Leah is doing okay after her "T&A" procedure. Everything went fine, she did okay with the anesthesia and she took her pain meds the first day or so without a fight. She then went out medicine strike and is refusing to take any thing for the pain. She is afraid of the Tylenol w/Codeine that the doctor prescribed; she doesn't like the way it makes her feel and she thinks that the medicine caused her bad dreams that she had the first couple of nights. Also, (I think as a result of the first medicine) she will not take even regular Tylenol. She is also struggling with dehydration...she is really fighting us on drinking enough of anything. I have tried everything I can think of...Popsicles, kool-aid, warm drinks, water, Gatorade, Slurpee's, you name it and I have probably tried it. We have to take turns sitting next to her and every little bit reminding her to take a drink and consider ourselves lucky when she does. We are hopeful though that it will get better...she is on the other side of the "pain hill" and will hopefully have an easier time with swallowing. The boys are a little confused at all the extra attention Leah is getting, but other than that seem to be okay with the drama that has been going on around them.

We are all getting excited for our break from the "norm" when we head to California in March. The kids are especially excited for Disneyland, go figure!! Jeff and I are definitely in need of some of R&R...we barely have time to sit down and eat let alone relax with all that is going on...because wouldn't you know if we are not reminding Leah to drink we are rescuing Hot W heels from the toilet (thanks to Owen) and toilet paper from the cat. Not to mention the dirty dishes, laundry and toys all over the house. ) Can you imagine it?? Gotta run and make lunch for the boys (and maybe for me if I have time)!

Leah's Surgery

Leah is going in on Thursday, January 24 to have her tonsils and adenoids removed. She is looking forward to all the popsicles she gets to have...but of course she does not know how much her throat is going to hurt after it is done. We will have our work cut out for us trying to keep her from getting bored while she is recuperating.

Anyway, not much to else to say...everyone is pretty much the same. Leah and Matthew are both looking forward to starting classes at The Little Gym in February and we are now planning a trip to Southern California to visit Grammy, Aunt Betty, Aunt Pearl and hopefully Autumn, Martin, Audrey & their newest, Boyd.

And the World's Worst Mother Award goes to....

If you guessed me, you're right! I was coming in from doing the laundry (our washer and dryer are in the garage, I know weird spot, but that is where they are here) and since Matthew was keeping me company I shooed him into the house ahead of me so I could turn off the light. Here it comes, the reason why I should get the award...I was closing the door to the house (it's the type where you have to pull real hard to get it to shut) and did not see that he had his fingers in the opening and (you probably guessed) I pinched his fingers in the door. Today they are slightly bruised and scraped, but he is using them just fine and has only told me once that they are a little sore. It occurred to me yesterday that all the bad things seem to happen to Matthew...he has had 3 trips to the ER (1 in an ambulance), he has fallen down the stairs more than the other 2 kids combined, he has eczema (dry, itchy skin), and now I go and pinch his pore little fingers in the door. If you can't tell I am beating my self up a bit about the whole thing, maybe someday I can forgive myself; he already has.

Anyway, enough about that...Leah has an appointment with her ENT doctor this afternoon to schedule her surgery to have her tonsils and adenoids taken out. I have figured that she is either a major "drama queen" or is super sensitive to pain, so it ought to be interesting after the procedure is done. I will post once I know when her surgery is going to be.

A Look Back...

Looking back at the year it feels as though we gained a little and lost a little. Grandpa Bryan passed just before 2006 ended, which started the year of with a loss. I started a new job shortly after that, which had Jeff and I working opposite shifts during the week and making up for lost time together on the weekends. Leah was still in pre-school and loving every minute of it; she was also enjoying one day a week at day care. The boys were a little unsure about their time at day care but started enjoying it after a little while. In February we celebrated Owen's 1st birthday with a party at home. March had Jeff and I headed to Las Vegas to celebrate our 5th anniversary with a Dave Matthews Band concert and a weekend without the kids. Easter was well received with the joy and mess of coloring eggs, an egg hunt at the park and a visit from the Easter Bunny.

In May, Mom/Grandma moved to Washington to start a new job and be closer to Martin. Owen and I drove up with her and then Owen had his first trip on an airplane when we flew back to Salt Lake the next day. Owen was a great passenger!!! The beginning of June saw the kids and I traveling to Montana for my cousin, Barb's, graduation. The middle of the month had us meeting in the middle to pick up my other cousin, Clay, for a summer visit; and the end of June we packed up all of our stuff and followed Mom/Grandma to Washington. What a busy month!!! Unfortunately Jeff was not able to transfer right away within Comcast, so he headed back to Utah until something came through. Luckily for us, he was able to stay with friends, Josh and Janice, until August when he joined us in Washington just before my birthday. (What an awesome present for me!!) The kids and I took a break from getting settled here, grabbed Clay and headed south to California to meet Jeff, who flew in from Salt Lake to meet us for a fun filled trip to Disneyland in July. We enjoyed our time with Grammy and can't hardly wait to get back. July and August also brought a whale watching trip (the whales were not out that day), a trip or two into Seattle and a few other sight seeing opportunities in our new area. Aunt Melissa and Uncle Eddie came at the end of August to pick up Clay and get him home in time to start school.

