jenny penny

15 month check-up

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Wed, 14 May 2008 04:39:00 +0000

Ava & Audrey at 1 year of age!

Audrey & Ava had their 15 month check-up today and I was a little surprised by their stats!!

Audrey weighs 21 pounds 11 oz. , her head circumfrence is 46 in. and she's 32 inches long.
This puts her in the 50th percentile for height, the 25th for head circumfrence, and the 90th percentile for length.

Ava weighs 18 pounds 10 oz., her head circumfrence is 45 inches and she measures 32 inches long too.
This puts her in the same percentile as Audrey for both head circumfrence and height. This is the first time they have EVER measured the same length!! Audrey has always been an inch or so longer.

As for weight, Ava has dropped off the charts again. I am so dicouraged. I worked soooo hard to get her into the 3rd, and then the 5th, and finally the 7th percentile.

I went back and checked in my dayplanner and Ava weighed 17 pounds 15 oz. and was in the 7th percentile for weight at her 12 mo. check-up (Audrey weighed 19 pounds 4 oz 25%). This means that Ava has gained LESS than 1 pounds in over 3 months!!!! This also puts them back at a 3 pound weight difference. The last time they had this much of a difference, we were fighting a feeding tube for Ava. The doctor told us to start adding Carnation Instant Breakfast to her milk and to come back in for a weight check in 6 weeks.

We also got a referral to see the ENT for Ava. Her sleep apnea has begun to get worse and I think she may need her tonsils and adenoids out now too! She is starting to toss and turn and really work to open her airway at night. Poor thing!

The girls had their DTaP immunization today and will go back in at 18 months for another check-up and thankfully their last immunization for awhile!!!!

I am still waiting for a Ma-ma or Da-da from them, but Audrey will sometimes say "tu-tu" when you hand her things (her own way of saying "thank-you") and yes when you ask her if she wants something. Ava said cheese the other day. It sounds like "CH" and "ssss" in the quietest whisper. Now whenever Ava wants something she will say Chssss. Almost like two very distinct and seperate sounds.

Mother's Day Weekend!

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Mon, 12 May 2008 03:19:00 +0000

Yesterday we went to my Mom & Dad's for a BBQ and some swimming. The kids had a blast! I am sure my Mom will be sticking some pics up on her blog soon so I won't post duplicates here. Later on we ate homemade Rootbeer Ice cream. Yum..............

Today my morning started off with blueberry pancakes and scrambled eggs (thank you Rick)!
Then we headed off to church where they honored all of the Mother's with Sees Chocolates (it's good to be Mom) and the kids sang a special musical number.

We spent the afternoon with Rick's family at the park. My niece Lexi (age2) helped feed the

girls their lunch. It was sooooo cute.

Here she is feeding Audrey lasagna

and helping her getting a drink

and even wiping her face!

Ava wouldn't let her feed her

but, she sure liked all of the attention!!!

Audrey spoon feeding herself!

The kids all had a great time playing on the playground

Lexi again, isn't she cute?!?!

Here is her new baby brother, Ryan

Here is one of my nieces Molly. Everytime she saw the camera in my hand she would say "Cheese" and pose. What a cutie!

Logan enjoying the tire swing

Eli and Lucas, he is getting soooo big!!!

Lauren monkeying around on the monkey bars

Ava AKA Banana Slug

This was the best picture I could get of Audrey on the playground, she was just too busy for pictures

Jamison is the only one of my kids I wasn't able to get a picture of at the park. I guess that's because he spent most of his time skateboarding and hanging out in the creek with his cousin Bobby.

Here is a picture I was able to get of him this evening at home in between skating!

Here are some pics taken of this girls this evening in their new jammies!

Audrey

Ava

My Girls!

Holy Cow!!

