I am so excited for this summer! The babies LOVE to be outside and would stay out there all day if I would let them! These items are on our shopping list with every Wal-Mart trip! And the babies’ faces light up when they see me grab the Little Swimmers and the Sun Block!
Cannon is always the first in the pool!
Avery LOVES to splash the water!
Gunner is not a fan of being in the pool, but he loves to play close to it.
”Mom, what’s this red thingy for?” Lauren always wants what someone else has!
”Her, Dunna, I’ll show you how it works!”
And Hannah Noelle loves to get in there and play with them!
We’ve also stocked up on these little gems!I cut two tubes in half and each baby gets a half. It’s just enough to cool them down, but not too much to get too melted and runny!
”Mommy, are you sure these are good for my figure?”
Gunner “I will not look at you, I will not look at you,
I will not look at you!”
Lauren”Mom, the rules say you must wait 30 minutes after eating before returning to the pool!”
Avery-Bug “Who said everybody hates to eat and run?”
Cannon
Hope you’re having a
Great Summer!
Monday, May 24, 2010
Clothing Optional
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Kindergarten…. Here She Comes!
It seems like yesterday that I wrote this heart felt post!
And then, here we are today.. well, yesterday, that my baby graduated from Pre-K 4!
I was scared I would make a total idiot out of myself and cry like a baby, but somehow I managed to keep it all together!
The first part of graduation the kids got to dress up in what they wanted to be when they grew up and do a little speech. Hannah Noelle, of course, wants to be a Saints Cheerleader. She’s adamant that that is what she will be, even wants to go house looking in New Orleans for a house big enough for all of us to live in. She also said she’d like to work part time at Subway because being a cheerleader “probably doesn’t pay very well!” Her speech was….
I want to be a Saints Cheerleader and cheer for the black and gold, when my dreams come true, Drew Brees will be old.
I’ll stand on the sideline and shake my pompoms like that (imagine some furious pompom shaking) and when I say, Go Saints, you say, Who Dat!
(Enter toe touch with WoooHooo, Go Saints!)
After that part I was sure I’d melt down, but then I saw this smile, and all the world seemed to stop!
I was so happy she got to graduate with one of her best friends that she met when she was 9 months old! She and Carson were buds back in the Nursery at the hospital, then were reunited when HN joined Caswell Springs Child Care.
Rarely did you see Hannah Noelle without Carson and Analeice.
Hannah Noelle, Carson and Analeice
The graduation was AMAZING! I cannot thank the staff at CSCCC for the hand they have had in the raising of my daughter! I have no doubt she is going to Kindergarten prepared and ready!
And before you ask, I have no idea what kind of pose
I was doing!
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Tu - be or not Tu - be
Yes, that would be another painful attempt of humor!
At 5 months old Hannah Noelle joined the Tube Club
In February the boys joined the Tube Club
Yesterday, Lauren joined the Tube Club
And the outsider of the bunch, Avery, is chilling in the
Not Tube Club! Hopefully she’ll avoid the peer pressure to be like the others and stay in that club! Lauren is doing great post surgery and we’re hoping to see a HUGE improvement in her!
Monday, May 10, 2010
Oh, The Games We Play
Sure, there are games we play with Hannah Noelle!
And there are games we play with the babies!
But, there are still games we play as adults and parents.
(Moni, remove your mind from the gutter!) Okay, you’re going to have to run with me here!
Be thinking the Game Show “Name That Tune”
Now, imagine 4 babies with ever so rotten diapers and two delirious parents and this is where our game began.
Sniff, sniff….. I can change that diaper with 5 wipes.No, that diaper will take at least 7 wipes.
No, 6 at the most.
Okay, Sandra, CHANGE THAT DIAPER!
And then the count was on.
Now, if you’ve never watched the show, it makes absolutely no sense, but then again, if you’ve watched the show, it probably makes no sense either, it’s just something we do to pass the time! Over the course of the last week I can promise you that between Pae-Pae, myself and Matt we have changed more foulness than one household should ever have to experience.
I must also add that Matt and I sat in the bed last night discussing our game, how it was played, etc. When we start making our own rules, I think we may need counseling! At the end of our conversation I giggled and he said, oh, I see a Blog Post coming, so here’s to you Matt, may you always be a Wipe Short!
Have a Great Week
I will try to quit blogging about our poo-tivities!
Saturday, May 8, 2010
How it went down!
Sunday Avery wanted some alone time, so she insisted on being brought to the hospital via ambulance! By Monday morning, Avery and Lauren decided they wanted to play together in the hospital!
Tuesday they went home and told the boys that the hospital was fun, but the IVs were rough!
Gunner thought hard on the idea and decided he’d give the hospital a whirl! And you know Cannon can’t go too long without his mommy, so he had to come visit too!
