Fabric Stains and… Dishwasher Detergent?

That’s right, you heard me. Listen, it’s summertime, you and your kidlets are out and about, and if there’s one thing kids do well on a sunny day due to dehydration or too much excitement, it’s vomit. And other bodily functions.

How do you get those stains out of your nice work shirt, or favorite play shirt?

BABY FOOD STAINS: Soak in baking soda, and use Shout or a similar product. Pretreating with vinegar is always a good thing for all of these stains, of course, but the baking soda really knocks food stains down for the count.

What I’m Really Thinking… Confession of a Parent of Multiples

Written by: Danielle Routon

I always say that parenthood is 51% awesome and 49% hell. But describing why the 2% difference is so worth it is really hard. There’s a scene in “The Backup Plan” with Jennifer Lopez that I love. Not her best work, but you know anything with twins I am all over it. So a dad in the park is trying to explain to the soon-to-be dad of J.Lo’s twins that parenthood is a bunch of awful things with a few amazing things sprinkled in. “It’s awful, awful, awful and then something amazing happens. Then awful, awful, awful.” I have never heard a truer statement in my life! So while we are trying to convince our friends, sisters and brothers that kids are what make our lives worth living, these are the things we do NOT tell them. The things that we think, that keep our feet on the ground.

• I always compare them even though I know I shouldn’t
• If one doesn’t finish the bottle, we let the other have it. Tossing breast milk is a sin.
• If there’s a quiet moment there’s nothing more exciting than sleep.
• I carry mine up and down the stairs in a laundry basket so I don’t have to make two trips.
• Sometimes I let them play in their crib for an extra 5 minutes so I can sleep a little longer.
• We play the ‘whoever cries loudest gets picked up first’ game. The same kid always wins.
• I would rather spoon my kids than my partner.
• The thing that hurt the worst during my twin pregnancy was trading in our paid off car for a minivan because there wasn’t enough room.
• I haven’t shaved in four weeks. I’m actually pissed it’s almost summer and shaving is all but mandatory.
• I wish I didn’t have to drive a minivan.
• Most days I am 90% sure I ruined my 5 year olds life.
• Only the strong survive.
• I have fed both on the changing table in the middle of the night next to poop diapers.
• I have told my babysitter that unless the diaper can be wrung out, do not change it. Diapers are expensive.
• Things I’d rather do than sex: sleep, eat chocolate, pedicure, play on my iPhone, do laundry, go grocery shopping, blink…
• What’s sex?
• I’d take 10 minutes to myself with coffee spiked with Kahlua, I don’t remember sex…
• I’d rather eat a bug than have sex (lol).
• Each night at bedtime we pick a kid and that kid is yours for the whole night. If my kid was good I would point and laugh and say “Should’ve picked a better kid”!
• I secretly cherished the little ones time in the NICU because it gave me amazing one on one with his sister in my room, and uninterrupted time with him in the NICU.
• You really wish the Pediatrician would say it’s an ear infection because if this is how this kid acts when she ISN’T sick, holy hell!
• You never, ever feel present enough. Or happy enough. Or attentive enough. Or fair enough. Or clean enough.
• You analyze everything they do and relate it back to “The mom whose kids _________”.
• You never feel like you’re doing it right. But if they’re alive, you know you’re doing it right.

 

I like to describe having twins like a marathon. It’s hard. It’s hell at times. But the reward and the sense of accomplishment are indescribable. Being a parent of multiples allows you several things: to laugh (mostly to yourself) at parents with only one child, to be completely cynical about parenthood while secretly savoring the tender moments that may be few and far between, and most importantly, to not only have the biggest badge of honor in your heart for what you accomplish every day, but to have it kiss you goodnight. Our kids ROCK!! Parents of multiples are selfless, patient and all around awesome! But let’s keep the negative comments to ourselves. We make this look easy right?!?!

Brooklyn BabyFEST

Live in New York? Going to be travelling around here this weekend? Stop by Brooklyn BabyFEST this Saturday!