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Thu, 08 May 2008 05:32:00 +0000

I was just complaining to Rick tonight about how sometimes I feel like I live at the Dr.'s office (We were just there again today for Lauren & Audrey this afternoon). I decided to look in my dayplanner and count how many Dr.'s appointments I have been to since January 1, 2008. Can you believe I have taken the kids to 48 Dr.'s appointments so far this year??? And that's not even counting labs, x-rays, developmental assesments, the 6 hours a week the girls and I spend in therapy for them or Audrey's sleep study and surgey/hospital stay! So far this year we have seen the Allergist, the Neurologist, the ENT, the Pediatrician (numerous times), the Orthodontist (monthly), the Pediatirc Orthopedic, and the Dentist. We have had 3 trips to the ER (all for Audrey-one of them resulting in her hospitalization) and 2 trips to the Urgent Care (we were just there on Monday for Lauren).

Audrey has had surgery, Jamison had his braces taken off while Lauren has had her lower braces put on and is getting her back brace for scoliosis this Friday. We've had teeth cleannings, twisted ankles, a cavity filled, a strange rash that we thought was a food allergy, sinus infections, and lots of ear infections. There is never a dull moment in the Phethean Household!!!

One appointment I am looking forward to this month is the girls 15 month appointment. I can't wait to find out how much they have grown since their last check up!!!!!

Ryan Christopher Ashby

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 05:38:00 +0000

Beth surprised us all and had her baby this morning. Ryan Christopher Ashby arrived shortly after midnight. Poor Troy was on buisness in Seattle (Beth wasn't due for another 3-4 weeks). Luckily her neighbor was able to drive her in from Corona and Bobby was able to stay with Lexi.
I am dying to go see him, but since Troy is flying in from Seattle some time today I decided to wait until tomorrow. Congratulations guys!!!

Ear Infections

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 04:56:00 +0000

The girls have been really cranky for weeks now. Monday morning Ava woke up around 4:30 a.m. and wouldn't go back to sleep. Around 5:30 I gave up on getting any more sleep so I got up and started fixing Ava breakfast (I thought maybe she was just really hungry). I had given her some milk and cheerios to munch on while I scrambled the eggs. A few moments later I turned around and noticed that Ava was just sitting there with her head cocked to the side holding her ear. I thought "Oh no, here we go again". I quickly gave her some Motrin and tucked her into bed (she was falling asleep in the highchair at this point).

Today I took the girls in to see the Dr. and it turns out the girls have ear infections in both ears.
Poor Ava's ears have been infected for over a month now. I am really hoping this will be the last ear infection in our house for awhile because 2 screamming toddlers = 1 tired and stressed out mommy!

Hello, Dolly! Bye Bye Birdie

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 06:11:00 +0000

Lauren was lucky enough to be able to perform in Golden Hill's production of Hello, Dolly! She had a lot of fun...............

Lauren on stage with her classmates

Lauren was cast as a parasol girl

Here is a flashback to last years production of Bye Bye Birdie.............

Here is Lauren last year on the day of dress rehearsal (you can see how much has grown)

My Sweet Apple Teen

And here are a few more that my Mom sent me.....

theese are from "Telephone Hour"

Tooth Tally

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 04:50:00 +0000

The girls have been doing some serious teething for a few weeks now so I thought it was time to do a tooth tally. Tonight as I was brushing the girls teeth I decided to take a peek and count their teeth. Ava has six teeth on top; two front teeth, both of her one year molars and it looks like her incisors have just cut through. On the bottom she has four front teeth and signs of molars on their way.

Audrey has four teeth on top; two front teeth, both molars and one incisor on it's way (the left one). On the bottom she has 3 front teeth.

I will be soooo glad when the girls teeth have all come in, they have had such a bad case of the crankies lately!!!!!

Date Night

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 18:54:00 +0000

Rick and I had a "date night" on Sunday evening and we didn't even have to leave the house or hire a babysitter. We simply tucked all the kids in bed by 9:00 p.m. and sat down to watch Jane Austen's Sense & Sensibility on Masterpiece Theatre. We even enjoyed hot fudge sundaes (shhhh---- don't tell our kids).
If you know anything about me then you know that I am huge fan of PBS and an even bigger fan of Jane Austen. I am so excited that PBS has chosen to do the Complete Jane Austen this season
featuring all six of Jane Austen's novels.

