Brats in Beds, Busted!

Well, we have received our video monitor, and let me just say that it is quite possibly the best invention ever. I love it. I mean, remember when you were little and people would say "if you love it so much, why don't you marry it?" Well, I would.


Not only has the video monitor helped us with keeping the brats actually in their beds at night, but it has really enlightened us as to what goes on when we aren't in there.


For instance, who knew that Collin was climbing on top of the changing table? Certainly not us. If I had to guess, he climbed over the bed rail, using the laundry basket as leverage to crawl up the side of the changing table and sit on top of it. And we almost didn't catch this! If the monitor hadn't slid a little bit, I never would have noticed the little fingers holding on to the side. Needless to say, the laundry basket has been moved.


However, I think they are on to us. They have started testing us to see what it takes for us to come in. First you see a little foot dangle over the side of the bed. Then a pillow or stuffed animal falls to the ground (which, by the way, looks really creepy as it falls). Then a blanket slowly makes its way over the bed rail. And, eventually, one of the brats. And they know whats coming, they stand there, and look at the door, just waiting for us to come in and get them. It always makes me think of Shawshank Redemption, when he escapes the prison towards the end. Only I am a much better warden and figure it out faster. And it is way more sanitary. Plus, it opens up a new window of possible pajamas:






From this point, when we wait to see what happens, they pick up everything they can carry in their little arms and book it for their brothers bed. We have let this happen a few times, but as it turns out, Collin is always the escapee running for Chris' bed, and Chris does not like to share his sleeping space. But it is adorable for the first 15 seconds before Chris gets mad and screams for Collin being in his bad.


So, as you can see, not only is the monitor extremely helpful for us in the whole "getting used to big boy beds" thing, but extremely entertaining. If we can find a way to upload some of the footage of them acting like convicts escaping from prison, we will, because it is hilarious.

Picky Eaters Anonymous

Ok, so this might not be a club yet, but I am starting one for my brats, and any other picky toddlers out there.


I don't know what happened. For months they were fantastic eaters, gobbling down just about everything we handed to them. Meats, green veggies, crackers, fruits, all of it. It was glorious. The speed with which they could shove handfuls of carrots into their mouths was amazing (someone remind me to ask Guinness Book of Records what the current record is, we may have beaten it!). They ate chicken, pork, fish - fried, grilled, baked. I was the happiest Chef Mommy in the world.


Then, one day, everything changed. The brats now desire a diet of strictly graham crackers, pancakes, yogurt, juice, and orange slices. Not even peanut better crackers will do, they won't touch apples, and their once beloved carrots get shoved to the corner of the tray and neglected.


I have used cookie cutters to cut sandwiches, made a hot dog look like an octopus, and bought those chicken nuggets that look like dinosaurs. I even tried to hide veggies in spaghetti sauce - it's like they can smell a vegetable a mile away. Who knew babies had such a fantastic ability to distinguish one food from another.


And then there's times where they show promise. We went out to a Japanese Steakhouse over the Christmas holiday, and Chris ate an adult size portion of rice and Collin couldn't get enough of the vegetables. We get back, I make rice and cook up some veggies on the stove with some soy sauce and such - nothing. I guess unless I am going to flip my knives and create an onion volcano, they just aren't going to go for it.


So now I am left with half eaten meals, one very happy dog who gets to eat everything they throw off their trays, and 2 hungry toddlers because they refuse to eat anything I give them. Looks like we will be having many "breakfast for dinner" nights in my house for a while.


PS helpful hints on getting picky toddlers to eat are much appreciated, I have tried everything I can find in magazines and online. I guess the brats read those articles too, because they are prepared for anything I try.

Your Baby Can Read, Day 1

We finally found a complete set of Your Baby Can Read that is actually affordable, and it arrived today!


So, as we try this out with the brats, I will update everyone to know how its going. 


So, if you don't know how the system works (I didn't until today), theres 5 dvd's, and you watch each one about a month, periodically going back to the older ones. So we are on Day 1 of DVD 1. And I will be seeing this DVD 2-3 times a day for the next 30 days. I'm super excited? Then there are also flashcards that have words from the dvd's on them, then you can pull out the end and it shows a picture of the word or phrase. The last component is a flip page book, where the first page shows the word, then you can flip the page to see a picture of the word as well as a sentence using it.


First impression of the dvd/system is this. I can definitely see how it holds babies' attention-- the songs, the pictures, the animals, the bright colors. The 'prime' age to start the system is younger than the boys, and I think they definitely would have been more interested a few months ago. But they did pay attention through most of the dvd (which is only about 20 minutes), which I thought was impressive since the only things that ever hold their attention for more than 3 minutes is a) the toy their brother has that they want desperately but can't have (and would lose interest in after 2 minutes if they did have it) and, obviously, b) Mickey Mouse.


