I learned a hard lesson today. Even if you try your hardest and have only 4 things to get at Wal-Mart, a trip to Wal-Mart by yourself with 3 kids is doomed from the word "go." I always know that if I try to go grocery shopping by myself with all the kids it is going to take 2-3 hours, but never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that it would take over 2 hours to get 2/3 prescriptions filled and buy butter, toothpaste and stamps, especially when all three prescriptions had been called in to be filled over 7 hours before leaving the house.
I had been doing good today. I got baths done for all the kids, the last load of laundry was in the washer, everything that had gotten dry before then was folded and on my bed ready to be put away, all the trash was out at the curb, the animals were fed, the cat box scooped and I even fed the girls their solids at 5:15pm instead of our normal 6pm. We were in the car and headed down the road by 5:20pm and we were going to spend what I hoped to be less than 30 mins in Wal-Mart, pick-up 3 prescriptions, buy 3 things and come home to continue our productive day. Boy was I wrong :(. When I got to Wal-Mart I went directly to the pharmacy to get it out of the way first and got in a line that was about 6 deep. After an hour, I finally made it to the front of the line and found out that they were only able to fill 2 of my 3 prescriptions today and I would have to come back tomorrow to get the third one. Then they told me that the prescription I had been told was $8 was $150 because the Dr prescribed tablets instead of capsules. I quickly rejected the capsules and they told me I had to get Dr permission to change the script to a different form of the same pill. Mind you, at this point it was around 6/6:15pm and of course the office was closed. So I called the hospital my OBGYN works for and had them page the OB on call. He called me back around 6:30 and said it was no problem to change, I just had to have the pharmacy call and have him paged and he would tell them it was ok. Needless to say after a few more speed bumps, we finally got the prescription changed and filled. Then I went to the regular check-out, only to discover that I had left my wallet at the pharmacy. The pharmacy cashier was headed to the door when I looked up and I was able to flag her down without losing my place in line. Luckily I had the $10 I needed to cover my purchase, because the scanner wouldn't read my card. At that point I realized it was going to be around 8:30 by the time I made it home and I caved and bought fast food for my son so that he could finally have some dinner (other than the chicken strip he munched on, since they were out of his favored popcorn chicken.)
So leasson learned. No matter how simple an errand may seem if it involves Wal-Mart, one adult, and 3 kids things will get complicated.
What is your worst shopping fiasco with your kids? Have you learned you lesson too?
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Monday, January 30, 2012
"Tons of Fun" -- FREE Family Fun this Saturday :)
Let's get ready for the 13th annual "Tons of Fun" event at Tanglewood mall. This event is sponsored by Roanoke Parks, Recreation and Tourism and is 100% FREE!
Tanglewood mall is welcoming children 12 and under as well as their families to have a "Ton of Fun" on Saturday February 4th. The event starts at 10 am and lasts until 4 pm. There will be games, storytelling, carnival rides, costumed characters, hands-on activities and entertainment provided by community organizations from throughout the Roanoke Valley. There are also interactive booths, magicians, clowns and bouncy houses as well. You are sure to find enough variety to entertain your youngster, so come on out and join in the festivities!
Tanglewood mall is welcoming children 12 and under as well as their families to have a "Ton of Fun" on Saturday February 4th. The event starts at 10 am and lasts until 4 pm. There will be games, storytelling, carnival rides, costumed characters, hands-on activities and entertainment provided by community organizations from throughout the Roanoke Valley. There are also interactive booths, magicians, clowns and bouncy houses as well. You are sure to find enough variety to entertain your youngster, so come on out and join in the festivities!
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Budget friendly option for a child's birthday party
Let me start by saying, I am sorry for missing a day yesterday, but sometimes life comes along and demands attention. Isabella seemed to be feeling a little better today, but still does not seem to want to take her formula. So, I guess if she keeps it up with her morning bottle again tomorrow, I will have to call the Dr. again tomorrow and see if it's time to introduce her to milk and see if she will take that instead. Yesterday and today she has only taken in about 14 ounces of liquid from her bottles and cup each day. With all of that going on I slept in the living room with Isabella, so that she did not keep her sister up all night.
With Isabella getting sick she did not get to enjoy her cousin's third birthday party, but I did get to take Aiden and Emma. This year my brother had his son's birthday party at one of the local McDonalds that has a play area. It was a great location for the party, though they do not host birthday parties anymore, we were able to take over a corner of the restaurant for the cake (which they had no problem with us bringing in) and then the kids had a blast playing in the tubes and going down the slides for about 2 hours. Since the restaurant doesn't host parties anymore the food and drinks were full price, but with the options on the dollar menu and free refills on soda and coffee, the food and drinks for the party didn't cost too much. The best part is the entertainment was free and even after two hours of running full speed the kids still weren't ready to go home, but they were worn out.
All in all, I think that it was a successful and budget friendly option for a child's birthday party.
Have you had a birthday at a fast food restaurant? Did you feel it was cost effective and comfortable?
With Isabella getting sick she did not get to enjoy her cousin's third birthday party, but I did get to take Aiden and Emma. This year my brother had his son's birthday party at one of the local McDonalds that has a play area. It was a great location for the party, though they do not host birthday parties anymore, we were able to take over a corner of the restaurant for the cake (which they had no problem with us bringing in) and then the kids had a blast playing in the tubes and going down the slides for about 2 hours. Since the restaurant doesn't host parties anymore the food and drinks were full price, but with the options on the dollar menu and free refills on soda and coffee, the food and drinks for the party didn't cost too much. The best part is the entertainment was free and even after two hours of running full speed the kids still weren't ready to go home, but they were worn out.
All in all, I think that it was a successful and budget friendly option for a child's birthday party.
Have you had a birthday at a fast food restaurant? Did you feel it was cost effective and comfortable?
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Seeing the "Weaker Link" in action again :(
Once again we are seeing evidence of the "weaker link" theory in action. Even though we have not been out of the house very much for the past couple of weeks, the house has been cleaner than usual, and we have had very limited visitors, Isabella has a temperature again. This time her temp was measuring 103.2 F the first time it was taken, but Emma (the younger twin) is just fine, other than the fact that her sister woke her up at 12:30 am. With our singleton we never had to worry about another baby, if he woke in the middle of the night all we had to worry about was getting him back to sleep. So, hopefully a dose of Tylenol for Izzy and a 6 oz. bottle for both of them will take care of the latest episode of "long nights with the twins."
I have been reading different articles about the pros and cons of children sharing a room. In the case of a multiple birth I have noticed that the siblings usually share a room for a long time, sometimes even through their elementary school years and some are separated when they are old enough to have a toddler bed. I have been conflicted with the thought of separating them and taking away the comfort of having their twin so close, but at the same time, even now while they are young, when one wakes up in the middle of the night because she doesn't feel good and inevitably wakes up the baby that feels fine and was enjoying sleeping, I begin to wonder if separate bedrooms wouldn't be more ideal. For right now, I still think it is best for them to share a room so that when they go to sleep and wake up they do not feel alone, but I do know that eventually they will want or need their own space and independence from one another.
Have you had to make this kind of decision for your children yet? MoMs what age do you plan on your multiples having their own rooms?
I have been reading different articles about the pros and cons of children sharing a room. In the case of a multiple birth I have noticed that the siblings usually share a room for a long time, sometimes even through their elementary school years and some are separated when they are old enough to have a toddler bed. I have been conflicted with the thought of separating them and taking away the comfort of having their twin so close, but at the same time, even now while they are young, when one wakes up in the middle of the night because she doesn't feel good and inevitably wakes up the baby that feels fine and was enjoying sleeping, I begin to wonder if separate bedrooms wouldn't be more ideal. For right now, I still think it is best for them to share a room so that when they go to sleep and wake up they do not feel alone, but I do know that eventually they will want or need their own space and independence from one another.
Have you had to make this kind of decision for your children yet? MoMs what age do you plan on your multiples having their own rooms?
Thursday, January 26, 2012
The benefits of working from home :)
Since I found out that other people have been enjoying the luxury of working from home it has been a goal of mine. There are several companies that offer the type of work I am looking for, I just had to find the right one and get my resume out there at the right time. It may sound weird, but I do enjoy being a Customer Service Representative and I am good at sales, so I have been looking for a company that would allow me to utilize my skills in both of those areas. I think I have finally found just that, now it is just a game of filling out paperwork and getting the footwork done to get that formal offer of employment from them.
To me there are so many benefits of working at home that the possibilities are limitless. I don't have to worry about traffic, road construction, commute time taking time away from my family, and I get to take my breaks with the people that mean the most to me. When I get stressed out I can pet one of my cats, or look around and remember that I am in the best place in the world "home." My workspace will be able to be set-up the way I want it to be, and I don't have to worry about someone moving my things or walking off with them. I can work the schedule that I want to and know that, even though I am one of the odd people that enjoy a second shift schedule, I also don't have to worry about getting off work when people are leaving the bar. There is no worry that someone might steal my lunch, and I know my refrigerator, unlike the drink machines, will always have my favorite drink in it. Needless to say, I am hopeful that I will be given he chance to do the job of my dreams and finally be happy with the job I do to make a living.