Here is a schedule of upcoming classics on Mastepiece Theatre:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/schedule/index.html

I can't wait for this coming Sunday! What could be better than watching Jane Austin's novels come to life while snuggling on the couch with your sweetie!!!

Brace-Face

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 04:41:00 +0000

Lauren got her bottom braces on today (she's already had the top braces for a few months now)!

Here is the "Before" picture

And here is the "After" picture

And here is one of Lauren just being plain silly

Jamison will be getting his braces off in April.
We are sooo excited!!!

A Wrinkle in Time

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 06:04:00 +0000

I just finished reading A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L' Engle. The first time I read this book was in the 5th grade. It has been many years since I have read it but it has always been one of my favorite books. The other day as I was browsing the shelves at Target and I saw it and thought to myself I deserve a treat so I picked it up. I have enjoyed this book so much that I am plan on reading all 5 of the books in this series. Meg is by far my favorite character. She has such great qualities about her, she needs to build up her self-confidence.

One stormy night...
...a strange visitor comes to the Murry house and beckons Meg, her brother, Charles Wallace, and their friend Calvin O’Keefe on a most dangerous and fantastic journey–a journey that will threaten their lives and our universe.

Setting Goals

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 05:22:00 +0000

Today was a day for setting goals. Early Intervention came out to our house this morning and we reviewed the girls IFSP (Individualized Family Service Plan). The girls will be starting a Global Developmental Program at Gallagher Pediatric Therapy next week. They will be recieving services on Monday and Wednesday mornings from 9 a.m. until noon. They will be pulling Audrey out 1 hour a week for individual OT. I am excited and a little nervous all at the same time. I am excited that the girls willl be recieving services but a the same time I am worried about how the girls will handle this big change. 3 hours is a long time and I can see Ava melting down quickly. I am really hoping the girls will be receptive to therapy.
Some of the goals they set for Audrey are chewing food with coordinated movements, scooping food with a spoon and stabing it with a fork, and holding and drinking from a cup.
Ava has these goals for her as well as some others such as engaging in simple relational play, exploring her environment enthusiastically, showing preference for certain toys, imitating new gestures, and responding to simple verbal requests. Boy do we have our work cut out for us!!!

I was also able to meet with Lauren and Logan's teachers today as well (it's parent-teacher conference week up at Golden Hill). Usually these conferences are student led but since both Lauren and Logan were out sick it was just the babies, the teacher and myself.
Lauren is doing great and really excelling in reading/comprehension. She is a great student and teachers generally love her.
Logan is doing well academically too. His strengths are math and comprehension. He is also working really hard on his reading skills. His teacher would like to see Logan become a little more organized and work on getting to school on time. Needless to say I am still having a hard time getting Logan to bed at night and up in the morning. She also said that Logan struggles with his penmanship. He is having an OT eval at CHOC on Friday to adress ADL, graphomotor delays, and sensory issues. I have been waiting for this appointment for 3 months!!

There's no place like home!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 06:10:00 +0000

After 6 days and 5 nights Audrey was finally able to come home from the hospital on Thursday, March 20!! We are soooo happy to have Audrey at home with us, and to be together as a family once again. Audrey was so excited to see our little house, and I think the kids were all happy to have their Mommy back.

What a cute little patient!!!

On Saturday, March 15th Audrey was admitted to CHOC due to respiratory distress. She was hooked up to a sleep apnea monitor and her heart rate, respirations, and pulse/oxygen were monitored. The first night was rough for me because the monitor went off several times. It was even scarier once I realized that with every apnea episode, Audrey's heart rate would drop too. We were told that it wasn't safe to bring Audrey home and that she would have to remain in the hospital and that her surgery would have to be bumped up. Her doctor ordered an EKG, and ECHO done on her just to make sure everything was A-Ok with her heart since she has a heart murmur. He also gave us some of the results from Audrey's polysonogram (sleep study). The test showed that Audrey's sleep apnea was pretty severe. On a scale of 1-10 they scored her apnea at a 13.7!!!

