Need A New Blog Design?

Starting today my blogger friend Julie is launching her new and improved, blogging business. She is giving away a bunch of fun stuff this week, and has many neat free layouts for use as well. Go check her out at http://leeloublogs.blogspot.com.

Got Quads?! Results are In!

Thanks to all who participated in the poll. After 83 votes, 9 of you got it right. Congrats! If you guessed right, I'd love to hear from you. Believe it or not, a few days before the quads were born, I had gained 82 lbs. However, when we were referred to a multiple specialist I was told that I should gain at least 80lbs, but he really wanted me to gain 100 lbs. I thought that was crazy! I could not imagine at the time gaining that much weight. When your in the middle of a high order multiple pregnancy, you get weighed in bed. After all, I did go on hospital bedrest at 16 weeks. We delivered the quads by emergency cesarean section at 26 1/2 weeks.

POLL RESULTS: How much weight did Liz gain with the quads? Can you guess?! 40- 45 lbs. 13 (15%) 50- 55 lbs. 20 (24%) 60- 65 lbs. 18 (21%) 70- 75 lbs. 16 (19%) 80- 85 lbs. 9 (10%) 90- 95 lbs. 2 (2%) 100 lbs. 5 (6%) Votes so far: 83 Poll closed


According to Most.com (Mother's Of SuperTwins):

"Unlike singleton pregnancies when mothers-to-be worry about gaining too much weight, doctors recommend expectant mothers of triplets or more gain at least 20 to 25 pounds in the first 20 weeks of their pregnancy. Some expectant mothers of higher-order multiples experience problems with severe morning sickness(hyperemesis) making this weight gain goal difficult, but typical overall weight gains for higher-order multiple pregnancies are: 50 to 80 pounds for triplets 70 to 100 pounds for quadruplets. These amounts may depend on the mother’s weight at conception, how many babies are involved, and other medical factors. See statistics from the MOST Medical Birth Survey for more information."

On About.com I found some Interesting Facts About Quadruplets.

"The state with the highest population of quadruplets is New York, followed by New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

There are about 3500 sets of quadruplets worldwide; only 60 or so are identical or monozygotic.

Parents of quadruplets will change close to 30,000 diapers before their kids are potty trained.

The most premature surviving quads were born in 1997 at 25 weeks, 1 day.

The incidence of quadruplet birth rose more than 400% in the last quarter of the
20th century, but rates have declined somewhat in the years since 2000.

Banner Good Samaritan Hospital in Arizona is believed to have delivered the most sets of quadruplets, abuout 75 sets."

Liz's Quad Pregnancy Poll!

In case you have not already put in your vote...you have two more days. On the left sidebar you will see a poll...make your best guess, how much weight I gained with the quad pregnancy. Time is running out....let's see how many of you can get it right? Be sure to come back for the results and see if you guessed correctly.

I know it has been a week now since I have made any updates on the blog. Lot's has been going on with our family, the kids, some fun and some not so fun things, including another stay in the hospital. Our life is never dull! I have not had a chance to write about it all. So expect a long post soon!

I Love These Kids!!

Retreat...

According to Webster's dictionary retreat is listed as,

1 a (1): an act or process of withdrawing especially from what is difficult, dangerous, or disagreeable (2): the process of receding from a position or state attained b (1): the usually forced withdrawal of troops from an enemy or from an advanced position (2): a signal for retreating c (1): a signal given by bugle at the beginning of a military flag-lowering ceremony (2): a military flag-lowering ceremony2: a place of privacy or safety : refuge3: a period of group withdrawal for prayer, meditation, study, or instruction under a director

This weekend I am going on a women's retreat with our church. I can't wait! I have never been on a women's retreat. However, I grew up going to children's camps, mom/daughter conferences, father/daughter conferences, and many youth retreats, children's camps, and mission trips. However, I have not had the opportunity to share in the experience of a spiritual retreat with other women. My hearts is filled with great expectation as I prepare for this weekends women's retreat. Although, I don't know the schedule or the agenda or really what to expect (which is driving me crazy inside, cause I like to be prepared and know things in advance) I am letting go and letting God to his thing. I heard that saying a while back..."Let go, and let God." Don't know who said it, but what a great thought, and what a great action. I'm opening my heart to what God wants to say to me this weekend. I look forward hanging out with friends and making new friends. I'm ready to worship God with a bunch of awesome Christian women and hear from God through His word and His people. I look forward to sharing stories of great fun, play, laughs and tears when I return.

