Three-Wheeler

Okay, okay, it’s not as exciting as the title sounds, but it’s exciting to us!! We got a Runabout!!!

Our story in getting the RA is quite crazy, but was so worth every second of research! We have wanted this stroller from the beginning, but just could not afford a new one! I have googled, I have looked on Craigslist, E-Bay, you name it! One night I was spending a little time relaxing on the internet while Matt was at a football game, Hannah Noelle was with friends and the babies were sleeping.  I Googled Craigslist Runabout.  Wa-La.  There was one listed and it said Clinton.  Silly me thinks, oh Clinton, Mississippi….duh, other states have cities named Clinton too, but in the excitement of the moment I didn’t even think that far and shot “Tom” an e-mail.  He responded the next day and we started negotiating, then I realized, it wasn’t Mississippi, it was Tennessee! My hopes declined immediately! :( The next day Matt and I were running errands and my phone beeped that I had an e-mail.  I saw that it was from Tom and started reading, saddened once again that I wasn’t going to get my Runabout! He said, are you Sandra Cochran from the Cochran Quads in South Mississippi (he googled me!) If so, I have free shipping arrangements to deliver it about an hour north of you! I couldn’t respond fast enough! His sister-in-law lives north of me and was traveling (via U-Haul) from his home back to her home in the next week! And that, my friend is how I came to be the proud honor of a Runabout!!!!!
We got the Runabout, ordered the cargo carrier and got the hitch installed on the mini.  I know, that’s doesn’t even sound right, does it? We could not wait to go for a ride! Well, Saturday we made a day out of it! We started early and went to a friend’s 1st Birthday party, went to eat at Barnhills and then headed to Bass Pro Shop, followed by a Wal-Mart trip and then home with five sleepy babies! It was sooooo fun to get out and be able to walk through aisles and go through normal sized doors! It’s WAY easier than four high chairs!!Yeah, I got Mashed Potatoes on my face, what’s it to ya? Gunner + Food = BIG SMILE Avery is SUCH A HAMMMM!!!  I’m full and I’m getting sleepy mommy!Dessert please!By far our Best Eater!I see ice cream!!!Daddy taking care of Cannon and LaurenI think you missed my mouth, daddy!Not a drop on Avery’s bib!We made it to Bass Pro where we met up with Paw-Paw and Be-Be hence why Avery is not pictured here! That little girl is so attached to her Be-Be! She cannot, will not, flat out refuses to be in a stroller, on the floor, anywhere when her Be-Be is around, she has to be in her arms!Gunner~ There’s nothing to it Avery, you just ride like us!And you see how long that lasted!I say it all the time, but doesn’t he look so silly sucking his thumb? He’s just showing his sensitive side!

I was so impressed with my freedom that today I took the Fab Five to see Paw Paw, then lunch (thanks again for meeting us Pae-Pae) and then we went to Fred’s (to shop and see Be-Be) and then to Piggly Wiggly (pronounced Pig-aly Wig-aly, just ask Hannah Noelle)! We also lucked up and got to see one of our favorite people and blog followers, Mrs. Terrie! Unfortunately due to poor planning on my part I forgot my camera!
I did, however, remember all 5 babies and the diaper bag!!

Have a GREAT Week!!!

My Girls

Over a year ago I was in constant contact with a few of these amazing girls and then sometime at the beginning of the year through the amazing Casey Gerwer we all received an e-mail about a trip.  I remember receiving the e-mail and saying, oh, I want to go, but maybe Andrea should go with me, I won’t really know anyone.  After a month of constant e-mails getting to know each other I knew this was a trip I wasn’t going to miss.  Then as I packed and headed to Baton Rouge to meet up with Jac Tubre and head to the New Orleans airport I remember thinking, there is no way we will do this every year.  When I stepped into the condo that very same day I remember thinking, I can’t wait to start planning next years trip.  It sounds cheesy, I know, but these girls are my heart! Not a day goes by that we don’t e-mail, chat, text, talk, something! Our group has grown since this trip and includes so many other great Quad Moms as well! But I honestly don’t feel my day is complete without some form of communication with them! It’s the way they make me feel “normal”, the way they make me realize my days aren’t as bad as I think they are, the way they tell me the worst/best is yet to come, but most importantly it’s the amazing love we each have for each other! Every day someone praises you as a mom, as a friend or as a wife.  If you leave a conversation with these AMAZING women feeling anything less than beautiful and awesome, you weren’t paying close enough attention to what they have said.  Not sure why they have all been on my heart so heavy today, maybe because we’ve all had a HORRIFIC week, but I wanted each and every one of them to know how special they are to me and wanted you to know how special they are!!

Rub a Dub Dub

4 Quads in a Tub
We LOVE bath time!
And with all the Cheeto faces seen in these pictures you can tell we have them quite often! And just to make Jac Tubre feel better, the one wash cloth pictured is their play cloth, we have an additional one for faces and one for their nether regions!!  
No butt to face action going on with our wash cloths!!!

Please say an extra prayer for the McNulty Quads and the Burkett Quads, they’re all sick! Poor little babies and Moms and Dads!
Also, please continue to pray for the Stansels whose sextuplets were born at 22 Weeks and their three surviving girls need our prayers as they fight!

Caution….. Dry Paint!?!?!

 The last week we have been waking up to a beautifully nappy headed Avery who looks like she’s been eating snow! What is it she’s been eating you might ask? Her Bed!! Turns out the rail is a great teether! After tons of research I determined the following:
1) Her bed is brand new so there is NO lead paint involved!

2) It’s completely normal behavior for a child to do!

3) There are covers to prevent this from happening, even stylish ones!!

This is the new look we’ll be sporting in 5-7 days! I ordered pink ones for the girls and blue ones for the boys!

Friends or Partners in Crime?

Over the last few months it has amazed me to see the friendship/partnership our babies have made with each other.  You will generally find Gunner and Avery together and Lauren and Cannon at least six steps apart playing independently, yet close to each other.  I love watching their personalities, their likes and dislikes and the great bond they have with each other! Here are a few pictures they let me take today and some from a recent outing we had with our friends Philip, Mary-Claire and their mom, Mary-Elizabeth. The bad part is, I forgot the camera once we left the house so I don’t have any of Philip and Mary-Claire……. this is a beg for pictures, Mary-Elizabeth! I’m also going to include some really old pictures! My 2GB Memory Card is full and I decided it was time to put all the pictures on my computer and start fresh again!! I’ll show you how it works, Sissy ~ CannonYes, I am up to NO GOOD ~ GunnerThis Whole Milk is some Good Stuff ~ Cannon   Gunner and Avery being B-A-D!!!  Smile Laura-Laur!  This is Lauren’s I didn’t do it face!   Look how long he looks!!!This picture was an accident, but I love it!!
Gunner has some Big Blues!
Back off Mom!!!! ~ AveryGet him AWAY from me!! ~ Lauren
Poor Try at a Group Shot!

Hannah Noelle sharing my bed with me! Oh, how I hated those hospital days!HN with very little hair!Christmas ‘07January ‘08
Hannah Noelle and Ruby Every little girl needs a little mud in her life!!
This picture also helps justify why I put ginormous bows in her hair!!!