Rain or Shine

©FourtoAdore.com

Last year, the quads visited a pumpkin patch for the first time, and I knew it should become a family tradition.  There’s something about taking a hayride on a crisp day and the sight of bright orange pumpkins littering an open field that signals onset of autumn.  However, here in Texas most October days felt like summer with temperatures in the 80-90’s.  This summery weather stifled our autumn spirit.  When this weekend promised a cool front, we promised four little people a trip to the pumpkin patch.  Unfortunately, the cool front was accompanied by torrential rain, which did not bode well for our plans.  After our local meteorologist promised a slight reprieve in the afternoon, George and I knew we needed to keep good on our promise.  Anticipating plenty of mud, we took the kids to Payless Shoes to score some new kicks appropriate for mud.  They were trilled at finding rain boots clad beloved characters: Minnie Mouse, Spiderman, Anna & Elsa, and Lightning McQueen.  The boys were equally ecstatic we had an occasion for them to wear batman rain coats.

©FourtoAdore.com

©FourtoAdore.com

The boys proudly hauled their pumpkins into the farm-house for purchase.  These pumpkins will decorate or porch for Halloween, and then will be roasted for spiced pumpkin soup next month.

©FourtoAdore.com

The kid’s rain boots proved worth every penny we spent on them.  Rylin happily twirled, hopped, and splashed about an enormous puddle.

©FourtoAdore.com

©FourtoAdore.com

Though many of the typical farm activities weren’t open due to the weather, the kids enjoyed visiting the rabbit, chickens, and farm dog.   They also experienced a see saw for the first time.  Unfortunately, see saws are quite dangerous and required close supervision, hence, not photos.  Sorry, folks!

©FourtoAdore.com

©FourtoAdore.com

©FourtoAdore.com

Things don’t always go as we originally envision, but when we embrace life, they can be better than we imagined.  I’m glad we didn’t let a little rain and mud spoil our plans because we made the best kind of memories in the moment.

Hugs,

Amber

P.S. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest!

Nature Walks {Summer Bucket List}

Either in the morning or before bedtime, we take a walk around the neighborhood together.  I picked up tin buckets from Target’s One Spot, and sometimes the kids bring them to collect treasures found on our walk.  They received butterfly nets as birthday gifts, and we take them along sometimes.  We haven’t captured a butterfly yet, but George caught another flying insect one night.

It’s always a great adventure searching for acorns, pebbles, flower petals, and leaves.  Taking walks together has been great for burning off extra energy, making and sharing observations, chatting with our neighbors, exploring the world, and practicing walking independently.  Since the kids do really well walking together, we rarely ever use strollers and are less reliant upon cart containment in stores.

When we take walks close to bedtime, the kids usually wear pajamas.
  

In our neighborhood, there’s a wide walking trail that curves around a creek.  It’s the perfect place to spy animals in their habitats.   We have to keep an eye out for snakes though (YIKES!!!).
  

  1. Movies
  2. Sea Life Aquarium
  3. Train ride
  4. Fire station tour
  5. Library story time
  6. Sprayground
  7. Zoo
  8. Bahama Buck’s
  9. Frozen yogurt
  10. Community pool
  11. Grill dinner outside
  12. Water Table
  13. Inflatable Pool
  14. Sprinklers
  15. Ice Cream
  16. Indoor playgrounds
  17. Lee’s Grilled Cheese
  18. Blow bubbles
  19. Chalk drawings
  20. Board games
  21. Play dates
  22. Summer Reading Club
  23. Dance classes
  24. Fireworks
  25. Sleep over with grandparents
  26. Nature Walks
  27. Bounce house
  28. Popsicles
  29. S’mores
  30. Sparklers
  31. Water pistol duels

hugs,

Amber

PS- If you can’t get enough of Four to Adore, don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest!