I am so thankful for each of the staff and volunteers who have dedicated their time and energy to make this retreat possible. And more than anything, I am thankful for my sweet, loving husband, who has given me this opportunity to get away for a couple days, free from mommy duty. Thank you GM friends! Thank you Donny!!

Health Updates

Here we go again...It's official. All five kids went to the doctor today, and as nature would have it, they all have a sinus infection. Madison and Candice both have what could be strep throat, but we don't know for sure, cause they did not run a test. The antibiotics the doctor was prescribing for the sinus infection for everyone would work for strep as well. So it was not necessary. At least we have proper medicine and hopefully they will be back to full health very soon.

Mommy had her post op appointment this morning and passed with flying colors. Whohoo! The incision is healing up nicely and there is no infection present anywhere. I'm now taking very little pain meds if any. I'm seeing the ENT next week about my ear, for further consult.

In other health news...Candice's sedated hearing test was finally rescheduled and that will happen on December 2nd.

Our Favorite Time Of Year

Have you seen the Christmas decorations up in the stores? Have you been enjoying the cooler weather? I sure have, and I'm so looking forward to the Thanksgiving and Christmas season. Oh, how I LOVE this time of year! We have been living in our new house for a little over a month now. The other day we were out in the garage going through stuff and could not believe how many boxes we have that were marked Christmas. It was crazy! Donny said, somebody must like Christmas. And this could not be further from the truth. Since Donny and I married (getting close to six yrs ago), the season of Christmas and the months leading up to it have always been for us such a special, fun, exciting, and memorable time. Everything else in the world can be bad, everything in our lives can be bad for that matter, but the spirit of Christmas just makes us happy. We are those people who could listen to Christmas music all year round. And are not annoyed at the radio stations that start playing earlier each year. While others are complaining about it, we are celebrating. Donny and I got married a couple weeks before Christmas. So the month of December really could not be any more perfect. :) Each year since the quads were one we have tried to get Christmas cards out, but having quads plus one, and dealing with medical issues with Candice, and photographers that we not honorable, we have not been able to send out cards as we would have liked. I know some of you received an edited version I through together last year, after a bunch of tears and sweat, but it was not what I wanted it to be and only a select few of you got one since the pics I had were limited, (due to our photographer that bailed on us). I'm planning on a better year! In order to share our new address with you and some Christmas cheer, please send me your address. You can email me at mommyofmultiples@yahoo.com.

Germs, Germs, Everywhere!!

This is a long weekend for us. The quads were out of school on Friday and there is no school on Monday for Fair day. Unfortunately, we are unable to enjoy the extra family time, cause we have a house full of sick people. All five kids are sick. Logan is the better of the five, for now anyway, but the quads have some nasty bug. It is not pretty in no shape or form. I've had a lot of trouble sleeping at night the last several nights. Sorry Donny! Between recovering from surgical pains, my body reacting the medicines that I'm on, and an ear infection (well, it's not really an infection, but I really don't know any other easy way to say it). There's an problem with my ear that's causing major ear pain, as if I had an infection. In order to not bother Donny any more than I already have, I decided to go lay in the other room for a while. Soon as I got up I heard crying from the upstairs, and I listened and heard a cry for mommy. Then more crying. I went upstairs, Sam and Maddy were both in bed asleep, crying and Sam was the one calling my name. It was so sad. But yet so precious. I got them out of bed one at a time and held them for a while, wiped their tears, gave them so medicine and put them back down. I feel so bad when my babies don't feel good. :( Poor munchkins! Logan came home from a friends birthday party yesterday not feeling well...and the quads were, let's just say, a mess yesterday. Not much has changed. We are not going far. We are stuck in this germ infested house.

The WINNER is...M&M'S !

Colorful & fun M&M'S milk chocolate!, originally uploaded by RajRem.

Thank's for participating in our quiz! The polls are now closed and the results are in.
We asked.."What should the Dixon Quads dress up as for Halloween?"

M&M's 41 (62%)
The Wizard Of Oz 14 (21%)
Superheros 4 (6%)
Animals 5 (7%)
Clowns 4 (6%)

Suddenly, I am craving chocolate!!