So they spent 15 or so minutes watching the video, where they saw and heard words like cat, dog, elephant, wave, clap etc, and saw pictures of animals, or video of the actions, etc, and they even danced when they kids on the video sang The Itsy Bitsy Spider and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (did you know that song has a 2nd verse? I sure didn't!). They already know what some of the words mean (clap, wave, arms up) and they know what animals look like and what they say, but none the less they seemed interested in the video and enjoyed mimicking what they saw on tv, and did hear/see new words as well.


So, do I think they will master the works William Shakespeare by Preschool? No. But, do I think that it will start to help improve and expand their vocabulary, and hopefully help them learn to read as well? Yes, most definitely. 


I guess we will see! More to come as we progress through the months and the system! If you have any experience with any of this, feel free to share, I would love to know what other parents think of it!

It's a singleton world, and we're just living in it.

Have you ever walked through a Babies R Us and looked around? Sure, all you underachievers who only have one baby at a time might think it has everything you could ever need. Now look again, at the aisle after aisle of cribs, strollers, etc. See any doubles? Oh thats right, theres that one jogging stroller over there (which PS does look awesome and I kind of want, but thats besides the point.) See any strollers that fit 2 infant car seats? See any of the twin pack n plays? No? You don't? Do you know where you have to go to buy those things? Online. Or a speciality store but good luck finding those. And I can't imagine having to buy for triplets, I have seen one  or two triplet strollers ever, and I look pretty hard for these things.


So, that means, when we shopped for anything, we did it by the online reviews. At least twin parents stick together. We know the best strollers, beds, toys, and, most importantly, the best deals. Because when you are having one baby, and you are buying him/her a beautiful crib and the price doesn't seem so terrible, imagine buying 2. You don't even want to, do you.


So, need some help finding these mythical twin related items? Or need some help saving some serious cashola? Well, here's your first hint. Don't google "Twins" because you will just get websites, articles, and pictures of some baseball team, so be sure you type in "Multiples".

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Now, the best places to find things for twins (from strollers to advice and books), according to me:
JustMultiples.com - All twins and triplets, all the time. Amazing. They have clothes, strollers, car seats, toys, and books on pregnancy, premies, and what to do with these brats you now have.
Twinstuff.com -- you have to join, but it has some good stuff on it. Advice, blogs, articles, etc.
TwinsMagazine.com -- The name pretty much explains it. We subscribe and I follow them on facebook and twitter.


Need some deals?
Babies R Us - when you buy 2 cribs or pieces of furniture (we only bought 2 cribs, the rest we didn't need 2 of, at least not yet!) you get a 10% discount. If you can double this up on something like Black Friday (we did!) you can save even more, and if you open a Toys R Us card you get additional discounts.
Craigslist - I found a changing table for $10. The paint wasn't the color I wanted and was chipped a little, so I sanded it down, painted it, and it was like new. The brats are now 20 months old and we still use it and it still looks great. You can also find pack n plays, strollers, etc. Just be sure to get all of the info first, and don't be afraid to back out if it isn't up to your standards when you see it.
Ebay - We have ordered lots of things from here. They carry lots of strollers, etc and you can find many that are brand new/never used. We have not ordered baby gear from that, but we did get our video monitor and You Baby Can Read from here for about 25% of the retail cost, both brand new (still in original packaging).
Woot.com and kidswoot.com -- love. I check every day to see if theres something we can use. They have things from trains to monitors to tv's and anything else you can think of
1saleaday.com and family.1saleaday.com - also great. And extremely cheap. We just got an Ipod stereo thing for $9 and a toddler basketball hoop for $2.99. They also have a wireless section and a watch/jewelry section if you are into that.
Old Navy - they do lots of 2/$10 or 2/$20 which is great with twins. We wait for their sales and buy online on the free shipping days (if you sign up for their emails, you get codes for additional discounts and/or free shipping, too).
Lastly, get on twitter and start following moms, stores, business's etc. There are people on there there that constantly tweet coupons, codes for discounts, and where the sales are. Find me (twitter.com/twinsanity2009) and go through my "following" list, and you will find many - from CVS and Target to other moms/bloggers who want to help you save.


Good luck :) Also remember, just because it's twins, doesn't mean you need 2 of everything! But thats another blog for another day!


Well, its time to indulge the Mickey obsession with an episode before we go out to play in the snow and freezing cold.

Better You Than Me

In case anyone was wondering why that is in the name of my blog, this is for you!


"Better you than me" is something I have heard approximately 3847634537410 times since we found out I was pregnant with twins. Try to imagine, all you singleton parents out there, when you said you were having a baby, and people looking at with you with a mix of amazement and pity, and say those words to you. Not sure how to feel? It's ok, I didn't either. There were many conflicting thoughts running through my head whenever I heard those 4 little words, sometimes I wanted to scream, sometimes I wanted to punch them in the face, and sometimes I wanted to cry, because I was pretty sure they were right and having twins was about to be awful.


A friend of mine just had twins about a week ago, and I warned her about that phrase and that people love to say it. Maybe because they don't know what else to say, maybe because they are ignorant and don't realize what they are saying isn't actually very nice, or, as I like to believe, they are just really jealous. Because, have you seen my kids? You should be jealous.

