Rolling Along....A Bowling We Have Gone.

Today I decided to take the crew bowling. We had some free bowling passes from Halloween that I had found in a drawer. Considering our weather has been quite horrid and our attitudes needing some adjusting, I thought getting out of this huge box might do us some good. I took a chance on skipping "rest" time today, and it was so worth it. The crew was kind of quiet walking in, taking in all the lights, balls, and activity going on. We were able to get bowling bumpers, a rail to push the ball down and of course those cool looking shoes. Drew was able to throw his ball independently and scored a whopping 78 pins!! The quads all used the dinosaur rail to roll their balls. They were all able to carry their ball to the rail but weren't quite strong enough to throw it alone. Emma scored 67 pins, Parker had 69 pins, Maddox had 65 pins and Jack had 54 pins. It's definitely something we will do again. Soccer and baseball will be starting soon. I'm a bit worried with all this cold weather and snow. It seems like it will never end. The kids have been playing soccer in the basement, but its a bit more difficult to play baseball. I was a little scared when Brian and Drew shot his BB gun this past week in the basement. Don't freak out yet....they were alone, Brian had a big target with padding, and the gun is securely put away where only Brian and I can get to it. Safety first!!!! I am loving my new job. I'm working part time at Avon High School as a Resource Teacher. Things sure have changed in high school since I was there 15 years ago. I probably wouldn't let myself out of my bedroom wearing some of those things that are scooting through the halls now. Fashion is everything....even if it truly doesn't look good on you. Luckily, I only have to deal with Emma J in that department....I'm thinking a second or third job won't be needed. Some of my girlfriends, well....I'm sorry girls. I feel for you! Well, it's bedtime for my crew so I will end here for the night. XOXO

Let the New Begin.

It's really late, but Happy New Year!! Brian and I celebrated with Drew, a bottle of Sparkling Grape juice and a bottle of Asti. I know.....we are exciting peeps. We survived the huge snow storm that followed the new year in. We had 13" of snow and FIVE snow days. Brian and I did a whole lot of shoveling and I built a snowman with the crew. We did a little backyard sledding and built a fort. The kids had a blast throwing snowballs at Brian who was standing on the inside of the patio door. I will say, my crew has some good aim and they all seem to have pretty good arms. Look out MLB! The kids finally went back to school this week. It has also been a full moon.....let the games begin. The boys were so naughty last night, I wanted to just sit and cry. They are now grounded from video games for a week. I hate having to punish them because I always feel guilty. I always have that "well, I should've been watching them better, or the I need to be a more positive mom". It's not like I was even sitting on the couch....I was just cleaning up dinner. Nothing wrong with that, until you have four boys peeing in the toy bins in the basement and throwing it in the air all over everything. UGH!!! Drew got his second quarter report card. It was good. I am so proud of him. His teacher says he is reading fluently and does a great job sounding out words and sound blending. :) WAHOO! I don't have reports from the littles yet. Those I should have tomorrow and Monday. Hoping for good reports there too. I went back to work this week. After being off for a year, it felt really good. I am working with High School students as a Resource Teacher. I have two classes I work with and really like it. English 9 is a lot more fun than I remember! I look forward to the rest of the semester with a fun bunch of kids. Brian is putting in some OT at his job. We have enjoyed being inside this winter with the kids. We are looking forward to many family memories this year and sharing them with you. XOXO

Just A Little Update.

I feel like it's been forever...I guess it has because we had our computer decide to die! It's funny because at first I panicked, and now that I have a new one I am barely on it! I have been spending a lot of time with the kids. We've been doing school stuff, playing toys (Legos and Lite Brites), and just hanging out. We've had our quads turn four! We had some of our family over to celebrate. The kids had a fantastic day. We ventured to Wisconsin for Thanksgiving. The kids left Nana and Papa's house in one piece and standing. We shopped, went swimming, played Nana's Wii, and ate lots of candy. Our family is all ready for Christmas. Herbie, our Elf has been keeping the kids on their toes. He took a marker and drew on their school pictures last week. He is good most of the time, but when he gets bored....it's kinda scary. Today, Herbie left candy canes for the kids. We have been excited to make some winter/Christmas decorations this year. Gotta love the Target dollar section. Last week we all made snowmen and reindeer. Nana bought us glass ornaments and permanent markers to decorate ornaments. They look adorable on the tree. Later we are going to make gingerbread men. We attempted to make gingerbread houses last week. They were cute. Not my favorite project of the season. They biggest news here in the house is that I am returning to work in January. I will be working at Avon High School in the Special Ed Department. Working with 9th grade English and Algebra students. It works out perfect!! It's afternoons while the kids are all in school. While it's not my dream job it's a good start for now. Once the crew is in school full time, I hope to get a second degree in Nursing. The kids are doing great in school. I love to see their cute projects come home. It's even better when they tell me all about their day. Most of the time their favorite thing is snack, but sometimes they tell me what they painted or colored. I like to listen to them randomly sing songs they learned as they play. I am so thankful for my crew! Hoping everyone has a safe and blessed Christmas! XOXO

Where's.......

