Redeeming Friday!

Today Mother had a lot of fun! I have the pictures to PROVE it!!!

We were right on time to pick her up at the beauty shop!

Our first stop was Ross for Less where she found a few things!

THIS top was NOT one of them!

Our 'brunch' place was IHOP!

Mother said, "But he doesn't LIKE it!!" while we were on our way there.

I assured her he WOULD!

Louis Dean is always teasing Mother!!

Good times! Coffee all around!

Louis Dean had a BALL because he got a lot of extra attention from our waitress!

He's a wimp and could NOT find the seam to get his utensils out!

Mother LOVED her cheese blintzes!

I think they BOTH liked their meals!!!

I love this series of photos!

She was wanting to make sure Louis Dean liked HIS food!!

She ate every.single.bite.

Louis Dean actually brought half of HIS home!

He is now a big fan of IHOP! At least as long as we get BRENDA as our waitress!!

Mother was happy with her new tops.......

as well as those reed infusers she was wanting.

Her bedroom window has a whole line of these across her window sill.

She said she NEEDED them and they DO smell good!!

When I picked Mother up this morning I came prepared with a recent pic of the quads to show Donna, her stylist. You remember last week I did NOT have one! She loves to show off  that SHE is a GREAT-Grandma to QUADRUPLETS!!

Amber was born on June 6th and shares my mother's birthday as does one of her great grandsons!

After we took Mother home we spent another hour and half showing her all the recent  pictures and videos on my laptop. She was a happy camper!!

After leaving Mother we headed over to visit Charlie and Deanie!

They are always SO much fun!!!

Charlie has learned how to push Louis Dean's buttons!

We all visited and laughed and laughed!!

More good times!!

This week I got TWO sister visits in!! 

Tuesday with Luann and Friday with Deanie!!

Nita, I MISS you!!!

I DID take a couple of pics at Nita's.

I love going to her house every Friday - even though she is at work and we seldom see each other!

There's usually something new every week.

Today I noticed this cool drink tray.....

and this canister.

Nita has SUCH an interesting home!!!

After leaving our house at 9:15 this morning we returned home at 5:00!

I gave Lucy a much needed bath and took her for a walk.

It was 74 degrees today and the low tonight is 58!

Not bad for January 31st!

I was motivated to give Lucy a bath - this time a nice warm one in Louis Dean's bathtub - because of what I bought at Ross for Less!! A new cushy comfy dog bed! Her old one is black and showed every single one of all those shed white dog hairs!! I also bought one to fit her kennel and another one to keep at Amber's in the guest room since she sleeps in there when we spend the night! Her old black one has been washed and is in the dryer now. It will 'live' in our camper. So this ONE dog now has FOUR beds! Sounds about right!

Especially if you consider that our cat prefers to drink her water from wine glasses!

I do believe I have REDEEMED myself and am pretty sure I was a GOLDEN child today!!

A CRAZY Warm Welcome!!

We always get such a WARM WELCOME when we come in the door at Quadville!

They are always happy to see me.......

but they go CRAZY when they see Granddad!!!

Lunch is FUN x FOUR!
These babies eat well and then go upstairs in their cribs for about  3 hours.
I am always amazed! They nap and then play quietly in their cribs. Amber prepares each crib with a soft blanket, pillow, quiet toys and books, and a sippy cup of water.
Nap time gives Amber an opportunity to leave the house and do errands and work related things while we are here. What do WE do during this time? I usually help with laundry or something and then read or nap myself. Louis Dean?

THIS is what HE does! The quad table is a great place to organize his music!

I was in the living room and heard him singing.

PS - he sings better when he thinks no one is listening!

Our most favorite time is when we get the babies up!

They are rested and happy and so much fun!!

Kailey was VERY concerned over a little boo boo Granddad had on his hand!

Diapers are changed upstairs in one of the nurseries and we linger about a half hour to play up there.

I had placed the teddy bear and chair in the playroom just waiting for the quads to come down.

I figured they would love him or be scared!

They loved him!!! Trystan especially!

The chair was a hit too! Amber had to bring in some other ones so EVERYONE could have a chair of their own!

oops! Wrong video and I can't figure out how to take it OFF!!

Note to self - check each one BEFORE publishing!!

This is my favorite little video clip of the day.......love how Little Kailey started singing to herself!

They are turning into little PEOPLE in front of my very eyes!

A good day just got BETTER when Aunt Summer came!

Raynie is 3 - will be 4 in June - so Aunt Summer gets another dose of babyhood with the quads.

Louis Dean is in the playroom singing to the others!

Aunt Summer is so good with them!

 There's something about a mother's heart that delights in having her children together!!

My oldest daughter and my youngest!

