Sippy Cup Personal Ad: The Quest for The Perfect Sippy

My Pseudo-Submission to E-Harmony:



Happily Married Loving Mama of Four ISO (In Search Of) Non-Leaking, Easy to Hold, Cheap, BPA-Free, SIPPY CUP! Perfection is a PLUS! Looking for lifetime friendship!!!

Trying to find "The Perfect Sippy" is like trying to find Richard Simmons a date for the prom. (I can say this because I've met him personally, but that story I'll save for another blog.)Seriously, it's nuts! Soooooo many sippy cups out there, and now we have the whole BPA junk to mess with (If BPA is new terminology for you or you are looking for BPA-Free Products, this link is a great resource), plus purchasing sippy cups x4 turns into quite an investment! I decided my quest for "The Perfect Sippy" needed to be documented - Laugh, Cry, Comment! =)

Exhibit A: Our Sippy Cup Cabinet (Recently organized by Kathy C. while she was over watching the boys - HUGE Kudos!)

You'll see we've got options in the cabinet for thirst quenchin' action:

Option 1: Playtex First Sipster (Henry's Preference)

Pros: Very Little Leakage, Easy to Sip, Fairly Easy to Clean, Stackable, BPA-Free
Cons: Doesn't Fit in Cup Holders Due to Handles, Losable Parts to Clean

Option #2: Nuby Gripper Cup (Clark's Preference)

Pros: CHEAP (.99 @ Wal-mart), No parts to wash and loose, BPA Free
Cons: Leaks When Upside down, Hard to Screw on Top, Mouthpiece Has to Be Aligned Just So to Keep From Leaking, Unstackable, Leaks When Shook....Did I Mention It Leaks?????

Option #3: Take & Toss Sippy Cup (Van's Preference)

Pros: Cheap, Stackable, Convenient, Portable, BPA Free
Cons: Leaks When Squeezed, Shook, etc., Chewable Mouthpiece

So in continuing my search for "The Perfect Sippy ", I've turned to the Playtex Sipster, recommended by a triplet/twin mom. It was reasonably priced, somewhat stackable, so far leak free, BPA free, comes in 4 different lid colors, and the boys didn't get angry with them on the first try....so have I found my prince charming? Only Time Will Tell! Wish me Luck!

Videos of a "Venturous" Vacation: The Final Chapter

Our Videos of a "Venturous" Vacation Video Series is finally coming to a close! Shewwww! Thank goodness there's no upcoming Disney World, Grand Canyon, etc. vacations in the near future! It's taken me 3 weeks to blog about a 4 day weekend! =) However, I have enjoyed sharing our "Ventures" with you and hope you've taken a little humor and pleasure in our amusements!

Here it is the Final Episode. (My apologies for my lack of coherency and to any Walgreens employees.)

We received our new van on Monday night from DEAR DEAR friends who made us an incredible offer on their 2004 Honda Odyssey. We are have already become Ody enthusiast! Guess we'll have to join the Ody Club! (Yes, it does exist.) Special thanks to the Brunings and to Brad's parents for letting us borrow their vans while we were in transition.

Our favorite features, which are unique to us as quad parents, are that we can fit 3 car seats across the back row (meaning for the first time we could actually carry an additional passenger + much easier access for "locking and loading") and there's enormous rear storage for the wagon and all of the quad gear! Yesterday was the boys first ride in it, complete with frozen custard from Ritter's to celebrate! God truly provided for our needs and we praise Him for orchestrating all the details!

For the Record....

I do not make a practice of addressing anonymous parenting advice, but due to some conflicting information, I felt compelled to set the record straight. Here is a great resource from CHOP (Children's Hospital of Philadelphia) concerning this issue:

"The harnesses in forward-facing seats have several harness slot positions. These slot choices allow you to move the straps as your child grows. When your child is in the forward- facing position, the harness straps should be threaded through slots at or above your child's shoulders. If the top slots are below your toddler's shoulders, the seat is too small. She may need a different seat or may be ready for a belt-positioning booster. Be sure to read your car seat manual to learn how to correctly use the harnesses."