Zoo {Summer Bucket List}

Just before the quads turned three, we took one last trip to the Fort Worth Zoo while the kids still enjoyed free admission.   We thought it was ideal summer weather with cooler than average temperatures and cloudy skies.  Shortly after our arrival, the skies fell and showered us in a drizzle.  We were able to take cover while also feeding the Koi.  The humidity following the rain chased us home sooner than we planned.  Texas humidity is miserable!


The kids received zoo memberships as a birthday gift so we’ll enjoy many more zoo visits this year!  We are really looking forward to the seasonal activities the zoo hosts annually.

  1. Movies
  2. Sea Life Aquarium
  3. Train ride
  4. Fire station tour
  5. Library story time
  6. Sprayground
  7. Zoo
  8. Bahama Buck’s
  9. Frozen yogurt
  10. Community pool
  11. Grill dinner outside
  12. Water Table
  13. Inflatable Pool
  14. Sprinklers
  15. Ice Cream
  16. Indoor playgrounds
  17. Lee’s Grilled Cheese
  18. Blow bubbles
  19. Chalk drawings
  20. Board games
  21. Play dates
  22. Summer Reading Club
  23. Dance classes
  24. Fireworks
  25. Sleep over with grandparents
  26. Nature Walks
  27. Bounce house
  28. Popsicles
  29. S’mores
  30. Sparklers
  31. Water pistol duels

hugs,

Amber

PS- If you can’t get enough of Four to Adore, don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest!

Summer Reading Club {Summer Bucket List}

Starting in June, we went to the library every Wednesday morning for preschool story time.  Following story time, we headed to the children’s section where we spent about thirty minutes perusing books.  Before leaving, each child chose two books and a DVD to borrow for the week (thankfully our library system allows each borrower to check out 99 items).  To protect our loaner materials, we kept them in a basket on top of the refrigerator out of reach for little hands.


 We keep libarary books in a large basket on top of the refrigerator and only get them down when there is adequate supervision.

Since library story time typically includes a craft, we haven’t done many projects at home this summer. I really enjoy crafts with the kids so I came up with one to accompany our book/ DVD rental of  Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type.  We made a cow using a paper plate, googly eyes, scraps of construction paper and glue sticks.   The majority of the crafts done at the library involve glue sticks so I thought a little practice at home was appropriate.

Click, Clack, Moo Cows That Type Craft

Click, Clack, Moo Cows That Type Craft

Click, Clack, Moo Cows That Type Craft

I always love how when given the same materials, each child’s artwork is unique.

Click, Clack, Moo Cows That Type Craft

Every night before bed, we choose two of the books to read on the sofa.  Sitting on the sofa gives everyone a decent view of the pictures.

Daddies Do it Different


For every 15 minutes we read to the kids, they earned a check on their Summer Reading Club chart.  Each time they filled a row on the chart, they earned a bag of prizes from the library.  We didn’t quite fill up the entire chart before the Summer Reading Club was finished, but they earned plenty of trinkets and had fun doing it.  Even though the Summer Reading Club ended, we still visit the library regularly and read daily to help the quads build vocabulary, develop early literacy skills, and use their imaginations.  Today I stumbled upon an article on Huffington Post about how reading to young children impacts brain development.

  1. Movies
  2. Sea Life Aquarium
  3. Train ride
  4. Fire station tour
  5. Library story time
  6. Sprayground
  7. Zoo
  8. Bahama Buck’s
  9. Frozen yogurt
  10. Community pool
  11. Grill dinner outside
  12. Water Table
  13. Inflatable Pool
  14. Sprinklers
  15. Ice Cream
  16. Indoor playgrounds
  17. Lee’s Grilled Cheese
  18. Blow bubbles
  19. Chalk drawings
  20. Board games
  21. Play dates
  22. Summer Reading Club
  23. Dance classes
  24. Fireworks
  25. Sleep over with grandparents
  26. Nature Walks
  27. Bounce house
  28. Popsicles
  29. S’mores
  30. Sparklers
  31. Water pistol duels

hugs, Amber

PS- If you can’t get enough of Four to Adore, don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest!