Taking place in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, this Saturday from 11am-4pm, vendors and speakers from all over will be converging upon Brooklyn BabyFEST. Filled with over 90 exhibitors, 20 panel discussions and demos (including one by our very own Natalie Diaz), and more food than you can shake a stick at, the event also includes free childcare and live music!

In addition to all of that and an IKEA- sponsored breastfeeding and diaper changing area, Brooklyn BabyFEST will also host the 1st ever Brooklyn Diaper Derby, to be MC’d by writer and Brooklyn dad Dave Hill. Town Square and Motherburg NYC have joined forces to create an event with great products, services and information for expectant parents and parents of children up to age three.

Tickets are available for presale now. Go and enjoy!

10 Tips for Celebrating Earth Day with Kids

Thinking about celebrating Earth Day today with your kids? Wondering what you can do to help your family celebrate? Well, Twiniversity has come up with a few ideas to help you honor Mother Nature today:

1. Let the Sun Shine In!
See how long you can go today without turning on a light. If it’s a sunny day in your neck of the woods, keep the shades open and let the light shine in. Teach your kids that when that light switch is on, it’s not magic, your family is using energy. Try to conserve a bit today; in fact, try to conserve a bit everyday. You’ll be surprised on how just turning off lights, powering down computers (not in sleep mode), unplugging charged cell phones, unplugging DVD/VCR/CD players when not in use, can cut down on your annual power bill.

2. Turn off that faucet!
Did you know that turning off the faucet while brushing your teeth will save 8 gallons of water a day? Some countries don’t even have one clean gallon to drink while many of us are just letting it go down the drain. This is a great habit to start young — your kids will grow up better for it, and so will our planet.

3. Get Dirty!
Go outside today and plant some seeds, plants, even a tree. Many families have a tradition where they celebrate today by planting a new tree or bush in their own backyard. You can teach your kids the valuable lesson of how plants create clean air AND get your backyard in shape at the same time.

Smoking Affects Your Loved Ones

Secondhand smoke near children causes ear infections, frequent or severe asthma attacks, respiratory symptoms such as coughing, sneezing, shortness of breath and respiratory infections like bronchitis and pneumonia. It has also been linked to a higher risk for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Not to mention that nonsmokers who are exposed to secondhand smoke at home or work increase their lung cancer risk by 20–30%! (According to the CDC.)

Need some more convincing to finally kick the habit? One twin mom wanted to share her story to help move people to re-evaluate their life choices and think about how much the habit affects those around them.

By: Tiffany Ertle

In October of 2004 my stepfather found out he had lung cancer. He was admitted to the hospital for some tests and treatments shortly thereafter. While I was there his nurse, told me about a 15 year old girl who was on the same floor just a few doors down. She too had lung cancer. She had given it her best fight, going through Chemo and Radiation treatments. Her father who had smoked a pack a day, every day for at least the last 15 years sat beside her bed every day. Her mother, sat on the other side. Her doctors had told her earlier in the week that the cancer was aggressive and wasn’t phased by the latest round of treatments. He gave her until the end of the year. This 15 year old girl would not live to be 16. She would never drive a car, she would never have a boyfriend, go to college, get engaged, get married or have kids of her own. She would die young having lived only a few short years. The father had broken down to the nurse one day shortly after and told her that he knew that he had given his daughter Lung Cancer with his smoking. The doctors couldn’t tell him that with 100% certainty, but I think everyone knew that was the case. The daughter wasn’t angry with her father, but she was sad for the life she wouldn’t get to live. I never heard about her again, but I still think about her.

Nanny Interview Questions

You are in a situation that you will be hiring someone to watch over your kids. There are a lot of options to consider, like will family be watching the kids or will you be sending them to a day-care or hire a nanny? (Read the pros and cons of hiring a nanny vs. daycare here.) What tasks can you and will you expect from you nanny? These will vary from family to family but here is a few basic tasks you can expect to be performed by your nanny. Expound on these tasks in a written detailed job description. Then follow these 7 tips and the next thing you know you are ready to interview your nanny’s! But what should you ask them? This is the time to find out if they are a good fit for YOUR family. So here is the official Twiniversity list of questions to ask. A printable version of this can be found in the “files” tab in the big tent forums.