Brad and I willingly accept advice and constructive criticism from close friends, family, and our medical team and have made some adjustments accordingly. In the future, please allow them this privilege of offering assistance. We understand that many of you have wonderful intentions and we appreciate your concern for our boys' well being. However, the intent of our blog is to share our story of what God has done and continues to do in our lives, rather than be a forum for debate or parenting suggestions.

Please note that any comment referring to car seat straps, car seat position, car seat brands, or car seat rotten cheerios =) will be deleted from here "forward". If we have offended any of you, please know that is not our intention. The vast majority of the time your comments and emails are a great source of encouragement that we anticipate daily.

~Brad -N- Jen

You'll Look Sweet Upon a Seat, Of a Bicycle Built for 6?

Van? Who needs a van if you could ride in style with a sweet contraption like this! Six seater bicycle listed on ebay and locally on craiglist for $3500. Sure it has keyless entry, fuel efficiency, leather, and custom design, but I'm not sure about it's crash test ratings. (Thanks to Ben for passing this along for a great chuckle!)

A Perfect Fit!

Attention Shoppers: The Children's Place is having a Monster Sale - an additional 50% off mark downs! We're talking $2 tshirts, $4 one piece outfits, and more! (Walmart can't beat that!)
I immediately called Brad on the cell when I found this:

Double Trouble (Times 2!)

AND they actually had 4 of them in the same size! Isn't it perfect?
I wish they would have had 4 of these since they're "Groundhog Babies" (born 2-2-07), but I settled for one.

Groundhog Day

Can't wait to see them sportin' their new tees.

Pinchin' Pennies,

Who's WHO?

Last week we took four walks in a row in the "Quadmobile Beast" (also known as the Quad Runabout). I love having the independence of taking a walk by myself with the boys and getting some much needed fresh air! Hopefully spring is just around the corner....

The other night on our walk this cute kid yelled out, "Mom! They're like little WHOS!" Perhaps it was their hooded jackets, or the Seuss-like stroller, or the Grinch-looking parents. Regardless, it was a unique comment that made me laugh! I'm guessing our little friend might have went to the opening of Horton Hears a Who over the weekend!

We DO get asked "Who's Who?" quite often, but I happen to find my little buddies even more irresistible than this little character!

Welcome to Quad-Mart

I stress this is only ONE section of our "store"...but after re-stocking and organizing the other night after a diaper run to Target I thought you might want a peek into our garage (aka Quad-Mart).

Top Shelf: Cases of Diapers
2nd Shelf: Packages of Diapers and Wipes
3rd Shelf: Juice and Baby Food for the Week
4th Shelf: Cases of Paper Towel
Bottom Shelf: Laundry Detergent

Nuts! I know....what's even more INSANE is how quickly it will all disappear!

The Diaper Diaries

For those of you scared to read any further fearing this is a descriptive post about a diaper blowout, breath easy (literally)! Perhaps another time....(kidding, mom!!!!)

I just wanted to post about our car payment diaper budget. When we first started telling people we were expecting quadruplets, diapers almost always became the next topic of conversation. At the beginning we estimated diapers alone (@ 40 per day) would cost $20.00 a day!!! That's $600 a month, basically a mortgage payment!!!!! Yikes!

However, thanks to many of you: our family at The Bible Church of Brownsburg, staff at Brown Elementary, Publicis, members of Pittsboro PHI BETA PSI, Reynolds United Methodist, and countless individuals who donated a pack or two - 2007 was a FREE Diaper Year for the Murray Crew!!!!! What a GINORMOUS blessing this has been!

So now that our diaper surplus is "drying" up I'm out to find the the biggest "load" for my money! I'll be carefully reading Baby Cheapskate's Top Diaper Deals of the Week and staying on the look out for the best diaper coupons....If only we could find a coupon for Pampers like the one we found for Gerber baby food!

On another diaper note....have you noticed that people are more passionate about their favorite diaper brand than they are about politics? Seriously, people divide friendships over Huggies! So you want my opinion????? (I do consider myself a diaper connoisseur) ....I'm a Pampers Girl if money isn't an issue, but Luvs for value. However, Pampers Swadlers are worth every penny in the beginning! Store-brands seem to cost more in the long run, because you end up changing more often, because they don't hold the um, ....elements! We're bumping up to size 4's this week!

