High Tea

January 5, 2015June 7, 2015Amber 7 Comments

The past week was drizzly cold one and we had four sick toddlers held hostage in the house. Whining reached epic proportions (not just the kids…parents included). Desperate to change the pace without actually leaving, I set up high tea for lunch one day. The quads received a lovely ceramic tea set from Aunt CiC this Christmas and this was just the occassion. She scored the set at a local Asian market for $1 per piece, which was a brilliant idea because I know it’s food safe and we can add pieces later if needed.

While the quads watched an episode of Sesame Street, I prepped a meal fit for tea. I created a spread of peanut butter and honey sandwiches, sliced strawberries, and veggie straws. I also made a small kettle of lemon honey decaf tea (the best stuff for scratchy, sore throats!). For new scenery, I set the kid-sized table in the playroom with all the needed accoutrements for tea. Although the tea set was inexpensive, I was admittedly nervous someone might decide to chuck a dish or two; eating at the kid table would mean a shorter distance to the floor.

Once Sesame Street wrapped up, I invited the quads to join me for high tea. I explained that we were using our special tea set from Aunt CiCi and it could break if anyone did not respect it. I emphasized that all dishes were to stay on the table and needed delicate care. Eight doe brown eyes stared into mine as they nodded in agreement. I still wasn’t sure how this would go.

Teatime proved magical! All four cheerily noshed on their meal while politely sipping tea. Not an hour before they were wallowing in misery, tears, and snot. Teatime also turned into a great opportunity to practice manners. Since I poured only a sip or two worth of tea into the cups so they had to request more by saying, “more tea please”.

My low appetite kids managed to scarf three peanut butter sandwiches, a pint of berries, and several handfuls of veggie straws, all washed down with four cups of tea. Getting sick kids to eat is a win in it’s own right! Our impromptu tea party went so swimmingly that we held another today, and it went equally well. I think tea parties may become part of our TLC routine when everyone is sick. It certainly brightened everyone’s glum spirits.

As an added bonus, tea cups were great open cup practice. Everyone did very well sipping, and not one drop of tea touched the floor. Only two of the four dribbled onto their clothing, but it was minimal.

What is your favorite way to nurse a cold? I used to love it when my mom made buttery baked potatoes with iced Sprite.

hugs!

Amber

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Ornaments Up, Ornaments Down

December 30, 2014December 30, 2014Amber 13 Comments

This year marked our first time hosting Christmas with my extended family. With four two-year olds in the house, we knew decorating for Christmas would pose a slight challenge, but we were up for it. Last year, we put our tree up on a sturdy table, and for the most part ornaments were out of reach. It worked beautifully. This year, everyone grew enough that they could reach ornaments even if the tree was raised, and I feared they would tip it over. I refused to put the tree in a room where it would be unseen or to put gates around it. We don’t have the right kind of gates and I was unwilling to make the investment for a short season. Also, I figured someone would tip the gate or scale it anyways. Instead, we decorated the tree with shatter proof ornaments and deco mesh. It really looked beautiful despite being a “kid tree”. I also thought it would be a good opportunity to teach self-restraint and respect. After the tree was up, we taught the quads how to carefully touch ornaments with one finger. They were pretty good about it and usually followed the rule. While the tree was up, the quads took turns snatching ornaments when no one was looking. In those instances, we instructed them to put the ornaments back on the tree. Getting them to replace pulled ornaments proved a lesson in patience and acceptance for me. Though we used shatterproof ornaments, a few perished and some needed hot glue. Aside from the tree, decorations in quad approved areas only included the mantle and nativity. That was all I could handle.

Teaching the quads to respect the tree was a monumental task so presents were stored in the study. We tucked gifts around the tree on Christmas Eve while visions of sugar plums danced in the quad’s heads. When Christmas arrived, our tree albeit rearranged many times over, was still intact and standing proudly. Whew!

