Oh My Hel........mets!

This is our new normal!

When the twins were 4 months old I noticed that Siena's head looked flat on the back.  The pediatrician said that preemies have softer skulls than full term babies, plus twins are more likely to get flat spots because there are more babies to hold.  She told me to keep them off their head for at least 50% of the time they are awake and give them tummy time 3 times as day.  For the next few months I did my best keeping them off their heads as much as possible.  I used the bumbos, bouncers, and a lot of just sitting on the couch holding them.  Something magical happened over the next two months... Siena's head didn't change and Jaide's got flatter!  

(I just had to include these photos - one showing how we got them to look in opposite directions and the other showing Siena spitting up right when I took the picture!)

I made an appointment for the twins at the University of Michigan Orthotics and Prosthetics Center.  I dropped Scarlett off at the Sawayas and my friend Tammy came with me to act as the stand-in Grandma.  When we first met with the Orthotist she took some measurements.  She measured the Cephalic Index (shown in picture).  For a 6 month old girl it should be 78.5 with the 2 sigma band (69.5, 87.5) (2 sigma meaning that 95% of all data fits within the band).  Since my girls are 97.8 & 98.5 - they are well outside the normal band and qualify for helmets. 

The Orthotist took a scan of their plagiocephaly (irregular shaped head) to send to the helmet manufacturer.  She used a 3D laser scanner to get an accurate virtual mold of their heads.  She said that she usually gets one twin in - not both.  My guess is that it's probably the more easy going baby that comes in - since the mom probably holds the crier (squeaky wheel gets the grease!)  Luckily I ignored both of my children equally - or maybe they just take the "identical" thing a little too literally.

Two weeks later we went to pick them up.  The helmet therapy costs around $2000 per child, but since their heads were well outside the normal band our medical insurance covered the ENTIRE COST!  Woot woot!  The therapy lasts usually 3-6 months, just depends on how the head grows.  She said that the square shaped deformations (like they have) usually takes longer to fix than if they had a flat spot just on one side.  They have to wear the helmets for 23 hours each day.  We will go back every few weeks to have them adjusted.  The foam on the inside was laser cut to their head but the Orthotist will shave it out and reform the plastic as they grow.  

The first two weeks are a "break in" period to get the babies used to the helmets.  The first time Scarlett saw them wearing their helmets she ran and got her bike helmet and put it on!  haha!  She's such a sweetie!  The babies don't really care for them.  The first few days they would cry every time I put them on and pull at them during the day.  But now (a week later) they are wearing them all day (they nap in their swings and don't seem to mind it).  I haven't tried them at night yet... I'm nervous about shaking up their routine.  Right now they sleep for ~8hours without waking up to eat.  AMAZING!  I know that will get thrown off cause they get mad and yell at me whenever I lay them down on the floor while wearing their helmets.  Ugh.  I am glad it's winter though - cause it keeps them their noggins nice and cozy!  And with a big label across their forehead it will be easy to tell them apart!

LASEK

This year we put as much pre-tax money on our health care card as we could.  We knew that the twins would most likely be in the NICU and probably need extra medical care.  After Scarlett's NICU stay, we had first hand experience of how expensive that could be.  Well in August we finally got the bills from their hospital stay.  We owed $200!  That's it!  I mean, yes, we were paying for our medical insurance but I was not expecting them to cover everything with NO COPAYS!  The $200 was for me!  Holy cow!  Wonderful!  The only bummer is that all our extra money would expire in December.  Not wanting to waste a dime we realized that this would be a wonderful opportunity for LASIK eye surgery.  I don't qualify right now (since I'm nursing) so Jake was up!

We had a LASIK evaluation in Connecticut.  We decided not to do the surgery back then cause the business practice felt like buying a used car, not a high tech surgical center.  This time we went to the University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center.

