Freakishly Chaotic Friday on the Quad's 1st Birthday

This is a LOOOOONG post (pics at the bottom), but it MUST be written out-with every tiny detail-in my online journal so I will always remember the craziness of the FIRST BIRTHDAY....

Thursday (the night before the actual birthday) around 6 pm, Savannah began running a fever...she obviously felt terrible and I medicated her with Tylenol--praying that it was just a bad case of "teething". I continued to go in every hour to check her fever and medicate as needed all throughout the night. In between nursing Sav back to health, I had spent the majority of Thursday night decorating for the partIES (which-BOTH-were to take place here, at our house). I worked until the wee hours of the morning--along with my mom and aunt...it is a good thing, b/c Friday would end up being a nightmare!

Early Friday, Sav's fever shot up to 102.7 and I called in to get an appointment with the pediatrician. (Keep in mind, there was a TON of stuff to do--it was the day before the party! Thank God my mom, aunt, and Miss Shirley were there to lend a helping hand!) During the doctor's visit, I watched as my poor baby girl was poked and prodded and catheterized...couldn't help tear up as she cried...thinking "this is your BIRTHDAY, baby girl..."
I kept whispering in her ear: "I'm so sorry sweet baby...Mommy is SO SOOO sorry" as the tears streamed down her red face.

Yep, just as I thought-- Urinary Tract Infection #2. It seems as though Sav's kidneys are backing up and refluxing as she grows & produces more urine. We administer her first dose of antibiotics and head home. The time is now 11:30 am. As soon as I get home, mom and I run to Sam's Club to buy fresh fruit, veggies, etc. We called the house several times and our answering machine never picked up, which was VERY weird. When we arrived, we learned that our POWER HAD GONE OUT and had been out for about 45 minutes. OMG! Nothing--no refrigeration, no lights, NO AIR CONDITIONING! The power is out throughout our entire neighborhood. Mom and I hope that the power will be back shortly and head to Target to grab some necessary items for the party. When we return--STILL NO POWER! It has now been 1 hr 30 min. During this time, Aunt Judy and Miss Shirley bathed all four babies in the dark, with the inside temperature rising well above 80 degrees! (Keep in mind, Friday was one of the hottest days we have had all summer with temperatures reaching above 105! and we were having guests over all weekend!!! Not to mention four precious babies that needed to cool down immediately)

I call my brother and start making plans to transport the babies over to his house. (Crossing my fingers that the electricity would come back on quickly and that our food would not spoil in the fridge!) Transporting the babies involved: packing up the metal play-gate, grabbing enough formula for who-knows-when, grabbing food, toys, diapers, wipes, etc.

In the meantime, we had someone over to clean the house (for the first time in forever)--she could not continue b/c she could not run the vacuum cleaner. And Shiloh, by this time- had urinated on the carpet for the FIFTH time that day! OMG! Now please understand that Shiloh has been potty trained since she was like 4 months old. Obviously, she was in pain and this was NOT like her--so I needed to take her to the vet ASAP before they closed for the day! (I'm thinking bladder infection---like Sav! How ironic!)

Meanwhile, as I am loading the babies into the burb, I notice that Sav is BURNING UP...like RIDICULOUSLY hot--ON FIRE. I take her temp---103.8!!! OMG. I call the pedi, give her Tylenol and am told to call them back if it does not go down. (ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? OMG. THIS DAY CANNOT GET ANY WORSE)

The time is now 3 pm and I have not done anything birthday related whatsoever. I am drenched in sweat, the babies are loaded in the car, Shiloh is loaded in the car, my aunt is riding shotgun and my mom is already on her way to my brother's house in her car. I look at Judy and tell her that I HAVE to get Shi to the vet. So, we head over to the vet and I explain the crazy situation to them (they know that I am the chick with the quad babies) and they are more than gracious to take Shiloh- no problem. Before we head out to my brother's house (15 minutes away) we decide to check if I have power one more time...after all, there is SO much to do!

I walk into the house, NOTHING...NOTHING but a wall of thick, HOT, humid, air that hits my face like a ton of bricks--easily over 80 degrees inside my house now and 3:30 pm--right in the middle of the hottest day of my life. SHEESH. ("Okay God, what in the world are you trying to tell me? Usually I get you...I completely understand your little signs...but I am LOST here, God....NO idea where you are headed with this one") I proceed to grab various papers, fruit, etc--stuff that we could work on while at my brother's house. Out to the car--in to the house--out to the car---in to the house...sweat DRIPPING from every inch of my body. As I was reaching for the door handle on my last trip out to the car---"WHALLAH!" The lights come on! "Haaaa-llelujah! Haaaaaa-llelujah...Hallelujah-Hallelujah...Halle-le-eee-lujah!" (you could hear the chorus singing in my head...trumpets sounding)

Now the fun part--unpacking EVERYTHING I had JUST finished loading in the car--including four tired, sweaty, cranky, been-awake-for-hours-and-missed-their-naps, quad babies who happen to be ONE on this very day. (WOW-what a birth-day!)

Within 30 minutes, out-of-town family members begin to arrive at our boiling hot home (4-4:30 pm). In the midst of letting family inside, decorating, trying to prepare food for Saturday and unloading the burb...I get a call from the vet:
Shiloh has blood in her urine and they want to keep her overnight to collect enough urine for an extensive analysis. They must also perform blood work as she may have KIDNEY FAILURE! "Excuse me...did you just say KIDNEY FAILURE?" My healthy, 3-year-old puppy??? I have to trust the vet and block all negative thoughts out of my head for the time being. HOLY COW! THIS DAY IS AWESOME! (I was so worried about my little doggie)

For the rest of the evening, my Aunt Susan and Uncle Ronnie were able to play and love on the quads (and took the only pics of the quads on their actual birth-day...I know, I know....terrible) while my mom and Aunt worked their little behinds off in my kitchen- preparing food & punch and such. I finished cleaning and decorating, ran some more errands...the Steeces arrived- and the Steece men immediately began tedious yard work all night while Kate helped clean and brought in food and before you know it, it was midnight. WHEW!

WOW. Jeez. What a day! Here are pics that my Aunt and Uncle took of the quaddies.

Sav (running fever), Drew, Uncle Ronnie, Ethan, Ben, Aunt Susan


Ben LOVED patting Ronnie's head! He is making his bulldog face that we witness quite often when he is being playful (he crinkles up his nose and breathes heavily through his nostrils)


Sweet lovable Drew, with the most infectious little grin


Ethan, my content little man, always assessing every situation with those big beautiful eyes!


Show us those teeth, Benny! Ben jumps at every opportunity to perform for an audience.


Poor Savannah...sweet little sick girlie. Miss Independent has quickly become Miss Cuddle Bug: always wanting to be held and loved


Andrew, Ethan, & Ben with Susan --what happy, little gentlemen!


For the record: Sav's temp came down and she felt much better by Sunday, Shiloh ended up having crystals in her urine and is OK! (the equivalent of human kidney stones?)--she is on a special diet and must drink lots and pee lots, and our house temperature for the weekend was less than desirable---but we all made it and had a great weekend, in spite of one cRRRRaZy Friday!

Stay tuned for the Saturday Birthday Bash!