Random Picture Contest

Okay here is the 21st picture from my May folder, as per instructions on my friend Lisa's blog.

This is a picture of one of my girls at the most awesome pre-k program in the world - LLL. Anyway, her teacher is holding my new baby boy and we are watching . . . some kid showing off or something I can't remember. Boy this is exciting stuff, you guys should be thanking me that this picture is #21 because #20 was a scary "Before" pic I took in my old bathing suit, just in case I ever got to the point of being able to take an "After" FYI - I am not there yet and now having looked at before picture again, realize just how little progress is being made toward AFTER category - depressing thought. But hey, I lot 7 pounds on Monday by way of the latrine and a stomach bug. Today is Saturday and I have only gained back 6.5! Okay my goal is to take an after shot by the last day of school so that gives me hmmmm 4 months. If it is a big enough difference I pledge to post the pictures. Yikes, anyone care to join me? I didn't think so. Have a great weekend!

Umm Hi people

Say, I would like more blogs to read and I would like more little tiny pictures of people who read my blog on my page (makes me feel better.) So send me your links and put your little picture under my followers page!
My words of wisdom for today: Do not choose the night when one of your quads is going to have a stomach virus to be the night you try and get your 11 month old spoiled baby boy to go back to sleep in his own crib instead of your warm cozy bed. Here is what my night was like, and I am telling you this so that tonight when you retire to your baby-free beds (except a couple of you I know!) You will lay back and dreamily drift off thinking "ahhh I am so glad I don't have 5 year old quadruplets who aren't great sleepers to deal with tonight or ever, I am so happy I didn't dabble in attachment parenting and co-bedding when I wasn't fully committed or know what I was doing, I am so glad I don't have a daughter who howls when someone wakes her up with their own screaming - I - AM-GOING-TO-THROW-UP!!!!" I feel all you readers cringing and tensing up as you read this so . . . STOP THAT - it isn't real, you are just reading my blog, relax. No I am not crazy just severly sleep deprived. Why am I not in bed now you ask? Because I am stupid or just need a minute to unwind. I will be there shortly I promise. Anyway, Here is what happened:

I stayed up doing something trivial last night and time got away from me and it was 11 when I turned in. I tossed until maybe 11:30 or later then my daughter comes in crying about her tummy and sits in the bathroom for an hour. This wakes up the sleeping baby, so I nurse him and put him back in crib instead of our bed so I can help my girl, well we had decided that tonight he needed to start staying in his crib because an almost one year old doesnt need to be nursed back to sleep 3 times each night, as he has for the last well, 11 months. I am tired man. And, he wailed for an hour the whole time I am thinking, I am the most horrible mother in the world ignoring him, well Roy was with him and kept laying him down telling him to go to sleep Nicely of course. He must have done that about 200 times before he took the hint and passed out. This was during the 1 oclock hour. This in turn woke up daughter 2 and she got up and stood in the hall howling until I came in and got in bed with her and tummy acher. She didn't go to sleep by 23o and I finally got up and slowly left the room waiting for her to protest, she didn't so I gladly lay in my own bed.
230 - 430 SLEEP!
430 The tummyacher comes running in my room delivering her line (see caps above) then doesn't make it to the toilet of course. and keeps wanting to tell me that she is going to throw up again while I keep yelling put your face over the potty! She finally does and does. Then cleanup commences, baby wakes up screaming, I am cleaning floor and then daughter in tub complete with second hairwashing in less than 6 hours. Roy gets up and searches for carpet cleaner machine his parents gave us as a gift last year (THANK YOU SHIRLEY!) I am laughing now bc if you came in my house right now you would most definitely say, this woman does not own anykind of carpet cleaner! Okay that would be from the stomach virus of '05 and I can't do anything about that now but get new family room carpet! So Roy starts cleaning and I am dealing with baby and older daughter praying doodle won't take this opportunity to wake up restate her protest on all the noise by joining in (she doesn't!) Then I remember that I was supposed to have a coffee date with my favorite Starbucks buddy Jen D. and now that is shot and that it is the first day back at school so I would have gone to the gym and Kroger etc now also shot. Geegaflutnik! How selfish am I? My poor little girl wretching and all I can think about is my stupid, expensive, yuppy coffee. What kind of mom does that?
I guess I do, sometimes.
I then realize that this is what God put me here for, exactly these kind of moments, when all hell brakes loose, when I see the best come out in my husband who doesn't complain and the worst come out of my daughter, literally! We are a family pulling together to get through a night of hellish proportion and then Roy will get up and go to work so we can pay the bills, I will trudge along with my weary soul saying why me God? but knowing the answer (okay, no I really don't know the answer but doesn't that sound like the appropriate "writer has a revelation line to deliver" moment?) WHATEVER! It just is what it is and we all go through it eventually, some of us more often than others. I love my kids and my husband and my God. I love my life most days, not today, but I did get a nice drizzly day nap in the bed with the tummyacher who got over her aliments by noon . I knew this because it was like someone turned a switch on and she started talking nonstop about everything and wanting to eat again, I was like "Whoa Nelly, slow down take it easy, lets try Sprite and crackers."
Lord how I can run on a paragraph. No body cares in blog world and no teacher will grade me so I am going to leave it as is. If Roy reads this he will let me know.
I will close now, I don't know if this has made any sense. If I keep writing such long nonsensical posts no one will read them anymore! Have a good night. And send one my way too!
Reader update: As I am turning off my computer Roy walks in holding his stomach -yikes - its going to be a long night.

