The Scott Squad

Extreme Home Makeover

2012-02-11T20:57:00.000-05:00

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

2012-01-19T22:06:00.000-05:00

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!

2012-01-01T20:42:00.000-05:00

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!!

More Santa?!?!

2011-12-18T21:25:00.000-05:00

It's been the phrase of the week...."MORE SANTA". We put up our Christmas tree roughly two weeks ago and found this musical Santa. I put him on the end table next to the tree and the couch. The kids LOVE IT!! We turn him on at least three times a day. He plays a song for about a minute and then the kids run out of the room and forget about him. Eventually they realize I have turned him off and then I hear "ALL DONE SANTA" for the next hour.

Surprisingly last year they kids didn't really touch the tree. This year has been a completely different story. I decided to vacuum this past Friday after work. I took the vacuum upstairs and came back down to find the Christmas tree ON THE FLOOR. Yes, the quads had knocked over the tree. The stand was busted so I had to go get another one when Brian got home. Nothing was broken and no one was hurt....well, maybe I should phrase that in another way. Feelings were hurt badly when they got put in time out. They all sat a good five minutes on the couch and cried. Brian decided he would be funny and tell people Parker was trying to eat the pole of the tree. This morning I found tree needles in his poop, I'm thinking not so funny now. Sensory kids definetly know how to keep you on your toes!!

We've been trying to get rid of all these germs lately in the Scott house. We've had colds, flu with quads, pneumonia, and flu again. It's just been a bad year for this. Brian and I have gotten a call from daycare on average of every two days saying someone is sick and has to be sent home. Hopefully over Christmas break we can get healthy. Although I have to make it to Christmas break first. I have three more days and I have Brian and Drew passed out on the couch with a bucket, blankets, a bathroom, and a movie. Maddox, Parker, and Emma all had it Saturday, Drew and Brian today, I hope Jack and I are not next. Praying for it to just leave the house.

My parents are coming this week for Christmas. I'm excited. Christmas, my Brother in Law's birthday, Drew's birthday and my husband works a normal job so he can actually spend time with us. Thankful for a wonderful holiday season.

I hope your Christmas is wonderful, I'm sure I won't get to post until after the holiday.

Getting Roughed Up.

2011-11-29T21:12:00.000-05:00

To start this post let me say WHAT A WILD MONTH!

I started the month off with a cold. The kids were soon to follow with round one of meds for November. We all came through that and then came the flu. Thankfully Emma was the only one to have it. Now this week PNEUMONIA! All four boys have it. Emma is doing ok so far. She has a little cough but no fever, or loss of appetite. JUST SASSYPANTS! We arrived home from our fabulous trip to Wisconsin only to get here and have me take off to the ER with Maddox. His heart was racing and he was having a hard time breathing. He just makes me so nervous considering his history. His lungs were not crackling, but the doctor actually listened to what I was saying. He ordered a chest xray and it was confirmed. :( They started him on steroids and sent us home with meds. Brian decided to stay home with him on Monday. Only to find Drew had also become sick. He stayed home too while everyone else headed to daycare. Today I took the quads to daycare (after we of course checked temps) to arrive at work to be called home immediately. The boys all had temps and Parker and Jack were passed out in the front office. I picked up Drew and Maddox and headed back to the ER for them to confirm Drew's case and check Maddox's hydration levels. When I returned to get the rest of the squad I realized Jack and Parker too needed meds. Lets just say I'm ready for the month to end. November has been tough. I feel like I haven't been to work.

Speaking of work...I'm going back to work full time. I'm happy to be going back to help feed the squad and pay our bills, but at the same time, I feel like my kids are going to grow faster and I'm going to miss a lot of fun things. I mean, they just turned two last week. I can't believe they are two!! I'm not ready for them to grow up. It's strange how I've been really excited for Drew to do all these fun big boy things and hate to see my quads doing them. Don't get me wrong, no more babies here, I'm just shocked at how fast time has gone.

It's all quiet upstairs, I think I will join in the peace and quiet.
Good night!!!

Let's Go To School!

2011-11-09T20:46:00.000-05:00

We did it, after a long drawn out talk and lots of thinking. Brian and I put the quads in daycare. I was going to be a stay at home mom, but honestly; I just can't mentally do it. I love my kids more than anything, but it's so hard. And after the kids visit with Dr. Escobar (the Developmental Specialist) we thought this would be the best for them socially. It will give them great learning opporunities, a chance to get out of the house and play with other kids their age, and give Brian and I a chance to work outside the house.

So far, the kids love daycare. Drop off is a bit rough, but I'm sure they don't stand at the door and scream too long. They have shown me they can independently walk from the car to the door and all the way to their room. Today when I arrived for pick up they were able to show me how they turn on the sink (which is at their level), wash their hands, dry them and throw their towel in the trash. It's only been three days and I am so proud. Their teacher is great, I'm so happy they have her.

Drew is doing great at preschool. He can write his name independently now. He's so proud of himself. While doing his homework last night he wrote all the way to letter "I" without help. Keep in mind they have only gone to letter "G". He can write some other letters of the alphabet but really only likes to do the ones he's learned in class. He's counting to 13 and then it tends to get a little hairy. :) It's really been funny; Drew has been singing a lot and I am hearing the quads starting to sing with him. Although Emma knows most of her alphabet and counts to ten on her own already.

Brian and I have just been busy with work. We have some ideas with home projects, but are most likely going to wait to tackle them until the babies are "not so messy". :) I mean, really there is not point in replacing the floors when the babies just want to break a bottle of tobasco sauce on it. That stuff stains!! Just incase you didn't already know that. We'd like to paint the kitchen, but then you have to do the counters and so on. Planning to go to Wisconsin for Thanksgiving. I'm very excited. Quads turning two, turkey dinner, and my family. Can't get much better.

Time for bed, this mama has been up at 5 A.M. all week and I AM TIRED!
HUGS!

Follow the Yellow Brick Road.

2011-11-03T22:06:00.000-04:00

Batman, Robin, Batgirl and the cast from the Wizard of Oz hit the yellow brick road to collect candy on Halloween. It was a little chilly, but so much fun to see all the costumes. The quads dressed as Tin Man (Maddox), Scarecrow (Jack), Lion (Parker) and Dorothy (Emma). Drew went as Batman, Brian dressed as Robin and I of course Batgirl. I felt a little ridiculous dressing up, but I guess it's all in good fun. It's going to be hard to top these cute costumes next year.

Brian and I decided this week we were going to enroll the kids in daycare. We decided it was going to be in their best interest socially. They went with us to tour the facility today and seemed really excited. They had puzzles, climbers, blocks, stacking toys and more. They even cleaned up after themselves. The assistant director was impressed. They were all complimented on their behavior and their cuteness! I'm definetly one proud mama. :)

I'm gearing up for birthdays and holidays. It's hard to believe my babies are going to be two in three weeks. Where has the time gone?? It is exactly two years ago today I was put in the hospital on bedrest until they were born. Brian planned a trip to Wisconsin for Thanksgiving and the quads birthday. I'm so excited. We haven't been able to spend Thanksgiving with my family in 10 years due to Brian's work schedule. I LOVE HIS NEW JOB! We got circus tickets for the kids birthdays. I'm so excited to take them to their first circus. Stacy and Nick are going with us, I know they are thrilled too. I'm not sure what Santa will bring. With the kids in daycare it really puts a strain on Santa's shopping cart. Hoping for some sweet deals, pass them along if you hear of any deals coming up. It's crazy to think I will have five kids in my Christmas tree in less than a month. I thought I yelled a lot with them pushing buttons on the tv, it's gonna be a whole lot worse. YIKES!

Time for bed,, this mama is wiped out. TOO MUCH LAUNDRY! Just kidding, too much play time today!
:)

Patching It Up.

2011-10-21T21:05:00.000-04:00

It was a little scary, but we did it! We ventured to the pumpkin patch and let the quads run free for a bit. They loved the straw pile. It was so fluffy and bouncy it just made them giggle. Even better, we took them on the hayride out to the patch and we found a couple of GINORMOUS pumpkins to carve. I would say they easily weigh more than Drew. We bought some cider but I have waited to give it to them. Brian really likes it so I was thinking we could do it as a family. Next mission is to carve with 10 little hands wanting to help. :) I will let you know how that goes!

Brian has been out of town on business the last two weeks. It's been quite a challenge. He has two more trips coming up, I just have to hang tough a little longer. Last week wasn't bad, but this week was difficult. The quads are sick with colds, and Drew was just cranky. I'm happy to have him home for the weekend. He flies out again Monday afternoon, so if any of you would like to help out in the evenings or drop off food one night, PLEASE LET ME KNOW!! He won't be home until Friday night.

Other than catching myself running in circles being a single mommy for a few weeks, things have been going well. Just keeping busy with work, doctors appts, smooching the kids. Looking forward to the holidays and birthdays but not the cold weather. Going to Wisconsin for the quads birthday and Thanksgiving. I am so excited. It is nice to think that I don't have to worry about Brian working extended hours and holidays. Loving it!! Time to run, I'm beat and would like to see my husband.
Halloween pics to come soon.

Busy Bodies.

2011-10-09T21:24:00.000-04:00

Let me just say I LOVE MY LIFE! My kids are having the time of their life. They are playing together and idependently, climbing the jungle gym outside, talking, following directions, and of course fighting. It's so amazing to see preemies grow into normal healthy toddlers. :)

I will update you on all the happenings in the last couple of weeks. We have been a busy bunch. My parents came to Indy, my sister got married and of course we partied. The kids bopped until they dropped. So much fun! They sat well in church, ate chicken fingers and fries, showed the crowd some of their dance moves. It was an amazing day. It's too bad it took us a full week to recover from our be-bopping and hip-hoppin. Brian started his new job this week. He is loving it. He starts in class training this week in Pennsylvania. We sure are going to miss him. He will be home on the weekends, but will be in and out of town for the next 4-5 weeks. :( The kids will be able to skype with him, so we can at least see his face. We took a field trip to the zoo. There was no one there, so we got a lot of good views of the animals. The kids loved the monkies. This past weekend, Brian got his first taste of what being a normal working persons weekends really consist of. HOME IMPROVEMENT! We've done lots of around the house projects, just not on the weekend. First up....the front door. Re-caulked, painted, and power washed the patio. CHECK! Next week...the PUMPKIN PATCH. :)

Yep, time to get ready for Halloween. We have 6 of 7 costumes. The last one should be here this week. You will have to wait for pictures...I'm not ready to post what I have. Hope you all have a great week...I'm praying for my sanity. YOU SHOULD TOO!
XOXO
Sara

Total Failures.

2011-09-23T21:24:00.000-04:00

I have to admit, Brian and I crashed and burned this past week. It started out with my alarm going off at 6am. All is going well. I get ready and leave for work. Around 8am I get a text from Brian telling me his alarm didn't go off. Sure, tell yourself that....I have watched him many times accidentally turn it off instead of hitting snooze. Needless to say, Drew missed school. On top of that we already had sick, wheezing quads who had an appointment with our pedi. Cold and flu season can't already be here. We aren't off to a very good start.

Tuesday comes around and it was just busy. Everyone was cranky, I had a meeting and worked late. TIME FOR BED! Wednesday I again, get up and leave for work. I receive a call at school...ITS BRIAN! Apparently he ignored me when I said "Put both our car keys on your key ring." This would make it so we each have a set for both our vehicles. He has no keys for the Acadia to take Drew to school. Luckily our neighbor was home sick from work. He graciously let Brian take Drew to school in his car and he watched the babies. I brought Drew home to find later in the afternoon that his right ear is twice the size of his left. UGH!

Thursday, woo-hoo! Friday is almost here. I worked two extra days this week for some extra cash. I was told by the pediatricians office staff to take Drew to urgent care for his ear. OK, so I call Brian and tell him he needs to take Drew in. Lets just say, sometimes it's easier said than done. We have Drew seen and he gets antibiotics. Thank goodness, it's bedtime!

Today has been a bit more relaxed. I worked, took the kids outside to play, made dinner, did dishes, and did two loads of laundry. Not to mention UPDATE THE BLOG! Ha! Lots to do this weekend. My sister Stacy gets married next weekend so I need to get it done. My parents are coming on Wednesday and it will be super busy from there on out. I'm so excited and so scared I'm gonna forget something. Time to make a list. First, maybe a snooze in my bed.

:) Sara

The Boo Boo Report.

2011-09-12T21:58:00.000-04:00

I have to say what an eventful weekend. What started out to be fun and enjoyable quickly went south. :( We had some Oreos for snack and that's what started it. Maddox ran into the kitchen table while picking up crumbs and cut his lip open. After I got that taken care of, Emma tripped over a toy only to give herself a nice mark on her lip. As I was cleaning Jack up from snack Parker fell from his seat to the floor giving himself a concussion and a broken collar bone. We made not only one trip to the ER, but two! They did a head CT on Saturday about 2 hours after his fall due to wiggling eyes and disorientation. He cried and cuddled so much that no one realized he wasn't moving his left arm. I ended up taking him back Sunday morning to have his arm and shoulder x-rayed. We see the Orthopaedics doctor in the morning. I will keep this updated as much as possible. OH...and we aren't done there with the boo boos! I got home only to get the kids in bed and have Drew jump off the couch to bite his cheek. It bled FOREVER!! Not really, but geez it was like 10 minutes. Hopefully that will take care of boo boos for the rest of the year. I seriously have had two kids break bones in the lat four months. This being a mom to five toddlers is TOUGH.

I've been so busy kissing broken and brusied body parts that I've not had time for anything else. I'm still working on painting Drew's bedroom and swapping out clothes in closets. Just catching up on sleep and working completes the rest of my busy days.

Post more soon!
XOXO

Playtime!

2011-09-06T22:52:00.000-04:00

It's beginning to feel like fall! We have been able to play comfortably outside. The kids have been throwing fits when it's time to come in for dinner or bath. I now know what my parents went through when I was little. My poor parents!! I have to admit, as much as I'm dreading the terrible two's, the kids being able to climb the play set and run with each other is amazing. I have the best time outside with my kids.

We finally had the chance to go to Grandma Susan and Papa Jack's new house. The kids loved it. They ran all over the house exploring new things. Little JR(Jack) found the phone. I hope he didn't call anyone long distance. Susan, I'm sorry I've changed my address so please don't forward the phone bill. Drew loved papa's new 3D tv. The shades give a whole new meaning to fashion. Emma liked the kitchen, but I'm thinking it was the brownies that were in there. She licked her plate clean like a little doggy. Parker and Maddox just loved the space to run. I believe I might have two athletes. Grandmas house was a blast, we will visit again soon.

Brian starts his new job in less than a month. We couldn't be more excited. He bought a new car to cut down on the gas expenses. It's sharp (in his words). He picked out a new Toyota Corolla S. Very sporty and gas milage friendly. He is gonna be crusing Indianapolis in style!!

Not much else happening other than cold and flu season has already hit the Scott house. Everyone but Drew is sick. The quads are cranky and there's lots of cuddling and crying going on. Daddy and I are hanging tough....lots of cold meds! Hoping to kick this bug quick.

XOXO

Bringing up the Rear!

