Awesome Giveaway

Check out the Kenzie Poo blog for great giveaways and design ideas. You can enter to win some of her cute and glamorous hand-crafted baby headbands.  

Bumbleride

I never posted that we ended up with the Bumbleride Indie Twin in Vita. It's amazing and I absolutely love this stroller. I got a great deal on eBay, about $100 off the listing price. The stroller shipped very quickly and was simple to put together. I get so many compliments. 

Three is a Crowd

I am trying to make mommy friends so I don't go nuts listening to plastic toys sing all day. I need a life too. I have some mommy friends but I need to meet new people. I have some mommy + baby playdates lined up over the next week or so and things are looking good on friend potential. 

This past week I invited someone over with her twin boys -- I met them through my local multiples club -- but I discovered one of my girls had a fever and had to cancel as she was literally driving down my street. I felt terrible but I didn't want to give her whole family a cold. I mean what a way to make a first impression. 

Last week I also met up with a woman who I met briefly last summer. I also met her through the club and we had been emailing lately about sleep issues so decided to meet for the ever-popular coffee and walk outing. After we confirmed, she asked me if I minded whether or not she invited her friend. What am I supposed to say? 

I hardly know her and this was supposed to be an opportunity to get to know each other and now you are adding another stranger into the mix. The worst part is, someone would be odd man out during the walk. Think about it -- two double strollers and one single trying to walk down a sidewalk? Um, yeah ... not going to work. 

Anyway, at the very least I would get a coffee and get out of the house, which is not a bad prize. So I show up at Starbucks where we are supposed to meet. The other twin mom is 20 mins late. I mean a few mins late okay, but 20 mins in the world of a baby is an eternity. I am sitting there with my iced latte and praying the girls don't have a complete meltdown as I watch the clock tick closer to 4pm. 

Finally I see her drive into the parking lot. Her friend is walking up the street at the same time. To her friend's credit, she was closer to being on time but had trouble crossing the street so had to walk out of her way to a crosswalk. Still, I try to be optimistic. I offer to watch the strollers while they go get there coffee. Now it's been 30 mins since I arrived. 

We have the coffees and go for a walk. It's quickly obvious how hard it is to walk all together. We do one loop through Fairfield town and end up at a children's shop. Why on earth do children's stores not make the isles wide enough for a double stroller? One of my girls had her foot hanging off the side of the stroller and it got caught on a shelf as I pushed her through the store. She started screaming. 

It was that awful cry where no sound comes out. So we left and went home. I felt terrible for hurting her but it was an accident. 

Lesson learned, just because two people share a common interest -- their twin daughters -- doesn't always mean it's instant BFF.

Happy Memorial Day

My husband thankfully decided to bring down the Yankees flag today and raise the American flag back up in honor of Memorial Day. Tomorrow, the girls will be 11 months.

Child Proofers

Someone will probably flame me when they hear I paid someone to come and child proof my home. But I must explain that my husband and I are challenged when it comes to drills. We have actually bought several drills thinking it was the drill that was the issue, when in fact, it was just us. I can put anything together and my husband is amazing when it comes to wiring for TV/stereo, but we just can't seem to get a screw into the wall.

There is a great guy up here named Jay Martel -- aka the Child Proof Coach. He will come to your house, bring all the necessary safety devices (i.e. gates, locks, latches, etc.) and install everything for you. If you have twins and no help, you can definitely justify the cost. The actual labor fee is very reasonable and then you just pay for the products, which actually cost less through him than at a store like what was formerly The Right Start. Plus, he's really funny and nice. He won't talk you into gating and latching the entire house ... just wouldn't make sense.

So, if you are like me, a first-time mom who is not so great with a drill, give him a call.

Almost There ...

It's almost the girls' one-year birthday. The show I used to watch for inspiration during my pregnancy, Jon + Kate + 8, is now in the media spotlight because their marriage is falling apart from alleged infidelity, among other issues. We've certainly had our ups and downs -- being a parent isn't easy -- but we are a strong family. 