Do you think you would like working at home, or is there something in particular that you like about working outside of your house?
To me there are so many benefits of working at home that the possibilities are limitless. I don't have to worry about traffic, road construction, commute time taking time away from my family, and I get to take my breaks with the people that mean the most to me. When I get stressed out I can pet one of my cats, or look around and remember that I am in the best place in the world "home." My workspace will be able to be set-up the way I want it to be, and I don't have to worry about someone moving my things or walking off with them. I can work the schedule that I want to and know that, even though I am one of the odd people that enjoy a second shift schedule, I also don't have to worry about getting off work when people are leaving the bar. There is no worry that someone might steal my lunch, and I know my refrigerator, unlike the drink machines, will always have my favorite drink in it. Needless to say, I am hopeful that I will be given he chance to do the job of my dreams and finally be happy with the job I do to make a living.
Do you think you would like working at home, or is there something in particular that you like about working outside of your house?
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Lowe's Build and Grow clinics
In today’s economy raising children and keeping them entertained can be expensive. So I am always looking for fun free activities for my kids.
My latest find is the "Build and Grow" clinic at Lowe's. Their program is for children 3 and up and is held twice a month on Saturday mornings. Build and Grow clinics are a great way for kids to gain confidence as they build their own fun projects! At our Lowe’s each child receives an apron, goggles, and a badge for completing the project! Best of all it is absolutely free. Just looking at the most recent calendar on my local Macaroni Kids website it looks like they are held on the 2nd and 4th Saturday each month at 10 am.
For more information on this activity and to register your child for the next clinic please visit www.lowesbuildandgrow.com or call your local Lowe's store and speak with customer service. If possible I am going to send my son this weekend with his Dad, and see what he thinks about the opportunity to bond and learn together. This week the project is Build-a-Saurus, where the kids get the opportunity to build and design their own Dino, and as much as my son loves dinosaurs I think he will have a blast.
Have any of you tried out these clinics with your little Einstein’s? If so, how did you like it?
My latest find is the "Build and Grow" clinic at Lowe's. Their program is for children 3 and up and is held twice a month on Saturday mornings. Build and Grow clinics are a great way for kids to gain confidence as they build their own fun projects! At our Lowe’s each child receives an apron, goggles, and a badge for completing the project! Best of all it is absolutely free. Just looking at the most recent calendar on my local Macaroni Kids website it looks like they are held on the 2nd and 4th Saturday each month at 10 am.
For more information on this activity and to register your child for the next clinic please visit www.lowesbuildandgrow.com or call your local Lowe's store and speak with customer service. If possible I am going to send my son this weekend with his Dad, and see what he thinks about the opportunity to bond and learn together. This week the project is Build-a-Saurus, where the kids get the opportunity to build and design their own Dino, and as much as my son loves dinosaurs I think he will have a blast.
Have any of you tried out these clinics with your little Einstein’s? If so, how did you like it?
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
One Party or Two? :)
My latest dilemma is what to do for my children’s birthdays this year. I am presented with the moral dilemma of rather or not to throw separate parties for my twins first birthday and my son's 4th birthday, or if I should just throw one big party. I have always been all about everyone getting to have their very own birthday, even though i have never thought twice about the girls sharing a party since they actually do share a birthday. In our family though, our son's birthday is just 6 days before his sisters'. So I have been presented with the question "One party or two?"
I have done a little research on the subject and some people even recommend throwing separate parties for all three children, but since they are so young, really all of the same people would be invited for all three children and I would hate for one party to have an awesome turn-out and the other one not-so-much. Also, my son will hopefully be in preschool next year and at that point he will have friends of his own that he would like to invite, so I figure this will be the only year we can really combine parties anyway. As I hate to make decisions I asked my 3-year-old if he wanted to have his own party or if he wanted to share his party with his sisters and the response I got was too cute. He said "I want to share my party with the whole house, and then everybody can get presents, you and Daddy and sisters and ME!"
So, while I know that a 3 year-old should not be allowed to make such big decisions, I think I may let him make this one. Honestly the girls are too young to ever remember if they got their very own birthday party when they turned one, and if Aiden is willing to share his special day, and even seems to want to, why not let him. My next decision will be where to hold the party, since there will be some friends and lots of family to invite, and since it will be early March and cold, I am thinking we will need a place other than a family member’s home to accommodate everyone. The kids are small enough that I am not sure that I want to try for anything too fancy like Chuck-E-Cheese or Pump-It-Up, but I am thinking about maybe going someplace like Chick-fil-a or McDonald's and getting one of their birthday specials so there is a indoor playground for the kids. I have decided that I will make one cake for the guests to eat and make 3 small cakes for each birthday child.
What would you do if your children’s birthdays were so close? Have you had to deal with this before?
I have done a little research on the subject and some people even recommend throwing separate parties for all three children, but since they are so young, really all of the same people would be invited for all three children and I would hate for one party to have an awesome turn-out and the other one not-so-much. Also, my son will hopefully be in preschool next year and at that point he will have friends of his own that he would like to invite, so I figure this will be the only year we can really combine parties anyway. As I hate to make decisions I asked my 3-year-old if he wanted to have his own party or if he wanted to share his party with his sisters and the response I got was too cute. He said "I want to share my party with the whole house, and then everybody can get presents, you and Daddy and sisters and ME!"
So, while I know that a 3 year-old should not be allowed to make such big decisions, I think I may let him make this one. Honestly the girls are too young to ever remember if they got their very own birthday party when they turned one, and if Aiden is willing to share his special day, and even seems to want to, why not let him. My next decision will be where to hold the party, since there will be some friends and lots of family to invite, and since it will be early March and cold, I am thinking we will need a place other than a family member’s home to accommodate everyone. The kids are small enough that I am not sure that I want to try for anything too fancy like Chuck-E-Cheese or Pump-It-Up, but I am thinking about maybe going someplace like Chick-fil-a or McDonald's and getting one of their birthday specials so there is a indoor playground for the kids. I have decided that I will make one cake for the guests to eat and make 3 small cakes for each birthday child.
What would you do if your children’s birthdays were so close? Have you had to deal with this before?
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Have you tried earning money while you surf the web?
Have you ever signed up for those survey sites that promised you could get up to $75 per survey, just to find out that most of their surveys pay less than $1, or that you were wasting more time trying to qualify for surveys then you were actually spending doing them. I definitely have, and there are quite a few sites I have blacklisted, because they just seemed to be a waste of my time. I was actually getting very discouraged by the number of sites that didn't pay off, and then I was referred to Swagbucks.
I started out slow. I wanted to see just how long it would take to get enough points to earn my first gift card. The best deal that I have found in their huge selection of prizes is the $5 Amazon.com gift card priced at 450 points. I was surprised when I was able to earn that many points just by doing a couple of surveys, searching a few things online, and answering a few daily polls. It took less than a month and I was able to request my first gift card. I anxiously awaited its arrival and applied it to my Amazon account as soon as it arrived. Once I had seen that this site really does pay, there was no stopping me. My next step was to download their toolbar so that I could use their search engine for all of my inquiries and increase my chances of earning even more points, plus it shows me how many points I have at a glance. By the end of last year I earned enough points to get 6 $5 Amazon gift cards and 1 $5 Cookies Kids gift card.
I know it sounds too good to be true, but really I haven't done that many surveys; mostly I have just searched and answered the daily polls occasionally. I would love for you to check it out and see if you can get some free gift cards or one of their other fabulous prizes too. So click on the link below and join me :)
Saturday, January 21, 2012
What do you do with the clothes that your kids have grown out of?
When I had my son I was blessed with Hand-me-downs from 4 or 5 families and got clothes from NB all the way to 6/7. I knew then that I wanted another child so I kept everything, kinda. My older brother had a little boy about a year after my son was born, and so until they got to about the same size I was passing clothes down to my brother, with the stipulation that he had to pass them back when he was done. I wanted to have a girl of course, but since there were already 7 grandsons in the family, I played my odds and literally kept it all. When my daughters were born I had already had one yard sale and gotten rid of some of the clothes, but still we had around 18 boxes of boys clothes that no longer fit my son from NB - 2Tclothes.
Needless to say I was drowning in boy clothes and the girl clothes I had been given weren't a drop in the bucket compared to what I would need with twin girls, at first anyways. Since they were born I have been stocking up and even though they are only into 18 months clothes, I have boxes all the way up to size 8 waiting for them to grow into. I did have one friend with a 9 month old and passed quite a few boxes of clothes to her, I found another girl that had saved her firstborn's clothes (girls) and then had a boy and we traded some clothes, I put some of them on a charity site that I am part of on FB, and I still had over 200 pieces of boys clothes that I didn't know what to do with, plus over 100 pieces of girls clothes that no longer fit my twins.