You fill in the blank. I can fill it in with multiple things. Perhaps, Where's the time gone? Where's the birthday cake? Where's my sanity? The big question from all five of them this week is "Where is the cake?" That's right, we have four little people turning FOUR on Monday. I keep thinking "Where has the time gone? It's all such a blur to me. Well at least a good portion of the first year is a blur. Of course I remember things like the ride home from the hospital with all of them, hospital stays, the NICU, and special little things here and there. I am so glad I documented most things in baby books. I took a lot of pictures and now praying they all survived the fire. Luckily there too, I have them saved on a hard drive so I guess it's not the end of the world if I have to print them again. We don't have anything too special planned other than cake and presents with some family members. Since they are Thanksgiving babies and Drew is a Christmas baby we forego the parties and do the family thing. They all know that we are heading to Grandmas for Thanksgiving. We are sad to leave Daddy home alone but it will be fun for us to go destroy, I mean play at Nana and Papa's for the weekend. Papa just got a new tractor so I'm sure he will be gassing it up for a little outdoor drive time. Plus it's green....Parker will be so thrilled!! Since I've posted last we had Drew's report card come home. He's doing great in Kindergarten. He really likes it. Soccer ended....the kids are now thinking baseball. Drew taught the quads how to play baseball on the Wii. Maddox and Parker are really getting the hang of bowling and tennis. Jack is a racing fan and Emma; well, she's really into coloring right now. It's amazing how their personalities have really taken shape this past year. Drew has really taken on his role as big brother. He struggles to talk to his siblings with words but is more patient with them in things. Emma is very independent and girly. Jack is like a opposum. He is so smart and will sometimes act like he has no clue when really his IQ is probably higher than some adults I know. Parker is smart and such a quick learner. Maddox is stubborn and sweet. I know that sounds silly, but he is. He just enrolled in the developmental preschool with Parker. He's too smart cognitively to be there, but so far behind in gross and fine motor skills that it was best for him to go there. He loves riding the bus everyday. That's about all the news we have here for now, I will hopefully post pics from the quads birthday soon. I'd share pictures now but that might give away our Christmas card. :) Stay warm!!! XOXO

Surviving One Year Later.

Can you believe it's been a year since our house fire? I feel like it was just yesterday. Flashbacks and feelings coming back to the surface, thinking about how lucky and thankful we are. I didn't mention anything to the kids, but somehow they knew. The kids and I sat down with Bailey's ashes and we talked about her, and held her. It was amazing that the kids understood how she was an angel in heaven and we were lucky enough to get to keep "her fired" body. Yes, I explained cremation to them, but they kept coming back to she was "fired". So I let it go. Now that they realize Bailey is on Brian's dresser they talk to her everyday. It is the sweetest thing ever. We are doing great a year after the fire. I'm loving being at home with the kids, even though they all go to school throughout the week. I do keep my nephew Mason five days a week, so I get to snuggle with him as well. Our house is completely put back together and we love it!! We just finished Emma's room this past weekend with new furniture. We are able to smell fire damage only on super hot and humid days. It doesn't seem to linger long but is quite alarming when it hits you out of nowhere. All I can say is we are thankful we are all ok, we've recovered fairly well from the stress of it, and all of our friends and family have been amazing. Even if I don't know you and you sent cards, items, meals, please know you will always hold a place in our hearts. In other recent news we have completed the Fall soccer season. Drew and crew had a blast. The quads were so excited to get their trophies. Drew will get his soon. His team is having a soccer party and he will get his then. My new dilemma is: I have four who want to play baseball/tee ball and one who wants to play soccer. Do I really want to play ten sports and go to 100 different games? Maddox is the only one who wants to play soccer....I feel like I NEED to support his soccer wants because physically I don't think he has the strength for baseball. I'm so torn. I may think about offering spring swim lessons to the little ones and let Drew continue with baseball. So....here's to sleeping on it another night!! Birthdays are coming. FOUR years old for my little preemies. Where does time go?? I've been thinking about a party, but it's Thanksgiving time and our family is so big, I feel like I don't want to invite 20 more kids. UGH! I need to get my positive thinking cap on. They go to preschool and love their friends....maybe I should sleep on this one too! Well, here is to sleep...hoping I do cause I've been sick and little people like to visit me throughout the night. Don't want to mention any names Jack Randall!!!!

