Showing posts with label MVMOM. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MVMOM. Show all posts
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Gymnastics
Yesterday a twin mom friend organized a playdate for all of us with two year old twins at a gymnastics center, so the boys and I, along with Aunt L, played hooky from school and went to the gym! The fellas have done this a half dozen or so times the last year, and they LOVE LOVE LOVE it. They are still struggling with the concept of waiting for their turn on the trampolines, but they're getting there! (Some of the pics are blurry b/c I was messing with the settings. Unfortunately, neither of my photographer twin moms were there to help me out with my fancy camera!)
Thank you for visiting Aunt L! We love you and will see you again soon!
Monday, September 19, 2011
NOT a rock star, just a regular MOM
Everywhere I go with the boys, I'm treated a bit like a rock star.
Are they twins? Wow.......
You nursed them for how long?
How do you do it?
I couldn't even imagine having two!
Everywhere, that is, except MVMOM, my multiples' club. There, I'm no one special. I have "only" my twins, no additional singletons, no multiple sets of multiples, no special needs - in fact, I have it easy compared to my colleagues!
On Saturday, I worked our bi-annual Used Clothing and Equipment Sale, our humongous fundraiser where we all sell our stuff and buy "new" stuff from each other. It's open to the public, too, so you should check it out next spring. It's fun and furious!
The women who are part of the club are supermoms. Seriously, I don't know how THEY do it! For example, the woman who cashiered to my right for three hours has two sets of identical twin girls (5 and 2). She's incredible. Our vice-president, who worked behind me all morning, has quintuplet boys, three of whom have special needs (age 7). One of our members, whom I'd never met and checked out at my cashier station, has five sons - one singleton and two sets of twins! Her youngest are two, and when she noticed my nametag (for it displays your childrens' names and birth years) also had two year old boys, she asked, "Are yours crazy?"
"They're very very busy!" (I try not to use the word crazy because I don't want it to stick - or for them to get any ideas!)
"Mine were eating my organic raw eggs out the fridge the other day!" she exclaimed.
Gulp, maybe mine aren't crazy. "Mine got into the fridge, too - they ate a bunch of grapes." Grapes? That's the best you could come up with?
At the end of our shift, my cashiering neighbor and I were in the breakroom, and she was discussing the delicate situation that I hope never to be in - announcing your second twin pregnancy to your families - with yet ANOTHER multiple multiples mom! Both women expressed disappointment when their families were less than enthusiastic.
I also had the privilege of chatting with a new twin-mom-to-be, a pregnant member I met this summer. She was just 8 weeks along and had learned three days before we met that she was expecting twins. I was able to share with her what an incredible club I belonged to and she joined! I'm so happy to have a connection with her - and very excited that she'll share in the joys of boys with me. Now she's 20 weeks along with her guys and doing well.
Needless to say, every time I gather with these mighty women, I am humbled and awed by their strength and fortitude. And reminded that I am NOT a rock star, I'm just a regular MOM.
Are they twins? Wow.......
You nursed them for how long?
How do you do it?
I couldn't even imagine having two!
Everywhere, that is, except MVMOM, my multiples' club. There, I'm no one special. I have "only" my twins, no additional singletons, no multiple sets of multiples, no special needs - in fact, I have it easy compared to my colleagues!
On Saturday, I worked our bi-annual Used Clothing and Equipment Sale, our humongous fundraiser where we all sell our stuff and buy "new" stuff from each other. It's open to the public, too, so you should check it out next spring. It's fun and furious!
The women who are part of the club are supermoms. Seriously, I don't know how THEY do it! For example, the woman who cashiered to my right for three hours has two sets of identical twin girls (5 and 2). She's incredible. Our vice-president, who worked behind me all morning, has quintuplet boys, three of whom have special needs (age 7). One of our members, whom I'd never met and checked out at my cashier station, has five sons - one singleton and two sets of twins! Her youngest are two, and when she noticed my nametag (for it displays your childrens' names and birth years) also had two year old boys, she asked, "Are yours crazy?"
"They're very very busy!" (I try not to use the word crazy because I don't want it to stick - or for them to get any ideas!)
