One Fish, Drew Fish!

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

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

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

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

Swimming Along!

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

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

Spring is in the Air!

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

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

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

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

XOXO

Just Send Lysol!

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

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

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

Extreme Home Makeover

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

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

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

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

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

Messy Fun

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

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

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

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

Time for bed, Mama is tired.

All Done Santa!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

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

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

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

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

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