by Christmas, so everyone pray everything goes well and we survive the next couple of months in the hotel. In other family news, the boys tested for developmental preschool. I'm not sure how they did, but they all seemed to have a blast. Parker came home talking about his special school. Maddox got mad and wanted to go back with Parker. Jack stayed out of the conversation like a smart boy. Emma then talked about her special school and how she was a big girl. They all make me so proud. Drew has been trying to read. I'm so glad it's something he enjoys. We love Pete the Cat!!! Well, it's getting late and mama is tired. Thank you all again for all the help, donations, and support. We appreciate and love you all. XOXO Sara and Crew

There's Very Little Left....

Well, we visited the house yesterday. There is a big dumpster in the driveway with everything that was in the garage. The first floor has been completely cleared of all items except the food they are cleaning out of the cabinets. The second floor has beds yet and bathroom items. I didn't go down to the basement, but it is dried out. Our neighbors said they have been very busy over there. There are carbon bands forming like spider webs between the walls and ceilings making the house look quite creepy, considering Halloween is coming. The carpet has made it's way out to the dumpster as well. Even just removing the carpeting has changed the way the house smells. It's still bad, but it's a different kind of bad. The smoke alarms are sounding constantly (like when the batteries are dead). A little unnerving to me personally, but I'm glad to know they work and have done what they need to do.

We will be looking at new floor coverings and paint choices late this afternoon. I've been struck by this stomach bug the kids had over the weekend, so I'm praying I feel better before then. This is something I refuse to miss! Hoping Brian and I don't have a knock out, take down brawl. I don't wanna have to hurt him and make him look bad in front of anyone. Just sayin! We will let you know how that has turned out later this week. We wanted to also let you all know we are no longer taking clothing donations for the kids. We have run out of storage room in the hotel. Once we get back into our house we will begin accepting donations of house items should you wish to help more. We are expected right now to be back in with some living areas finished around Thanksgiving. If you wish to donate money you are welcome to donate through the paypal account (gift), or we are still accepting gift cards for Target or Walmart you can still mail them to us. Our address is: Scott Family 10341 Watkins Drive Indianapolis, IN 46234 In family news, we've all been passing this stomach bug. Emma starts Preschool next week. She is going to be a typical peer in a Developmental Preschool. The boys are being tested next week for Developmental Preschool next week, so we will wait to see how they do before making school decisions for them. Drew is doing so well in Pre-K. He is trying to spell words. For example; we were talking about show and tell and the letter of the week is P. He said "I will take my pumpkin, it's green and pumpkin starts with P". He continued on with "P-L-O-N, that spells pumpkin!" LOL. Gosh I love him to pieces!!! Brian and I are doing the best we can. Between all the house stuff, work, and the kids we have found ourselves running until midnight most nights. We just can't wait to get back into the house, hopefully before the holidays and birthdays and be able to breathe and play without sitting on top of each other. I'll update more later, going to flip laundry quick and then crawl back in bed to fight this bug. A big thank you to all who have helped us with donations, gift cards and paypal gifts. When we get back on our feet and back in to house we will pay it forward. All of the cards and prayers have been heartwarming. THANK YOU!!! XOXO Sara

A Little Space and Down Time.

I was laying in bed last night thinking about how long it's been since Brian and I had to share a queen size bed. I love him to death, but I'm kinda into having lots of space when I sleep. I can't even kick him to the couch because Drew is a bed hog too. Maddox, Parker and Jack are all shoved into a queen bed in the second bedroom and poor Emma J....stuck in a pack and play. She's handling it well. We took some time last night to swim with Aunt Stacy. The kids had fun. Brian and Parker hung out for some one on one sick time. Poor kiddo! He's still a little under the weather, as are the other three. So I now have four with fevers and they are super tired. Hoping thats all it turns into. House update: Our insurance adjuster hopes to have the house inventoried by next Friday and they can then start demolition and renovations. Their main goal is to have us back in our house before Thanksgiving. They will tackle the main living areas and bedrooms first. We can move in and they will continue to work on the house. I know what you're thinking...will it be safe? Yes, they will not let us move in until everything is cleaned, tested, and safe. The basement is still drying out....it's been quite the time with that. I'm just glad we have people doing it for us. It's a short update, but I'm still really tired too and heading to bed. Thanks for all your prayers and support. It means so much to us. Sara