2011-08-28T16:35:00.000-04:00

While I was pregnant the babies were always labeled in the same order. Baby "A"-boy Maddox, Baby "B"-boy Parker, Baby "C"-boy Jack, Baby "D"-girl Emma. When they were born Emma came out third and became baby "C" and Jack became baby "D". I always have joked that Emma didn't want to be the last one out. I'm thinking now; almost two years later...that it's just the oppoiste. Thinking back to NICU days, Jack was the last one out of his incubator, last to bottle feed, usually last to be visited as he was at the last tree pod. He has been first to roll, crawl, and graduate from therapy, but I think he likes to make sure everyone is safe. He is always last in the morning for diapers and getting dressed, last for bath, and last going up and down the stairs. I guess he might fall under the saying of Ricky Bobby "If you aint first, you last!" Ha.

I've started another project! Brian cleaned out the garage this week in hopes to find our missing baby gate parts and the paint that is in our living room. Somehow Drew got the impression that it was ok to scale the wall to fling himself over the back of the couch. :) Now I have walls that look "decorated" and disgusting. I don't think he found either of those items. So we moved onto painting Drew's room. He's obsessed with green and wanted a green room. I dredded it! So we've come to a compromise of 3 green walls and 3 brown walls to make it look like a baseball diamond to go with his bedding. I finished the brown today and so far so good. He did pick a vibrant green so we will see! I'm a little nervous.

I hate change, and always get nervous. I will post some pictures when it's done. I have to work the next three days so wont get to it until Wednesday or Thursday. Enjoy the beginning of the week.
XOXO
Sara

Our First....

2011-08-22T21:05:00.000-04:00

day of Preschool for Drew was great. He colored a green raccoon and stayed in the lines for the most part. It's sooooo cute. He said he met lots of friends, had snack, and did calendar. I'm sure they were busy as can be. We woke up pretty early and the quads were not too happy about it. Surprisingly we got no argument from Drew. The squad most defintely showed their cranky side this evening from that early wake up call. The can all sleep in tomorrow while I head off to work.

YUP, mama is back to work. Week two of the school year and all is drama! I thought once or twice in high school you out grow drama, but man it never ends!! It wasn't as tough to get back into the routine as I thought it would be. Maybe because I worked a little through the summer. Looking forward to a fun school year.

This past weekend we took the kids to the St. Vincent Annual NICU Reunion. Since we are NICU graduates we thought we would go and visit the quads very "FIRST" best friends. Our NICU nurses were the best. Amber, Karrie, Karla, and Jen you girls are amazing for watching over our sweet babies while they were there, and taking care of Brian and I when we had ups and downs. We were able to see our high risk OB while we were there along with many of our multiples friends and some of our other quad family friends. It's amazing how normal we looked and felt seeing families who are just like us!

Other firsts this week are jumping off the couch, climbing up on the fireplace, saying "love you" and the squad singing "Elmo's World" from tv. LOVE MY LIFE!!!

<3 Sara

Our First State Fair Trip

2011-08-11T14:21:00.000-04:00

After last week we needed an escape. Brian thought it would be fun to go to the Indiana State Fair. So after nap we loaded up and headed to the fair. It was so much fun and so educational. We saw cows and mooed at them for a few minutes, saw the arts and crafts building and goofed off in there. We rode some rides and played a few games. Drew went on his first roller coaster and loved it! He threw some darts and popped a balloon to win a frog. The quads loved the fair and all the people. They are quite people watchers. They were able to experience a root beer float and see a rainbow.

Rewinding to continue from my last post about me. I have talked with my PCP and gotten great news. It's not a tumor! It's ureathral diverticulitis. Most of the time it requires surgery, but they feel that it's small enough I don't need it removed. I'm so relieved. Now isn't really a good time of the year to take time out for surgery! Now, let me tell you all about the doctor who first diagnosed me. He called last Tuesday within an hour of my CT scan and said I had a tumor. Two days went by and I thought I would call my good friend Kim. I told her and she did some digging. So I went on Monday for my follow up with Dr. Dumb. First I arrive to find his nurse didn't put me on the schedule. The nurse and his secretary question me about how I feel and what I had heard. What happened to patient confidentiality?? I get called back and wait. I told Dr. dumb what I thought it was. He recalled nothing of what he told me on the phone, and then admitted he didn't see the diverticulitis in the scan. He flipped through some papers and said well I guess the radiologist picked up on it and I just missed it. So I immediately grabbed my purse and left. At this point I had enough information to make an informed decision. DON'T GO BACK! My PCP said I should be feeling better soon, and I already do.

Hoping for a fabulous finish to the week, it's back to work for me on Monday.
Sara

Kids Say the Wildest Things.

2011-08-04T15:05:00.000-04:00

I have the cutest kids. So what if I'm a bit biased, I'm the mommy and I can be. :) It's been a wild week, to say the least. Drew is spending the week with my parents in Wisconsin. He's having a blast. He will come home tomorrow to help throw Stacy and Nick their wedding shower. The quads have had some quality Mommy and Daddy time this week. That doesn't mean it's been smooth sailing. I was headed to get the laundry from the basement and I told them "Mommy is going to go bang her head on the wall". Immediately I got the response from them "BYE-BYE!" Not only did they yell, they waved. Hahaha. We've also finger painted, gone to Dairy Queen and eaten cookie dough this week. Overall, I'd say it was a fun and successful week!

Brian and I finished the basement. YIPEE! It looks great, and the kids love it. I took them down to play for a bit yesterday. They have discovered things sort of echo and sound twice as loud. I'm just glad I still have my hearing. We got a bit loud. We haven't finished all the toddler beds yet. Jack is still doing great in his. I think Parker might be getting the idea. I've seen him lay on Jack's bed a few times. Maddox is too interested in stuffed animals in their room. He likes to move them from place to place. Emma has discovered jumping on the bed. That girl is gonna be a wild one! Boys look out...Daddy is prepared. (Note to Brian: BE READY!)

I will post more on this later, but some of you know I've been a little under the weather lately. I had some tests done and came back showing something very unexpected. My urologist called to tell me I have a tumor growing on my ovary. I have some follow up appointments in the next two weeks, and currently feeling quite devastated and depressed. I know I was told a few details, but being in shock at that moment, I couldn't tell what those details were. I ask that you don't give your medical opinion, but just show support for me and my family. Again, I don't have many details as I totally shut down after I heard those words. I will keep you posted on how things are going and how I'm feeling.

XOXOXO
Sara

Squad Happenings

2011-07-27T11:13:00.000-04:00

I know I've sort of fallen off the blog wagon....but here's to climbing back on!!

Recent happenings in the Scott house include everyone being able to climb and of course learn to jump on the couch. Jack has even managed to teach himself to sommersault off the couch. He's got good form! Brian has completed one toddler bed (which I've not been brave enough to try out yet). We have cleaned up the basement and started to put furniture and toys where they belong. It's looking great. The bathroom is in working order down there so I don't have to worry about Drew anymore. I discovered this morning I have two lions and a zebra in my house. Jack and Parker make good lions. Maddox likes the zebra. They are really catching on to their animal noises. Parker graduated from Physical Therapy this week. He is going to start Occupational Therapy again for his fine motor skills and sensory issues.

This past weekend Brian kept all five kids by himself while I went to Wisconsin. My mom and I threw a wedding shower for my sister Stacy and her fiance Nick. It was fun, but a very busy weekend. Stacy had her first dress fitting. She is going to look amazing. I can't wait!! They got wonderful gifts from their shower, and we were all able to spend some time with our family and friends we don't see very often. Brian and the kids I think were happy to see me when I got home, but from what I've heard they had a great weekend bach-ing it with Daddy!

We've been practicing for preschool with Drew. It's been tough. He just refuses to go to sleep before 11pm. I've been waking him before 9:30 every morning, and he doesn't' nap. Today I woke him at 8am. Hopefully it will start to move bed time up. :( I'm nervous about our bed/waking routine once school starts. He's gonna do great in school. He's a smart little cutie. Going uniform shopping and to pick up his school supplies tomorrow. He's so excited. I'm hoping to find a good time to go, as I have to take the whole squad. It just happens to be at lunch and runs through nap. :( Oh well, I can't win all the battles right?

Hope your day goes well, stay cool!

Dance Party USA

2011-07-19T13:37:00.000-04:00

I used to watch that show on MTV. Did you?? Man, that was a long time ago. I know we are all starting to feel a bit old! I bought a kids music CD from Target about two or three weeks ago. My kids love it. It's made by Parents Magazine and has a ton of favorites on there. It not only wears the kids out, but lets them run around the house and yell and have fun without getting on my nerves. I'm so glad all five of the kids got my dance moves. :) They all have been doing Ring Around the Rosey for a few months now. This song is also on the CD. While eating lunch today I heard Jack singing. Yes, you guessed it. He was singing Ring Around the Rosey and I heard him sing "A$$es all down". LOL! I love when my days bring moments like this. It's the best!!

I also wanted to update on Parker. I've known for a few months that he was tongue tied. He was not chewing food properly, sucking food out of his cheeks, he was choking sometimes, and couldn't move his tongue to reach all areas of his mouth. I took him to be evaluated by an ENT and he agreed. He thought it was best to sedate Parker because he's one tough dude. It took three of us to hold him just to evaluate his mouth. We were in and out of the surgery center in no time. Just under two hours! He's been a little cranky but not too bad. I'm hoping he will regain full oral function without therapy. I'll give him a few days to explore on his own with it before I get people involved.

The basement is almost done. Painting is finished, the floor is done, and Brian is working on base boards! It's looking great. I can't wait to start cleaning and putting it back together. I mean with toys and furniture. :) I'm headed to nap, Brian is taking the afternoon shift. WAHOOO!

Down on the Farm!

2011-07-14T14:49:00.000-04:00

Maybe a field trip to the farm is needed. The kids have learned the words to Old MacDonald and are now starting to associate their sounds to animal names. Emma loves the cow, Parker was balking like a chicken yesterday, Maddox likes the horse and told his OT neigh last week, and Jack likes the duck. Although he doesn't say quack he signs it. Everyone loves the dog and has just this week started barking at BINGO the song.

For those of you who read my Facebook post last night, you know it was a bad day yesterday. It started out with having to wake Drew at 7am. He's not an early riser, loves to sleep in. We headed to his allergy appt which went fine and came back home. I hadn't slept well and was cranky, Drew was tired and cranky, and then Brian got upset thinking I wasn't being a good parent. It always seems to be the case when it comes to punishing Drew. Anyways, Brian left for work and Jack ran head first into the fireplace and cut his head open. Don't worry, nothing major, while I was taking care of him Emma dove head first off the end table and landed on her face. Drew didn't want to listen and Parker and Maddox, who knows what they did all day. I was in such a fog. I was glad to hit the sack last night.

Today has been much better, I got Emma's dress in the mail today for my sisters wedding. Super adorable on her. Everyone is in a better mood and Aunt Stacy is coming over after work. Yippee! Time to get a move on the laundry, going to fold it before I get chatty Cathy (Emma) out of bed. I can hear her talking now.

Pass the Puffs!

2011-07-09T15:37:00.000-04:00

I'm so glad I share well with others! This week I have shared a blizzard from DQ, M&M's, and my bowl of Cocoa Puffs with the kids. I really do try to give my kids everything, even my food. It's a good thing they are super cute. :)

I took the afternoon off to swim with Drew today. It was a blast. It felt so good to cool off too. Brian was nice enough to get up with the kids this morning and let me sleep in. BLISS!! I hurried to finish laundry and cleaning bathrooms so I could just hang this afternoon. I intend on finishing the first paint color in the basement later tonight. That is after the squad goes to bed. We had a minor detour in the fixing the house plan. Don't get me wrong, our house is in great shape...we are still working on the basement and the backyard a little. We had a minor leak in the master bath. Nothing major, just a cracked toilet tank that needed to be replaced. Brian spent two nights working on that as he needed to work during the day. Making Drew monies!! Haha.

The quads are doing great. Learning a ton of new words. I taught them how to shake their booty this week. It's great. They shake it well! We've been learning Pat-A-Cake and Old MacDonald. They've known Wheels on the Bus for a while now. My squad is so much fun. Emma right now is coloring....attempting circles. I can hear her say "sikle". The boys are still napping. Thank goodness, those boys had a rough morning. Boys are a little brutal. Parker had two time outs for biting today. Maddox and Jack were just victims and spent the morning in tears. Oh boy...now Emma is walking around with Drew's stuffed snake making hissing sounds. Super cute, as much as I hate snakes.

Drew is wonderful. He loves to swim, play Wii, and play with the babies. He starts preschool in 7 weeks. He have to pick up his school uniforms and supplies in two weeks. He will be spending a week with Grandma in Wisconsin in a few weeks too. He's ready for Aunt Stacy and Uncle Nick's wedding in October. He askes me all the time if we get to go to their party (reception) today. Haha. We are gearing up to be in "wedding" mode as we have showers and dress/tux fittings coming up.

Hope you're staying cool in the heat!
XOXO

Inside, Outside, Upside Down!

2011-07-05T22:32:00.000-04:00

My little peeps have been worn out!! Grandma and Papa came to Indy and we played until we dropped. Inside, outside, and upside down. We swam, played on the swing set, ran the halls of the house and jumped on the couch. My squad is always tired when grandma and papa have to leave. Although I wonder how grandma and papa are feeling when they leave here.

The babies slept through the fireworks as we set them off in the backyard. Brian and I decided we weren't ready to take the kids out to a fireworks show yet. Too many kids to wrestle in too big of a crowd. Maybe next year.

Work on the basement has slowed a little. It's been so nice outside and the kids had been sick we just haven't had time. Brian only has the bathroom and base boards left to finish. I need to finish painting around the ceiling and the floor along with two other walls which will be a different color. I can't wait for it to be put back together.

I'm tired and headed to bed...playdate tomorrow and Friday. YUP...that's two this week. Hope the kids are resting well, play time begins at 9:30!

Can you find me??

2011-06-26T23:14:00.000-04:00

We made it back from our second trip in one week. We took the kids to Kentucky to visit Brian's family. Drew was so excited to spend a day with cousin Brady in the pool and playing outside. It was great to catch up with Lauren and Casey who are about to welcome Bailey Grace into the family. We spent part of the day on Saturday with Brian's aunts, uncles, and cousins. It rained most of the day, but my kids didn't mind. They played in the mudd and ran like crazy. Baths were definitely needed after our outing.

I'm glad we have kids who travel well in the car. I have to admit, staying in a hotel is not ideal with my kids who love to run. House keeping was quite surprised when they entered our room to clean. We were able to take some toys with us to play but still leaves issues with space and sharing. We plan to enjoy the rest of daddy's vacation resting at home.

Other than our recent travels around the Midwest I've had to make a trip to the ENT with Parker. He has a tongue tie and will have it clipped next week. He's had some feeding issues with it and is starting to have articulation problems. The ENT is optimistic he will immediately regain full function and everything will be normal. Boy, do I hope he's right. I'm a nervous wreck. Being in the speech field myself, I know too much and over analyze too much. Maybe this career path was a bad choice??? We also will make it to see the Pedi this week for our 18 month check ups. Hoping all goes well. We left Thursday with Maddox having an ear infection and came home with Emma and Parker running fevers and very cranky.