"Mine were eating my organic raw eggs out the fridge the other day!" she exclaimed.
Gulp, maybe mine aren't crazy. "Mine got into the fridge, too - they ate a bunch of grapes." Grapes? That's the best you could come up with?
At the end of our shift, my cashiering neighbor and I were in the breakroom, and she was discussing the delicate situation that I hope never to be in - announcing your second twin pregnancy to your families - with yet ANOTHER multiple multiples mom! Both women expressed disappointment when their families were less than enthusiastic.
I also had the privilege of chatting with a new twin-mom-to-be, a pregnant member I met this summer. She was just 8 weeks along and had learned three days before we met that she was expecting twins. I was able to share with her what an incredible club I belonged to and she joined! I'm so happy to have a connection with her - and very excited that she'll share in the joys of boys with me. Now she's 20 weeks along with her guys and doing well.
Needless to say, every time I gather with these mighty women, I am humbled and awed by their strength and fortitude. And reminded that I am NOT a rock star, I'm just a regular MOM.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Need For Speed
Do Boy Moms die sooner than Girl Moms? I found myself wondering as I drove home from the most nerve-racking playdate I've attended yet. A twin mom friend oraganized a playdate for us moms of twin two year olds at a park, so I went, based on my boys' recent good behavior at our neighborhood playground.
I almost turned around when I saw the Valleyfair/Cedar Point/Six Flags/Disneyland playground. Had I not given my word I'd be there and driven a half hour to see my friends, I would have. The few snapshots I was able to take will not do this park justice. There were HUNDREDS of kids RUNNING at BREAKNECK speed, DOZENS of (very calm) moms milling about, water fountains spraying water onto the acre-sized playset in the the stiff wind that nearly blew us away.
What had I gotten myself into?
The boys googled the playground like it really was Disneyland because it could have been - it was the biggest park they'd ever seen - as I packed up the stroller with our diaper backpack, bag o' water clothes, and lunch. It took a few minutes to find my friends, amongst what was obviously another mom's group gathering (based on the giant sign that said APPLE VALLEY MOM'S GROUP, of which none of us 7 moms and 15 kids belonged).
They couldn't get out of the stroller fast enough to join the throng of children in the labyrinth. I tried greeting my friends while surveying the land for the best lifeguard position, so as to scan the area for my (thankfully) red-clad children. My boys chose to divide and conquer, each darting a different direction, climbing heights I'm afraid to mention, lest you think I'm a careless mom. My heart was racing as giant 8 year olds tore about, leaping over the 14 two year olds scrambling beneath them. I moved to the center of the play system when the fellas chose to climb its opposite side, so I could betterwatch my children tumble down the dark side of the moon keep an eye on them. I'm sure my blood pressure would have been sky high had you taken it between 10:30-11:30 this morning.
I tried to small talk with my twin mom friends, whose obedient girl-girl and boy-girl twins played together, buddy-style, even posing for adorable pictures through the bars. Only one other mom there had boy-boy twins, and I know she understands what I'm saying - one of hers went MIA, she parked the known boy with our gaggle during snack/lunch time, and found the missing one wandering the parking lot!
We kept up a frantic pace for about a half hour, ate a picnic lunch (kind of) and dove back into the playground with a Need for Speed. They found the fastest, steepest slide on the system - nearly straight down, and slick with the spray from the water fountains nearby. (M was a bit unhappy with me that I wouldn't let him in the sprinklers, so I think that's why he chose this one - so he could still get wet and I would, too, standing nearby.) They couldn't get up the stairs, across the bridge, and down the slide fast enough. Over and over and over again. I told myself that at least they're working together on the same side of the structure, which was better to keep an eye on them than their previous tactic, Disappear Into The Tube Slides With Lots Of Big Kids.
A little before noon, there were signs of slowing down, and I knew I had to make a hasty retreat before the puppet wagon arrived (for which the Well Behaved Twins got to stay) and I missed my window of opportunity to beat it home and get them in bed before they fell asleep. Because if they fell asleep on the ride home, just 30 minutes, I'd have two grouchy two year olds by 5 pm because they didn't get a "real" nap, a risk I'm not willing to take today.
