massage therapy

Massage therapy has been a part of our lives for as long as Mandy and I have been together. It is something we do for ourselves that takes away the stress. Rejuvenates our minds. Polishes my soul. This week Amanda, Bradley, and Karley are all enrolled in summer day camp. IUPUI summer day camp. Mandy enrolled me in massage for today. I went to a place in Mandy's building called Back to Basics. The space was incredible. She had every sense going. The massage table was the best ever. It was probably thee best massage I've had in the past 5 yrs. I had trouble getting off the table and completing my day. If you've never tried it....I dare you. It will refresh your soul.

milk truck

this is one day's worth of milk

just thought it would be fun to share this rediculous amount of milk....

summer activities with Chick-fil-A

We've been looking for free things to do in Indy. The kids had a blast decorating their clothes to look like a cow. They colored pictures , made puppets, and ate lunch for free.

Last week we went and saw Horton Hears a who. I believe it was sponsored by Chick - fil- A as well.

We have a pass to the zoo and to the children's museum, but haven't been there for awhile. If you know of any Free things to do that the kids would love let me know!

quads go to bed

harper, kennedy, tillie, kerry

aren't they stinkin cute?

Giving babies a bath

Kerry is in first photo

Tillie and Amanda are in second photo

Gay Adoption

Mandy adopted Amanda and Bradley soon after they were born. The quads technically aren't my children yet. I know... I know... can you believe that in this crazy world that we live in either of us have to adopt the children that we have planned together, carried together, raise together? We do! Mandy carried 4 babies that have my biological makings....and I get to adopt them. Soooo, we had our home study yesterday. This huge packet of paperwork was to be completed and a home study, and around $4,000 later I will be the quads mommie. Ahhh....
The home study consisted of some questions like... how did your parents discipline you? Do you drink alcohol? Do you use illegal drugs? What friends are in your childs life? Are your parents supportive of this adoption? Will you tell your children about this someday? Are you kidding? A man and a woman have a baby and there are no questions asked. I think Mandy and I are two of the most committed people in the world. We believe in each other , and believe in our children. Of course our parents are supportive, of course we will share all of this with our children, of course we will raise them to the best of our ability. Get a grip WORLD!
When Amanda was born we had no idea of what mess we were going to create with her name. It has become quite funny, or rather, you get what you ask for. Mandy refuses to take my last name...and only because of that I refuse to take hers. So, all the kids will carry both of our names. Amanda Sheckles Paul, Bradley Sheckles Paul, Tillie Sheckles Paul, Kerry Sheckles Paul, Harper Sheckles Paul, Kennedy Sheckles Paul. When I go to the pool store our account is under Sheckles at the cash register, but not at the pool sample table where it is under Paul. At the pediatrician it is under Sheckles Paul and they think the childs name is Paul. At the Vet all the animals are under Sheckles. Our phone number is under Dynamite Girls. When I call into the Dr. I always hear at the end of the call.... Thank you Miss Sheckles. So, What the heck? Who are we?
Just like the movie Horton Hears a WHO? WE ARE HERE. WE ARE HERE. WE ARE HERE!

