Shopping with twins pre-walking.

My first set of twins just over a year old!

Getting around with twins, or with any child can be exhausting. I can't say to how different it is with one verses two babies, as I've only ever had two babies at one time. I do know that at the end of a shopping excursion or day out with family - I'm ready for a nap (which I never actually get). I've learned a few tip and tricks to help me not only survive getting out with my children, but to enjoy the experience too. This post is specifically for the pre-walking twins.


Shopping inside: Shopping indoors can be extremely difficult. Maneuvering the narrow aisles and doorways with strollers, diaper bags, and other sundry baby items takes it toll on actually enjoying a shopping trip. This is what works and where:

1. Use a front and back stroller. This allows you easier access through narrow doorways and stores without the wide aisles. I use the Baby Trend Snap and Go double stroller ensemble. It allows you to place your car seats into their stroller frame - and go. Double side-by-side strollers can be effective in larger department stores, but it is harder to steer and does not have a lot of storage for storing your purchases.

I normally will not use the space underneath the stroller for storing my goods to purchase. I most often will push the stroller with my left and and pull behind me a grocery cart in a backwards motion with my right hand. It is a lot of work, but sometimes it's the only way to get in and out with all the things you need. Diapers and wipes take up a lot of room and do not fit on any stroller I've ever used.

2. Car seats in cart. I have taken recently to putting the my boys into the cart. Sometimes one up front in the seat belted in and the other in the cart with the car seat (setting all the way inside the cart). Depending on what I need, I will use the sides and the underneath section to store my goods, or I will pull behind me another entire cart. Pushing a cart with one hand, vs. a stroller, has been easier to steer and maneuver.

3. Cart and baby carrier. While it is a good option, it can be a very back breaking option. But, if you really need to get out and about and get those errands done with colicky babies - it's a very good plan. I used the method several times when one of my babes was having a hard time sitting in his car seat. It was a bit difficult when I had to lean over and pick something off a lower shelf, but again, a good option when you really need to get things done.

4. Double cart seating. There are some magical stores that carry large enough carts to fit both babies up in the front section of the cart. They even make double cart seat covers to protect babies from germs. I was lucky with my first set of twins as there seemed to be quite a few stores with this option. Now with my 2nd set and living in a smaller area, carts are narrower and do not allow to strapping lads to fit up in the front section of the cart.

5. One baby belted in the cart and one seated in the goods section of the cart. This option only works if you are willing to deal with the baby not strapped into the cart. This baby has the ability to stand and while you feel this maybe a viable option - keep a vigilant watch. My little ones love to stand and while I push the cart. When I use this option, I stand on the side of the cart and it pull it this way, while holding onto the baby with more freedom. Eventually a toy, or snack gets more attention and he will sit - but I still keep a good watch out for him. You can also try a booster seat with a belt - I haven't tried this yet!

6. Seek help. Isn't it great to think that you can do it all - shop, make dinner, all while carting around both babies and your other children - if you have them - on your hip. Sometimes you are just too tired to shop with your kids and physically drained to push that grocery cart or get that big box of diapers. It's OK to ask for help. Take along a friend, older siblings, or family members and let them push the stroller, or better yet - let you go all by yourself!

Good luck!

How do you do it?

How do you handle multiple children varying ages?

Did this help?

Dream Big.

Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world. - Harriet Tubman

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I want my children to dream and dream big. I want them to feel like they can do anything and that nothing is too hard or difficult to accomplish. One way I hope to instill this love of dreaming and accomplishment is through these Dream Boards we created together. As a mom, I often wonder if my dreams count, or should all my energy be put into my children's dreams. It doesn't take me long to remember that what drives me, what pushes me to do and be better - is my dreams. I have dreams! Even now with diapers and babies and cleaning house, I want certain things out of my life... here they are:

I encourage and hope that you will take the time to make your dream board. List those things that you want to do and dream about doing. Then, take the first step to realizing them. Always remember that your dreams are just as important as those around you.

