Road Trip: Spring Break Bound!

Written by: Kathleen Tirella Ecker

“The words “Spring Break” bring many images to mind – beaches, bathing suits, boom boxes and beer bottles. Having had four beautiful children in four years, including one set of multiples, those days are long behind me. But, it doesn’t mean that I can’t still have fun on Spring Break — it just now means family fun! We are fortunate to live in the Washington, DC area where not only are there so many options for fun things to do right here in our hometown, the majority of the attractions are low or no cost and educational! Being centrally located on the East Coast, we can be in New York City or on the beach in the Carolina’s within a day’s drive, and suffice it to say we are a definitely driving family. Plane tickets and rental cars for a family of six just isn’t feasible, so we pile in the van and go! A Road Trip can be a day trip, an overnight or a week-long trip. When going on a road trip it is very important to be prepared. That includes, in addition to our luggage, having a stash of items that you can get to quickly and easily.

Here are some of the things I always have on hand: bottled water, small potty, pull-ups, emergency change of clothes for each child, zip lock bags (large bags can hold the gross stuff, the small ones can be used to divvy out snacks), band-aids, wipes and plenty of snacks! We also have lots of DVDs and music on hand.When selecting our destination, we encourage the children to be involved and discuss as a family the different things to do and see. One of our favorite spots to go in Washington, DC is the National Zoo. The Zoo does not charge an admission fee, and has plenty of picnic spots. The National Zoo is also 1 of only 4 zoos in the U.S. to be home to Panda Bears.

And Twiniversity’s 2012 Super Dad is…

The results are in and we are happy to announce the winner of Twiniversity’s Super Dad of 2012 is….

DAD C -Eric S. – Father to 9 month old twins Nolan and Camden and husband to Elyse.

His son Camden was born with several major heart defects and has endured  hospitalizations and many surgeries and complications. His dad has been there every step of the way watching over his family. Below is a letter in the words of his son Camden. If Camden could speak this is what he would say about his SUPER DAD!! This was featured on Camden’s support page.

Dear Courage for Camden supporters,

See that tired looking (yet very handsome) guy on the right? Well, that’s my Dad.  My Mom usually writes the status updates on my page, and therefore gets a lot of support and feedback about what a great job she’s doing. I just wanted to take a minute to let all of my C for C warriors know how equally great my Dad is.  My brother, Nolan, and I are the two luckiest boys in the world to have him as our Dad. He has made us his #1 priority since the day he knew we existed (I say ‘existed’ rather the day we were born because he has been taking care of us long before we were born.  When we were 24 weeks gestation, we tried to come early and sent my Mom to the hospital for 6 weeks.  Dad spent every night sleeping in a chair next to Mom’s bed, always there for whatever she needed, never complaining about having to get up and go to work despite no sleep, as everyone knows its almost impossible to get a good nights sleep in a hospital room.)

Last chance to vote for a Super Dad!

This is your last chance to vote for a Super Dad! (see “vote for a Super Dad” posted on Tuesday) The voting will be over at noon (est) Come back tomorrow to see the results!!!!

Friday Funny-Dad Life

This is so funny!

Amazing Gifts for Mom & Dads of Multiples

By: Laurie Danas- Mother of three girls including preschool fraternal twins. She was a first grade teacher for 10 years prior to being put on bedrest with the pregnancy of her twin girls. She is stay at home mom, former teacher and freelance writer.  Blog:  TwinkieMommie Website:Parenting Multiples Examiner Twitter @twinkiemommie Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TwinkieMommie”

Moms and Dads of multiples undeniably merit the best on Mother’s and Father’s Day. From NICU stays to expanded bellies, sleepless nights, juggling feeding, burping and playing with multiples, traditional gifts might not be sufficient in expressing appreciation for what a parent of multiples does for their family.

When choosing a gift, consider the age of your children. If your kids are still tiny, a small break like being able to go shopping alone, or taking a long shower or nap can be an enormous gift.