been bad not to post

We haven't blogged very much lately. Sorry bout that. We have had a sick kid for the past month. First it was Amanda, now Bradley can't seem to kick it. He has had a headache for over a week, achy body, fever. We were up with him last night and today we are going to the doctor. I can't stand for him to hurt any longer. I kept thinking it would pass like Amanda's did...but evidently not.
The babies....are really growing. Kerry has found her tongue. She gets it going, it's fun to watch. Harper is starting to zero in on faces. He has changed the most. He has gone from looking like Benjamin Button to a handsom little Bradley. He is really cute. The largest of the babies.
Kennedy is the slowest to interact with us. She was sick in the nicu and I think this is the reason for her lagging behind. She looked at me today and laughed. It made my day. I have been extra worried about her and I am glad to see that she was just taking her time.
Tillie and I were up yesterday and in Carmel at the eye Dr. at 8am. She still has rop. Retinopothy. We go back in 6 weeks for another eye exam. I hope that she grows out of this soon, those early appointments are killing my beauty sleep.
We had a visitor last week that we haven't seen for ages. Steve. Long time friend of mine and Mandy. He told me he would come and take photo's of the babies. I haven't had it in the pocket to go and pay for photo's. The last time I had pictures taken of the kids I was in huge trouble with the boss for the amount I spent. Just today I got a compliment on that photo, so every cent I spent was worth it. It just isn't feasable with 4.....I mean 6!
Summer is almost over and I feel like all we've done is rock babies and nurse sick kids. Guess that's what happens when you have 6 kids. I will attemp to post some photos soon. Ive misplaced my cable to download my photos. Sounds a little disorganized doesn't it? WHy yes, I am! Thank you.

blast from the past

post by mandy
my mom is gearing up to move soon. very exciting. she is going to downsize and move to her retirement place. so i still had some old stuff from growing up over at her house that i needed to get out of there. i found a ton of old photo albums and a huge box of notes from old friends. I literally saved every note ever given to me. Now people don't write notes in class they text message. We don't send cards (well most people don't) we send emails. So there's no trail of what we do or who has been in our life. so i am going thru all of these old notes laughing my ass off. Well i got to thinking later outloud to Amy of course. She always gets my philosophical questions. What prompted this was me reading the notes and people that i used to be really really close to i don't talk or see anymore and her uncle is staying with us right now. and he used to be at a completely different place in his life than i have ever known him. i only hear stories of how things used to be for him. So my philosophical statement came, "so think about when we are 54 how the people in our lives won't ever know us like we are now, if they are new to us" an old friend came over the other day and he was shooting the shit with amy and i about things that happened in our lives 10 years ago. I made the statement to him and amy that people in our lives now don't know any of that stuff about us, because we don't share it. It was so ironic how all of that came full circle when i found all those damn funny notes. I haven't decided if i am gonna save them or throw them away. It was such stupid kid stuff in them. Some things never change even as people age and grow old. amy says i am a major pack rat for even keeping them. There's some stuff in those notes that i could black mail some folks with, with all the trash talking going on. HA Good thing i wasn't doing the trash talking. i also found certificates and achievements all the way from kindergarten. GEES Have i really been saving shit for that long. I am sensing a BIG fire coming with all this shit. I am sad because i really wanted to find old videos from highschool. Oh the only damn video i found was me in my swimsuit modeling because i was gonna go on a diet. GOOD LORD. Amy says it looked like soft porn.

Kerry and Kennedy get weighed

Kerry and Kennedy were both really small when they came home. It was important to make sure they were gaining so we were fortifying their milk..adding calories. I stopped doing that when they had trouble poooooping....but didn't tell the dr until today...
BECAUSE Kerry weighed 9.3 lbs today and Kennedy weighed 9.15~~~~~ Whoop Whoop! Go Girls!

Amanda, Bradley, Karley at the pool in Tennessee

This photo was taken in Tennessee while the kids are there with Marmee and Cindy. They are so stinking cute.

Mandy and I have been working in the house since 9 tonight. It is now 12:30. The quads are sleeping in the nursery, and I don't want to get them up until a feeding time. Im worried that they are sleeping so well, I may be up awhile. The monitor we have doesn't travel all the way to our room. bummer huh!!

The kids come home tomorrow. Can't wait to see them. I still haven't talked to Amanda. I am calling the swim club in Plainfield to see what options we have for them. They are all fish!