My latest venture has been to post them on FB yard sale pages. At first I listed the clothes in small lots of 5-10 pieces and everyone wanted 1-2 pieces here and there. I ended up spending a lot of time sorting and taking new pictures and decided that system wasn't working. So then I decided that if people just wanted certain items, I would take individual pictures of everything, but in doing so I priced things higher so that when I did make a sale it was worth it. Still I was selling 1-4 pieces at a time, and the money I spent in gas to deliver them was barely recouped in the sale. Plus things just weren't going very fast. My new strategy is to group them by size and gender and price them around $.50 per item in the lot just to get rid of as much as possible. So far I seem to be having better luck selling them this way and my prices are much lower than my competition so my things seem to be moving faster.
What do you do with the clothes that your kids have grown out of?
Needless to say I was drowning in boy clothes and the girl clothes I had been given weren't a drop in the bucket compared to what I would need with twin girls, at first anyways. Since they were born I have been stocking up and even though they are only into 18 months clothes, I have boxes all the way up to size 8 waiting for them to grow into. I did have one friend with a 9 month old and passed quite a few boxes of clothes to her, I found another girl that had saved her firstborn's clothes (girls) and then had a boy and we traded some clothes, I put some of them on a charity site that I am part of on FB, and I still had over 200 pieces of boys clothes that I didn't know what to do with, plus over 100 pieces of girls clothes that no longer fit my twins.
My latest venture has been to post them on FB yard sale pages. At first I listed the clothes in small lots of 5-10 pieces and everyone wanted 1-2 pieces here and there. I ended up spending a lot of time sorting and taking new pictures and decided that system wasn't working. So then I decided that if people just wanted certain items, I would take individual pictures of everything, but in doing so I priced things higher so that when I did make a sale it was worth it. Still I was selling 1-4 pieces at a time, and the money I spent in gas to deliver them was barely recouped in the sale. Plus things just weren't going very fast. My new strategy is to group them by size and gender and price them around $.50 per item in the lot just to get rid of as much as possible. So far I seem to be having better luck selling them this way and my prices are much lower than my competition so my things seem to be moving faster.
What do you do with the clothes that your kids have grown out of?
Friday, January 20, 2012
How young is too young to play the XBox 360 and Kinect?
At Christmas time each year, I find myself wondering if I got the right gifts for my children. Did I get them age appropriate gifts? Did I get them so many things that they won't be able to enjoy it all? We ran into a great deal this year, when my husband got a new laptop for school it came with a free Xbox 360. Both of us felt like our 3 year old might be able to play it if it had the Kinect as well, so I scoured the ads looking for the best price. I finally settled on the $99 bundle at Wal-Mart on Black Friday that came with 3 games so there would be nothing else to buy. At Christmas he got many other smaller gifts and really didn't quite know what the Xbox was so it seemed as though his big gift was a bust. Then a couple of weeks later we finally got around to getting it out of the box and connecting it to the TV. We took a couple of hours out of the day and played some fruit ninja. Aiden seemed to like it for the most part, but I think it was mostly because you could do pretty good at the game by standing in front of the TV flailing your arms about, even while spinning in circles.
After that day it was another two weeks before he even really mentioned his video game again. Then today while he was looking for a movie to watch for quiet time, Aiden found his Christmas present again and decided that today was the day to try it out. At first when we got everything out we downloaded one of the free games, but had not opened the Kinect Adventures that had come with it on disc. He had already asked to play the game a couple of times today while I was busy with the girls. Then he saw the opportunity, I was changing diapers, and he got my little tiny sewing scissors and took the cellophane wrapper off the game. I was able put him off until about 7:30 when we finally had to make the time to play together, since he doesn't quite get it yet help was definitely required.
We started with a game that is similar to racquetball and it was okay. I am pretty sure he will grow into the game, but at almost 4 years old he didn't quite get the concept that he needed to block the ball as it bounced back at him. On the other hand he really seemed to enjoy the white water rafting. He was able to play by himself and two player, but his favorite was when he stood in front of me so that it was just picking up on one of us, and we jumped and side-stepped together and controlled the same player. While Aiden was cleaning his room, I took a turn with each of the twins, and they giggled and laughed as we jumped and side stepped through the rapids together. Who knew they would have so much fun playing too?
I am glad he is finally showing an interest in his big present from Christmas, but I was really beginning to wonder if he just wasn't old enough to enjoy it. Needless to say, it probably wasn't the best idea to play and jump around like that right before bed time, but it was lots of fun.
Have you gotten a present for your kids only to find out that they just weren't quite old enough for it yet? Or a present that you liked better than they did?
After that day it was another two weeks before he even really mentioned his video game again. Then today while he was looking for a movie to watch for quiet time, Aiden found his Christmas present again and decided that today was the day to try it out. At first when we got everything out we downloaded one of the free games, but had not opened the Kinect Adventures that had come with it on disc. He had already asked to play the game a couple of times today while I was busy with the girls. Then he saw the opportunity, I was changing diapers, and he got my little tiny sewing scissors and took the cellophane wrapper off the game. I was able put him off until about 7:30 when we finally had to make the time to play together, since he doesn't quite get it yet help was definitely required.
We started with a game that is similar to racquetball and it was okay. I am pretty sure he will grow into the game, but at almost 4 years old he didn't quite get the concept that he needed to block the ball as it bounced back at him. On the other hand he really seemed to enjoy the white water rafting. He was able to play by himself and two player, but his favorite was when he stood in front of me so that it was just picking up on one of us, and we jumped and side-stepped together and controlled the same player. While Aiden was cleaning his room, I took a turn with each of the twins, and they giggled and laughed as we jumped and side stepped through the rapids together. Who knew they would have so much fun playing too?
I am glad he is finally showing an interest in his big present from Christmas, but I was really beginning to wonder if he just wasn't old enough to enjoy it. Needless to say, it probably wasn't the best idea to play and jump around like that right before bed time, but it was lots of fun.
Have you gotten a present for your kids only to find out that they just weren't quite old enough for it yet? Or a present that you liked better than they did?
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Free activities for children :)
Looking for a free activity that you can do with your kids? Have you checked with your local library to see what story time opportunities there are? In our area there are lots of story times available. We have chosen to go to the one at Glenvar Branch Library as it is closest to where we live, but we have also checked out a few others during their off weeks.
Story time is a great thing to take small children to, as it teaches them to appreciate books and gives them the opportunity to meet some of the other children in the area around their same age, before starting school. Another benefit of story time is that it is a year round mostly indoor activity. At Glenvar Branch Library the "teacher," as my son calls her, Miss Amelia has an awesome program to offer. She incorporates music, singing, dancing, activities, reading aloud, and art into each session. My son’s favorite song is Laurie Berkner's "I Know a Chicken." Miss Amelia provides 1-2 "shaky eggs" to each child and parent to participate with. If you have never heard of this song you should really check it out, I find it to be a fun song and it teaches fast, slow, circles, up and down and rhythm. She also has a variety of other songs that she plays for them and at the end of each session there is an art project that is themed to match the books she has read to them.
If you are not sure where story time is offered in your area the first place to check is your local library. Otherwise I have also found a great site called Macaroni Kids that tells when and where the free and cheap activities are, for children of all ages. I have included the link at the top of the article and there is a place to search for your local page. It is updated weekly and really pretty thorough. I hope you enjoy their site as well as mine.
What is your favorite free activity to do with your child/children?
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
How do you get you child to clean their room?
When my son was between 1 & 2 1/2 he was very particular about his toys and how they were put away at the end of the day. We had rows of cars and trucks, everything had its own spot, drawer or storage container and things were very organized. Then one day he just decided not to care anymore.
It was fine with him if everything was just strewn across the floor, or in a big pile in the corner, or if there was just a little path leading from his doorway to his bed. We tried everything from standing over him and making him clean, to taking his toys away from him when he was refusing to put things away. Nothing seemed to matter. At one point we took almost everything, all his books, trucks, Legos, train tracks, stuffed animals, toy box. He literally had like 5 things to play with for an entire week. We started to give him things back slowly, but still it didn't seem to make a difference. He wasn't going to clean and he didn't care what we had to say about it or how much time he had to stay in time-out over it.
So for a while, we gave up on it and didn't force the issue. We would help him clean occasionally and otherwise we would shove his stuff to the side until the next day. We did start to have him do chores in the meantime. He does simple things like putting away the regular silverware, sorting it into the correct spots, helping to cook dinner and desserts, and throwing the dirty clothes down the laundry chute. Sometimes he gets rewarded with a coin for his piggy bank, a sticker or a special treat, and sometimes he is simply told that he did a good job and "thank-you" for helping out. This seems to have taught him some much needed responsibility.