The Quads First Year In School

Today was our first ever parent teacher conference. It was for the Quads. I'm just proud of their teacher for learning so much about them, and remembering little details about each one. Some people have trouble telling them apart much less, recognizing detailed information. She is a great teacher. She is super sweet and is very good with them. She has fallen in love with each one of them and adores them. Although, it is very hard to spend much time with the quads and not fall in love with them. :P They are each so special, and have their own little cute and loving qualities about them. I know, I'm their mom, so It's easy for me to say these things. But they are so true!! :)

So how are the quads doing in school? Let's see... Madison is eager to participate in all school activities. She is learning colors and speaking and playing well with her peers. She seems to enjoy school and always has a positive attitude. Samantha is playing cooperatively with her peers. She is adjusting well to the classroom routines, and beginning to participate in group time. Her fine motor skills (as far as coloring goes) are age appropriate. Candice is confident playing independently or with peers. She enjoys patterning activities and excels at them. Candi also enjoys sorting by color and working puzzles. Hudson always has a smile on his face and seems to enjoy school. He is talking more in class to peers and adults. (This is a good thing, cause he was to shy to talk at the beginning of the year). He really enjoys the water table, sandbox and tricycles during outside play. We will continue working on all the goals discussed in the ARD yesterday, along with working on some of the fine motor skills and verbal skills at home. But they are all off to a great start for the year and I am very proud of how far each one my little preemies have come. GOD is GOOD!!

Have I told you that the quads are riding the bus again this semester. It is wonderful. They LOVE it and makes things much easier for mom and dad. "The Wheels On The Bus" has to be their favortie song right now becuase of it. The bus driver is such a sweet and loving woman. The kids adore her and I'm always confident that she is taking good care of them and keeping them safe. I'm so thankful for such wonderful people, caring for, and watching over our children each day. I never have to worry cause I know they are doing everything they can to teach, love, and protect our kiddos. :) What a refreshing thought, there are good people out there in this evil world. Praise God!!

Full Of Personality!

Here is a preview of Logan's school pictures. He brings smiles and laughter everywhere he goes.

ABC's and 123's

The quads are learning more and more each week. They have been in the new special education program for a month now, and already reaching and mastering developmental goals. There vocabulary is increasing and they are using simple sentences. They are responding, identifying, and participating in daily activities and directions. They are learning basic colors, numbers and shapes and will continue to work on these this year. Today I attended an ARD meeting where we discussed the objectives and goals that they will be working on for the rest of the school year. Hudson, Madison, Candice and Samantha will all continue to receive speech therapy services. While Hudson will also receive physical and occupational therapy. The quads have fit right in the classroom and are doing great with the other children. Madison in particular has really blossomed and seems to have won over the affection of the teachers. Apparently she really is a drama queen. Very expressive, very involved, and very interactive in each activity. In addition, I am told that Madison has very good recall, and picks up on things quickly. Candice works very on her own or with others, and is very interested in numbers. She may not tell you, but she knows how to count 1-10. That's just a little bit of what I was told today. Tomorrow is parent teacher conference for each of the quads, so we will get more specific about each child and how they are doing in the classroom. So stay tuned for more on our precious little foursome!

Spiderman!

Throughout the school year, each child has a week that is dedicated to them. They focus on that child and all the ways that make them special. This week Logan is star of the week! He gets to be the teachers helper, line leader, and they do special things throughout the week. There's a poster in his classroom with pictures of Logan and a mural that I helped Logan color and create, that talks all about Logan. We had a lot of fun doing that together! It was a fun mother and son moment. Yesterday, I surprised Logan and brought a "special"snack for the class. Spiderman Cupcakes!!! Logan was super surprised, and his friends were very excited too. Logan loves Spiderman! That's been his recent kick; aside from power rangers, so I thought it would be fun to bring Spiderman cupcakes. It was so fun to see all the kids smile with delight and enjoy gobbling up the cupcakes and leaving that extra blue and red icing behind on their faces. Logan was the envy of all the kids in that moment. But it was Logan's moment to shine. After all, this week he is star of the week. It was nice to be a part of making his week special. What was really awesome, was when the class told me that they had been praying for me to get better, and that God would heal me so I could come home from the hospital. And they recognized that God had answered their prayers, and their I was. :) Hard not to get a little teary eyed, knowing that a bunch of four and five year olds have been praying for me for several weeks. On Friday, Donny is going as a special guest to Logan's school and reading a book to the class during story time. I know Logan will think it is the coolest thing ever, that his daddy is reading to his class. I can't wait to hear about it! :)