Thank You Marmee for taking the kids to Tennessee...Thank you Cindy for having them and treating them like ROYALTY!

babysitters

Today was our first day without Marmee here to help with the babies. Papa Ron came and took the babies to the park with Mandy. They walked the babies and I mowed the grass. I ran into the picnic table while I was mowing. I thought I broke my leg. I called Mandy in hysterics and she came home in a hurry. By the time she had gotten home I was better. My leg is real bruised and it hurts. I give my mowing duties back!
I went to the grocery and to the pool store. Mandy called me 10 times to find out where I was, but my cell phone was dead. oops.
So, tonight nana and papa boo are here with Uncle Phil and they are holding babies. Papa Ron went home. Mara Godby is on her way here, however, she is very late. So we are covered with baby holders tonight. Although the babies are very fussy.
Marmee didn't think she could be gone from the babies and she tried to take one of them with her. I have been her daughter / law for ummmm, 11 yrs. OMG, Mandy just told me she called the pool store looking for me!!! LMAO!!! Back to taking a baby to Tennessee, yeah right! I still haven't heard from the kids...they must be being treated like king and queens from Marmee and Cindy.
So, we are all good in the sheckles paul house. Miss you Amanda and Bradley!!!

Big kids get a break

Remember my last post about the kids getting grounded....
Teri (the kids grandma) took the big kids to Tennessee on Monday. The 3 (amanda, bradley, karley) loaded up with their ds's, their car treats and headed south to Cindy's house. Cindy is Teri's best friend. Cindy has been a part of our children's lives since they were born. Amanda's favorite stufty (stuffed animal) was given to her by Cindy when she was born. All 3 kids learned how to swim from Cindy and the girls (Cindy has twin girls who are both in college now).
Amanda had a really hard time deciding if she wanted to go. I layed low, just let her make her decision. Let's see...we were here alone with the quads. She turned the tv on and I asked her to turn it off and find something else to do. All 4 babies were crying and Amanda looked around and picked up a baby. I asked her to find something to do for her...She looked around and said " I will go outside". She went outside for 5 minutes. She came back and sat next to me. I told her that I could see her wheels turning. She admitted that she may want to go to Tennessee after all. HAHA...I got her. I really believe that Amanda and Bradley needed some time for THEM! Before they left town Amanda called me in total breakdown begging me to let her stay home. I passed the buck back to Mandy and Teri and they got her in the car.
This morning I had a vm when I woke up - from Amanda. When I called her back she wouldn't get out of the pool to talk to me. It is 4:30 and I still haven't talked to her! GO AMANDA!
Cindy said they were in the pool having a swim lesson. It makes me so happy that they got to go on a mini vacation to Tennessee with their grandma.
Mandy and I have been playing catch up on the house. I mowed the grass today. The lawn lady is on vacation too. So, I mowed. I hurt myself while mowing. I decided while I was mowing, I like to mow, but not all 5 acres. It seemed to drag out a bit long.
When Amanda and Bradley were little (er) we use to go to Teri's once a week for dinner. I think that we need to start doing that again so the quads know where she lives. Bradley loves to go to Marmee's house (teri) because he spent so much time there when he was little. The quads need introduced to her house too, but she has 2 dogs that are horrible. If we put them in the basement with the mean cat lady....we may start going over there for dinner so that we can get out of the house with the babies. It would be good for all of us to get out. We did take the quads to Nashville twice. It was nice!!!
Im going to run the rest of my errands now...time is of the essence with the big kids gone. Gotta get er done!!!

video of birth

post by mandy
we just watched the video of the delivery. totally cool. it was cool to watch them pry kennedy out of my ribs. we were still undecided on harper's name. He was almost preston, presley and tanner. I let amy choose. She chose Harper. He's our little Harper now. I had some Big Ass freckles on my face. they have since gone away or at least faded. i miss being pregnant sometimes. it's weird to explain but you can't get closer to someone than having them rely on you for nutrients, oxygen- life itself. Greatest feeling in the world. I was so sick after i delivered for so long i feel like i got cheated out of that time. the other day at work one of our customers came in that i met about 4 years ago. I was a customer of his then. So I was looking at him and couldn't help to notice how much he had aged in 4 years. I actually sorta got a lump in my throat realizing at that moment how quickly time does pass. One day I am gonna wake up and precious time will have past whether or not I participated in my life or not. My mom always accuses my dad of not being an active participant in his own life. I would agree with that statement. But who are we to judge. I am just concerned about being a rock star during my own life and don't really have to babysit whether or not other people are "playing the game" because we all know life really is just a game. It's my intention to pass go at least 99 times, not get buzzed when i take out the funny bone, or draw the draw four card. And just for the record. I am not the phase 10 cheater!!!