Then at some point Thursday Avery must have bribed Lauren into getting sick again so that she would be the only one home!
By Friday night, my lap just WAS not big enough for Cannon and Lauren and I decided if they felt well enough to fight, they were well enough to go home!
And on Saturday morning, Gunner was making hospital supplies toys, so we figured we’d let him come home and play with real toys!
Hope you have a Happy and Poo Free Mother’s Day!
Sorry for the poor quality of the pictures, but a camera just wasn't on my hospital packing list so my phone had to make due!
Thursday, May 6, 2010
4 for 4
I’m taking 5 minutes to blog while Matt finishes packing Cannon’s bag to ask for prayers!
Sunday Lauren started running a fever and by 10 she was vomiting and had the Big D. At 1 am Avery had what we’re hoping was only a febrile seizure, so she was brought to the hospital via ambulance. Monday morning Avery and Lauren were admitted to the hospital for RotoVirus and given IV fluids and monitored closely for their fevers. Tuesday afternoon we were released because they were both able to keep fluids down and I was confident we could manage their fevers at home. Wednesday morning Gunner started vomiting and running a fever, I kept praying he would come around and be able to keep some food/fluid down, but by 5pm, I knew it was time to take him in. He was admitted to Singing River with Roto as well as a very high fever that has basically not broken below 102. Cannon started vomiting last night as well and Matt made the call around 9 this morning that he needed to see the doctor. Dr. Gina has decided he needs to be admitted as well for IV fluids and fever monitoring.
Due to poor planning, or not thinking, I was at the hospital with all 4 car seats so there was no way for Matt to get him to me so Matt’s dad came to get the van to come get Cannon, but Gunner did not want his PawPaw to leave him, so PawPaw stayed with G, I ran home, took a quick shower and I’m fixing to head down to the hospital with a puny little Can-Man.
Please keep all of us in your prayers, pray that it stops here, that none of the adults nor Hannah Noelle gets it.
Thanks so much to everyone who has played a role in helping us this CRAZY week in some way or another!
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Because You Asked
Kimberly asked:
I want to know how you stay so beautiful and so well put together always with such a hectic life. You amaze me women!
I so wish I had a happy smiley answer for you, but I don’t. The big secret is, I don’t blog on bad days, I don’t blog about bad times. I try to stay as positive as possible 99 percent of the time because being positive in your head helps even when you really don’t feel positive.
As far as being “put together”, my husband and I have the sink or swim philosophy and we chose to swim all the time, even when we’re beat down tired and sinking like we’re in quicksand!
And, thanks, for the beautiful part, but if you look closely, I’m never in the pictures because although my kids may be dressed to a T, most likely I have on yoga pants and a DFB t-shirt!
Anon asked:
Where do you find those pacifiers that the little boy uses?
The person I originally purchased them from only has limited ones left, but thanks to my dear friend, Casey, whom I called desperate for a Wubbanub supplier, Designed For Babies will be carrying them soon. She’s already placed her order, just waiting on her shipment confirmation before she puts them on her site!
Lauren asked:
How did you and Matt meet?
What was your reaction when you first saw your sonogram of the quads? (probably a question you get asked a lot)
I actually did a blog post wake back when on how we met, but the short version is I went to a high school baseball game with a friend of mine’s family and there he was, Coach Cochran, #32. He was told I was 15 so he thought I was jailbait. I, however, wasn’t 15 and knew I was going to find a way to talk to him. After a group date, a bet and letting him borrow a dime (pay phones were 35 cents, he only had a quarter) (Are there even pay phones around anymore) we fell in love, got married and well, you know the rest!
The reaction, oh, I remember it like it was yesterday. We had originally been told twins, only to find out a week later that (in my doctor’s words) Oh, @$%*, there is Baby C. That weekend was hard, TRIPLETS, what are we going to do. Complicated pregnancy, MINI VAN, I have to quit my job, MINI VAN, I’m gonna be on serious bed rest, MINIVAN. We finally accepted triplets some time three days later on our way to the fertility clinic for our final scan there. We walked in confident, proud, proclaimed to them, we’re having triplets and we’re going to buy a minivan, only to lay on the table and see four flashing hearts. It honestly didn’t seem like that big of a deal, 3 to 4 that is. I was speechless, a couple actually left the fertility clinic after they heard our news. I didn’t have words to say to anyone so I sent out a text, “And Then There Were Four.”
Aunt Margaret asked:
When are you coming to Calif. to visit your aunt?
Well, I just googled how far you are from Sac-Town and you’re not too far, so maybe soon!! I have a dear friend in Rancho Cordova that I plan on visiting some time in the next year or so and I would love to come see my favorite Cali aunt and uncle. I just said a HUGE prayer that no other aunts or uncles live in Cali or I’m going to be in big trouble for calling you my Cali Fav! (My dad has 7 brothers and sisters so I get confused on who lives where!)
