A TLC blog about the show we are in called Multitude of Multiples

Here is a link to a TLC blog about the show we were featured in.

They have Rachelle's name wrong but I imagine they will fix it. I assume the author just wrote what she heard and since the name Rachelle is pretty uncommon, she probably thought it was Michelle. Anyway, it is still a pretty good blog and it does a pretty good job of summing up what the show will be about. After it airs on Sunday, I think I'll write a little about what it was like to be in something like that.

One thing that I think has changed slightly since they shot the show is that we have realized that we aren't totally in control. Since they have turned two, it seems like they are getting more and more unpredictable and difficult to control. Just yesterday, I was giving them a bath while Rachelle was out teaching and I thought I was doing great until Kassidy decided to poop in the tub. Fortunately, she was the last one in the tub. I hurried and got her out but as soon as the other babies sensed the panic, they all started to run wild and get into stuff. It was like they could sense that I was powerless to stop them. Well, it turned out OK in the end but I had a glimpse of just how close to insanity I am at times. That seems to be happening more and more lately.

Jayson

Quintuplet Dance Party Video

Here is a video we just made. Be sure to catch us on Sunday August 30 on Multitude of Multiples on TLC at 8:00 Eastern.

Happy Birthday Quints

Well, today marks two years since I was sitting in a delivery room with a video camera wondering how the little people coming out of Rachelle's belly were going change my life. At the time I really wasn't sure if they were all going to be OK and if Rachelle was going to be OK. As I am sitting here writing this I really don't know how I kept myself from going crazy. I imagine that in about 18 years, I will look back on this day and wonder how I kept myself from going crazy.

Anyway, it has been pretty fun so far despite the occasional chaos, the puke, the breaking of computers, the early hours, and the poopy diapers. They are pretty cute which makes up for a lot...at least some of the time.

Well, coming up, we are for sure going to have a Quint Olympics video that we post some time around the 17th of August. Hopefully, you will also be able to see some special behind the scenes footage of the making of a Quint Olympics. But I will give more detail on that in the coming weeks.

Happy Birthday Rustin, Ryder, Kaydence, Kassidy, and Kyndall!

New Video on Quint Talk - The secret language question

Here is the latest video. It is about how the quints are learning how to speak and the rumor that multiples often develop a secret language.



We are expecting our next Quint Olympics video to come out some time around August 16th but we might get another "super short" out before that. We are also considering some outtakes videos since Riley and Kaiya are pretty silly.

Our video from "Fox and Friends" morning show

So, we had that article last week on abc.com. Because of that, we got a call from a guy at Fox News that wanted to have us on their show. We had to go to down town Austin pretty early. They wanted us there about a half hour before we were on. The only problem with that is that it doesn't take long for 5 nearly two year old kids to get board of sitting. This is the result:

Some attention about the fact that we don't get much attention

Today there was an article on ABC news about us. It is here:

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/story?id=7747473&page=1

It was funny because the reporter that interviewed Rachelle kind of already had in mind what he wanted to write about and only seemed to use the statements Rachelle said that supported his hypothesis. He was hoping to hear that things are really tough for us now and that our help has evaporated. The reality is that if we needed the help, it would be here. It is here at any time we have needed it. Right now, we still receive a lot of help from our friend Virgina, our friend Cassaundra, our friend Halli, our friends the Bollingers, our friend Barbara, our friends the Winerts, our friends the Zamoras, our friends the Reeses, our moms and dads, and a whole bunch of other people. I just want to make sure that all those people know that we really appreciate it.

Anyway, the ironic part was that the article was about how we don't get attention anymore...and here they are giving us a bunch of attention. Kind of funny.

One other thing to note...we are in the process of making a few more quint YouTube episodes. The one we are working on now is a special one that will probably not come out until August (because it is extra special).

5 days without Rachelle

Last week, Rachelle went on a trip to Utah for the BYU Women's conference and to visit some family and friends. Because of that, I got to stay home with the kids. This was a good experience for me because it helped me appreciate what she does just a little bit more and help me realize that she is much more cut out for it than I am.

Fortunately, we have a good friend from church named Virginia that came over ever day. She is like an extra grandma to the kids and really helped out a ton. In fact, about half way through, I realized that I was acting more as back up for her. She came every morning at 6:00 AM, went home for a 2 hour lunch and then came back until the babies were asleep at about 7:20 PM. Without that help, I would have really struggled. As you might guess, it is really hard to watch 5 walking babies at once. Speaking of that, I wonder how much longer I will be able to call them "the 5 babies". I mean, Kassidy tried to dress herself the other day and they are all starting to say a few words so I don't know if they are really babies at this point.

Well, the 5 days went by without any major incidents and I got to go back to work. Rachelle had a great time and even got to sleep in one day. For her sake, I wish she could have stayed longer and slept in a few more days. For my sake, I am glad she is back.

I really wonder how long it is going to be before we can sleep past 6:00 AM. I remember that with the other two kids, it was nice because on the weekends, we could switch off with one of us going out and taking care of the kids while the other one got to sleep in a little. That doesn't happen anymore and I miss it. It is really a lot like a farm I guess. These babies just aren't going to feed themselves... at least not for another 6 months or so.

Something else I realized is that my work is a lot less draining than taking care of those kids. Mothers really do have a very rough job and deserve a whole lot more respect than our society gives them. I heard a woman the other day on TV say something like, "Some woman are more than just mothers." It made me kind of sad because many people seem to think that being a mom (especially a stay-at-home mom) is a path for those that were too lazy or unintelligent to do something better. That is pretty sad and something that scares me about our society. I can definitely say that some of the most intelligent and hard working women I know are stay-at-home moms. Rachelle is no exception. She graduated with a Master's degree in Statistics and had a whole lot more job offers than I did when we started looking. She was also making about 20 percent more than I was when we started working. When she chose to be a stay-at-home mom, it was a big sacrifice for her. Gone was the additional income, gone was the recognition for her talents, and gone was the adult conversation. However, I know our kids are benefiting from that decision and will continue to benefit from it for the rest of their lives. Besides, at this point, daycare would be so expensive that it wouldn't even be worth considering.

Anyway, I just want to say how awesome it is to have great mothers like her in the world. Rachelle, my own mother and mother-in-law are all great mothers and we are lucky to have them. Daddies are definitely necessary but I realize now that I could never do as good a job as Rachelle does. Those are my thoughts after a week without Rachelle. She is simply awesome.