I also wanted to get out of there before Anything happened. Anything being, well, anything. When the fellas get tired, Anything can happen, which is usually Something Not Good.
So we left, and as I listed to the Veggie Tales DVD entertaining my very exhausted boys to keep them awake, I wondered if Boy Moms die sooner than Girl Moms. If I were to reflect on the life expectancy of the women in my family, who primarily have birthed girls for the last 100 years, I'd say, yes, Girl Moms live longer. Because none of my Girl Mom friends looked like they were about to have a heart attack today. Just me and the other twin boy mom.
I almost turned around when I saw the Valleyfair/Cedar Point/Six Flags/Disneyland playground. Had I not given my word I'd be there and driven a half hour to see my friends, I would have. The few snapshots I was able to take will not do this park justice. There were HUNDREDS of kids RUNNING at BREAKNECK speed, DOZENS of (very calm) moms milling about, water fountains spraying water onto the acre-sized playset in the the stiff wind that nearly blew us away.
What had I gotten myself into?
The boys googled the playground like it really was Disneyland because it could have been - it was the biggest park they'd ever seen - as I packed up the stroller with our diaper backpack, bag o' water clothes, and lunch. It took a few minutes to find my friends, amongst what was obviously another mom's group gathering (based on the giant sign that said APPLE VALLEY MOM'S GROUP, of which none of us 7 moms and 15 kids belonged).
They couldn't get out of the stroller fast enough to join the throng of children in the labyrinth. I tried greeting my friends while surveying the land for the best lifeguard position, so as to scan the area for my (thankfully) red-clad children. My boys chose to divide and conquer, each darting a different direction, climbing heights I'm afraid to mention, lest you think I'm a careless mom. My heart was racing as giant 8 year olds tore about, leaping over the 14 two year olds scrambling beneath them. I moved to the center of the play system when the fellas chose to climb its opposite side, so I could better
I tried to small talk with my twin mom friends, whose obedient girl-girl and boy-girl twins played together, buddy-style, even posing for adorable pictures through the bars. Only one other mom there had boy-boy twins, and I know she understands what I'm saying - one of hers went MIA, she parked the known boy with our gaggle during snack/lunch time, and found the missing one wandering the parking lot!
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| N attempting escape in the bottom left |
We kept up a frantic pace for about a half hour, ate a picnic lunch (kind of) and dove back into the playground with a Need for Speed. They found the fastest, steepest slide on the system - nearly straight down, and slick with the spray from the water fountains nearby. (M was a bit unhappy with me that I wouldn't let him in the sprinklers, so I think that's why he chose this one - so he could still get wet and I would, too, standing nearby.) They couldn't get up the stairs, across the bridge, and down the slide fast enough. Over and over and over again. I told myself that at least they're working together on the same side of the structure, which was better to keep an eye on them than their previous tactic, Disappear Into The Tube Slides With Lots Of Big Kids.
A little before noon, there were signs of slowing down, and I knew I had to make a hasty retreat before the puppet wagon arrived (for which the Well Behaved Twins got to stay) and I missed my window of opportunity to beat it home and get them in bed before they fell asleep. Because if they fell asleep on the ride home, just 30 minutes, I'd have two grouchy two year olds by 5 pm because they didn't get a "real" nap, a risk I'm not willing to take today.
I also wanted to get out of there before Anything happened. Anything being, well, anything. When the fellas get tired, Anything can happen, which is usually Something Not Good.
So we left, and as I listed to the Veggie Tales DVD entertaining my very exhausted boys to keep them awake, I wondered if Boy Moms die sooner than Girl Moms. If I were to reflect on the life expectancy of the women in my family, who primarily have birthed girls for the last 100 years, I'd say, yes, Girl Moms live longer. Because none of my Girl Mom friends looked like they were about to have a heart attack today. Just me and the other twin boy mom.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
More Birthday Fun (or don't P in the Ool)!
With the boys' and hubs' birthday just 9 days apart, we can stretch the birthday celebrations for over a week! If I haven't read your Facebook posts or replied to your texts or voicemails, it's because we've been partying and prepping for more partying this weekend. (Sorry!)