I'll look forward to your comments on how much you agree or beg to differ with me....Better yet, where I can find the steal of the week on diapers! =) =) =) =)

All Aboard! Next Stop: Pediatrician's Office

Choo! Choo! Here they are (front to back) Clark, Henry, Brooks, and Isaac sporting their Colts' Blue for Blue Friday. Hopefully our Colts can "chug" on to another victory on Sunday to make us a perfect "7" (7-0).

This is our new Choo-Choo Wagon. Do you like it? It was highly recommended from other higher order multiple families. We bought it for the boys for Christmas, but decided this was an occasion to try it out. It worked great since there's 4 of them and only 2 of us, and as you can imagine undressing, weighing/measuring, holding for the examination, getting shots, etc. takes a lot of effort! They were able to sit safely in their own car while they waited their turn. The only down side is, I think the wagon draws even more attention as our boys got their pictures taken 4 times in the doctor's office! They are so stinkin' cute in it, though, I have to admit! I can't blame them.

We have nothing but good news to report from our check-up. You can refer to our 7 month weight post to see their progress. Here's the latest weights:

Henry - 18 lbs. even

Brooks - 17 lbs. 11 oz.

Clark - 19 lbs even

Isaac - 21 lbs 9 oz!!!! (20 lbs is the 1 year goal)

Unbelievable! They are all on the charts for weight and are right on track or better for developmental milestones, especially for preemies! Our doctor was encouraged and amazed. We love that!

Here's Brooks waiting for his turn (Clark in the background looking embarrassed) Just want to kiss those cheeks!

Thanks for letting us share our great news! Go Colts!

With Love,

The Blue Crew

Do You Think Anyone Will Notice Us?

I know I've kept you waiting for too long.....the surprise is:

WE OWN A QUAD RUNABOUT!

Some of you may ask, what in the world is a Runabout? To quote The Sandlot, it's the "sultan of swat, the king of crash, the colossus of clout, the colossus of clout, the Great Bambino". It's the "Babe Ruth" of all strollers!

The picture explains the set up better than words, but the main gist is Brad or I can take the boys on a walk single-handed! For the time, we are limited to our neighborhood, because the stroller is so big that it only fits in the van by removing seats. That isn't too convenient, since each seat holds a car seat in our van. The manufacturer of the Runabout sells a hitch to mount on the back of your vehicle, but we haven't decided if we will invest in one yet. For the time being, we are just grateful to be able to use the sidewalk for the first time in 7 months!

This stroller was a hand-me-down from our triplet friends, the Schelpers. It was given to them by a quad mom in Louisville. It's really in great overall shape. Some of you remember my post about Crazy Things You Ponder When You Have Supertwins and how I renamed this contraption "The Beast" and "TheRunUsOutofHouseandHome". Thanks to our friends, we didn't have to pay a dime! (New Runabout Quad Strollers cost about $1,000 + shipping!) And as far as my pre-birth attitude about how we "would not own one of these strollers"....well, let's just say that there is no hiding quadruplets. I've learned it's better to embrace the multiple products - they are designed especially for us! We are looking forward to passing it on to another multiples family when we grow out of it, as well!

Thank you Dave, Amanda, Alyssa, Drew, Jack, and Lauren!

The Schlepers and Murray's at their 1 year celebration

Daddy and his boys going for their first walk in the Runabout

How to Effciently Feed Four Babies

I have lots to update you on, but first I HAVE to tell you about our feeding table! You know you've ordered something LARGE when a semi-truck shows up at your house. I had to snap a picture for proof!

Brooks supervised Daddy's work as he put it together in the garage. He just can't wait to get his hands on the power tools!

I think he likes it!

The boys just look so adorable sitting all together for their meal. Brad and I are able to pull up two chairs and feed them 1 on 2. They seem to like checking each other out. Last night was a treat for us, as they played with toys on the table while Brad and I enjoyed an entire meal! If only this table had some devise to open their mouths wider and keep their hands out of their mouths at the same time, we would be set! Next week I think we'll be giving vegetables a shot. I've heard that squash and sweet potatoes are great for staining clothes. Anyone have any tricks on getting the orange out of cute baby clothes? Now would be a great time for you investors to buy up some shares in Oxi-Clean, Shout, Clorox, etc. Quads can definitely impact the stock market. By the way, IU football is 3-0, I think it's due to our "red seat" spirit!