Ava visitng while Audrey sleeps on...

Her surgery was performed by Dr. Ahuja on Tuesday, March 18. They removed Audrey's tonsils and adenoids. Everything went well. Even in post-op Rick and I could already see the change in Audrey's sleep patterns. For the first time in months she was able to breathe peacefully during sleep. We couldn't hear any snoring, gasping for air, or sucking sounds. She wasn't retratcting, or laboring for every breath anymore. Her doctor said that 90% of her airway had been obstructed during sleep!!!

The girls loved to sit and "hang out" in the bottom of Audrey's crib!

Everyone at CHOC did such a great job of trying to make us comfortable during her stay. Child Life Services brought in toys for Audrey to keep in her room. They also let us use a wagon to pull Audrey around in. We pulled her all over the halls of the 4th floor.
Audrey being pulled in her wagon with her IV in tow....

They had a play room where patients and their siblings could hang out and do normal kid stuff together, such as play a board game, make crafts, or Audrey's & Ava's favorite....play in the ball pit!!! We are very fortunate to live so close to a Children's hospital.

Our view from room 403!
I am so glad that we were able to have a room with a window in it.
Audrey loved to watch all of the people coming and going throughout the day!

I feel so blessed that Audrey had such an awesome team of Dr.'s and nurses caring for her.
We would like to thank all of our family members, friends, and Ward Members that fasted and prayed for Audrey, helped us take care of our other children's needs, and brought meals into our home. We appreciate all of you soooo much and couldn't have made it through this difficult week without your love and support!!! Thank-you!!!!

Lucas Andrew Phethean has arrived!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 05:41:00 +0000

Lucas Andrew Phethean

Dennis & Elisabeth are proud parents for the second time!! Lucas Andrew Phethean arrived this morning at 8:38 a.m. via C-section. Weighing 7 pounds 6 oz. and measuring 18 1/2 inches long. What a cutie!!! Rick, Jamison and I were lucky enough to be able to go down to the hospital this evening and see him (and hold him too).

Richard Andrew & Lucas Andrew

I love this picture of Dennis, Rick, & Lucas!!!

Eli looked amazing after just having a C-section. She wouldn't let me take any pictures of her, so you'll have to take my word for it. I remember after I had the girls I felt like I had been run over by a Mak truck!!! I was so tired and out of it! She was in great spirits and laughing.

We are so happy for them!!

Audrey's Big Adventure- Her sleep study!!

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 18:37:00 +0000

Audrey had her sleep study last night at the Southern California Sleep Disorders Specialists.
I was a little nervous going in there and not what sure to expect but her nurse Patti did a really good job of making both Audrey and I feel comfortable. We arrived at 8:00 p.m. (Audrey's usual bedtime) and Patti checked us into our room. It looked just like a hotel room, and they even had a bed for me to sleep in (I was worried I would only get a chair, a pillow, and no blanket). Much to Audrey's delight they had a giant stuffed poodle waiting for her to play with. She left us alone for awhile so that Audrey could get used to the room. We played and read stories for a bit. Soon after Patti came in and started getting Audrey's skin prepped for the electrodes (they wiped her down with a solution to remove the excess oil). Next they placed electrodes ALL over her. One in the middle of her forehead, one on either side of her eyes, two on her chin, a million in her hair (they had to use some really sticky glue like stuff for those). They also put an audio recorder on her throat, a pulse/ox on her toe, two electrodes on her chest, a strip that went in her nose, and two belts around her middle. They recorded her brain waves, her eyes, her heart rate, her breathing, her snoring, and the actual movements of her chest and abdomen.