Sprinklers {Summer Bucket List}

I remember running through the sprinkler on hot summer days as a kid and wanted the quads to have the same experience.  I found this Banzai Wiggling Water Sprinkler, which is perfect for a lot of kids since it stretches long rather than spraying one small area.  Since the quads aren’t huge fans of surprise sprays to the face I left the water running on low pressure, just enough to spritz them.  The boys and Sydney had a blast running through the sprayers, but Rylin was not interested at all.  Instead, she stayed cozy and dry on the sidelines.

sprinkler

IMG_2248

IMG_2247

IMG_2244

As summer comes to a close, I’m furiously trying to update our summer bucket list.  Stay tuned!

  1. Movies
  2. Sea Life Aquarium
  3. Train ride
  4. Fire station tour
  5. Library story time
  6. Sprayground
  7. Zoo
  8. Bahama Buck’s
  9. Frozen yogurt
  10. Community pool
  11. Grill dinner outside
  12. Water Table
  13. Inflatable Pool
  14. Sprinklers
  15. Ice Cream
  16. Indoor playgrounds
  17. Lee’s Grilled Cheese
  18. Blow bubbles
  19. Chalk drawings
  20. Board games
  21. Play dates
  22. Summer Reading Club
  23. Dance classes
  24. Fireworks
  25. Sleep over with grandparents
  26. Nature Walks
  27. Bounce house
  28. Popsicles
  29. S’mores
  30. Sparklers
  31. Water pistol duels

hugs,

Amber

PS- If you can’t get enough of Four to Adore, don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest!

Water Table & Sidewalk Chalk {Summer Bucket List}

Between Texas heat and potty training quadruplets, my sanity is questionable most days.  One lifesaver has been water play.   Our Little Tikes water table and iconic pink NICU bathtubs have been well used this summer.  I try to introduce novel items with water play to keep it engaging.  If I’m dressing four kids in swimsuits and setting up water, it has to last at least an hour, preferably longer.

1. Little People Bath Station

I was inspired by My Nearest and Dearest to set up a Little People water park and bath station on the front porch.  I gave each of the kids a tub filled with water, a mini bottle of baby wash, a wash cloth, and a few Little People dolls.  They spent the entire morning scrubbing dolls and squirting soap.  Lots of clean fun!

IMG_2226

little people bath station

2. Dish Washing Station

I borrowed this idea from a neighbor because it was brilliant.  I gave each child tub of water, a stack of play dishes, a scrub brush (I found super cute ones with animal handles at the Dollar Tree), and a Softsoap bottle filled with a little bubble bath and water. They got busy washing their dishes, and then scrubbing the patio before they jumped into the tubs themselves.  It’s hard to imagine they used to take a bath in these tubs and can barely fit inside now.

As the quads splashed around, my tootsies enjoyed a Mary Kay foot soak followed by energizing mint lotion.  I was in a foul mood that day thanks to countless potty accidents paired with many tantrums.  My little Mom foot spa worked amazingly at changing my demeanor.  I felt rejuvenated and the kids behavior seemed drastically better when I felt better.


Then….

NICU bathtime

Bath time in the NICU. Rylin is on the left and Harper the right.

And now…

NICU bathtubs

water play

3.  Condiment Bottle Squirters

Another day, I set up shop on the front porch.  I situated myself on an angle so I could supervise water play on the porch and sidewalk chalk drawings on the driveway. For water play, I used the NICU tubs and Softsoap bottles with bubbles, but also gave each of the quads an assortment of empty condiment bottles filled with colored water to mix.  I enjoyed another foot soak, this time whilst sipping fresh lemonade.   From time to time, the kids would give me a little foot treatment by pouring bubbles over my calves, which was sweet.  When we were finished playing we dumped the water tubs over the sidewalk chalk art to clean the driveway.


I love knocking out two bucket list items all at once!  Stay tuned as we wrap up the bucket list.