Homemade Options:

There are so many things you can make using handprints, including creating a handprint flower on a t-shirt for mom or a handprint covered baseball cap for dad. Photo gifts are another option and are perfect for any age children. You can have a photo of your children printed on something like a shirt or coffee mug to enjoy all year long, or take pictures of your children holding letters that spell out messages. Then frame the pictures spelling out “MOM”, “DAD” or any other special message. Inexpensive wooden letters and frames can be found at craft stores.

Possible Items for Purchase:

If you would rather go the store bought route, the book Chicken Soup for the Soul: Twins and More, is a collection of heart-warming storiesand is a must-have for parents of multiples.

Thing’s Dad’s say…

What do dad’s have to say? We asked dads a couple of questions about being a father of twins. Here are a few of them.

Question 1: What was your first though/reaction when you found out you were going to be a dad of multiples?

• “The day I found out I was having identical girls was the same day I began building my ‘man cave!'”– Chad C.
• Talyse Krolewicz Burkett My husband, the banker, said, “We have to put them both through college in 18 years. And what if they’re both girls and they get married around the same time?” Upon finding out they were b/g, he said, “At least we won’t have to worry about boys talking about her in the locker room.” ~Jason, dad of 3-year-old twins.
• “Is this a joke, is there a camera in here? am I being punked?” Then started laughing. James- dad to 1 1/2 year old twin boys.

Vote for a Super Dad!

It is fathers week at Twiniversity. We know Dad’s need recognized too! So we asked for you to nominate a super dad. We got a lot of response and in our eyes they are all super dads! The working dad, the stay at home dad, the step dad, the care-taker dad, the involved dad and the dad who makes the best of the limited time he has. There were so many great nominations that we couldn’t choose just one. We narrowed it down to 3 and we need your help to choose the winner. Read below what makes them “super” and vote at the bottom for your favorite dad. Voting will be open until this Saturday June 16th at noon (Eastern time.) The winner will win a $50 gift card to Amazon.com.

The Best Laid Plans: Part 2

This article was written by Mike Poff, a great writer for Multiplicity. A following of the wit, wisdom and everyday adventures of one of the foremost at home dads around! 7 kids, one set of Quads, a slew of dogs, cats, horses, cattle all on a 40 acre farm in the Beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. What could go wrong? Mike Poff contributed the amazing article: The Best Laid Plans in our inaugural issue of Multiplicity. Take a look his blog, So Not your Average Dad, to find some interesting info about life as the “Quadfather”.

 

“Pressing the emergency ringer, I hugged my daughters tightly and instructed them to go by the window and pray for their mom. There was a little Christmas display of cards and a little wooden Christmas tree with four happy snowmen waving from it there. They went and began urgently telling God how much Mommy needed His help.

At that moment my in-laws appeared in the room and I quickly explained that their daughter was in convulsions. I instructed them that they needed to stay and pray with their granddaughters while I quickly had to find a doctor. Running to the nurses’ desk, I found myself calmly explaining what was happening, though I was emphatically pressing upon the urgency that they needed to get our doctor right away.

I have always been one to remain oddly calm in a crisis and this trait had served me well over the years. So now I was finding help, explaining the situation, and keeping everyone else as calm and focused as possible. Rushing back to the room with a nurse and an on-call Ob/Gyn Doctor in hot pursuit, calmness was not what we encountered.

I’ll Imitate Everything…

Twinnies of the month- June 2012

We would like to introduce some very special twins, Aaden and Noah. Read on to find out what special cause these little guys are helping to support in this picture.

Aaden

Noah

Aaden and Noah were Mono-amniotic/Mono-chorionic, so they were fighting very scary odds from conception. Mono-amniotic/Mono-chorionic twins happen in only one in 10,000 twin pregnancies.  There was a 50-60% chance that one or both boys would be still born. There was a high chance that one of the babies would be born with some sort of defect ranging from heart, lung, spinal, renal, or brain defect. Later the Doctors believed that the boys might be conjoined based on the ultrasound photos. The Doctor offered a selective termination in which they could terminate one of the babies in order to give the other a better chance of survival.  Their mother responded by simply saying, “no…that’s actually isn’t an option.” But the boys fight to live was far from over.