Well it's late and we are all exhausted....as usual. Everyone sleep tight and don't let the bed bugs bite!

Run Forrest Run!

2011-06-22T22:20:00.000-04:00

We've been on the go lately. Lowes, Chase Bank, Target, Wisconsin, zoo, and many resturants. I've been blessed with well behaved children. Can you believe I took all five to Steak n Shake all by myself? I didn't even panic!! We had no food throwing, no screaming, and lots of fries. There may even have been two grilled cheese sandwiches and a few chicken strips in there somewhere.

We took a day trip to the zoo with Daddy. It was wonderful. Drew raced a cheetah. He was so upset he lost. That only lasted a day or two, then we decided a trip to grandma's was in need. We left Friday afternoon and surprised Papa for Father's Day. Aunt Stacy came too. It was fun. We visited family and swam with friends.

I figured since I've been on the go for a week or two now I should keep going. Kind of like Forrest Gump. I took Parker to the ENT today for a suspected tongue tie. Unfortunately he is and will have surgery to release it in two weeks. It's a small procedure but he is a fighter and the doctor thought it's best to put him under for it. We've also been to the park for family pictures. I've gotten a small sneak peak, so far they look fabulous. I can't wait to see the rest. Tomorrow we are headed to Kentucky for the weekend. My summer is filling up fast...No wonder I don't go anywhere in the winter. I'm trying to catch up from all the summer running I do. :)

Have a great weekend, I'm not posting until we return!!
XOXO

It's a Snotty World!

2011-06-09T14:57:00.000-04:00

After a few months of cleaning boogers out of noses and no improvement from Drew's nose Brian and I made the decision to have him tested for allergies. It was a rough test and Drew was a trooper. Test results came back positive for a few things. It turns out Drew is allergic to cats, maple, hickory, elm, and oak trees, along with grass and pigweed. I was completely wasn't shocked. I got rid of our cat almost a year ago and Drew never had any symptoms. We didn't have many trees around our old house, but in our new neighborhood they are everywhere. We have a huge yard so that makes total sense when Brian cuts the grass. At least now we are on a trial run of some new meds. The doctor sees Drew again in four weeks to see how he's responding to the meds. Hopefully we won't be picking and wiping boogers forever.

In fun news, we've continued our hot summer playing in the pool and sandbox. I let the kids run in the spinkler last night in their clothes. Parker of course loved it. Emma was a little unsure. She would run through it then head to the sandbox and play for a few then back to the sprinkler. Maddox and Jack are going to need a few more runs through the water. They have warmed up to the pool and swimming idea, but that took almost two weeks. Brian is on vacation in two weeks so the fun will continue more then as we take a road trip!

Looking forward to a playdate tomorrow with a good friend from high school and her kids. It's going to be fun. :)

Projects Around the House.

2011-06-06T13:45:00.000-04:00

As some of you know we've had many projects going on all at once. We had basement flooding about two or three months ago which prompted these projects. We ended up having to rip out the endtire basement (which wast completely finished) and have it dried out. Brian decided to put it back together himself. It's been a slow job, but he's doing a wonderful job. It's about 3/4 done! He's hoping to have it done in the next two weeks. :)

We also decided it was time to ditch the rotten deck that came off our patio doors. We are enjoying our new poured concrete patio; which will be stamped and stained in the next couple of weeks. We got some new patio furniture and a new pool for the kids. Maddox and Jack don't care too much for the pool, but Emma and Parker along with Drew are like swimming fish!

I've also decided it was time to start getting rid of the hideous flat paint in our house. I started Emmas room a few weeks ago with some left over paint from the old house. It was light purple....a paint tinting error by Sherwin Williams. I painted three of her bedroom walls purple and left one wall the color it was before. I ended up getting the same color in a satin and painted the wall in that. I then put the same green in the kids bathroom. It's alien green! Like the ailiens in Toy Story....as the decor in there is Toy Story!! I also painted the master bedroom. It too is a color we had in our old house. So I've just painted three rooms and bought new curtains and a rod for the price of $25! SA-WEET! I'm thinking the basement will be next, as Brian gets it put back together. I have some ideas...this is gonna take a minute as it's a big space, and I have to paint base boards.

So far we are enjoying summer break. No big trips yet. Maybe a road trip to Grandma and Papa's in Wisconsin in the near future. Just planning on relaxing in the backyard for the summer.

XOXO
Sara

Summer is Just Begining!

2011-05-31T13:58:00.000-04:00

Well, it's been a minute since I've posted!

Drew got his cast...green of course! He is in that for three weeks. I have been busy with some projects around the house. I've painted, finished Emma's room, cleaned part of the garage and played outside. Hoping to finish the basement, take the kids pictures in the park, and finsih cleaning the garage soon.

We spent this past weekend outsi

de. We let the kids play in the pool to cool off. Emma and Parker loved it. They are going to be fish just like Drew. Maddox and Jack cried. I'm sure they will learn to love it too, we've just been a bit under the weather in our house. Grandma Susan and Papa Jack came to visit this weekend too. It's always good to have family over. Hope you all had a wonderful time with your family and friends this weekend and stay cool in the summer heat.

XOXO

Rough Week....It's Only Monday!

2011-05-23T19:25:00.000-04:00

After all the rain I wondered what it would feel like to be back outside. I found it to be a nightmare!

The rain ended and our patio was finished. We got some new patio furniture on Saturday. My sister kept the kiddos for a sleepover and Brian and I went out. We ate at Olive Garden came home and started to assemble some new furniture. Sunday I picked up my cranky kiddos and came home. But not before Drew could face plant into the floor giving himself a bloody nose at my sisters. That was just the beginning!

Brian came home from work and started to cut the grass. Drew helped then decided he would play on the swing set while I put the quads in bed. I went outside to help put the rest of the patio furniture together that we hadn't finished the evening before. I turned to see Drew hanging by one hand on the monkey bars. He fell before I could get to him, landing on his wrist. He cried for quite a while and we decided it was best to take him for x-rays. Finally around 11 P.M. the doctor came and told me he had a buckle fracture. He is currently in a sugar splint. The swelling in his arm was still too much for a cast at that time. He will see the orthopaedic doctor in the morning for a cast. He will have to wear that for 4-6 weeks. Most defintely not how I wanted to start summer break. This means no swimming, short bathtime, no wii, and limited swing set activity. :( At least it's not something that required surgery. We are glad he's ok.

Looking forward to lots of summer evenings outside with the kids and relaxing on the patio.

Busy Bodies!!

2011-05-19T21:25:00.000-04:00

The busy bodies continue!! I love hearing those little running feet through the house. We've been so busy I haven't even vacuumed. That's against my OCD code.

Brian and started the week with work and VIRTUS training for Drew's school. It was very informative. We can now spot sexual predators a mile away. It was a requirement for us if we are going to volunteer in his school or go on field trips with him. Tuesday was PT day for Maddox and Parker and work. Wednesday was more work and multiples meeting so I took the kids to that with me. Today we had plastic surgeon for Emma and the boys had a playdate. On top of all that I've tried to play and keep up with everyday house chores. Tomorrow it's off to see farm animals at school. It should be fun. It's going to be nice weather.

We visited the plastic surgeon today for another follow up for Emma's cranial surgery last July. She looks great. Only a few concerns. Neurologically she is doing wonderful. No concerns there. Her eyebrow bones have not held up like they were hoping. During surgery they pulled the bones out and up. They are planning on correcting the bones when she is six. Until then, they want to give her skull a few years to completely heal. Her head will continue to smooth out in the next few years; it's quite bumpy right now. The other concern was with her vision. Her eyes wonder just a tad. If you watch very closely you can see it, I hadn't noticed it until 2 weeks ago. It's so slight in both eyes that he isn't too concerned. We will be seeing the opthamologist in another month. Both eyes adjust very quickly when she looks at something that they think it will correct itself. Will keep you updated on that.

Hoping for nice weather for everyone, it's time for Grey's and bed. This mama is TIRED!

On Like Donkey Kong!

2011-05-13T21:19:00.000-04:00

So we've been busy this past week! They kids have been wrestling like crazy. Brian even joined the action. They all love it. It's the best to hear them all laughing and getting a little roughed up. Such good exercise and bad social skills!! Haha, I should start saving bail money now for the teen and college years.

Brian and I spent two days at the West Baden Resort and Spa in French Lick, Indiana this past week. He won an award through work so we spent Wednesday in a couples massage, napping, dinning, at the awards ceremony and the casino. Brian tried out the blackjack table. He didn't do too bad! I think he really liked it. I won a little on the slots. I have to say it was a late night....we haven't been out that late in long time. I'm thinking since Drew was a few months old...that's like three years!! Thursday we woke up early and came home. Such a bad habbit when you have kids.

Today I took the squad to the zoo. Yes, just me. All by myself. No help. Usually people don't seem to bug me with their comments; however, today some guy had the guts to tell me I brought the zoo to the zoo. I replied to his comment with "Your mom forgot to leave you in your cage."
A lady who was also standing there gauking at me applauded and told me how beautiful my children were. It made me feel much better.

A lot of people ask "How do you do it?" There's really not much to it. Everyone gets everything at the same time. Diapers, lunch, snack, sippy, etc. If I didn't do it this way, I'd be doing the same task all day. Yes, I'm busy but you learn to adjust. I don't sit while the babies are awake. We play, do laundry, go on walks, do dishes, they help with a lot. The squad loves to sweep, mop, and vacuum. They play together most of the time so I am able to do other things like scrub bathrooms and pay bills. Most of the time during nap I play Wii with Drew. It's his one on one time. I've always been a firm believer in getting the kids out and about for a change of pace and to let them experience life outside of our house(except during rsv season). I think it also allows them to learn how to act in public. Sometimes it's tough with Drew when his listening ears malfunction but we've been pretty successful with all the places we've been. I will admit it's a lot of work, but well worth it!

This has been quite the post. I better save some for the next time.
XOXO
Sara

A Work in Progress.

2011-05-07T21:13:00.000-04:00

The basement is almost half finished and the patio will be poured this week! It's been a bit hard...we can't play in the basement and we can't play in the backyard. :( We have been taking walks and my sister Stacy and I took the kids on a long bike ride a few days ago. They love biking. Thank goodness. Brian and I love riding, although we've been so busy lately it's been hard to find time.

We've had to make multiple calls to "Nama" as Emma calls her. All five kids love to talk on my phone. It's great! Nama is pretty good at telling who is who while she's talking. I love that the kids have a well rounded vocabulary for 17 months old (14 adjusted). Brian was cracking up at Emma this past week. She was babbling and at the end of her sentence was "Emma". She obviously was telling him something about her or that she wanted something!

Can you believe there are only 3 weeks until summer break? I feel like the weather isn't warm enough for summer break yet. I'm super excited and scared at the same time. What if we don't get to play outside much? I want to get out of the house but yet I feel like there is so much to do here. Here I go again, freaking out!!

Well, time to go find some work to do....I always have work!
Happy Mother's Day to all of you Mommies!
<3

Daddy Put Me to Work!

2011-05-01T12:03:00.000-04:00

Our spa getaway is approaching. I need it mentally, but Brian needs it phisically. Poor guy! He's cut the grass, worked on the basement, ripped out our rotted deck, and worked full time at work. No breaks allowed in this house. He's had some help at least. Drew has been a great supervisor in all of Brian's late evening projects. Drew loves to help. He drove the tractor with Brian while they cut the grass. While Brian trimmed the yard, Drew counted branches on a fruit tree in our yard. Last night while Brian ripped out the deck Drew made sure the wood pile for the bonfire got bigger and that his swing set was still in great climbing condition. Drew slept well last night!!

Maddox, Parker, Emma and Jack are doing well. They've learned how to throw themselves to the ground and have a humungous temper tantrum. Parker's biting phase seems to have ended. Jack has learned to kick a soccer ball around the house. Maddox is talking up a storm. He told me last "boo-boo". He had fallen and gotten a boo-boo. Emma must think she's getting a cell phone soon. She likes to take my phone and say namma (grandma). She and grandma have some good conversations. She's such a girl.

Drew is doing great. We ordered his school supplies for preschool this coming fall. He got to pick out his own green backpack. It was nice, I spent less on the ordering website than I would've at the store and it already had everything he needed. If your school has a code to log in with I highly recommend it. It's www.schooltoolbox.com

We will post pics of our projects in progress in another post. I want to wait for before and after pictures.
Hugs!

Bite Me!

2011-04-27T21:13:00.000-04:00

Brian and I suspected Parker of biting Maddox and Emma. Today I confirmed it. Parker is guilty!! I watched him bite Jack today as they both stood in front of me.

I hate yelling at Parker because he looks down and pouts. It makes me want to laugh and cry at the same time. He knows when I mean business. Not that he always follows through with the don't touch commands, but he defintely understands. Maddox laughs when you yell at him and keeps on doing what he's doing most of the time. Jack gives the long pause and thinks about it. Emma either cries or walks away. Drew...well, he's three and lets just leave it at that!

Today has been a rough day. I ended up not feeling the greatest and was at the end of my rope by 3pm. The weather has been miserable here and we've had serious cabin fever. LET US OUT!!! Apparently our good listening ears took a vacation, the babies were out of sorts, and like I said the weather sucked. We spent almost 45 minutes in the basement which is still under repair from flooding about 5-6 weeks ago for a tornado warning.

I'm so ready to have the basement back to normal. I could let the kids down there to play and get all our other toys out for a change of pace. Brian is doing a really nice job and working on it when he can. He's been doing it alone and it's a big space. I would also like to paint so that will add some time and effort one of these fine weekends. WHO WANTS TO PLAY WITH THE KIDS FOR THE WEEKEND??? Once the basement is finished I won't have to keep the kids locked in their pack and plays during bad weather. At least they can run and play.

Hoping for a break in the weather...until then this mama is CRAZY! Hope everyone is doing well and sleeps tight.

HUGS!

Guess How Much I Love You?

2011-04-24T22:52:00.000-04:00

We got our first "I love you" from one of the quads tonight. Maddox said it to Brian as he told him good night and then Maddox said it to me as I was walking him upstairs to bed. I am just in awe at how differently my kids communicate and the different words they all have in their vocabulary. Maddox and Emma are my little chatter boxes. They love to talk to everyone...well, everyone who is familiar to them. Jack and Parker (my little bash brothers) talk like crazy to their brothers and sister. They have a well rounded vocabulary, they just use it with others when they are in the mood, want something badly enough, or are being extremely silly.

Today was Easter. We got off to a late start. Brian and I, along with the kids over slept our intended wake up time. OOOPS! We had a wonderful day, as we looked through our stuff the Easter Bunny dropped off, went to Illinois for dinner with my in-laws, and then came home to play and smooch the kids. Drew was a little cranky, but sugar will do that to you when you're tired!

I'm tired and headed to bed. I hope you all had a wonderful Easter.
Hoping my ears catch many more "I love yous" from the kids. Goodnight!

I am the MOLE!!

2011-04-21T14:34:00.000-04:00

Do you remember that tv show? Brian and I made a bet after watching the first episode. I don't recall if either of us was right, but it was fun to watch.