The doctor seemed very sharp.  He speaks 4 languages fluently and has a BS in electrical engineering.  After looking at Jake's eyes, the only concern is that his pupils are large (8mm diameter) and the laser can go to 7.  There is a chance that at night there would be a halo glare around lights but Jake was willing to take that risk.  Plus what we've read is that your eyes will adjust and the halo decreases to some extent over time.

After talking with the doctor we learned that in LASIK they cut a flap, lift it up, do the corrective surgery, then put the flap back down.  They don't sew the flap cause it will naturally adhere back together.  But if you get hit on the head at just the right angle the corneal flap can become dislocated!  So if you have an active lifestyle, LASIK might not be the best option.  Instead we decided to go with LASEK.  In this procedure they use an alcoholic solution to weaken the epithelial cells on the surface, then the surgeon scrapes the cells to the top of the eye, performs the corrective surgery, then scrapes the cells back into the original place.  No flap!  And the eye regenerates the epithelial cells so if they don't lay back down the doctor can just throw them away.  Then the doctor puts a contact lens to protect the eye for a week.  The disadvantages are that the recovery is longer and much more painful.  The eyes feel like they have lemon juice mixed with sand in them for about two days then the vision isn't restored for several days.

Dry eye evaluation and yellow pupil dilation drops...

Jake had the surgery on Wed Nov 20.  My friends Ashley and Denise came over to watch our girls.  This was Jake's last time wearing glasses...

When we got there the surgeon gave me permission to come in the room with them and watch!  They even gave me a blanket to keep warm.  The put a pillow under Jake's knees so he could relax on the table.  Then they got to business.  The doctor was very good at telling Jake exactly what he was doing each step of the way.  I got to watch the live feed on the TV.  They even recorded it so Jake could watch the surgery later:

In between eyes the doctor stopped what he was doing and stood up just to tell me how awesome Jake was.  He said that Jake was literally one of the best patients he's ever had.  After the surgery the doctor gave me a hug and said Jake was amazing.  His eyes were so steady - like a rock - no movement even at that high magnification.  He never sees patients be that still.  He was so impressed.

Jake was told to keep his eyes shut as much as possible for the next day.  Luckily that's what the eye wants to do naturally so it wasn't too hard.  The worst part was the light sensitivity.  We kept Jake barricaded in our bedroom with the black curtains drawn.  Scarlett was pretty nervous of her daddy in those weird "goggles."  That night we "watched" She's the Man.  We've seen that movie so many times that he was able to visualize it while he listened along.  But most of the day he stayed in bed listening to an audiobook.

The next day we went back to the office for a check up.  This time we brought our entourage.  On the way to Ann Arbor Jake got really car sick.  I had to pull over while he threw up out the window and all down the side of our van.  

The technician was examining Jake's eyes and asked him to read the letters on the screen.  When he started saying them, Scarlett realized what was going on and started helping him! "A E Z P..."  Then a few min later she said "great job dad!"  :-)   Then she started rolling up her pant legs.  When the doctor walked in she asked him "you fix my leg?"  He laughed, "no that's the wrong end of the body!  I am the bad guy who hurt your daddy's eyes" (I'm sure she'll have some nightmares over that one).  The doctor said his eyes are looking great!

We ate lunch at the little cafeteria then headed back home.  I had to pull over once again so Jake could empty the contents of our lunch on the side of our mini van.  Later that night I went to pick my mother in law from the airport in the heavy pouring rain but I decided to run through a car wash first!

Favorite Things Winners 2013!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This year has been a whirlwind!  Jake and I barely remember the months of June-September.  But during all this craziness we came across a few things that we really like:

• Hazelnut Chocolate Atkins bars (Jake's fave, not mine... obviously)
• "Bouncy shoes" (Scarlett's fave, not mine... obviously)
• Roku
• Target diapers (they work just as well and cost almost half as much as Huggies)
• Cloth diapers (for burp cloths, we own 50 of them and some days it's just not enough)
• Yogurt Bites (you can buy them #10 cans from Sam's Club food storage, you'd think it's for the babies but it's mostly for Jake)
• Homemedics sound machines
• Pump bra (for hands free milking)
• Drop cams (for baby video monitors)
• Amazon Prime (love that 2 day shipping!  It's faster than me trying to leave the house with the 3 girls)
• Goo gone (I use that stuff way more than you'd think)
• Pretzel & Mint M&Ms (I have a problem)
• Diet Pepsi Wild Cherry (I have a problem)
• Command strips for hanging pictures
• Pillow Pet Dream Lights (both Scarlett and the twins love them)
• Happiest Baby on the Block DVD (MIRACLE!!!)
• Green smoothies every morning with the magic bullet (even Scarlett loves our smoothies)
• Frozen Go-Gurts for breakfast (Scarlett thinks she's having a popsicle for breakfast everyday)
• LED lightbulbs
• Our mini van (and the DVD player)
• Ubirock speaker (turns the table/counter/whatever surface into a large speaker)
• Deep freeze in the garage (full of frozen pizzas)
• King size bed (fits two adults and a surprising amount of little people)
• NAPS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Canvas prints from Sam's club.  And right now they are 25% off til Nov 27!  I recently bought an 8x10 of each of my girls in their blessing dresses.  When I went to pick them up I looked at the first one: "Siena", then "Jaide, then "Siena again???"  I was so upset that I had accidentally ordered two of the same picture.  Then I compared the two of Siena and realized the first one was actually Scarlett!!!  Holy cow!  I was totally fooled - and it wasn't even by the twins!  Oh man!

Prize: 8x10 Canvas Print (sent to your closest Sam's Club)
Winner: KANDY DANDY!!!

Sure Cuts a Lot program for the Cricut.  Jake bought this for me last Christmas and I LOVE it!  I allows me to use any font or any vector image with my Cricut.  It's super easy to create exactly what I imagine, and I can use the paper efficiently.

Prize: Custom cut vinyl - whatever you want!  A saying for your wall, parts to a craft project, let your creativity fly! (unless you can't think of anything, then I'll make something up)
Winner: ASHLEY F!!!

Crocheting.  Two months ago I had this random urge to make a craft.  The stars aligned and I was able to take the girls to the Hob Lob to get my supplies.  While in the parking lot I noticed the car next to me said "A Child of God on Board" I was curious if they were Mormon cause I don't see that phrase around much.  A minute later while still getting the twins loaded onto the stroller the owner of the car came out.  It was this girl with a head of gorgeous pink hair, her hubby, their 2 year old girl and their little baby girl.  She said something about the twins and we ended up chatting for a few minutes about our kiddos.  Then I went into the store (and bought stuff for our green monster wreath).  When I came out I noticed there was a note on my car window from that girl.  She said we should get together - and she promised she wasn't selling anything. ;-)  Anyways, her name is Cassondra.  We met at the library a few times and have hung out almost once a week since.  She's super cool, a talented artist, a great mom, and a fun friend.  Anyways.... She's been crocheting since she was like 5.  So she started teaching me a few weeks ago.  I'm excited for all the fun things you can make!  So far I've made a baby doll beenie (I don't have the patience or skills for a full size hat yet), a bow, a few flowers, and a cool infinity scarf that Cassondra designed.  She was wearing hers one day and I told her how much I liked it.  She took it off and gave that one to me!  Then she taught me how to make it.  I'm not going to post a picture of it yet because there is a strong possibility that one or more of you blog readers out there may or may not be receiving one in the near or not so near future.....

Prize: Crocheted Infinity Scarf (made with my own two hands!)
Winner: CAROLYN G!!!

Sam's Club reusable shopping bags.  I love these things.  I have bought 4 or 5 sets over the past few years.  I use them for everything: craft supplies, extra baby gear, food for a pot luck, cub scout meeting supplies, library books, picking up toys around the house, clean burp cloths, and even sometimes groceries!  They stay open on their own when they sit on the floor and they have heavy duty straps for lugging them around.  The exciting thing is they recently changed from a boring Sam's Club logo to a cool black and white zebra print design.  YES PLEASE!!!