It took about an hour to get all of them on her, with a lot of redirecting her attention and hand holding from me and A LOT of patience on Patti's part. I really wish I had my camera so I could take a picture of her, she was quite a sight to see. I kept telling Audrey that she looked very stylish with her purple and orange belts and her rainbow ponytail (they bundled all of the wires behind her head in a long ponytail so she could sleep more comfortably) and her magic toe (the pulse/ox had a glowing red light). Poor thing was pretty worn out after all of that and went to sleep fairly quickly. They let us run a fan in there for some white noise, and that helped a lot!!
It's really nice because all of the technical epuipment and the nurse are outside in a seperate area, so it's really private too.
We decided it would be easiest if Audrey slept in the bed with me instead of the crib since my job was to make sure she didn't pull on any of the leads or get tangled up in them.
Audrey tossed and turned all night. I was hardly able to sleep a wink. Every time she would toss or make a sound I had to wake up and check on her and readjust all of the wires. I guess I never realized how restless her sleep was until last night. A few times Patti had to come in and add more glue to her hair or readjust something to get a better reading.
In the morning I talked to Patti a bit about Audrey's restlessness and she told me it was because she was struggling for air all night and that she recorded 1,000 30 second episodes. YIKES!!!! My poor baby must be miserable. They woke us up around 6:30 a.m., removed all of the stickies (that was almost as bad as puting them on), and they took her picture (she had some really fabulous bed head) and then we came home. Audrey has been pretty groggy all morning so I fed her breakfast, gave her a bath, and put her down to bed. Poor thing is still sleeping!!!

The doctor should get a written report in about 7-10 days. We don't go back to see the ENT until March 27 th, but since both her sleep study and EKG have been performed I am hoping he will want to see her sooner. She is pretty miserable and has been doing a lot of heavy mouth breathing lately. She sounds just like Darth Vader!! Poor thing!!

Morning Mayhem

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 19:05:00 +0000

Why is it when I need to be out of the house on time, everything goes wrong?!!!
This morning I needed to be at CHOC by 9:15 a.m. so that Audrey could have her EKG. I thought I would get up early and make breakfast before the girls woke up, but as soon as I set foot in the kitchen the girls woke up crying and that pretty much set the tone for my morning. They cried all morning making it very difficult for me. Lauren and Logan were very sleepy this morning and had to be woken up several times. Logan wouldn't cooperate. I had to give all 5 of the kids thier medication (antibiotics etc) this morning. I had to give Aurdey her nasal drops (I dread doing this). Jamison is out ill with another migraine for the second day in a row so I had to make sure he took his seizure medicine and was comfortable before I left. The cats kept staring at me (they wanted their breakfast too).

As I was in the bathroom trying to pull myself together for the day (you know-brush my teeth, a little make-up, combed hair is always nice) the girls were busy pulling lotion, q-tips, and toothpaste out of the drawers (note to self-install the drawer locks in the bathroom)!!!
Poor Lauren and Logan were 10 min. late for school this morning but at least by the time I got on the FWY it was pretty empty and I was able to make it to CHOC on time!

Audrey had her EKG, and it was over and done with before she knew it. Although she did not like the electrodes they placed on her chest and back. Tonight when she has her sleep study she will have to have even more placed all over her chest and back (and even in her hair)!!!

As she was having her EKG done I was thinking about all of the trips I made to the Fetal Diagnostic Center. Three times week, for an hour at a time, for 16 weeks I had to have Fetal monitoring done on the girls. After today I have come to the conclusion that it was much easier when they were in my tummy!!!

Here Come the 123s

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 05:15:00 +0000

I'm always looking for new music to listen to with the kids and I'm sooo excited that one of my favorite bands They Might Be Giants has come out with an album (Here Come the 123s) for kids. I think it totally rocks!! They have a weekly Podcast on Friday nights.
Jamison and I played One Dozen Monkeys for the girls and they loved it!!!

