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.

Hugs!

Amber

PS- Don’t forget to share photos of your Halloween art on our Facebook page! We’d love to see it.

Read This, Made That {Spindly Spiders}

October 29, 2014Amber 2 Comments

In this tale, Happy Halloween, Max pulls out all the stops including dangling rubber spiders in a futile attempt to scare Ruby. The quads absolutely L-O-V-E waiting for the end of the book when Ruby startles Max. In honor of Max’s not-so-scary spider, we made our own spindly spiders.

We had black dessert plates from the quad’s birthday party that we used as the spider body. I punched eight holes around each plate and let the kids string pipe cleaners through the holes. I then dotted the center of the each plate with glue and let them stick an assortment of googly eyes. For a little more pizzazz, I swirled more glue onto the spider and let the quads dust them in black glitter.

Hugs!

Amber

Psstt…Don’t forget to share your pictures on our Facebook page if you try any of our craft projects. We’d love to see your handiwork!

Read This, Made That {Candy Corn}

October 27, 2014Amber Leave a comment

In this cute little tale, 10 Trick-or-Treaters, the children’s cache of candy is displayed on the final page for a counting game. The iconic candy corn was in the mix and naturally inspired our next craft.

To create our masterpieces, I cut orange construction paper into triangle shapes with rounded edges. Next, I taped the triangles into the bottom of a shallow pan. I dunked about 4-5 marbles into white tempera paint, dropped them into the pan, then let each child tilt the pan. In time, the marble made its way across the paper several times over creating a striped effect. I then dropped 4-5 marbles dipped in yellow paint and repeated the process. When we were done rolling marbles, I thought they looked boring. We added a dusting of orange glitter for sparkle.

After our works of art were complete, everyone sampled candy corn for the first time. For a sweet and salty snack we also paired candy corn with salted peanuts. Delicious!

Do you have a favorite seasonal candy?

Hugs!

Amber

Read This, Made That {Paper Plate Jack-O-Lanterns}

October 25, 2014October 26, 2014Amber 3 Comments

After years of hating Halloween, the kids are helping me change my perspective. We live in one of the best neighborhoods for Halloween, and it’s high time I enjoy it. In fact, last spring as we searched for a new home, we felt a sense of relief knowing we would stay in our beloved neighborhood. It’s the type of community where families play outside together, take walks, ride bikes, and know the neighbors. On Halloween night, hundreds of children will line the sidewalks escorted by parents clad in costumes. Families living on cul-de-sacs will invite others to join them for snacks and activities. This neighborhood makes Halloween night exactly what it should be- filled with community fellowship, and I want the quads to experience every bit of it.

When October rolled around, a family friend gave each of the quads a Halloween themed book. Little did she know, these books would help stir the spirit of Halloween. As I read these toddler books, it brought to mind the nostalgic parts of Halloween, and the reasons kids adore it. As I read, I began explaining the process of trick-or-treating and other spooky traditions, increasing our anticipation of the holiday. In addition to the books gifted to us, I scored a treasure trove of Scholastic books at our community garage sale, which resulted in a decent collection of Halloween themed toddler books. Since I’m a sucker for thematic crafts and activities, we spent the month of October creating a gallery of Halloween themed art loosely tied to toddler literature. Check out my post about literacy based crafts to see how I approach these. We read several if not all of these books at least once daily.

We kicked off our Halloween literacy based crafts with Five Little Pumpkins paired with a paper plate jack-o-lantern craft. The book is actually a poem, and the quads now recite it as I read, which melts my heart every single time.

To create the craft, each child painted a plate with orange tempera paint (mixed with a few drops of dish soap). When the paint was dry, I dotted glue on the plate where the face should go, and let them add facial features (pre-cut them from black construction paper). I finished it off by tracing their hands on green construction paper to create leaves and a stem.

Stay tuned to find out what other crafts make up our Halloween art gallery. I’ll be posting a new one daily until Halloween.

Hugs!

Amber

Flower Mound Pumpkin Patch {Spot to Visit with Tots}

October 20, 2014October 20, 2014Amber 9 Comments

You may recall several months ago, I shared a listing of toddler friendly places we’ve visited with the quads. After writing that post I was eager to begin a new list, but a compilation of ten places may take another year. Instead of waiting for a list I’m starting a series, sharing as we go.

