Sunny Day... Sweepin' The Clouds Away...

I'm home. I'm alive.

We went to Sesame Place today. It was A BLAST!!! The kids had so much fun and so did Geana and I. It was a long day... but a fun one. We had to get up just like it was a school day and get out of the house by 8:00AM or so. The kids were dressed in their bathing suits and were ready to leave earlier than normal. (Go figure - when you are heading to an amusement park the kids are more motivated to get out the door... school - not so much... who knew?)

When we first got there I had total Deja Vu from my days of working as a Ferengi at Kings Dominion. (That's another story... don't ask.) It was so cool. We parked in this top secret parking lot and went in the back entrance behind these big fences. (I think all amusement parks look the same behind these fences. Golf carts tooling around, tan buildings that look like they are trying to blend in with the concrete, people with walkie talkies - talking about important park business. It took me right back to my Ferengi days...) Anyway - we got to walk into the park before it opened to see where we were going to go during our opening parade today. We headed through the park, past a replica of Sesame Street and down to The Count's Splash Castle - a new attraction - the reason we were there. As soon as we got down there we got to see Ernie, Burt, Telli, Zoe, Elmo, The Count, and more... the kids just about had an aneurysm. They were FREAKING OUT... in a good way - not like the two girls ahead of us who were freaking out in a "these dudes in these freaky, larger than life costumes scare the crap out of me" kind of way. I have to say - I sympathize with them a little. I mean - I used to work with those freaky guys. I used to BE one of those freaky guys. I'd be scared too.

We got our instructions and headed back to the staging area behind the fences. The parade went wonderfully and our kids actually got chosen to walk with The Count in the parade and then stand next to him during the cutting of the ribbon ceremony. (I know that this is why twin parents hate quad parents... and I can't really blame them... but our kids were adorable and I was so psyched that they got picked. Plus - I have to get some kind of reward for the mounds and mounds of laundry I do.)


It was a little chilly in the morning so the kids weren't too excited about playing in the water. The coolest thing about the new attraction is that there is a HUGE bucket of water above the castle that dumps on you every 4 or 5 minutes. The bucket is HUGE. We got soaked.


After we left our obligation at the Count's Castle we did our own thing. We saw a couple of shows and went on some rides. Geana went on the roller coaster with Sammy and just about puked. She still hasn't recuperated. For someone who refuses to let me drive because she gets sick in the passenger seat... this wasn't the wisest of moves. I think it ruined the day for her. She had to sit on the bench and recover for about an hour while I took the kids on some other stuff (which almost made me sick - video at the end of the post).


Perhaps the most hilarious part of the day was after one of the shows we watched the woman in front of us turned around and we had the following conversation:

Woman: Do you guys get recognized often?

Kurt: (Totally shocked and not sure what to say) Uhh... yeah... sometimes.

Woman: I KNEW they were going to have some famous people here for this multiples day. I've seen your shows on tv!

Kurt: (stifling outrageous laughter) Cool - Anna has to poop. I gotta run!

So all in all - a super successful day. We had fun, we were considered famous, and we didn't break any bones or skulls. As promised - here is a video from MY favorite part of the day. The Big Bird Balloon ride that took us up in the air and then spins you around until you lose your lunch.

Sesame Place

I'm a big supporter of capitalizing on the fact that I have a million kids. Hey - why not? As long as I don't put them in stupid situations or set them up to be ill-equipped adults, I'm fine.

Our latest endeavor was to send Sesame Place some photos of our family in the hopes of being chosen to open their new attraction, The Count's Splash Castle. They wanted 6 families with multiples to help open the attraction. My guess is so that The Count can be there and do something wacky with the kids... like counting them.

So - on May 16 we will be heading over to Sesame Place for some good old quadruplet fun where we'll dress them up all the same, let them play in the new attraction, and then spend the day at the park being "treated as VIP's" whatever that means. I'm envisioning a day of being carted around in a chariot that is being pulled by Snufolupogus. My guess is, as usual, I have set my hopes too high. We'll see.

This was the picture that we sent:


Can you see why we won? I have such adorable kids!

Travel Stories

Even though we have four year old quadruplets and a six year old son - we CAN STILL GO OUT TO EAT. We got so many looks this weekend in Pittsburgh from amazed individuals that we were ACTUALLY out in public with our kids... and get this... they actually behave while we are at the restaurants. Whoa! If you are ever out about town and see a family with high order multiples take this note - you can't say anything to them that they have not heard before. Honestly. You are not clever. You are not funny. You are not original. But I digress...

Here are several stories of annoying people that we encountered in our escapades to The Steel City.

Dumbest. Waitress. Ever.
Picture our family sitting at a booth. Geana, Kurt, and five kids. All of the ketchup, sugar, salt, pepper, utensils, jelly, etc. are strategically situated so that the kids don't bother them prior to our food arriving. It was a six seater booth so we were pretty crammed in there - which is fine. We do it all the time. We only really get annoyed when the waitress neglects to take our dirty plates away and the dishes overwhelm our space.