Now that we have a basis to work with we have started giving him a set amount of time, usually 15-25 minutes depending on how messy his room is, to get his things put away where they belong. If he does not complete the task in the given timeframe he loses anything that is not put away in its proper place. The next day if he gets everything put away and we haven't had to fuss at him then we will allow him to choose a toy that he lost previously, or get an extra book read to him at bedtime. We have been using this system for a few days now and it seems to be working really well. The first day he lost some things that he really liked to play with. The second day he barely finished in time, even with a lot of harping. And tonight he was done in record time and got a toy back and an extra book.
Have you experienced this with any of your children? What seemed to motivate them to clean their room the best?
It was fine with him if everything was just strewn across the floor, or in a big pile in the corner, or if there was just a little path leading from his doorway to his bed. We tried everything from standing over him and making him clean, to taking his toys away from him when he was refusing to put things away. Nothing seemed to matter. At one point we took almost everything, all his books, trucks, Legos, train tracks, stuffed animals, toy box. He literally had like 5 things to play with for an entire week. We started to give him things back slowly, but still it didn't seem to make a difference. He wasn't going to clean and he didn't care what we had to say about it or how much time he had to stay in time-out over it.
So for a while, we gave up on it and didn't force the issue. We would help him clean occasionally and otherwise we would shove his stuff to the side until the next day. We did start to have him do chores in the meantime. He does simple things like putting away the regular silverware, sorting it into the correct spots, helping to cook dinner and desserts, and throwing the dirty clothes down the laundry chute. Sometimes he gets rewarded with a coin for his piggy bank, a sticker or a special treat, and sometimes he is simply told that he did a good job and "thank-you" for helping out. This seems to have taught him some much needed responsibility.
Now that we have a basis to work with we have started giving him a set amount of time, usually 15-25 minutes depending on how messy his room is, to get his things put away where they belong. If he does not complete the task in the given timeframe he loses anything that is not put away in its proper place. The next day if he gets everything put away and we haven't had to fuss at him then we will allow him to choose a toy that he lost previously, or get an extra book read to him at bedtime. We have been using this system for a few days now and it seems to be working really well. The first day he lost some things that he really liked to play with. The second day he barely finished in time, even with a lot of harping. And tonight he was done in record time and got a toy back and an extra book.
Have you experienced this with any of your children? What seemed to motivate them to clean their room the best?
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Tax season is upon us :)
Each year my husband and I claim zero dependents when we are working and let our employer hold back as much money in taxes as they can. We do this because up until now we have be absolutely horrible at saving money on our own. Our tax documents have started to come in and we are excited to find out what kind of refund we will be getting this year.
People do lots of things with their refunds like putting a down payment on a car or a house, going on vacation, and buying the newest electronic gadgets. We have decided this year to be a little more responsible with our refund, by paying down some of our enormous debt and paying some of our bills like rent and insurance in advance. Also we want to invest in our children’s futures and their childhood.
We are undecided at this point if we want to start just a regular savings account for each of them or if we want to start a college savings account. The benefit of the college savings accounts available now is that we could lock in a college tuition at today's rates instead of allowing inflation to make the cost of their education cost more, when they decide what they want to be. The downside is you basically lock your children into going to college in a specific state. If we were to just simply start them a savings account at this point we would be insuring that they can do the extra-curricular activities that they may want to take part in as they grow up and are deciding what they want to be.
As I was growing up, my parents made sure that I could do the things that interested me, such as ballet, tap dancing, aerobics, art classes, be in the school band, run track and go to summer camps. There were a lot of other kids in school with me that were not that fortunate, and I remember seeing them suffer because of it. They were ridiculed because their parents could not pay for them to do whatever they wanted, and felt left out because their family couldn't afford to send them away to summer camp. So I want to make sure that, if possible, my children don't have to worry about something as trivial as money while they are growing up, but I would also like to teach them the value of the dollar at the same time Kids should have the opportunity to be kids, and to have fun and learn what interests them. With that being said I do not intend to spoil my children and let them have all the latest greatest toys, but if they want to try something new, like a new sport or artistic endeavor I hope to be able to let them at least try it out. So my plan is to start a savings account for each of my children and when they are old enough let them know that each endeavor costs something and that they each have their own fund to use to try out each new thing.
As far as investing in their "childhood," we want to go on a family vacation this year. Nothing fancy, just a long weekend to the next state down. There is an awesome zoo and a theme park, based on trains, that I know at least my son would love. I have actually been planning this vacation for some time now and I think it will be nice to be able to go somewhere for even just 4 days and spend time together as a family, without having to worry about day to day things like cleaning house and running errands.
The last time we went on a family vacation my son was about 16 months old and we went to the beach for 5 days. It was nice to get away, but we really didn't do the necessary research to see what activities there were, and how much those things might cost, and we spent most of our trip trying to figure out something to do and where we were going to eat next. This time I plan on being more organized and actually laying out a plan of places to visit and sites to see, and I am hoping it will be more relaxing and enjoyable.
What plans do you have for your tax refund this year? Will you invest, pay down debt, or simply splurge?
People do lots of things with their refunds like putting a down payment on a car or a house, going on vacation, and buying the newest electronic gadgets. We have decided this year to be a little more responsible with our refund, by paying down some of our enormous debt and paying some of our bills like rent and insurance in advance. Also we want to invest in our children’s futures and their childhood.
We are undecided at this point if we want to start just a regular savings account for each of them or if we want to start a college savings account. The benefit of the college savings accounts available now is that we could lock in a college tuition at today's rates instead of allowing inflation to make the cost of their education cost more, when they decide what they want to be. The downside is you basically lock your children into going to college in a specific state. If we were to just simply start them a savings account at this point we would be insuring that they can do the extra-curricular activities that they may want to take part in as they grow up and are deciding what they want to be.
As I was growing up, my parents made sure that I could do the things that interested me, such as ballet, tap dancing, aerobics, art classes, be in the school band, run track and go to summer camps. There were a lot of other kids in school with me that were not that fortunate, and I remember seeing them suffer because of it. They were ridiculed because their parents could not pay for them to do whatever they wanted, and felt left out because their family couldn't afford to send them away to summer camp. So I want to make sure that, if possible, my children don't have to worry about something as trivial as money while they are growing up, but I would also like to teach them the value of the dollar at the same time Kids should have the opportunity to be kids, and to have fun and learn what interests them. With that being said I do not intend to spoil my children and let them have all the latest greatest toys, but if they want to try something new, like a new sport or artistic endeavor I hope to be able to let them at least try it out. So my plan is to start a savings account for each of my children and when they are old enough let them know that each endeavor costs something and that they each have their own fund to use to try out each new thing.
As far as investing in their "childhood," we want to go on a family vacation this year. Nothing fancy, just a long weekend to the next state down. There is an awesome zoo and a theme park, based on trains, that I know at least my son would love. I have actually been planning this vacation for some time now and I think it will be nice to be able to go somewhere for even just 4 days and spend time together as a family, without having to worry about day to day things like cleaning house and running errands.
The last time we went on a family vacation my son was about 16 months old and we went to the beach for 5 days. It was nice to get away, but we really didn't do the necessary research to see what activities there were, and how much those things might cost, and we spent most of our trip trying to figure out something to do and where we were going to eat next. This time I plan on being more organized and actually laying out a plan of places to visit and sites to see, and I am hoping it will be more relaxing and enjoyable.
What plans do you have for your tax refund this year? Will you invest, pay down debt, or simply splurge?
Monday, January 16, 2012
Be careful what you wish for :)
Ever since I was a little girl, I dreamt of being a mother. I always said I wanted to have three children and coming from a family of three, it seemed ideal. You should always be careful what you wish for because you never know when one of those wishes will become a reality. My husband was an only child, and thought one was the best number of children, so we compromised and agreed to have two. Little did we know that God had other plans for us. When I went through pregnancy the first time I was still determined that I didn't want an only child, but there was no way I was going to be pregnant more than twice. You see, even though I had fairly ideal deliveries, the pregnancies were a different story. I had all day sickness that made me feel queezy no matter what I did, my whole body swelled, there was no comfortable position to sleep in, etc. I could really go on for days and days about how much I disliked being pregnant. I did not enjoy it at all, but I really did look forward to the reward that came in the end.
Interestingly enough, the best friend I had since I was four years old, had just given birth to twin girls just a couple of months before I got pregnant with my twin girls. I had even commented to a couple of my other friends, that I had always thought it would be neat to have twins as well. Really my goal was to have a little girl, and since my Mom and Dad already had 7 grandsons and not a grandaughter one and my husbands mom didn't have a way to have any other grandchildren, everyone on both sides of the family were rooting for a girl. Low and behold there were two girls in store for us.
I had been on the Mirena IUD for about 2 years, and after having it removed, my doctor told me to wait at least one cycle, and then we should be safe to start trying to get pregnant, without having to worry about a multiple pregnancy. To this day I still believe it was the IUD that caused the possibility of twins, and that you should wait 2-3 cycles after having it removed to allow your body to adjust, just to be on the safe side. Since mine were fraternal twins, that means there were extra eggs in place for one reason or another. There are no twins in my family or my husbands, so the idea of twins was a definite shock to the system. I think we were even still in shock until they were a couple of months old, and then we finally came to terms with the idea of raising twins. Now it is just second nature to us and we wouldn't give it up for the world.