Last weekend we joined our local mothers of multiples club at the Flower Mound Pumpkin Patch, and I believe we began a new fall family tradition. George had to work, but Nisey and Poppa joined us for the experience and helped me manage four two year olds sans strollers. Here’s the scoop:

Flower Mound Pumpkin Patch

Location:

Double Oak Ranch
5100 Cross Timbers Rd
Flower Mound TX 75028
(817) 430-4536

Hours:

Seasonal from October 1st – 31st
9:00 am – 7:00 pm

Cost:

Parking is $5 and ALL activities (e.g. train ride, hayride, corn mazes, bounce houses, photo opportuniites) are included

Buses and walk-ins are $1

Favorite Features:

Our crew enjoyed running through the rows and rows of pumpkins as well as the hayride. For older kids, there are bounce houses and corn mazes.

Running in a pumpkin patch can be dangerous business.

The pumpkin patch is a fantastic place for snapping photos. During our visit it was overcast, which made for great fall pictures.

There are hundreds of character cut outs perfect for photo ops. Our attempts to convince the quads to pose with the cut outs were futile, however.

Since the quads were unwilling to sit next to the cutouts, this is the only picture we snapped of them. This is a mere fraction of the cut outs we admired. Literally every popular children’s character is represented somewhere on the farm.

There isn’t a petting zoo, but we had a blast watching the farm animals. The main attraction? Horses snacking on pumpkins of course.

Tips:

On weekdays only drinks are sold on site, so pack snacks or a picnic to enjoy during your stay. On Saturday and Sunday, vendors sell seasonal favorites such as kettle corn, grilled burgers, corny dogs (Fletcher’s!), and pumpkin bread.

After nibbling at our picnic lunch, these four gobbled bright, festive cupcakes provided by our local moms of multiples club.

Radio Flyer wagons are provided free of charge, you can borrow one to cart any bags, snacks, ect as well as any pumpkins you plan to purchase. No need to bring your own wagon!

Bathrooms are port-o-potties so plan ahead the best you can…I personally avoid those at all costs.

The Flower Mound Pumpkin Patch gave us a fantastic, nostalgic fall experience. What is your favorite fall activity?

hugs!

Amber

His Name is Elmer

October 6, 2014October 22, 2015Amber 11 Comments

Our neighborhood has a hopping Buy, Sell, Trade site, which may be a slight addiction for me. George and I check it frequently for the latest deals. We’ve scored everything from free moving boxes to board books, and sold our share of goodies too. Several months ago we removed the builder grade mirror from the quad’s bathroom and replaced it with an ornately framed version. Once the old mirror was removed, we posted it as free on our Buy, Sell, Trade site. A firefighter snatched it up for the firehouse workout room, and George set it out for porch pick up. Unbeknownst to me, the same firefighter posted a Halloween decoration for sale at $10. Being a Halloween aficionado, George asked if this particular item was still available, and naturally it was. However, instead of charging $10 for the gem, the altruistic firefighter decided it was a fair trade for the mirror. Worst trade ever!

When I came home from work one evening, I was greeted by a life-sized skeleton dangling in a cage. This guy was a grisly, unwelcome sight! Not only was it realistic and enormous, but it also lights up and chatters spooky things. I was certain it would terrify the quads and therefore be unacceptable at our house. The next day, I ushered them into the foyer were our new resident perched, fully expecting shrieks of terror. Instead, all four squealed “pirate!” as they inspected this guy, going right up to the cage and poking him with their little fingers. Apparently all the preparations for their Pirates & Princesses birthday party created an immunity to skeletons. Ugh. Over the years, I’ve accepted the fact that in October George will put out an array of kitschy decorations that I don’t prefer, but this one really made me cringe. I’d do about anything to banish him from our home, but I knew it wasn’t happening. George’s eyes glistened like a child on Christmas morning. As much as I loathed this decoration, I knew he would stay. However, he could only stay under a few conditions 1. He would be banished to the attic 364 days of the year 2. He could only post on the porch Halloween night 3. We could dress him in pirate attire to make him a bit more kid friendly. Against my demands, George kept his new friend in our study for several weeks, and became so attached he named him Elmer. I’d cringe every time I entered the study and laid eyes on the wretched beast so I eventually heaved him upstairs myself. Instead of stuffing him deep into the attic, George placed him directly at the entry of the attic so whenever anyone opens the attic, Elmer is staring back with his empty eye sockets. It’s horrific!