Do you have a dream board?
Will you make one?
What are your dreams?

Happy-stance.

Edited to add: Thanks ladies for your beautiful and uplifting comments. I assure you that I posted this quote because I thought it was funny and a classic Charlie Brown! I am doing the best I can during best rest and find it frustrating not being able to do the things I would normally do. My head in the right place though and my good days far out weigh my bad. I am only 2-4 weeks away from delivering these boys!

This is my "depressed stance." When you're depressed, it makes a lot of difference how you stand. The worst thing you can do is straighten up and hold your head high because then you'll start to feel better. If you're going to get any joy out of being depressed, you've got to stand like this. ~Charlie Brown

Surviving Bedrest.

I know there are many mom's who have gone through the trials of bed rest. They know, and I know, it's all for a good, marvelous, wonderful cause. As a mother of twin seven-year old girls, I could not shut myself in my room and expect everyone else to take over. I still fixed them breakfast in the morning, lunch, did projects around the house, and even picked them up from school. I prepared quick meals and rested "most" of the day. I had some help off and on, but was still trying to do as much as I could. One early evening, after picking up the girls from school and preparing a cake for a family member, the dull pain I had had all day became so intense that I made a trip to the emergency room. I had started premature labor and spent four days in the hospital, all while missing my family and hoping that I can hold on to my twin boys a couple more weeks. It was clear that I had to let go and let others help me. There would be time later to do all those mommy things and soon enough I would be busy with my boys.

My friend Amanda, from APstyle was told at 16 weeks that her identical twin girls had TTTS or Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome. Amanda put it another way, "We had 2 healthy babies but a very uncooperative, unfriendly placenta that statistically was going to take the lives of our unborn girls at any minute". While her home town doctors gave her no encouragement that her babies would live, Amanda took to the internet finding a doctor several states away that specializes in TTTS. His medical advice was bed rest with bathroom breaks only. While her local medical team thought it was a waste of time, she still wasn't going to give-up.

One thing I learned from hearing Amanda's story and even conversations with my own doctor, is that bed rest isn't always a guarantee. Now that my boys are at 31 weeks gestation, I feel much more comfortable that if I deliver them today - they will survive. Early in my pregnancy, it was much harder to have a positive outlook. Amanda put it perfectly when she said, "As I crawled into bed after that phone call, there were no guarantees my efforts would matter. Our local medical team thought it was a waste of time. But given I had no alternative, I stayed there for 15 weeks. I watched the days turn into nights, and the winter become spring. I wrestled sleep and found solitude a finicky companion. I befriended my worries and fears, and I sought hope and solace at least once a day."

Here are a few things to consider, to think about, to ponder, and do when faced with your own bed rest, or dealing with friends and family who must endure through weeks of uncertain bed rest:

1. Have clear bed rest instructions. I have been on varying levels of bed rest starting from my 8th week. When your doctor makes bed rest an order, have him or her be clear with the extent of your bed rest and if you are allowed anytime up and about. Can you climb stairs, take showers, have a few outings, eat dinner at the kitchen table? Understanding the extent of your bed rest will allow you to worry less and give family members a better understanding of what your doctor expects.

2. Realize you will need help. Let's face it, being ordered to bed rest means the normal things you do as a mom, could hurt your chances of carrying your baby to full-term. Even when you do not have children at home, you still may not be able, like Amanda, to get out of bed for any other reason than to use the bathroom. This means that someone needs to bring you food, take you to doctor's appointments, and keep the house running. There are many things you can manage from your bed, but you still need feet, legs, arms, and hands to accomplish these tasks. Extra help outside of your spouse and family may not be needed if you do not have children at home, but when you add children already at home and bed rest - think twice before saying no to the helping hands around you. If no one is offering, suck-it-up and ask.

