Author Archives: amy

Ironic- don't ya think?

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Ahhh… Alanis Morissette brings back memories of my junior high years. The times when I hung beads from my door, screwed a black light bulb into my fan, and rocked out to Alanis with my girlfriends in my room. Ironic was a fav. It popped in my head the other day when I was thinking ‘anything that could go wrong, is going wrong today.’ It’s quite ironic. Or some may call it “Murphy’s Law.” I’d like to share with you:

Ironic-  Having Multiples Edition

Miss I’m Never Sick will start feeling bad

but only when your big trip is planned.

THEN sister gets it.  Should you take that flight?

You have to cancel plans, and think “Well isn’t this nice…”

And isn’t it ironic… don’t you think

It’s like rain on your errands day

It’s two dirty diapers when you’re already late

It’s singleton advice that for you didn’t work

Who would’ve thought… it figures.

The kids don’t sleep in after staying up late

You cook dinner, and neither kid thinks it’s great.

It’s like ten-thousand toys and they scream for the SAME  one

It’s playing with boxes and paper. That’s the most fun.

And isn’t it ironic… don’t you think

A little too ironic… and, yeah, I really do think…

It’s like rain on your errands day

It’s two dirty diapers when you’re already late

It’s singleton advice that for you didn’t work

Who would’ve thought… it figures.

Multiples have a funny way of keeping you on your toes.  Multiples have a funny, funny way of changing your plans… Changing your plans…

:)  What are some other Having Multiples Murphy’s Laws???!

Making Food Healthy and Fun!

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I’m super lucky that my twins are far from picky eaters, but they are still toddlers and therefore have opinions- strong ones, so I’m always trying to get creative to make food healthy and fun.  I recently read an article on CNN.com titled, “10 Nutrition Powerhouses for Kids”.  You should too!  I found it so interesting- it listed 10 fabulous powerhouse foods and explained WHY they were so good for our kids and ways to get them into our kids’ diets.   Great ideas!

Here are some things I’ve tried lately spice up our meals:

-use cookie cutters to make the girls sandwiches into fun shapes.  (Or LunchPunch sandwich cutters are fabulous- there are animal shapes and even shapes like puzzle pieces!)  They LOVE it.

- My girls love to dip!  Anything into anything, basically. :)  veggies in hummus, fruit in yogurt, toast in peanut butter, chicken in ketchup.  If they can dip it, they will eat it!

-And for a fun summer treat, I’ve been making popsicles!  I got popsicle molds for $1 at Michaels (also seen them at Target and Walmart), and used sugar free, fat free Jello pudding (after following directions on the box) and popped them into the freezer.  Easy and delicious!  Another idea- blend fruit and milk, pour in, and freeze.

What are YOUR healthy and fun food ideas/tips??

The Hard Truths

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Lately I’ve found myself given the opportunity to chat with and encourage women who are pregnant with multiples.  They always want to know what to expect.  It’s difficult to prepare someone for this crazy journey, but I don’t know that I always share the real hard truths.  Let’s face it, ladies, our job as a MoM is hard!

So here it is, MoMs to Be and New MoMs.

The Hard Truths (and hopefully some laughs too!) on my 22 months of twin mommyhood:

- Your friends with singletons DON’T truly understand or relate. Seriously.   Join a MoMs Club, find a friend with multiples you can email to ask questions, email one of us at HDYDI!  Knowing you’re not alone HELPS.

- Getting up at night to feed more than one baby (2,3, 4…) is SO TIRING.  This sounds horrible, but when I was so delirious and going on hardly any sleep, I would have to literally pray myself out of bed.   I wanted to take care of my precious newborns, but my body didn’t want to move.  Once I was up, it was a sweet time with my girls.  It was also when I started reading the Twilight series (haha) since they girls would have to sit up for 15 min after eating due to reflux.  Twilight also helped get my tired self out of bed. :)  Laugh if you will, but the books are a sweeeeet love story and very well written. ;)

- You WILL have moments (or perhaps every moment for a while…) where you are overwhelmed and wish you had more than 2 arms and 2 hands.  Trying to balance multiple babies is HARD.  When you feel overwhelmed, try to find the FUNNY in it.  And it could always make a good blog post. ;)  My first night alone with the girls was a comedy of errors.  Like- pump spraying milk everywhere, screaming babies, even finding a screw in the crust of my pizza??!!.  Oh and my first time to take them to the doctor by myself?  It’s truly my most embarrassing mommy moment!!!  The main lesson I learned that day was you must adjust a Double Snap n Go to fit your brand of carseat.  Otherwise, your children will be standing on their heads… :/  Either laugh or lose your mind.  Your choice. ;)

- You may feel out of control sometimes and that’s okay.  At the beginning, it’s new and a learning experience.  At the toddler stage, they are trying to gain indepence.  And really- you just feel that way… you’re still the mama. :)

With raising multiples comes tears- both of frustration and pure elation, JOY, constant moving, not much sitting, organizing, balancing, full arms, overflowing hearts, and a special, wonderful experience that I woudn’t trade for anything.