Even though I despise old Elmer perching in my attic, I’ve settled with the fact that he’s a permanent family member. Last weekend, George and I began hauling our fall boxes from the attic, and against George’s wishes Elmer stayed up. We didn’t have time to begin decorating so the boxes stayed in our dining room. The next day was like any other, George changed the quads while I prepared breakfast, he set off to work as we nibbled our meal, yada yada yada. After breakfast, I began tidying up while the quads entertained each other. After a few minutes, all four ran into the breakfast nook proclaiming there was a monster upstairs. I recalled reading a Halloween book before bed and thought their imaginations were really running wild. I made a futile attempt to convince them we were monster free upstairs. Eventually, they led me by the hand to the foot of the stairs as they pointed to a tall dark silhouette of a witch. I had to conceal my laughter because I knew they were genuinely scared. Harper refused to step foot out of the kitchen and instead peered at the witch from around a corner. The others were only slightly more brave and approached the witch with fingers covering their eyes.

I spent the remainder of the day trying to prove that the black figure was only made of wood. I turned her over to show the wood grain, laid her on the floor, and even walked along the surface of it. Rylin, Mason, and Sydney eventually believed it was no monster, but Harper could not shake the fear. Even after I moved the witch out of sight, Harper fearfully inquired about her all day and shielded his eyes.

That evening, George and I situated our witch in the bushes outside and adorned our porch with friendlier fall decor including warm orange lights and grinning pumpkins. Harper still isn’t a fan of the witch, but he tolerates her the way I tolerate Elmer.

What are your favorite fall decorations? Do you appreciate the grisly variety or prefer subdued, friendlier fare?

Hugs!

Amber

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These Shoes were Made for Wearing.

September 22, 2014Amber 4 Comments

Several months ago, Harper developed a bit of an obsession with shoes. It started with his shoes. He wanted to wear shoes most of the time, and loved changing into different pairs multiple times daily. Since he wasn’t independent with putting shoes on himself it was sometime a hassle for me. However, he always sat patiently while I crammed his chubby feet into narrow shoes or used a shoe horn to help the process so I’d oblige him. It wasn’t long before his interest in shoes progressed to any and ALL shoes.

Currently, if Harper spies a vacant pair of kicks, without fail, he’ll remove his current pair and slip into his new find. It doesn’t matter who owns the shoes, what size they are, or even the style. Seriously, he can strut around effortlessly in anything from my 4″ wedges to Poppa’s work boots. It’s a futile effort, but he will attempt wearing his siblings too small shoes as well. He snags my shoes on a regular basis, and even the shoes of visitors. The day I take him into a shoe store he’ll be in hog Heaven.

These red Converse are among my favorite shoes for Harper, but he and I don’t always agree about when they “go” with the outfit.

Harper chose the entire outfit here from pirate hat to Daddy’s yard shoes.

I’m not sure an outfit is complete unless you have a fedora and Eeyore slippers.

Honestly, I can’t blame Harper for his passion for shoes. I have a rather extension collection myself. In fact, I’ve commissioned George to build storage for them in our new closet because I can’t locate every single pair with ease. Mint strappy sandals found at Target are my among current faves. I wore them with most everything all summer…mint pairs surprisingly well with many colors. I’m sad they’ll soon be out of rotation, but looking forward to boot season.

Do you have a favorite pair of shoes?

Hugs!

Amber

P.S. Should you ever pay Harper a visit, please keep your shoes away from his reach. Otherwise he’ll assume they are for him and off he’ll trot!

Conquering My Fear

September 4, 2014September 6, 2014Amber 12 Comments

I remember the days B. Q. (before quads) when I yearned to have a baby and had all sorts of notions about what motherhood would mean. At that time, I’d see mothers out and about with their littles in tow. It seemed that every woman I passed had an adorable “mini me” clad in Janie & Jack attire with a winning toothless grin. I fantasized about dressing my own baby up in itty bitty boutique outfits and having a chubby cheeked baby sitting in my shopping cart. Of course, my baby would never wail, smell rotten, or spit up. My baby would be perfect at all times. (A girl can dream, right?)

When our instant family of quads arrived, I found myself getting plenty of baby snuggles but I was also marooned. My fragile babies couldn’t go anywhere besides the doctor for a full year. When the days of lockdown ceased, George and I seized every opportunity to let the quads explore their world. We toted them to museums, stores, restaurants, and anywhere else we thought we could safely take them. Many of our field trips involved other friends and family members to help wrangle the tots. No matter where we ventured, it was always a four ring circus for many reasons. It wasn’t quite what I envisioned in my fantasy world.