I have been told God works in mysterious ways, and I believe that to be true now. He knew that I wanted three children, but also knew I was not willing to go through the process more than twice. He also knew my husband really didn't want more than two. So instead we were blessed with twins when I got pregnant the second time. At first I was nothing, if not shocked. I remember saying to several people "There's two in there." (with a look of disbelief on my face) when people would ask me when I was due, or if I knew what sex the baby was going to be. In response to my shock, I had some people offer to take one for me, show me pity, and give me hugs My husband and I were both shocked by the news that we were going to be the parents of twins, but these were our babies and nothing was going to change that. In the end, we have both come to realize that our twins were a blessing in disguise.
If you are a parent of multiples or an unexpected child, How did you feel when you learned about your bundle of joy?
Interestingly enough, the best friend I had since I was four years old, had just given birth to twin girls just a couple of months before I got pregnant with my twin girls. I had even commented to a couple of my other friends, that I had always thought it would be neat to have twins as well. Really my goal was to have a little girl, and since my Mom and Dad already had 7 grandsons and not a grandaughter one and my husbands mom didn't have a way to have any other grandchildren, everyone on both sides of the family were rooting for a girl. Low and behold there were two girls in store for us.
I had been on the Mirena IUD for about 2 years, and after having it removed, my doctor told me to wait at least one cycle, and then we should be safe to start trying to get pregnant, without having to worry about a multiple pregnancy. To this day I still believe it was the IUD that caused the possibility of twins, and that you should wait 2-3 cycles after having it removed to allow your body to adjust, just to be on the safe side. Since mine were fraternal twins, that means there were extra eggs in place for one reason or another. There are no twins in my family or my husbands, so the idea of twins was a definite shock to the system. I think we were even still in shock until they were a couple of months old, and then we finally came to terms with the idea of raising twins. Now it is just second nature to us and we wouldn't give it up for the world.
I have been told God works in mysterious ways, and I believe that to be true now. He knew that I wanted three children, but also knew I was not willing to go through the process more than twice. He also knew my husband really didn't want more than two. So instead we were blessed with twins when I got pregnant the second time. At first I was nothing, if not shocked. I remember saying to several people "There's two in there." (with a look of disbelief on my face) when people would ask me when I was due, or if I knew what sex the baby was going to be. In response to my shock, I had some people offer to take one for me, show me pity, and give me hugs My husband and I were both shocked by the news that we were going to be the parents of twins, but these were our babies and nothing was going to change that. In the end, we have both come to realize that our twins were a blessing in disguise.
If you are a parent of multiples or an unexpected child, How did you feel when you learned about your bundle of joy?
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Take the time to Smile :)
The things that make us smile can be few and far between if we don't slow down long enough to notice them. Recently I have made myself slow down and enjoy the small things in life.
Today for example was a really stressful day. My 3 year old was grounded from tv, was having trouble listening, talking back, mocking me, refusing to nap, and just generally being hard to take. In the midst of trying to get him to take a nap, I was in the living room with my younger twin, who was also refusing to take her nap. I had planned on getting caught up on Bones and the Mentalist (two of my favorite TV shows) while the children were napping. Instead I took the time to watch Emma playing in the play-yard. She was being absolutely adorable, she would grab a blanket and throw it above her head to peek-a-boo, dive on her minnie mouse, and giggle at her other toys. After a little while I moved closer to her and sat at the end of the couch, where she could reach me when she stood up. She had come over to stand beside me and I reached over and tousled her hair. Each time I did it she would look up at me and just smile a beautiful smile, letting her dimples shine. It was a great stress relief just to smile with her while I was totally stressed out.
Did your children bless you with a reason to smile today? Did you take the time to appreciate it?
Today for example was a really stressful day. My 3 year old was grounded from tv, was having trouble listening, talking back, mocking me, refusing to nap, and just generally being hard to take. In the midst of trying to get him to take a nap, I was in the living room with my younger twin, who was also refusing to take her nap. I had planned on getting caught up on Bones and the Mentalist (two of my favorite TV shows) while the children were napping. Instead I took the time to watch Emma playing in the play-yard. She was being absolutely adorable, she would grab a blanket and throw it above her head to peek-a-boo, dive on her minnie mouse, and giggle at her other toys. After a little while I moved closer to her and sat at the end of the couch, where she could reach me when she stood up. She had come over to stand beside me and I reached over and tousled her hair. Each time I did it she would look up at me and just smile a beautiful smile, letting her dimples shine. It was a great stress relief just to smile with her while I was totally stressed out.
Did your children bless you with a reason to smile today? Did you take the time to appreciate it?
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Date Night
In every relationship it is important to spend some personal time alone with your spouse. Just spending the time alone that starts right after the kids bedtime and ends when you both fall asleep just doesn't cut it after awhile.
There is a lot of planning and money that goes into a night out once there are kids involved. First your kids have to get old enough that you feel comfortable leaving them in someone else's care. Then you have to set a date and find a sitter. Finding a sitter can be a daunting task once you have a toddler and twins, as it takes a lot to be able to keep up with all of them at once. (and as much as some people think "oh it can't be that hard" they change their minds in a short time) If you are lucky a family member will take on the babies for a little while, but most of the time there is a fee rather it is family or not. So now your dates cost twice as much as they did before, because you have to pay to be able to leave without your kids and then you have to pay to have some fun.
Now we haven't gotten this luxury more than twice in almost a year, (It would have been three times if one of our sitters hadn't backed out at the last minute) and we found that once we got out without the kids its was weird not having them around. We really didn't know what to do with ourselves and even came home early the first time. The next time we get to go out, I plan on actually creating a plan for our evening before we leave the house, that way it's not just dinner and a couple of drinks and a lot of asking each other "What should we do now?" Don't get me wrong I have enjoyed getting away from the chaos that seems to be our life with kids, but I wanna really go out and enjoy myself.
What would you say your best date night was after you had kids?
There is a lot of planning and money that goes into a night out once there are kids involved. First your kids have to get old enough that you feel comfortable leaving them in someone else's care. Then you have to set a date and find a sitter. Finding a sitter can be a daunting task once you have a toddler and twins, as it takes a lot to be able to keep up with all of them at once. (and as much as some people think "oh it can't be that hard" they change their minds in a short time) If you are lucky a family member will take on the babies for a little while, but most of the time there is a fee rather it is family or not. So now your dates cost twice as much as they did before, because you have to pay to be able to leave without your kids and then you have to pay to have some fun.
Now we haven't gotten this luxury more than twice in almost a year, (It would have been three times if one of our sitters hadn't backed out at the last minute) and we found that once we got out without the kids its was weird not having them around. We really didn't know what to do with ourselves and even came home early the first time. The next time we get to go out, I plan on actually creating a plan for our evening before we leave the house, that way it's not just dinner and a couple of drinks and a lot of asking each other "What should we do now?" Don't get me wrong I have enjoyed getting away from the chaos that seems to be our life with kids, but I wanna really go out and enjoy myself.
What would you say your best date night was after you had kids?
Friday, January 13, 2012
How Rowdy is too Rowdy?
My son is 3 years and 6 days older than his twin sisters and is ALL boy. He runs around non-stop, throws things, spins in circles, jumps up and down, and plays in the dirt. Plus he loves to romp and wrestle. To me these are typical boy activities, but when is Rowdy too Rowdy?
It has taken many months to get my son to start to understand that his sisters are smaller than him and that he could hurt them, but I think he is finally coming around and getting a grasp on this concept. Poor kid has been waiting since before they were born, for them to be big enough to play with. Now that they have learned how to crawl and stand up I try to make sure there is time in each day for them to all play together, but it can be hard with a little boy that has sooooo much energy and is still small enough that he doesn't quite get the concept of being bigger than someone else.
I have seen my son get in the play-yard with his sisters and almost fling them. He has learned to grab them around their bellies from the back, and loves to lay on his back with them on his belly and roll them from side to side. Granted the twins are over 10 months old now, but still when you are sitting there watching, you can't help but to wonder how long it will take before their heads smack the floor. If you can stand to sit back and let them just play, the girls seems to love it and laugh and giggle when their brother rolls around with them.
I have a hard time letting him get Rowdy with the girls, but it is even worse for their dad. I guess it's partly because they are "daddies little girls", but even so sometimes I wish he could stand to sit back just a little longer and watch how much fun they seem to have together. On the other hand we are both fearful that he is really going to hurt them by being too rough. I have seen my son lay on his sisters, and toss toys that hit them and knock them over, so we still have a lot of work to do before he will be able to play with them unsupervised, but hopefully we will pull through it before they are big enough to get up and beat the snot out of him. (lol)
How do you deal with your older sibling(s) and younger child/children?