I use to believe that when my mom would send us 3 kids to our rooms for a grounding and we would play board games in the hall, with only our feet remaining in our rooms that we had gotten over on her somehow... yeah, I get it mom... you won that battle.
For the past week Amanda and Bradley have totally been over the "baby" thing. I know what they mean. Sometimes it is all I can do not to scream. Life was simple with the 4 of us. The 2 older kids can bathe on their own, swim without me sitting on top of them in the pool, clean their own rooms (well, you know). Life has changed for all of us. Mandy and I are sleep deprived. We are playing catch up everyday with the laundry, the trash, the pool, the yard, the landscape...you name it...it needs done. Teri and Ron come over every day and help with the babies. Their lives have changed as much as ours have. We appreciate that bunches!!! But, lately, Bradley and Amanda have been acting out. Different children on some days. Amanda walked up to me yesterday and held her arms out ... All she needed was some mommy time...I held her, we talked. She told me she was tired. I am too honey! Sometimes I miss my babies.
Last week Bradley told me he was tired of being asked to "get this or get that". I have tried my best to keep him out of the errand boy business ever since. We have used them as a crutch to grab a crying baby when needed. A diaper, warm a bottle, get me this, get me that. Mostly because they liked it. They are over that now. They have been the best kids to have here with 4 babies. They are champs. I am hanging up their title. They are no longer working for this day care. They get to be kids, play, laugh, dance, sing, run around. Today they broke out into a fight, and Bradley fell, bloodied his lip. I screamed! Grounded them to their rooms for an hour, and then took their tv away for 2 days. We have all fallen into this dreaded hole of summer vacation boredom. They both have huge imaginations. I am challenging them to use them for the remaining 4 weeks of summer. I dare them!
Yesterday Bradley went to the dr because he had been sick. We had 2 hours of just the 2 of us. It was nice, even if we had to go to the dr to get it.
So, today when I sent them to their rooms, I thought about when Mark and Eric and I use to get grounded to our rooms, and then play a game out in the hall. I really just got it ! Mom didn't care what we did as long as it wasn't fighting. Amanda and Bradley are both reading books right now....using their brains! I love it...
Life will get easier with the babies. And this summer will be repeated again in 5 years, and I will know that when I send the quads to their rooms it will all be ok, and the chaos will pass.

another Sheckles' Meet the Pauls' story

post by mandy
amy and i were so tickled about the shower because it was "our story" all over again. We shared it with Amy's parents when we went down there yesterday. So I was talking to Amy's dad about it and was going on and on telling the story about Sheckles' meets the Pauls' blah blah blah. and he looks really seriously at me and says, "why are you being so hard on the Sheckles' you shouldn't be ashamed" i said, "oh i wasn't feeling bad for me or the sheckles' i was feeling bad for you guys, The Pauls'" the look on his face was PRICELESS. he's a good sport and we poke fun at each other so it was all good.