At week 18, I was put back on bed rest after a month reprieve. I took bed rest lightly saying to myself that I am still a mom with two children that need me. I planned and prepared crock-pot meals, my husband took the girls to school and I picked them up. I ate breakfast with my family and a few other menial chores. Soon enough, however, I went into false labor and hospitalized for four days. I realized that I was the only one who could get these babies to a healthy gestation, and the only one ruining their chances of getting their. After my hospital release, I headed back to my bed where I have stayed since.

3. Divide and conquer. The shoulders of one person do not have to bare the brunt of a mom on bed rest. Make a list of all the people in your life you know are willing to help. It is more than likely these people have already offered up their assistance and all you have to do is ask. While I have had my mother with me for the end of my pregnancy, there were many times during the summer months I had to keep two six year-olds busy and fill there day with normal fun summer activities. I had many offers from friends for help. I bit my pride and asked. Suddenly, my children were playing during the days at a friends house and in the evening my husband would take over. My mother-in-law even helped while I was in the hospital and waiting for my mom to arrive.

4. Letting everyone in on the secret. Whether you are a first time mom or not, letting everyone know your situation is better than keeping it a secret. We have been very open with my girls about the need for me to stay in bed and the consequences if I don't. I've taken them to several doctor's appointments where they can hear first-hand why mommy can't go outside and "play" with them or why I can't make dinner and do other mommy things. My family knows my limitations, church knows why I haven't been at church in months, teachers at the girl's school call and ask how I am, and friends seem to know just how to help.

Letting everyone know your situation also allows you to be open with friends and visitors as to your emotional situation during your stay in bed. While you may be open to visitors and friends popping in and out, others may not feel up to letting anyone in during what can be a very hard and painful emotional time. Amanda said that she kept visitors to a minimum, "because of our daily ultrasounds and the emotional up-and-down tendencies of this complication, I had absolutely nothing left to give anyone else. My focus: getting our girls to 30 gestational weeks. It became a mantra". Even if you don't want help now, or your friend doesn't think she needs help, there will always be time after the babies are born and the stress of the pregnancy is over to reach out and lend that helping hand.

5. Getting through it. Getting through bed rest is easier said than done. The one thing that I can say is that it goes by more quickly than you might think. It is frustrating to sit and not be able to do the things you would normally do, including shopping and preparing for the new baby or babies! Keeping your time filled with books, visitors, journaling or writing can take much of the day. Also, using the Internet to create the nursery you desire is a great alternative to shopping in the stores. All you need is someone to put it together. There are many days I am surprised at how quickly the time passed, yet there are those few days when nothing can stop me from moping at staying in bed all day. There is no one solution, or one idea that will help. Searching the Internet for articles and ideas about bed rest can be comforting.

6. Celebrate the milestones. There was nothing better than passing 30 weeks gestation. It was completely comforting to know that my babies had made it that far. One friend of mine had a party every week her pregnancy progressed. Celebrate those milestones with acknowledgement, a special dessert, or something fun.

A special thanks to Amanda for her wonderful and thoughtful input. I am currently on my 31st week gestation and have spent 15 weeks on bed rest....and counting!

A family's journey to understand Autism.

This post was inspired through a book I recently read called Look me in the eyes: my life with asperger's written by John Elder Robison. It is a fantastic book journaling John's life from childhood to adulthood and how he survived for 40 years without knowing he had Asperger's Syndrome. It is an amazing book and one that would recommend to anyone who needs or wants more information about autism. Here is our own family's story about autism and stretching beyond are own understanding to help a family member.

Living without a diagnosis

During 2002 to about 2007, I had the wonderful opportunity to have guardianship over my older brother. For years, our family knew that he had some communication shortcomings and repetitive behavioral issues that never seemed to be corrected despite being addressed in various forms. My parents were saddened at every turn as their hopes for this job or that friendship came crashing to a halt. It was assumed that he was just being difficult, but a family friend gave my parents some insight that encouraged them to bring him in one more time for some more specific testing.