It has taken many months to get my son to start to understand that his sisters are smaller than him and that he could hurt them, but I think he is finally coming around and getting a grasp on this concept. Poor kid has been waiting since before they were born, for them to be big enough to play with. Now that they have learned how to crawl and stand up I try to make sure there is time in each day for them to all play together, but it can be hard with a little boy that has sooooo much energy and is still small enough that he doesn't quite get the concept of being bigger than someone else.
I have seen my son get in the play-yard with his sisters and almost fling them. He has learned to grab them around their bellies from the back, and loves to lay on his back with them on his belly and roll them from side to side. Granted the twins are over 10 months old now, but still when you are sitting there watching, you can't help but to wonder how long it will take before their heads smack the floor. If you can stand to sit back and let them just play, the girls seems to love it and laugh and giggle when their brother rolls around with them.
I have a hard time letting him get Rowdy with the girls, but it is even worse for their dad. I guess it's partly because they are "daddies little girls", but even so sometimes I wish he could stand to sit back just a little longer and watch how much fun they seem to have together. On the other hand we are both fearful that he is really going to hurt them by being too rough. I have seen my son lay on his sisters, and toss toys that hit them and knock them over, so we still have a lot of work to do before he will be able to play with them unsupervised, but hopefully we will pull through it before they are big enough to get up and beat the snot out of him. (lol)
How do you deal with your older sibling(s) and younger child/children?
Thursday, January 12, 2012
The Weaker Link
Interestingly enough there seems to be a correlation with birth order and immune systems. I was discussing this with some other MOMs and discovered that it is common for the first born to have a weaker immune system than the other baby/babies in a multiple birth.
In my case I didn't see this present itself until our 4 mo and 6 mo check-ups, when the girls got their vaccines. My older daughter ran a high temperature after each visit and my younger daughter just had a low grade fever. We didn't do anything special for our younger daughter, as sleep seemed to take care of her temperature. Our older daughter was a whole different story, each time her temp got almost high enough for an emergency visit back to the doctor, but luckily we were able to treat it at home with warm baths and letting her sit in just her diaper for awhile. We did try some tylenol and advil for her, but each time she vomitted almost immediately. The doctors have now recommended that we dose her with Tylenol before she gets her next set of vaccines as a precautionary measure. She just wanted to be held, so they were long nights, but we made it through with a lot of worry and heartache to see another day.
Some of the other MOMs that I have talked to have said their first born tends to catch bugs a lot easier than their subsequent child/children. It has happened with flu bugs, common colds, and all sorts of other ailments for them. One doctor even went so far as to refer to it as the "weaker link" condition seen in many multiples.
Have you noticed this with your multiples?
In my case I didn't see this present itself until our 4 mo and 6 mo check-ups, when the girls got their vaccines. My older daughter ran a high temperature after each visit and my younger daughter just had a low grade fever. We didn't do anything special for our younger daughter, as sleep seemed to take care of her temperature. Our older daughter was a whole different story, each time her temp got almost high enough for an emergency visit back to the doctor, but luckily we were able to treat it at home with warm baths and letting her sit in just her diaper for awhile. We did try some tylenol and advil for her, but each time she vomitted almost immediately. The doctors have now recommended that we dose her with Tylenol before she gets her next set of vaccines as a precautionary measure. She just wanted to be held, so they were long nights, but we made it through with a lot of worry and heartache to see another day.
Some of the other MOMs that I have talked to have said their first born tends to catch bugs a lot easier than their subsequent child/children. It has happened with flu bugs, common colds, and all sorts of other ailments for them. One doctor even went so far as to refer to it as the "weaker link" condition seen in many multiples.
Have you noticed this with your multiples?
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Shopping used to be my favorite way to get out of the house, now...
I have always been one of those people that has hated to shop by myself, so when my son was old enough to go with me, it was like always having a shopping buddy on call. We would go to Walmart together all the time, and no matter how short our list was, it always took a minimum of an hour, from the time we walked through the front door before we were ready to leave. It was fun though.
Now that I have three, I almost dread having to go shopping. For awhile I would load up all three kids and go shopping by myself, and everytime my husband would wonder why grocery shopping now took 2-3 hours, instead of the customary 1-2. Then I took him with us one day, and he had an eye opening experience. He wondered how I was ever able to do it on my own, and so have many others. Just because you have twins and a toddler doesn't mean you are destined to spend every moment you are alone with them in the house. I have taken all three of my children on several outings all by myself and survived. They key is to be prepared for anything and be confident that you will survive. I always make sure I have a snack and drink on hand for my son and bottles of water to mix with formula, as well as diapers for my daughters.
At Walmart there has always been a lot of people to oogle and oggle over the babies, but take three at once and you get to "talk" to even more people. My favorite question so far is "Are they twins?", now I know my girls are fraternal and at this point they don't look much alike, but who in their right mind is going to take an extra baby shopping with them? Really!?! Of course I have heard "Look, it's double trouble" and "You've got your hands full." so many times it's not even funny, but the hardest part of shopping with that many little ones all by yourself is trying to pull one buggy of babies while trying to steer the other buggy that is overflowing with groceries and has a 3 year old strapped into it as well. They seem to all do pretty well, unless I stop to look at something for too long, until we get to the check-out line. Then inevitably someone is going to get upset that we have to stand in one spot for more than a few seconds and the whining and crying begins.
We have also been to storytime at our local library, Kroger, Kmart, the doctor's office and to visit with friends, just the four of us. Just because their Daddy isn't always available to go with us all the time, doesn't mean we have to be stuck. I am also very determined to not let the fact that I have twins and a toddler keep me looking at the same four walls all the time and confident that if I set my mind to it anything is possible.
Have you braved the outside world just you and your kids when they were all young? How did it go?
Now that I have three, I almost dread having to go shopping. For awhile I would load up all three kids and go shopping by myself, and everytime my husband would wonder why grocery shopping now took 2-3 hours, instead of the customary 1-2. Then I took him with us one day, and he had an eye opening experience. He wondered how I was ever able to do it on my own, and so have many others. Just because you have twins and a toddler doesn't mean you are destined to spend every moment you are alone with them in the house. I have taken all three of my children on several outings all by myself and survived. They key is to be prepared for anything and be confident that you will survive. I always make sure I have a snack and drink on hand for my son and bottles of water to mix with formula, as well as diapers for my daughters.
At Walmart there has always been a lot of people to oogle and oggle over the babies, but take three at once and you get to "talk" to even more people. My favorite question so far is "Are they twins?", now I know my girls are fraternal and at this point they don't look much alike, but who in their right mind is going to take an extra baby shopping with them? Really!?! Of course I have heard "Look, it's double trouble" and "You've got your hands full." so many times it's not even funny, but the hardest part of shopping with that many little ones all by yourself is trying to pull one buggy of babies while trying to steer the other buggy that is overflowing with groceries and has a 3 year old strapped into it as well. They seem to all do pretty well, unless I stop to look at something for too long, until we get to the check-out line. Then inevitably someone is going to get upset that we have to stand in one spot for more than a few seconds and the whining and crying begins.
We have also been to storytime at our local library, Kroger, Kmart, the doctor's office and to visit with friends, just the four of us. Just because their Daddy isn't always available to go with us all the time, doesn't mean we have to be stuck. I am also very determined to not let the fact that I have twins and a toddler keep me looking at the same four walls all the time and confident that if I set my mind to it anything is possible.
Have you braved the outside world just you and your kids when they were all young? How did it go?
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
How many ways can you divide your attention?
The bigger my family gets, the less time I seem to have for everyone to get their needed individual attention. I remember the days when it was just my husband and I; we had jobs and such but there was plenty of time to pay attention to one another and care for ourselves as well. When we had our son, we found that it was a little more challenging to get to spend alone time together, but it was still do-able... Then we added two more to the family all at once and it didn't seem like there was time for us to pay attention to one another, our son, or our new daughters, other than to meet everyones basic needs.
To me it is more important now than ever to make sure everyone gets their individual attention. For my son and I, we have had a bedtime routine that envolves me reading a story to him each night. Then tonight I had him come into the nursery for storytime, so that everyone could experience it together. We are going back to storytime at our local library for some one-on-one time starting on Thursday again to have our special time for a couple of weeks until Daddy goes back to school. Then he will have to share that time with his sisters as well. Sometimes I let him play with play-doh while I prepare dinner for the family and we talk while I cook and he plays which is nice too. If it's something simple that we are having for dinner, I try to let my son be involved in cooking too, which he really enjoys. For the girls it is a little harder to give them individual attention, so we usually end up doing group play, where I will get in the play-yard with them for 30-60 minutes in the evening and let them crawl all over me while I encourage them to walk :). I have found though with them, if you take one out of the play-yard and leave the other they tend to get very mad, so really the only one-on-one time they get for now is bathtime, but we are working on that to see what time we can fit in for them as well. Most importantly though, I have found that it is super important to get to spend quality time with my husband, so for the past week our goal has been to get all of our web-surfing done by 10:30 pm and go upstairs to watch some TV together and love on and cuddle with one another every night. We had both gotten used to being near one another without spending time together for way too long and it caused us to start drifting apart; we were just together and not spending real quality time with one another. We have learned though that if we want to stay as tightly connected as we were when we met, that we really need to focus on making sure the other person realizes that we do appreciate them and the things they do, and we need to do those special things that make the other person feel loved.