Scott Family Update: House Fire

Where to start?? The Story: A normal Friday night turned into a Saturday morning nightmare. I tucked the kids in bed and Brian decided to stay up late and get some work done. He luckily fell asleep on the couch. Around 3am he heard Bailey (our dog) scratching at the door in the garage. Before Brian could fully wake up and realize what she was upset about our smoke alarms had begun to go off. As I started to walk out of our bedroom I could see and smell the smoke. Brian yelled to me that we needed to get the kids and get out. I remember grabbing my phone and running to get Drew and Emma. I don't recall Brian running by me to get the boys, but I remember seeing him holding all three with blankets at the top of the stairs. As I called 911 and seeing my kids shaking in the cold I began to panic. Thankfully one of our neighbors heard our security alarm blasting along with the smoke alarms. We got the kids inside just as the fire department arrived. I'm also glad we had visited the fire station a few times this summer. My kids were so brave! Unfortunately Bailey didn't survive the fire. We are saddened that she is no longer with us, but thankful she was able to alert Brian enough for him to realize we were in danger. We took her to be creamated and will bring her back to our family on Thursday. We have been put in a hotel near the Indianapolis Airport as our house has been slated to take 3-4 months to repair. As we were walking with the restoration emergency crew today we found more soot than expected and 5 inches of standing water in our basement. They managed to pump out the water and get the electricity back on to dry out the basement and start to deodorize the top two floors. I believe they also started to take out some of the drywall in the garage. A drycleaning company came to the house and took everything that had cloth material on it and put it in storage to be cleaned and tested for toxins. They called it ozoned! We were able to put some clothes on speed clean. We should have those things back in 4 days. We will not get the rest of the salvagable clothing items back until we move back into the house. The only other things we were allowed to take were jewelery and money. Everything else is inspected and put where it needs to go (trash or in for serious cleaning!). I will keep everyone up to date as possible in this process. As for the kids and Brian and I, we are doing the best we can. We are trying to keep the same routines and keep it normal as possible. The kids know our house is "broken". Drew has been back since the fire, but the quads have not. Drew is quite upset about Bailey. He has already asked for her to come back and he has asked for a new dog. I'm not sure we are ready for that. Maybe another year or two. We will see! I know some of you have inquired about donating funds through a paypal account. A very special friend of mine has set one up for us! If you would like to donate here are the instructions. Go to www.paypal.com, scroll down to where it says transfer funds. Click on it! It will ask you to enter your email and ours. Our email for this account is: scottquadsquadhelp@gmail.com It will then prompt you for an amount. Click continue. It will ask you if you want to transfer or pay by credit card. Enter your info and follow prompts. It will send you a reciept and me a text. All funds will go towards our family needs and clothing. I'm going to try to rest now, as it's been a very rough day and I'm EXHAUSTED. Thank you to EVERYONE for all your support and prayers. We couldn't be more blessed even when times are hard. Love to all Sara, Brian and our sweet angels!

Mom Always Said "DON'T PLAY BALL IN THE HOUSE!"

This sounds just like the Brady Bunch. Although with seven of us in the house, we are kinda similar. HEHE! If only I had Alice! With five kids I have tons of balls flying around this place. Balls for ball pit, kickballs, soccer balls, baseballs, basketballs, super balls, prickly sensory balls, exercise balls, and golf balls. Oh and one more....TWO BEACH BALLS! Seriously....I can't fit anymore in this house. I like to think that I run a tight ship here and tell the kids we play with them outside or in the basement. Ususally the rules are followed. I have on occassion played in the hallway with the kids. Drew started soccer a few weeks ago and has been doing pretty good. (As in he's improving). Brian and I have been working with him at home. I played outside with him this past week and the previous weekend. Brian, however, comes home from the store this evening with a soccer goal and sets up in the living room. GEESH! I come down from taking a shower and they are playing one on one. They at least moved the coffee table, so I guess I shouldn't complain. Either Brian and his brothers were really sneaky playing ball in the house when they were kids or Brian knew I was still to sick to care.

