A Brand New Year

2010 is almost here. It doesn't really feel like New Year's Eve to me, but that has more to do with spending the evening watching football than the fact that I'm old and home rather than young and out.

I am excited that Clay and Carey and the kids are here for a visit! I wish ALL the cousins could get together more often, but we take what we can get!

Anyway, I know the blog has been severely neglected lately, but I make this New Year's promise to you: the first week of 2010 will bring you lots of new posts about all our Christmas activities, complete with loads of pictures!

Until then, a belated Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all!


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Reagan's Past Life

I was throwing a beanbag back & forth with Reagan this afternoon and told her that KayKay had made that beanbag for me when I was a little girl. She then promptly informed me that when SHE was a little girl she had played with the beanbag and thrown it to Baby KayKay.

I'm sure Baby KayKay enjoyed it!

These kids come up with the most interesting things sometimes!


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Naughty or Nice?

Once upon a time, two parents took four preschoolers to see Santa.

It had all the makings of a disaster: the kids had no nap, I forgot to bring any drinks or snacks, it was FREEZING cold but we somehow left the house with no jackets, we ate late AT A RESTAURANT something we never do, and the kids were up way past their normal with-a-nap bedtime.

But God smiled upon us this night, and a Christmas miracle happened! The kids were WONDERFUL!!! No one was as surprised as I was!

We went to see Santa at the Bass Pro Shops (because it’s free!) so we had the extra entertainment of looking at the fish in the big fish tank and all the stuffed animals that decorate the store. They LOVE fish tanks! (Note: DO NOT BUY US ANY FISH!!!)

The line to see Santa was longer than we expected, and Jim wanted to just forget it, but there was a train set nearby that the kids were quite content to watch, so I insisted we stay, at least as long as they were behaving.

Once the line put us too far away to continue standing by the trains, we managed to distract the kids by pointing out all the things you could see in the store, and then had to get a little more creative: What colors do you see on the Christmas tree? Who can count all the red lights? Now let’s count the green lights!

Finally, we reached the front of the line. Jim and I had decided to do the kids in pairs so each child could sit in Santa’s lap. Jim went first with Jonathan and Zachary. Here you can almost catch the look of surprise when Santa found out this pair was half of a set of quads!

Then Santa insisted on having all four of the kids at once. He was a WONDERFUL Santa, calling them each by name and giving them lots of attention. He insisted on taking a picture with all four, and then also with 2 and 2, so everyone could sit in his lap.

Of course, not everyone was WILLING to sit in Santa’s lap! Zachary didn’t even really want to be this close. He wouldn’t stand beside Santa for the picture, but agreed to stand “beside Reagan”! Ha! So we came away with three free pictures with Santa, none of which are seen here because I haven’t scanned them into the computer yet. We took these ourselves.

Santa was great, and he made a really big deal over us. I felt kind of bad for all the people standing in line behind us, waiting for us to hurry and wrap the quad party up!

After Santa, we went across the way to the Smokies Stadium where Shadrack’s has a second musical lights display this year. The first one is out in Farragut. It was amazing to see all the lights flashing in time to the music, and the kids really enjoyed it as long as we kept moving. They didn’t understand why Mom and Dad would want to stop the car and just sit and watch the lights. No meltdowns, but a fair amount of whining.

After that, it was LATE and we hadn’t even had dinner yet! On a whim we decided to brave the Cracker Barrel. We’ve been there once before, but that was on the way to the beach this past summer and I was sick, so it wasn’t our very best experience. This time, it was GREAT!

It helped that it was late in the evening and not crowded. We were seated immediately and got our food quickly. We were also able to snag some extra peg-jump games from nearby empty tables so everyone could have their own. The kids amused themselves forever taking the pegs out, putting them back in, and lining them up in rows on the table. They were SO GOOD! In fact, two different people from other tables took the time to tell us how impressed they were with our kids! Wow!

And the final bonus: they went to sleep SO FAST!!

What a great night!

Headed for Christmas at Full Speed

We have been SO BUSY!!! The last few weeks are really a blur of shopping, decorating, baking, and Christmasing in general. It’s been difficult for me to find time to sit down and share with all of you. This morning, however, I MAKING time, and I hope you will enjoy a few pics of the things we’ve been up to.

The festivities are extra fun this year because the kids are so much more aware and have their own expectations. They know Santa is coming. They couldn’t wait to put up the tree! Christmas day can’t get here fast enough!

One thing that is helping them somewhat to have a concept of “how many days until Christmas” is a countdown chain they made at preschool. It’s a chain of numbered constructions paper links hanging from a little Christmas tree, and every day you remove one link so you are that much closer to the big day. Additionally, I stuck a smiley face on the day we leave for Bud and KayKay’s house, so we’re counting down to both. After we remove a link, we count how many days are left. I’ll try to get a pic soon.