How do you divide your attention? What special things do you do with the individual members of your family?
To me it is more important now than ever to make sure everyone gets their individual attention. For my son and I, we have had a bedtime routine that envolves me reading a story to him each night. Then tonight I had him come into the nursery for storytime, so that everyone could experience it together. We are going back to storytime at our local library for some one-on-one time starting on Thursday again to have our special time for a couple of weeks until Daddy goes back to school. Then he will have to share that time with his sisters as well. Sometimes I let him play with play-doh while I prepare dinner for the family and we talk while I cook and he plays which is nice too. If it's something simple that we are having for dinner, I try to let my son be involved in cooking too, which he really enjoys. For the girls it is a little harder to give them individual attention, so we usually end up doing group play, where I will get in the play-yard with them for 30-60 minutes in the evening and let them crawl all over me while I encourage them to walk :). I have found though with them, if you take one out of the play-yard and leave the other they tend to get very mad, so really the only one-on-one time they get for now is bathtime, but we are working on that to see what time we can fit in for them as well. Most importantly though, I have found that it is super important to get to spend quality time with my husband, so for the past week our goal has been to get all of our web-surfing done by 10:30 pm and go upstairs to watch some TV together and love on and cuddle with one another every night. We had both gotten used to being near one another without spending time together for way too long and it caused us to start drifting apart; we were just together and not spending real quality time with one another. We have learned though that if we want to stay as tightly connected as we were when we met, that we really need to focus on making sure the other person realizes that we do appreciate them and the things they do, and we need to do those special things that make the other person feel loved.
How do you divide your attention? What special things do you do with the individual members of your family?
Monday, January 9, 2012
Let's take a step back...
Did you know there are three different births a parent of multiples could experience? I was shocked to hear it but there are. Of course the most common are c-section and vaginal delivery. But there is also the chance to experience both during the same labor and delivery. After hearing this a lot of women would opt to just have a c-section and not give vaginal delivery a chance. It is actually very unlikely that this will happen, if I remember right there is only a 4% chance, but sometimes after the first baby is born one of the subsequent babies will have some sort of trouble and have to be delivered via c-section.
I am a big supporter of vaginal delivery, though I am not brave enough to try it without an epidural. I have never agreed with scheduling a delivery that entails cutting open the muscles in a person's stomach. In my case I was able to deliver all three of my children vaginally and got an epidural with both deliveries. The first time the epidural worked perfectly and it was an easy birth. Contractions started naturally and then were encouraged to continue with medication. I was having small contractions at home and my husband was getting no sleep so we headed to the hospital at 4am and he was born at 12:01pm on March 4, 2008. Aiden Douglas was 6lb 15 1/2 ozs. The Dr. did an episiotomy and helped to stretch things out to make delivery easier and the recovery wasn't that bad. With my second delivery the epidural only took on my right side and my left foot and each contraction made me feel like I had to pee really bad, which is much better than contractions with no epidural, but still not great. Once delivery started I was doing fine until I looked up and saw both my mother and my mother-in-law crying to see me in such pain and I was ready to give up instantly, looking at my husband I cried "I can't do it, I just can't." He was a great supporter though and let the nurses know when I was about to contract again, telling me I was doing great and stroking my hair. Even though the delivery was more painful than the first my husband was great and made sure everything went smoothly. All in all I was in labor from about 9am until 12:19pm and 12:22pm on March 10, 2011. Isabella Nicole was 6lb 5ozs Emma Marie was 6lbs 2 1/2 ozs (Yes, I am one of the lucky ones). Recovery was about the same for both deliveries, except I was more exhausted from trying to breastfeed two babies instead of just one.
What kind of delivery did you experience with your children? Did things go as planned? Did you take the pain meds?
I am a big supporter of vaginal delivery, though I am not brave enough to try it without an epidural. I have never agreed with scheduling a delivery that entails cutting open the muscles in a person's stomach. In my case I was able to deliver all three of my children vaginally and got an epidural with both deliveries. The first time the epidural worked perfectly and it was an easy birth. Contractions started naturally and then were encouraged to continue with medication. I was having small contractions at home and my husband was getting no sleep so we headed to the hospital at 4am and he was born at 12:01pm on March 4, 2008. Aiden Douglas was 6lb 15 1/2 ozs. The Dr. did an episiotomy and helped to stretch things out to make delivery easier and the recovery wasn't that bad. With my second delivery the epidural only took on my right side and my left foot and each contraction made me feel like I had to pee really bad, which is much better than contractions with no epidural, but still not great. Once delivery started I was doing fine until I looked up and saw both my mother and my mother-in-law crying to see me in such pain and I was ready to give up instantly, looking at my husband I cried "I can't do it, I just can't." He was a great supporter though and let the nurses know when I was about to contract again, telling me I was doing great and stroking my hair. Even though the delivery was more painful than the first my husband was great and made sure everything went smoothly. All in all I was in labor from about 9am until 12:19pm and 12:22pm on March 10, 2011. Isabella Nicole was 6lb 5ozs Emma Marie was 6lbs 2 1/2 ozs (Yes, I am one of the lucky ones). Recovery was about the same for both deliveries, except I was more exhausted from trying to breastfeed two babies instead of just one.
What kind of delivery did you experience with your children? Did things go as planned? Did you take the pain meds?
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Should your twins share a schedule and will it ever match everyone else's?
I do prefer my twins to share the same schedule as the rest of the family, but it took us awhile to get everyone on the same page. At first the girls got to take charge, eating and sleeping whenever they felt it was best, but that just really didn't work very good since my husband and I never got ANY sleep. We went with it for the first few months and then decided things had to change. We started with bedtime and worked our way thru the rest of the day backwards. Once we could get them to go to sleep areound 9pm and not wake up again until the next morning when everyone else was ready to get up; things started working out a lot better. We were happier because we were getting more sleep and our son was starting to get happier because we had the energy to interact with him again.
Once we had the bedtime routine worked out, it seemed like everything else just kinda fell into place. Now we all get up around the same time, eat at the same time, and all the kids go to bed a the same time as well. It is great to be able to share meal times, though eating and feeding two kids at once can be a challenge. My husband usually takes care of encouraging our 3 year old son to eat his meals and I usually feed the twin girls while I eat my meal. In our household we have found that eating, playing, and going to sleep are the only times that we try to make our children do the same things at the same time. We have tried giving the girls a bath at the same time (and that day will come) but, for right now they are just a little too big to both fit in the baby bathtub together and a little to small to put them in the big bathtub. We also try to change diapers at the same times, but as the twins get bigger they don't seem to potty at the same time as much anymore. At naptime, even though they go to sleep at the same time, they do not always sleep the same ammount of time. We have decided not to insist that they share the same exact schedule, but we do want their schedule to be fairly close just so we can keep some semblence of sanity in our household.
What have you found works best for your family?
Once we had the bedtime routine worked out, it seemed like everything else just kinda fell into place. Now we all get up around the same time, eat at the same time, and all the kids go to bed a the same time as well. It is great to be able to share meal times, though eating and feeding two kids at once can be a challenge. My husband usually takes care of encouraging our 3 year old son to eat his meals and I usually feed the twin girls while I eat my meal. In our household we have found that eating, playing, and going to sleep are the only times that we try to make our children do the same things at the same time. We have tried giving the girls a bath at the same time (and that day will come) but, for right now they are just a little too big to both fit in the baby bathtub together and a little to small to put them in the big bathtub. We also try to change diapers at the same times, but as the twins get bigger they don't seem to potty at the same time as much anymore. At naptime, even though they go to sleep at the same time, they do not always sleep the same ammount of time. We have decided not to insist that they share the same exact schedule, but we do want their schedule to be fairly close just so we can keep some semblence of sanity in our household.
What have you found works best for your family?
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Babies in Comparison
I have come to the determination that having twins can be more difficult than one child at a time, because it is so much easier to compare them to one another. Most parents will compare their consecutive children as they reach milestones such as “Our son started walking when he was 10 months old and the Twins are about to be 10 months old so we expect them to walk any day now.” With twins though since they were born on the same day it is hard not to expect them to reach the same milestones at least within a week of one another and the truth is they just don’t.