When I had Amber (I was an older mom - 36 at the time!) Summer was just 21 and starting out in her career. Our roles in life were reversed at that time! SHE would come over and be like the grandmother with Amber and I would be so grateful for the extra hands and help. The very first time I took Amber out to the mall using a stroller - Summer was with me. She has ALWAYS had a special place in her heart for her baby sister and I can't tell you how much I love seeing them together! And I love that Summer is now a 'Mummers' and gets to experience all the blessings of motherhood!

It was a GOOD day in Quadville yesterday!

AND we are still here this morning!! I'm heading into the kitchen now! I hear the babies in there having their breakfast!

Thank you, Amber, for making my blog look so pretty!!!!

The Changing of the WALL!!!

It's the tail end of January and high time to change out the wall of Santas!

I hung them all up in November! 

Didn't take long to get them all down!

My daughter in law, Sherry, came by this evening and when I showed her the 'empty' wall she was surprised it made the room look smaller! You would think the room would look bigger! It is a fairly large room anyway! Instead it seemed to bring the wall IN instead of OUT!

It takes a lot longer to hang pictures UP than it does to take them down!

I change out my paintings from time to time and that cedar wall holds a LOT of nails! I use small wire nails and mostly sawtooth hangers. Nothing fancy. Louis Dean says some of them are hanging on my imagination!

The den isn't entirely clean but I did accomplish a big task.

Today was Tuesday so that usually means a movie and a Goodwill run!

My sister, Luann, joined me to see Captain Phillips. It is an excellent movie and keeps you on the edge of your seat all the way through. This was Luann's first time to see it and my second. I didn't want to spoil it for her so I didn't tell her it had a happy ending! Tom Hanks is an amazing actor. It is so nice to have my sister living back in Texas and close enough to go on adventures together!

We hit up the Goodwill next and I found this BIG teddy bear! What a buy for $2.25! He's sitting on a sturdy red and gray child's chair I got for $1.75! The wreathe, wooden wastepaper basket and 2 new bottles rounded out my treasures! The bear has been laundered and is all clean and fluffy just waiting to meet the quads in the morning!! 

Quadruplets times TWO = AWESOME Playdate

This afternoon I headed to Quadville for a play date!

Who KNEW my Amber would know ANOTHER Amber who has quads just 7 weeks younger than hers??? It looks like a Day Care in there!!! It is amazing how wonderful the afternoon went! They all played so well with each other. 

TWO awesome AMBER'S!!

I am thinking Quad Moms are pretty amazing!

Amber had everything prepped and ready for the afternoon and it all went as smooth as silk!

You can tell both sets of quads have exceptional social skills.

They even formed a line to slide down the slide.

Now Logan and Harper MAY have 'cut' a time or two but they were just determined and LOVED sliding!!

This little video was right after the quads woke up from their naps and we were anticipating the arrival of the OTHER set of quads!!

Can you count more than four little ones in this short clip?

Amber made sure she had a child friendly meal that hit the mark with the adults too!!

Organic mac and cheese, turkey sausage with onions and French style green beans.

Play time, visiting, dinner served in two shifts, night diapers and pajamas on and the date was over and it was time for ALL the quads to go to bed!!! 

And THAT'S how you do Quad Play Dates!!

 Louis Dean was 'home alone' after I took this pic before l left!

It's kind of scary but he's trying to straighten up his room.

We call it a 'Music' room but it's really just where he keeps all his stuff that's not allowed elsewhere in the house!! I gave up years ago on trying to make it look like a 'REAL' room!!

And I keep the door closed most of the time.

He goes in there to work and gets side tracked fairly easily!

The next time I peeked in he was playing this Ozark mouth bow which he made himself.

When I got home tonight it took me less than 20 minutes to put the kitchen to rights.

He had cooked pork chops and baked potatoes while I was gone.

I really  and truly believe he is becoming more and more civilized as we go on!!

I just hope he doesn't carry it too far!  I wouldn't want him to lose that charm!

Good Memories!

Saturday morning I got up at 5:55 and was HAPPY about it!!

For 11 years Amber was a synchronized swimmer and practiced every Saturday morning from 7-11.

I nearly always took her and stayed! I love everything about synchronized swimming - the music, the moves, the sound of the water splashing, the girls trying so hard to master the techniques and learn the routines. I even love the smell of chlorine!

The reason I got up so early was to bake up a batch of these delicious muffins!

It's probably not a real smart idea to try a recipe out for the first time to take somewhere but I lucked out and this one is a winner. So much so I am baking another batch in the morning.

This is Amber and Patti - the head coach from her years as a member of The Pirouettes of Texas.

The reason Amber was back at the pool? She is learning to be a judge!

I think she will make a GOOD one!!

The reason I was at the pool was the same reason I was there through all her years of swimming -

to watch her!

Some things have changed in the sport but many things remain the same.

See these clever team suits?

I certainly enjoyed myself!

 I could watch these girls swim all day long!

This was the very first meet of the year so the routines will just get better and better as they practice and compete!