  1. Movies
  2. Sea Life Aquarium
  3. Train ride
  4. Fire station tour
  5. Library story time
  6. Sprayground
  7. Zoo
  8. Bahama Buck’s
  9. Frozen yogurt
  10. Community pool
  11. Grill dinner outside
  12. Water Table
  13. Inflatable Pool
  14. Sprinklers
  15. Ice Cream
  16. Indoor playgrounds
  17. Lee’s Grilled Cheese
  18. Blow bubbles
  19. Chalk drawings
  20. Board games
  21. Play dates
  22. Summer Reading Club
  23. Dance classes
  24. Fireworks
  25. Sleep over with grandparents
  26. Nature Walks
  27. Bounce house
  28. Popsicles
  29. S’mores
  30. Sparklers
  31. Water pistol duels

hugs,

Amber

PS- If you can’t get enough of Four to Adore, don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest!

Bubbles {Summer Bucket List}

Earlier in the summer, we visited my grandmother in her new home.  I knew our visit was beneficial to both Grandma and the kids so I wanted to make another before summer ended.  I chose a day when my mom could help me because it’s quite an undertaking visiting with the quads.  As soon as we entered, the faces of staff, residents, and visitors illuminated.  Each bright smile made all the effort worthwhile.

To entertain the quads, Nisey brought an art kit and bubbles.  The weather was nice so we enjoyed everything on the large covered patio.  Grandma seemed to enjoy the littles in action as we chatted.

bubbles

bubbles

After we had enough outdoor fun the quads helped Nisey push Grandma’s wheelchair back to her wing of the residence.  It always warms my heart seeing the kids with Grandma.

visiting Grandma

Believe it or not, we’ve tackled nearly every item on our summer bucket list. There are just a few more to go!

  1. Movies
  2. Sea Life Aquarium
  3. Train ride
  4. Fire station tour
  5. Library story time
  6. Sprayground
  7. Zoo
  8. Bahama Buck’s
  9. Frozen yogurt
  10. Community pool
  11. Grill dinner outside
  12. Water Table
  13. Inflatable Pool
  14. Sprinklers
  15. Ice Cream
  16. Indoor playgrounds
  17. Lee’s Grilled Cheese
  18. Blow bubbles
  19. Chalk drawings
  20. Board games
  21. Play dates
  22. Summer Reading Club
  23. Dance classes
  24. Fireworks
  25. Sleep over with grandparents
  26. Nature Walks
  27. Bounce house
  28. Popsicles
  29. S’mores
  30. Sparklers
  31. Water pistol duels

hugs,

Amber

PS- If you can’t get enough of Four to Adore, don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest!

Community Pool {Summer Bucket List}

Our neighborhood boasts a lovely community pool with a kiddie pool that we rarely use. Other moms have invited us to join them several times, and I’ve politely declined each invitation.  Taking four small children near water is terrifying and I’m only comfortable if we have a 2:1 child to adult ratio. The few times we’ve taken the quads swimming in larger pools, puddle jumpers were a piece of mind, but even with them the quads need very close supervision until they are strong swimmers.

George had a week off from work, which was the ideal time for us to visit our community kiddie pool.  Because the water is 12 inches deep in the kiddie pool we didn’t use puddle jumpers.  We had the place to ourselves making supervision MUCH easier.  This outing reminded me why we are extremely cautious around water.  Three of four kids lost their footing in the shallow water and went face down.  We were always close enough to perform a rescue, but it scared me nonetheless.  I think it helped the quads maintain a healthy fear of the water. Even though I’m gaining confidence taking the quads places myself, swimming is not an activity I plan to do solo anytime soon.

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The quads had a blast filling their watering cans then pouring them repeatedly

community pool

Rylin spent most of our visit scowling in a lounge chair, and therefore she was never photographed in the water.  Fearless Sydney was the only brave soul willing to stand under the mushroom.

community pool

I’m glad we used our community pool at least once this summer, but I’m not sure we will go back until next year.  I was on edge the entire time.

