Where in tha World?!....

I know, I know....we're still here...(barely)

There is a lot that is contributing to my blogging funk:

- Our main computer's hard drive went kaput after 7 years (the computer that stores all of my pics/video/music/etc)-

Thank God for my brother setting up my external hard drive several years ago! Back it up, people!!! It will save you some heartache! Nothing is lost from our files...we just have NO COMPUTER at the moment and reeeeally don't look forward to spending money on a new one.


- Ethan and Andrew have the dreaded and highly contagious sTrEp tHrOaT with bilateral ear infections. Doc said it was a matter of time before Sav and Ben present with symptoms, but we are still crossing our fingers (and downing a LOT of vitamin C).


- Toddler beds are going well. Nights are perfect---they go right to bed without trying to get out. However- afternoon naps are a different story. And yes, they still need their naps (so does Mama) because when I try to take them away, all you can hear is wailing and screaming around 5pm in our house from a bunch of cranky, tired, and mean 2.5 year olds who missed their naps!


- This weekend Joe and I will be celebrating our anniversary (7 years on March 1st!) and Joe's 31st birthday (March 2nd).

Praying that we don't get sick as well and meeting some special buddies of ours to join in on the festivities...who just so happen to have an anniversary the day before ours! Curious to know who it is???


- Our hearts are beyond heavy with the passing of our dear friend's mother last night. Please keep Jason and his family in your prayers. And my Uncle recently lost his Mama as well- so join me in lifting up the Webb family.

Please give those you love an extra squeeze today...life is too short.

Promise to post with some pics sooooon!

Angels Watching Over Me

This is a beautiful cross that was given to the quads when they were born---it sits right above the door in their nursery. It says: "Angels watching over me"...



Yah, well---so are Mama and Daddy! tee hee hee

(like the way I rigged their video monitor??? LOL! Desperate times call for desperate measures...I learn from the best of 'em!)


That's right folks, its time for the crib to toddler bed transition x 4! The quads recently had an epiphany- "Hey! What are we doing stuck inside these cribs?! We can SOOOO easily get out and have a blast when we're supposed to be sleeping!" So, instead of just jumping straight to toddler beds...I wanted them to learn how to MIND MOMMY when I tell them to stay in their cribs. There is no way I was about to give them even MORE freedom if they couldn't mind me.

After a rough 24 hours, they finally got it and would stay in their cribs- no problem. The next weekend is when we decided to graduate to toddler beds! We made a big deal out of the kids being "big kids" and "minding Mama/Dadda"...talking up their "big kid beds". It is also important to master one transition at a time---and I want to make sure that they are very comfortable in their new toddler beds (minding Mama, etc) before we start potty training. So this was PERFECT TIMING for us!

Let the games begin! LOVE LOVE LOOOOVE these convertible cribs that Grampy and Grammy bought for the quads. They convert to toddler beds and twin beds.



My little baby beavers went to town on these crib rails when they were iddle-bitty.



Drew woke up in the middle of the night, so I went up there to take some pics while the kids were asleep. Drew with his fav's: blue blanket, Seahorse (or LuLu)



Ben with his favs: yellow blanket and currently, the big pink dog (or bunny)



Ethan- who is obsessed with his Seashorse, and his green blanket



We started off slowly with the kids while they adjusted. If they got out of their cribs when it was time to nap/sleep--there would be consequences. 1st offense) bye-bye pillow; 2nd) bye-bye blanket; 3rd) bye-bye toy; 4th) you get to go spend the rest of the night/naptime in another room, in a peapod by yourself. (Now, its down to one warning before the peapod! We mean business!)

Sometimes, if I would see them getting close to getting out, I would just yell from downstairs and watch them jump back into bed. One of these times that I yelled---Savannah positioned herself right where she could look straight into the camera (because I showed them where it was) and said, "No MAMA! NO! No, Mama....NO NO NO!".....

Um, exCUSE ME, little missy?!?! Within seconds she was saying bye-bye to bunny! (mean 'ole Mom)

She would test me to see how far off her bed she could get before something was taken away. The stubborn little princess held this pose for so long, that she eventually fell asleep! (I was watching her the whole time on our hand-held monitor)WOW. Talk about a strong will (& nasty drool spots!)! SHEEESH.



Needless to say, it sure has been *fun* around here! ;) But the kids are getting the hang of it...mom and dad are making less and less trips upstairs, so that's a plus . The bright side is that I'm working off all of those pesky calories with the constant stair climbing. {snicker, snicker} This parenting stuff is HARRRRRD- why didn't you guys tell me?! lol

"In spite of the six thousand manuals on child raising in the bookstores, child raising is still a dark continent and no one really knows anything. You just need a lot of love and luck - and, of course, courage."
-- Bill Cosby

Sesame Street LIVE!