You are a winner . . .I think?

Okay so my friend Lisa is doing this blogger Pay it Forward Contest and being one of the first three bloggers . . I won. Now you can too.

On to the rules:

Be one of the first three bloggers to leave a comment on this post, which then entitles you to a handmade item from me.

Winners must post this challenge on your blog, meaning that you will Pay It Forward, creating a handmade gift for the first three bloggers who leave a comment on YOUR post about this giveaway!

The gift that you send to your Three Friends can be from any price range and you have 365 days to make/ship your item. This means you should be willing to maintain your blog at least until you receive your gift and have shipped your gifts. And, remember: It’s the Spirit and the Thought That Count!

When you receive your gift, please feel free to blog about it, sharing appropriate Linky Love!

If you are not one of the Top Three to comment on this post, you can still play along. Please start your own Pay It Forward chain, and encourage your blogging friends to do the same.

Thanks Lisa I lifted the rules from your blog so I wouldn't have to do it again! By the way, Lisa's blog is quite humorous and she is an AWESOME photographer of children. You can check out her second blog which is a photo blog for her business.

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While I am on the subject of Lisa, she gave me the Butterfly award:

Now I get to give it to up to ten blogs I love and post links to them and then those recipients can do the same to bloggers they love (and up load the graphics to their own site.) Some of these people I know personally and some I do not. They may or may not want my award, but I am sure they will appreciate the link anyway!

The first is Lisa of course, my favorite public blogger of all time and one of my bestest friends from the great Auburn University and her link it straight above!

I have to give my award to Mara also, my favorite private blogger of all time and also a best friend. Oh and also from AUBURN- WAR EAGLE .

The next is Testosterhome, who inspires me with her wit and the fact that she is raising FIVE BOYS! I have five but not all boys, that has to be an interesting life.

My friend Rach, out in Utah has the best style and is one of the most creative people I know, sure miss her since she moved away from GA. Her blog is called Johnsons Framed.

My friend Katie K. who inspires me with her unique humor and take on motherhood. How can anyone born after the 70's have so much insight on life? Not that I have any but . . yes I am a 70's born child, so I am somewhere in my thirties in case you are ciphering. Kinda Crunchy Suburbanites gets a Butterfly award anyway!

I would give one to my husband for his blog but he wouldn't appreciate it I fear, a blog about being a redneck does not want a butterfly graphic on it!

