Steece's Pieces

Gerwer Quads 4th BDay Festivities!

2012-01-23T09:15:00.001-06:00

I LOVED catching up with my Multi Mamas: Case & Teryn @ Amazing Jakes for the Gerwer quads 4th birthday party!

Sav loving on her BFF, Cam! (LOVE Cameron’s smile, so happy!)

Enjoying a “Reid Sandwich”… (Sav, Reid, Trey)

More of the kiddos playing (Tyson, Zach, Brady, Sav, Taylor, Reid, Trey)

My fellow quad mom and BFF, Amy Jo, was there with her precious cargo. Savi loving on Madison & Elizabeth. Aren’t they adorable?!

The dudes doing a little bowling (Ryan, Tyson, Jake, Drew, Ethan, and Joe)

Taylor (Teryn’s oldest) is the sweetest girl EVER! Sav & Taylor have a LOT in common!~ 3 brothers (2 are identical)…THEY ARE THE ONLY GIRLS!…like kindred souls, these two~ they just clung to each other!

After the party, the Steeces & Todds decided to take over an On The Border restaurant.

Crazy? perhaps…. Fun? absolutely!

Pictures around the table. Taylor & Sav (they could totally pass for sisters!)

Ben & Jake (the 2 “non-identical” brothers)…they were so cute together!

Tyson & Zach~ Teryn’s identicals. These dudes crack me UP! ALL BOY, these 2!

A fireman and a nerd. (Ryan & Joe. Love them)

Teryn & Suz! (*Happy Birthday today, T! Love u!)

My tweedles~ Andrew & Ethan

Jake and Benny boo~ reaching their “limit”

We had a blast! Thanks for a great party, Case & Rob….and we LOVED having dinner with you Todds! MUST. DO. AGAIN. SOON!

Joe & I Have a Stalker

2012-01-20T16:53:00.001-06:00

So, these are what have become of our fun-tastic Friday nights…We are wild & crazy, let me tell ya! A game of Parcheesi! (I laugh, so I don’t cry…)

Joe noticed something odd, hanging from the upstiars balcony around 10pm last Friday night. (nevermind the furniture in the entry way, the carpets were getting cleaned)

Going in for a closer look…

Oh, little Savi-stalker…what are we going to do with you?

This is a nightly occurrence. Savannah always sneaks out of her bedroom and will just sit at the top of the stairs, and spy on us.

It is annoying, yet hilarious at the same time because we will find her asleep in some pretty crazy positions/places.

I guess Mama and Daddy were just having too much fun on our little “Friday-night-in”. Sav wanted to join in on all the excitement. Little Stinker.

Happy Friday, y’all! Get those game boards out…

I Have a Confession…

2012-01-12T13:19:00.001-06:00

Nope, still haven’t taken them down…

and no, not because I am lazy~ all of our Christmas stuff is put away.

I just LOVE seeing you greet me as I walk through the door every day! Makes me happy!

What We Have Been Up To…

2012-01-11T17:04:00.001-06:00

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!! Breathing treatments around the clock & pill poppin’! ‘Tis the season, y’all.

(Ben, Sav, Drew, Ethan)

This little darrrrlin’ has been passing around her virus from last week, complete with fevers and lots of coughing.

Poor Benny…those sick-feverish eyes kill me!

Ethan and his sad eyes

And then there’s Drew with a slight fever and a big smile. Love that kid!

Hope you guys are avoiding the *crud*…its about this time when I start wishing for warmer weather!

Hopefully Sav’s FINAL Kidney Surgery

2012-01-07T19:30:00.000-06:00

Poor baby girl, who is currently running a fever with a cough, will need kidney surgery AGAIN on Wednesday, February 1st~ to correct a UPJ obstruction on her LEFT kidney (which has always been the “better” kidney). BUMMER.

Here is a very good interactive video of the procedure that she will undergo: a Pyeloplasty. Much more serious than the last 2 surgeries.

She has had a pyeloplasty on her R kidney—it was her very first surgery. The doctor was very bummed to see that she had developed an obstruction on her L side as well…especially since that is the better kidney (which isn’t saying much). He just couldn’t believe it. Apparently, Sav’s medical renal history is very rare and uncommon. (Not something you want to hear from a world-renown Pediatric Urologist)

(I had asked her to give me her “mean face” during her December testing)

*The GOOD news/ the SILVER lining, if you will:

She will NOT have a stent placed this time (due to anatomical changes after her previous reimplantation surgeries)…

so that means only ONE more surgery, NOT TWO!!! Yaaaaaay!!!!!

(Dr. Pinto laughed at me when I brought that up---that’s me, always trying to find a silver lining).

Other good news is that all of Sav’s previous surgeries have been successful and have fixed THOSE problems. This is a NEW problem. Once she has this surgery--- THIS SHOULD BE IT! DONE. FINITO. (I’ve never been able to say that before). So that’s a huge relief!

God is good and I have all the faith in the world that this operation will be successful---but that isn’t to say that I am stressed out of my mind, not sleeping, and slightly freaked out a bit. I just HATE HATE HATE this for her with all of my being. It is difficult to understand these emotions unless you’ve had problems with your baby needing multiple surgeries/treatments, etc. It sucks.

Thank you SO MUCH for all of your prayers and well wishes. It just means the world to us. Sav has watched her surgery on TV (Texas Multi Mamas Episode 3) and I’ve told her about all of the people praying for her.

These are our conversations about it:

Sav: “Are your work friends praying for me?"

me: “Yep!”

Sav: “Are Daddy’s work friends praying for me?”

me: “Yep!”

~then she runs through every member of our family and all of our friends~

me: “Yes Sav---and so many more! People who don’t even know you.”

~then she gets this huge grin on her face and just cuddles into my arms. God love her.

SO, from the bottom of our hearts…

Thank you and God bless.

Happy Holidays with the Steeces 2011

2012-01-07T13:22:00.001-06:00

The Thursday after Christmas, we headed on down to Austin to celebrate the holidays with the Steeces! We had an absolute blast, as always!

First stop was to run through the lights of Lakeway!

Grampy, Ben, Joe, Kate, Drew, Ethan, Sav, Dan and Dani

Did I mention we were in Austin? Yah…longhorns everywhere. Naturally, Auntie Dani was “doing the horns the wrong way”~ per Savnnah.

Trying to get these crazies to pose for a group pic with Grampy and Grammy is no easy task. Especially when they are all jacked up on sugar! LOL

Perfect time to run out that energy before bedtime!

Uncle Dan lining them up at the “starting gate”…ready, set…

GO!

Now…if you have ever seen our kids run, it is quiet humorous. Sav and Ben will be athletes, no doubt. Cheech and Chong in the back, do this kind of shuffle, if you will. And our wonderful friends have so lovingly entitled this…. the “Steece Shuffle”. Probably because they are giggling the whole time they run anywhere.

Friday night, we celebrated the Steece Family Christmas!

Ben, Grampy, Andrew, Ethan, Grammy, Sav

Grammy always has a super fun selection of holiday hats to wear during the festivities. Andrew, my little mischievous elf!

Sweet little Benny Boo…attacking that Chex Mix one time.

The goofy brothers: Joe, Dan, Ed. I must say, I love watching these hoodlums playing around with each other--- its like watching the future unfold, right before my eyes. There is nothing like the bond between brothers.

Me and my Santa Cowboy

The gals: Jess, Suz, and Dani

So, the kids picked out gifts for everyone…hilarious. They had SO much fun handing them out and watching the reactions. I LOVE this picture of Andrew and Ethan…so cute!

Ethan and Andrew picked a present for Uncle Dan

AWESOME mini-highlighters!!! (bwahahaha)

Dan’s reaction was priceless…you would have thought he had just been given 1 million dollars. Acadamy Award Winning.

Ben picked out a gift for Uncle Ed

CARS pens!!!!!!! No waaaaaaaay!!!! LOL

We had Savannah pick out everyone else’s gifts. Sweet Auntie Jess let Sav practice her hand at cosmetology.

(notice Savannah’s hair? yep, that is the piece that is still growing out from when she cut it to her scalp!!! Grrrr)

Sav, Auntie Jess and her Rudolph Chapstick

Aunt Dani and her heart notepads

LOVE this pic of Grampy and Sav… he received a paddle ball from the little elf.

And Grammy was given one of Sav’s favorite things in the whole entire world~ lotion. (It was from the dollar aisle, mind you…so, not the best quality! Ha)

We loved watching the reactions from our family! Thank you for loving our kids so much and making this so special for them!

Next up, the kids opened their presents! They got some super cool TOMS shoes from Aunt Dani and Uncle Dan! (Pretty sure Mom and Dad were more excited than the kids!) When I asked Savannah and Andrew to lift up their PJ’s to show off their new kicks, this is what I got:

God love you, Andrew- and those little chicken legs!

Auntie Jess and Uncle Ed gave the kids some awesome toys that they haven’t been able to put down!

And then, there were plasma cars! LOVE THIS PIC! What a huge hit.

I gotta admit, even the adults enjoyed a ride or two on these bad boys! Aunt Dani, the red-eared reindeer on her sleigh.

These two pictures are hilarious. The boys put the kids on their shoulders, as good luck charms, while they watched the last few minutes of the MN Timberwolves game…

…….and, you can tell from these expressions how the game turned out.