Down With The Dixon's

We had a nice restful weekend. I even felt well enough to get out of the house for the first time since being home from the hospital, and went to church with the family. It was probably a little much, but I'm glad I went. I had really been missing worship the last couple weeks while I have been in and out of the hospital. We had long list of things to get accomplished after church... but did not get to. I was in major pain and feeling sick after a long morning and had to take the rest of the day to recuperate. I felt much better this morning, (or afternoon, I should say, seeing that I slept in and did not really start my day till early afternoon) and have done pretty well all day. We got a couple things done and I'll have to get to the other things later this week. Big thanks to my hubby for getting the kids up and ready for school and bathed and ready for bed this evening. It's so nice to have him in town this week! I really do appreciate you Hun! More than you know. :) I know he will be ready for me to be back to full time mommy a.s.a.p., and I as well am looking forward to that. It really is hard for me to sit back and watch the kids be taken care of and not be the one involved. It's my God given job after all. Every once in a while I get spurts of energy and then I get really burned down. So as I know from experience it will take a while before I'll be back to full speed. I do however feel so much better health wise, and I'm thankful to have that health bump behind me. Now my concerns are much less trivial. I'm having fashion issues right now. My clothes just don't fit me. Well, at least not comfortably. Due to the surgical site I can't wear anything that buttons or zips or is tight around my waist. That pretty much eliminates most all my wardrobe. Except, for my pajama pants, sweatpants, and dresses. In other words, if you happen to see me about in the next couple weeks, I may just look like I am going to a slumber party, am headed to the gym, or am going to a funeral. Until next time... Goodnight and God Bless!!

On The Road To Recovery

My doctor released me from the hospital this afternoon. So goodbye hospital gown! No infections and cyst free!!! My abdomen is pretty swollen right now, and the surgical site burns to the touch, so it makes wearing normal day clothes a bit difficult. So for a while anyway...I'll just be dressing for comfort and not style. I'll see the doctor for a check up in a week. I'm very limited to what I can do for the next several weeks. So I know that will be a challenge. I'm not one of those kind of people that do good at doing nothing. My mind is running this constant checklist of things to be done, projects to start, projects to finish, or preparing for whatever is next on the checklist. Overall, I feel good. I mean, I'm certainly in pain from the surgery. I had the majority of my abdomen cut open, but the pain medicines help a lot and I don't have to deal with the horrible pains I was having before surgery. I know this pain is only temporary and part of the course, so I can deal with this. I am on the road to recovery and going to back to being a fun, young, stylish mommy of multiples in no time. Let's get this party started!

Don't you just LOVE hospital gowns?!

I usally don't tend to get anxious or nervous about medical procedures. But for some reason I had been very emotional and nervous about it this time. Thanks to your prayers and support, all nervousness and weakness went away. God made Himself very present through our friends and family. My heart was touched by your words, prayers, hugs, and love. My surgery went VERY well yesterday. The doctors were able to do everything they needed to do, remove the cyst, save my ovary and do a little repair to some previous abdominal scaring. No complications. PTL! My colon was attached to my ovary so it could have been really bad. But, God gave perfect guidance to the doctors and answered our prayers. All previous pelvic and abdominal pain has gone away. They removed my catheter this morning, I got out of bed for the first time and had a small walk down the hall, and even got a quick shower in. I'm in much more surgical pain today, (to be expected) but I know that is just a part of the process. That pain will improve with time as the abdominal adhesion heals. I'll be here in the hospital again tonight. I should be able to be released sometime tomorrow. :)

Off To The Hospital

Today is the day. Donny is on a plane right now, headed back to Dallas. Nana and Pops are also on a plane headed here. Donny will be back just in time to come see me before I go back for surgery. Nana and Pops should arrive close to 5pm. I'm dressed and getting ready to get picked up to go to the hospital. They have a lot of prepping to do to get ready for surgery. Placing a central line, blood work, starting antibiotics and such. I did get some sleep last night. But had horrible night sweats. Well, I'm still sweating, so I guess it's really not night sweats. I cried allot yesterday. I really just wanna see my hubby and know that everything is going to be ok. Hopefully, next time I write, I will be feeling better. I don't know how long I will be in the hospital, so we will see. Thank you for your prayers! Until, next time...