Last weekend we celebrated with our Michigan families and tonight we celebrated with our Minnesota friends. It was the first time we had so many people in our new house and it was fun to introduce our friends to each other - we had multiples' families, church friends, old friends, new friends and new neighbors (they fall into the new friends category, too!) gathered to celebrate God's many blessings. Here are just a few of the hundreds or so pictures snapped tonight. These were taken the second half of our party by Aunt L - beginning with cake eating, on our Nikon, whose software was FINALLY uploaded to the dino-desktop tonight. Please be patient and I'll work on some more this week. A very gracious friend will have a boatload of good ones from the beginning!
Oh, yeah....and somebody peed in the pool! I'll leave you guessing if you haven't already heard! :)
Last weekend we celebrated with our Michigan families and tonight we celebrated with our Minnesota friends. It was the first time we had so many people in our new house and it was fun to introduce our friends to each other - we had multiples' families, church friends, old friends, new friends and new neighbors (they fall into the new friends category, too!) gathered to celebrate God's many blessings. Here are just a few of the hundreds or so pictures snapped tonight. These were taken the second half of our party by Aunt L - beginning with cake eating, on our Nikon, whose software was FINALLY uploaded to the dino-desktop tonight. Please be patient and I'll work on some more this week. A very gracious friend will have a boatload of good ones from the beginning!
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| I love you, bro! (My favorite shot:) |
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| Clean mud, eh? I'm sure I can make a mess of it. |
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| Cake! Cake, Bug cake! More candies? Pweeze? |
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| Fireman N helps with the hose |
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| I missed you so much! Welcome! M greets our friends at the door. |
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| A perfect evening for picnicing in our backyard. What beautiful weather and wonderful friends. |
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| BUG CAKE |
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| I love cake! |
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| Daddy and M share a hug |
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| TP + Ivory Soap + H20 + a whole bunch of two year old twins = Clean Mud |
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| The making of the mud |
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| First water balloon fight! Okay, it wasn't much of a fight, but it was funny! |
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| More clean mud making - I had to teach them how to squish it together. |
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| N tiptoes through the shark pool sprinkler |
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| How many two year olds fit into a shark pool? About 9! |
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| Four tired but very happy people say good-bye, friends! Come again! |
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Triple Time
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
9 Moms + 19 Kids
Equals Fun, Fun, Fun!
Add PBJ cutouts, 45 dozen cookies to exchange and a choo-choo table and we're in heaven! Yep, us crazy mommies-of-twin-one-year-olds did it again: a play date. One can only imagine the craziness that ensued, and pictures cannot depict the chaos, mainly because all of mine were of the backs of heads - kids zipping around so fast!
Mine remained somewhat still upon discovering...The CHOO CHOO TABLE:
God bless Maria for having us over - we invaded her humongous basement-turned-kiddie-playroom-nirvana - and pretty much dismantled it. "It" being the toys - believe it or not, her Christmas trees remained both intact and upright! I have high hopes for our tree (next year). Had it not been for needing to feed the kids, I think mine would have remained glued to the train table all day. Upstairs we went,
I shouldn't be surprised that my fellas are such good boys, but watching them both climb up on the dining room chairs and stay seated (mostly) for a meal (of sorts) was pleasantly surprising. It's one of those times where I realize, they're not so little as I think they are.
Unfortunately, we didn't get a group shot this time, but I will tell you that seeing 18 one year olds and one big brother overseeing them all was quite a sight! Kudos to my 8 MOM friends who understand that organized chaos is the key to sanity. You ladies rock!
Add PBJ cutouts, 45 dozen cookies to exchange and a choo-choo table and we're in heaven! Yep, us crazy mommies-of-twin-one-year-olds did it again: a play date. One can only imagine the craziness that ensued, and pictures cannot depict the chaos, mainly because all of mine were of the backs of heads - kids zipping around so fast!