I just had to share one of my favorite videos I used to love when Jamison and Lauren were little.......REM on Sesame Street

Another band the kids and I like are the INSIDEOUTS A CAPELLA. All of the music is done without instruments, and it's absolutely amazing!!!
http://www.insideout-acappella.com/

Our Visit with the ENT

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 07:15:00 +0000

Audrey saw Dr. Ahuja today and I really liked him. He seemed to be really patient with her and spoke to her in a kind and gentle manner. He spent a lot of time with me addressing my concerns, we were there for 3 hours (we were the last one's to leave his office)!!!

The soft tissue x-ray we had done at CHOC came out kind of fuzzy (she must have moved while they were taking it). Based on today's examination Audrey has a TON of fluid in both ears (just like big sister Lauren had at this age), a lot of nasal secretions (snot), her tonsils are HUGE (I wonder if that's why she chokes on her bottle still?) and her glands are very active and swollen. He sprayed a mixture of lidocain (to numb it) & afrin (to shrink the nasal membranes) up her nose (my poor baby) and inserted a small camera in her nostril to get a better look at her adenoids. She was soooo good during the procedure. I guess her adenoids are Huge too (he used some other term-can't remember the name...) and she still has some acid reflux. I guess the adenoids and tonsils have to come out!!
He wants her to have a sleep study done to see how bad her sleep apnea is first, because she may have to spend some time in ICU after sugery. While he was examining her he detected a heart murmmer so he is sending her out to see a cardioligist for an echo. He put her on a prescription steroid to help shrink her nasal passages and give her some relief until she has surgery. CHOC should be calling me Monday with a date for the sleep study.

On another note, Jamison had another migraine today, luckily it started before school and I was able to keep him home. He had another dizzy spell too. He has been pretty bummed all day today, I know he is tired of feeling like this (we go back to see Dr. Bose-our Neurologist in May). I felt horrible leaving him at home not feeling well while I took Audrey to the ENT (Rick came with me and sat in the waiting room with Ava) and Grandma took Logan to get his ankle checked out again (the ankle brace was too tight so they taped his foot) and Lauren had play rehearsal for Hello Dolly.

My Little Monkey Sprained His Ankle

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 06:30:00 +0000

Logan "monkeying" it up at the Santa Ana Zoo

Yesterday my little monkey man Logan sprained his right ankle in our front yard. He was running across the lawn and jumped over the babies play yard and landed on one of their toys. Poor little guy woke this morning with a huge lump on the outside of his ankle.
I took him in to see our chiropractor Dr. Christensen (Casey) and he fixed it all up with an ankle brace. Logan was out of school today due to swelling and the pain, but hopefully he will be back to "monkeying" around in no time!!!

We have a walker!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:14:00 +0000

Ava on the go
Ava being thoughtful
Ava hanging out with the flowers

Audrey in action
Audrey taking a rest

Audrey- isn't she beautiful??!!

Audrey has been taking steps for awhile now, but until this weekend the most steps she has ever taken was about 7-10. Now she is walking ALL over the house!!! It is so cute to watch (i really need to video tape her). Ava is finally standing unassisted and took 3 steps on her own today.

I think it will be awhile before she is walking as she is perfectly content to crawl.

Some other recent accomplishments are that BOTH girls are clapping now and pointing, and Ava now waves. Audrey is trying to self feed with a spoon/fork or "spork" as I call it and is starting to become interested in dressing. She will bring me clothes and want me to put them on her (just like Lauren did at this age). Audrey is beginning to mimick our speech, for instance if i call for "Jamison" she will call for him too and then wait for him to respond (so cute). it doesn't sound anything like his name but it has the correct amount of syllables. Ava isn't talking but she does make the cutest little Donald Duck-like noises that are in her own way a form of communication.

I am so proud of the girls, they have come a long way. Especially in the last 2 weeks. They still have some feeding issues and will not hold a cup or bottle on their own and Audrey is still thrusthing her tongue when I spoon feed her, but they are making progress!!!