We put the kids to bed, and then it was the adults turn to open presents! This is a good time to mention that every year, at least one of the brothers will give gag gifts to the others.

For Dan and Ed, Joe filled up 2 nice glass Aggie pint glasses (gifts), with ice cold brewskies, secured with Press-n-Seal so they wouldn’t spill, and made them drink up.

Then they opened the letter that was attached which read: “One coupon to attend the Wolves/Mavs game in Dallas on Jan. 25th………………………...YOU PAY”

Also in the bag?… an autographed baksetball card of Ricky Rubio from the MN T-wolves…

Dan and Ed trying to figure out if the cards are legit… (Ed getting upset, thinking that we dropped a LOT of $$$ on these cards)

Nope, sorry guys. Joe bought these cards dirt, cheap; bought plastic card holders; and sharpie ‘d a fake signature of RR. Hahaha~ game on! Love you.

Cute Diddy in his Santa cowboy hat.

LOVE this pic of all the kids: Jess, Ed, Dan, Dani, Suz and Joe

What a great Christmas! Thanks to Paul and Kate for a family trip to Colorado this year!!! (adult only) WOO HOO! Let the countdown begin!

The next day we went over to some of our BFF’s house and played in their backyard while the guys watched the Aggie game on TV.

Little T-man was so nice to share his new truck with us! This picture just cracks me up with all four of them driving around. Kinda gave me heart palpitations for things to come! (Drew, the little spaz, behind the wheel)

The dudes~ Best Friends already! Love it.

T, Ben, Ethan, and Andrew

Grampy and Grammy graciously offered to watch the kids so we could go out and celebrate New Year’s Eve! It has been years…

Thank you SO much!

Our besties from earlier in the day: Molly and Jason! Love them. Miss hanging out.

Dan, Joe, and Ed~ love these guys

Me and my sis-n-law! XOXO

What a great weekend with family and friends! Love you all so VERY VERY MUCH!!! Christmas this year was amazing with all of our family. The kids were GREAT! So much fun. Hope you had a wonderful holiday and New Year as well!

Hugs,

p.s. I’ll be posting later today about Sav’s upcoming surgery…

Savannah’s Poor Kidneys

2012-01-03T16:27:00.001-06:00

Poor baby girl just can’t get right.

If you are interested~ tonight on the WE channel (7p CST), Texas Multi Mamas will be focusing on Savannah and the day they spent with us at the hospital during her most recent kidney surgery (Feb. 2011). They spent the entire day with us from the time we left our house, to Savannah in her postop room in the hospital.

I am so nervous/anxious about watching this episode~especially because Sav is having more kidney issues and will more than likely need 2 more surgeries very soon. (HEART BREAKING!)

For those of you who have been following our sweet little darling over her short 4 years of life, here is a recap of her surgical history:

(Click on the dated links below for the original blog post)

- R kidney had a UPJ obstruction (almost complete blockage), she had surgical intervention: June 26th, 2009 (almost 2 yrs old)

- A couple of months later, Sav had surgery to remove the ureteral stent that they placed during her 1st surgery on her R kidney: August 17th, 2009 (2 yrs old)

- 3 months later- throw in an eye surgery: November 24th, 2009 (2 yrs old)

- Two weeks after that, her L kidney had Grade V vesicoureteral reflux (urine backs up from her bladder into her kidney), she had surgical intervention (A Ureteral Reimplantation) : December 2nd, 2009 (2 yrs old)

~ Entire day of more kidney testing December 27, 2010 (3 yrs old)

~ Ureteral Reimplantation Surgery on her R side February 16, 2011. (3 yrs old) ~~~The surgery that will be on TV tonight

I will be bawling as I relive this day in the episode...knowing that we will have to do this again very soon.

~ More kidney testing December 22, 2012. (4 yrs old- a few weeks ago)

We have a follow up appointment with our pediatric urologist this Thursday, January 5th~ to go over her latest test results and determine how we proceed. We believe Sav is looking at 2 more surgeries…ugh! It just breaks my heart for her.

Savannah has been through so much in her short life. These tests and surgeries get more and more difficult, the older she is. Last weeks testing was BRUTAL. She understands and KNOWS what is about to happen and she just freaks out. Apparently she lives with an extraordinary amount of pain every day that we don’t even know about…and that kills me.

Please continue to pray for my baby girl and send out those positive vibes, we truly appreciate it.

Our Little Family Christmas (Eve) 2011

2011-12-28T11:54:00.001-06:00

Mama had some helper elves in the kitchen.

Ben and Sav making sugar cookies for Santa

Yep- training her early! My little bakerella.

Cheech and Chong….errr, Ethan and Andrew and those big smiles!

Checking on their cookies in their precious little footie pajamas…I figured I won’t be able to put them in these for too much longer. They are just so dern cute!

Me and my hunny

Trying to get a good picture before we trade presents! Love. them.

Ben, Drew, Ethan, Savannah

We had the kids pick out a dollar item for each of their siblings. They even wrapped their presents (with a wee bit of assistance from Mom). We took turns going around and each child gave a present to his/her sibling. It was a hoot to see what they picked out for each other.

We also let them open one present on Christmas Eve. Mom has been holding on to these umbrellas forever. Who knew they would be such a big hit!

Time to decorate those cookies!

I should have taken a picture of the finished products. Santa must have been so happy!

Texas Multi Mamas Premieres TONIGHT!

2011-12-27T09:07:00.001-06:00

EEEEEEEEK! Cringe. Nerves…

So, tonight is the night…

Tuesday, December 27 at 7p & 8p (CST) on the WE channel.

The network will air the first two episodes back to back, and then repeat the episodes at 9p & 10p (CST).

In other extremely strange and surreal news~ if you happen to be walking by the newest edition of “OK Magazine”…

…you will see this:

CrAzInEsS.

I think there is also an article of one of my interviews in the Fort Worth Star Telegram today, but I haven’t seen it yet.

I’ve created a “PUBLIC” facebook page for the show to keep you up on new press and whatnot. Here is the link if you want to “LIKE” it:

Suz Steece (Texas Multi Mama)

And my Twitter account (for show purposes):

@SuzSteece

My girls and I will be tweeting during the live episodes---that should be interesting! So, we can give you OUR OWN version of events! Ha.

We will also be blogging on the Texas Multi Mamas website about each episode~ to give you our different “takes” on what happened.

Oh man…nervous…Not of how I conducted myself---just nervous to see all of it, ya know? (Have I ever mentioned how much I hate girl drama? LOL)

And so glad to have had my blog buddies here way before any of this. You guys mean the world to me.

Hugs, y’all!

Christmas with the Hoags 12/22/11

2011-12-26T18:55:00.001-06:00

This was a LOOOONG day for Sav, Mom, and Dad---we spent all day at Cook Children’s Hospital for her 10th round of kidney testing. It was, in a word….AWFUL.

(Sav’s best “mean” face~ after her IV and catheter)

By now, we are passed the point of traumatizing…bless her heart and those sweet, swollen, bloodshot eyes. (I lost it several times)

We tried to keep her distracted with games on the iphone…

Poor baby girl has had enough…Thank GOD for Daddy taking a day off work to come with us. These days are SO emotionally and physically draining for all of us.

The only thing that made Sav light up, was the thought of opening presents that night with family!

The grandkids: Ben, Carter, Sav, Sawyer, Andrew, Ethan

The whole fam!

Joe tackling the kids---trying to expend some of their ridiculous amount of “Christmas energy”!

I set up their presents and made them run for it on the count of 3! Hilarious. SOOOOO much excitement!

Ripping in! This year was truly magical…

Benny and some of his loot.

Andrew and Ethan with their new trains and track.

Sweet Savi and her Snow White from Aunt Ashley

Of course she had to put on the new Snow White nightgown as well.

God love this precious girl child and all that she endured this day. You would have never known.

The party continued the next evening (12/23) for my Daddy’s birthday!

How precious is this baby boy??!?! Ashley and baby Sawyer

Bro and Dad

Dad and his favorite child.

Sweet, beautiful Granna

Happy Birthday, Papa! We love you SOOOOO much!

Feliz Navidad from the Steeces!

2011-12-24T23:51:00.001-06:00

The North Pole Express Train Ride!

2011-12-21T07:11:00.000-06:00

The kids have been talking about last year’s train ride ALLLLL year long. We were so excited to have Auntie JuJu, the Tarrants, and the Hoags along for the ride this year! Thank you so much, Papa and Granna, for an early Christmas present!!!

Ben, Carter, Drew, Sav, Ethan, Maddie, Kinley

Crazy Uncle Joe being a silly billy with his nephew~ Carter

The Tarrants~ Chris, Liz, Kinley, and Maddie

The Hoags~ Collin, Carter, Sawyer, and Ashley

The twins~ Judy and Jany

Daddy and his boys! They were so excited to wear their jammies from Granna that had all 3 of “their” trains: Thomas (Drew/blue); Percy (E/green); and James (Ben/red)

Me and my little princess

The carbon copies…Jany, Judy, Andrew, Ethan

Joe and the exact same version of himself 28 years ago (Ben)

Little E-bud (short for buddy) and his ticket to ride!

Sweet Savannah and her train ticket- proudly showing off her hole punch.