After 30 years of misdiagnoses, our family was told that he had been living with autism. His diagnoses involved certain aspects of Asperger's Syndrome. Since all of his behaviors did not fit into one box, we were told that his form of autism was a very high functional form, known as High Functioning Autism. I felt a huge sense of relief for him and my family, because now we had a diagnoses and knowledge. There is nothing more heart breaking than trying to find help for someone, when you don't know how to help; and when agencies that are there to help, won't or can't, because they don't fit into their criteria for support.

Big Changes.

It was evident that his current situation was hurting, more than helping him. He had already had to move back home, and with money issues, and with no work; he needed a change. This is when my parents moved my brother to Utah and into our home, so that they could take a long retirement trip and serve a mission for our church. It didn't hit me how much help my brother needed until he began living with us. It was clear that he wasn't functioning well, was confused easily.

The details:

First, let me start by saying every person with autism is different. Perhaps this won't help you, but maybe it will give you ideas for your own family loved one living with autism. Here are few things that were disabling my brother from reaching his full potential.

1. When he arrived in Utah to stay with us, he couldn't think or act clearly. There were too many things in his life that were disorganized and too many guesses.

2. He had lots of big dreams but with neither a job nor the communication skills to complete them.

3. Easily distracted, he was prey to any telemarketer or computer scam as he lacked the understanding and guidance to say no.

4. He was sloppy, unorganized and had no idea how to maintain his space, let alone his own home.

5. He was side-tracked easily as he had no schedule.

6. He did not know how to manage his money, which often had grave circumstances for the my parents.

I knew that he didn't want any of this. He wanted what he saw everyone else having, which was, a normal life - or what he perceived "normal" to be. It was clear that he needed help, guidance, and he needed, for a time, the freedom from guessing what he should do. He needed a strict schedule, with some instruction, and a reward based system to get him back on track. This was a great realization, but one that I had no idea how to establish for him....until...

A system that works:

I was walking through Target one day. Completely overwhelmed by paperwork for the girl's adoption, and the realization that I had no idea what to do for my own brother. As I walked by the office supply section of Target, I had a very strong feeling that I needed something in this section. I entered the aisle hesitantly and was instantly hit with an understanding of what I could do to help my brother. I picked up a poster board, index cards, index card box, and a permanent marker and drove home with big hopes.

The first thing I learned from my brother was that there were a lot of assumptions. A grown man should be able to organize his time, what he eats, his living space - this was our assumption. It was clear he did not have this concept and that this was what was causing so many frustrated moments for him. Second, I learned that my brother's motivation for learning came from rewards - in his case, money to spend on the things he enjoyed. From here we made goals for him based on the things in his life that weren't going well and this entailed 10 separate goals, each with a small money reward. Once a week, I would interview him and have him read the individual goal and then we would talk about his success or how he needed to improve. All the goals were recorded on poster board, so he could see his progress.

We wrote each goal on an index card with the goals exact description and intent and had my brother read it in the first person - for example: One goal was to Maintain a Schedule. The index card would then say,

My family has made a schedule for me to follow each day and each week. I will follow the schedule. I will ask questions if I do not understand. I will ask my family if I need to change or have an activity that is not on the schedule.

Once he completed reading the goal we would talk about any problems he may have had in following his schedule, or successes. We would then make more specific goals, if needed, to go along with the primary goal. Here were the 10 goals:

1. Maintain Schedule
2. Spiritual
3. Personal Hygiene
4. Trust and Honesty
5. Diet and Exercise
6. Checking-in
7. Cleanliness of living space
8. Feelings
9. Attitude
10. Personal Behavior

Each goal was written on the poster board and index card and detailed based on my brother's needs. There was no questions or guessing as to what he had to do each day. It took a couple of months to have all of these new goals "sink in". He had several set-backs, but after a good six months, and after his routine and expectations were clear - he became more vigilant at completing them with great success.

He was now living on his own. I would make frequent "checks" at his apartment. He was active in his singles ward and his work, for now, was volunteering at our church's welfare centers. I continued to interview him. In 2007, after years of mostly successes he married in the Salt Lake City Temple. He received job training assistance because of is diagnoses and is now working successfully - with a steady income and steady job with people who know his limitaions.