Although our tree wasn’t glistening with our favorite blown glass ornaments, I found a place in the dining room for a few heirlooms I wanted to enjoy.

To accommodate a family of 16 adults and 7 children, we moved the high chairs out of the kitchen, and dined with the quads in the play room. This left better dining accommodations for our guests.

Although our living room is small, we managed to cram the entire crew in for gift exchanges. The panorama feature on my phone almost captured everyone. I simply couldn’t move fast enough while being steady to get all 23 of us.

Keeping tabs on everyone during gift opening commanded my full attention so there’s only one photo from the charades:

Minnie Mouse necklaces handmade by Etsy shop, Texas Take

The girls were ecstatic when they opened these Minnie Mouse necklaces handmade by my quad mama friend, Amber. She has an Etsy Shop at Texas Take where similar necklaces are sold.

We did, manage to snap one photo with my parents, sister, and her boyfriend (Matt).

We typically keep our Christmas tree and decorations up until New Year’s Day. It’s so much work putting them out, we like to enjoy them for the full month. This year, I had enough with teaching the quads respect of the Christmas tree and had everything packed up two days after Christmas. In fact, the quads were so talented at ornament removal, they were charged with the task of taking ornaments down for the year. They really enjoyed this “chore” above all others they’ve been given.

I hope your holiday season was a wonderful one and that 2015 brings you peace, hope, and joy!

hugs!

Amber

The Reason for the Season

December 22, 2014Amber 6 Comments

When my parents first got married, Mom worked at a Hallmark store. While she worked there, she bought a small nativity set, which she used every Christmas while we were growing up. When my sister and I were little, we had a grandiose Barbie Dream house, but Barbie found her home empty at Christmas. At the time Mattel did not manufacture families for Barbie. I think it was just Barbie, Ken, and Skipper. At Christmastime we would take Baby Jesus from the nativity and he would serve as Barbie’s baby. I guess he was sort of a foster child staying with Barbie and Ken for the month of December. He did a beautiful job as Barbie’s baby and we generally got him back into his manger before Christmas. However, at some point with all of our shenanigans, he went missing. Of course, you can’t have a nativity without Baby Jesus so my mom removed the wings from the little cherub who resembled Baby Jesus and put him in the manger instead. The cherub sort of looked like Baby Jesus, but he didn’t fit quite right in the manger and looked awkward. Mom used the nativity with the cherub sitting in for Baby Jesus for years; I think always complaining about how we lost Baby Jesus.

One year Mom found a gorgeous jewel-toned nativity set at Bombay and Company and decided she didn’t need her incomplete nativity anymore. By then I was in college and had my first apartment. Mom gave me her old nativity since I didn’t have one, and I happily accepted it. I soon discovered that Mom’s vintage nativity was actually a Fontanini set from Italy and they continued to make pieces for it. I found a replacement Baby Jesus in a department store and added him to the nativity. This new figurine was a Baby Jesus, but with his newness he didn’t fit in with the old nativity set quite right either.

When Dad was putting the Christmas decorations back into the attic that year, he saw something tiny glimmering between two rafters. He shined a flashlight on the tiny object and discovered it was the original Baby Jesus. As it turned out, we had not lost Baby Jesus after all. He was in our house all along and right over head for all those years. I like to tell this story at this time of year because it is a reminder that He never leaves us alone even when we feel forgotten or forsaken. It is also a message that I kept close to my heart during our struggles with infertility, and still do as we take on the everyday challenges of raising quadruplets.

This December has been joy filled with the quads learning about Christmas traditions and celebrating the season. They’ve learned Christmas carols, watched holiday movies, and visited Santa. We’ve crafted all sorts of festive decorations from gingerbread men to reindeer. If you’ve been following us on Facebook or Twitter, you may have seen Bop’s (our scout elf) various locations in our house.

All of those secular traditions are fun, but we haven’t let them overshadow the true reason for the season. This year, we spent time reading toddler books about the first Christmas and showed the quads our Fontanini nativity set. They’ve rearranged the nativity a few times, but have been good about leaving it on the burlap, which helps me keep tabs on Baby Jesus.

It was Harper’s idea to move the kitchen footstool to the den so he could get a better view of the nativity. I thought it was clever, and I’ve been proud of his self-restraint in looking at the nativity. Sometimes two of the quads will share the stool and look at the nativity together.

Since I’m not exactly encouraging the quads to play with our family nativity, I was happy when I found a Melissa & Doug toddler’s nativity set. This one is wooden and durable so they can manipulate and arrange as they like.

Despite making several Christmas crafts, I kept coming up short when it came to an age-appropriate nativity craft until my friend, Amber shared hers last week. (Don’t forget to stop by her blog, Texas Tales for a more detailed description of the craft and other toddler nativity books). It’s very simple and ideal for toddlers. I printed Baby Jesus coloring pages and let the quads color them. Then, I dotted glue onto the manger and asked the quads to place snips of rafia over the dots. For a special touch, we also glued a star on the top of the page.

May you find love, peace, and hope this year. Merry Christmas!

Hugs,

Amber

Annual Sit with Santa

December 7, 2014Amber 7 Comments

When the quads were infants, we were on lock down due to their premature immune systems. Although I wanted them to have keepsake pictures with Santa, it wasn’t worth the risk of taking them out in public. Even lock down couldn’t keep Santa away from the babies. He surprised us with a visit and we captured some adorable keepsake pictures.

Last year, we were still hesitant to take them to wait in long lines and still had lingering fears of germs. Santa was kind enough to drop by our house for a second visit.

I think we’ll always worry a little about germs (the mere thought of FOUR sick kids is horrible), but we are letting go of them to experience the world. This evening they had an opportunity to visit with Santa at our mothers of multiples Christmas party. I’ve seen the classic kids wailing on Santa’s lap pictures, and wondered what the quads would do this year. They didn’t grin for the camera, but not one tear was shed. They treated Santa just like everyone else we meet.

Santa wasn’t satisfied with just visiting the children, and insisted Mom and Dad have a chat too.

Hugs,

Amber

Gateway Church Southlake {A Spot to Visit with Tots}

December 5, 2014December 7, 2014Amber 2 Comments

I’ve found that everyone’s mood and behavior is always best when we play outdoors at least 30 minutes daily. However, sometimes winter weather puts a damper on outdoor play. I’ve been searching for indoor options to help keep everyone active. Thanks to our local mothers of multiples groups, we’ve discovered several fabulous indoor play areas. Many of our local churches maintain indoor play areas that are free and open to the public. This week, we joined our mothers of multiples group for a play date at the Children’s Indoor Play Area at Gateway Church Southlake. Someone counted 19 children and seven moms with our group. It was a nice turnout! The quads had a great time playing in this cheerful, bubble themed play area. I was grateful that my friend, Kristin, tagged along to help me watch all four.

Location:

700 Blessed Way

Southlake, Texas 76092

Hours:

8 am – 8 pm weekdays

Cost:

FREE!!!

Favorite Features:

Did I mention it’s FREE???

Since the play area is indoors, it’s climate controlled and clean.

The play area includes several ride on toys (e.g. train, ark) that do not require coins to operate. There are small climb on toys for young toddlers and a large climber and slide for older children.

Tips:

The entrance to the children’s play area is on the north side of the church. Look for the signs and you can park close to the entry.

Shoes cannot be worn in the play area, so be sure your kids are wearing socks.

Sydney and Mason were the only ones brave enough to climb to the top of the play area. Sydney had so much fun, I had to go up and get her down myself.

The boys got plenty of practice taking turns driving the coveted fire engine.

Rylin did not care for the larger climbing area and instead took refuge on this pack of gum.

If you aren’t in the Dallas Fort Worth area, chances are local churches in your area have similar play areas. Ask around! There are several other indoor play areas we plan to try this season.

hugs!

Amber

Dear Thanksgiving, You Aren’t Forgotten

November 26, 2014November 26, 2014Amber 2 Comments

The week following Halloween, George and I took the crew to Half Price Books in search of Thanksgiving books. Behind an elaborate Christmas book display, we found a meager shelf labeled, “holiday”. This shelf contained a conglomeration of holidays ranging from Valentine’s Day to Easter with a smattering of Thanksgiving books. Sadly, the majority of the Thanksgiving books were geared to older children. We snagged two age appropriate books worth purchasing so we’ve read these two at least once daily all month.

The Best Thanksgiving Ever is a charming story about a family of turkeys that gather to celebrate their many blessings. Naturally, their feast consists of corn.
Let it Fall describes the change in seasons and family activities during autumn. The illustrations are beautiful and capture the beauty of family time.

After our trip to the bookstore, my Facebook news feed began overflowing with pictures of children clad in Christmas attire as they visited Santa, evidence of wrapped packages, and fully decorated Christmas trees. Seriously, this began around November 3rd. Anytime I entered a retail establishment, holiday music lingered and Christmas products were in the fore front. It started feeling as if it were December already, and there was an urgency to prepare for Christmas. Then, our neighbors began adorning their homes in twinkling lights. It became such a trend that our home owner’s association left notes at homes where decorations were out 30 days prior to the holiday. Consequently, the HOA president has been dubbed “Scrooge of the Neighborhood” by some overzealous residents. Holiday light citations may not have been necessary, but I tend to agree with the notion it’s too early to commence Christmas activity the first week of November.

Instead of following the masses, I dug my heels in this year and refused to begin decorating for Christmas when the turkey hasn’t been carved. This year, the quads are learning about the seasons and holiday traditions, and I want to teach them about Thanksgiving as much as any other holiday.

To give a little attention to Thanksgiving, we spent time decorating die cut leaves and then writing what we are thankful for this season. (In case you were wondering, the quads dictated, and I transcribed.) Since the quads have been working on prayers expressing gratitude, this task was an easy one for them.

For a little festive fun, we also made turkeys from paper plates and toilet paper rolls.

Once we finished our Thanksgiving crafts, I nestled the turkeys into our mantle decor and taped the die cut leaves among the autumn garland. The leaves are nice reminders of the little things we appreciate in our lives.

Despite my reluctance to start celebrating Christmas before Thanksgiving, I did purchase the quads Christmas pajamas. In my defense, I was burned the first two Christmases with the quads. I waited until after Thanksgiving and found barren shelves! Harper was forced to wear pajamas about a size too small two years in a row. I wasn’t making him do it again. They’ll get to wear their new pajamas the night our Christmas tree goes up.

When do you begin decorating for Christmas? Perhaps you’re an eager beaver. Maybe you wait until Christmas Eve. Maybe you’re like me and want the turkey gobbling to cease first. Or maybe you celebrate a different holiday altogether.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Amber

Bass Pro Shops {A Spot to Visit with Tots}

November 23, 2014Amber Leave a comment

Over the course of the week a pesky cold was passed from one family member to another, and successfully kept us confined indoors. In fact, Mason missed his dental visit due to said cold. Yesterday as everyone was on the mend, a thunderstorm rolled successfully holding us hostage. Everyone (including me) was cranky and unpleasant. We needed to go somewhere to restore our spirits. There don’t seem to be many Thanksgiving family activities, but Christmas festivities are already in full force. After cruising the Fort Worth Mom’s Blog for places to visit, I found a thorough listing of holiday venues. Since Thanksgiving has not yet been celebrated, I could not bring myself to go all in on the Christmas cheer, but settled on taking the kids to the Bass Pro Shops.

Location:

Bass Pro Shops are available nationwide, check here for the location nearest to you

Hours:

November 15 – December 24 during normal store hours

Cost:

All activities are FREE! Santa’s wonderland includes kid friendly crafts, games, a carousel ride, and a visit from the jolly old man himself. Bass Pro Shops provide a complimentary 4 x 6 photo with Santa. You may choose to purchase a complete package of photos with Santa or you can take snap shots with your own camera as well.

Favorite Features:

What’s not to love about FREE family entertainment?

The quads enjoyed taking a spin on the carousel. Since all children under 42″ must be accompanied by an adult, three of our littles enjoyed their ride from Santa’s sleigh allowing me to supervise all of them.

Harper apparently felt slightly intimidated by the ride, but once it was in motion he settled down. The fear of the unknown tends to get the better of him.

After taking a spin on the carousel, George demonstrated how to drive a remote control monster truck in the toy testing area.

We weren’t willing to brave the line to visit Santa (and I just don’t like the idea of seeing Santa before Thanksgiving), but we did check out the aquarium.

Tips:

If you plan on visiting Santa, see one of his elves first. They have passes to get into the line at specific times, which will reduce your wait time.

Don’t forget to bring your own camera in case you’d like to snap pictures with Santa yourself.

Our trip to the Bass Pro Shops was a success in decreasing the tension and brightening our day.

After we celebrate Thanksgiving, I’d like to enjoy several of the local holiday scenes around town. I’m really looking forward to celebrating our Christmas traditions with the quads since they can understand them now.

What are you hoping to do or see this season?

Hugs!

Amber

Divide & Conquer

November 20, 2014November 20, 2014Amber 1 Comment

At the quads two-year well visit, our pediatrician encouraged us to take the quads to a pediatric dentist. We had so many appointments due in the summer, I put the dental visit off. I finally scheduled an appointment for all four, and made sure it was a day when George was off work. The week prior to the appointment, I read a Bernstein Bears book about going to the dentist and practiced looking at the quad’s teeth. I also showed them pictures of some of our quad buddies at the dentist. These kids were going to be prepared! The evening before the appointment, Mason was fussy and his eyes were a little glassy. We put him to bed with Benedryl thinking it was seasonal allergies.

By morning, Mason was moaning. Under the cover of darkness, I got him out of bed and immediately knew he had fever. I padded to the bathroom for an official temperature check. The Exergen delivered the news- 101.5. Fever. Without much thought, I started pouring Advil into our Elmo dispenser. All of this and I didn’t notice Mason looked like this:

The poor kid looked awful. I wanted to believe it was seasonal allergies, but fever indicated otherwise. Mason wasn’t going to the dentist. As our 9:30 dental appointment approached I started troubleshooting. I thought I’d haul the three healthy ones to the dentist and leave George at home with Mason. I figured with a twin stroller I could contain two kids while leaving one free for an exam. It would be hard but totally workable. What I didn’t realize is that George wanted take the kids to their first dental appointment. Yet, sending George with all three didn’t sound like a good idea. It was time for the ‘ol divide and conquer play.

George took Sydney and Harper first while I kept the other two. According to George, both kids opened their mouths and let the dentist check their teeth. Sydney appeared most at ease so x- rays were attempted, but she wouldn’t stay still long enough. Nonetheless, both got to choose a prize and new toothbrush.

The dentist snapped this picture of George with Sydney and Harper.

Once George, Sydney, and Harper were back home, I loaded Rylin into the van. Though it wasn’t my original plan, I really enjoyed taking just one child to the dentist. Rylin lapped up the attention. In the waiting room, Rylin chatted up other parents telling them about her pink and gold beaded necklaces and fluffy boots. Upon meeting the dentist, Rylin willingly opened her mouth for an exam and sat with the dentist. Her favorite part of the visit was getting a pink princess toothbrush then choosing a fairy wand from the treasure box. She also chose on Mason’s behalf, and we rescheduled his appointment.

When we got home it was time for Mason to take another dose of Benedryl and Advil. He wasn’t too keen on the idea so I gave him a straw. He slurped it as if it were juice. Before bed, I gave him a curly straw, which he really appreciated. I think I’m onto something here.

The ol’ divide and conquer play worked out well. Everyone will revisit the dentist in six months and will hopefully tolerate a cleaning.

Hugs!

Amber

But, Mom, We Forgot to Pray!

November 10, 2014Amber 8 Comments

About this time last year, we started working on family prayers at mealtime and before bed. By nature I’m not one to pray aloud; I prefer to pray silently in private manner. When I pray aloud, I’m typically most comfortable reciting memorized prayers because that’s what my family did.

When we began introducing prayer to the babies, I attempted to adopt my cousin’s child-friendly mealtime prayer. I remember her children reciting it when they were young and I’ve always loved it. Ironically, since it was similar to my parent’s mealtime prayer, but not exactly the same I had a hard time recalling it despite it’s simplicity. Plus, it proved a bit wordy for very young toddlers. A year ago, they were working on signing “thank you”. Yet, I wanted mealtime prayers and gratitude to be part of our family meals. I abandoned the memorized prayer (at least at temporarily) and simplified things significantly for all of us. Prayer needed to be something everyone could do and would become a ritual.

I started just teaching the quads to say, “Thank you, God for….”, and I’d model a few things to list (e.g. our food, family, home). A few months ago, they picked up this simple prayer starter and began generating their own lists of things they are thankful for. I think rice makes it atop their list at least once daily. Other items they are thankful for include anything and everything that makes up their world from caretakers to toys. One evening, I overheard Rylin independently reciting her own bedtime prayer and she said, “Thank you, God for…. a bobcat.” I was quite puzzled and couldn’t recall ever discussing bobcats. She repeated, “Thank you, God for Bobcat.” then added, “and Billie”, which put it into context. She was expressing gratitude for our dear family friends Billie and Bob whose nickname is “Bobcat”. Oh how she melted my heart! Hearing toddlers pray is music to my ears.

After the quads mastered the concept of list making items, I added a few other aspects to our prayer including, “Please God, help me….” (e.g. be generous, kind) and “Please, God help others….” (e.g. to heal, find comfort). While the concept of seeking help and guidance is a bit more abstract, it is a work in progress, and in time they’ll learn. Even though we are still learning to pray, making it a family ritual is mastered. If we are ever in a hurry, even at snack time, someone will proclaim, “But Mom, we forgot to pray!” There are also times we did pray and someone insists we forgot, so we pray again.

This particular evening, we forgot to pray before we began eating and Rylin kindly reminded us-

As I was scrolling through old pictures, I found snapshots of Rylin and Mason as infants with their hands clasped as if praying. Perhaps they’ve been working on this longer than I thought.

Does your family pray before meals? If so, do you have a memorized prayer? We will likely revisit a memorized mealtime prayer in the foreseeable future, but for now I’m enjoying our simple list-like prayers.

hugs!

Amber

Read This, Made That {Tissue Paper Pumpkin}

October 30, 2014Amber Leave a comment

I cannot take the credit for implementing this adorable craft, but it is the kid’s handiwork. Last week our family friend, Billie, babysat and brought a craft for the quads. Being a former preschool teacher, Billie is a pro with the crew.

She printed jack-o-lantern coloring sheets from Make and Takes and colored the faces with black marker. Then, she pre-cut and wadded orange and green tissue paper into squares. She dotted glue along the pumpkin and let the quads stick orange tissue squares there. Then she dotted more glue along the stem and vine for the green squares.

The activity paired well with The Biggest Pumpkin Surprise Ever!, coincidentally a gift from Billie. There are flaps throughout the book, and the goal is to find and count all of the hidden pumpkins. Beneath the final flap is an enormous jack-o-lantern.