But when I was 8 months pregnant and as big as a small barn (not just as big as a house), and people looked at me with that look of pity and said those words, I did not think they were jealous. And, really, they weren't. They were thinking about how time consuming, expensive, and hard it would be to have twins. And it is. But, as it turns out, having twins is also pretty awesome. My brats always have someone else to play with, they always have someone to talk to, they run to each other when they are upset, they always have someone to beat up, or someone get into trouble with when the mood strikes them (which, by the way, they seem to do a lot lately).


So, next time you meet someone having twins, do not say those 4 little words that no one really wants to hear. Because you never know when an exhausted, large as a barn, 8 months pregnant woman might scream in frustration, or just clock you.


And if you are pregnant with twins, and don't want to hear it anymore, just do what I did. When people ask if you're having twins, just say no. Let them think you just really let yourself go during a singleton pregnancy, instead ;)

Follow me on Twitter!

Do it :) 


htp://twitter.com/Twinsanity2009 


I put up updates on what the brats are doing and put up deals I find on kids clothing, bedding, toys, etc etc :)


Such as todays deals:


kids.woot.com -- car seats for $49.99
family.1saleaday.com -- toddler basketball hoop for $2.99
http://www.thecompanystore.com/kids/company-store-kids,default,sc.html -- bedding, clothing, etc on clearance plus use the code AK15FSA for an additional 15% off and free shipping :)

Worshiping a false idol.

I think you all know who I am talking about. Thats right, Mr. Mouse himself. Or, as my brats say, Matchi. I think thats how you would spell it anyway.


This mouse, bless his heart, has calmed even the most furious of fits. It has helped me distract the brats when I need to do things like pay bills, do laundry, or catch up on whats happening with Victor and Nikki on the Young and Restless (If they get remarried, again, I think we will make it a family holiday).


However, over time, I think we have entered into some kind of scary obsession. They stare at the tv when its off (which is most of the day), and say his name. Last week, I let Chris wear a shirt with Mickey on it, and he refused to take it off for 48 hours. You should know, I am one of those 'pick your battles' parents. If he wants to wear a 2 day old Mickey Mouse shirt around the house, what do I care. I finally managed to get it off him by showing him another shirt with both Mickey AND Donald on it. Which was worn for 12 hours until I peeled it off and stuck him in a bath. Where they played with their Mickey bath toys. Sometimes I even think I hear them calling out to Mickey in their sleep. 


Needless to say, I think I am getting worried. But not worried enough to  actually stop watching, wearing, or playing with the brats' idol. I mean, we all have to have heros. At least theirs has a clubhouse, a lake, a pond, a comet, and a park named after him.

Brats in Beds.

The past 6 nights, we have been making our strongest attempt at moving the boys into their toddler beds.

Night one was beautiful. It was amazing. I thought to myself "How do people find this so hard?". At 6am the next morning, when I was being poked in the back of the head with a Tonka truck, I started to understand.

Since then, I've been using my facebook statuses to send out SOS messages, but so far, no one has come to save me. Here's our run down so far:

Brats in Beds: Nap, Day 2: Epic Failure. While they have only come out twice, they have been in there over an hour playing, fighting, climbing, etc.

Brats in Beds: Bedtime, Day 2:found both boys asleep in the middle of their floor with their blankies. 

Beds in Brats Day 3: They were woken up by the cat meowing/howling loudly at 6am. May have to find something better to do with the cat at night, or gag her so she can't make any noise. Naps to come shortly.

Brats in Beds: Day 3: Nap-time Update: Collin is in Chris' bed, Chris is on the floor. Seems like a fair trade to me.

(On Day 4 I was too tired to even update. I may have begun to hallucinate. I can't even remember)

Brats in Beds Day 5: Purchased a video monitor, so I can watch them not sleep.

Brats in Bads, Day 6. When does that video monitor get here, again? Please hurry post office.

 You can see where I am. Sleep deprived  (more so than when they were born. or when we tried cry it out), and praying to the US Postal Service. We all know that that is just futile. I assume the new video monitor/child stalking device will be here in about 5 weeks, knowing how slow our mail runs. So about the time I will probably stop needing it. So, if in 6 weeks, you find yourself needing one, let me know - I will probably have a never opened one for sale.

And as we approach our lunch time, I know afternoon naps are soon to come. Wish me luck, readers, I need it. 

Hi!

Hi everyone! Or, most likely, Hi Mom!


I've had a lot of talk about blogging, or writing a book, or actually remembering to post pictures of my brats on Facebook so our family can actually see them. Well, now that they are 20 months, I think its time to actually make good on those promises. So here we are, blogging.


I'm a 25 year old mom of identical twin boys. Everyday is something new, not always something good, but something new. From runny noses to toys being flushed down the toilet, you get to go through it with me now.


Get excited, and buckle up. It's going to be a long ride until they are old enough to kick out of the house.