Mine remained somewhat still upon discovering...The CHOO CHOO TABLE:
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| But finding the kiddie table full, |
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| N helped himself to the big table |
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| M did, too. That's a PBJ stocking going down the hatch. |
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| Mommy and M pose for a quick pic |
Unfortunately, we didn't get a group shot this time, but I will tell you that seeing 18 one year olds and one big brother overseeing them all was quite a sight! Kudos to my 8 MOM friends who understand that organized chaos is the key to sanity. You ladies rock!
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Dear Daddy,
Dear Daddy,
Guess where we ate last night? It has chips and cheese quesadillas and refried beans and servers who keep picking up your sippy cups and fire engine toys when you throw them on the ground and I dipped a chip in salsa and it was good but mommy took it away because I tried to scoop it up with my hands and OH YEAH we got to color too but mommy wouldn't let us eat the crayons even though I kind of like doing it so I was mad and just broke them but she didn't seem to care she just fed me cheese quesadillas and they were really yummy and then I played with my fire engine toy and threw it on the ground and this really nice server who kept calling me hombre picked it up every time and it was really fun till mommy took the toy away and gave me a fruit leather but I didn't really want that I just wanted to get down so she let me get out and sit with her friend Miss K who put me down on the ground and HOORAY! I'M FREE!
Dear Daddy,
I was a panda today. I sat really still to get my picture taken with A and the other kids. Because mommy gave me a choo-choo to hold. I said "choo choo" and she smiled so I said it again and she smiled again. It was a lot of fun. My favorite part was pretending to be a bird and eating little pieces of cheese sandwiches out of O&W's grandma's hands. She was a chef. She gave me a lot of cheese. I really like it. Mommy says maybe I'll be a mouse next year. There were two cozy coupe cars there and I played with them but I shared, too.
Love, Your Boys
Guess where we ate last night? It has chips and cheese quesadillas and refried beans and servers who keep picking up your sippy cups and fire engine toys when you throw them on the ground and I dipped a chip in salsa and it was good but mommy took it away because I tried to scoop it up with my hands and OH YEAH we got to color too but mommy wouldn't let us eat the crayons even though I kind of like doing it so I was mad and just broke them but she didn't seem to care she just fed me cheese quesadillas and they were really yummy and then I played with my fire engine toy and threw it on the ground and this really nice server who kept calling me hombre picked it up every time and it was really fun till mommy took the toy away and gave me a fruit leather but I didn't really want that I just wanted to get down so she let me get out and sit with her friend Miss K who put me down on the ground and HOORAY! I'M FREE!
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| Pass the salsa, please! |
I was a panda today. I sat really still to get my picture taken with A and the other kids. Because mommy gave me a choo-choo to hold. I said "choo choo" and she smiled so I said it again and she smiled again. It was a lot of fun. My favorite part was pretending to be a bird and eating little pieces of cheese sandwiches out of O&W's grandma's hands. She was a chef. She gave me a lot of cheese. I really like it. Mommy says maybe I'll be a mouse next year. There were two cozy coupe cars there and I played with them but I shared, too.
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| Choo-choo-choo-choo-choo-choo! |
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| Little animals at the muliples' halloween party today! |
Monday, October 25, 2010
First Halloween Party
I haven't had this much Halloween fun since 1987, when I had to make my own costume. I made a blue-construction-paper "sticker," dressed in yellow from head to toe and went as a chiquita banana! Oh, boy, would you have a laugh if my scanner worked and I could show you THAT pic!
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| Our "official" Halloween pic |
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| Mr. J, G the dog, A the Lion, Papa bear and our panda cubs |
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| M was on a mission to eat as much Chex Mix as possible |
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| Getting ready to roll in! |
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| Coloring Frankenstein for a special person. Watch your mailbox! |
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| Eat this Chex Mix, Daddy! It's delicious! |
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| What a silly little bear! |
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| Me and N with M and one of her pink leopards |
These events are just a riot for the kids - okay, mine just wanted to eat Chex Mix because there were m&m's in it - but we MVMOM's get to meet each other's kids and hubbies, too. Above, you met my dear friend E's hub, J. I'm sure you recognized her little animals. I'm including the pic below not because it's a great shot of me or the boys but because one of our members is married to SuperDad. He's taking a pic of his SuperFamily, who is following behind the Panda family in the Parade. Yes, I said Parade.
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