In other news in the house, I've been filling out Preschool evaluation forms for the boys. Emma is going to be a typical peer in my good friends Preschool class, and the boys will be tested for Developmental Preschool here in Avon. I'm not sure they all will qualify but it doesn't hurt to check it out. They are all doing amazing for being 28 weekers. If the boys don't qualify they will join Emma or rotate days in the Preschool in my good friends class. We all went back to school two weeks ago. The kids have adjusted well. Drew is doing great in Prek. He loves his teacher and friends. He's beginning to read. I pulled out a book the other day and he said it's Inside, Outside, Upside Down. I about fell over. It's not one we read often. Usually it's Sheep In A Jeep! Maddox, Parker, Emma and Jack really like that one too. If you don't have it-GET IT!! Target for $10. Not much else going on, we've been busy with soccer, school, and sleep. Time for sleep now, everyone sleep tight!!

Hot Fun in the Summertime.

Whoa, is it hot! We've been living life in the A/C and pool lately. Drew has become quite the swimmer. I let him watch the Olympic Trials on tv a few weeks ago and the next day he was pretending to be Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps in the pool doing freestyle swimming. I have three of four quads swimming independently in a puddle jumper and Maddox who will swim holding one hand. When we're not in the pool we've been finding new places inside to play. We spend a few hours in the basement each day playing with our bikes and the train set. We usually pick a movie to watch "movie theatre" style right after nap, and sometimes we play upstairs in one of the kids bedrooms if we aren't in the playroom. We are gearing up for school again. The quads will start a new daycare soon, I think it's going to be good. The new director was a Principal at one of the local school corporations and each employee has either a valid teaching license or a state approved daycare provider license. Finally, someone who is knowledgeable in things my kids have problems with!! Drew will be heading back to Saint Susanna for Pre-K. He's excited and doing great with letters and spelling. Struggling with numbers a little. I'm sure it's all going to work out fine, I'm just OCD about it. :) Not much else going on in the house, it's been quiet here. We're all doing well. Lots of Love,

The Scotts

The Beach Life and More!

We did it!! We took five kids age 4 and under to the beach. It was so much fun and the kids did great in the car. You might have thought they knew what a beach house was before we even got there. They kept saying "Go to beach house now." every time we stopped.

We were fortunate for some of my family to go with us. Nana, Papa, Uncle Nick and Aunt Stacy went too. We stayed at a condo just three blocks from the beach. We thought about staying on the beach, but I was too nervous about having an escape artist disappearing on the beach. We really had the time of our lives. We shopped, ate lots of sea food, went mini golfing, played on the beach for two days, the boys went deep sea fishing, and Drew and I hit the pool for a bit. The kids were able to do a lot at Ripley's Aquarium. After we finshed the aquarium, we walked on the boardwalk. The kids were able to feed some very hungry fish off the pier, play on the playground, eat fudge, and stuff a bear from Build A Bear.

Seriously....what a wonderful trip! Since we've been home it's been interesting. Emma is doing great with potty training. Maddox, Parker, and Jack are showing interest, but more so after they've been tucked in bed. Every night this week has been an adventure. Sunday night after bath, we tucked everyone in bed. A while later I heard Jack screaming. I went in the boys room to find a bottle of baby shampoo dumped all over the carpet and the three of them covered in bubbles. I hosed them off in the shower, hoping my neighbors wouldn't call the cops from all the screaming. The boys HATE the shower. Although, it was hilarious watching them try to climb up each other to try to get out. Monday I had to get Bailey (our dog) from the vet. We decided to board her while we were gone. Brian called to tell me I needed to paint when I got home. I guess Brian left the kids alone to play while he went to turn on the sprinklers outside. When he came in he found the quads coloring on the two story foyer walls. Which of course has flat paint, which isn't washable. I was lucky to find a paint can in the garage that is only one shade darker than what's on that wall now. So, if you come over, don't mind the paint mismatches! The last three nights have been crap-tastic. Maddox and Parker refuse to leave their diapers on. They have peed, pooped, wiped, and played with it all. I have scrubbed blinds, walls, beds, curtains, bedding, and the carpet to no end. They are about to meet my friend "Duct". Plus it's Daddy's turn tonight to be on clean up duty. This mama needs a break. Other than that, we've been playing in the pool and keeping cool in the basement with bouncy house. I know it's a long post, but we are happy you're here following along with us! XOXO Sara