The time really did go by quickly. I think I wanted it to in a way because the early months were really hard. They seemed so little to me. Now when I see babies I can't imagine mine being that small. I don't even really want to hold little babies when I have the chance. It's not comfortable to me. I like my girls' just the age they are. In fact, I can't wait for them to be a little older. I want to hear them talk and to play games with them. I want to paint their toes pink and have fashion parades with dress up clothes. It's not that I don't love my babies, I am just ready for a different dimension to our relationship.

We're doing a Miffy theme for the one-year party. I ordered some Miffy decorations and there will be Miffy on their cake. I know they won't remember their first birthday, but it's definitely something to celebrate, if only for the adults. 

Thanks to all my family and friends for helping us get this far! 

Little Gym

I have been bad about blogging lately, so I am going to try and catch up with a few posts. Two ear infections and a cold (everyone) have kept me busy.

My friend in the city is always taking her baby to these sorts of classes and I felt I needed to begin doing the same. She is always out at a Mommy & Me type class -- music, working out, etc. So I set out to find something like that up here. I mean it's Fairfield County so I knew there had to be tons of this stuff. A lot of people in my Twins Club suggested Little Gym, which, as you many of you Sherlocks may have guessed, is a heavily padded, soundproof and colorful place for toddlers and kids to let out their creative energy.

After confirming they properly santize everything, I signed up for a free trial. I went with my former mother's helper (long story, another entry) and we waited for class to begin. Little by little the rest of the class began to arrive. Another set of girl twins (one month older), two other little girls and a little boy. Our overly cheerful instructor led us inside.

Since the previous class ran over we didn't get much time to get the girls comfortable in the room before the class began. This was their first class but the other kids had been coming for a while now. Our instructor Miss C asked us to all get in a circle.

She flipped on the music, which was loud for mommy's ears, and dumped out a basket full of bells. My girls burst into screams and tears, while the other babies happily crawled over to the bells. One of my girls warmed up to the whole bell and singing routine, while the other continued to scream and cry and grab onto my shirt for dear life.

It's so hard because you want to just say "okay sweetie, if you're scared we can leave." But that wouldn't be helping her to socialize and get used to other surroundings. Especially when I know it could be fun for her. So I decided I would hold her if she was scared but push her to do the activities.

Then there was a parachute. The babies (except for one of mine) sat on the parachute and the adults hold it and walk in a circle. It was very cute. I see my baby staring at another baby wearing glasses. I know exactly what is about to happen but it is too late and my mother's helper is off on another planet. My baby reaches forward, grabs the other girls' glasses and in doing so pushes her backwards and she begins to cry. The instructor runs in to grab her and my mother's helper is still just standing there braindead. The instructor is now holding my baby's hand and says "what sharp little nails you have." Uh, sorry lady, I didn't have time for mani/pedis before we came.

Anyway, the rest of the class went on like this. The nanny of the other twin girls said hers were scared in the beginning but they got used to it and now really enjoy the class. So now I have signed up for 3 more weeks and then the summer session. The problem is now I have no mother's helper, not that she was much into helping anyway. So I am off to Little Gym on Monday solo with two babies. I am sure it will be fine so long as both aren't screaming the entire time.

Lunch With The Girls

We are trying to better socialize the girls and bring them out with us more to restaurants so they get used to eating places other then home. Yesterday we took the girls to Swanky Franks, a local place in Westport that is taken over by kids on the weekends. They are known for their hot dogs, as the name suggests, but also have salads and such if you are watching your waistline. But this is the kind of place you have to have an onion ring or two. So get the salad and a side of fries to balance things out.

They have special hot dogs like the Westporter, my husband's favorite, which is a hot dog with cole slaw and chili. Honestly, just saying that makes me slightly sick but I try not to judge.

The girls split a hamburger and hot dog. Daddy was nice enough to share some of his chocolate milkshake. For dessert, one of my lovelies ate the check. Then as a nice treat for the waitress, she flipped mommy's diet coke over and it soaked the table, booth and the floor. Don't worry, we left a nice tip.