Saturday, November 7, 2009

COUSINS (Kid Post)

In honor of my new and old cousins I'm going to (or try) to list them all.

Kevin, Kurtis, Kris, TD, Taylor, Tina

Elle, Emma, Baby Alex

Susa, Mary, Manny

Carly, Natalie, Robert

AND THE NEWEST......................

VICTORIA :)

Monday, November 2, 2009

"The List of Bad Habit's" by; Stevie Lee (Kid Post)

"One bad habit of life is the cell phone. The cell phone is a bad habit because it puts you in danger of brain cancer by putting it near your ear .Another bad habit is candy because it puts you in danger of diabetes. Also it can make you a fatso and you may keep doing it so try to exercise every day. Another bad habit is gum. Gum is a bad habit because some people swallow it and it last about four years.
Well that’s all I can think about for now so don’t do bad habits
Posted by eight year old boy Steven Lee"

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Belly Pics


It's funny... for the over 4 years that I have spent pregnant, I have very few pictures to show for it! It was probably around the time that I was pregnant with Gabi that "belly pics" were really picking up popularity in the mainstream. But being a pretty modest and conservative person, I felt they were definitely not for me. Of course I also felt "fat" and didn't think I would want my stretch marks captured on film for posterity.

Now, looking back, and faced with the high probability that I will never have a beautiful, bulging pregnant belly again, I definitely regret not having taken more pictures.

So my advice to you pregnant mommas out there - take pictures! Take bare belly pictures! You don't have to go to a professional photographer. Take the pictures at home. You don't have to put them in an album or post them on Facebook or ever show them to anyone. But trust me, that some day you will think back and feel like - "wow, that was the best time ever.." And you will want to look at pictures of your big beautiful belly.

P.S. The picture above was taken on 4/19 when I was pregnant with the twins! Notice the exhausted look on my face. : )

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Finding a Pediatrician

It's been a while since I posted anything. Hopefully I can start this up again.
Since several friends and family members are expecting, I thought I'd write some helpful articles for expecting parents. This one is about choosing a pediatrician.

I think people spend more time researching and trying out strollers than in selecting their pediatrician which is crazy. Any mom will tell you that you will be spending a lot of time in the pediatrician's office, especially that first year, so choose wisely! But remember, you can change at any time if you're not happy.

A good place to start is by asking trusted friends and family members for the names of their pediatricians. Then start making calls to find out which ones accept your insurance. This will narrow down the list. Once you have a couple of options, call the office and let them know that you are expecting and would like to set up an appointment for a tour of the office and to meet one (or more) of the pediatricians. Here are some things you should look for:


When you call the main number, who answers the phone? Is it a live person or a recording? I can tell you that when you have a sick newborn in your arms or are worried and calling about a child with a high fever, the last thing you want to do is listen to 5 options before talking to someone.

I love that my Pediatrician's office always has live staff answering the phone during office hours. And whoever answers the phone can take care of whatever I need - make an appointment, fax a prescription, ask a medical question, etc.

Meeting with the doctor

You want to be able to interview the doctor and get to know his/her demeanor. Are they attentive? Do they seem hurried? Do they have a caring bedside manner or are they more down to business? There are no "right" answers. Everyone is different so it's a matter of what style you prefer.

Some questions you may want to ask:
How do you feel about breastfeeding? What if the baby is gaining weight slowly at first?
How do you feel about vaccines? What do you think about parents who choose to delay or stagger vaccines?
Do you think pacifiers are helpful or hurtful? (Again the idea here is not so much to get a right answer but to see how the doctor responds.)
What's your position on antibiotics? (You will find that there are some doctors who are super conservative and will reserve prescribing antibiotics only under extreme circumstances. On the other hand, you will find doctors who think the only reason you bring in your sick child is to get a prescription and they are quick to write one.)

The Office
For me, the office staff is almost MORE important than the actual Doctor. You spend a lot of time dealing with the staff and it's a much better experience when your pediatrician is part of a smooth running office. So be sure to ask these questions:
Do you have weekend hours? (My pediatrician's office is open on Saturdays 8:30 - 12:30 and Sunday mornings for emergencies)

If I call the office with a need to be seen by the doctor, will I be seen that same day?

Will I be seen by the same doctor I usually go to? (Amazingly, the office I go to has a way of blocking time which always leaves room open for same day appointments. 9 times out of 10 I see my usual pediatrician even for last minute appointments)

Who returns calls after hours? (My first pediatrician group always had the doctor on call returning calls. The only thing I don't really like about my current pediatrician is that they have a nurse's service returning calls after hours. If I HAD to speak to a doctor I probably could but it's not the norm)

Are there separate waiting rooms for sick vs. well children? (My pediatrician's office has 3 waiting rooms - sick children, well children over 2 and well children under 2)

Another note about waiting rooms. Although you might think it's great to see a waiting room with lots of toys for the kids to play with, think again. The last thing you want your kids to do is touch stuff at the doctor's office!

You can find lists of additional questions on parenting web sites like this one:
http://www.babycenter.com/0_choosing-a-doctor-for-your-baby_320.bc?page=2#articlesection6

The first time the pediatrician will see your baby is at the hospital, probably the day after the baby is born (maybe the same day). So you definitely want to make your decision sometime in the last trimester, but don't wait too long. Those last few weeks are always very busy! Good luck!

Friday, May 22, 2009

Long Story

This is probably the longest story you will ever hear(from me).
As you can see we haven't posted in like FOREVER!
This is because:
a.) We have been busy
b.) We had stuff to do
c.) we are a family of 7 (just to remind you if you have forgotten)
d.) well all of the above AND more! But what's the point of a post
about why we haven't been posting?

As probably half of you know Nicole has been in the hospital and
today she just got out. YAY!!!!! :) ") (" :)") To me, when mom
and Nicole wasn't here, this was NOT a fair concept because this
means i had to get Sofi ready as well as myself while dad got
the baby ready and i was doing it WITHOUT MOMMY!!!!!!!! AHH!!!!!
NOO!!!!!!!If you are still a kid this is a very scary concept.
Trust me!!! and 2 people were missing!! You could tell Jessica
missed her sister. Don't ask why you can just tell. It was
so cute when Nicole came home. Mom held both of them and nicole
was SOOOOO happy.



WELL SEE YOU! BYE! ADIOS! AU' REVOIR!