One Fish, Drew Fish!

Last fall we let Drew have fish for pets. Drew has been a very good fish owner. He helps feed them and gets quite concerned when Brian cleans the tank. I'm glad Brian is a fishy kinda guy because this mama DOESN'T DO FISH TANKS! Drew also makes sure his fish go to bed at night....no fish tank lights on! Drew likes his fish so much he's decided to try to be one himself. It all started when Brian and I bought a small above ground pool this spring. Drew and I swam all summer in a small blow up pool and we decided it just wasn't gonna be as much fun as a big pool. So one day after school Drew and I went to the store and picked one out. A few weeks later we took a much needed outside playdate to set it up. We got it filled and immediately Drew climbed in. It was a little cold. To his surprise, he decided he didn't need floaties because he could touch the bottom. Every night after, Drew would want to take a bath so he could practice for the pool. He was learning how to hold his breath under water and trying to float. This past holiday weekend Brian and I had gotten in the pool with Drew and worked with him a little. He is now a fish himself. He is diving for dive sticks, floating and swimming without any help. He's so proud of not having to wear floaties. His biggest accomplishment has been learning to CANNON BALL! If he's already learned all of this in just two weeks in the pool I can only imagine what he's going to learn throughout the summer.

On top of all the fishines in our house, we've been going to watch Drew play baseball. He hates it, but I am not going to let him quit. He gets so bored out in the field and loves to practice his homerun trot. Sprinting isn't in his baseball vocabulary! It's at least fun to watch him goof off and be silly outside the house. Drew also graduated from Preschool. We are so proud of him and glad to see he likes school. He learned a lot this year.

Maddox, Parker, Emma and Jack are all doing good. They are not quite loving the pool like Drew, but will get in for short periods of time. They prefer the sprinkler! They are quite the two year olds. Singing at the top of their lungs, jumping on furniture, slapping and pushing each other and more. Maddox has taken a love for shoes. He was running through the house yesterday yelling "I LOVE SHOES!" ROFLMAO. Parker is getting glasses. He's going to be so handsome in them. His speech and language skills are starting to take off. I'm excited to hear him make sentences like everyone else. Emma is SASSY! Boy does she know it. She loves to dance and sing, but don't mess with her cause she will let you know about it! Jack is still my little snuggler. He's sneaky too. Don't ever under estimate the baby of the family. He's become a master of playing opposum. I love the little grin he gives...melts my heart every time.

We're getting ready to take our first vacation. Heading to Myrtle Beach. Hoping to post before then. Have a little more free time now that summer break has begun. :) Looking forward to taking the kids to the beach and hoping to make great family memories. XOXO

Swimming Along!

Time once again has gotten away from me. Five weeks have passed and I'm feeling bad I haven't blogged.