Of course, I had to include some video so you can see it in action!

I have many blogs in my head right now, that I need to sit down and type. We've had fun adventures, time with family, and some exciting news to share soon......Brad is bringing an oh so awesome blessing home in our van. It's BIG - so big he had to take a seat out of the van to fit it in.....curious???????

Smile if You Love Cereal

Pictured left to right: Henry, Isaac, Clark, and Brooks

So far, so good with the cereal. It's getting less messy and quicker each day. The best news is our feeding table that we've ordered from Just Multiples is being delivered today! We are excited to see how it will (or won't) fit in our kitchen. I think it's going to be an enormous help to our feeding routine. Thanks again to all who pitched in so that we could purchase this fine piece of furniture! The table pictured below is the model we ordered. However, ours will have red seats to go with our kitchen, and to support our HOOSIERS, of course! Go IU! We will be sure to post pictures when we have the table up and "running". Can't wait to see them all in it, ready to gobble up each bite!

Crazy Things You Ponder When You Have Supertwins.....

Well, lately my mind has been filled with the near future of "how are we gonnas". The boys are 5 months today!!!!! Unreal! I cannot believe that 5 months ago today I was so relieved to be laying on my back for the first time in months and praying for 4 little ones in the NICU who I had yet to meet. In ways it seems like a dream or a lifetime long ago, but in other ways it has flown so quickly. There's something I miss about those little preemies, although life at home is MUCH preferred. As I try to prepare for the next months ahead I'm filled with a lot of questions on how to best "function" in this home with 4 sweet boys.

Here's some products that I thought you "normal" families might get a kick out of that I've been pondering lately........


This is a feeding/activity table. Basically I think this could be a genius way to feed the boys. I could sit in the middle and then make my way around the circle to feed them like little birds. The seats each pop out, so you could clean them easily. Yes, it would take up a ton of room, but so will 4 highchairs. Plus, you could use them later on for coloring, play dough, etc. They are quite an investment, but something to pray/think about.....







This is a Runabout Quad Stroller. The manufacturer calls this the "Silver Bullet". I call it the "BEAST". When we were first pregnant with quads, every time I would see one of these it gave me the creeps. I mean what yells "freak" more than this contraption? I thought I WILL NOT have one of these strollers. My kids will not ride around the block on display in this tank. After all, could I even push something like this? - it has air brakes for goodness sake! So many multiple moms have told me that I "have to get a quad stroller, you won't be able to do anything on your own without it". I thought, "yeah, like I'm going to go anywhere on my own!" Crazy what 5 months will do to you. Sometimes I actually feel brave enough to do just that. I think it's this beautiful 75 degree weather that is making me want to go outside and enjoy it, instead of watching it out the window. HOWEVER, this "Runabout Silver Bullet" cost more than Brad's first car! It would "run" us over 1200 bucks! I think maybe they should rename it the "Runusoutofhouseandhome". I'm thinking I'm glad we have the 2 double strollers!



Hmmm...how are we going to do it once they start crawling/walking/running? Will we give up our master bedroom to make it into a playroom? Will we gate off half of our living room and move out some furniture? How about building a fence outside and locking the door from 8am-8pm? Kidding, kidding....please put down the phone and don't call CPS on me! Just trying to problem solve.



Now in my opinion this is the craziest of all multiple products and I wouldn't even consider this one. It's a double decker double crib. However, I do know someone who actually thought
would be a great idea at one time. (I'm not naming names.) I think I would have to officially call us the "Murray Zoo". People could drive for miles to come feed the babies. Brad and I even talked about mounting a bottle on the side of the "cage" kinda like they have in hamster cages. Hilarious! Hey, you have to have a sense of humor in our house!



Well, I guess I'm writing about all of this to hopefully make you all smile and if you happen to know any multiple families that are wanting to sell any of these products (minus the double decker cribs) - have them contact us.

More importantly, I need to remind myself of this passage in Matthew 6. (Taken from http://www.biblegateway.com/)
25"For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26"Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? 27"And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? 28"And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, 29yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. 30"But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith!
31"Do not worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear for clothing?' 32"For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34"So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." NASB