And the big man of the hour---Mr. Santa Claus! That’s one big group hug, folks… (Andrew, Savannah, Santa, Ethan, Ben)

Old Saint Nick brought North Pole Express Bells and free coupons for hot cocoa. Greatness!

Love this picture of Savannah and Conductor Bob! (He rocks!)

The whole crew with Conductor Bob and their bells

Savi and one of her absolute favs~ Auntie JuJu (It was so special to be able to grow up with 2 moms. We love Judy SOOOO much! It was so special to share this experience with her this year)

Little Sawyer man getting some love from his cousin Savi. He is the sweetest little baby EVERRRRR! All you have to do is smile at him and his entire face lights up! LOVE HIM.

Sav and her besties! Kinley, Sav, and Maddie in their adorable matching PJ’s! Girlfriends fo life!

The North Pole Express Park! (seriously…who invited that guy?! lol)

Awww, but I love him… that sweet nerd of mine!

Happy Holidays!!!

Hope they are merry and bright!

Holiday in the Park!

2011-12-19T09:51:00.001-06:00

We traveled to Waco for my Dad’s work Christmas party---and low and behold~ Santa, himself, was there to greet us!

Ben, Sav, Sawyer, Drew, Carter, Ethan

I made my parents take a picture with all of their grandkids!

Sav, Sawyer, Carter, Andrew, Ethan, Benjamin

The next day, we headed to Holiday in the Park at Six Flags! I absolutely LOOOOOVE amusement parks and roller coasters. I have been dreaming of the day that I could take my kids to Six Flags and thanks to Auntie Lizzie, we scored a ridiculously sweet deal.

Andrew, Joe, Ben, Me, Sav, Ethan

The Tarrants!

Maddie, Chris, Liz, Kinley

Drew, Ethan, Ben and a crazy old man in the teacups

Love this picture of sweet Lizzie and her Maddie pie!

LOVE that our kids are tall enough to ride SO many of the rides in the park! Awesomeness.

Uncle Col, Aunt Ash, Carter and Sawyer also met up with us for some Holiday fun! Carter is not so sure about these rides…Drew is LOVING it!

Up and Away on the airplane~ Joe, a random, Drew, Ethan, Ben, and me

The runaway mine train! Collin and Ethan

Suzy and Savi

Ashley and Andrew

Daddy and Benny

The Yosemite Sam Boat ride was a huge hit~ very cool

Ethan, me, Sav

Liz and Suz, ridin’ some buckin’ broncos!

Those precious Tarrant twins! Kinley and Maddie

Watching the light show and closing number~ Ethan, Andrew, Ben, and Sav

I can honestly say that everyone had such a blast! Even the adults!!! Now, it was NOT fun dragging the kids, kicking and screaming, out of the park because they wanted to ride more rides…I could have done without that! Ha.

It was a wee bit chilly, but hardly anyone was at the park! No lines on the rides = an incredible time! And I can proudly say that I now have FIVE roller coaster riders in the family!!! Daddy Joe will have to hold our stuff at each gate~ (wimp!). LOL.

The next day, was the North Pole Express in Grapevine on the Vintage Railroad! Something the kids have been looking forward to and talking about all year long!

Stay tuned for some Christmas magic…

The Grand Prairie Lights Surprise!

2011-12-15T07:00:00.000-06:00

On Monday night (yes, a school night)- we totally surprised our kids. We told them that we were going to run a quick errand before going to bed. Little did they know, Aunt Ashley, Uncle Col, Cousin Carter and Cousin Sawyer were on their way to our house---to go to the Grand Prairie Lights!

We had hot cocoa and Christmas cookies waiting for them when they had gotten into the suburban.

Ben, Ethan, Sav, Drew (they aren’t excited or anything!)

The kids were SOOOO excited this year! Ashley said she could hear them screaming from her car behind us! (Ethan and Ben)

Andrew and Sav- hot cocoa, cookies, and lights- doesn’t get much better than that!

A little liquid warmth for the Mamacita

Dad excited to see the lights as well… (nerd)

A different company took over this year and the lights were incredible! We thoroughly enjoyed it!

“What are Ethan and Ben doing in this picture?”- you might ask… well, they are trying to blow out the candles, of course. (precious)

‘tis the reason, for the season y’all…

And let’s not forget the best part---the rides during the middle of the lights! (Ethan, Andrew, Ben, Joe, and Sav)

Uncle Col and Cousin Carter. LOVE them.

Absolutely adore this picture- it says a lot about how close the tweedles are lately… {awwwww}

Aunt Ashley and Cousin Sawyer waving from below!

Cute family pic, while we wait our turn for the Tilt-A-Bear! (Drew in blue)

Ohhhhhhh the anticipation…

a quick snapshot of us inside our “bear”…

This 22 second clip is hilarious. The kids FREAKING LOVED IT. Lol. Cracks me up.

Grand Prairie Lights, Tilt-A-Bear 2011

Another ride on the ‘ole carousel before we hit the rest of the lights.

“…deep in the harrrrrt of Texas”

the awe, the wonder…so neat to experience life through the eyes of your children.

We’ll see you again soon, GPLights!

A Weekend with My Boys

2011-12-14T12:56:00.001-06:00

We like to split the kids up so they can have one-on-one time with Mom/Dad/Grandparents, etc.---so, Sav spent the entire weekend with Grammy and Grampy (Austin), while the boys and I headed to Granna and Papa’s (Waco).

We took the fellas to the Mayborn museum in Waco because they were having a huge train exhibit. Ben, Ethan, Andrew

If you know my boys- you can only imagine their excitement, running to see the trains, as they squealed with delight!

Ben by the big trains…(the photo quality is not good b/c I didn’t have my camera- just the ‘ole cell-a-roosky)

Ethan and Andrew chasing around Thomas the train.

Papa giving Ben a better look at the choo choo’s.

Drew-bud and E-bud working some trains over pretty well.

Oh yah- there were some other really cool exhibits there…but naturally, we gravitated back toward the trains for a 4th and 5th go ‘round. Drew with a Bison.

In the meantime, I received these text messages from Grammy and Joe.

Captions are as follows:

“She ran up and jumped into Santa’s lap! Too cute”

“Here’s another pic, those are breadsticks from the house… don’t worry, she offered one to Santa”

What do you want for Christmas little girl? “Lalalalalaloopsy dolls”

Bwahaha. Love that little missy.

Texas Multi Mamas

2011-12-07T09:09:00.001-06:00

As if December isn’t crazy enough…umm…the Steece fam will be on TV…

Yep, you read that correctly.

Its insane, I know…but we had a lot of fun doing it and I’m SO glad that I can finally tell my blogger buddies all about it!

What are the details?

Texas Multi Mamas airing on the WE channel, December 27 at 8/7p CST. A series about how six moms of multiples (2 twin moms, 2 triplet moms, and 2 quad moms) face the challenges of every day life and lean on each other for support.

Suz, Teryn, Casey, Candace, Tonia, & Stephanie

(A nice little tid bit about this picture…they wanted me to make Casey laugh, so I peered over Teryn and said, “Oh hey girrrrl!” Nice. creepy Suz! LOL)

How did this come about?

Last year, we were approached with a unique opportunity to tell our story. More specifically~ “How do you juggle being a mom to quadruplets, a wife, a nurse, a friend, etc. How do you make it all work?”

After much prayer and conversation, we thought the idea of sharing our life and the beautiful craziness that happens on a daily basis would be a fun, once-in-a-lifetime, experience.

Also~ it was very special to share this adventure with one of my BFF’s! Quad Mom Casey Gerwer and her precious family.

Me and Case, during the title shoot for our commercials and print ads earlier this year

What was filming like?

I had no idea what to expect, but it was a lot of fun. Despite what you might think, a camera crew is NOT living in your house and following you around, watching your every move, at all hours of every day.

Alex getting some good action shots of the kids helping us paint! lol

It was a series of planned events: play dates, girl’s nights, interviews, etc. Very scheduled and organized.

Auntie Liz, sitting for an interview in my house

The kids had a blast and got to know and love the crew as well.

Andrew practicing his mad skills with Big Ben’s camera

That’s a wrap! We had an awesome crew. Love them.

Some of our cast and crew on the last day of filming

What am I most excited to see on the television screen?

I am very interested to see the footage of Sav’s last kidney surgery on episode 2 (December 27). We filmed the entire day and I’ve heard that you will not be able to get through that episode without crying. It is really going to hit home- now that Sav is having issues with her kidneys again. (Boooooo)

We do not get to preview any of the footage until you guys do---which is a wee bit nerve-wracking, right?!

What was my favorite part of filming?

All of the fun activities with the kiddos! We had a blast and it will be so neat to see those memories captured on camera forever.

There are already commercials running on the WE channel which is absolutely crazy to see! Completely surreal to see yourself on TV…

I know that some people will watch and some won’t. Some will like the show, others will not- and that is okay! I will still be blogging like I always do. My blog will always be, first and foremost,~ our family journal.

Feel free to check out the WE TV Texas Multi Mamas website for other fun stuff: quizzes, cast bios, episode recaps, videos, etc.

(Candace, Suz, Tonia & Casey)

My video interview (some adorable shots of the kids and a good look into every day life at the Steece house!)