I know that none of these goals would have been a success if it wasn't for his "good attitude" and desire to change. I have detailed interview forms and more information if you are interested. It was a long journey filled with heartache and joy as we saw him succeed and grow into the person he wanted to become.

Do you know anyone on the Autistic Spectrum?
How has autism affected your life?

Can of Worms?

After spending these last months listening to the debates, the candidates speeches, and all the hub-bub over the elections - I've made my choice. It's not much of a surprise to me, as I knew as soon as the party candidates were picked that I would be voting on one side and only that side. I have been wanting to write a post about the candidates, making points over certain things they said, and listing the pros and cons of each; however, my low self-political esteem made it difficult for me to feel confident enough to post about it.

Now in our final stretch, and as throngs of people flock to the voting booths for early voting, I can't help but throw in my own two cents - or my own can of worms. Here's what I think:

1. A republican through and through, I am voting for McCain.

2. McCain was not my republican choice.

3. H Clinton, Palin thankfully is not.

4. Palin's speeches about oil and natural gas and how she "took them on" is driving me crazy. Can we not talk about anything else? Please?

5. How many times can they bring up Joe the plumber? Leave the poor man alone.

6. Obama, a good speaker; yes, but the more he pushes the whole Robin Hood, saving the middle class, the more I cringe at the US being pushed into a socialist style of thinking. It just feels like it's something to say, or hype about, perhaps to make him feel better for being rich?

7. I am the least likely person to speak about politics, but as I like to say "for heaven's sakes" I've had enough. I am so annoyed at my choices this election I get angry every time I see any candidate speak.

You could say that this stay-at-home-mom doesn't have all the facts, but this SAHM has seen enough to make her decision, I don't like it, but I'll get out and vote - will you? Did I open a can of worms? Tell me what you think - and please, be nice my friends!

The Ferdinand Factor.

Recently our family sat together and watched the movie Ferdinand the Bull. I had seen it many times and was reminded of how sweet and cute is the character of Ferdinand. I felt a rush of realization hit me when I watched and realized that it must be a little reminder to me to enjoy my life more and take more time away from the business of our home and enjoy time with the girls. Here is a little about the story:

Ferdinand is a bull that isn't like most of the other bulls. He likes to sit under his tree and enjoys smelling the flowers. A bee stings him right when some men from neighboring towns have come to see who will be their next bull at the bull fight. The men misjudge his rage and send him to the ring to fight the matador. When it was time to fight someone threw down a bouquet of flowers and Ferdinand walked in front of it and sat down - to smell the flowers. No matter what people said or how angry they became - he just wanted to sit and enjoy the flowers. At the end, Ferdinand is back under his tree doing what he loves the most.

One might spin this as Ferdinand was stubborn, but rightly so as he knew what was important. I can tell you that I have enjoyed more moments like these lately. Especially now that the girls are back in school, our time is much shorter and more rushed. My husband's new calling in the stake seems to be taking him away more and he has a few trips coming soon that take him away during the weeks. I love that this attitude of enjoying the moment is a part of my way of thinking or I could find myself wishing about the past instead of enjoying the present.

Have you seen Ferdinand?

What's your take on this story?
About enjoying the moment?

PS. My sister Jennifer is doing well! She weathered the hurricane with her family without damage to her home. The power still has not returned, but with their generator they are enjoying more comforts than those without. She is definately seeing this like her blog title encourages - through a glass half full! Pop on over and wish her well, she'll appreciate your support!

Voting in a garage.

What an interesting day we had for voting! Our trip to where we were assigned was in a very small town near Acorn Cottage. When I've voted, it's always been in a school - it just seemed natural to me to be looking for this type of structure. However, I can now say that I have voted for my candidate for president during the primaries in the town's garage! What a great day this was! And to think that us 30 somethings were the youngest by half - in other words there were few individuals who were younger than 70 inside to vote.