Have a Hard Truth to add?  Do tell!

the 2's=emotions galore

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“About the time our children master walking, they develop an irresistible urge to make their own choices.” (drgreen.com).

I recently read that quote online and laughed out loud!  That’s exactly what we’re experiencing at our house– that irresistible urge is taking over my sweet innocent babies!! :)  I think the ‘terrible twos’ have hit.  Reese and Riley are 20 months (2 in September), but good golly those girls can certainly voice their wants and needs, their disagreements, and frustration.  One second they are refusing to cooperate and the next they’re super silly and sweet.  It’s like an emotional roller coaster, I tell ya.

Last week during Occupational Therapy, Riley REFUSED to walk.  She’d literally frog up her legs and scream, then proceed to throw herself on the ground lay on her stomach, and kick her feet.  (It’s SO ridiculous that it’s hard not to laugh!  I call her my DQ (‘drama queen!’).  Once she was sitting she’d stop screaming and play with her toys and do puzzles,but ask her to walk or try to stand her up… no way.  Oh and WALKING is what we’re working on in OT- the entire point of it. Ugh!  Then a couple minutes later during lunch, she was giggling, placing an apple slice on her head and proceeded to eat her entire lunch with a grin on her face (and apple on her head) quite proud of her silliness.  What’s with these ‘terrible twos?’  They certainly keep me on my toes.

Reese just wants to be on the go all the time.  If anything stops her (diaper change, meal time, etc), she gets frustrated.  The good thing is she gets over it really fast.  Their new independence and urge to make their own choices is normal and actually really neat to see as they are coming into their own person even at such a young age.  But… the Terrible Two’s Times Two… yikes.  And I have laid back children!

So, tell me, Super MoMs: What are your survival techniques?! :)  Redirection?  Time-Out?  Removal from frustrating situation? I ADORE this age (the new words, sense of humor, showing love- melt my heart!), but this mama needs some sanity some days! ;)

To read more about our silly adventures toward 2 years old, go to our blog at http://lovestarbucksalatte.blogspot.com.

Amy@ Beyond Normalcy: Life With Twins

First Trip to the ER

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WOAH.  I’ve had such a crazy last four days, that as I sit down to write my HDYDI post, it’s all I can think about so I’d like to tell you allll about it.  Go ahead- sit down and maybe get a drink… you might need one after hearing all this- ha!

Friday night: I was getting the bath ready, undressing the girls etc., when Riley decided to pee on the floor , then: while in the tub, she gagged herself and threw up.  Luckily her sister was already out when her dinner joined her in the tub.  But Reese was unclothed, freezing, and not happy about it.

Saturday: We had 24 people coming over that evening- 15 kids and 9 kids as we were having our March of Dimes team over.  Riley decided that it would be a good day to have fever… just hours before the arrival of the crowd.  Ugh!  It was too late to cancel, but we put her to bed early and it was fine.

Sunday: I bought the girls these adorable (dollar!) sunglasses because they love to wear ours around.

They LOVED them. Until… Riley was crawling around a corner when Reese FELL on her head!  The sunglasses cut her forehead- deep!  Riley Grace had her first ER trip.  :(  But instead of stitches, they glued her cut closed.  STRESS a mama out!  Ahhh!

Monday: Yesterday when things were looking up, Reese began throwing up.  Is there any sickness our kids catch that’s worse?!  I sure despise the stomach bug.

Today: things are much better.  Life sure can be crazy, but at least we have some great stories to tell. :)

Anyone else have such a crazy weekend??!! :)

Toddlers

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My sister (who has a 2 1/2 year old) and I (18 month old twins) always laugh about the fact that we will not ‘potty in peace’ for many years to come.  I mean really, Reese and Riley-  can’t Mommy sneak away for a quick moment without you accompanying me into the tiniest space in our entire home?  It becomes a party.  The dog even joins us… good thing she’s small.  The girls begin naming everything they see (good thing they don’t have a complete vocab yet -haha! JK): potty, paper, trash, sink…  Then they begin the oh so fun game of ‘SLAM the door.’  If sister is in the way?  Doesn’t matter- game must go on.  Dog in the way?  Still slamming.  Mommy says no?  Still playing with the door.  I mean, let’s face it: when pottying, we are a bit ‘tied down‘ if you will, and I think our kids know it!  ha!