I also enjoyed seeing many of my friends from our synchro days. These friends had continued on in the sport as coaches and judges. Amber and her team have remained a close group of friends all these years.

Medley is now the head coach but several others from the team are filling spots as assistants and judges.

Amber had a total of four coaches in her time with PTX. Martha, Candie, Megan and of course Patti was the head coach. Good times and good memories!! It would have been wonderful if Megan and Candie could have been there but I bet it WILL happen someday!

Rumor has it Amber may be at more Saturday practices!

Saturday evening a sister blogger friend, Debbie at Ladybug From Texas, invited a bunch of her gal friends over for a evening of crafts, snacks, drinks and a campfire! It was AWESOME!!!

We made a Valentine craft......

that turned out so pretty!! A big thanks to her hubby for forming all those wire hearts!

We all made the same thing but Debbie noticed that every single one turned out differently!

It was such a fun evening with fun people!!

Today we did a variety of different things - from attending church to making a trip to Home Depot to working on some unfinished projects around here - like the trim in the hall and around the front door!

Now we are ready to settle down with a glass of tea and watch Downton Abbey! I have 'paused' it while I finished this journal entry and it will time out on me if I don't hurry! And you know WHO is going to watch it WITH me??? Louis Dean is now a fan!!! Who knew THAT would happen??

Time With Mother

Fridays are my day with Mother. Not really a whole day but more like several hours. 

I was not a 'Golden Child' today!!

Her stylist called to tell me she was ready to be picked up. We were still en route so it was another 20 minutes before I got there. oops!

Then she wouldn't leave yet because she wanted me to tell Donna (her hair dresser) about the babies and show her some pictures. I didn't bring photos nor my laptop and my phone was charging in the car.

Another oops!

She DID cheer up when we finally got to Walmart!

I had a 'Senior' moment myself and passed it without even noticing so I had to turn around and go back.

This seemed to confuse her. My third oops!

She wanted a pillow -  I later found out she really needed a cushion for her rocking chair. I would have helped her choose differently but I didn't understand.

 She did find the exact make up she wanted. Now I fix my face every day and I do not go through nearly as much make up as she does!

The biggest OOPS was lunch!

Louis Dean wanted a Mexican Buffet but we discovered it was closed. Lots of driving around trying to decide where to eat. We were getting close to IHOP and Mother let me know she wanted to eat THERE!!

Louis Dean said he DIDN'T want to eat there!! (Being out with TWO 'elderly' people can get tricky!)

We passed IHOP with him saying, "Y'all go ahead!" and her saying, "I don't care!"

By this time we were all three getting hungry! LD then decided we should have stopped at the BBQ place we talked about earlier. Well, I was NOT driving way back over there so we'd have to find something close.

Fortunately I spotted a Cousins BBQ!

She did get a kick out of this license plate. Our last name was Ewing!

She was trying to be a good sport about the restaurant! Louis Dean was treating us for lunch so HE got to choose. Next week I will make sure SHE gets to go to IHOP!

THIS was her expression through most of the meal.

You can see why this was my biggest oops of the day!

She pulled this jar out of her pocket in the middle of eating dessert and made me understand that she did NOT get the face cream she needed while at Walmart!!! So throw in another oops!

It IS pretty clever of her to bring the emty containers so we know exactly what she's looking for.

I guess I missed seeing this one while we were in the store!

During the driving around part of the time today she couldn't seem to hear what we were saying. Louis Dean was trying to cheer her up and joke around but it wasn't working!

When we took her home she showed me her empty bottles of those fragrance sticks. You know - the bottles with fragrant oils and you have sticks in them that make the room smell good. She has THREE sets and they were ALL empty! She had been trying to tell me earlier but I didn't even come CLOSE to understanding. I PROMISED her to take her to Ross for Less next Friday and we would get her some more!

I hope I earned a few Brownie points! 

Louis Dean and I were trying to figure out if she is getting frailer. She seemed a bit unsteady today. More so than usual and walked with teeny tiny steps very slowly. She walked much better at home but they may be because she is more confident at home. She can flit from room to room walking nearly as fast as I can! She also didn't seem to hear as well and showed me a brochure for hearing aids. She thinks you can just buy one and doesn't understand how they work. I don't understand either and it may be easier than I think. However since she can't really speak clearly it would be hard for the doctor to know exactly what she needed.

Nita and Deanie, I know you read my blog so I went into a little more detail than normal just to keep you posted on our day. It helps to know what's going on! I can NOT resist saying, "Nobody SAID!!!"

She was all smiles when we left her this afternoon. I know she must get extremely frustrated in not being able to communicate clearly. She does an amazing job and usually keeps such a good attitude!

I shall try very hard to redeem myself next week!!

You KNOW we will be eating at IHOP and SHOPPING!!

I may even make Louis Dean sit in the back seat so she can sit in the front!!

Yes, I am going to be GOLDEN next Friday!