One of the first things we did this month to prepare for Christmas was put up my grandmother’s old aluminum tree. This was the first year I put it up for the kids, and they really loved helping out. I loved doing it because it brought back happy memories of all the years Jodie and I put that tree up at my grandmother’s house. She always saved it for us! We got out the old color wheel and everything!

The next day, I helped the kids make ornaments for it since we hadn’t yet gotten down all the boxes of decorations from the attic.

We had planned on trying out a real tree this year but the weather and the kids’ impatience conspired against this idea, and we put up the artificial one instead. Here is Jonathan helping Dad put the star on top.

We’ve even gotten to play in the snow this month, something I feel certain has never happened since I’ve lived here in Knoxville!

We even built a snowman! What a fun morning! We played and played and then went inside and had hot chocolate! Well, except for Jonathan who refuses all things chocolate. Sometimes I think he must have accidentally gotten switched with some other child in the NICU! He certainly didn’t get this from me!

Additionally, we have also written letters to Santa, taken the kids shopping for stockings to finally replace the “Baby’s First Christmas” ones we’ve been using, watched Christmas specials (Rudolph and the Grinch are this year's favs), baked 10 dozen cookies for a cookie swap (that was me, not the kids), visited Santa himself, taken Christmas card pics and ordered the cards, and looked at lots of Christmas lights in neighborhoods and one professional show! Whew! And Christmas isn’t even here yet!

I do have pics of the Santa visit, just not with me at the moment, so you can look forward to those and the story that goes with them. Here are some thoughts to keep in mind…How do you entertain 4 preschoolers while waiting in line to see Santa? Who was the ONE child who refused to sit in Santa’s lap? What happens when JonZReaTom doesn’t get a nap and then goes out in public? To a restaurant even? There’s just so much to tell!

Merry Christmas!

Jonathan Update

Just to fill everyone in…as you know from the previous post, Jonathan had an unexpected allergic reaction on Thanksgiving that prompted a trip to the ER and banishment from Granny’s house until the mystery allergen could be discovered.

Well, we have since been to the allergist, and Jonathan is indeed allergic to CATS! There is infinite sadness in my heart over this, as I am a huge cat-lover and entertained great dreams of the cats that would one day grace our home. Alas. At least for now, it is not to be. Maybe Jonathan will grow out of this allergy one day. A mom can hope!

In the meantime, to prevent future ER trips, we will keep special meds for him handy at all times. We will never again travel without them. And in preparation for our upcoming trip to Bud and KayKay’s house (a house shared with a cat), Jonathan is on a daily inhaled steroid which we will continue until we leave Memphis.

We anticipate no further problems, hopefully! I’ll keep you posted!

So How Was Your Thanksgiving?

Well, ours was great…except for that whole trip to the emergency room thing! I know some of you have been waiting impatiently for this story. Well, it’s finally here!

The day started off fine. We got up, got dressed, had some pancakes, and hit the road for Granny Kat’s house to spend Thanksgiving with Jim's family in Jasper. Everything was fine.

We arrived around noon, and the kids headed for the box of toys they knew was waiting for them. Everything was fine!

Zachary and Jonathan with Gammy

But then Jonathan started sneezing. And then he started coughing…a lot. And then he started struggling to get enough breath to talk, which was rough for little Jonathan because he’s a TALKER! These symptoms progressed pretty quickly, and of course we didn't bring the nebulizer or any medicine at all, so it didn’t take long before we felt like a trip to the emergency room was pretty much a necessity.

So Jim took Jonathan to the ER. (Luckily there’s a hospital in Jasper!) and I stayed at Granny’s with the rest of the kids and Jim's family.

Before they even reached the hospital, Jonathan had stopped coughing and sneezing. When they got there, they checked Jonathan’s O2 sats and they were 94 and then 98 before he even got his first breathing treatment. They did give him a breathing treatment, then took some chest x-rays and did some blood work. All of this looked good. They gave him another breathing treatment before releasing him. The diagnosis was asthma-related allergy attack (or allergy-induced asthma attack, I’m not real sure) and Jim was advised not to take Jonathan back into Granny’s house.

We’re not really sure what caused this attack. We’ve been to Granny’s house several times before without any problems. Granny recently got a cat, so the cat is suspect #1, but Jonathan has been around cats before without any problems at all.

Since Jonathan was forbidden to re-enter Granny’s house, we had to cut our visit short and leave pretty soon after he and Jim got back from the hospital. It was a disappointment for everyone. Jim and Jonathan didn’t get to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner (which was delicious!) with the rest of us, Jonathan didn’t get to play with Gammy’s toys as long as he wanted to, and Jim hardly got to visit with his family at all.

On the upside, Jim and Jonathan did enjoy some really nice one-on-one time when Jonathan told his Daddy all the things he would do when HE was a daddy, like shave and make pancakes and give kisses to his babies “just like you do, Daddy!”

Heart-melting adorableness!

Anyway, he’s been fine ever since. Friday we contacted our pediatrician’s office and we should have an appointment with an allergist this week to hopefully find out for sure what triggered this strange allergic reaction. Personally, I hope it wasn’t the cat. I love cats and have high hopes of us having a cat one day.