We’re quickly approaching 19 months where the boundaries are getting pushed and tested.  Which is of course natural, but good heavens- I’m tired!  It also means I am no longer parenting to the extent of ONLY taking care of and loving my children, I now… also have to set boundaries.  Teach them right from wrong.  Provide consequences when needed.  But they’re only 18 1/2 months old- what do they fully comprehend?  It’s hard!  Just as our kids change with age, our parenting must change.  And as you all know, multiples can certainly be partners in crime! :)

It’s a challenging age, but I LOVE watching their little minds soak in everything around them- learning new words and new skills every single day.   MoM to toddlers… How do you do it??! :)

Easier, please?

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Ever wish there was something that would make your day with your multiples easier?!  I find myself dreaming up these silly inventions (and usually laughing at them).  My latest…

Our two-story house that we so blindly bought 3 1/2 years before children, has been driving me NuTs. Stairs + babies/ toddlers= don’t mix. The girls are good at crawling up the stairs, but both often decide to stop in mid crawl to check on me or their sister and almost fall. (don’t get me started on going down the stairs- yikes!) Did I mention at the bottom of the stair case is TILE? Reese’s latest “Miss Independence-ism” is wanting towalk up the stairs, which requires a little help from me. So just the other day when focusing on her walking, Riley flew by me- down, down, down. I shove my leg behind Reese so she doesn’t fall all while catching Riley from plummeting to the tile.  I’m forced to be a contortionist, I tell you! I keep thinking someone should invent a little chair with straps that will electrically bring children safely up. Ski-lift like. Then it dawned on me. George Costanza did just that (but not for babies)! In an episode of Seinfeld when he was lying as usual- pretending he was unable to walk- in order to get this job, he rode up the stairs in a little seat. It is one of the best episodes! Everyone is walking by so quickly as his slowwwww chair creeps up and he waves at everyone passing… when he could very well be walking with them.  The song “My Baby Takes the Morning Train” is playing all the while. What a crack up! I now can’t go up the stairs (aka perform my juggling act) without singing that song. For your viewing pleasure in case you haven’t seen this genius of George Costanza:

Click here for the clip :)

What would you create/invent to make your life with multiples a bit easier??  A girl can DrEaM!

Amy is mama to 18 month olds Reese and Riley.  The latest ‘comment’ she gets out in public, due to the girls’ size difference, is, “Your babies are really close together!”  Then when Riley talks to them in little sentences, they’re REALLY blown away. Like  she has a genius 9 month old. ha ha! :)  Read about their adventures at http://lovestarbucksalatte.blogspot.com


New Found Independence… yikes!

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My sweeties are about 1 1/2 now and suddenly have these smart, amazing minds of their own.  Which of course is a fabulous thing… or is it?!  They would rather walk than be in their stroller, they want to do things for themselves (ie when taking a drink from Mommy’s cup, they want to hold it –>disaster!), climb on everything, and just plain be independent.  It’s helpful at times, but quite difficult at others.  Having TWO small children with this new found “mind of her own” sends each in the opposite direction.  I have found myself lately, asking for more help than ever.  Like in public places- to strangers.  (Not endangering my kids of course) Ha!  I mean, if they’re going to stare and think and/or ask :HOW does she do it?!, then they might as well get a taste for it- right?!  :)  So I took Reese and Riley with me to the mall the other day.  I had only two stores to stop into, then lunch at the food court (why do I love that junky food so much??).  It sounded totally doable.  The girls were doing pretty good in the stroller with snacks being thrown at them every two minutes.  Once it was lunch time, the started really getting antsy.  Screaming-Lovely.  Trying to get out of the buckles- Great.  Waiting impatiently for our food.  I strolled around hunting for highchairs.  Ever notice finding ONE is a breeze, but more?  Not so much.  When I finally found them,  I got all set up- you know how long that takes with two hungry 1 1/2 year olds!  I took them out of the stroller, put them into the highchairs, cleaned the highchairs, stuck down their placemats, and began to get out their food.  It was THEN that I realized that they didn’t give me the fruit.  Reese and Riley put themselves on the ‘fruit only’ diet at times.  Some days= eat anything, some days= fruit only.  So I HAD to have the fruit!  I had noticed 3 men finishing their lunch watching us in a bit in awe.  Men don’t multitask well- do they? :) hee hee.  I thought about loading Reese and Riley back into the stroller, the work it would entail, the possibility of losing my highchairs :) and decided I would just ask one of those men if they’d go get my fruit- ha!  They were so nice and one of them (who was  a daddy of one 6 month old) went and got it for me!  SO nice.  I surprised myself for asking, and I guess it was out of selfishness:), BUT people really are nice most of the time: can’t hurt to ask if  it’ll make your life with multiples a bit easier!