My cast member bio (a little write up about me on the show)

To my most favorite blogger buddies in the whole entire world who have been with me from the very beginning~ Happy to have you with me on this crazy, ridiculous ride!

Happy Turkey Day & Gig’ Em!

2011-11-24T08:15:00.001-06:00

Our ‘Lil Indian Tribe: Ethan, Andrew, Savannah, and Benjamin

Hope you have a great day! (Andrew, Ben, Ethan, & Sav)

and we’re serious about beating those t-sips… Gig Em, Aggies!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thankful for…

2011-11-21T08:50:00.001-06:00

I LOVE seeing new art projects that the kids have done at school (and I absolutely LOVE their teacher- she rocks).

Saw this on their door last week…

Let’s take a closer look, shall we?…

Ethan and Andrew’s “thankful feathers” depict perfectly where their heads are at right about now…

Can you imagine how many times a day I hear about Christmas presents/Santa/etc. Its exhausting because every time they start up with what THEY are going to get---I quickly interject with the TRUE meaning of Christmas: the birth of Jesus; doing things for others; spending time with those we love, etc. They WILL get it eventually, right?

Umm…when you ask Sav this question, she likes to look around the room and start naming items within her line-o-vision. (i.e. a clock, a lamp, a book, “my strong muscles”- yes, I have heard this one on several occasions…)

Neat, Sav. Okay, we’ll settle for “food”.

And sweet Benny- the kindest, sweetest, most gentle little boy you will ever meet.

My heart just turned to mush. Sweet Benny-boo. God love you and your loving heart.

I get a huge kick out of hearing what kids are thankful for---do you guys have some funny ones?

Who Knew A Mustache Could Be So Fun?

2011-11-18T07:38:00.001-06:00

If you are having a bad day- I suggest that you view this particular blog post over and over again until you have laughed off all of your worries.

As my 3 amigos came home from their Halloween festivities and began to undress, I couldn’t help but laugh.

Three little 4 year old dudes, running around in their “skivvies” with intensely awkward and completely unnatural looking mustaches painted on their porcelain, baby doll faces.

Of course, Dad had to join in on the fun as well. Creeeeepy ‘ole Dad.

“Hello.

My name is Inigo Montoya.

You killed my father.

Prepare to die.”

(The Princess Bride, anyone?)

All sorts of wrong, but I just can’t help but laugh…

I’m totally diggin’ Benny’s full, thick stache and those beautiful brown eyes.

My little spanish princess and her best silly pose. Is she sassy or what?! LOVE it!

Yep Drew… he’s your Dad. No one in the world like him. You’re welcome, buddy.

And my favorite!

Ethan, the wild-eyed and crazy truck driver with a random French mime popping in the photo.

Happy Friday Fun Day, blogger peeps!

4 Yr Old Height & Weight STATS (Oh- & Shots!)

2011-11-16T07:44:00.001-06:00

Okay, yes…I understand that my children turned four on August 1st, 2011 and it is now NOVEMBER 2011 and they JUST NOW had their 4 year check ups. Better late than never, right?!!

I strategically planned this wellness exam (and ungodly amount of shots) on a school day. 2 kiddos would go on a “date” with Mom to the pediatrician’s office in the morning while the other 2 were at school…and then we’d flip flop in the afternoon. It worked out perfectly- thanks to Aunt Ashley for picking up Sav & Ben after school!

Savannah and Ben- the morning crew, awaiting their turn (and actually excited to be at the doctor’s office. They ALL were… crazies!)

Upon the advice of my BFF, Mari, I decided to talk to the kids the day before about what to expect. Our pedi and nurses had warned us last year about how rough the 4 year old shots were (and NOT to bring all 4 at once like I usually do)---maybe that is why I put the appointments off for so long. My anxieties were solidified when my BFF, Jac, told me about her *glorious* day at the pedi with four, 4 year olds getting shots as well! EEEEK!

We practiced giving injections on Savi’s baby dolls and I even let them pretend to give me shots in my leg with a pen. I promised them a treat as soon as the shots were over, etc.

I was proud of how brave they were…but when it came down to the actual injections, I have NEVER, I repeat- NEVERRRRR heard my kids scream like that before.

IT. WAS. SO. INTENSE.

My heart broke for them- but as soon as the last needle was pulled from their legs- the tears stopped and the smiles reappeared. God bless the resilience of little ones, amen?

Time for the hooligans to enjoy their afternoon at the pedi’s office- Ethan and Andrew.

Yep- while Dr. Archer was asking Mom questions, Cheech and Chong were giggling and digging in to each others’ nostrils. Not to mention, I caught them licking each other as well. I mean… SERIOUSLY?!!! In a germ infested pediatrician’s office?!!! I mean, REALLY DUDES? I’m pretty sure my heart stopped. GOONS!

Andrew was the bravest…bless his little heart. It killed me to see him scream in pain. He rarely cries (unlike Ben and Sav). Ebud too- the sounds that came out of their lungs just made me want to die. But it was all over within seconds.

Drew looks completely traumatized! LOL.

(He wasn’t traumatized… trust me, he perked right up as he picked out his tasty treat at the ‘ole neighborhood Starbucks)

So are you ready for the height and weight stats?…

All 4 kids weigh the exact same at 35 lbs! The nurse couldn’t believe it. Isn’t that crazy?!

And they are almost all the same exact height! Let me tell ya- they definitely stick out in a crowd as 4 year old quadruplets! LOL. 4 little clones of each other.

The heights:

Ethan (still the tallest)- 42”

Drew- 41 3/4”

Ben- 41 1/2”

Sav- 40 1/2”

And I’ll leave you with this picture of the 20 Band-Aids that I peeled off of the kids that night. Can you even imagine?

I wasn’t really planning on it- but this Mama was absolutely exhausted… wiped out physically and emotionally more than anything. PHEWWW. Glad that is OVERRRR and praising God for healthy little 4 year old preemies who have beaten all the odds.

MIRACLES.

Lots to be thankful for.

Focusing on Others This Holiday Season

2011-11-14T12:31:00.001-06:00

As a parent to young children, I am constantly trying to find ways to teach about service to others, empathy, giving, etc. This is a HUGE deal to me- one of the most important life lessons that I want my kids to live out on a daily basis and I totally stress about it.

It is so easy for children to get caught up in the whole idea of “Santa” and wanting lots of toys for Christmas… I remember the holidays last year, watching each child as he/she opened present after present~ the attitude, the grandiose expectations... it was fun and all---but I’m not gonna lie, it kinda made my stomach turn a little.

I thought to myself, “next year will be different”. Less emphasis on presents. We are going to focus more on doing activities as a family and more importantly, giving to others.

The Magi Project.

Every year, people from across the US join together to prepare shoeboxes for children who live in poverty stricken countries--- children who may have never received a present in their entire lives. With love and compassion, these boxes are filled with toys, candy, toiletries, clothing, etc.

Ben, Drew, Ethan, and Sav were super excited about building boxes for other 4 year olds like themselves! Each kiddo was in charge of one box and had a blast picking out the items for his/her child.

As Savannah picked out hair accessories and various goodies, she would exclaim: “Oh, my girl is going to LOOOOVE these!” (Talk about making this Mama’s heart melt)

I tried to let them be in charge of every aspect of this project and only stepped in when I needed to… you know- like to pay for everything. Lol.

Now, don’t think for one second that this little trip to the store was all calm and sweet with perfectly behaved angels. At times, they were like 4 mini-tornadoes destroying every in their path. I was trying to take items out of the cart as fast as they were throwing them in! On several occasions, I had to “huddle-up” and calmly explain what we were doing again. LOL.

Early Sunday morning, the kids ran downstairs in excitement to fill their boxes for their boys and girl. I was honestly, quite surprised at how much they understand at this age--- the importance of what they are doing and how they are helping others.

The boxes were filled with: stuffed animals, cars, crayons, coloring books, toothbrushes/toothpaste, shampoo, soap, washcloths, combs/brushes, socks and undies.

Drew

Sav

Ethan and Ben

Proudly walking them up to church on Sunday morning.

During the service, our big kids walked their boxes up to the front. Over 500 boxes were collected!

Ethan and Andrew.

So great. I was so proud of my little peeps.

We are also going to cut back on presents this year and try to focus more on fun family activities instead: the Polar Express Train ride, Grand Prairie Lights, Holiday in the Park at Six Flags, etc. Not just “things”, but family experiences, ya know?

I can’t wait.

Lots to be thankful for this holiday season.

On Halloween Night…

2011-11-07T13:05:00.001-06:00

To say that Mom and Dad were pretty much pooped out from all of the weekend’s activities- would be an understatement. By the time the actual day of Halloween rolled around, we decided to stay in, as a family, and have a fun filled night of spooky movies and tasty treats.

Oh- and face painting. The kids were SO EXCITED as we danced around to Halloween tunes! (A, S, E, B)

“Are you a good witch? Or a bad witch?”…(her answer changed throughout the night)

Ben wanted a spiderweb

Drew wanted a bat (hey, I gave it my best shot…)

Ethan wanted a spider, like the one on his jammies

Frank- watching out over the candy (or what’s left of it).

These turned out pretty cute and actually tasted good (which is always a plus). Mummy Dogs. (recipe on Pinterest)

Sav made us some baby Mummys.

Fried worms…

Watching Halloween movies while we eat on our adorable plates from Auntie Sandra.

Boooooooooooooo!

Getting a little scary for Benny Boo, so he cuddled up with Dad. (melt me)

Desert was ghost cookies…

and Goblin Goo! (lime sorbet)

Halloween was an absolute BLAST this year!!! Now we are looking forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas. Life has become SO FUN- now that the kids are actually “getting” holidays, ya know?

LOVE IT.

It is so neat to experience the magic & wonder through the eyes of our children…something adults tend to lose somewhere along the way.

The Steece Mariachi Band (H-2011)

2011-11-06T07:17:00.001-06:00

Benny, Andrew (mustache UP), Ethan (mustache down), and Savannah

The kids REALLY got into Halloween this year and it was an absolute blast!

We went to two different “Fall Festivals” and met up with our good friends Maddie and Kinley.

They even stopped for a picture… or two… or ten

COUSINS! Sweet Reagan and the crew: S, E, A, B

MORE COUSINS! Baby Sawyer, Sav, E, A, B, Carter

Drew- being a “tough guy”…

…now that’s more like it, buddy!

When we had returned home and taken our costumes off---we got a HUGE kick out of 3 little boys running around with mustaches… it just looked SO abnormal and hilarious. (Stayed tuned for a post I’m working on where Daddy joins in on the fun- omg. Never laughed so hard in my life!)

Ben, Ethan, Andrew- my little hairy men

Round 2 of the Halloween festivities: North Davis Fall Festival

The mustaches were bigger, as well as the smiles!

Ethan

Andrew

Benny

Savi

Ethan, Sav, Ben, Drew

LOVE Ben’s innocent face in this picture, and then Ethan being so “tough” on the ground. Cracks me up!

Met up with our favorite peacocks: K & M! Didn’t Liz do a fantastic job on those costumes?!! They were precious!

A group shot of all of the rapscallions enjoying a tasty treat-

Ben, Sav, Drew, Ethan, Carter, Kinley, and Madelyn

PSST- Check out Carter staring at Ethan’s mustache thinking “hmmm- that’s just not right”

…and don’t forget sweet baby Sawyer! Isn’t he the cutest?! LOVE HIM.

Carter not so sure of his nerd of a dad (aka: my bro). XOXO

Sav was a natural with those hens in the petting farm---just like her Mama when I used to play with my Papa’s chickens as a little girl. Brought back memories!

Ebud loving the animals

My sweet little Spanish princess

These crazy boys have been absolutely precious lately. They will just hug on each other all day and make these high pitched squeals. its adorable. (Drew, Ben, Ethan)

They cracked me up in this tiny, little pit-o-balls. I don’t think they’ve ever had more fun in their entire lives. Nerds. (Ben, Drew, Ethan)

These two are amazing to watch. They are so close and are hardly ever away from each other’s side. Ebud and Andrew- best friends for life.

I was asked several times: “How in the world did you get Savannah’s hair up like that?!

Oh, you mean… because her hair absolutely will not grow after her two successful attemps to cut it to the scalp and is super short? Just don’t look to closely or you’ll see the 100 bajillion bobbypins that are hiding in there. LOL> but turned out pretty cute, eh?! Oh, the things I could do with long hair…{sigh}

Sorry these pics took a long time to post…I’ve been working a LOT lately (which is a good thing!)- just super tired to do anything else, ya know? I’ve got 2 more posts loaded and ready to publish so check back soon!

The 3 Amigos!!!

2011-10-28T08:31:00.001-05:00

Wherever there is injustice, you will find us.

Wherever there is suffering, we’ll be there.

Wherever liberty is threatened, you will find…

THE THREE AMIGOS!!!

(Ben, Drew, & Ethan)

Quotes from the 1986 movie classic: “The Three Amigos”

Steece Quads Halloween Preview

2011-10-26T06:00:00.000-05:00

Need A Good Laugh? I Do…

2011-10-24T08:14:00.001-05:00

So, last week, we met some buddies at Chuck-E-Cheese’s to play and celebrate sweet Maddie. (Please continue to keep her in your prayers- as her surgery is tomorrow morning. Here is her CaringBridge site).

It was a Thursday night, and we were practically the only ones in there. I was able to sit and have some good conversation with my fellow “adults”, while the Steece 4 would be off playing on the various rides & games. (such big kids now!) They would frequently mosey on back to Mama to ask for more tokens and then disappear for a while…

As I was in the middle of some serious medical conversation, Ethan brought this picture up to me…

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

He was so proud of himself and said, “Look Mom! Its my MEAN face…”

We all got a much needed laugh out of that!

Where in the world do they get this stuff?!! I’ve been realizing a LOT lately, that my kids are growing up so fast. Their conversational skills are incredible- cracks me up every day. I guess in my head, I still think of them as teenie tiny babies---so they are constantly surprising me.

Little adults. {sigh…}

Fight Maddie, Fight.

2011-10-21T10:09:00.001-05:00

Okay guys, we need some serious prayers and positive energy for this precious little darling, Madison Williams.

Maddie (2 yrs) is an adorable identical twin girl…here with her sis and BFF, Abbie.

Her mom, Stephanie (far left) is one of my friends in my “local area Texas Multi Mamas group” that I am a part of.

This past Monday, Steph took the girls to have their flu shots at their pediatrician's office. Maddie had some diarrhea (nothing crazy, no temperature) and told her Mommy that her tummy hurt. When Stephanie began to feel around Maddie's belly, she felt a knot to the right of her belly button and thought that she might have some type of obstruction. So, when the girls went for their flu shots... Steph brought this up to the Pedi.

The Pedi palpated Maddie's stomach, felt the 4 cm mass (the size of a walnut) and immediately transported them to Dallas Children's Hospital.

Tuesday, sweet little Maddie had a CT scan which revealed the tumor, close to her spine.

Wednesday, Maddie had an MRI which confirmed the Neuroblastoma. Good news is that they caught it extremely early!

She will be having surgery next Tuesday morning- October 25, to remove the mass. They will not know the stage of the cancer (if it has spread to the lymph nodes or other organs), until after her surgery next week.

PLEASE BE PRAYING!

and go send them your love at their Caring Bridge Site:

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/madisonwilliams1

Stephanie believes that it is nothing short of a miracle that Madison had become somewhat dehydrated from the diarrhea and had lost some weight----making it possible for her to feel the mass in her baby girl’s abdomen so early in this process. (divine intervention)

These past couple of days have been an absolute nightmare and whirlwind of emotions. Steph has lots of family and friends surrounding her and supporting her right now. I just cannot imagine and have not been able to stop thinking about Steph (as a Mommy) and what she is going through.

We joined them last night at Chuck-E-Cheese to have some fun and to show our support for the little princess! At one point, Steph and I were standing together, staring at our identicals (who were never more than 2 inches away from each other the entire evening), talking about how strong the bond is between two kids who share the exact same DNA……………

and I just cannot even begin to imagine…………….

FIGHT-MADDIE-FIGHT!!!

It’s the Texas State Fair, Y’all!

2011-10-19T10:02:00.001-05:00

The kids were SOOOO excited to experience the Texas State Fair last weekend!

(E, Sav, Drew, B)

We had been prepping them all week: “Okay guys, the fair is a lot of fun, but it is going to involve lots and lots of walking. If you start whining, we go home. Everyone will get to ride TWO rides…how many rides will you get to ride?…TWO! Yes! Good.”

(Umm, yah- for all 4 kids to ride ONE ride- it costs $16! OUCH)

But the kids did GREAT!!! We had a fantastic day and no one complained or threw a fit! (That is like world record breaking for the Steece quads! )

BIG TEX! The creepy, giant cowboy who sounds like the voice of the Whataburger commercials. (B, A, S, E)

So proud of my little 42” kids!!! Their very first big kid roller coaster- and without parental accompaniment.

Watching them grin from ear to ear on this ride, was my absolute favorite part of the day!

Took a break for a little storytime in the shade…

Watched the amazing Dog Show…

Dad and Ebud

Mama and her litter…yes, we are all in red. I don’t play around with huge crowds. WE WILL BE THAT FAMILY WHO ALL MATCH! as dorky as it looks. ;) (B, A, E, S)

Tweedle love. Ethan and Andrew goofin’ around.

Checking out the barnyard babies…oh, the similarities!

Ben screamed: “Mom! Its my snot rod! Can I take a picture by my snot rod?!”

One of Savannah’s favorite parts of the day---watching all of the dancers. She was taking notes for Halloween (hint, hint) as she watched this ensemble of precious kiddos.

And to top the day off, the quads begged to ride the tallest ferris wheel in North America- The Texas Star. You can see Dad’s excitement as we waited to board our “cage-o-doom”. (Joe is terrified of heights and roller coasters. TERRRRIFIED.)

But he was a GREAT sport! (even if he was seconds away from passing out) Dad put on a “good face” for the chitlins. Tee hee hee. I’m pretty sure the only time he looked up was for this picture. I love you, babe. SO much. (He’s gonna kill me for this)

I think we have 4 out of 4 Steece Quads who will thoroughly enjoy riding roller coasters with Mama! Yaaay! My little thrill seekers. Makes me SO happy!!!

Ethan (left), Andrew (right)

So kids, what was your favorite part of the day?

- Sav: “My favorite part was the dancers, and my favorite part was the ferris wheel…everything.”

- Ethan: “My favorite part was getting bigger to play the cars.”

(he took quite an interest in the fair games & prizes in the Midway)

- Andrew: “I watched the dog show and I ate cotton candy.”

- Ben: “The ferris wheel!”

(then they all chimed in and said: “I loooooved the ferris wheel!”)

- Suz: watching my babies beam with excitement as they rode the rides; NO tantrums!; and fried Autumn Pie (holy YUMMO)…

- Joe: ”I got a kick out of watching the kids enjoy the whole day, the whole experience…oh, and not dying on the ferris wheel”

My BFF & His NEW BOOK SERIES!

2011-10-12T13:38:00.001-05:00

I’m SOOOOO proud of one of my best friends in the whole entire world: Jonathan Hal Reynolds!

Within the first twelve hours of his brand new book series ("Octobers") being released on Monday, all four books rose to the top 10 in the Fantasy-General genre on Amazon.com, even ahead of Stephen King! Holy COW!!!

I’ll tell you all about the books, but first we are going to take a trip down memory lane…

When I was a junior in high school (& Reynolds- a sophomore), we became the best of friends.

Reynolds is an energetic dreamer with a magnetic personality. You can’t help but be drawn to his bright light.

I quickly came to love him deeply, as if he were my very own brother. He was SO goofy and would constantly make me laugh until I had tears streaming down my face.

We went our separate ways during the college years- but we always remained very close…catching up at holidays and such.

Reynolds is probably the most passionate, creative person I have ever met and has an intense love for life. He cherishes his time spent on this Earth and makes the most of every single day.

He loves to experience the world first hand and has traveled to more countries than I could ever imagine. I am so structured and predictable---while Reynolds has always been carefree and spontaneous. A trait that I absolutely love about him.

Through the years, we have been a part of each others special life moments:

My wedding (scanner wasn’t working, so I had my Dad take a picture of this picture and send it to me…didn’t work out so well, eh? Ha)

and Reynolds loving on my quad babies for the first time…

and now, here we are---grown ups?!?! (gasp) And we thought we would never get old! Ha.

I always knew you would do amazing things…

Octobers

Such a cool idea!

These magical books, by J.H. Reynolds & Craig Cunningham, are set in a world that is always October.

(All concept illustrations by J.R. Fleming)

When Halloween night ends, the calendars turn back to October 1st, and the enchanted wonders begin again.

These first four books go through the same October four different times, but through four different perspectives until the reader solves all the mysteries. The books are geared toward 9-12 year olds, but are enjoyed by older readers who love the fantastical--i.e., Halloween, time travel, romance, monsters, underdog heroes… you get the picture.

Anyone who likes GOONIES, SUPER 8, BACK TO THE FUTURE, TOM SAWYER AND HUCK FINN, GOOSEBUMPS, SLEEPY HOLLOW, TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, HARRY POTTER, RAY BRADBURY, or STEPHEN KING will love these books!!!

The paperbacks are $5.99 each, and the ebooks are $2.99. I highly advise you guys to buy all four books since they are all part of the same story, and the reader won't solve all the mysteries until the end of the fourth book.

Amazon.com is currently running a promotional deal for the books. If the buyer puts all four paperback books into their shopping cart together and checks out, then Amazon.com will give them the fourth book for FREE! Awesome deal, right?! You end up getting four books for $18. (*psssst* Excellent Christmas gifts!)

To receive the special promotion- you must go to: www.theoctobers.com and follow the links to the Amazon.com sales pages (or Barnes and Noble if you are buying an ebook for your Nook).

FYI: I just ordered all four books for $17.97. The discount does not appear until the very end of the checkout process under: “review order summary”.

I cannot wait to curl up with a soft, comfy blanket, sip on a warm cup of coffee, and get lost in a magical world of mystery & adventure.

Dear Reynolds, Little Boy Wonder, Peter Pan…I am so proud of you. I admire you more than you will ever know. You truly are an inspiration to me and I love you to pieces. Don’t ever “grow up”. Don’t ever stop dreaming…

Can’t wait to see what you have in store next! http://www.moonsungbooks.com/

…or “Suzy”

I will keep a link to these books in my sidebar, if you would like to come back and check them out. You will not be disappointed.

Weddings & Birthdays

2011-10-10T10:26:00.001-05:00

We had a blast in Austin this weekend. My beeeeautiful cousin, Shara, was married in one of the coolest weddings I have ever attended. Isn’t she adorable?!!!

Miss Shara, you were a stunning bride! God bless you and Aaron as you begin this exciting new chapter in the story of your lives. Thanks for letting us be a part of your special day!

I was able to party with dear family that I rarely get to see- which is always precious time well spent! Candice, me, Leslie, Grant

Me and Brit…my sweet Southern Belle!

Two handsome dudes: Justin and Joe

Sweet Shelly (Matron of Honor) and her gorgeous baby girl!

Joe is super excited to see cousin Brittany

My Georgia Family~ Doreen and Ned. Love them SO much!

Doin’ a little Boot Scootin’ with my girls…

If anyone who is anyone knows me, then you have most definitely heard of ”the Georgians” (a reference to my extended family which includes tons of cousins who are from Texas too---I just group them all together).

It was a “requirement” that my cousins approve of Joe the first time they met him. He passed with flying colors (of course) and I’m thrilled that he loves my fam just as much as I do! Brit, Joe, Candice

I’ve grown up with all of these guys and gals! Young cousins playing out on the ranch during holidays. Now we are all grown up with little ones of our own! Miss them greatly. Shelly, Candice, Suz

BFFs

Love you girls more than words. It was SO MUCH FUN getting to play with you for an evening. Hurry back and let’s start planning that huge reunion, k?!!! XOXO

Joe and I, joyridin’ it back out to Lakeway after the festivities.

We celebrated the birth of a great man…Paul Steece, aka Grampy, aka P Diddy, aka Diddy, aka PDids, aka Dids. And what did he get from all 3 boys? Wine and meat. 25% kidding, 75% dead serious.

The boys giving Dids a hard time. Wish this wasn’t so blurry! I love this huge group of nerds.

Joe, Dan, Ed, Diddy

Couldn’t ask for better bros. Joe, Dan, Ed.

Grammy Kate did an amazing job of throwing a big party for Did’s birthday and the Aggie game on Saturday afternoon/evening.

Dan, Doug, Joe, Ed, Paul

…and the Ags actually won! (They win when Joe and I DON’T attend the games, so I guess we’ll sit the rest out…)

The guys celebrating the victory with Reeeeeeeeves!

What a wonderful weekend…and now I’m enjoying this cool, cloudy, rainy morning here in DFW! Haven’t had this in a while.

Life is good!

Happy Monday, peeps!

How Our Kids View Our Family

2011-10-01T14:22:00.000-05:00

This is hilarious. Last week when I went to pick up the kids from school, they had these art projects on the wall outside of the classroom. They are in the shape of a house with “The Steece Family” at the top.

The kids were supposed to look through magazines and pick out pictures that reminded them of each member of the family. I’ll start with the best and work my way down…

Savannah

God love you, Savannah Leigh. Tea Leoni? Uhh…I’ll TAKE IT! With a fashionable Joe and relatively “similar” looking siblings. Of course she has pigtails and is eating a cupcake. Sav even went as far as to match Ethan in green and Drew in blue. Wow. Nice work, girlfriend!

Ethan

Mom is still fashionable- I’m down with the long, blonde hair. Dad is a wee bit older (but still good looking) with salt-n-pepper hair. Ethan and Andrew look very similar---nice work. Ben is a tad younger. And, ahem, Sav is a cute African-American 10 year old. LOL.

Benjamin

First off, I am a grandma who closely resembles Jane Lynch! Really Ben? Is THAT how you view me?! Thanks, dude. LOL. Joe looks good- like an Aggie yell leader. He’ll like that. The kids all look pretty “similar”…so, just Mama got the raw end of the deal on this one. Ha!

Andrew

Andrew…oh, Andrew Paul Steece. You are a different breed and I love you for that. I laughed SOOOOOOO HARD when I saw “Joe”---I’m pretty sure I disrupted all the classrooms in the hallway. Ha-la-rious. Mom is okay (a little “homely”). Ethan looks similar. Ben is a red-head with freckles. Andrew is African-American. And Sav is Asian.

Bwahahaha. God love Andrew…our quirky little genius.

Little-Miss-Savi-Cupcake

2011-09-29T07:30:00.000-05:00

During the Book Fair at school last week, I purchased a new book for each child. I surprised Savannah with a Disney Cupcakes and More cookbook…which she absolutely ADORED!

What a great opportunity to utilize her precious, cupcake apron from Auntie Teryn! (I just LOVE this picture of sweet Sav and her two chins…she is SO PROUD of her apron)

I let Little Miss Priss pick out any recipe in the book that she wanted to try and we made cupcakes together (a new weekly or perhaps monthly tradition). She enthusiastically chose the “Snowy Owl Cupcakes” (from Sleeping Beauty) on page 22.

And I have a sneaking suspicion it was due to the colorful gummy candies & jelly beans that serve as the owl eyes & beak---this girl LOVES candy.

Assisting my little baker…Mama is so proud! I tried to step in as little as possible.