  1. Movies
  2. Sea Life Aquarium
  3. Train ride
  4. Fire station tour
  5. Library story time
  6. Sprayground
  7. Zoo
  8. Bahama Buck’s
  9. Frozen yogurt
  10. Community pool
  11. Grill dinner outside
  12. Water Table
  13. Inflatable Pool
  14. Sprinklers
  15. Ice Cream
  16. Indoor playgrounds
  17. Lee’s Grilled Cheese
  18. Blow bubbles
  19. Chalk drawings
  20. Board games
  21. Play dates
  22. Summer Reading Club
  23. Dance classes
  24. Fireworks
  25. Sleep over with grandparents
  26. Nature Walks
  27. Bounce house
  28. Popsicles
  29. S’mores
  30. Sparklers
  31. Water pistol duels

hugs,

Amber

PS- If you can’t get enough of Four to Adore, don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest!

Ice Cream {Summer Bucket List}

By Texas standards, or summer has been mild with temperatures in the 90’s. The past week or so triple digits have arrived and it’s feeling like Texas in July. That meant time for ice cream! There’s a McDonald’s not far from our house so one afternoon we hit up the drive through for the $1 hot fudge sundaes. When we got home, we enjoyed every last drip of the creamy, cold stuff on our front porch.

Ice cream is a lovely summer treat, but going to McDonald’s meant we also needed some golden French fries.  Sydney decided ice cream was too cold and gobbled the fries instead…

golden french fries

ice cream

ice cream

ice cream

Believe it or not, we’ve tackled nearly every item on our summer bucket list.  It looks like I’ve got some posts to publish!

  1. Movies
  2. Sea Life Aquarium
  3. Train ride
  4. Fire station tour
  5. Library story time
  6. Sprayground
  7. Zoo
  8. Bahama Buck’s
  9. Frozen yogurt
  10. Community pool
  11. Grill dinner outside
  12. Water Table
  13. Inflatable Pool
  14. Sprinklers
  15. Ice Cream
  16. Indoor playgrounds
  17. Lee’s Grilled Cheese
  18. Blow bubbles
  19. Chalk drawings
  20. Board games
  21. Play dates
  22. Summer Reading Club
  23. Dance classes
  24. Fireworks
  25. Sleep over with grandparents
  26. Nature Walks
  27. Bounce house
  28. Popsicles
  29. S’mores
  30. Sparklers
  31. Water pistol duels

hugs,

Amber

PS- If you can’t get enough of Four to Adore, don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest!

Popsicles {Summer Bucket List}

There are two good reasons to enjoy a Popsicle: 1. you are sick 2. it’s summer!  Fortunately, wass the latter and we enjoyed icky sticky Popsicles al fresco one hot, humid day.  Even though the quads started eating their frozen treats at our Little Tikes picnic table, it wasn’t long before they began wandering.  And dripping.  Then stepping in the gooey drips, then tracking them. All the sticky fun eventually turned into the perfect opportunity to hose down the patio and the kids.

popsicles

popsicles

popsicles

Happy summer, ya’ll!

Hooray for enjoying a summer bucket list item!

  1. Movies
  2. Sea Life Aquarium
  3. Train ride
  4. Fire station tour
  5. Library story time
  6. Sprayground
  7. Zoo
  8. Bahama Buck’s
  9. Frozen yogurt
  10. Community pool
  11. Grill dinner outside
  12. Water Table
  13. Inflatable Pool
  14. Sprinklers
  15. Ice Cream
  16. Indoor playgrounds
  17. Lee’s Grilled Cheese
  18. Blow bubbles
  19. Chalk drawings
  20. Board games
  21. Play dates
  22. Summer Reading Club
  23. Dance classes
  24. Fireworks
  25. Sleep over with grandparents
  26. Nature Walks
  27. Bounce house
  28. Popsicles
  29. S’mores
  30. Sparklers
  31. Water pistol duels

hugs,

Amber

PS- If you can’t get enough of Four to Adore, don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest!