The Twin Mama

A Stumbling Block

reball — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 12:25:15 +0000

I was recently “surfing” Pinterest when I stumbled upon a recipe I wanted to try. After, copying the recipe I noticed the name of the blog I was enjoying. Curious as I am about most things twin I decided to continue reading. I came across something life changing! A story of this families beautiful life. A story filled to the brim with love, laughter, and a lot of heartache. I spent nearly two hours reading of the pain this family endured when their twins were born way to early!

Sometimes it takes a knock in the head just like this to see how truly blessed we are! It’s easy to get caught up in the daily disasters around here. But they are truly NOTHING compared to the obstacles other families are fighting to overcome each day! This family fought so hard for their precious boy! After 40 surgeries in his short 4 1/2 years he passed away. I can’t imagine nor do I ever want to face that type of pain . But this family is unbelievably open and strong! They are inspiring in their faith! May we never know this pain but if we do may we be as gracious to God for the time we’ve been given as they have been! If you have the time please read this precious little boy’s story! I promise you’ll look at your life with new appreciation!

http://yourlifeuncommon.blogspot.com/2010/01/our-sweet-dawson-has-returned-to-his.html

Hug your babies friends! We know not the time we’ve been given with them!

January Day is Born

reball — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 12:07:55 +0000

This day started mighty early for us! G has been up since 3:15. (yep, thats am folks) M decided to get his day started around 5:00 as the Mr. was heading to work. So, I’m anticipating an early nap and lots of grumping today!
As a bonus these early days often bring beautiful sunrises! Enjoy this day the Lord has given you friends! I’m trying to see the “sunny” side today!

Do you remember me?

reball — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 13:18:36 +0000

Life has definitely been in the way of this little blog for awhile! Life with my boys has been hectic, chaotic, and crazy good. So many things have happened and changed since I last wrote a post! We’ve conquered major life experiences like potty training, sleeping in “big boy” beds, and turning 3! I’ve thought of sharing these events so many times but time runs short and “other” things get in the way!

I hope that you’ll hang in there while I try to find my zest for sharing our crazy world with you again!

~The sometimes stressed, usually tired, happy Twinmama

Two by two…

reball — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 12:47:15 +0000

There’s two to wash,
Two to dry
Two who argue
And two who cry.
There’s two to kiss
Two to hug
And best of all
Two to Love!

The Most Precious Gift

reball — Fri, 07 May 2010 18:36:47 +0000

I’m so sorry I’ve abandoned you for so long! I’ve been off trying to conquer the world…or at least the world I live in! You know, the to-do list, the daily tasks that HAVE to be accomplished.

I stopped to check my email a few minutes ago and received one from my oldest sister. She’s someone who has always been in my corner. Who is filled with advice and a lot of know how when it comes to surviving motherhood. With three children of her own she’s had a lot of practice. When she sends a message I definitely take the time to read it over. I’m sure glad I did today! I posted the story she sent below but first I want to share one more thing…

When I was pregnant with the boys I was one of those people who felt trapped and violated by other people touching my belly. But, I came to feel comforted when my family would feel the boys kick. It was something I was proud to be able to share with them. I remember my sister telling me to remember each kick even though at the time I was in so much pain from them! There’s not a lot of room for all those elbows and knees when there are two! As I got nearer to the day they came into the world all I could think about was meeting my angels! After, the boys were born Mr. G was in the NICU at another hospital. It just happened to be Christmas Eve when M and I were released from the hospital. My sister, left her own family and spent the evening driving us to see G and daddy. I remember a question she asked me and it is one I will never forget! She asked, “So, have you figured it out yet?” I didn’t quite understand what it was that she was asking. She responded with “That nothing else in this world will ever be as important as your babies!” That’s the truth too! There is nothing more important, more valuable, or more inspiring than my boys! The feeling of those little arms wrapping around me is one that can brighten any mood! Being a Mother is THE most precious gift! Remember your Mom this Mother’s Day!

On Being Mom
by Anna Quindlen,
Newsweek Columnist and Author

If not for the photographs, I might have a hard time believing they ever
existed. The pensive infant with the swipe of dark bangs and the black
button eyes of a Raggedy Andy doll. The placid baby with the yellow ringlets
and the high piping voice. The sturdy toddler with the lower lip that curled
into an apostrophe above her chin.

All my babies are gone now. I say this not in sorrow but in disbelief. I
take great satisfaction in what I have today: three almost-adults, two
taller than I am, one closing in fast. Three people who read the same books
I do and have learned not to be afraid of disagreeing with me in their
opinion of them, who sometimes tell vulgar jokes that make me laugh until I
choke and cry, who need razor blades and shower gel and privacy, who want to
keep their doors closed more than I like.

Who, miraculously, go to the bathroom, zip up their jackets and move food
from plate to mouth all by themselves. Like the trick soap I bought for the
bathroom with a rubber ducky at its center, the baby is buried deep within
each, barely discernible except through the unreliable haze of the past.

Everything in all the books I once pored over is finished for me now.
Penelope Leach., T. Berry Brazelton., Dr. Spock. The ones on sibling rivalry
and sleeping through the night and early-childhood education, all grown
obsolete. Along with Goodnight Moon and Where the Wild Things Are, they are
battered, spotted, well used. But I suspect that if you flipped the pages
dust would rise like memories.

What those books taught me, finally, and what the women on the playground
taught me, and the well-meaning relations –what they taught me, was that
they couldn’t really teach me very much at all. Raising children is
presented at first as a true-false test, then becomes multiple choice, until
finally, far along, you realize that it is an endless essay. No one knows
anything. One child responds well to positive reinforcement, another can be
managed only with a stern voice and a timeout. One child is toilet trained
at 3, his sibling at 2.

When my first child was born, parents were told to put baby to bed on his
belly so that
he would not choke on his own spit-up. By the time my last arrived, babies
were put down on their backs because of research on sudden infant death
syndrome. To a new parent this ever-shifting certainty is terrifying, and
then soothing.

Eventually you must learn to trust yourself. Eventually the research will
follow. I remember 15 years ago poring over one of Dr. Brazelton’s wonderful
books on child development, in which he describes three different sorts of
infants: average, quiet, and active. I was looking for a sub-quiet codicil
for an 18-month old who did not walk. Was there something wrong with his fat
little legs? Was there something wrong with his tiny little mind? Was he
developmentally delayed, physically challenged? Was I insane? Last
year he went to China . Next year he goes to college. He can talk just fine.
He can walk, too.

Every part of raising children is humbling, too. Believe me, mistakes were
made. They have all been enshrined in the, “Remember-When-Mom-Did Hall of
Fame.” The outbursts, the temper tantrums, the bad language, mine, not
theirs. The times the baby fell off the bed. The times I arrived late for
preschool pickup. The nightmare sleepover. The horrible summer camp. The day
when the youngest came barreling out of the classroom with a 98 on her
geography test, and I responded, What did you get wrong? (She
insisted I include that.) The time I ordered food at the McDonald’s
drive-through speaker and then drove away without picking it up from the
window. (They all insisted I include that.) I did not allow them to watch
the Simpsons for the first two seasons. What was I thinking?

But the biggest mistake I made is the one that most of us make while doing
this. I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now
that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs.

There is one picture of the three of them, sitting in the grass on a quilt
in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages 6, 4 and 1. And I wish
I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they
sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night. I wish I had not
been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I
wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it
done a little less.

Even today I’m not sure what worked and what didn’t, what was me and what
was simply life. When they were very small, I suppose I thought someday they
would become who they were because of what I’d done. Now I suspect they
simply grew into their true selves because they demanded in a thousand ways
that I back off and let them be.

The books said to be relaxed and I was often tense, matter-of-fact and I was
sometimes over the top. And look how it all turned out. I wound up with the
three people I like best in the world, who have done more than anyone to
excavate my essential humanity.

That’s what the books never told me. I was bound and determined to learn
from the experts. It just took me a while to figure out who the experts
were….

SOS!!! HELP!!!

reball — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 19:24:39 +0000

It’s official my children eat nothing! Okay, so I might be exaggerating a wee bit. But, seriously in the past two months they have gained 0 pounds. They are both weighing in at 23 pounds 4 ounces. They have grown longer but remain skinny little fellows!

This is the list of foods they choose to eat:

Graham Crackers

Ritz Crackers

Applesauce

Yogurt

Carrot Bread

Milk

Period. That’s it. I try everyday to get fruits and vegetables in them. They won’t even taste it. I am desperate for suggestions/help with this problem! I never thought that I would raise picky kids! I truly believed that if I gave it to them they would at least try it. Not my boys! It seems that if they don’t like the texture or smell it’s headed straight for the floor!

My mother and my sister both thought that they would be successful in getting them to eat without success! It doesn’t seem to matter what I try they refuse. I can dip it in foods they like and they will spit whatever it is out after sucking the “good” food off! I don’t understand it!

My only working idea has been the Carrot Bread which I can bake almost anything into and they eat it. Today’s version contains carrots, pear sauce, and pureed peaches.

Help!!!!! The desperate TwinMama

Where did you go?

reball — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 14:17:50 +0000

Oh warm weather where did you run away to? It’s seems you’ve vanished! There was frost on the ground this morning and boy was it ever chilly!

The sun is shining now so we’re hoping the mercury starts to rise! We have things to do and a yard to run in!

Homemade Granola Bars

reball — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 17:29:38 +0000

This is another recipe I’ve adapted for my picky little eaters. They are a soft granola texture that is great for little ones! You can definitely play around with the ingredients and make substitutions to please your own palate. I have pear sauce that I canned last summer so I’m inclined to use it wherever I can! I also had raspberries in the freezer from our garden last year too! This would also be great with raisins, cranberries, blueberries, cherries, etc. Nuts might also be a tasty addition although the boys can’t really manage eating them yet! I hope you enjoy!

Raspberry Pear Granola Bars

2 cups Quick Oats

1/2 cup Brown Sugar

1/2 cup Wheat Germ

1 cup White Whole Wheat Flour

3/4 teaspoon Cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon Nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon Salt

Stir together. Add the following:

1 egg, beaten

1/2 cup Honey

1/4 cup Oil

3/4 cup Pear Sauce (or Applesauce)

2 teaspoons Vanilla

1 cup frozen Raspberries (slightly thawed)

Mix together until you reach a consistent wet texture. Press into a greased 9×13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Cut while warm.

Coming to a bathroom in our home…

reball — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 00:44:21 +0000

Soon, this will be our bathroom. I’ve decided that the time is drawing near. Even if it means that mama is potty trained! The boys are starting to let me know when they have “done their business.”

I went to Wal-Mart today to purchase two potties but they only had one gender neutral version and a bazillion pink ones. I decided that rather than traumatize them with the wrath of daddy we’d wait for the second boy potty!

Wish me luck in this next step of life with twins! I can use all of the advice I can get!

Expect the Unexpected

reball — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 16:27:29 +0000

Just two little boys walking down this dusty lane…
They came upon this old white house…
With broken window panes

The paint was faded, the shine was gone…
The grass had grown so high…
Still they made their little feet,
Go see what was inside.

They opened up the squeaky door and then it came to light…
This must have been an old church house… Once upon a time.

Dirty, dusty wooden pews… A pulpit that still stood….
A Bible lay upon it… Though the pages weren’t too good..

An offering plate and song books too… Were lying on the floor.
They must have left this old church fast… The day they closed these doors.

And over in the corner… A piano was still there,
It must have played a pretty tune… But I guess nobody cared.

So little Bill looked up at Tommy… And Tommy looked at Bill…
Why don’t we clean this old church up, and get these old pews filled?’

They took a rag and wiped the dust… To try and make things shine…
And then they took the offering plate… And put in it their last dime.

They took a broom and swept the floor… And picked up broken glass…
They got it all so nice and neat… And then they mowed the grass.

They lifted up the old church sign… And stood it by a tree….
Right down by that old dirt road where every one could see.

They ran back home, to find Daddy gone but their Momma was inside..
Just to find her hurt again… Where Daddy had made her cry.

‘Don’t cry Momma, wipe those tears,’ Little Bill and Tommy smiled…
‘Cause we have a big surprise for you… Just down the road a mile.’

Hand in hand they tugged at her, until they made her run….
‘What is it Bill, Oh Tommy, just what have you two kids done?’

And then they came upon the house… Once hidden by the weeds….
And there it stood a country church… Just like it used to be.

‘But what is it, Mother? What’s with your tears?
We thought this would bring you joy.’

‘Yes, but hush kids now and listen close…
My two sweet precious boys.’

They both got quiet and stood real still… For the words they heard so true…
Was Daddy praying in the church… With his head bowed on the pew.

‘Forgive me Lord! Forgive me Lord! Though I’m not worthy of Your love…
Shine down on this sinner man, sweet Salvation from above.’

‘For I’ve been out in the world, you know… Living my life all wrong…
Until I came upon this church; the place where I belong.’

‘I never noticed it before… All those times I passed it up…
I guess I wasn’t looking, Lord…. Or maybe I was drunk..’

‘Bless oh Lord, yes, bless oh Lord….. The one who made me see..
This little church that used to hide…. Behind all those tall weeds.’

And then he raised his head and stood… With his hands high in the air…
To find two dirty, tear-faced boys….. With Momma standing there.

They ran up to him, hugged him tight… As their tears fell on the floor.
‘Don’t worry kids; I’m not the Dad, the one you’ve known before.’

Things are different for us now… So keep on those pretty smiles..
And let’s go gather people in…. To walk down these church aisles.’

Then Bill looked up at Tommy… And Tommy looked at Bill…
‘Come on brother, let’s get to work… To get these old pews filled.’

‘For we need no special blessing.. For cleaning up this church….
’cause, God gave us back our Daddy… And that’s more than gold is worth.’

Sunday morning, pews all filled and smiles on every face…
Especially two little country boys… The ones who found this place.

Though it was hid back in the weeds… And so far out of sight…
Nothing’s ever hard to find if you’re walking toward God’s light.

1-John 1:7 ‘We walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.’