We place our order:
Kurt - Breakfast Smile: Eggs, toast hashbrowns
Geana - Same
Kids: Some semblance of pancakes, french toast, and muffins. The majority of the kids had pancakes.

Well our dipshit waitress decides that it would be a good idea to BRING THE SYRUP EARLY! That's right - bring the stickiest, sugarfilled substance to our table 10 minutes BEFORE we are planning on using it. Are you kidding me? I know... I couldn't believe it either. I took a picture.

Well - because our kids are extremely well behaved they didn't touch it after we told them not to. I am still amazed at this lady.

War for Seats:
Saturday evening was spent going out with my parents, sister, brother in-law, Geana, and the kids to Quaker Steak & Lube (quite possibly the best wings/ribs place on earth). My sister and Justin (BIL) went ahead first while we were at Pap's (about a 3 minute drive away). She told them "Morris party of 11" and they gave us a 45 minute wait. Rather than have the kids at the restaurant lobby, we stayed at Pap's for another 25 to 30 minutes... when Melissa called us. The call went something like this:

Melissa - Guess what? Another party of 11 just came in and they told us that they are giving our table to them unless our entire party gets here before their entire party.

Kurt - WHAT!?

M - Yup - they said that's their policy.

K - That's a bullshit policy.

M - They don't seem to be budging on it, though. You guys should haul ass and get here ASAP.

K - Well - my policy is to keep my kids confined as long as possible in order to save their vestibule from the wrath of four year old quadruplets - but that's fine.... it's on now. We're on our way.

We loaded the kids up as fast as we could - sans coats, gloves, hats, etc... there just wasn't time. So we jumped into the van and hi-tailed it over to The Quaker Steak.

About three minutes later we pull into the parking lot and unload into the lobby. We didn't make it. Our table was gone. Our solution - as we sat there in the lobby at 7pm went something like this:

Kurt: "Hey guys I see presents over there under that Christmas tree. There looks like there is enough for all of you - take a look..."

Quads & Sammy: "AWESOME!"

Chaos ensued. A blur of brightly colored sweaters headed, en mass, to the Christmas tree. Luckily saner heads prevailed and stepped into the kids' path before they made it over to the quaint tree with the nicely decorated presents underneath. We were seated 5 minutes later.


Our trip was a blast. We had tons of fun!

Alone Time

One of the things that I'm realizing I miss a lot about the quads is the opportunity to have short, individual moments with each one. In a way - because there are so many of them - we miss a lot of their individual moments and realizations simply because we are trying to spend time with each of them. For example - Ella peed in her bed last night and came running into our room - all wet. I cleaned her up, pulled off her pajamas, threw one of my t-shirts onto her and brought her into bed with us. She's so small and cute. As we were laying in bed, she kept putting her little arm around me to give me a hug. (We never fell asleep because of Mommy's snoring).

On the other hand, I'm sitting in the playroom with Robby and James and we're playing with our computers. They with their toy laptops and me with my real one. They are talking with one another and having entire conversations and interactions. People with just one kid (or with kids at different ages) miss out on this unique aspect of having multiples. Here was a conversation that was just had about the toy computers and the toy kitchen in the playroom:

R: Maybe the laptop can fit in the dishwasher.
J: Don't put it in the dishwasher.
R: Why?
J: Because.
R: Go play with your digger.
J: Ok.
J (to Daddy): Robby's putting the laptop in the dishwasher and I think it should go in the refrigerator.

It's a delicate balance that we try to achieve around here. Having special one on one moments and then encouraging them to interact with each other and play together.

Fun times.

A Tale of Two Parties

About 12 hours after my last post I am sitting down to make this one. Whew! What a long day. The kids just went to bed and will probably sleep for the next 3 days...

We left the house around noon and headed into South Philly to go to Tunnels of Fun, and after taking the wrong exit off of I95 and quickly buzzing by Terminals A thru F at Philadelphia International Airport, we successfully landed at Tunnels of Fun on 20th Street in South Philly. This place has moved to the top of my list of places to take the kids. It is very similar to Keller's Gym and Jumpers but on a MUCH smaller scale and for MUCH smaller children. There is an age limit of 7 years old at TOF. It is about the size of a house, not a warehouse like some of these other places. They only have several small jungle gym set-ups and a single party room in the back (with seats for adults, too) but it is definitely enough. Also - the set-up is condusive to watching high order multiples while simultaneously allowing them to run free. But enough about the place... the party itself was awesome! The kids loved the balls, especially Anna, which was great because she usually hates these types of places. Before we knew it it was 3pm and it was time to load up and head over to Oasis for Dominica's party at 4pm... but wait... we made a mistake - that party doesn't start until 5:30pm! We have one and a half hours to kill and not enough time to go home and make it worth while... What should we do?!

Go to The Mall.

Yup - we gluttons were extra gluttonous today. Black Friday weekend and we about to brave the mall with all 5 kids. We knew Santa would be there (and the kids happened to be dressed nicely for the parties) and hopefully we could find some great sales as well... a win win situation.