Yesterday after nap I got the kids out of bed and thought I would do a tooth check. I always like to see who has acquired more teeth. To my surprise Parker had a top molar!! YAY. Therefore "the MOLE" nickname. Jack now has six teeth, Emma and Maddox still hanging with four each. The squad has been very chatty lately. I LOVE IT! More new words come out everyday. Drew told me yesterday "Mommy, I'm handsome" and today he said "P" is for pig and "b" is for ball. Maybe I have a neurosurgeon or the next director of NASA sitting next to me. He's super smart.

It's been cold here the last few days with all this rain. Makes me want to nap! The forecast for the rest of the week isn't looking very promising. :( Hope everyone enjoys Easter.

XOXOXO
Sara

Let's be Hoppy!

2011-04-17T21:30:00.000-04:00

I guess I have lots of mixed emotions right now. I'm happy I've been able to have date night with Brian this week and the kids had a wonderful time at Stacy and Nicks. We were able to see the Easter Bunny and no one cried. Drew is fully potty trained and doing great. I'm sad because my washer died and before long we're gonna be naked. At least my water bill is paid so we won't stink. I've has lots of germs floating through the house lately so that has me a bit down too.

Brian has been working hard on the basement. It's starting to take shape, but is taking forever. I hate to even think that we still need to keep up with lawn mowing, playtime, walks, groceries all on top of the basement. But...gotta love summer and warm weather. Brian was working on it last night and I went down and threw out the idea of painting and all that since we will either have to touch up the paint I absolutely hate or make it pretty with something I LOVE! He said he'd think about it. I want to make it cozy for scary movies. BUHAHAHA.

Not too many other developments here in the house. The babies are talking up a storm. Maddox said "Thank you" and "cheese" two days ago. Jack is learning to run, Parker has learning to climb down things that he climbs up, and Emma has learned to dial grandma from my phone. Total girl! Love my munchkins!!

Making a splash...in the Kitchen.

2011-04-14T21:37:00.000-04:00

What a crazy day! I feel like I'm in the nut house and needing electroshock therapy. This mama is pooped!

We did a lot today, cleaned the kitchen, did dishes, laundry, walked outside and most importantly BATH. I was so exhausted today that I made one trip upstairs to get towels and soap then one by one gave the kids a bath in the kitchen sink. Yes, 16 months old and they still fit in the sink. They didn't seem to mind it, as they could still watch Drew play Super Mario on the wii from the sink. I guess it was a win-win situation.

Brian and I are heading out tomorrow night. Yep, just the two of us. The squad is staying over at Aunt Stacy and Uncle Nicks house. It's their first overnight trip without Mommy and Daddy without it being a medical emergency. What a great feeling! Hopefully they will all have fun. I know Brian and I plan on having fun. We are headed to the Mommies of Multiples Spring Banquet. It's being hosted by a good friend who has twins and lives a block up the street. Last year was so much fun.

This mama is beat, I'm headed to bed. Sleep tight everyone.
In the words of Drew "night...love you...bye!"

Things We Love.

2011-04-08T13:42:00.000-04:00

Our list of favorites include:
1. Mommy and Daddy
2. Sippies
3. Goldfish
4. Riding in the choo-choo wagon
5. Going outside
6. French fries
7. Bubbles
8. Zoo
9. Looking out the windows for the school bus
10. Swimming

We went outside this week to play. It was a little windy, but the kids had a great time. It was the quads first time in the sand box. They loved it. Jack and Emma played for almost 45 minutes in it. Maddox, Drew and Parker played about 15 minutes then decided to go play on the swing set. Maddox and Parker were a bit under the weather so they relaxed in the swings while Drew played on the monkey bars. I'm so glad there is a lot of warm weather headed this way so we can spend more time outdoors. We just need to find more time in our schedule to cut the grass. In our old house the front was cut for us, and we had such a small yard it didn't matter how often we cut the grass. Now we are on our own....wish us luck!!

We've been fighting off germs this week and are completely exhausted. Looking forward to next Friday and Saturday for some sleep. I've been throwing around the idea of shampooing my carpets. I know...I should sit down and do nothing but catch up on sleep and rest, but I have so much else I "could" be doing without the kids here. Thank you Aunt Stacy for keeping the kids!!

Back to lysoling my house now.
XOXO
Sara

Family Fun.

2011-04-02T21:16:00.000-04:00

We did it! We went swimming with a three year old, and four sixteen month olds. What were we thinking?? First of all let me just say it wasn't too terrible. It was more work getting them dressed in their swim suits than it was actually swimming. We ended up having a blast. My sister Stacy went with us, so we did have one extra set of hands. Of course she wouldn't miss it for the world. She loves her babies and Boogieman!

Today I woke up on the wrong side of the bed...and ALONE. Yup...Brian slept in Drew's bed. It makes Drew a happy camper when Daddy falls asleep first and stays there all night. I woke them both by running the vacuum! Haha, revenge is sa-weet! I guess to be positive I only had to make half the bed instead of the whole thing. :) To brighten my mood I took Drew outside during nap time. It was a little cold, but did me some good. We made a sand castle in the sandbox, played on the new swing set and played with our dog Bailey. We continued with a little Super Mario Bros on the wii and finished off with a visit from Grandma Susan.

Overall its been an ok day, hoping for much better tomorrow and warmer weather. I am hoping to take the quads outside to play in the backyard soon. Maybe even a walk or a bike ride.
See you in the morning on the right side of the bed!
Hugs
Sara

It's Flat, and I Wish It Were Flat

2011-04-01T11:06:00.001-04:00

Needless to say my house needs a new painted interior. I know I've complained before....WHY DO PEOPLE USE FLAT PAINT? It's so not child friendly. Especially when you have five! Where is grandma when you need them?? I'm itching to paint and decorate just to get rid of all the toy marks and hand prints on my walls.

Phase one of the backyard is complete! YAY Brian! He's become such a handy man. He's come such a long way in the 10 years we've been together. Love you lots Brian!! I can honestly say I've relaxed quite a bit when it comes to home repair. He used to make me so nervous. We have a completed sandbox ready for five happy children, a quad friendly swing set with mini clubhouse and slide and a Drew friendly jungle gym and swings. The quads I'm sure will need help navigating the jungle gym. Our only problem is our backyard slopes. GRR...I wish it were FLAT! It's going to be loads of fun. I just want it would warm up and STOP raining already. Phase two will entail a patio. We will be waiting until the basement is finished for that project.

I'm still waiting to take the quads on their first bike ride. They will love it. It's April and I want out...is it really too much to ask for? The Mario theme song on the wii is really getting to me. Almost time for Maddox to have therapy so I have to run. Hope to post playtime pictures soon!

XOXOXO

So Big!

2011-03-30T14:21:00.000-04:00

The kids are getting so big!

I put a new pair of pants on Drew yesterday and they were SHORT! Poor kiddo looks like he's going to the flood. He's 3 and wearing 3T clothes, but these pants (which were a 3T) looked a bit small. The quads are now 16 months (13 adjusted) and chatting up a storm. They all have between 10 and 15 words each. They have started hitting each other. Parker has decided he should start biting. :( All four babies are walking and still love cuddling when they get the chance.

The backyard is really taking shape. The sandbox and the swing set are both finished. Drew played in the sandbox on Monday, but it's been too cold to play the last two days. We bought replacement flooring for the basement last night. Brian is going to put them in himself to save a little money. We also had to replace our back-up sump pump and that wasn't covered by insurance. After we complete the basement we will atempt a patio in the backyard. It will be a little time consuming, considering we are doing the projects ourselves with five children.

I've been enjoying the week off for spring break. I've been cleaning quite a bit. I just need to finish putting laundry away and I would love to vacuum. I feel so scummy when I don't vacuum as often. Guess I can thank the kid from sixth grade who used to tease me because of my last name. I was never a dirty kid, but he seemed to think so...now I have OCD. At least it benefits my family...we are squeaky clean!

Hoping to see spring soon!
Love to all

Just Toddling Around!

2011-03-25T14:41:00.000-04:00

I waited to post due to well baby visits with the pedi, but WE HAVE 3 WALKING QUADS! Emma, Jack, and Maddox are all toddling around. Parker won't be far behind. He is trying so hard to walk. His poor feet just don't want to move. I love seeing the excitment on their faces.

We've been playing in the unfinished backyard a bit. Brian just needs to order sand for the sand box and that will be fully functional. Papa and Gwamma (from Wisconsin) are coming after work today and spending the weekend down here. Hopefully Brian and Papa can finish the swing set so we can play on it. Soon we'll hopefully be working on the patio. First things first though....THE BASEMENT! We are currently waiting on the checks from insurance to replace the flooring and base boards. Then onto the bathroom in the basement. It's gonna be a long process, but I'm willing to wait. It's gonna be beautiful again and we can watch some movies in the theatre that's down there.

I took the kiddos to the pedi this week for their 15 month check ups. They did so good.
Maddox: 18lbs 8oz, 29 1/4 inches long
Parker: 23lbs 3oz, 30 1/2 inches long
Emma: 21lbs 2oz, 28 1/4 inches long
Jack: 21lbs 11oz. 29 1/2 inches long

They are not too delayed in development. Right where they should be for adjusted age. I'm so glad the quads are doing well. As for Drew; he's also been doing a great job around the house. He can trace and spell his name. Trace and count numbers to 20, name all his colors, potty on the potty, and is an expert at Mario.

Thats all I have for now, I wish I were napping!!
Hugs to all
Sara

P.S. backyard pics to come soon!!

Oh the Pets You Can Get!!

2011-03-20T14:00:00.001-04:00

It's been an interesting week. We've played outside, inside, and been to the zoo. I think it got Drew thinking. It reminds me of the book by Dr. Suess, Oh the Pets You Can Get! That doesn't include snakes. It's one of Drew's favorites to see at the zoo. I think Jack has decided he likes turtles and everyone else really seemed to like the sting rays. It most certainly was a perfect day

at the zoo.

We played on the small clubhouse we had for Drew when he was just one. The quads loved it. Drew is still waiting for Daddy to finish his new swing set. Daddy however is waiting for the weather to cooperate and some much needed time at home. I backyard makeover is taking much longer than expected. Drew and I did rake up all the sticks and leaves yesterday so we can see lots of green grass growing. That's a plus!!

We should be hearing back from the insurance company tomorrow to get our estimate for repair work. I can't wait to have the basement back to normal. It's a little creepy with the cold cement floors and basement smell down there. It's so much better finished!! It will be exciting picking out new floors. It makes me want to redo my kitchen and hang curtains. However; the people who lived here before us used flat paint. DUMB, DUMB, DUMB. I can't wash the nasty dirt off without taking the paint off. Which means I have to repaint. Why waste my time. I will repaint with something else and be done!!

Well, I hear babies stirring upstairs, that means it's BATH TIME. Grocery shopping later....YUCK!

XOXOXO

Best Friends

2011-03-13T13:00:00.003-04:00

It melts my heart so see the love my quad mama's have for me. I couldn't love a group of mama's more! We've been through it all together. Boogers, RSV, surgeries, stressful days and the best days. We've shared pictures, text messages, phone calls, and emails at all hours of the night. I'm hoping and praying for things to work out to be able to meet some of the most beautiful and most understanding girls out there. This would mean convincing my husband....Brian Scott, I love you and need this trip to Quad-vention!

I've been watching the quads and Drew quite closely this past week. It's been great to see how Drew has started to interact with them. He is starting to share his toys a little better, sitting down and talking to them and playing with them. He's been wrestling with them too. I get a little nervous, but he's a boy and it's what boys do, I guess. I LOVE watching the quads talk together at the table. They speak quadaneese...and it's super cute. They shake their heads and use their hands and giggle. I hope they will always be this close and the best friends any of them could ever have. My five children are the BEST! I could never love anything or anyone more.

As for my husband and best friend I love you more than words can explain. I just don't feel like I tell you enough. I LOVE YOU!

XOXO

Super Mario Bros.

2011-03-09T21:10:00.003-05:00

Drew loves the Wii. He's always Mario, and he's getting really good. Brian and I recently hooked up Netflix on the Wii as well. You can watch the old tv show/cartoon on it. If you recall they were plumbers. Lets just say they could've come in handy on Saturday night!

We got quite a bit of rain starting Thursday night and all through Sunday. I knew it would be tough staying motivated and happy in such yucky weather. I mananged to finish the laundry, put it away, finish dishes, baths, and sit down. All before Brian came home on Friday night. He got up around 5am on Saturday and heard a beeping in the basement. He went down to check it out. It turns out we had a leaking pipe. The one pipe in the house you can't turn off....THE SUMP PUMP. It wasn't bad so he said he would call the home warranty people to have a plumber come and look at it.

Meanwhile the beeping continued and I periodically check the pipe. Around the kids nap time I checked the pipe again and realized it was getting worse and we hadn't heard back yet. I tied a bottle of Tide laundry detergent to the pipe to slow the water coming in. By bedtime the basement was flooding. We called the warranty people who tried to call someone else. No one was available. They told us to start calling plumbers and they would fully reimburse us for the cost. Around midnight a plumber shows up. Only to tell us the pipe broke due to the main sump pump failing and the back up sump pump vibrating so hard to keep up with the flow of water. The plumber replaced the main sump pump and drained the water out of the basement, but the laminate flooring is ruined. He was here until 3am working.

Our insurance company sent out a restoration company Sunday and they immediately took out the floor and put in fans and a dehumidifier to dry out the basement. They will check the moisture level and for mold, spots on the drywall and baseboards before giving the insurance company the ok to let us pick out new floors and have them installed. They want to make sure we don't need a mold crew in there or have any other problems. I'm having the washer and dryer checked tomorrow. The dryer has water that seeps out of the knob and out of the bottom. I don't need to worry about the new floor under that. Maddox's lungs don't need anymore problems to deal with, especially any kind of mold. It might take a few weeks to get it put back together, but we will be patient and make sure it's done right.

We've been so busy with the basement, that we almost missed the quads latest and greatest accomplishments yet. Emma, Parker, and Jack are standing for long periods independently. WAHOO! Maddox is a full time big boy crawler and beginning to try to stand independently. It's great to watch them grow. They all have a growing vocabulary. Everyone has at least a vocabulary of 11 words. So proud of my babies!

Hope everyone has a great week as we continue to dry out here in Indy!

Kung Fu Fighting!

2011-03-04T20:42:00.002-05:00

I recently set this song as my ringtone on my phone. It makes me laugh. Everyone needs a good laugh right?? The quads have been working hard on standing independently and walking. They are doing well...except for the battle wounds received from them pulling up on each other. I am shocked that Emma has any hair left. Parker likes to use her head as a rope. Poor girl. I love watching their faces as they realize they are standing alone. PRICELESS!

I wish I could say the backyard was moving as fast as the babies. The sandbox is ready to head out to the yard. The swing set is partially assembled in the garage. Brian has been working six days a week, so he's been working on it late at night or during nap. The weather has not been as cooperative either. :( I'm beginning to get cabin fever along with the kiddos. WE NEED OUT!