We Are Growing Up!

It's amazing how well we have adjusted to the school routine. Drew loves Kindergarten and seems to be excelling in all areas. He's about to lose his second tooth and learned to tie his shoes this week. Drew is excited; he has moved up to two consecutive bounces on his pogo stick. Brian and I spent our Saturday evening watching him work on it in the basement while we watched some baseball. Parker had parent teacher conferences this past week. He is doing well. He is learning to recognize the letters of the alphabet. He can name quite a few! He is independently writing "P". The school is going to re-evaluate his fine motor skills as his teachers and I notice he's still having quite a bit of difficulty in this area. He will continue with speech therapy and physical therapy. I have seen a lot of improvement in both of those areas. Maddox will be evaluated for Occupational and Physical therapy through the school in October. He's been going to outside therapy for a few months now. He likes it and really needs it. Maddox is really smart but doesn't seem to have the steady muscle control and tone to complete fine and gross motor activities appropriate for his age. His current therapists and I have noticed a lot of sensory things with him recently too. Not the same things I noticed early on with Parker, his were obvious. I sometimes feel like a bad parent with him because I thought is was his stubborn attitude when it really wasn't. Maddox does love going to preschool with Jack and Emma. It's so cute when they talk about sitting by each other at school. Jack and Emma are doing well. Both love going to see their teachers. They learned the R-E-D song last week. All three of them got in the car and sang it all the way home. Makes my heart melt. Soccer is going great for all five kids. Sometimes I need to bribe Maddox, but who hasn't needed that at one time or another, right?!?! The quads finally understand how the game works and love their patches on their jerseys. Drew gets excited about playing most days. I will say that he's more excited to go because they get slushies after the game from the concession stand. The quads have found they like the Nerds Ropes. A bit sour for my liking, but they do have skittles! :) We've been hiding inside the last week or so. We had that lovely heat wave and now it's been rainy and chilly. Lots of bounce house and basement time when we aren't busy with school. Unfortunately with the heat it's made the house smell like the fire. It was so bad on Saturday that Drew even noticed it. It's not too terribly bad inside the house but the garage is the worst. All the attic space holds the heat and humidity with little airflow=stench! Hopefully with Fall like weather setting in we can get outside a bit more. Looking forward to Halloween and pretty weather. Hope a fun filled week lies ahead for everyone. XOXO

SCORE!

Wow! We love soccer. Drew has scored two goals this season so far, compared to none last season. Emma and Maddox have scored a goal each as well. I am most impressed with Emma. She went from laying in the middle of the practice field to standing in the middle of the game field, to scoring a goal in just her second game. Maddox and Drew both scored in the first game of the season. Maddox showed off his little Mario and Luigi jump with his arm in the air; while Drew airplaned it out down the field. Parker and Jack have yet to score goals but do a great job moving the ball up and down the field. At first I wasn't able to leave their sight while they were practicing, but finally last night I was able to walk the walking trail around the soccer field. Brian was really nervous about them participating and I'll admit I was on the fence about it. I'm glad we allowed them to play and get out to do some fun things this Fall. It's always been following Drew to his fun activities and now it gives Drew and I a chance to bond while watching the quads play. We have such fun. School is going great for everyone. Drew has shown us that he is ready to read. He and I have been reading chunks of Green Eggs and Ham together. He does a great job sound blending to make his words. We've been doing ok with keeping up with homework. It's going to be those silly fundraisers that get us though. At least with Saint Susanna the fundraiser is per family, where as the public schools are per child. Homeschooling on the days the little ones are not in school is going well. They love counting and coloring. We've been having some fun with stories. We have tried using a computer mouse and I'm not just ready to tackle that yet. The kids are so button happy, and fast too. I'm afraid they are gonna blow the place up from pressing too many buttons at once!! We haven't thought about Halloween yet. All the costumes from last year fit and the kids love them so that is a strong possibility. Considering last year we Trick or Treated with friends in another neighborhood, they would be new to our neighborhood this year. OH SUCH FUN! We are coming up on our one year anniversary of our house fire. I can feel myself fighting the anxiety some nights before bed. Usually its not bad, but last night was one that gave me chills. I have found myself going to bed later at night, sleeping lighter throughout the night, watching the clock usually around 3am, listening for unusual noises all the time, and have been extra jumpy if the smoke alarm goes off on accident when our oven sets it off. I'm thankful that I'm not scared to be living here. You know how sometimes when something tragic happens you have that fear of going home? I really thought that I would feel like that, and I don't. It's amazing how much everything in our lives has changed in the last year. I'll post all that in a separate post later! Right now I'm thankful for my family and friends. Hope you all have a great rest of the week! I know I'm looking forward to watching more goals being scored by the squad!!