Find a nanny in the Twiniversity classifieds. Sign in near the top of thus page.

Interview Questions:

• Why did you become a nanny?
• How often do you plan to meet your friends for ‘play dates’ during working hours?
• How much time do you need to spend on your cell phone during working hours?
• When do you expect a pay rise?
• What do you do when you go to the park/class room with the kids?
• Are you prepared to fill out a form for us to carry out a background check?
• How do you organize the day for the children under your care?
• Prior/current jobs and how/when/why did the job relationship end?
• What would be a typical day with my children?
• How do you deal with temper tantrums/how do you discipline children?
• Has a parent ever asked you to do something you disagreed with or have you ever disagreed with how a parent handled their child and if so how did you deal with it?
• What will it be like for you to have me at home part of the time and assisting me in taking my twins to classes?
• Do you have any health issues that might interfere with your job?
• What kind of activities will you do with my babies?
• How do you handle an emergency? Are you trained in CPR?
• What do you like about being a nanny?  What don’t you like?
• What do you like to do in your spare time, tell me about your family, something to get the person out of “interview” mode and to try to get a sense of her personality, communication style, etc.
• How would you get to work every day? What barriers might you have to being punctual?
• If they have kids of their own… What are your back-up child care options?
• Are you willing and able to come early or stay late (for extra pay) if needed?
• After presenting your expectations of her (preferably in writing)… Are you able to meet these job expectations
• What is the most important thing when taking care of my children? (safety should be mentioned).

Safety: A must on your spring cleaning list.

Written by Becky Himba, a contributing writer for Multiplicity.

“The return of warm air and spring sunshine often inspires us to open the windows, dust some hidden corners, and clean out closets. However, as busy parents of multiples, often not much time or energy is available to spend on regular cleaning, let alone on spring cleaning. Perhaps adding an elementof safety to your spring cleaning checklist will give you just enough motivation to get a few important tasks done this season. The following are some important and relatively easy ways to focus on chores that will makeyour home safer and healthier for your family.

1. Check the smoke detectors. You should have a smoke detector on everyfloor of your house and in every bedroom. Make sure that the batteries are working, anddust each one. These detectors should bereplaced every 8-10 years.

2. Place all medicine and cleaners out of reach of your children and lock them up, if possible. Make sure all bottles are easily identifiable and get rid of any expired or recalled medicines. Check with the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) for a list of recalled medicines and how to dispose of them properly. It isn’t always as easy as throwing them out. Also, don’t place them in easy to reach trash cans, which can be a hazzard in and of itself. Flush them down the toilet, take them to your outside trash, or dispose of them as the FDA specifies.

3. Get rid of broken toys. Clean out playrooms and toy boxes looking for recalled or broken toys. Check with the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) for a list of toy recalls. When it comes to safetly, any toy that can fit through the inside of a toilet paper roll is considered a choking hazard and should be kept out of the reach of small children. Make sure all battery-operated toys have tight screws and well-hidden batteries. Be especially vigilant of toys with magnets, as they can be extremely dangerous if swallowed.

Confession of a Parent of Multiples

I always say that parenthood is 51% awesome and 49% hell. Describing why the 2% difference is so worth it is really hard. There’s a scene in “The Backup Plan” with Jennifer Lopez that I love. Not her best work, but you know anything with twins, I’m all over it. So a dad in the park is trying to explain to the soon-to-be dad of J.Lo’s twins that parenthood is a bunch of awful things with a few amazing things sprinkled in. “It’s awful, awful, awful and then something amazing happens. Then awful, awful, awful.” I have never heard a truer statement in my life! So while we are trying to convince our friends, sisters and brothers that kids are what make our lives worth living, these are the things we do NOT tell them. The things that we think, that keep our feet on the ground.