Prize: Sam's Club zebra bags
Winner: SARA Z!!!

And Congrats to LL, More Bacon, and Mary for winning the Commentor awards - AGAIN!  This year you guys get to pick whatever you want from these prizes (canvas print, vinyl, scarf, or bags).  Just let me know!  :-)

Prize: Any one of the previous prizes
Winners: LL, MORE BACON, & MARY!!!

Thank you to everyone who takes the time to read our silly stories and for being apart of our lives.  We appreciate all of you!!!!!!!!!!!!!

PS - sorry if you didn't win this year.  If you're wondering Jake picked the slips of paper out of the bowl while recovering from his surgery, eyes all taped closed and hopped up on pain meds - but you can blame him if you want.......

PPS - more on Jake's LASEK surgery later this week

Favorite Things Giveaway 2013!!!

YAY!!!  It's finally the time of year! (the time when I copy Christy and pretend that it's my own creative idea)

Thank you Blollowers (read: blog followers) for supporting us and keeping up with our crazy (and let's face it, sometimes not really that interesting) lives!

Please leave a comment on this post if your want to be entered in this year's Favorite Things giveaways!

Baby foodies and an unlikely sleep walker

The first time Scarlett tried solid food she gagged so hard that she threw up.  It took a few weeks before she decided she liked eating from a spoon.  So when we started feeding the twins last week, we were expecting a similar beginning.  Luckily for us the twins are little foodies.  Yes, it took them a few days to adjust to the texture and process of eating real food - but now they love it!  In fact, this morning while I was eating my yogurt I looked over and they were both staring at my spoon licking their lips!  haha!  Jaide caught on to the eating/swallowing a few days before Siena.  She also has gleaked a few times ;-)  Scarlett loves to help feed them - though after one or two bites she's bored and moves onto another project.

First time eating solids...

A week later....

This video is per Kandy's request!

Scarlett is really into asking everyone "what's you name?" even me.  Like several times a day.  Today she found a sticker on the floor "look mom!  I found a trapezoid!"  Then in the shower I heard her telling her elephant "no, you go in time out."  I opened the door and found her elephant in the corner.  I asked what was going on "elephant's in time out."  Why?  "he wasn't taking turns."  She runs a tight ship!

Several nights ago the babies kept waking up.  I had just fallen back asleep around 3am when I heard a *thud* then "owwww......" I sat up, totally confused as to what had just happened.  I saw Jake standing next to our bathroom door - facing the wall.  Then he said "I think I fell asleep walking to the bathroom and I walked into the wall!"  I couldn't stop laughing!  Oh my goodness!  I'm cracking up just thinking about it!  At least he didn't fall asleep while going to the bathroom!  Poor boy needs some sleep too!

Cider Mill

We spent our last autumn weekend at a cider mill.  It was pretty chilly but we were still able to have fun.  Scarlett especially loved the hay ride.  The twins really liked just looking around - they were happy the entire time!  I think the apple cider slushies were Jake's favorite.  My favorite part was the gorgeous drive out to the farm.  I'm not ready for all the fall leaves to be replaced with dreary Michigan grey for the next five months...

Look, We're on a Billboard!

Would you believe it - but the day I blogged about my IHA photo shoot it was the SAME DAY that the ads started rolling out!  The newspaper sitting in the rain on our driveway while I was typing away contained the very picture I was lamenting about!  What are the odds!?

The next day Jake had a business trip to Ohio with a coworker.  They left Canton early in the morning.  As they got on the freeway Jake was telling him about our family.... and right when they passed this digital billboard my face flashed on the screen!  Again - what are the odds!?  CRAZINESS!!!

A week later my parents, the girls, and I drove on the freeway to check it out.  Sure enough - there we were!  Me and the twins!  Southbound I-275 mile marker 19.2!