September saw Jeff and I settling into our new place, welcoming a new kitten named Pumpkin into our family and Jeff getting acclimated at work. In October Pat came up from Utah to visit and we celebrated Leah's 5th birthday with her favorite meal of Fetticine Alfredo and a Tinkerbell cake. I also started working overnights at my new job, which left me a little "worn out" while I got used to a new sleep schedule. Let's not forget about Halloween which had our sweet little kids transforming into SuperGirl (Leah), a sometimes scary and sometimes nice dinosaur (Matthew) and Davy Crockett (Owen). I was looking forward to November, Thanksgiving to be a little more specific, as all of my brothers and sisters would be coming to Washington for a visit. It was the first holiday we had celebrated together and was, as far as I could tell, enjoyed by all. My brother Charlie started the trip with his girlfriend and left with his fiance, Jennifer (for those unsure of that statement, he proposed and for some crazy reason she said yes, lol). Matthew did not think there was enough excitement though and had us, well me, "rushing" him to doctor's office and later to the ER via an ambulance. Long story short, he was having trouble breathing and had to have multiple breathing treatments before his oxygen level went up and stayed up. He was diagnosed with asthma and still asks if he can ride in the ambulance again. December did not slow down at all, with an early birthday celebration for David, which was shortly followed by another for Matthew. Somehow between working, birthday parties and holiday parties we managed to find some time to get all of our shopping done and be ready (barely) for Christmas. Leah was very excited this year about Santa Claus and made us move the fireplace screen so he would be able to get in and out. He must have made it in okay as the stockings were all filled when we woke up on Christmas morning.

Now the year is coming to a close and as I said before, it feels as though we gained a little here and lost a little there (and I'm not just talking about the pounds on the scale). We hope you had the Merriest Christmas and wish you the Happiest New Year!

The Whole Group!!!

This is the whole group that was here for Thanksgiving...all seven siblings, spouses/fiances, parents and kids. For those that don't know starting at the top we have Rich & Ginger, next down is Charlie & Jennifer, next is Will, Gloria & Jr., below them is Martin and next to and below him is Jeff holding Matthew, standing next to Jeff is myself with Leah in front of me, Alana/Mom is next to me holding Owen and next to her is Chellie & David, behind them is Jody and next to her is Greg and then Michael.

I know it is all a little confusing, but it sure keeps things interesting.

Matthew's Ride in the Ambulance

On Monday we went shopping at the mall and throughout the day Matthew started having trouble breathing and sounded very wheezy. I took him to a walk-in clinic at the kids' pediatricians' office and his oxygen level was 90% (anything less than 95% in kids is worrisome). They immediately put him on oxygen and started giving him breathing treatments (albuterol and albuterol with promocort); 3 treatments later his oxygen level was still not going up so they called an ambulance to come pick him up and take him to the children's hospital. He was pretty excited about his ride in the ambulance and thought it was especially neat that they used the sirens for him. When we got to the hospital they took a chest x-ray (which was clear) and gave him another treatment and a little while later his levels starting going up and staying up so they sent us home with an inhaler and told us if he started having trouble again to bring him straight back to be admitted. Luckily we have enjoyed a hospital free week and his breathing, while still sounding slightly wheezy occasionally, is much better. They did diagnose him with Asthma and we will have to watch him more carefully (especially when he is sick, as this is what caused all the trouble this time); we are extremely thankful that he is okay now and we did not have to spend anytime in the hospital.

On another note...Leah has to have her tonsils and adenoids removed after the first of the year. Other than being larger than they should be and her loud snoring they are not causing her any trouble; the doctor feels that they should be taken out just on account of their size because they could cause her trouble later on.

Thanksgiving was an event this year as all of my brothers and sisters were here. It was the first time ever that all 7 of us were all together. We had a lot of good food and did some fun sight seeing. We had a photographer come in for a couple of hours to take group shots and one of my brothers got engaged while he was here. That along with Matthew's jaunt to hospital made for an exciting week. I will add some pictures as soon as we get the disc from the photographer.

Well, here goes something!!!

I have given in and decided to start a blog...of course who's not these days. Oh well, it should be fun and easy for me to give and you to get updates on our life in Washington. The kids are doing great...a little bored because I have been settling into a new routine now that I am working overnights at Mail Terminal Services doing data entry

Leah had a sleepover at Grandma's last night and Matthew was terribly upset because he did not get to stay too. They got up this morning and made cookies and candies for Thanksgiving.

Jeff went to Seattle on Thursday for a Team Leadership meeting for all the Supervisors and Manger in his office. They held the meeting at the Space Needle and he was able to go all the way to the top for the first time. It was pretty foggy that day so he did not get to see much but he still had a good time.

That is a good start for now...I will write more later.