• I always compare them even though I know I shouldn’t
• If one doesn’t finish the bottle, we let the other have it. Tossing breast milk is a sin.
• If there’s a quiet moment, there is nothing more exciting than sleep.
• I carry mine up and down the stairs in a laundry basket so I don’t have to make two trips.
• Sometimes I let them play in their crib for an extra 5 minutes so I can sleep a little longer.
• We play the ‘whoever cries loudest gets picked up first’ game. The same kid always wins.
• I would rather spoon my kids than my partner.
• The thing that hurt the worst during my twin pregnancy was trading in our paid-off car for a minivan because there wasn’t enough room.
• I haven’t shaved in four weeks. I’m actually pissed that it’s almost summer and shaving is all but mandatory.
• I wish I didn’t have to drive a minivan.
• Most days I am 90% sure I ruined my five-year-old’s life.
• Only the strong survive.
• I have fed both on the changing table in the middle of the night next to poop diapers.
• I have told my babysitter that unless the diaper can be wrung out, do not change it. Diapers are expensive.
• Things I’d rather do than sex: sleep, eat chocolate, pedicure, play on my iPhone, do laundry, go grocery shopping, blink…
• What’s sex?
• I’d take ten minutes to myself with coffee spiked with Kahlua, I still don’t remember sex…
• I’d rather eat a bug than have sex (lol).
• Each night at bedtime we pick a kid, and that kid is yours for the whole night. If my kid was good, I would point and laugh and say, “Should’ve picked a better kid!”
• I secretly cherished the little one’s time in the NICU because it gave me amazing one-on-one with his sister in my room, and uninterrupted time with him in the NICU.
• You really wish the pediatrician would say it’s an ear infection because if this is how this kid acts when she ISN’T sick, holy hell!
• You never, ever feel present enough. Or happy enough. Or attentive enough. Or fair enough. Or clean enough.
• You analyze everything they do and relate it back to “The mom whose kids _________.”
• You never feel like you’re doing it right. But if they’re alive, you know you’re doing it right.

I like to describe having twins like a marathon. It’s hard. It’s hell at times. But the reward and the sense of accomplishment are indescribable. Being a parent of multiples allows you several things: to laugh (mostly to yourself) at parents with only one child, to be completely cynical about parenthood while secretly savoring the tender moments that may be few and far between, and most importantly, to not only have the biggest badge of honor in your heart for what you accomplish every day, but to have it kiss you goodnight. Our kids ROCK! Parents of multiples are selfless, patient and all around awesome! But let’s keep the negative comments to ourselves. We make this look easy, right?!

By Danielle R.

St Patrick’s Day

St Patrick’s Day is March 17th, which is fast approaching. What are some themed activities for your multiples?

For those who are into tactile sensory play, you could make Rainbow Rice (with nontoxic watercolor paints, of course), or for the little ones, colored cereal rainbows are a fun, edible way to get a similar experience. Let’s be real, even if you’re not so little, colored cereal is a great way to play and have a sweet snack at the same time.

Green bell peppers are another great way to snack healthily and have some craft time. If you cut them horizontally, they are pre-made edible three-leaf clovers, and they can double as clover stamps if you want to get a little messy. Sticking with the clover theme, Shamrock Straw Toppers are a cute way to add festivity to drinks (besides the green food coloring that is so prevalent during the holiday), and Clover Hair Pins are a kid-simple way to craft and dress up for whatever events you’re planning to attend, whether it be a parade or just a family dinner. And for dessert, you can break out that green food coloring and make easy-peasy clover cookies — just roll the dough into little balls and bake! Hardly any muss, and definitely no fuss when your kids are eating them.

How do you choose books that are right for your kids? Here are some pointers.

Can you believe that ending?

Need to decide on good books for your children to read?  Don’t know where to start? These tips are here to help.

Reading is an important part of your children’s development. Knowing how to read a book is a key part of life, and you as parents have the tools to teach your kiddies how to do so. The best way to get your child started is to introduce them to books at an early age.

From birth to 6 months, your baby should have books with big pictures and bright colors that grab their attention. Having a book that can interest them is the key. Soft covered books that are baby friendly are great, and most can go in the crib with your children. You can prop them up and they can look at the pictures while they fall asleep.