We had a good Easter. Lunch with my family and egg hunting with Brian's family. It was beautiful outside so we were able to play outdoors all day. Drew went fishing with his cousin Nick and had a blast. Maddox, Parker, Emma and Jack ran around the farm with super sized kick balls. It was a nice quiet ride home in the car after baths at Grandmas. Speaking of baths...bath time here has been interesting. Drew has been practicing his swimming in the tub. He has been holding his breath underwater. He's up to 9 seconds without plugging his nose!! He's also been blowing bubbles out of his nose and mouth underwater. All of his fish-like actions have prompted Parker and Emma to try to swim like fish too. They love to lay on their backs in the tub and wiggle around like fish. Sometimes they get brave and put their mouths under the water. Jack and Maddox have never been big on swimming but they do like the toys in the bathtub. A few weeks ago I took Drew shopping for a birthday gift for his friend. As we were walking through Toys R Us, he looked at me and said "Mommy, I need a big pool." He's so cute, and when I replied with "Lets talk to daddy about it." He said "Daddy wants to swim with me and I can hold my breath." Luckily I had gift cards in my purse, so without consulting Brian (knowing he'd be upset with me), I bought the pool. I think it's going to be fun, hoping now that Maddox and Jack will enjoy swimming. Summer break is coming, which means vacation is coming too! We are excited to take the kids to the beach (Myrtle Beach). I've bought some items, still debating on others, and thinking about my packing list. I'm a bit nervous traveling with all five for that long of a distance. Not much else going on with us as we've been busy working, going to baseball, and spending time taking walks and playing in the backyard.

Spring is in the Air!

We've RECOVERED!!!! Yes, Brian and the kids are feeling much better. After weeks and weeks of lysol and cleaning everything, we are beginning to feel like ourselves and a happy little family.

We went to Drew's first baseball practice on Tuesday. He was so excited and did so well. Of course I took tons of videos and cheered like a crazy mommy in the front row of the bleachers. He learned all about "gator" aka ground balls, showed his stellar batting skills, and ran around the bases like a natural. There were a lot of other good hitters on his team. It's gonna be fun to watch this season. Brian was excited to take the whole family to the diamond. The quads didn't do to bad as a cheering section...thank goodness for M&M's!

We've been able to play outside a bit lately. At daycare they have even been playing in water. All of the kids love the swing set. Jack and Maddox have mastered climbing the ladder all by them selves. Drew is learning how to cross the monkey bars. He's two bars from the ladder now instead of just going one bar out. Brian bought a basketball goal for himself. Look out Michael Jordan, here comes B Scotty! Maybe I should warn his ortho surgeon....get your saw!

We are just glad to be feeling better and playing outside. It's been a short and boring post, I'm sorry. Hopefully more fun happenings coming soon.

XOXO

Just Send Lysol!

There's been a reason for me not blogging. It includes kids, buckets, lysol, kleenex, antibiotics, and tylenol. Did I mention Lysol??? UGH! Brian and I have been up to our eyeballs in vomit, snot and fevers. These germs are not taking the hint to scram either. Poor Drew has missed a ridiculous amount of school this quarter, as have I trying to take care of everyone. Emma and Maddox seem to have taken a hit with the germs too. Parker and Jack have been more cranky than anything.

We've not done much other than clean. We did go to a St. Patricks day party at one of Drew's classmates house. It was fun, and green. Drew brought home Clifford on Friday. Clifford is the class pet and he gets to go home with a friend every couple days. While we had him over the weekend we read stories in Drew's bed, played Wii, and went to J.B.'s house. We tried to make him look as green as possible, but he is pretty red. :)

Hope you're all staying healthy, we are slowly getting there. SLOWLY!

Extreme Home Makeover

We've been in our house for a little over a year. I've slowly been making changes.

A few months after we moved in our basement flooded. Brian and I put it back together ourselves. It looks great!! We plan on adding a wet bar in the future, we just aren't ready yet. For now it's home theatre and play area for us. After the basement was finished I painted our master bedroom. I liked it at first, now I think down the road a color change is in order. I then moved onto Emma's room. Green and purple! I recently found Tinker Bell and fairy stickers. SHE LOVES IT!! It's the first thing out of her mouth every morning. "IT'S TINKER BELL!" After Emma's room was finished, I moved into Drew's room. He wanted green, of course. It's only his favorite color. I didn't feel the need to buy new bedding, so I thought I would paint green and brown to go with his baseball comforter. IT WAS PERFECT! He loves it. My only problem now is finding baseball curtains. I started on the living/dinning/kitchen area just before Christmas. Brian and I have been a bold paint kinda couple as long as we can remember. Instead we went neutral. My sister about fell over when she walked in and saw the color. It's a wide open space and going bold would've been tough to pull off. I've continued the paint color into the hallway, but haven't finished. It's my goal for tomorrow. Only because I'm itching to start on the boys room.