This past Saturday, we took the quads to see:



Joe & Drew- anxiously waiting for the show to start (yah right, the kids had no idea what was going on...haha)



Papa, Ben and Granna



Mama, Ethan, and Savi



It was SO much fun to experience this live performance through the awe-struck eyes of our children. I had been prepping them all week---telling them that we were going to see Elmo and his friends dancing on stage!



Me and Ethan---he held on tight to Abby Cadabby (courtesy of the McNulty quads). I would watch him look at her on stage, then glance down at his toy--trying to figure it all out! So serious--just studying everything.



Joe and Drew, Papa and Ben, Granna and Sav---we traded places quite a bit---trying to get the best view possible





15 minute intermission? Ahhh...YES!...the kids were starting to get a little antsy! Popcorn anyone?



Chatted with my BFF and her darling daughter (Thanks for telling us about the show, Ade!)



Me and Savannah- getting ready for the 2nd half



Drew LOOOOVED the show! Especially all of the lights! He would smile and clap along...so CUTE!



...and Ben? Well, Ben had taken all he could stand of the big yellow bird and was beyond ready to go! He threw quite the little fit during the finale, poor guy...



Here's proof! (LOL) We caught some video of Ben in his fit and Sav dancing around during the last song:



After a nice lunch with best buddies, we headed back to Papa and Granna's house to pack up and travel home. Sav was still beaming from the show...looking like a little girl these days. (sniff, sniff)



We had a wonderful day on Sunday---lovin' and squeezin' each other! Here are some cute pics from our Valentine's Day!

Joe and I were cracking up as we were trying to coach Savannah on how to smile without looking like she is about to eat the camera. lol. God bless her and that big, beautiful smile (when she decides to show it!)



LOVE this picture of Ben and his silly face! Hilarious!! Everyone was on fire---a.k.a: jacked up on candy hearts and cracker jacks! (Not a good idea when you are transitioning into toddler beds & about to go to sleep---more on that later this week!)



And some sweet sugar from brother Ethan...melt me! (Drew was off playing with a toy somewhere!) But we had a FUN night--full of giggles and smiles!

L-O-V-E

Give those you love an extra squeeze today! XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX



~Lovely card made by our favorite photographer: Ruth Williams (Thanks a heap, woman! We absolutely adore it!~ you never cease to amaze us!)

Muah!

April Fool's Already?!

It seems as if God is playing a prank on us 'ole Texans! We had over 24 hours of non-stop snow! It was AMAZING! And don't laugh at us for being SUPER excited--this is the most snow I have seen in my entire life- dead serious. (isn't that sad?!) I took LOTS of pictures (and cute video) of the kiddies having an absolute blast in our front driveway. It is easily going to be worth the next few days of icky runny noses!

This is what I saw when I woke up in the morning...giddy as a little child!



I'm going to go ahead and remind myself that ETHAN was in BLUE pants and DREW was in GRAY pants (so in 30 years when I have no idea, I will be able to know!)



Happy Liddle-E



Sweet Savi showing me some snow



Adorable Ben----now he's happy...



...now he's not! ;)



Savannah didn't particularly enjoy falling either...(Ethan, Andrew, Sav, Ben)



Cracks me up that Sav and Ethan were eating snow the entire time!



Dying for a group picture---they were SO mad that I took them away from playtime (Ben in the middle of a cough)...okay, okay---go play!



Baby angel---mesmerized by the magical snow! (Poor Ben and his chapped lips!)



Mr. Smiley (Drew) having a grand 'ole time



Ben and Sav- staring at the rain gutter (?) no idea why they were so interested...but always together



The twosome again...both being VERRRRY careful not to fall! LOL



Eatin' more snow



I tell ya---full of life, this one. (Andrew)



LOVE this picture of Ethan! Such a sweetheart.



My little pink princess



...like a pack of deer: "what's that noise?"







Loved the massive "macaroni noodles" of snow that formed in our pergola



Night time at the swingset (and STILL SNOWING! even when we went to sleep!) The sky turned into a beautiful rose color--it was unbelievable.



This morning when I woke up...



Ma in her boots- trying to check for ice so Joe can leave for work! (tricky with a slanted driveway...thank God for 4-wheel-drive, or he'd still be here! Hahaha)



And my favorite picture---the trees at the end of our street and behind our house are just beautiful all covered in snow! What a magical couple of days!!!! The kids have been walking around saying, "Tank you, Godt for the beeeautiful sno" (precious).


Here's a quick video of giggles in the snow!

I guess its only fun for us southerners because we don't have to live like this for long! This has been a blast, but bring on that sunshine and warmer weather! ;)