Anon asked:
How do you manage to support your family? Major budgeting? Coupons? Family help? Some other secret the rest of us moms don't know? =)
I wish I had a secret, like a money tree in the back yard, but no such luck! We do major budgeting, planning and strategizing. For any holidays, birthdays, Christmas or Happy Friday day, (yes, I’ve been known to make up a holiday or two) we ask that any gifts be money, food or diapers. Both of our families have been a HUGE help and we know that if we need help, they don’t mind us asking! Matt also started coaching football again which helped us financially get from month to month. Yes, people, he gets paid once a month! That means MAJOR planning! I also do a little monogramming here and there to make an extra dollar or two when the month gets really long!
Anon asked:
You are always so positive. I only have 2 girls that are 2 1/2 and 7 months and you always seem put together and on top of things... How???? You are an amazing person!!!!!!!
Thanks so much! Your words alone inspire me even more to stay positive. I answered this question (I hope) in Kimberly’s question at the top. Just remember sink or swim (SWIM) and when all else fails, Smile and Wave Baby, Smile and Wave!
Anon asked:
How do you afford to dress five children in boutique clothing? Isn't that quite expensive??
I have lots of hints and secrets for this. First, read my guest post at BabyGoodBuys.Com here. Secondly, 99 percent of the clothes that are boutique I bought at Kidz Klozet, some consignment and some new. And if I’m wanting a specific outfit for their birthday or something really special, I plan ahead, buy one a month or ask Pae-Pae if she’d like that to be her present to them for their birthday!
Stephanie asked:
How did you decide the kiddos names?
Do you plan on putting them in preschool or a Mothers Day Out program at some point?
Good question!
Hannah Noelle - My parents had decided my name was Heather Noel and changed it last minute and I loved it, so basically this was a first date proclamation. I had named ever baby doll I had for ever Hannah Noelle, it was going to be my first daughter’s name and I just had to hope he liked it, which he did!
Cannon Gregory - We had his named picked out even before I got pregnant with Hannah Noelle. We both really liked Cannon and Gregory is his grandmother’s maiden name.
Gunner Cole - Cole was going to be his first name, Cannon and Cole and then we decided we didn’t want them to be matchy matchy so I put Matt in charge of his name. Around 2 am one morning Matt said, what about Gunner. HN said in the sleepiest voice every, Gunna Coaaal, I love it daddy.
Lauren Kathryn - The day after HN was born I started planning in my head for Baby 2, only to decide about three weeks later I was done with all the baby business! Finding a girls name consumed me for several days and then Matt and I agreed upon Lauren and Kathryn was my grandmother’s name. We had decided we would call her Laura Kate, which lasted until the second ultrasound when we found out there were twins, then she just became Lauren!
Avery Caroline - Her name was the hardest and she was Baby D for quite some time. I had a name, Matt didn’t like it, Hannah Noelle hated it and pretty much every one of my friends frowned upon it. I will not say what it was because I still love the name and I’m sure someone has named their child this and I don’t want to offend them! I finally gave in and said, okay, Hannah Noelle, you name her. Less than two minutes later she said, Avery Caroline. Momma, Avery Caroline is her name!
The babies will start Pre K 3 next year at the same school Hannah Noelle has been at since she was 9 months old. I will work there during preschool hours to pay for their tuition. Basically we’ll break even with my work and they’re school, but I definitely think they need to be around other children and have a different teacher than Mommy!
Rachel asked:
What are some of the funny/crazy questions people have asked you when you go out in public with your kiddos, and how do you answer them? We get a lot of questions when we take our kiddos out, some that make us smile and others that aren't so pleasant!
Qua-triplets, Fourflets, Fourtiples, Two sets of Twins.
Are they all identical?
He must be the oldest (talking about Gunner) since he’s so much bigger.
Are you done having kids?
Are they all yours?
Hold old is he, how old is he, how old is she, how old is she? Oh, they’re the same age; how’d you do that?
Oh, I could go on and on!
Depending on the person asking the question, whether they’re being sincere or just being ugly with their question determines my answer. Normally my answer is something that makes my husband’s face turn red, but I’m trying to get better at that.
Anon asked:
Where did you find the beautiful hair bows on the headbands that the babies are wearing in the pictures when they were little?
I went back and found this old post, which first made me cry, just reminiscing of when they were 9 months old, but it had the link to the hair bow and headbands, My Dollys Bows. I have tried and tried to find her site again, but keep running in circles and I am the queen of Googling something! Darcy, if you read this, please e-mail me with where you do business now!
Thanks so much for all of the questions! I had a blast reading them as they came in and preparing my answers!! If you have any other questions, feel free to ask and I’ll include the answers in future posts!
Have a Great Day!