And lastly the neatest cooking blog I know, I wish I had the time and energy of this woman, a very cool web site that was her New Years resolution last year, to use her crock pot every single day of 2008, log the recipes along with photos and a verdict from her family. Very cool and she has a book coming out soon. Congrats to A Year of Crockpotting.

Thanks for reading my humble blog, if you want to win something from moi, be one of the first three to leave a comment (now that is pathetically easy right?)

Happy days are here again!

Well, in light of my very negative post yesterday, which I reread and cringed a bit but ultimately decided to leave online due to its truthfulness, in light of that I decided to lighten things up a bit with a post of pictures from our day of fun at the mall. Above is Pauli driving her new boat at Bass Pro Shop. The kids loved being able to climb around on those boats, I am sure the staff was watching us with trepidation but we took full advantage of this unconventional playground.

Here is one of Pop looking thrilled while the other kids ride the Merry Go Round. Notice how Jacks outfit is coordinated to match his new stroller, I always do that! Kidding that would be OCD for sure. I only have that occasionally.

Okay, this is something I would have loved as a kid but now makes me want to throw up. I didn't even like watching them enjoy it! They loved it and I was so glad I had to stay off and watch Jack. I used to be the queen of roller coasters but now I am not even sure I could do the Log Jamboree at Sick Flags, I mean Six Flags.

Again the look of Joy, and we did this after eating in the food court Pizza and Fries. How I have earned my Gold star mom of the year award today! Have you ever had one of those days where you just want them to be happy and not end up in the hospital? Let them eat, do and wear and say what they want, pretend not to see or hear the parts you don't like and just smile? Well today was that kind of a day. It works for me on occasion.

I hope they remember these years as fun and not with me always saying something like this:

Kid: "Mom can we do X, Y, or Z?"

Me: "No"

Kid"Whyyyyyyyeeee?"
Me: "Because I have five kids and its tooooooo hard!"

So from then on my answer is either no or No bc I have 5 kids

I mean I use that as an excuse for everything,

Can we have Pizza?

No bc I have 5 kids?

Can we play at McD?

No five kids

Can we go to Walmart with you?

No 5

Etc, Ad Nauseum

Anyway, We had fun today and no one went to the hospital. It was all in all a success I'd say. When we got home with grandparents in tow (my in laws) I even whipped up the last batch of tollhouse cookies I will make this century bc in a few days I am back on weight watchers and I had to use up the last of my 16 lb bag of chips from Sam's. Ohhh they are so good I am eating them right now and the kids are asleep and you are reading this wishing I would share. Sorry! I will be paying for it later in Step class though. Have a Happy New Year, Can't wait for 09!

Can you help me?

Instead of a typical post, I am going to write out all the questions I have in my head today and if anyone who reads this has an answer to one or all of them, I would love to hear it!

1. Why do fools fall in love?

2. What is the meaning of life?

3. Why will my son not eat anything but sweets?

4. Why won't my baby sleep like a baby?

5. Why do people feel like everyone in the world should act/dress/think/worship/recreate/live as they do?

6. Why can't I remember anything from all the Calculus and Physics classes I took at Auburn.

7. Why does my kids' pediatrician (whom I love as a person) keep telling me that vaccines are totally harmless, how can she be sure? She is willing to bet my baby's future neurological health on it when I have two little girls who have issues one major and one minor.

8. Why doesn't everyone know that many if not most of the vaccines that we push in the USA have patents owned by the CDC? Money, money, money . . . that's all I'm saying, oh that and yes I can see where a 2 lb baby needs a shot for an STD like Hep B? Or anybaby for that matter, how many drug using infants do you know, the moms are tested for Hep B so if it comes out negative, why give the shot so damn early? (Sorry sore spot)

9. Why do all the Catholic churchs now use contemporary Christian music instead of traditional Catholic Hymns which are very beautiful, especially at Christmas?