We did try a new activity this week. FINGER PAINTS! Only two of five kiddos tried to eat it. Thank goodness it's non-toxic. :) They made beautiful art. I only did one quad at a time. Drew has painted lots before so no worries there! I'm not brave enough to do all four at once.

Hugs and happy thoughts to you all.

XOXO

Extreme Makeover

2011-02-24T21:36:00.002-05:00

Phase one is under way!!

That's right, we've started our extreme backyard makeover. We have a new sandbox for the kids to play in. Made by Daddy! He's becoming such a handy man. It's 10x10...feet that is. GINORMOUS!! We also have a new swing set. Also quite humungous. Monkey bars, swings, glider for two, clubhouse, playhouse, and picnic table. We also intend to replace the small rotted deck with a new patio for lounging while the little ones play. Pool and fire pit to come a few years down the road.

While we've been working hard on our outside projects, the inside of the house has accumulated germs. Yes, sick kiddos again. Three wheezers, another ear infection, and the terrible threes! The quads are all on antibiotics again, and Drew is just busy. Some days I wonder if I'm gonna make it. Like today for example, Maddox broke his nose during therapy, Emma ate poop, Parker was beating Jack up, and Drew lost his listening ears somewhere and have yet to be found. Tomorrow has got to be better. :)

I sure am ready for spring. I think it will cure a lot of this stress due to cabin fever. I'm really excited to let the kids run in the backyard and open the windows. Our first summer in this house I'm hoping will be spectacular with many more to follow. We love it here!! Hoping to catch up in person with some of my girlfriends who are SAHM's...you girls know who you are!!

Sleep tight everyone!

Up and About!

2011-02-09T15:42:00.003-05:00

One of my good friends informed me I haven't blogged in a while..Thanks Kara!! I finally have stopped for a minute to update.

The quads are busy! They are all crawling, pulling up, cruising, and Emma is starting to take steps without help. They are starting to talk quite a bit. Their favorite words seem to be "ALL DONE". Although, when someone is upset it becomes "mama".

Drew is a handful, but totally cute. He's spelling his own name, can tell you how old he is, can sometimes tell you his birthday and almost potty trained. He loves the babies. Jack and Drew sometimes wrestle. They seem to think its hilarious...it just makes me nervous. Drew registers for preschool on Monday. He's going to have a blast! He loves making friends.

Brian and I are doing well. He had a cold a few weeks ago, along with the kiddos. I don't know how I escaped that round of germs. Glad I did though. Cabin fever I can tell is setting in. We are both ready to get out of the house and go play in the park or go biking with the kids. Hoping to go riding through Hummel Park. It's the best!!

Bringing in the new year!

2010-12-31T13:29:00.002-05:00

Happy New Year!!

We aren't making any plans for the evening, just to relax and enjoy each others company. I keep praying that 2011 will be a much healthier year for the Scott family. I just read on a friends blog that her little boy has MPV and is in PICU for the second time. This is what Maddox had in Feb/March of this past year. I'm hoping for no repeats. I'm praying for a fast recovery for her little boy too.

I don't have much time to blog today because it's nap time and Drew wants desperately wants to play puzzles. So I have to run, but we wish everyone a Happy New Year!!

Love and Hugs!

AGAIN??

2010-12-23T15:10:00.003-05:00

I feel Deja Vu! Not many of you know this but when Drew was a baby we went through a rough period of time where he had chronic vomiting and diahrrea for weeks. It happened at 8 months of age then again shortly after he turned 1. I fear that Emma has it too. She's been sick for about 2 weeks now. No one else has been sick like she has and she is following with the same symptoms that Drew had. I took her to the pediatrician today and they said she looks fine (as did Drew when I first took him in) and to keep up with what we've been doing. They are going to run stool samples and see if anything turns up. As of right now the pedi is thinking she is still reacting badly to an antibiotic she had about a month ago and it's causing an infection. We will see. After weeks of consulting with our regular Dr for Drew I finally took him to Riley Children's Hospital; they never found anything but a bad reaction to him drinking juice and a high alkphosphatase level. I've already called to get Emma in at Riley, but she doesn't drink juice. I'm beginning to wonder if it's genetic?? I will ask if they don't find anything with Emma. There is most definitely something going on. Drew still has mini episodes of this and I am one frustrated Mama!

Other than our poopy drama, we are all good. Waiting to see what Santa is going to leave under our tree! Hope I made the nice list....

Merry Christmas everyone!
Love to all.

More Birthday Fun!!

2010-12-20T22:02:00.002-05:00

Wow! It's almost Christmas....Santa is getting ready to head to the Scott house. Cookies are made, the tree is up and we all made the nice list this year. Well, so far. Some days are questionable. :) I shouldn't complain...my Christmas tree is still standing. YAY!

It's been interesting the last few weeks. Now that we have 4 crawlers and everyone is beginning to pull up and get into things it's total craziness. Maybe more like a big wrestling arena. I feel like I'm constantly calming someone.

Drew had his third birthday party. He had a blast. So did the quads. We went swimming with family and friends. It was great to see them all. Drew got a big boy bike, a mobigo, and more. His favorite thing seems to be the snow outside. If only it didn't take 30 minutes to get everyone dressed and out the door just to play in some frozen water!! We did go out a few days ago. The babies loved it. Well, until Emma face planted in the snow. It's ok...no harm done! She was fine after a good brushing off and some kisses.

If I'm not able to post again before Christmas, everyone have a safe and very Merry Christmas.

Love to all!!

Happy Birthday!

2010-12-05T13:32:00.002-05:00

Well, the quads are now 1! They enjoyed their first birthday by eating Thanksgiving feast. Plates were emptied and then they enjoyed cake. What a yummy mess! They had a small party with just close family. We decided to have a bigger party with friends and distance family with Drew and the quads together.

We planned the party at the aquatic center. All the babies(except Jack) and Drew love the water. Jack likes water, but isn't as enthusiastic about it as the others. He would rather love on you! They had a blast. Drew is like a fish...he put on a life jacket and swam his way out to the 5 ft deep part of the pool. The babies sat in the zero depth part of the pool and splashed like no tomorrow! What a blast we all had.

We put up the Christmas tree and it's still standing!! Yay. We've had a few minor issues....Parker and Maddox! Parker is drawn to a big red sparkly ornament and Maddox likes the silver one next to it.

We've been busy swapping out infant toys with some 12 month toys. The babies are starting to pull up on things so it's time to get big toys out. It's been great telling them things and they correctly follow directions. My babies are GENIUS!!

I believe nap is over....I hear babies!

Hugs!

Brian won this battle!

2010-11-20T12:35:00.003-05:00

Never in my life has our Christmas tree been up before Thanksgiving. This year we put it up the week before. With Brian and I working crazy hours to get around paying for daycare our time was limited. He will be working holiday hours and with family coming and holiday events this was about the only time we had to get our stuff out.

I did manage to muster up the energy to take a few pictures of the kids with the tree yesterday. They didn't do too bad. I would still like to play with the pictures a little before making Christmas cards. Maybe that will be my late night project tonight. Drew is going to spend the night at Aunt Stacy's house. I think they are going to camp out in the living room. You know, when you put sheets or blankets up across the counch and the tables or between the chairs and get inside! Brings back lots of fun childhood memories!!

My other late night project is to wrap presents. Boy has my wrapping workload quadrupled!! hehehe. I just hope it goes smoothly and then I'll just need to find a good hiding spot.

I'm gearing up for the babies 1st birthday this week. I'm slowly coming to terms that they will be a year old. I don't feel like they are that old. Either way, I still think they are the cutest and sweetest babies ever. I am one lucky mommy.
Birthday pictures will post soon!

Hugs to all, and have a Happy Thanksgiving!!

Time to catch up.

2010-11-13T09:03:00.003-05:00

Woopsies! I didn't realize it had been almost a month since I've posted. I guess I've been too busy. :(

Well, we had a fabulous Halloween. We participated in our neighborhood's Halloween parade with the fire dept. located just up the street. I took them to their first Halloween party at one of my friends house and then we Trick-or-Treated! They loved it.

We've been getting ready for birthday's and the upcoming holidays already. Can you believe the quads will be one in less than two weeks?? YIKES! They are learning so much, so fast. Jack and Emma are crawling, Maddox and Parker are starting to figure it out. The try to scoot forward, so that's progres! They love pancakes. The weather has been so nice out lately. Yesterday was 74 degrees, so we went to the zoo. Yes, I took all 5 kids to the zoo by myself. They are so well behaved that it really isn't hard. We had a blast. Drew loved the cheetahs. We didn't get to see them last time we were there because they were hiding. Yesterday there were three laying about 50 feet from us. I was surprised at how small they really are. I was thinking they were as big as the tigers.

I'm really excited for Christmas. Not so much about the presents and the shopping but about getting really cute pictures. I know, such a MOM THING TO SAY! Hahahaha. I know the babies will be into the tree like crazy, but it's going to be fun. They were all still in the NICU last year. It will be nice to spend our holidays here at home (our new home) as a family. :)

Hugs to all!

All Patched Up!

2010-10-14T21:37:00.009-04:00

The quads made their first trip to the pumpkin patch. They did so well. There was so much to see! Drew had a blast too. We went with our good friends; the Farleys. Yes, Drew took the love of his life, Kiersten Mae! They climbed a straw mountain, rode a pony, took the hayride out to the pumpkin patch and ran around together.

We are just waiting to carve them with Grandma and Papa. They will be arriving Thursday! That means lots of cuddles coming and Emma's new dresser. It's not brand new, but new to her. It belonged to my great Grandma, and was passed onto my mother as a child. It had been at my grandparents house until now. My aunt and mom thought it would be nice for Emma to have. I'm really excited about having it for her.

No new developments in the house. Just maybe thinking about some furniture rearranging. I'm about to get rid of all our baby swings and some of the bouncy seats. It will make a little more crawling and rolling space. I guess a little more Toy Story space too...we have the entire set and more. Buzz and Woody are everywhere!

XOXO

Getting Settled.

2010-10-08T22:21:00.003-04:00

We are 95% unpacked! We have a few items left but plan on spending the weekend with the kiddos and nothing else. We plan on going a few places and are probably going to want to drop by the time we get home. I guess that's life!!

We took the kids fall pictures this week. It was so nice outside we couldn't resist. They turned out really good, I was shocked. It's not everyday these guys sit still for more than a milisecond! Jack is crawling, Emma is super close to crawling. Parker is rolling like crazy and Maddox rolls until runs into someone or something then laughs histerically. Drew is good. He's learning how to share his big boy toys. It's been tough. Sometimes he gives the babies the line "that's Drew's, it's a no-no." I love my life!!

Brian and I are loving the new house with all this space. It's more to clean, but I'm no longer triping over bouncy seats, blankets, or toys. Just mobile babies!! Work has kept us from really spending much time together, but it's totally worth it right now. We are doing what we have to so our kids can have everything they deserve.

I'm going to bed....CAUSE I'M POOPED! (Imagine that!!)

Hugs!

It's too loud!

2010-09-25T23:44:00.002-04:00

We moved! Yup and still managing to keep ourselves sane. The kids took the move well....I guess. Moving day was the longest day of my life. The kiddos got up at 7:30 and we never looked back. They managed to skip naps and make it to bed late. Our first day here was the second longest day of my life. CRANKY PANTS EVERYWHERE!! So today was our third day here...it was not too bad. Drew is bored, and the babies well...they are starting to entertain themselves. My goal tomorrow is to unpack toys.

We did go for a walk in the neighborhood today. We only saw half of it. It's beautiful when your not driving and multi-tasking. I met a few more of the neighbors. They are wonderful. One of them brought brownies. YAY! Drew loves the yard. It will be a little better once we get his swingset over here. That should be the only thing left at the old house....other than Kiersten Mae; his best friend.

Since we've moved we've had quite a few laughs. First off, Drew was talking about his birthday....not something Brian and I have brought up. He said he wants a swimming party. Pretty do-able...I think. The babies like water and Drew is part fish. So tonight as Brian and I were putting together the china cabinet we hear Drew say "Lets sing the birthday song!" He never did sing it, but he kept on about his birthday. By the way it's still 3 months away.

Brian and I decided that for the evening we would turn off the chime sound for the alarm. I take Drew to bed and come down to Brian pressing buttons. (It's 11:30pm) He pressed the wrong button and all you hear is the alarm in PANIC MODE. Neither of us knew the code....Thank goodness in was shuffled in the paperwork we had from closing. Luckily no one has called the cops and shown up. I'm thinking the SOLD sign in the front yard saved us. Trust me we now know the code. :)

Hopefully new house pics to come. I need to unpack the mountains of stuff out in the garage.
XOXO

All these...yes!

2010-09-21T22:02:00.002-04:00

I like all these names.....yes, these names. Drew is telling me what to write. He wants me to type right here. He's so fascinated by typing and computers. He certainly makes me smile at the end of a long day. Even after the emotional week we had last week.

Maddox is doing much better. He is constantly laughing and playing like there is nothing wrong. He has finished his antibotic, still taking his albuterol, pulmicort and singular. It's very time consuming along with his occupational therapy and respiratory therapy. It isn't leaving much time between to keep packing and playing with the kiddos. It's making me really sad.

Jack is crawling army style all over the house. Emma is still just rocking, but she laughs histerically at herself. Maddox and Parker are still working hard at sitting. Maddox rolls all over the house, but Parker is still pretty immoble.

We are almost ready to move. Thursday is approaching fast. Just a few little last minute things left. I am praying for a smooth transition. My goal tomorrow is to take apart four cribs. It could be very interesting. Not much else going on, just work and moving. We all go to be pretty early these days.....after all WE ARE EXHAUSTED!!

If your brave, come watch the kiddos for a while so WE CAN NAP!
Hugs to all.

Neb me!!

2010-09-15T21:51:00.002-04:00

Well, it seems like I've traveled this road before....oh wait, I never got off the exit!

I took Parker to see the Nephrologist today (Kidneys), and Maddox to the Pulmonologist(lungs) today. Parker got a wonderful report. His kidneys looked great. I knew going in the Maddox wouldn't come out with flying colors but wasn't expecting the news I got. Maddox has been sick quite frequently since he escaped from PICU last spring. Constantly snotty, coughing, wheezing, ear infections and more. We took him to see our pedi this past week because he was sick. We had been using the nebulizer, giving him antibiotics and reflux meds. He seemed to be making progress.

Boy was I wrong! It turns out he never really recovered from Metopneumo Virus(RSV). It apparently triggered severe reflux and possibly allergies to something unknown. We are waiting to see the GI specialist, allergist, and Speech Therapist to see how bad the damage is to his esophagus and the lining in his lungs and sinuses. The pulmonologist thinks he's possibly aspirating reflux which is making his lungs worse leading to inflamed tissue in other areas and it's just running in circles in his body so he can't fully recover. Once they find the culprit of his recurring pneumonia issues he should be on the road to a full recovery. It's getting there I'm worried about. There are a lot of tests involved and they hope to complete it all in the next month. As if I didn't have enough going on.

I will try to keep you updated on Maddox, we are in full moving mode so it may be a week or so before I am up and running again. We can't wait to be settled in the new house! Just one favor....send Maddox lots of prayers and hugs, he's got a long way to go.
XOXO

Lysol me!

2010-09-11T12:28:00.002-04:00

I feel cold and flu season coming in full force. I was hoping it would wait a little longer considering it's been so hot. It started with me, now Drew has it, and it won't be long before everyone else has it. Drew was in bed this morning and said "Mommy I have a boo boo in my mouth". I knew right away...he had a hoarse voice and was kind of whinning about it. We got out the flashlight and sure enough his throat was red. We went to take a shower and snot poured out of his poor little nose. A dose of tylenol and two movies later he is still on the couch.

Emma and Jack are both about to crawl. Jack has been able to get on all fours now for a few weeks but hasn't figured out how to coordinate his hands and legs. Emma just figured it all out last night. She was sitting next to me and rolled over to her belly. Pushed up on all fours and then started rocking. She was laughing histerically. It will be interesting to see who really figures it out first.

Brian and I are gearing up for the big move. I have been trying to hold off on cleaning out the kids wardrobes and just doing it while we are moving. It's only 12 days away! With the rain today I really struggled to find something that was warm enough. Guess I need to be checking that 10 day forecast! I still have a bunch to pack, but putting it off as long as possible. It's strange being a procrastinator.

I will try to keep this updated but with this bug going through the house and the move it will be a challenge.
hugs!

We're looking good!

2010-09-03T17:00:00.002-04:00

I took the squad in for their 9 month check-up today. They are doing well. Happily entertained and chatty.

Maddox 15lbs 3oz and 25inches
Parker 17lbs 3oz and 26 1/4 inches
Emma 16lbs 7oz and 26 inches
Jack 16lbs 2oz and 26 inches

Emma and Jack are being referred to Riley for reflux and the Dr. gave Maddox 2 weeks to clear up with allergy meds. If that doesn't work then he will be referred to an ENT for adenoid removal. But otherwise the kiddos are good.

Parker woke up this morning chatting up a storm. Papa will be excited when he hears that he can say "pa, pa, pa". Everyone can say "ma" and "ba" which is exciting...but no "da" yet. Sorry Brian!

We are getting ready for the big move...ONLY 20 MORE DAYS! I kinda dread it because I don't know what to expect moving with 5 babies. I hope I can get some help!!
Well it's time for dinner for the babies. Macaroni and cheese and strawberries with bananas.

YUMMY!

Were 9 months old!!

2010-09-02T08:29:00.003-04:00

I remember thinking last year at this time that I would be busy with babies. I didn't think I would be this busy though. I'm about to start making notes in my planner to remember to do the laundry and the dishes!

This month is going to be super busy. We have the pediatrician, Pulmonologist, Nephrologist, Developmental Specialist, new house closing, moving, a trip to Wisconsin, and work in between. YIKES! I am feeling a bit torn on keeping the appt. with the Developmental Specialist. I understand why we do need to see him, but I don't agree with it. My children were born 11 weeks early, they are behind developmentally. I don't see any signs of any severe conditions, and they all have therapy through First Steps. We see our pedi for their scheduled check ups. I guess I'm saying I don't feel the need to pay 8 separate co-pays (one for each child for the Specialist, and one for each child to see the therapist on his staff). Plus, they do standardized testing on the babies. It's completely unnecessary and invaild in my eyes. My children aren't expected to catch up until age 3...why waste my time and money when I know where they are developmentally? Tell me what you think, I'd like to know how some of you feel about this.

Drew spent last week with Grandma and Papa; he had a blast. Brian said he kept cracking up. Drew would come and sit on his lap and look at him and say "Daddy, you're cute, I love you!" You can tell what Grandma was telling him all week. :)
He has been quite hilarious this week. Drew told me last night "Good grief Mommy".
He also told me that Daddy drove fast in Mommy's car on the way to the park yesterday....I love the things he says. He's too cute.

We visit the pedi tomorrow so I will try to give baby info soon.

Hugs!!

Back to school!

2010-08-26T14:21:00.002-04:00

Our kids don't go to school yet, but I can't help think about when they do. What will I do with my time, and how much are supplies going to cost?? I'm already scared!! I recently returned to work (at school) and I do believe this is what brought it on. Seeing all the kiddos in their new shoes and cute outfits. Drew will be going to preschool next fall and the quads...well, I'm shocked they are already 9 months old. They seem so little.

Time is moving faster than I would like. We've been so pre-occupied with the new house, moving, doctor visits and work that I'm forgetting to stop and look around. That's my goal this week. I did take an hour last night and just cuddle with Maddox and Jack. Emma cuddled with Aunt Danielle while Parker slept in the swing. It was sweet. I do think later we will take the stoller out and about. We are having wonderful weather today and considering it's one of my days off, I'm going to take advantage.

For those who haven't heard yet, we sold our house! We are very excited. The buyers close on it October 13. That gives us about 3 weeks to get everything out and into our new house. We don't intend on it taking that long to move, but with 5 kids it may surprise us.

I hear someone playing upstairs, naptime must be over!!
Hugs to all!!

Lots of updates!!

2010-08-11T13:54:00.004-04:00

So it's been a while since I've posted. A lot has happened. Emma is doing great. She is back to herself. She has a check up with the neurosurgeon tomorrow. Jack, Emma and Maddox are all rolling everywhere. Parker can roll, he chooses not to. I think his trunk muscles are a little tight. We've been working on stretching him.

Brian and I bought a new house. IT'S HUGE!! Almost 3300sq feet. It has hardwoods, a fireplace, a basement, stainless steel appliances, a huge fenced backyard and more. We move in roughly a month. We are going to rent out our shoe box.

I returned to school today. It was strange, and I'm hoping I can get right back into the swing of things. I sure did miss being home. I didn't think I would miss it, but I've spent the last year and a half here...I guess I just got used to it. I'm also working for First Steps. I just started and so far like it.

I will update more a little later if possible. I hear Maddox screaming!!
hugs

Boo Boo Report

2010-07-25T22:02:00.003-04:00

Emma is doing great. Her swelling has gone down so much that we are starting to see all the brusing that was left behind. She doesn't fuss much unless the boys get rough with her. Her hair covers a majority of the incision so unless you look really close you can't really tell.

Another set of boo boos came this evening. Drew was running outside when I heard a loud thump. I knew exactly what happened. He hit his head on Brian's truck and then went face first into the driveway. He has scrapes on his forehead, elbow and both knees. Thank goodness for Sponge Bob bandaids.

Everyone else is doing good. Emma has her first tooth. Brian and I have survived the first 8 months of the babies lives. It's looking like we're gonna make it. For a while there it was touch and go....lots of illness, crying, and parental exhaustion had me worried. Some days I visit the nut house, but always find myself coming back to my sweet smiling babies.

We think we might be close to finding our new house. We'll keep you posted on that...it's stressful!!

Hugs

I can see! (Emma update)

2010-07-18T13:59:00.003-04:00

Wow, is all I can say. Emma has been a trooper. She came out of surgery, blew up like a ballon, and is home playing like nothing ever happened. Her right eye is open about 90%, and her left eye is about 50% open. She let me wash her hair last night and didn't even flinch. She doesnt quite look herself yet, but shes happy, home and doing well.

Drew and the boys are happy Emma is home. They did come to the hospital to visit. Drew told me this morning; as we were leaving Target he wanted to go home to get Emma. He's so sweet and quite protective of her. Makes me giggle.

Brian and I are doing good. Still trying to finish painting so our realtor can get pictures up to sell our shoe box. We are getting close,it just seems to take forever. I guess I should expect that with five kiddos!! If anyone wants to paint or come play I'm available.

HUGS!

Emma's surgery

2010-07-12T17:13:00.002-04:00

We woke up around 4am to have Emma at the hospital before 6am. We arrived and got Emma settled in. Once she was taken to the OR Brian, Stacy, Susan and I headed to breakfast. It was delish! We came back watched Ellen, went to the gift shop, and then it was all over. We were called back to be told Emma was out of surgery and she did great. We got to see her about twenty minutes later. She looked peaceful and bruised. She is now in PICU resting somewhat comfortably. Her head is swelling very quickly. She is currently unable to open her eyes. They should be open by Thursday. They are going to move her to Peds tomorrow. Brian and I are doing good. We. Are very tired and going to squeeze in a short nap. Keep us all in your prayers.
Love and hugs!

I'm a fish!

2010-07-05T21:47:00.002-04:00

What a fun 4th of July!! We went to Illinois for the day. Drew was very excited to swim...and did he ever!! I think he is part fish. He swam nearly 5 hours. Brian swam with him while holding hands for about the first five minutes and after that he swam all by himself. I am one proud mama!

The quads took their first swimming lesson too. They all liked it. They swam in floaties the first time in the water for about 20-30 minutes. Then got out to nap and jumped back in a bit later. Man are they cuties in their swim gear. I am lucky to have such well behaved and brave kiddos. :)

Brian and I enjoyed the day swimming with the kiddos and chatting it up with friends and family in the sun. Brian got a nice sunburn and I got the pleasure of slapping on some alone....he's lucky I was nice! This week is a busy one too. The quads are being baptized on Saturday and then on Monday (12th) Emma goes in for her cranial surgery. I am one nervous mommy. She will be there through Friday (16th). Her anterior suture on her skull closed at 10 weeks old and will now have it opened to allow room for brain development and for her forehead to expand. You would think after all we experienced in NICU, and having three boys in PICU I would be a little prepared for this. Especially with Maddox having been on the vent for almost a month. I just can't seem to get a grip. I'm about ready to cry just thinking about it. UGH! Well, I actually got to bed early tonight but I will keep posting as much as I can about our trip through Emma's surgery and our stay in PICU.

Please keep Emma and our family in your prayers for the next two weeks.
Love and Hugs!

Tiny Travelers

2010-06-28T15:43:00.002-04:00

We made it safely to Wisconsin and back with no major meltdowns or emergencies. I was praying the quads would be good on long road trips like Drew was, boy am I one lucky girl. We didn't get out the door as early as we liked, but that's ok. We stopped and picniced under a tree with the babies half way there. We looked like we were moving! The car couldn't have fit one more thing in it anywhere.

We arrived to my parents standing in the driveway waiting for their babies. Emma and Jack were out of their carseats before I could even make it in the house. We had all sorts of visitors come and see us. Drew had a great time playing with everyone. Papa and Drew played in the pool, the babies played toys and watched the dog and Drew run around the house. They also made it out to dinner for the first time. They did great.

Now that we are home, the fun continues with our own toys, and without the hussle and bussle of all the people. The babies are quite cranky and just want to be held all day. It's been somewhat rough. On a positive note though...Jack has said mama two days in a row and they are rolling all over the place. Jack is almost rolling from room to room, and everyone else has just figured out how to get from back to front.

Drew is in need of some attention, so I need to run. After all, daddy is at work making him monies for his piggy bank. :)

HUGS!

Monsters

2010-06-21T19:38:00.002-04:00

Drew has this new thing with monsters. They are appearing everywhere. First it was under his bed. Brian and I thought it was the start of some scary sleepless nights. It turns out he likes to scare them away before he crawls into bed. Then the monsters started appearing in his closet and in with his toys...so we went along with it. Today, Drew started walking backwards and said "Mommy help me, monsters are taking me away!" I had to laugh at him. His imagination is cracking me up!! There is never a dull moment in our house when Drew is home.

The quads are monsters too! Hungry little monsters that is. They can down 8 jars of food per feeding. YIKES! They're not even teens yet. This is going to get expensive. They are growning fast. Jack is showing signs of walking...his body is ready, but his little brain is not. They are almost sitting up by themselves. Maddox found his thumb today. I do believe I now have two full time thumb suckers. Parker still enjoys his fist and Emma takes whatever she can get. She's not too picky.

Our house search continues. We have found a few we really like. We still need to sell ours first. Being patient about it is the hard part. We are taking the quads on their first mini vaca. We are heading to Wisconsin for a few days. Hoping for a smooth trip! Hope to post updated pics soon. Super busy with all the stuff going on around us. The quads will be 7 months old on Saturday so hopefully I can get some new ones taken and uploaded. Well the pizza is here...gotta grub!
Love to all!!

Searching....

2010-06-14T20:12:00.003-04:00

Wow, I feel like its been forever and a day since I've posted! Ok, maybe a week...but a lot has happened in that small amount of time. We have moved a majority of things to storage and painted some of the rooms in our house. We've looked online at some homes and have begun the whole financing process. I have nothing to hide, but yet I'm so scared. It's only money right??

Drew is still cracking me up. Two weeks ago he wanted to take the babies back, on Saturday he said "Mommy, we can't leave babies...they cry!" Hahahaha. He is very attached to Daddy's job lately. He always goes to the front door and if Brian's truck isn't in the driveway he tells me, "Daddy at work, make me money, put in piggy bank." Makes me laugh everytime!! He loves riding in Daddy's truck...boys and their toys!!

The quads are great. Learning new things every day. Parker is such a chatter box, Emma is chill for now, Jack is quite the thumb sucker, and Maddox is a mommy hog. He loves to cuddle. All four are almost sitting on their own. Jack is starting to roll all over the house. Parker got in his way today and stopped him from rolling into the dinning room. They are about to make their first trip to Wisconsin...they are ready. Ready to cuddle with Grandma and Papa.

I hear cries of hunger, so that means time for bottles. Possibly a chocolate milk sippy for Drew, and a glass for mommy. Jammie time too!
Hugs!

On the move.

2010-06-05T15:58:00.002-04:00

Well...we've done it. We have listed our house for sale. I am in a mad dash to declutter and paint a few things, but trying not to get my underwear in a bunch! I know it's easier said than done.

We decided it was time a few days ago when Brian brought in the feeding table and highchair. He got it all arranged and cleaned up. An hour later we were both looking around thinking the same thoughts. TIME TO MOVE! It will be interesting to see how this will work with the quads and Drew. I think Drew will be ok without a few toys, but how do you hide millions of baby items?? I will most definetly keep you posted on that adventure.

All five kids have been sick this past week, I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Some cranky babies, that's for sure. The cuddling has been nice but I feel like I've done nothing. We did take the kids on a late night walk last night. They really seemed to like it. More so than when we go during the day. It may just have to be a bedtime addition.

Time to run, babies to play with!

Meet the Scotts!

2010-06-02T09:30:00.006-04:00

What a week...and it's only Wednesday!

The week started out a little rough. Emma, Maddox and Drew turned out to be sick and wheezing, Emma fell off the couch and landed head first in a bouncy seat and it was HOT! On the positive side though, Jack and Parker discovered their toes, Jack decided he was going to be a full time thumb sucker, and Drew decided he was going to start taking off the babies diapers. Yes, he has learned to take off his own everytime he needs a new one and seeing as he wants to help, he has decided he will take the babies diapers off too. Such a good big brother.

We've spent a lot of time outside the last few days. It's been great, however; the house has been completely neglected. Brian finally decided he was going to clean last night. We decided it was also time to bring in the feeding table and highchair for the quads. They are such good eaters. Loved the sweet potatoes, hated squash. Carrots is our menu today! It has also pushed us into our new home search a little quicker. The feeding table doesn't fit so well...it's making for quite the fire hazzard should we ever have one. We have a plan to go and look at a house today to see if it's a possibility. No we don't even have ours on the market yet...we are looking for a good realtor. We are going to need all the help we can get!!