Brian built the quads beds himself. All four beds for $200.00. I had a blast picking out fabric for them. I know it probably would've been easier to just go buy four new beds, but it just wasn't budget friendly at the time. Jack and Emma have been in their beds for a few months now. Parker and Maddox just moved to their beds in the last two weeks. They have all done great. It was a much smoother transition than I ever anticipated. I'm sure them spending all day at daycare and being completely worn out helps tremendously.

The big news was our new toddler beds. In other news, we've all been sick. For some reason we've been unable to get rid of these germs. We've had pink eye, sinus infections, croup, and ear infections. It's wearing me out just typing it. I seriously don't know how I'm going to survive if we continue this germy path. YIKES! Brian and I are trying to survive the quads entering the terrible two's stage. They are officially two tomorrow. As 2-12-10 was their original due date. Pushing, slapping, NO, MINE, toy snatching, crying, and throwing fits has us both frazzled. Drew has been a good big brother. He's starting to kind of referee the quads. He's going to play his first sport this spring. He decided he wanted to play tee-ball. Brian and I are super excited. I will let you all know more about that once Brian gets more information.

I hope to post more once we get past these germs...I'm feeling bad it's been so long.

Messy Fun

We are three weeks into 2012. So far it's been a blast!

I have timed myself to fully dress quads plus one for outdoor snow fun. 47 minutes! It's a good thing I don't require much dressing for outdoor fun; although I will admit by the time I was finished dressing all five I was sweating. The kids loved it. Drew immediately got his snowball throwing on, and the quads took off running around the yard. I was able to pull all five in two sleds for about two laps around the yard. They have gained a little weight in the last year! Ha!

This past week has been exciting. Brian, Drew, and I went to the Children's Museum (boozeeum in Drew's words) for a Mommy, Daddy, Drew date. We took the kids to daycare to play while we went and played. It was free admission and really busy, but totally worth it. Drew and I rode the carousel, we played in water, huge legos, dug for statues and dinosaurs, and found Indiana Jones stuff!

The babies have had a fun and messy week too. Miss Kristin let them finger paint on huge canvases taped to the walls. The painted in their diapers thank goodness. The walls at daycare are absolutely beautiful!! I love the kids artwork. Maddox, Parker, Emma and Jack have four new classmates as well. It's a busy class, and they love it.

Time for bed, Mama is tired.

All Done Santa!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

We made it through the holidays! Lots of goodies, wrapping paper, presents, and family. The kids enjoyed playing with thier cousins and snuggling with grandparents.

We had a surprise visitor to add to the holidays. Thursday before Christmas Santa came to our house. It was wonderful. Santa came and gave the kids some ornaments, braclets, told a story (Twas the Night Before Christmas), and took pictures. He even tucked the quads in bed!! Emma was quite scared at first, Drew was stunned, and the boys LOVED HIM. They jumped right in. Digging in his sack, sitting on his lap, and asking for high fives. I am thinking no more "mall Santa". Brian found Santa on www.indysanta.com. He was so real and so amazing. I highly recommend him if you live in the Indy area.

The kids are loving their new bikes and Drew is really enjoying his video games. I had to go get some new organinzing bins to put toys in. It's going to be hard to adjust back to daycare/work schedule. We all have enjoyed sleeping later and staying home. Drew I'm sure is going to be so worn out re-adjusting to school five days a week. However, there are only 93 days left of school...who's counting right??

Drew turned four over the holiday break. He had a wonderful birthday. Brian made him a Mario cake and a huge "1-up" mushroom cupcake. They were really tasty and looked amazing. It was our first homemade birthday cake. I am really thinking I married the next Emeril. Drew got a new 3DS for his birthday. He is quite good at it, and it's his new favorite toy.

It's been a great holiday break and I return to work Tuesday along with most of the other people in the workforce. We will see how the kids adjust, I'm a little nervous. Keep you posted!!