Our Thanksgiving may not have been what we had hoped for, but it did make us realize one more thing that we’re thankful for. We are very thankful that God has provided us with hospitals, doctors, and nurses who can care for our children, especially in an emergency situation!

We sincerely hope that you all had wonderful Thanksgivings, but if they weren’t so wonderful, we hope that you were at least able to realize what your blessings are and be thankful for something you might have otherwise taken for granted!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Blast from the Past

I was going through some old picture files recently and came across this video. I’m pretty sure I never posted it before. I feel like I tried to post it, but the uploader wouldn’t work and I gave up. WELL, HERE IT IS!!

It’s not recent at all. This was taken in August of 2008, just after the kids turned 2, but it’s just so darn cute! They literally used to do this nearly every day! Not so much anymore. Part of growing up, I suppose. Alas.

Oh, well. Enjoy!

Fight for Preemies

Today is a special day dedicated to raising awareness about premature births.

My kiddos were born 6 weeks early. They were rushed almost immediately to the NICU, and although Jonathan, Zachary, and Reagan were all healthy enough to go home days before I was, Thomas was not. His tiny baby lungs were under-developed and he struggled for weeks to learn to breathe and eat on his own. He remained in the NICU a full month longer than his siblings, and when he finally came home for good, it was with daily breathing treatments and frequent visits to the pulmonologist to keep an eye on his lung development.

And as scary as his situation was at times. it was nothing compared to the experiences that many parents have to go through due to the premature births of their babies. Tiny, tiny babies born incredibly early, struggling not just to breathe on their own, but to live at all, and if they can make it through their first months, they may still face a lifetime of sickness and disabilities.

Every year 20 million babies are born prematurely. Some premature births, like my kids and other multiples, are expected and unavoidable. A woman’s belly, though it can get more humongous than you would ever think possible, does eventually reach its limit. There just isn’t room in there to carry multiple babies for a full 40 weeks. But there are also lots of seemingly healthy singleton pregnancies, that suddenly end with premature births, and doctors don’t always know why.

And so today, I and other bloggers write to share our stories and raise awareness.

For more information on premature births and ways you can help, please visit The March of Dimes.

Things We Love #2

Laurie Berkner!!!

I know, I know, she’s not for everyone.  I have some very good friends who don’t like her a bit, although their son does!

At OUR house, however, we are BIG FANS!

If you don’t know who Laurie Berkner is, let me enlighten you!  She is the head of the Laurie Berkner Band, a group that appears regularly for music numbers on NickJr (formerly Noggin), especially on the show Jack’s Big Music Show.

Her songs are often silly (“Pig On Her Head”) and mostly fast-paced (“My Energy”), but they also have really nice lessons (“I’m Not Perfect”).  I love that her songs encourage my kids (okay, me too!) to get up and dance!  A few months ago, a one-hour show dedicated to Laurie and her music aired on NickJr.  I recorded it and the kids and I watch it often! 

Here’s a clip of the kids watching and dancing!  (It’s a little long…you don’t have to watch it all!)

Check out the Laurie Berkner Band!  She’s sure to have you dancing too!

Note: I have not been paid by Laurie or anyone associated with her for this endorsement!  I just really think she’s great!

A Declaration from the King

Hear ye! Hear ye! By order of His Royal Highness, King Thomas the Wild, that it doth serve his supreme pleasure, all subjects of the quad-dom are hereby instructed to read and enjoy the following tales and illustrations. Due to his unending generosity, King Thomas hath provided these words for the benefit of all subjects, rich and poor alike, that through his wisdom, thine own lives shall be uplifted.

Providence hath seen fit of late to plague our glorious quad-dom with the evils of a most fearsome and vicious dragon. This very dragon hath ravaged the countryside for many a fortnight and didst take refuge in the mountains ere it could be slain. There the loathsome creature hideth, spreading fear throughout the realm

Fear of the dragon didst spread even to the very palace of the king, casting a shadow over the pure loveliness of Our Gracious Lady Reagan.

Good King Thomas therefore didst assemble all his mighty knights, that he might send them out to conquer the irksome beast and free his people of this terror. All the knights trembled at the task, save one. Sir Jonathan the Brave didst feel no fear of the dragon. He set forth on his perilous journey to slay the beast.

Sir Jonathan’s quest was long and full of danger, yet never did he turn back in fear. He pressed on with the utmost courage, til he didst discover the dragon’s lair. Such a battle then ensued that wouldst cause thy hairs to turn white upon thy head didst thou hear its details. In the end, victory was won by Brave Sir Jonathan of the Family Harris of the House of Jim, and he didst incredibly tame the dragon and bring it home to suit the pleasure of the king.

With joy didst the royal family welcome home their brave knight, and all the people of the quad-dom didst rejoice over the taming of the dragon.

Therefore, in his infinite goodness, King Thomas wisheth thee a most Happy and Dragon-free Halloween!