great weekend

post by mandy
we had a great weekend. we are starting to take the quads places. it's great not to be so home bound. we are movers and shakers. i promised myself i wouldn't let grass grow under my feet once i had these quads and that promise i made myself is starting to come true:) hot damn. we went to a wedding shower yesterday that was The Sheckles meet the Paul's all over again. Amy and I were quite entertained. When Amy and I got together our families were like oil and water as far as dress and being fancy goes. My dad used to wear bibs everywhere and we nicknamed Amy's mom Martha Stewart. You do the math. Well we knew going into the shower yesterday that it would be ultra fancy. We are friends with the equilvalent to "Paul's" Now mind you when i first started dating Amy she was Ouchiefied. Meaning really really really um well how can i say this. snobby. she found no humor in my hillbilly family. i took her to a family party in jasonville indiana and she was soooo unimpressed when my family did the "worm" when the safety dance came on. she was the fussy princess all the way home. i think she might have been contiplating how to ditch me. O.K. so let me just set the stage on how unfiltered my family is. When i introduced Amy to my mom for the first time we were sitting at my parents kitchen table. Me, Amy and my mom. this is NOT a mandy lie. My mom looks at Amy turns and looks at me and says. "ya mandy she looks good enough, i'd eat her" WTF did my mom really just say that? now i'm only a little hillbilly this takes the god damn award. I can't believe Amy stuck around after that. so i would like to compliment Amy and I am so proud of her because she now buys her dress clothes at WalMart. And when they are onsale she buys in bulk. And her and the Sheckles equivalents were wearing matching shirts from WalMart yesterday at the shower. Mara, our friend was opening a bunch of camping equipment and you could sorta see half the fussy crowd was kinda wondering why. And the quote of the century falls out of Mara's mouth.
"my future husband came with a camper and I came with 2 attorneys, a jeweler and 2 pilots" i think i'm gonna like this new husband!

Harper has COLIC

Harper has been the little fuss budget since we brought him home. Not real bad, just fussy sometimes. A few weeks ago, I noticed that he had a rash on his chest and up his neck into his face. In addition, he was spitting up a lot. So, We changed his formula. We receive a shipment of formula from the formula company because of the quads...something they do for multiples. It doesn't feed them for the month however, it is a good portion of their milk for the month. So, I have been buying special formula for him. It was real easy to make bottles when we made 32 bottles of the same formula. Now, we need to make 24 of one milk and 8 of another. Somewhere Somehow yesterday I fed Harper the wrong milk. He fussed for 3 hours last night. It was a screeching piercing cry. His face was red, no tears. After 3 hours I took him to the shower and took a shower with him in the dark. The lights irritated him. He fell asleep in my arms in the warm shower. We stood there for 30 minutes and it was the best shower I have ever had. He was taking those deep stuttered breaths ... you know the ones. When you've cried your heart out over a love, or a fight, or a bad day. That's how he was breathing. Well, he woke up as soon as the shower was over...it was back. That piercing cry. I don't remember what happened when he finally fell asleep, but he slept the entire night. We still fed him at feeding times, he just took the bottle while he slept.
Ditto for tonight, he has been really fussy. I just read online about colic. It was verbatim. He is fussy tonight...same time...same thing. Mom is here and holding him. She just told him he was her favorite. At dinner time, her favorite was Tillie. She loves them all, but don't tell the others.

oh my god i'm laughing my ass off

post by mandy
i was trolling around on youtube when i came across this video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcjEV9x-apM
it just so happens he's from indy. i got the biggest god damn laugh out of this. is he serious? is this what i look like when i sing? oh my god. now mind you i was supposed to be doing a million other things. A.D.D. has the best of me doo dah doo dah A.D.D. has the best of me oh the dooo dah day.

amy is EXTREMELY clausterphobic and afraid of being confined. (no chains for us) well part of the adoption process we have to get criminal background reports done. so we are pulling up to the sheriff's dept. today and i get out of the car and i say, "man i sure hope we don't have warrants for our arrests, if we do we aren't going home" amy sat in the car and just looked at me with green gills. so we are walking in and she says, "man i sure hope it's you and not me that gets arrested" now that's every bit of it. the other day she threatened to murder me and put my body in my aunts pond and NOW she is wishing warrants for my arrest to save her own self. I have 2 sets of good news. the report was free. we thought it was gonna be $5 bucks each. FREE and NO CRIMINAL HISTORIES for us. we both got to go home. well i got to go back to work.