TwinsTales

by Susan M. Heim Click to read the rest of this entry

by Stacey Vandell

I was trying to get my three-year-old daughter and 20-month-old twin boys ready to drop off at daycare. I was running my usual ½ hour late when all chaos broke out at the breakfast table. Before I knew it, there was food all over the floor.

While on my hands and knees picking up bits of egg, cottage cheese and strawberries in the only nice set of work clothes that I had left, I was on the verge of tears. I sincerely felt like I was not going to make it through these thankless toddler years. As I was on my knees wallowing in self pity, I heard my daughter say, "Mom, you are a good cleaner!"

"Yeah," I grumbled, "I've had a lot of practice lately."

After a pause, she said in the sweetest voice, "Mommy, you are my hero. I love you!" Click to read the rest of this entry

By Tom G. Reeves 

            I have twin daughters.

            They are five.

            They are insane.

            My daughters like plastic. Preferably Barbie shaped, though they will settle for anything plastic as long as it's small enough to be stepped on by Daddy in the morning and sharp enough to make him dance funny and talk loud. But I can live with that. My real problem is the accursed packaging these toys come in.

            Take Barbie Swan Lake, for instance. Click to read the rest of this entry

By Holly Engel-Smothers

Ahhhhh, bed rest! For some strange reason, almost every woman who has spent days, weeks, or months on bed rest during her pregnancy describes it as "horrible," "lonely," "boring," and/or "dull." I was on bed rest for about two months when I was expecting my twins, and let me report that it was the best experience of my life. It was wonderful, magnificent, and brilliant! Whoever thought up the concept should win lots of awards and be paid gobs of money.

Being pregnant with twins is not a walk in the park. My babies were growing so fast that my skin couldn't keep up, resulting in horrendously sore stretch marks across my belly. My feet and ankles felt like pins and needles were running through them. Driving made me nauseous. Click to read the rest of this entry

If you hear my girls talking, you might get the impression that they have two brothers who wreak havoc wherever they go. My "tornadic-trio" blames their invisible brothers for drawing on the floor, spilling paint, not flushing the toilet, or losing a puzzle piece. Harold and Jeffery often ask embarrassing questions like, "What's a wedgie?" For some reason, they always forget what the answer is and the girls have to ask, "Harold forgot what a wedgie is, Mom!" (Now, if you ask me, I think Harold just likes to hear me say the word "underwear," but Harold is a complicated person.) Click to read the rest of this entry

By Mike Poff aka "The Quad-father"

Being the parents of multiples is an adventure. I know it has been for our family. Sure, there are days when the home front seems predictable and quiet. At our house, this is after multiple breakfasts, multiple showers, multiple tooth-brushings, multiple groomings and multiple lunch packings leading to one large group stroll to the bus stop to meet multiple buses. All this must be completed inside a 90-minute time frame or we are open to multiple drop-offs at multiple schools for our multiple children of multiple ages. Click to read the rest of this entry

By Holly Engel-Smothers

When my twins were four, we took a parent/child art course that lasted a week. I took Jaynee, who was a mere year old, with us, and she sat happily in the stroller during the four-hour lessons. Jaynee didn't cry or fuss or blow raspberries or scream. She's always been happy and content. But some children are simply not that laid back. Enter: "The Brat." Click to read the rest of this entry

By "Camp Leader" Holly Engel-Smothers

I have realized that I am a glorified camp leader. The pay isn't very good, but a summer spent with Camp Leader Mommy includes a package deal of activities, and emotional and intellectual stimulation, complemented by memories that build character, respect for nature, family time, and thirsty minds and hearts. Among the unscheduled interests of stick collecting, puddle wading, and fly-swatting, here is a list of summer activities that, as Camp Leader, you can offer to your family.

Sport Fishing: I taught my twins how to fish when they were only two, and my youngest daughter, Jaynee, has practically grown up in meadows dotted with fish ponds. We regularly fish at our family farm where "fish nuggets" are the catch of the day. (Check into Nature Centers or Parks & Recreation for fishing holes near you.) Click to read the rest of this entry

By Alma Phillipson

Times were a lot different back in Dowagiac, Michigan in 1962 when I became pregnant with twins, a boy and a girl. There were no ultrasounds in those days, so I didn't find out I was having twins until my eighth month of pregnancy! The doctor had his suspicions because I was so huge. I could eat just by setting my plate on top of my tummy! So the doctor finally decided to do an x-ray. I still remember him coming to the house afterward and telling me to sit down. (Doctors still made house calls in those days.) He drew a little picture and showed me, "Now here's the first baby, and here's the second baby . . ." And that is how I found out that we were having twins! Click to read the rest of this entry