More exciting news...our update on the quads from the news paper has printed!! I've tried to attach it to the update today. I do hope it works. (I think you click on the title of this post.)

Hugs to all, as I'm off to the doctor will another sick baby!

Respiratory Distress!!

2010-05-27T23:14:00.002-04:00

Well...sick kiddos again. We are nebulizing the ba-geezish out the kids. Drew, Emma and Maddox made a quick pit stop with Aunt Kim and Dr. K. Parker and Jack are joining in but without the Dr. visit. If one has it, of course they all have to have it. Soon I'll have it and then Daddy will get it too. It's almost summer...why are we getting sick???

So it's been a rough week. Drew is a maniac....he was running from the laundry room all the way to the patio door today screaming at the top of his lungs. At one point I was standing at the sink, he flew by me and went face first into the washer. He turned around and looked at me and said "Mommy....it bit me, I ok!" Just then he took off again. That's the kind of energy I need. Although maybe if I run into the washer face first I will have the same result...get up and go! Yesterday on the way home from the doctors office I asked Drew if he wanted a cheesebuger. He said nope..I eat boogers. I asked him if they tasted yummy and he smiled and replied "YUP!" I think I'll settle for the cheeseburger personally.

The babies are sleepy and cuddly. With them not feeling well I've been able to move some of the clothes in theit closet...they are getting so big! No more newborn stuff, on to 0-3 month clothes. It also made it a little easier for me to finish my First Steps Certification. I passed my test with flying colors and am hoping to start in the next two weeks. Will keep you posted.

This mama is fighting the weight of the eye lids and is headed to bed. Hoping for a quiet night.
XOXO

Score...Babies 1, Mommy 0

2010-05-24T20:54:00.004-04:00

So I intended to get something done today...boy was I mistaken!! Teething quads are a handful. My goal today was to do three loads of laundry, clean the bathrooms, and do one module for my First Steps certification. I did manage to get the laundry washed...it's sitting unfolded in two laundry baskets. I also managed to get two modules for my certification done.

The weather got really hot here yesterday so I got out Drew's swimming pool and put it at the bottom of his swingset. He had a blast, however, getting him to eat was a challenge. The boy loves to swim! I can see it now...mommy is going to have some tan babies. Who knows the number to Tropicana?? Commercial time!!!

The babies are all getting teeth. Poor Jack is just having the roughest time. Parker and Emma are a bit fussy and Maddox is doing pretty well. I guess all that time in PICU really toughened him up. They are still pretty cute and that's all that matters.

Brian and I are super exhausted. With all this teeth business going on, we don't get much rest. On our days off together we try to squeeze in grocery shopping, dr. appts. and any other errands in. Really not much time to sit down. I just keep thinking someday I'm going to be an empty nester and will miss all the hugs, kisses, and giggles.

It's jammie time for the squad...probably jammie time for you too.
As Drew says every night...SLEEP TIGHT!

Just another day!

2010-05-20T13:24:00.003-04:00

Well, we have teeth, we got shots today, and we have moved the potty! Yes, Drew has decided to move his potty to the living room so he can play MarioKart while using the potty. Usually I'd be against this, but I've already lost my sanity due to all the crying. This was a way to keep the peace. Other than feeding the babies my only other tasks to complete will be sweeping the floors and bath time. I haven't quite figured out how to tackle bath with five children alone yet. Drew gets into everything while I'm doing things with the babies and he loves bath...he's going to look like a rasin if I let him take an hour bath! This could be interesting.

Tomorrow we are taking a field trip. Going to visit my co-workers and students at school. Then tomorrow night we are going to Marshall to visit Grandma Susan and Papa Jack. It will be good to get out of the house. Well, cranky babies are yelling, time to go!
Hugs!!

The Tooth Fairy.

2010-05-15T16:22:00.002-04:00

Well, we have two teeth! Jack and Parker got their first tooth yesterday. Maddox and Emma are still working on their first tooth. I wasn't quite sure when they would even start teething being preemies. I have been suspecting it for a bit now, but it really hadn't been too bad. Just some drooling and occasional fussiness. With Drew I thought the whole world was going to end...he was horrible. He started at three months old and got his first tooth at eight months old. Jack and Parker were over-achievers!! Luckily it was fast...I hope it all goes that way. Although Jack has had a very rough day. Poor guy...finally sleeping now.

Not much else exciting has happened. I've been busy keeping up with things around the house and playing with the kiddos. We have great fun! Drew and I made a castle last night. It was about four feet tall. He loved it, he made me get pictures. I'll have to post later...I'm a bit slow with downloading pics these days. The quads are learning how to use their exersaucers and loving them! I'm feeling better cause they're not laying on their backs or their heads all day. BALDNESS DISAPPEAR!

I guess I need to start thinking about dinner....I have no idea what we are having. At this rate I'm thinking Hamburger Helper!
XOXO

Lets chat.

2010-05-13T08:28:00.002-04:00

As I was getting ready to put the babies in clothes yesterday I realized that Parker and Emma were giggling at each other. I got them both dressed and put them in their bumbos facing each other. Before long I heard them talking to each other. After each coo the other one would smile. It was absolutely amazing to watch. My heart sank as I realized how fast they were growing. As I got Jack and Maddox dressed I just kept thinking it wouldn't be long before I was breaking up fights. The four of them played in a circle for about twenty minutes. Music, giggles, coos, and the sound of Lets Make a Deal were all I heard. Pure bliss!

This morning as I was feeding the babies, Drew was getting ready for school. He came out to me and said feed my babies? He loves to help, but didn't offer today...it turns out he was busy making a boo boo on his arm. He needed a sponge bob band aid! I didn't get to kiss it, but he came and asked me for a kiss and a hug. As he was walking out the door instead of love you mommy I got a peace out mommy. Ahhhh, what a sweetie! At least my morning started out with a giggle.

Hope everyone has a wonderful day!
XOXO

This little piggy!

2010-05-10T20:08:00.003-04:00

This little Drew piggy loves sweet tea.
This little Maddox piggy is a happy cereal eater.
This little Parker piggy you can't feed fast enough.
This little Emma piggy licks the spoon before opening her mouth.
This little Jack piggy tries to laugh while taking a bite.
They went chomp chomp chomp all the way home!

Yes, you've guessed it...WE ARE EATING CEREAL. It's not because they were ready for it, but the Developmental Dr suggested we try it to help with reflux. The babies love it!! It's a new challenge for Brian and me trying to feed all four at once.

It was a busy weekend. Grandma and Papa Stanek came for the weekend and Aunt Corky (Stacy) graduated from IUPUI. The babies got a lot of attention and showed off their smarts. It was a blast. Brian and I also participated in the neighborhood garage sale. We sold a little over half of all the newborn clothes the babies grew out of already. Over all a success for my garage space!! NEED STORAGE BADLY!!! :)

Well this is short, and so are babies tempers tonight.
HUGS!

Geniuses!

2010-05-05T08:59:00.003-04:00

The quads are five months old now. It's amazing how far they've come. All four are talking up a storm, Parker, Jack and Emma are rolling over, and all of them love to laugh. They are all weighing in between 9 and 12lbs...getting so big!

We took them yesterday for their developmental check up with a specialist. I was completely amazed at the test results. All four babies came out ahead of their adjusted age of 2 months, 9 days old. Normal scores are between 85 and 115. Anything below 85 is below average and anything above 115 is above average. The babies had nothing below 103 and went all the way upto 121. I guess circle time is most defintely a keeper in our daily schedule!

Drew was excited to play outside with Daddy yesterday. They played bouncy house for a while and then decided to go on Drew's first fishing trip. He absolutely loved it. They didn't bring home dinner so we ended up with chicken strips, ranch, and ketchup!

Brian and I have been busy as ever. He took vacation time this week and we visited his family in KY. After getting home from there we decided to clean out the house. We are partaking in this weekends neighborhood garage sale. My sister and her boyfriend Nick are graduating from IUPUI and my parents are coming down for the weekend. We couldn't be happier...the quads are sleeping through the night, and all is well!!

Hugs and happy days!

It's a Freak show!

2010-04-26T22:08:00.002-04:00

Well, Spring is here and we've decided to get out of the house more. Our usual hot spots include the park and stolling through our neighborhood. We visited the Easter Bunny a while back if you all remember. This past weekend was my birthday and Brian decided to take me on an overnight adventure without kids. It was wonderful. He also got us in to take family photos on Sunday. I was super excited. We all got new outfits and hopped in the car. You would think by now we'd be used to people starring and making an idot of themselves. People seriously freaked out. A guy in Dicks Sporting Goods said "I'm sure you have some good days...have a really good day today." The idiot said this as I was about to go into the pouring rain. Our pictures turned out ok...I'm not like OMG look at this! It's more like these are cute but.... Overall it turned out to be a wonderful birthday.

As the freak show continues...this time in our house. Drew has been in an entertaining mood. Last night he got out his sing a long ELMO and was singing into the mike and bopping around. Too cute!! The babies are doing great. We are all finally healthy. No more oxygen or feeding tubes for Maddox. No more coughs, snotty noses, gunky eyes or anything. I'm knocking on wood right now!! I don't have much more to share. It's been pretty quiet and normal here.

Hugs to all!!

Oh the Places You'll Go!

2010-04-20T15:54:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was a wonderful. Drew and I went to the zoo. We saw everyone from the movies there. Melman, Alex, and Gloria from Madagascar; Frankie and Lenny from Shark Tale; and Nemo. We took lots of pictures and rode some rides. Drew still loves the monkeys, but was fascinated by the walrus. We were sad the penguins were off display. They were making repairs to their tank. :(

Today we've been outside in the backyard. Its been tough for me to sit out very long. The quads are a bit fussy today. I haven't quite figured out why yet, but I try to make them as comfy as possible.

Friday Brian and I are going out for some much needed alone adult time. Headed to the Spring Multiples Banquet. I'm not sure what the rest of the week holds for me...it's my birthday and Brian has the weekend off. The possibilities are endless. Next month Grandma and Grandpa are coming from Wisconsin, but in June we are making our first trip to their house for a few days. I'm excited for my family to meet them. Before we know it, we'll be making a trip to Disney!!

It's now time to venture out to the front yard!
PLAYTIME!!!

Sleep Tight!

2010-04-18T18:21:00.002-04:00

A few nights ago I said to Drew "sleep tight!". He looked at me as Brian walked towards his room, with him in his arms and smiled. A couple of minutes later I hear Drew playing in his room, he yells out his door "Mommy, sleep tight!". As I was putting him down for nap today he looks at me and said "It's not dark, no sleep. Sleep tight!" He didn't end up napping until 4 hours later, but when he did fall asleep he did sleep tight.

While we're talking about sleep...let me tell you something exciting. The quads have finally slept through the night. Twice this week!! When Drew started sleeping through the night, I would go check to see if he was still breathing. With these guys I lay in bed and wait. It's very exciting to know these guys are starting to sleep that long. Brian and I have also noticed some other very exciting things this week with the babies. They love the toys that dangle above them and Parker LOVES ELMO! I guess I'm glad we have like 6 ELMO videos. They have all been grabbing toys, batting at them, and laughing like crazy.

We've starting doing circle time in the afternoons a few days a week. We sing songs, read books, and do make faces at each other. Emma has decided she doesn't really like circle time, Parker likes patty cake, Jack likes the music and Maddox loves books. Especially Green Eggs and Ham. Personaities are really coming out, it's fun to see. I'm loving almost everyday of being a stay at home mom. There are those days I'd like to hide!

I hope you all had a good weekend. Love and Hugs!

A day in the life of quads!

2010-04-10T14:21:00.002-04:00

Well, it's Saturday and I thought I would take you on a quick journey of a day in our house.

The babies are almost sleeping through the night. We get up around 4am for a feeding and go back to bed. We get up again between 7 and 8 for another feeding. Most of the time we all go back to bed, but there are those days when we do stay up. Today we all slept until 10am!! Parker crawled in bed with me around 8:30 and thats where we slept. Daddy crawled on the couch and when I got up him and Emma were sitting face to face smiling at each other. That's Daddy's little princess.

Drew got up and him and I went and got some Fruit Loops with chocolate milk. We love it soooooo much! After we finished breakfast he helped me get the quads dressed. By then it was a little after 11am. I went and made bottles while Daddy and Drew played. Brian and I fed the babies and Drew watched Snow White. Brian got ready for work and Drew played Lucky Ducks. As Brian was leaving Drew and I had to stand at the front door honking back at him. It's our daily ritual when we are home and awake when Brian leaves for work.

After Brian left Drew and I decided it was time to clean. We vacuumed first. When we vacuum Drew and I have to play trains. He has a Thomas flashlight that looks like the one on the vacuum and we crash into each other. It makes vacuuming fun and interesting. We also mopped the floors, scrubbed counters, did dishes then made lunch. It is now 2:30pm and we are sitting down before a nap and the next feeding for the quads. They have managed to sleep between this feeding. Although Jack and Maddox have just awakened and are now playing on the floor together.

It's a busy day, but when you can incorporate your toddler into the chores to make it fun and your babies are all sleeping or playing together on the floor it makes it quite managable. It's now nap time for Drew and time for me to go make some bottles and change babies. We're heading to the park tomorrow for Aunt Stacy's birthday...hope to post some pictures later.

XOXO

The Bunny Hop!

2010-04-04T23:16:00.003-04:00

The Easter Bunny found our squad last night!! Drew had a tough time going to bed. I think he wanted to see the Easter Bunny. He was thrilled to see that the Easter Bunny brought him a fishing pole so he could go fishing with Daddy and the Alvin and the Chipmunks Squeakquel. We watched it twice today!!

It ended up being a beautiful day and it was our first full day outing as a family. We over packed by a mile, but better safe than sorry. I blame Brian...he packed the diaper bags and the car!! We spent the day in Marshall where Drew hunted for eggs, we took the babies on a long walk, and all relaxed on the patio while eating cheesecake. Drew loved it...he ate a whole piece by himself.

We look forward to more full day outings now that RSV season is ending. We love to be outside!! He hope you all had a wonderful day too.

XOXO

Bunny Hop

2010-04-01T19:32:00.002-04:00

Hello family and friends!

Well we made our first real public outing. We've been out and about but only to doctors appointments. This time we went to visit the Easter Bunny. Drew was excited and when we arrived he didn't say more than two words. We were able to get the quads photographed too. Brian and I had to visit the bunny too. We had to giggle at all the people freaking out when they saw us walking through the mall. We even heard some lady freak out in her car with the windows up! Geesh...I didn't think we were a freak show...we just have a lot of kids. :)

Drew has been very silly lately. I think the summer like weather has him energized. Brian was able to get his JEEP up and running, he absolutely loves it. The best part is, it has reverse. We no longer need to follow him around to back him away from the fence. He has already been to the park numerous times...such a monkey. Brian and I are well entertained by him.