10. Why can't I use the bathroom without someone talking to me from the hallway?

11. Why wasn't I born with some amazing talent like music or the ability to use alchemy to create gold?

12. Why do I find it so difficult to find time to pray (and without falling asleep?)

13. How is it possible that I have so many wonderful friends?

14. Why did it take my husband so long to start his own blog, he is one of the best writers I know!

15. Why ask Why?

16. Who wrote the book of love?

17. Why can't I stop eating chocolate?

18. Why wasn't I born with a fast metabolism?

19. How do I answer my daughter when she asks the following questions -

"Mommy why doesn't God give all the children in the world enough food to eat?" or "Mommy why doesn't Santa give all the poor kids toys like we get?" "Mommy, how did baby Jack get in your tummy?"

Followed quickly by "Mommy how did the Dr get baby Jack OUT of your tummy?"

20. Why am I up on the computer when I could be catching up on sleep? (I can answer this one, I drank too much Coke and I enjoy the quiet!

OK people - I'm waiting????

How do I do it?

People ask me this quite frequently and to be honest, I never know how to answer them, though in truth, it is probably just a rhetorical question and they are probably not really looking for an answer. But I have it for you today. That is if you are interested.
Here is how . . .
Today after baking about 200 plus chocolate chip cookies for teachers and coworkers,
today after wrestling all day with a baby who kept me up all night because he was wheezing and feverish and the Benadryl I gave him caused him to become excited instead zonked,
today after changing atleast 5 poop diapers,
and folding four loads of laundry and decorating the Christmas tree and feeding my kids frozen pizza for dinner,
I laid on the floor, on my stomach so my crawling, cruising baby wouldn't punch my stomach or fall on my other sensitive parts I started to drift off and imagine that his pushing and rolling and other movements were that of a masseuse at an expensive spa that doesn't smell like poop and cookies together. In my head I was getting a massage (something I haven't done in years.) Okay so this particular massage was from a drooling masseuse who whined a little and eventually fell asleep on my back but the best part was all I had to tip him was a couple of kisses and a zerbert on the belly. That is how I do it my friends, its all in the delusional mind games I play. The drooling masseuse has an opening tomorrow at 10 AM if anyone would like him to swing by. By the way, I don't recommend trying to give your next masseuse a belly zerbert, I hear they much prefer cash ;)

Fantastic Friday

How cute are my kiddos? Very, is my biased opinion. This is just a random recent moment but it is getting harder and harder to catch them all together long enough to photograph.

If you are wondering if the relationship between multiples is different than typical siblings I would say yes and no. Yes, they tend to look out for each other in everyway and they want to be together pretty much 24/7 although when my big guy went to hang out with my nephews recently he was in heaven with all the boys around while my girls cried that he was gone and they didn't want him to miss out on anything fun we did like decorating cookies, (which I incidently ate most of.) I assured them that he was having fun of his own and wouldn't miss out. I would say no in that they still fight occasionally but far far less than my siblings and I did as kids. I do have mutliples friends whose kids fight a lot so I can't say for sure if that has anything to do with it. Here are some things they don't have:

Psychic powers

Their own language (well they did make up like two words when they were 3)

Any concept of birth order

Identical DNA (fraternal of course)

Similar gifts and abilities

They are as different as night and day, except they have the same birthday!

Jackaroo on the other hand is totally different than they were as a group or as individuals.

He thinks he is the center of The Universe and rightly so (for now!)

He thinks he lives in a circus (prerry much true.)

He thinks everything his siblings do is hilarious.

He thinks his mom is the bomb.

I am sure he is thinking a few other things and those will be revealed in time. I believe sooner rather than later as he will be talking a little quicker than they did with all the chatter he hears. Still haven't heard a momma out of him but the other day someone reminded me that once he started saying he would never stop so I am okay with him just saying Dada for now!

Have a Fantastic Friday and Merry Christmas! Oh by the way, in order to balance my negative post from the other day, I have a list of things I like at the very bottom of the page, just scroll down if you are so inclined!