Despite our many family adventures, I had never loaded the quads into the van myself and taken them out in public. Not once. I’ve taken them out alone, or in pairs myself. And, we’ve enjoyed many play dates on our own and taken trips to the neighborhood strip mall in our Runabout, but never a legit outing just the five of us.

The notion of being alone with four babies in a public place terrified me. Each time I considered a quick errand with them on my own, I immediately conjured up a laundry list of scenarios from downright embarrassing to horrific. I thought surely before they were two I’d have the courage to take them out own my own, just once, but I didn’t. Their second birthday came and went, but my fears paralyzed me still. Every last one of my quad mama pals took the plunge and flashed pictures of their success stories with a pile of kids in a cart somewhere. They could do it, why couldn’t I? Thursday morning I decided it was time. We were going to Target. After all, Target boasts triple seater carts, sells most anything my heart desires, and it puts people in a trance with its merchandising tactics.

Thursday morning after breakfast, I scribbled a quick list of items we needed and scrambled to get everyone dressed. Naturally, everyone was uncooperative. All four were whining without mercy. Entire bins of toys were dumped and strewn about the house creating landmines for me. Though I felt discouraged and now concerned about how they’d behave, I was also determined. As soon as everyone was sufficiently dressed, I hustled the crew to the van where I strapped everyone in. Much to my chagrin, everyone settled once the van was in motion and I revved up our best kid tune playlist. I thought, “Okay, we CAN do this!”, and made a beeline to Target.

Upon our arrival at Target, I circled the parking lot for THE cart. I spotted one in the back corner of the parking lot and parked beside it. I loaded Harper and Sydney in the harnessed seats, Mason in the main cart seat, and padded Rylin in the buggy with threats to her life should she stand. (Rylin is by far the most opinionated and strong-willed of the quads, but she’s also the most obedient of the pack, which makes her trustworthy with responsibility.)

I strutted into Target with my brood of smiling toddlers and it felt darn good. I know the layout of Target like the back of my hand so I started tackling each item on the list and making sure to skim end caps for clearance finds. Thirty minutes into the trip and all four were chipper and clearly enjoying the scenery. In fact, I hadn’t offered a single snack to anyone. I ponied on, grabbing more items off the list. At 45 minutes of Target time, all items on the list (plus a few extras) were loaded into our cart and I had four happy children. WOW!!!! At that point, it was time to check out, but they earned their individual baggies of Fruit Loops and loads of praise for their upstanding behavior. I checked out, loaded our goods into the van, and loaded four toddlers without incident. SUCCESS!!!!

It feels liberating to finally conquer my fears of taking the foursome out own my own, and I feel encouraged to try more things myself. I know every trip out won’t be so easy, (and it wouldn’t be if there were just one toddler either) but at least I know successful trips CAN and WILL happen.

Triple seater carts work great for multiple toddlers

One of my many fears about solo outings was handling the public Q & A sessions. I don’t mind answering questions, but being alone meant we needed to stay the course. Interestingly enough, at 10:00 am on a Thursday our local Target was primarily populated with moms that had full carts of kids. I saw at least five other moms with more than three kids. It seemed that most shoppers at that day and time were on a mission of their own, and didn’t have time to worry about my crew. Dare I say it was peaceful?

It wasn’t long before Rylin realized the diaper bag doubled as a pillow.

After our successful Target jaunt, I rewarded myself with a salted caramel frapuccino. I won a giftcart at our last Moms of Multiples meeting and i thought of no better occasion to enjoy it.

After our successful Target jaunt, I rewarded myself with a salted caramel frappuccino. I won a gift card at our last Moms of Multiples meeting and thought of no better occasion to enjoy it.

What fears do you need to conquer? What encouragement do you need?

Hugs!

Amber

Four to Adore

a slice of life with quadruplets

parenting

Divide & Conquer

But, Mom, We Forgot to Pray!

Read This, Made That {Tissue Paper Pumpkin}

Read This, Made That {Spindly Spiders}

Read This, Made That {Candy Corn}

Read This, Made That {Paper Plate Jack-O-Lanterns}

Flower Mound Pumpkin Patch {Spot to Visit with Tots}

His Name is Elmer

These Shoes were Made for Wearing.

Conquering My Fear

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