I don't feel bad comparing their milestones to their brother, but I don't like it when they are compared to one another. All mothers watch their children grow and wonder if they are accomplishing the right goals at the right times. I found that with my son most of the time he was developmentally ahead of the curve, but with the girls even though they are also ahead of the curve or on it they don't learn to do the same things at the same time. Isabella was crawling before Emma could sit up on her own, and Emma learned how to "kiss at you" before Isabella even thought about trying and Isabella could clap for a long time before Emma (who kinda figured that out today) and Emma’s teeth have come in faster than Isabella’s. Being fraternal twins my girls do have a lot of differences down to the dimples on their cheek/s, but they are alike in so many ways too. They each have a silky blanket with a Minnie Mouse head and arms that they cuddle with at night (Bubby has three now and one is a full sized blanket), they love to take baths, they love laughing at their big brother and they are both fast as lightening.
It does seem more worry-some when thinking about development to have two that are almost the exact same age and one can do something the other one can’t or doesn’t seem to care to do. When do you think it is time to worry about slow development? We talked to our doctor awhile ago before Emma could sit up and were referred to contact Early Intervention just in case they felt she needed physical therapy. They told us that once she started walking we should watch to make sure she is not always on her toes, but otherwise she just seemed more laid back than her sister and she was fine. I guess we just have to wait for her to walk and see what happens then since she is always standing on her toes and rarely drops down to stand flat on her feet.
Have any of you noticed things like this with your children?
I don't feel bad comparing their milestones to their brother, but I don't like it when they are compared to one another. All mothers watch their children grow and wonder if they are accomplishing the right goals at the right times. I found that with my son most of the time he was developmentally ahead of the curve, but with the girls even though they are also ahead of the curve or on it they don't learn to do the same things at the same time. Isabella was crawling before Emma could sit up on her own, and Emma learned how to "kiss at you" before Isabella even thought about trying and Isabella could clap for a long time before Emma (who kinda figured that out today) and Emma’s teeth have come in faster than Isabella’s. Being fraternal twins my girls do have a lot of differences down to the dimples on their cheek/s, but they are alike in so many ways too. They each have a silky blanket with a Minnie Mouse head and arms that they cuddle with at night (Bubby has three now and one is a full sized blanket), they love to take baths, they love laughing at their big brother and they are both fast as lightening.
It does seem more worry-some when thinking about development to have two that are almost the exact same age and one can do something the other one can’t or doesn’t seem to care to do. When do you think it is time to worry about slow development? We talked to our doctor awhile ago before Emma could sit up and were referred to contact Early Intervention just in case they felt she needed physical therapy. They told us that once she started walking we should watch to make sure she is not always on her toes, but otherwise she just seemed more laid back than her sister and she was fine. I guess we just have to wait for her to walk and see what happens then since she is always standing on her toes and rarely drops down to stand flat on her feet.
Have any of you noticed things like this with your children?
Friday, January 6, 2012
Our Balancing Act
It has been so different trying to sleep train my twins than it was with my son. At least with him there wasn't another baby in the room or at first in the same bassinet to moe or make noise and wake him back up again. With the girls there have been many challenges like this. Up until they were 5 1/2 mos old I nursed and bottle fed both of the girls and sometimes i would push myself to nurse both at the same time, or make one of them stop nursing so sister could have a turn. Raising twins is a balancing act and it took awhile for me to catch my balance so to speak.
Now that the girls are a little older we have created what we like to call a schedule. In reality it is a list of daily activities that we want to complete before a certain time of day. Of course everyone has to have a certain number of meals, the girls need a certain number of bottles, naps, baths, Aiden has to have his teeth brushed, their is flouride to distribute, and bedtime stories that need to be read. Diapers, snacks, developmental activities for the girls and for Aiden, laundry and dishes have to be worked in between everything else. And at the end of the day my husband and I unwind on the great world wide web and then devote some time to each other, just to get up and do it all again the next day.
So between balancing things like trying to make sure everyone gets their fair share of attention, fed on time, new diapers, clean clothes and remembering that just cause they are twins doesn't mean they should be just alike it gets pretty hectic around here. But once you get a schedule in place things do get better :)
Now that the girls are a little older we have created what we like to call a schedule. In reality it is a list of daily activities that we want to complete before a certain time of day. Of course everyone has to have a certain number of meals, the girls need a certain number of bottles, naps, baths, Aiden has to have his teeth brushed, their is flouride to distribute, and bedtime stories that need to be read. Diapers, snacks, developmental activities for the girls and for Aiden, laundry and dishes have to be worked in between everything else. And at the end of the day my husband and I unwind on the great world wide web and then devote some time to each other, just to get up and do it all again the next day.
So between balancing things like trying to make sure everyone gets their fair share of attention, fed on time, new diapers, clean clothes and remembering that just cause they are twins doesn't mean they should be just alike it gets pretty hectic around here. But once you get a schedule in place things do get better :)
Life is always a challenge!
As I said yest having a 3 year old when you bring home twins can be quite a challenge. I still haven't figured out if it is the fact that he got sisters or that he now has to share Mommy and Daddy or maybe it's just the he turned 3, but my sweet little Angel turned into a little monster with pent up energy like a chihuahua. He runs in circles turns in cirlces, basically never stops moving, Talks back and wants attention ALL the time now.
My son used to be one of those perfect children that would go to their room and play by himself, never get into things that weren't his and was nice to everyone. Now he growls at strangers, tries to touch everyone within arms reach and screams for no reason what-so-ever. He has an infactuation with powdery substances and loves to spread them from one end of the house to the other, though this started with flour when he was 1 1/2 - he has now graduated to sugar, powdered sugar and my FAVORITE Baby Powder :(.
I was very proud of my son for being such a well mannered little guy, being potty trained before he was 3 and going to bed without a hassle. Unfortunately he turned 3 and we brought not one, but two baby girls home from the hospital and it was like someone flipped a switch and he became a totally different child. I really hope this is just a part of him growing up and not because he is struggling with sharing us, but I guess time will tell.
Did this happen with anyone else's older child?
My son used to be one of those perfect children that would go to their room and play by himself, never get into things that weren't his and was nice to everyone. Now he growls at strangers, tries to touch everyone within arms reach and screams for no reason what-so-ever. He has an infactuation with powdery substances and loves to spread them from one end of the house to the other, though this started with flour when he was 1 1/2 - he has now graduated to sugar, powdered sugar and my FAVORITE Baby Powder :(.
I was very proud of my son for being such a well mannered little guy, being potty trained before he was 3 and going to bed without a hassle. Unfortunately he turned 3 and we brought not one, but two baby girls home from the hospital and it was like someone flipped a switch and he became a totally different child. I really hope this is just a part of him growing up and not because he is struggling with sharing us, but I guess time will tell.
Did this happen with anyone else's older child?
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Two Plus Another 1 - First Edition
Happy 2012 to all! This year I am determined to actually keep up with my blog and see what I can do with it. When I first created this page I thought it would be fun to maintain a blog about freebies and good deals that I find on FB, but as time has gone by I have found that as fun as it is to share this with everyone I love talking about my kids more. When I found out I was pregnant with twins I looked everywhere to find stories about people that had a toddler and were expecting twins and to my dismay I found very little information. It is a unique family set-up, but it really is so much fun.
I hear a lot of people say having twins really isn't that different than having singletons that are really close in age and I would have to say I completely disagree. Starting with my pregnancy things have been completely different. With twins the doctors are much more concerned about the babies and require so many more non-stress tests (these weren't even mentioned during my first pregnancy) and then of course if one of the girls was sleeping during that test then we had to visist radiology for yet another ultrasound just to make sure everything was ok. I got put on bedrest with 12 weeks to go instead of being able to work up til delivery. Then when I went in for my induction the epidural only took effect on my right side and my left foot :(. I still want to kick the Dr. that delivered the girls and was so sure baby A was facedown and stood there like a cheerleader until he figured out she was "sunny side up" and stuck at her nose. Lucky for me baby B came with just two pushes, but I don't think I could have taken much more than that.
My girls, Isabella and Emma, are now 9 1/2 mos old and my son is almost 4 and I look forward to sharing our story with all of you and hearing some of your persnal stories as well.
I hear a lot of people say having twins really isn't that different than having singletons that are really close in age and I would have to say I completely disagree. Starting with my pregnancy things have been completely different. With twins the doctors are much more concerned about the babies and require so many more non-stress tests (these weren't even mentioned during my first pregnancy) and then of course if one of the girls was sleeping during that test then we had to visist radiology for yet another ultrasound just to make sure everything was ok. I got put on bedrest with 12 weeks to go instead of being able to work up til delivery. Then when I went in for my induction the epidural only took effect on my right side and my left foot :(. I still want to kick the Dr. that delivered the girls and was so sure baby A was facedown and stood there like a cheerleader until he figured out she was "sunny side up" and stuck at her nose. Lucky for me baby B came with just two pushes, but I don't think I could have taken much more than that.
My girls, Isabella and Emma, are now 9 1/2 mos old and my son is almost 4 and I look forward to sharing our story with all of you and hearing some of your persnal stories as well.
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