We had a spy---peering from behind the bar (sweet Benny Boo was watching our every move)

This is what happens when you give Dad control of the camera for 2 seconds…

mixing it all together…

Absolutely priceless. LOVE this pic.

Sav was waaaay more interested in licking the spoon/bowl than filling the muffin tins. (Yes, I realize that there are uncooked eggs in the batter---but a little spoon-lickin’ never hurt nobody…)

peeking in on her cakes…

We have some verrrrry interested customers. The waiting seemed like eternity for these eager little mouths.

And after dinner, after finishing ALL of their vegetables (nothing wrong with the occasional bribe)---the children were able to decorate their very own owl cupcake!

Sav

Drew

Ben

Ethan

Not only did we have fun baking in the kitchen together, but Mama was also teaching the kids some very important life lessons: doing things for others, sharing our favorite treats, surprising others for the fun of it, etc.

We packaged up some cupcakes, along with a cute little “OWL card” and made special, surprise deliveries to Auntie Liz, Aunt Ashley, and our wonderful teachers at school.

Nevermind that this hard-working-out Mama had a secret, ulterior motive:

getting those cupcakes OUT OF THE HOUSE AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE!!!

Me & the Hubs at the Aggie Game

2011-09-28T09:57:00.001-05:00

Joe and I are SO incredibly lucky to have amazing friends who scored 4 free tickets to the Texas A&M game last Saturday and invited us!!! (Thank you Adam, Katie, and Stu!!!)

Granna and Papa were more than gracious to watch the kiddos, so that Joe and I could spend the day playing in Aggieland! You guys ROCK!

A couple of early morning game day pictures with me and my BFF.

Ummm…yah, we don’t get out much. (and yes, it is still cool to rock the “prom pose”)

BYE-BYE KIDDOS!!!! We are OUTTA HERE!!! Weeeee!

Joe and I miss our season tickets terribly!!! Every Saturday morning during the fall used to start out with a nice little trip to Starbucks---then we would eagerly hit the road for the Aggie game. Sipping on a Pumpkin Spice Latte and nibbling on my Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffin in the Tahoe…listening to tunes…enjoying the beautiful scenery…

So fun to meet up with good friends! Joe, Wes, Sheeds, Rocket---chillin’ on Northgate before the walk over to Kyle Field.

Awesome seats!!!

…but good gawsh, it was BLOODY HOT at 2pm!!! I was sweating like I do in Spin Class---that is just NOT right.

How did the game go?…

Well…

Here is a picture I secretly snapped of Joe on the drive home…

{---crickets---}

deep in thought…broken hearted…

(Sorry, babe! I love you! tee hee)

I don’t know if I’ll ever figure out or “get” why my main squeeze gets SOOOOOO worked up over sports…right, ladies? Anyone in the same boat?

But he sure is cute and I can’t help but love that passionate, little nerd.

2 Sets of Twins for a Weekend

2011-09-23T10:20:00.001-05:00

Joe took Ethan and Savannah to Austin for a weekend with Grammy and Grampy. They had oodles of fun!

Grammy and Savi playing and eating at Angels!

Grampy and Ebud with his new train

They headed over to our buddies house to watch the Aggie game and had a nice little playdate with T.

Gettin' some love from Uncle Dan before heading back to Waco.

I took Ben and Drew to Waco for the weekend, to play with Papa and Granna. Papa wanted to take the boys to Kiddieland all by himself! (Uh—good luck, Dad!)

They had a blast and apparently did great, until it was time to leave…and Ben flung himself on the ground kicking and screaming. (sorry, Pops!)

But he recovered in time for his very first college football game! Baylor vs. SFA.

Dad supporting his local Bears in his green and gold.

Joe tried to get me to dress the boys in their Aggie gear---but I decided to go with the more “peaceful” route- neutral colors.

Isn’t this the most “forced” picture you’ve ever seen?! Hahaha. Too bad we weren’t able to watch the bands perform at halftime---lightening was all around and they stopped the game. Oh well- they had a good time.

All-in-all, it was a great weekend! Ethan had a difficult time in the beginning about leaving the brothers behind in Waco…separation anxiety…but was perfectly fine once he got to Austin. Andrew kept asking about Ethan throughout the weekend. He was constantly aware of the fact that E was not there.

Its funny how they recognize that pieces of their hearts are missing when they are away from each other. Too cute.

Happy Friday y’all! Hope you have a great weekend!

(and Gig ‘Em Aggies!!! Super excited to be on a double date, with my honey & BFFs, to the game this Saturday!! Woo Hoo!)

A Hard Pill to Swallow

2011-09-21T08:46:00.001-05:00

Hey Suz, maybe your *darling* daughter is sassing her teachers because she is mimicking what she sees…

OUCH.

Yep, I went there with myself this morning- doing some reflection during my daily quiet time.

(For the record, I had Sav pose for me this morning with her crazy bed hair and mean face---but I actually get this face quite often)

You know how I was super stressed and trying to find advice on how to balance life?- You guys were gold and I truly appreciate all of your responses and suggestions. PURE GOLD, I tell ya.

The reoccurring theme was that I need to make a schedule and plan out my week (activities, meals, etc.)- something that I used to be very good at doing. However, when I birthed quads, I had to learn to roll with the punches and go with the flow---be able to adapt to unexpected situations on a daily basis… so, I had gotten out of the habit of being so “scheduled”.

I’m realizing that “scheduled” isn’t a bad word after all (ahem, Casey Gerwer & Teryn Todd--thank YOU!)- but something that makes my life easier and more manageable. I have also realized that if I have any chance of working out- it is imperative for me to go early in the morning before the kids wake up (when I actually have energy!)…and I’m a morning person who wakes up with a smile on my face anyway (just ask my friends!)---so there is really no excuse.

The new and improved Suz started this week with her new and improved schedule (with help from my BFF, Mari):

I wake up early and head to the gym. When I come home, I take a shower and chat with Joe until he leaves for work (precious quality time that I was missing by sleeping in every morning)- then I sit down to have quiet time with my devotional book (Day-Votions for Mothers) and spend some time with my Father.

Now, usually- the kids wake up EVERY SINGLE DAY between 6 and 6:15am- no matter what! It is so frustrating! (I need to get one of those OK-to-Wake clocks).

But here is the awesome part- ever since Joe and I have been waking up early and starting our days off right, the children have been miraculously sleeping past seven ‘o clock!!!! SEVENNNNN!!!!!!!

Keep in mind- they haven’t slept in that long in over a YEAR! Coincidence? I think not. No doubt that God is blessing our time.

So this morning- the ‘ole Day-votion hit me pretty hard. Here are some quotes from the book:

- Our children are just kids, not little adults. They haven’t mastered the art of patience. Neither have we as moms. But we are the nurturers. We are the ones to lead by example.

- Children often mimic what they see and hear

- Does anger make me feel superior to my kids? Is that the fuel that feeds my impatient spirit at times?

- Anger begets anger.

- Gentleness is power under control.

- As I changed- guess what?- so did my children.

- Sometimes God lets our children be the teachers. At those times, we would be wise to listen- and learn.

Mama most definitely needs to work hard at leading by example with a spirit of gentleness- so that my children can feel accepted, loved and secure. And I have to admit- this is SOOOOO difficult for me when my kids are fighting or being disrespectful! Especially when I feel my blood boiling and heart beating out of my chest!

I will post pics from our Mama/Daddy weekend with twins- but just wanted to share my heart this morning. XOXO

Happy Hump Day, Blogger Peeps!

Twins for the Weekend

2011-09-15T08:35:00.001-05:00

Our kiddos are very close and LOVE each other---but they are not DEPENDENT on each other. This is something that Joe and I have worked very hard to establish- a strong sense of individuality. We like to split them up as often as we can and this weekend, we will be dividing them 2 and 2.

(Ben, Drew, Ethan, Sav)

Ethan and Sav will play with Daddy all weekend…

…while Andrew and Benjamin will hang with Mama!

There is no rhyme or reason to as to how we split them up- we just try to change it every time. Looking forward to my weekend with TWINS!

BTW- today is the last today to have a chance at a 7 day getaway to a Sheraton hotel!!! How awesome does that sound?! I would freak out if one of MY awesome blog buddies won!!! Comment here and I’m crossing my fingers!

How Do You Find Balance?

2011-09-12T14:45:00.001-05:00

Okay, so…I was chatting with a good friend of mine this morning and we were talking about how difficult it is to find balance in life. Pardon me if I ramble, but I just wanted some perspective from all of you intelligent, successful, women who have this all figured out much better than I do! ;)

I know that many of you can relate- as Moms/wives/employees- we are often pulled in SOOOO many different directions that it can make us completely stress out and feel…incompetent/ depressed/ inadequate/ like we are failing at our responsibilities.

For me personally, I would love to have the perfect balance of: interacting with my children, being a “good Christian”, chillin’ with my homeboy, going to work, working out and taking care of my body, cooking yummy healthy meals for my family on a daily basis, keeping my house clean & tidy, blogging/computer time, reading parenting books, going out with friends, finding alone time…

but it seems that when I’m doing really well at a couple of these tasks, the others fall by the waste side. If my house is clean, and the laundry is done- then I probably haven’t played with the kids very much that day… or if I’ve been to preschool, been to work, and come home to cook a nice meal- I have probably used up every last ounce of energy in my body and will fail to make it to the gym, etc.

And it doesn’t help that I’m a perfectionist, so I want to do everything RIGHT, 110% OF THE TIME, EVERY TIME…which is true about every aspect of my life and it really wears me out sometimes. I put a ton of pressure on myself to strive to be the PERFECT wife, PERFECT mom, PERFECT friend, PERFECT child of God…and I just fail miserably at times.

So- I was just wondering how you all find BALANCE in your life. How do you prioritize and keep a good flow going? It seems like just when I fall into a good rhythm, I’ll get off for one day (due to illness, traveling, etc.) and I’ll be completely off for a good couple of days, weeks, months…{gasp}…years

It is time to re-focus, and re-prioritize. Mama needs balance!

Horray for Another School Year!

2011-09-09T05:37:00.000-05:00

Ahhh… the fall: Another school year starting for the quads. There’s nothing like it!

(It has become SO MUCH EASIER, now that I can just lay out 4 sets of clothes and the kids do all the rest)

Many people get stressed and busy during their various fall activities- but our summer was SO incredibly packed with nonstop fun, moving at 110 mph! I am SOOOOOO ready for things to slow down a bit and to get back into a routine. I am a creature of habit. (not to mention a HUGE fan of College Football Saturdays! Woot woot!)

ADORABLE dress that I found for Savi on etsy. Gotta love etsy.

Super cute decorating paint can for the kiddos’ teacher. Isn’t is precious? (yep, etsy again). I filled it with a teacher’s survival kit: ADVIL, chocolate, hand sanitizer, lotion, sweets, gum… did I mention Advil? Bless her heart- she is going to need with with all 4 of the Steece quads (along with 8 other kids) in her class!

Bless. Her.

Of course, one of the main reasons why I’m SOOOO excited for school to start- is because I get to start working again!!! Oh, how I’ve missed taking care of patients and interacting with my work buddies. LOVE. IT.

After this first week, I am going to have to get used to running around on my feet for 5 straight hours at work! I love it, but the only time I sit down is getting out of my car when I arrive, and getting back into my car to leave. It is crazy, awesome busy but I LOVE it.

Here are my little munchkins as 4 year olds- on their first day of school for 2011! (I accidentally went a little crazy with Drew’s spikes---but then again, Drew is a little bit crazy, so it fits).

Ben, Drew, Sav, E

Headed into school with their comfy new napmats. It is SO nice now that the kids can carry all of their “stuff”.

They each have their very own desk!

Drew bud and his crazy spikes.

Ben (we’re trying to work on his awkward smile…poor guy. Cracks me up)

Sav- excited to have more girlfriends to boss around…(and already trying to “test” her teacher to see who will be in charge)

Ethan going in for a new car. (Mean ole Mom will not let him take any of his cars to school this year---seeing as how the boys lost about half of their “collection” at school last year. Grrr)

We are SO excited and blessed to have Miss Janie as our teacher this year!!! I love this age- and all of the new things that they are learning. It is incredible. My babies are growing up!

Labor Day at the Zoo

2011-09-08T16:47:00.000-05:00

Wow. Can I just say how incredible you guys are? I mean seriously, I had no idea that my last post would get so many positive responses- HOLY COW!!! What a blessing you are in our lives…without you even knowing it. Thank you and may God continue to touch lives through your kind words. Bless you. Each and every one of you.

Taking advantage of the beeeeautiful 80 degree weather, we decided to head to the zoo! (along with the rest of the city of Dallas).

Savannah, Ethan, Andrew, and Ben

We have never been to the zoo as a family of 6- so it was a special day.

Our kids have zero stamina- like zero. It is ridiculous to walk into the zoo, turn a corner, and already hear complaining children. It was going to be a LOOOONG day- if Dad hadn’t scored these push carts.

My favs!

Little baby. awwwww

and the kiddos staring at a crocodile---reminding them of Ben’s Halloween costume from last year. They said, “Look Benny! Its you! Its your crocodile!”… (lol. crazy kids)

Afterward, we met some of our friends & Uncle Ed in town for some good grub and had a wonderful day! A perfect way to end our fun-filled summer…

Next up: First Day of School! Yipppppieeeee!

Blog Trolls

2011-09-07T09:47:00.001-05:00

To the blog troll who left a comment about Ethan and Andrew having a “pinched preemie head”- they actually don’t. Their face shape is exactly like their Daddy’s: long and narrow.

…while Sav and Ben have their Mama’s round, basketball shaped head.

Those who make fun of children are pathetic, SAD individuals.

Partying with Tigers

2011-09-06T19:05:00.001-05:00

We were SOOOOOO excited to have my Quad Mama bestie: Jac Tubre, and her handsome hubby roll into town ~in style~ for the LSU/Oregon game last Saturday.

Those tigers sure do know how to throw a tailgate! Fully equipped with a NIIIIICE RV! Jac, Torey, Joe, Suz

Our dudes… (Joe had to represent the Aggies a little bit, of course)

Some of my most favorite peeps in the world!

Love you Jac attack!!! Joe and I had a blast- thank you SO much for letting us crash your awesome tailgate! Muah!

Here’s to many more Aggie/Tiger tailgating in the future with the Steeces & Tubres!

The Scuff Brothers

2011-08-31T09:28:00.001-05:00

Hi. I’m E-bud. (black eye)

and I’m Drew-bud. (facial scuffs)

and together, we are known as…

THE SCUFF BROTHERS!!

ARRRRRGH!

(Ethan left, Andrew right- such a scary looking duo, eh?)

Oh…these two little tweedles. What are we going to do with you? On the drive home from Austin, we couldn’t help but laugh when we saw these guys sleeping so peacefully. They were so banged up and bruised from various falls and whatnot. Just a normal day raising 3 rough and tumble 4 year old boys.

Joe thought it was funny to get them to repeat “I’m Drew-bud, and this is E-bud, and together we are… the Scuff Brothers.”

We couldn’t stop laughing. Cute little nerds.

Nomads, Twin Birthdays & Quadruplet Swim Lessons- Oh My!

2011-08-29T10:15:00.001-05:00

WoW! We have been traveling like crazy for the past week and a half! One last blast before school starts next week.

I enjoyed a wonderful weekend in Waco (sans kids!), celebrating the birth of my two favorite twin ladies:

Mom and Aunt Judy!

Always so much fun to hang around these lovely ladies (and you too, Daddy!). Going back home to Waco is soooooo relaxing and refreshing for me. Just what I needed to gear up for a very busy week!

Next, the kids and I headed on down to Lakeway (Austin, TX) for week long swim lessons and some fun times with Grammy & Grampy! Ben, Ethan, Drew, and Savannah

This is about the extent of Ethan’s natural swimming ability. Haha. (sadly- I’m not kidding). He is very cautious before trying anything new, especially around people he does not know. If Ethan and Drew would just close their mouths and stop giggling when trying to swim- it would probably work a whole lot better! Its so funny---they can NOT stop giggling! I think they are going to take after their Mama and giggle when they get nervous. Sorry, dudes- apparently it’s a genetic curse.

Sweet little Drew and his blue goggles…he’s so proud. This guy definitely has the will and determination to swim, just needs some slight “technical modifications” on his form. Haha. I mean seriously, he fights harder than anyone else in the pool…little dude just needs to stop giggling & smiling!

Ben has the most natural ability out of the group- but CANNOT be pushed or he will back away and stop trying. * Did you read that, Joe?* Let me repeat just in case you missed it:

Ben does NOT like to be pushed in athletics and can go much further if you just let him figure it out himself! (tee hee hee- tuck that away in your brain for later, k?)

Ben is a little bit of a perfectionist (Sorry about that, Benny!) and is very good at learning new skills like bike riding, swimming, etc. He is always the first one to pick it up and practices until he has it down perfectly.

And little Miss Sav- well, of course she is swimming. Of course! (said sarcastically) I’m pretty sure there is nothing that she cannot do. Sav was amazing in the water. The girl has spunk and a STRONG WILL – (but we already knew that! Ha). She practically had this swimming thing down by the second day. My little fearless wonder.

Here are the kiddos with the amazing Miss Natalie! Thank you SOOOOO much for your help!

Bless her heart---Natalie is a saint! She wanted all four kids by herself each day. I could not be present during swim class. (Which I LOVED!!! You go, Miss Thang!). It was funny to hear Miss Natalie tell me how each child is SOOOO very different---they all have extremely different learning styles. Story of my life! It really is very interesting.

I don’t have many pictures of the week, because each day after swim lessons, we would go back to Grammy’s house and I would practice and practice and practice with each child in the pool. Needless to say, it has been a LONG, exhausting week…for all of us!

But have no doubt- we managed to squeeze some fun in there along the way! (haha) LOTS OF FUN! Movies, Dinners, Playgrounds, Shopping---you name it, Grammy sure does know how to entertain!

Dear Grampy & Grammy, thanks for letting us ~~tear up your house~~ stay at your house this past week! We had an absolute blast and are excited to keep practicing our swimming! Grammy- hope you enjoyed sleeping in this morning, for the first time in a long time!!! Haha.

Love you!

P.S. Don’t forget to read about our first vacation as a family of 6 to the sunny beaches of Florida! You can enter to win your very own family vacation- just by leaving a comment!!! Click here for more deets, peeps!