Sick Again!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 07:33:00 +0000

Poor Audrey woke up Thursday morning with a fever and a wicked green snotty nose!! I also noticed she has little dark circles under her eyes (allergy shinners). She was pretty miserable so
I decided to take her back to the Dr.s' (again). This has been an ongoing thing for the past month or so. Each time I have had her checked I have been told it was just a virus.

Dr. Mackey decided we should get a urine sample (they had to use a catheter-poor thing) to make sure she didn't have a UTI that was going on undetected. Thank goodness it came back negative.
She does have a sinus infection though (she had one last month too). I am really need to get her into see the ENT. I am wondering if her enlarged adenoids have anything to do with her constantly bieng ill.
This morning I picked up her prescription ($54.00) along with Jamison's Topamax and boy was I in for a shock!! With our new high deductible insurance Jamsion's Topamax was $230.00 for a 1 month supply!!! OUCH!!!!

Oh yeah, and I guess our Dr. got the girls mixed-up because apparently he wrote the presciption for Ava- not Audrey!

a typical day

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 05:39:00 +0000

i thought i would record a typical day:

6:30 a.m.-wake-up, start breakfast (french toast & scrambled eggs).
7:00 a.m.- wake- up lauren and logan (jamison is already up and showering). wake up the girls
(audrey woke up wet so i had to strip her bed and start up a load of wash).
7:10 a.m. serve breakfast and continue to get kids ready for schoool (jamison leaves to catch the bus).
8:00 a.m.- load everyone up in the car (in the rain) and take the kids to school.
8:30 a.m- come home. switch laundry, start more laundry, unload dishwasher and do the breakfast dishes.
9:00 a.m.-give audrey a quick bath. dress both girls for the day.
9:30 a.m.-fold laundry.
10:00 a.m. feed the girls a snack, put the laundry away, tidy up toys in the family room and vacuumme.
10:30 a.m. attempt to give girls a nap (doesn't work) while i take a 5 min. shower and get dressed for the day.
11:00 a.m.- switch laundry & fold more laundry. start to pre-pare lunch.
11:30 a.m.- feed girls lunch.
11:45 a.m.-clean up lunch mess, do lunch dishes, mop kitchen floor, dress girls (again) and pack the diaper bag.
12:40 p.m.- pick-up lauren & logan from school (girls fall asleep in car).
1:00 p.m. drive to the doctor's office in Tustin (20 min. away) so lauren can get her 3rd gaurdisal vaccine.
2:00 p.m.-leave dotor's office and head home.
2:30 p.m.-arrive home. unload car full of kids, feed them all a snack and get ready to head out to lauren and jamion's orthodontisht appointment.
3:00 p.m.-leave to take kids to the orthodontist (jamison and rick met us there).
4:30 p.m.- get home from orthodontist (rick leaves to help a friend out so i am on my own for the night). feed the girls another snack and start dinner.
5:30 p.m.-serve dinner.
6:00 p.m.-clean-up dinner mess, dress girls in their jammies.
6:45 p.m.-leave to take jamison up to the church for youth activity (girls fall asleep in car).
7:15 p.m.-start logan on homework. do the dinner dishes.
8:00 p.m.-girls wake-up crying. make bottles and try and soothe the girls back to sleep (doesn't work).
8:30 p.m.-put away more laundry, and put fresh sheets on the girls beds (i had forgotten to do this earlier) all while they girls are cying. jamison gets dropped off at home. put babies down to bed for the night.
8:45 p.m.-vacuume the family room (again) because someone thought it would be a good idea to give the babies crackers. start getting logan ready for bed.
9:00 p.m.-call lights out (lauren comes to me complaining of a sore throat). give lauren some medicine and herb tea, (then logan wants tea too).
9:30 p.m.-send lauren and logan back into bed. switch laundry and start yet another load of wash.
10:00 p.m. sit down, relax. well sort of. as i type this i am staring at load of laundry on the couch that needs to be folded. ughh!!!!!