The quads are getting big! Parker is almost 10lbs. Jack and Emma are not far behind him. Maddox has finally hit 7lbs!! He has not had his feeding tube in over a week and his taking his bottles really well. He's still on oxygen at night and nap. He doesn't go back to the pulmonologist until Sept. so we have to keep going with the breathing treatments and oxygen until then. The babies are starting to giggle...it really makes my day when they smile at me like that. Jack and Maddox are starting to scoot. Well, Jack is practically crawling. He's going to be the busy one who keeps me running. Maddox just goes in circles. Parker and Emma are taking their time, but do roll over. They are both recovering from a little virus. Well that's all the time I have for now. It's getting to be jammie time and dinner time for the squad.

We hope everyone has a safe Easter!!
Hugs!!

Who needs sleep??

2010-03-26T07:03:00.002-04:00

Whew.....a long day it will be. We were up at 4 a.m. today for our early morning feeding. Brian had things to finish with work so he left and finished up there. I tried to lay back down and ended getting up with Maddox who thought he'd puke all over the place. Poor kiddo coughs so hard he just can't help it. Parker just isn't sleeping well so he's been up and down every little bit. Emma is sick so she is a bit fussy, and Jack...well he's out like a light!

I think I hear Drew making some noise, but I'm not sure. Spring break started today, so the neighbor girls have come over to help and play. Drew will be thrilled to see them when he wakes up. It will be interesting to see what my house looks like by the end of the day...gives me a taste of what it will look like when the quads are toddlers.

I will let you know if I manage to squeeze in a nap!

Hugs!!

Spring is here!

2010-03-20T15:23:00.002-04:00

We welcomed spring with our four month shots today. I have to say this is a happy day...as bad as I feel for the babies, this means cold and flu season is nearing an end. Yay!!

Drew is good. Still loves his siblings. He's been loving the warm weather and his bounce house. Kiersten; his best friend loves it too. She called him last night to tell him good night. It was super sweet.

Maddox is good. Getting stronger every day. He's still on oxygen and a feeding tube. He's doing breathing treatments along with Parker. I can't wait to have him back to normal. Until then we'll just wait for those pudgie little cheeks to return. The rest of the squad is good. They are starting to giggle. I love how they smile at me everytime I walk into their room and look in their cribs. It totally makes my day. They've been practicing rolling over and pushing up on their arms when they are on their bellies.

Brian and I are still completely exhausted, but the kids are so worth it. I had to tell myself the other day I can sleep well when the kids put me in a really good nursing home. :) Especially when Drew tells you yav you(love you) as he's walking through the house.

XOXO

All together again!

2010-03-13T18:00:00.003-05:00

Maddox made it home!! After two attempts and a late night pick up time, we got Maddox home. He came home with oxygen for sleeping at night and a feeding pump. He has a bit of dysphasia from being on the vent for 2 1/2 weeks. It's slowly improving and a lot of work at feeding time. It's totally worth it to have him home.

My family came to visit this weekend. My dad has not seen the babies since Christmas, my mom in about a month, and my aunt hs not seen tham at all. They were so excited to see them. It will be so nice to be able to take them to Wisconsin to meet the rest of my family. We just have to wait for warm weather.

It's been nice out so we've managed to go for a few walks. The babies loved it. I wish it would stay warm. I can't wait to take Drew to the park. Even get another bike trailer to take everyone to the park. FUN TIMES!!

Thank you for all the prayers....keep pulling for a full Maddox recovery!

XOXO

Whip it good!

2010-03-07T21:37:00.000-05:00

It's amazing that a 2 year old can make you do things you never imagined. Like giving them chicken nuggets and fries everyday for a week, or m&ms at 9:45 at night. Drew is super cute, but man...we are whipped! It's 9:45 right now and I can hear Drew playing fireman in his bedroom while eating those m&ms. He's talking to himself about shapes. Brian and I sit here just listening cause he is so cute and sometimes you have to pick your battles. He will eventually fall asleep.

The quads are working diligently to wrap us around their tiny little fingers. I'd say all this hospital business is defintely doing the trick. Extra bed/nap time stories by Mommy, extra head rubs from Daddy and of course lots of kisses.

I went to see Maddox today. He is looking fabulous!! He has moved to Pediatrics. He is still having severe w/d symptoms which they are treating with morphene right now. They are still deciding if they want to start him on Methodone. He's still breathing fast, having tremors, and sneezing a lot(all side effects of narcotics). They were also dragging their feet on feedings. I had them remove his NJ tube so I could try to bottle feed him. He is having a rough time with it due to the vent tubes being in his mouth for almost 3 weeks. I was able to work with him a bit after the hospitals speech therapist gave up. Apparently she didn't have the magic touch. By the time Maddox got to the last 10ml of the 25ml bottle he had the hang of it. He was going to have an NG tube placed due to his limitaions for bottle feeding. Hopefully he's going to be home before Friday.

Time to run...puking babies need cleaning.

XOXO

Progress!

2010-03-04T13:57:00.000-05:00

Well, Maddox is off the ventilator. He's having severe withdrawl symptoms, but doing great. They left his feeding tube in and on a nasal canula. He should be off both of those in 48-72 hours.

This makes me very happy to hear, although right now all I hear is Drew being a dinosaur downstairs. What a goof! I can't go visit him because I have had a relapse with this sinus junk. Hopefully with this new antibiotic it will clear up completely.

Everyone else is doing good.

Hugs to all!

Looking better.

2010-03-02T18:52:00.000-05:00

The squad is looking better! Quite fussy, but I'm going to blame it on the full moon. Is that crazy that I'm looking to blame things other than myself for my children's cranky pants?

Maddox is doing good. He has had a good day today, they turned down the pressures on the ventilator and he's holding his own. He even managed to poop three times for nurse Julie. His chest xrays look the same as they did yesterday, but he sounds better and his secretions from his lungs look better. The respiratory therapist said if all goes well through tonight they will turn the ventilator down again tomorrow and hopefully extubate him Thursday. We are praying he will be home before next Friday. Nama and Papa are coming with Aunt Jill B! We are excited; but I could imagine they are even more excited. Jill has not met the babies yet, and it's been since Christmas for Papa. Nama has seen them, but it's still been about 5-6 weeks.

Drew's doing good. He makes us laugh. Brian turned on music a few days ago and Drew put the laundry basket in front of the tv, got on top of it and was dancing. We stood and watched him for a good 5 minutes. He's such good entertainment. I can't wait to see the quads dance. It's silly moments like this that I look forward to.

I'm fighting spring fever bad. I am ready for cold/flu season to hit the road and bust out our bikes and head for the park. I look forward to shorts, shades, and open windows!

Time to run, Jack has just made a big stinky...and it's about to clear the room. :)

Turtle pace!

2010-02-27T23:44:00.000-05:00

It doesn't feel like it's been two weeks already since we took Maddox to the ER. Time goes by so fast, but his recovery has been so slow.

He's been diagnosed with Human Meta Pneumo Virus which is like RSV. On top of that he developed a bacterial infection. The virus cleared soon after he was put on the ventilator, but the bacterial infection lasted a bit longer. Clearing only three days ago. It left his lungs quite stiff. He is improving, but very slowly. When I spoke to the Dr. this evening he said most children with MPV are on a vent anywhere between 5 days and 3 weeks. Because Maddox had a bacterial infection he is looking for it to be closer to 3 weeks. It's already been a week and a half. It's incredibly hard to go there and not be able to hold him. I think if I could just get my little hands on him, I would take him and run.

Everyone here at home is doing fine. We still have the rough patch at night between 10 and 12 where all Jack does is cry and puke. Looking forward to the days when he will stop having reflux. Emma and Parker seem to be getting better with it. Drew is silly as ever. We can't wait for summer. Drew and Brian blew up his bouncy house in the living room last night. It's huge!! He absolutely loved it.

Time to go, it's almost midnight and Jack (believe it or not) is still crying and puking. I think he just wants to cuddle!

XOXO

Squadling update

2010-02-25T10:08:00.000-05:00

I feel like it's been forever since I've been able to post. Wait...it has! Our computer decided it too needed a virus to add to our chaos. Since I've blogged last, Jack has come home and Parker was admitted. Parker spent two days in ICU and moved up to Peds yesterday. He has pnuemonia and asthma. He should be able to come home today. They are having a nebulizer sent to our house for treatments every four hours. He looks so happy today. Much better than the last week.

Maddox is doing ok. They switched a few meds on him and have started flipping him over every few hours. They are able to suction junk out of his lungs finally. Hopefully recovery for him will start to move a little faster.

Jack and Emma are doing well. Having fun playing with Drew at home. They watch Sharktale at least three times a day, jump on the couch like its a trampoline (can't wait to break out his bouncy house when it warms up), and chug chocolate milk like it's going outa style.

I will try to keep more posts coming as the kids recover from this nasty flu season.
Hugs!!

PICU update.

2010-02-22T08:56:00.000-05:00

Jack and Maddox are still hanging out in PICU together. Maddox is still on the ventilator. He is fighting it and they've had to keep him sedated. The doctor said the actual infection in his lungs is gone, his lungs are so inflamed from it that his lungs have stiffened. That's why he's on the ventilator. It's going to be a few more days before he can come off of it. He is retaining a lot of fluid and looks like a marshmallow. They have given medicine to help...it's working quite fast, he's already peed all over his nurse and bed!

Jack is doing good. He is on a smaller amount of oxygen and can try his bottle again today. They are hoping he can move upstairs to Peds, and hopefully come home in two days. He was wide awake waiting for a bottle when I was just in their.

Everyone else is home and doing good. Parker spent a night here in Peds, with a horrendous cough. Emma is probably at home laughing at these sick little boys. Drew is good. Had a wonderful time with Brian and I at Chucky Cheese. He was so excited he couldn't even eat. I've posted the pictures on facebook. I can't wait to get him outside to play, I think we all have cabin fever.
HURRY SPRING!!!

XOXO

Squad Update.

2010-02-19T21:41:00.000-05:00

Well, as we suspected Jack is now sick with something. He has joined Maddox in PICU. They don't have official test results back yet, but think it's that rare form of RSV that Maddox has. They told Brian, Jack too may be on a ventilator by morning. He was having difficulty breathing. The boys are five rooms apart so Brian doesn't have far to go to visit either of them. I haven't been there in a few days because I too have been sick. Feeling much better now, so I may go visit my little loves tomorrow. I have enjoyed the comfort of my own bed though.

As I'm typing this I thought I would share that Drew is waving a bib saying "Maddox this yours". It makes me sad...I had finally accepted that Maddox was in a good spot and knew Jack was headed the same direction days ago. But now that Drew is looking for them, it breaks my heart. So far Emma and Parker seem to be doing ok. We are praying they don't get sick. I have been sanitizing our house like crazy today. The fun continues tomorrow!!
Well I have two hungry babies...wish I had four.

Sleep tight everyone!!

More Maddox.

2010-02-18T18:43:00.000-05:00

Well, we were going to move upstairs to Peds yesterday. Around 7pm I received a phone call saying Maddox was not breathing well on his own and they needed to put him on a ventilator. Brian stayed with him last night and will go again tonight. I am sick and just feel better in my own bed. We did have the other three evaluated today. Parker has nasal congestion, Jack is congested in his left lung, and Emma is 100% perfect...except for her puking due to reflux. Daddy says is soooo NOT sexy!

Drew is a hoot as always. We have been watching a lot of "Shark Tale". He has been doing really good with the big boy potty. He no longer wants to sit, he has to stand like Daddy. It's too stinking cute. Well, it's bottle time here so I have to run!

XOXOXO

Maddox Update

2010-02-17T09:38:00.000-05:00

It's now Wednesday, and we are still in PICU. Maddox is doing better. They are letting him drink small amounts from a bottle, while still getting IV fluids. His fever has broke, and is on a decreased amount of oxygen. He coughs a lot and sets off his alarms every few minutes. I think he is afraid to cough. He holds his breath and drops his heart rate until he can't hold his breath anymore then coughs. He is in serious snuggle mode....I LOVE IT! If I could get comfy in the furniture here, I wouldn't put him down. I can't wait to have him back home.

Brian and I are both sick, along with Drew. Jack, Emma, and Parker seem to be ok, a little cough or sniffle here and there. It will be nice to have both of us home again to help each other out with the babies. 24hours alone every other day with the babies sure is tough. Makes 8-10 hours a day seem like a breeze.

More updates later when I know when Maddox might be able to come home.
XOXO

Poor Maddox!

2010-02-14T16:04:00.000-05:00

Maddox was admitted to Peyton Manning Children's Hospital Saturday night with a cold and failure to eat. They said they wanted to keep him for observation. Once we got to the Pediatric Unit things started to go down hill. He was having a difficult time breathing due to some congestion. His doctor decided to put him on oxygen and as they were suctioning his nose and lungs he stopped breathing. It was the scariest thing I have ever seen. All I heard was his monitor beeping like crazy, people running everywhere screaming RT, RT! All I could see of Maddox were his dangling feet. They then thought it was best to move him to ICU.

After we arrived in PICU, I was so tired I fell asleep on the couch. Once in awhile I would hear a beep or two but that was it. They have been giving him breathing treatments, continued with oxygen and fluids. They have tested for meningitis because he has spiked a fever. They were unable to get enough spinal fluid out for the test to come back 100% sure for 24hours. It has so far come back negative and they doubt anything will change. So that is positive.

As of right now, he is still in PICU, hoping to move back to Peds tomorrow if he has a good night tonight. He still has a fever and is on oxygen. He is a little bit more alert and is eating a little every couple of hours. Right now they are saying he should be home close to the end of the week. No specific day yet. We will try to keep the blog updated as much as possible.

Hugs to all!

You know you're tired when....

2010-02-12T23:53:00.000-05:00

1. You find your husband reclined, snoring, and burping a baby during a 3a.m. feeding.

2. You fall asleep in the bathtub for 30 minutes and feel like it was two.

3. You fall asleep with your mouth full of food.

4. The bottle you have shoved in a babies mouth is now running down their cheek and onto your arm because you have fallen asleep.

Being completely exhausted makes having 5 children sort of entertaining. I find myself constantly thinking I need a nap, or telling myself "what am I thinking?" In the past 8 days (since all four babies have been home), this is just a glance at what we find ourselves doing. I keep thinking I need to keep a journal of funny moments or times when there is complete chaos. I have yet to do it!

Once again I know this is a short entry, but I NEED SLEEP and it's midnight.
Love to all!!

Our very first.....

2010-02-08T13:47:00.000-05:00

We watched our very first Big Ten basketball game!

The quads are big fans like Brian and me of the Fighting Illini, if you can't already tell by their outfits. Papa Jack, Nama Susan, Uncle Randy and Aunt Georgann also came over in their Illini gear too. They had a good time holding the babies.

Things are going well with the babies being home. They sleep pretty well at night. We have them all on the same schedule. Drew loves them all. He loves helping with feedings, diapers, and of course playtime. They constantly get kisses from him.

Brian and I are completely exhausted...although we wouldn't change it for anything in the world. It's kinda funny when we find each other sleeping while holding a bottle at 2 A.M. This morning Brian managed to sleep and snore while burping Emma. I had no idea he could multi-task like that!!

If you ever want to visit, help out with things around the house, or babysit just call or email. We always need help.

Hugs to all.