Here we are in the Canton Observer:

And on their website:

I'm guessing they picked us for the billboard because our shirts match the colors on the ad.  Or maybe cause my babies are just too cute!  It was a fun opportunity and crazy cool to see our faces that big!

I would like to say that the fame isn't getting to our heads, but just the other day we walked outside and some guy recognized me!  Yes, it was my neighbor Don, but that's besides the point.....

I have been in a textbook, on a BYU poster, a museum exhibit and now a billboard.  And how much money have I made from all of these opportunities?  NADA, NOTHING, ZILCH!!!  I think I'm doing something wrong.......

Grammy & Grumple: COSTCO and Crafts

My parents came in town to celebrate Halloween with us. Scarlett was so thrilled when she woke up and Grammy and Grumple were in our home!

My dad went to Canada for business during the week.  Jaide helped him finish up some work when he got back in town.

Scarlett is hilarious!  She is always making us laugh!

• At dinner we give her a choice: to pray folding arms to to pray holding hand in a circle.  She always picks holding hands.
• This past week she's started praying on her own without us helping her.  It's so sweet to hear what she prays for: "thanks for this day.  thanks I can play with my blue balloon."
• "I can't feed the babies. My boobies are broken. Yours have milk. My boobies don't have milk."
• "Really?"
• "I welcome." For you're welcome
• "You turn the sun light on tomorrow and the peek a boos?"  no idea what this means...
• Tonight I heard her singing a night time song in the living room.  I went to check on her and she had covered her owl backpack with a blanket and was putting it to sleep.  Then she read it a story!  CUTE!
• My dad taught her how to do "cheers!" with our cups at dinner
• She calls her unicorn dream light an "acorn"
• I found her little plastic pony that's been missing for awhile, she ran up to me and gave me a big hug and said "you found my pink pony! you are so big right now!" haha!  That must be a very high compliment indeed!

We went to COSTCO (of course).  We stocked up on lots of baby jammies and mass quantities of food.  Siena had a blow out and had to be changed in the car.

 Jake and I put the twins in Scarlett's strollers.  They immediately grabbed each other's hand!  DARLING!

The girls love Baby Bath Time!  See how the baby in the white tub is more submersed than the blue tub?  Well we were rotating them so they both had equal time in each.  But Jake realized that Siena would scream every time she was in the blue tub, but Jaide doesn't seem to mind.  So now they stay in this order.  The squeaky wheel gets the grease!

Scarlett is able to play with her Aunt Jami across the US...

The babies love to play with their dad...

While my mom was here I was able to finish a couple of craft projects.  I like the states but I think I need to redo Connecticut.  The state boundary goes through the Long Island sound but I think I want it to show the coast line...  And the pictures above the piano I've been working on for awhile.  My friend Amy P. gave me those wood frames.  They were oak and didn't have anything in them - no back or glass or anything.  So Jake painted them black for me.  I found some foam board to fill them.  Then created a few silver accents to go in them.  Oh - and we used these command strip picture hanging things to hang them - AMAZING!  No nails - super easy!!!

I got some sort of eye infection on Saturday.  I thought it was allergies cause they were red, swollen and itchy.  Lots of Benadryl and 4 days later I called my doctor.  They couldn't get me in to see her but she called in some eye drops to help clear it up.  2 days after that my eyes were still gross and they were stuck closed in the morning from all the gunk.  I finally went to instacare and he said it was a form of pink eye and gave me stronger stuff.  It is just now starting to look and feel better.  8 miserable days hung over from Benadryl and I had to throw away 3 bottles of eye drops and 1 contaminated mascara.  Not a fun week for my face.  Plus my lips broke out in a million cold sores 'cause my immune system was depleted.  And my eczema broke out all over my torso.  One night we ate citrus and my top lip got huge and swollen from the juice.  Ugh!  "My body is finely tuned like a microchip, and [any illness] is like a grain of sand.  It could literally shut down the entire system."  (ten points for whoever knows this show this quote is from - we just discovered it and watch several episodes a night!)