They had two old voting booths, one for the republicans and one for democrats. The republican voting booth happened to be out of order, so they pulled out the manila envelopes labeled "emergency ballots" and asked us to go to a spearate place in the car garage and mark our ballot. We completed our journey with this self-portrait, the post office, lunch, and home to pick up Cici. Nini stays at school on Tuesdays for gymnastics and Cici goes to ballet. It's quite the balancing act getting both of them picked up and dropped off since Cici's ballet starts when Nini needs to be picked up!

As for SPT, I have no idea, I am stumped. I will keep looking and trying to come up with something, but please forgive me, if I can't!

Ready to vote!

Ready Set Goooooooooo!

Craig and I are off to New York to vote! We drop the girls off at school, high tail it down across the border (no speeding tickets - hopefully)! Run to the post office to mail some goodmail, lunch, vote, and high tail it back to get the girls from school! Whew! I don't know if they'll let me wear this self-made Romney sign into the voting booth, but it's simple enough to take off and fun to show my support - even in Clinton land.

Are you voting today?
Are you wearing anything to support your candidate?
Do you feel informed?

The BIG Questions...

One thing I've noticed in many blogs including mine, is a deterrent from stating political beliefs. I know politics can be heated, some can turn into arguments, but what has kept me from stating my opinions of political events? I keep thinking that when my posterity has a chance to go through my writings in this blog, they will see that I like crafts, and sticking labels to my face; exercising, crocheting pumpkins, and traveling - but what generic things am I leaving out, that could give more insight into who "me" is. There are personal things that I would never share with "everyone" in blogger land- and neither should anyone else for that matter! Politics, religious beliefs, reactions to current events are all things that I, in the past, have usually shied away from. These are my reasons:

1. Wanting to post about all the fun and good things instead.
2. Feeling uneducated to speak on a certain political or current event topic.
3. Seeing my beliefs, yet not wanting to push them onto others.
4. Fielding unwanted comments from people who will probably only visit my blog for that subject.
5. Offending others with my opinions.

Personally, these are huge fears of mine! How about you? The fact is I:
1. Watch or read the news everyday.
2. Have opinions about current events.
3. Think that one candidate would be better than others.
4. Belong to a political party.
5. Am often burdened daily with what I "see" in the news and wonder, "Am I the only one?"
6. Am at least once a week asked or fielded questions about my religeous beliefs.

I know it's important to believe, to have opinions, and not just assume that because I'm a "housewife", I don't have opinions about our world. What do you think of these questions and answers and would you be willing to answer them?

1. What Religion to I belong to?
I belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

2. Do you feel comfortable sharing your beliefs with others?
Yes and NO. I find that although I am passionate about what I belief and will answer any questions and offer any opinions; I have a hard time spilling too much online, including, experiences I have at church.

3. How does the daily news affect your day?
Last night, I was sickened by a news story about a man who had thrown four of his children over a bridge sending them to their deaths. OK, so how does this not affect me? It's difficult to say right after reading this - OK! Let's play twister! It usually takes awhile for me to digest. So should I stop reading the news, how will I know the facts about what's important? I've stopped reading the small stories about what I've named murder and mayhem - because it's just too much. But, still, when things are in the headlines, they do affect you.

4. Are you for any one candidate for President?
Personally, I would love to see Rice or Powell run for President, but obviously this is way out of reach, as they aren't running! Originally, I felt that Romney wouldn't have a chance against McCain, but during the Ohio and NH primary and listening more intently to him and how articulate he is, I think he really has a shot. This might give you an idea to which party I belong!

5. How do you teach your children how to be "smart" about who's who in the world?
Our best history lessons have been when we've been to the historical site. However, I think they know more about George Washington and not enough about George Bush. I know I don't do enough to teach them about our government and history, but I am grateful that they are only five years old, and I have can change and talk more about our leaders.

What do you think about sharing these questions online?
How do you balance the media and world news with your daily and home life?
Should politics be left out of blogs?