The kids were great, by the way. They got to see Santa and stayed in their stollers the entire time (except for when they sat on the Big Man's lap. After Tunnels of Fun, I think they were happy to take a load off for awhile.

Onto Oasis. If Tunnels of Fun is nice little getaway for you and your toddler, Oasis is the freakin' mothership. This place makes Disney World look small. It is located in a HUGE warehouse with more slides, jungle gyms, and tunnels than Rhode Island has roads. This place is sent from God if you are a kid... not so much if you are the parent of 4 three year-olds and a five year old and your job is keeping track of them all. It as a really fun party but this place was work. It was geared for all ages - meaning they had stuff for little kids all the way up to big kids. (Like one of the kid's dad's who came to the party and was introduced to Geana and I as, "That's my husband over there - playing Pac Man." No lie - he was playing Pac Man for the rest of the time - 3 hours. Play time for kids... still playing Pac Man. Dinner time... still playing Pac Man. Singing Happy Birthday... still playing Pac Man. Eating cake time... still playing Pac Man. Dude - it's a kid's party - play with your freakin' kid! You only have ONE you lazy shmuck! Father's like that make me sick. Dads like that are who gives us hard workin' Dads a bad name!) Anyway - it was a good time!

We got home, put the kids up, blogged, and now I'm turning in. For you see - tomorrow is Justin's birthday party in Princeton at 11:30am @ the local YMCA. No rest for the weary 'round these parts. This weekend I will have:

Celebrated birthdays at 3 separate parties.
Ate 1 Thanksgiving Dinner
Attended a parade
Set-up my TV in the basement
Did a bunch of laundry
and...
watched ZERO football games... good thing the Steelers play Monday Night.

Whew! Good night, all.

Talk About Ambitious...

The plan for today is to go to one birthday party from 1 to 3pm for Geana's friend's daughter. She's turning 3. That party is at Tunnels of Fun in South Philly. I've never been there so I don't really know what to expect, but I can imagine it is closer to Chuck Cheese than Chuck Close.

Immediately following that party we are heading to Oasis in Delaware County, out near us. That party is scheduled from 4 to 6pm. That means 5 hours straight of running, playing, an partying with only an hour break to save our sanity (which will be spent driving in the van - commuting to party #2).

Look for an update later tonight...

Yard Sale!

Wow! It's been a week? Where does the time go?

We had a yard sale today at the Morris household. Let me tell you - I'm exhausted. We sold so much crap... er... stuff that I can't believe it...

(We have to say stuff now because at one point during the day Robby was mad at some unsuspecting child who was looking at some toys and said, clear as day, "Dad - He can't be in our crap!" Then to the boy, "That's MY CRAP!")

Anyway - we sold everything except for the kids today. You can finally see the floor in our basement, which is a HUGE accomplishment... next step - going out and buying MORE stuff to cover up the floor again.

I have a theory - men feel a sense of accomplishment after yard sales. After all - look at all of that crap... stuff... that we were able to clear out of our house! Not to mention - I'm the one who carried it all up and out from the basement. Nothing says manly like carrying out 2 cribs, 5 pack and plays, 3 high chairs, 2 double strollers, 1 single stroller, a glider chair, enough clothes to clothe Utah, and toys in a magnitude to make Geoffrey the Giraffe jealous, up from the basement and out to the driveway. (Annoying point #1 - I had to set up the cribs and pack & plays, only to take them apart when someone bought them... ugh.)

Women on the other hand have a sense of longing for the past and for the years that have escaped us. I'll never get it. Geana looks at an old plastic iron and starts to tear up as another baby walks away with it. She can't sell her ceramic little knick-knacks from her baby shower because they mean so much to her. (Annoying point #2 - I carried the knick-knacks back down to the basement before the sale, again wrapped in newspaper and packed in a box and I will bring them up again 2 years from now when we have our next sale without us looking at one of them subsequent to today.)

All in all - it was a successful day but I'm ready for bed.

Thanks to Mark and Mom for helping us with the kids today!

The Blame Game

The boys have learned how to blame each other for the bad stuff that they do. For example - when asked the question, "Who pulled out every single toy from the closet and dumped them all over the floor?" James' response will always be, "Robby." Likewise - Robby's response - "James." What to do? This is one of the quandries of having multiples. With one - we knew who to blame, it was only Sammy. I've tried interrogating them separately - attempting to have them turn on each other Law & Order style, but that doesn't seem to work with them. I guess Ice T is a much more intimidating figure than dear ol' Dad... who knew?

We don't leave them alone that often, but we do have to leave them on their own (occasionally) so that we can cook dinner, make lunch, unclog the potty, etc. The girl's are a good source of information but I don't want to turn them into NARCS or have them start blaming things on the boys because they have learned that it's okay to do that. They are definitely not as bad as the boys, but innocent - they are not. (I went into their room last night and Ella was in Anna's bed. We just moved the girls to big girl beds the other day).

The ripping out of toys, or the perpetual bad behavior doesn't bother me as much as the not telling the truth thing. Wow - I'm becoming a parent. Watching kids grow up is so much fun... even the bad stuff.