No-Throw

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 15:29:00 +0000

I just wanted to let you all know about a great product that my friend told me about....It's called No-Throw and it stops your little ones sippy cups from hitting the floor when they throw them. It easily attatches to their high chairs, strollers, and car seats. They carry them at Walgreens and while I was out Thursday evening buying some more Motrin for Audrey (she's been running a fever the last few days) I picked up a few for the girls. Let me tell you I love this product!! Lately the girls have been throwing their sippy cups off of thier high chair and onto the floor and it had been driving me nuts!!! Well, not anymore!!!
I could've really used this product when Logan was a baby, I can't tell you how many times I was hit in the back of the head by a sippy cup while driving!!!

Here is a link to their site, check it out you'll be glad you did.......

http://www.nothrow.com/

And a big thanks to Jen Thomas for telling me about this great product!!!!

Fresh & Easy

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 17:09:00 +0000

Rick and I had been dying to check out this store since they are building one in our neighborhood. So Rick and decided to load up the girls and check out one of their stores in the nearby city of Anaheim....
One of the first things I noticed was the reserved parking for adults with children. Now if they only had twin mommy parking....(He-He)Overall Rick and I really like this store. The store is clean and well laid out, the produce is fresh and reasonably priced and they have a tasting kitchen where you can sample their food (kind of like Costco). Many of their "Fresh & Easy" store brand items are organic, almost all are High Fructose Corn Syrup free, their milk is RBST free and the meat is hormone and antibiotic free. Their prices are awesome!!! They have cereal bars and granola bars (HFcorn syrup free) for $1.35!!! That is cheaper than any granloa bars I have found , generic or otherwise. They also have great sales on bread and meat. Rick and I got some fresh made corn tortillas for .39 and hot dog buns for .30 a pack. We got some beautiful shrimp for really cheap and ground angus sirloin for $2.00. We filled two grocery carts full of mostly organic items and spent just a little over $125.00. Plus they gave us $5.00 off coupons for our next few trips. I am so excited and can't wait for the one near me to open up (Fall 2008)!!! My only disapointment was that their ice cream, yogurt, and bagels ALL had HFcorn syrup...

Audrey & Ava helping Mommy & Daddy load the groceries into the car
Here is a link to their website, they have great recipes on their too!!

http://www.freshandeasy.com/home.aspx

The Newest Member

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 06:52:00 +0000

Today Logan was baptized and confirmed a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints by his Daddy. It was such an amazing day and one I hope Logan will remember for the rest of his life. Rick and I are so proud of Loan and his decision to be baptized.
Many of Logan's friends, family, and ward members were in attendance. It was so nice to see so many people come and share this special day with Logan. He has been looking forward to this day for a long time and was very excited!!

Afterwards we went to dinner at Denny's (Logan's choice) where Logan enjoyed "Alien Pancakes". Rick's manger Joe, his wife Kelly, and their son Joey accompanied us to dinner. It was so nice to finally meet them after hearing so much about them. We had a great time!!

His and Hers - Then and Now

noreply@blogger.com (Jen) — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 01:36:00 +0000

Recently our minivan bit the dust and we were in the market for an economic commuter car for Rick that fell within our budget. After a lot of consideration as to whether we should take out another car loan and buy him a new car and have 2 car payments, or find a used vehicle, we decided on a 68 VW Beetle. The other evening we decided to take the kids out to dinner. Rick had to meet me there so we had two cars to drive home from the restaurant. As Rick pulled up next to me at a traffic light I couldn't help but laugh, it looked so funny to see me driving this big Sherman Tank (as my neighbor calls it) and Rick in this teeny, tiny little Beetle.

I remember when we had his and her cars as I called them. I had my 89 Jeep Grand Wagoneer (the blue one) and Rick had his 86 Jeep Grand Wagoneer. I miss those days!!

My Excursion rocks too though!!

Then-Our Jeep Grand Wagoneers

Now-Rick's little blue bug and my Diesel Excursion