So I have to ask: those of you with walkers, do you use harnesses (animal backpacks sound nicer!) when out and about?  I’ve always thought it was strange until recently- having two little ladies heading in opposite directions!  What do you think??

Amy is a SAHM to Reese Abigail and Riley Grace, 17  1/2 monthers.  The girls latest activity of choice is screaming at the top of their lungs blood curdling screams at each other… then laughing.   What’s with that?!  Mommy and Daddy don’t this it’s so funny… :)  Read more about their adventures at: http://lovestarbucksalatte.blogspot.com.

One Sick Child

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It happened last week: my worst parenting fear.  Riley had the dreaded stomach bug. Throw up = I want to run away.  When I was an elementary school teacher, on the first day of school when teachers oh so nicely go over the rules, I would always tell my kids, “If you ever feel sick like they’re going to throw up, don’t walk but RUN out of my classroom.  You will not get in trouble for running or leaving without permission.  RUN to the bathroom and then go straight to the nurse’s office.  If you want to take my trashcan with you, you may.  But remember- RUN.”  Such a sweet, sensitive teacher I was. :)  One time though, a kid took the trashcan and later came back to return it… sick!  I had to rephrase my ‘throw up speech’ the next year… “I don’t need the trashcan back- thanks.”  ha!  ANYWAY… back to MY child.  Riley Grace was just beyond pitiful last week.  She had blow out diapers and couldn’t keep anything down.  Her normal tiny self usually has a huge appetite and is soooo happy.  She just wanted me to hold her and cried and cried.  All the while… I still had a healthy, ENERGETIC daughter to take care of as well.  As I’d hold Riley and rock her, Reese would come over and try to sit in my lap, try to push her sister off, bring me books to read her, and fuss, fuss, fuss because SHE wanted Mommy to play with her.  How hard!!  I’m so thankful I had the opportunity to let her go play with my nephew at my sister’s house one day, so I could take care of Riley and bring her to the doctor.  And thankfully, Reese has stayed well.  I’m very surprised!  They tend to share everything!  So, ladies, HOW do you do it?!  When one’s sick and one isn’t- it’s so hard to meet both kids’ needs.  Don’t you think?  I’m worn out just thinking about it.  The good news is: we all survived and are all well now.  YAY!  Have you experienced this too?

Playing & Learning

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I am a SAHM to my twins and LOVE that I am able to be!  I really enjoy it, but of course, there are those moments when I want to run for the hills. :)  My 16 monthers have recently learned how FUN it is to ‘push each other’s buttons.’  Okay- now I’m taking that too literally here, but- funny story:  Riley has had a belly button hernia since she was a few weeks old.  It’s much better now, but her belly button still sticks out… more than an outie would.  Reese has recently noticed this.  EVERY time I change Riley’s diaper, Reese runs over yelling “BALL!” and bends down and tries to pick up Riley’s belly button!  It is the funniest thing in the world, but not to Riley- she thinks Reese is tickling her, so she laughs and screams at the same time.  They are a mess!  ANYWAY, they love to GO.  Love getting out and about and also playing at home– not still too often.  I’ve noticed lately that they need a distraction from ‘pushing each other’s buttons…’ maybe it has something to do with the CrAzY cold weather we’ve had here in Texas.  (I’m ready for Spring!)

As a former elementary school teacher, this isn’t surprising, but I came across this GREAT website I wanted to pass along!  The curriculum/lessons start very young and go through preschool.  It’s very simple for my girls age (16 months), but it’s a guide with a great book to read, a game to play (pretend), arts and crafts (for older), etc.  It’s SO FUN!  The teacher in me is BEAMING.  Hope you and your kids think it’s fun too!

Amy is a SAHM to 16 month old twin girls, Reese and Riley.  Read more about our adventures here.