It is hard enough to get out with one brand new baby, but many Moms of Multiples wonder... How will I ever be able to get outside of the house!!:
Yes, we get out! I've taken all give of my kids to Mexican food by myself...ok just once, but it worked. I've taken them all to a wedding. I've taken them to Halloween parties and trick-or-treating, and to a Halloween carnival, no stroller, at my First Grader's school... insane.. Enlisted the help of other kids' aunts and uncles. No sweat. Glowsticks around each of their necks!!
And yes, there are the usual tips about packing the night before, having spare things in your car at all times, etc. But, I think the main thing to prepare for is taking time for yourself so you feel confident that you can get out and do things.
As
I type this, I've just returned from our morning outing -- piling all 5
in the van to drive 6 blocks to drop off #5 at school, then
drive-thru banking and then back home to work on the 9 full laundry
baskets piling up from the 5 of 7 of us who had that nasty stomach virus
the past week. There are 5 more baskets of laundry upstairs. But,
blessed are the loads of mostly towels the kids can hang on racks. Our
bathrooms have a bunch of hooks drilled into the walls for kids to hang
clothes. We have commercial napkin holders. We are looking for bench
seating for the kitchen :)
You you you! Sure,
it is great to do things for the kids. But, take time to find one or
two things YOU love to do and make the kids do it with you, for you,
etc. Whether it be thrift store shopping, going to the gym, walking
outside, driving around in the car listening to music or dancing in your
pajamas, they will pick up and love your little quirks if you force
them to.
In fact, did you know your kids can paint your toenails and give you one of the best pedicures you've ever had? I'm dead serious. Stay tuned for that tutorial and pictures!!
11/07/2012
Bath, and beyond
A reader once asked me how to entertain twins during that 1 to 2 year stage.
Outside of all the other fantastic Seattle events and playrooms, another suggestion is to NOT try to entertain them and let them entertain each other.
Depending on the setup of your house/yard etc, stepping back and taking a deep breath and carrying on with a semblance of a normal activity can be refreshing and a good photo op. If you have laundry to do, first set them both down and dump it all out on them and let them crawl through it and mess it all up to the point of exhaustion -- thinking about it can seem dicey, but really how long does it take to pick up again, especially if you make it fun for them (peekaboo etc.)... my youngest twins, at barely over a year, were already well engaged in the spray bottles with water, dry mop and rags, 'cleaning' walls, tables, vacuuming etc. whenever I simply didn't want to go out.
Next, there is the empty bathtub with 2 little cups of those pudding things (99cents at most Bartells and dollar stores)... they can finger paint each other and the walls and lick it all off... and at the end, whoosh bathy go bye bye.
Of course, this all depends on your mess tolerance, but I have learned -- or convinced myself -- that some messes are so easy to clean up and so fun to watch, that it makes it worth while. My youngest twins are now 2 and they, unlike my older set, really play so well together, with that evil glimmer in their eyes as they dump out each others dresser drawers... but I digress.
And then there is yardwork...
Regular errands work well too, depending on shopping cart tolerance.
Sometimes, rather than avoid all the comments, it is fun to just go to Target, grab a Starbucks and slowly walk through all the aisles, stopping to chat with each and every interested stranger who wants to know 'are they twins, are they identical etc'.
Thoughts?
Outside of all the other fantastic Seattle events and playrooms, another suggestion is to NOT try to entertain them and let them entertain each other.
Depending on the setup of your house/yard etc, stepping back and taking a deep breath and carrying on with a semblance of a normal activity can be refreshing and a good photo op. If you have laundry to do, first set them both down and dump it all out on them and let them crawl through it and mess it all up to the point of exhaustion -- thinking about it can seem dicey, but really how long does it take to pick up again, especially if you make it fun for them (peekaboo etc.)... my youngest twins, at barely over a year, were already well engaged in the spray bottles with water, dry mop and rags, 'cleaning' walls, tables, vacuuming etc. whenever I simply didn't want to go out.
Next, there is the empty bathtub with 2 little cups of those pudding things (99cents at most Bartells and dollar stores)... they can finger paint each other and the walls and lick it all off... and at the end, whoosh bathy go bye bye.
Of course, this all depends on your mess tolerance, but I have learned -- or convinced myself -- that some messes are so easy to clean up and so fun to watch, that it makes it worth while. My youngest twins are now 2 and they, unlike my older set, really play so well together, with that evil glimmer in their eyes as they dump out each others dresser drawers... but I digress.
And then there is yardwork...
Regular errands work well too, depending on shopping cart tolerance.
Sometimes, rather than avoid all the comments, it is fun to just go to Target, grab a Starbucks and slowly walk through all the aisles, stopping to chat with each and every interested stranger who wants to know 'are they twins, are they identical etc'.
Thoughts?
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