Episodes:
1 – Gulpy, Gulpy Gators! / One Note Wonder
2 – Tea Party Tantrum / Blast Off!
3 – Arcade Escapade / Starry, Starry Night
4 – Bronto Boo-Boos / Brontosaurus Breath
5 – Doctoring The Doc / Hot Pursuit

I have to be honest and tell you that Doc McStuffins has to be one of the best shows out there right now. This show has made going to the doctor so much easier, in my opinion. We just had our 5 year appointment and 90% of the time I was saying, “now remember on Doc McStuffins when they did this?” Plus, this show is just adorable in general!

Do you and your kids watch Doc McStuffins? Who is your favorite character?

I will start this post with an admission. The only Marvel movie I have ever watched, prior to this review, was The Avengers. All of my super hero knowledge comes from a combination of that movie and the Super Hero Squad cartoon.

Scott and I were able to go and check out an advanced screening of Iron Man 3 on Monday and let me tell you, it was awesome. I’m a huge Robert Downey Jr. fan and I love his as Tony Stark. I think he is just truly fantastic and made for the role. After seeing the previews, I knew I was going to love this movie.

Marvel’s Iron Man 3 pits brash-but-brilliant industrialist Tony Stark/Iron Man against an enemy whose reach knows no bounds. When Stark finds his personal world destroyed at his enemy’s hands, he embarks on a harrowing quest to find those responsible. This journey, at every turn, will test his mettle. With his back against the wall, Stark is left to survive by his own devices, relying on his ingenuity and instincts to protect those closest to him. As he fights his way back, Stark discovers the answer to the question that has secretly haunted him: does the man make the suit or does the suit make the man?

The film is rated PG-13 and I truly think that is a fair rating. It is pretty intense at times, so I would hold off taking your younger kids to see it until you’ve had a chance to watch it first.

The special effects were pretty amazing throughout the film, but they were not overly done. There is nothing I dislike more than a film that is strictly about the effects and loses you with the story. This film had a great balance.

 Are you going to see Iron Man 3 over the weekend? I’d love to hear what you think of the film!

I’m curious to see how many of you stayed home with your kids, for how long and the reason why.

Leave your answer in the comment section and if you have a post about it please leave the link.

My twin girls are four. By now, the “You’ve got your hands full!” comments are old hat. The “Better you than me!” comments are still inappropriate, but they don’t cause my blood pressure to rise the way they once did. My canned answer to “Double trouble!” is, “Double blessings!” and I roll right along.

I think that people are generally nice. They want to make conversation. But they don’t always know what to say. And when they do say something, they don’t always listen to what comes out of their mouths.

Once upon a time, when the girls were much smaller, my focus was more on getting through a store during “awake time”, when my girls were content to look around in their stroller. The biggest challenge about comments from random people was that they potentially slowed me down, threatening to get me off schedule.

These days, though, the challenges are greater. No, I don’t want to be in the grocery store any longer than I have to with two curious four-year olds…but I also want to be careful with my girls’ tender hearts. I may overthink it, but I fear too many, “You’ve got your hands full!” comments might make the girls question one day if they’re a burden.

That in mind, I had The Worst Experience last week when I was at the grocery store with Baby B, a rare one-on-one “date” for the two of us. We were waiting (a long time) in the checkout line. We started chatting with the nice grandmother behind us. She was super sweet, and she engaged B right away. I love for the girls to practice their conversation skills…and it helped keep her little hands away from the ginormous candy display.

Everything was going great until the lady asked if B had any brothers or sisters. When she learned that Twin Sister was at home, she said to B, “I’ll bet you’re the pretty one, right?”

My heart sank.

I piped in immediately. “No, both my girls are beautiful, inside and out! And they are super smart, too. And they are so kind and loving towards each other. We’re very blessed.”

There again, I know the lady didn’t mean any harm. I know she was just trying to engage with B, and I’m certain she didn’t THINK before she said that

My responses these days can no longer be geared just towards getting on my way as quickly as possible. My girls are watching. They are listening.

I’m trying to model grace. And I’m trying to protect my girls’ precious tender hearts. I can’t expect the random lady at the grocery store to have that in mind when she makes idle chit-chat. In reality, I know the onus is on me.

How do you handle comments from strangers? What’s the “worst” thing you’ve ever heard?

Keep up with Mandy and her adorable girls at Twin Trials and Triumphs!

I cannot wait to read all of your posts! Don’t forget to leave some bloggy love (comments) on the posts you check out!

Dramatic, huh?

Let’s start with birthday parties.  I’ve found several questions on random message boards lately that relate to birthdays and multiples.  Here’s what I’ve seen and what I really think:

• If one twin is invited to a birthday party, there are people out there that think it is acceptable to call the host and request that their other kid is invited too.
• Some people even question why you wouldn’t do this.  It makes it so much easier for you and no one gets his/her feelings hurt.
• Some people think that it’s a great time to take the “uninvited” child and do something fun.
• What I really think:  I think it’s terribly rude to call up a parent and ask if another child can be invited to her child’s party.  Their child invited who they wanted and that’s that.  Plus, let’s not even get into the issue of what an awkward position this puts the parent in…who would say no when put in that awkward position?  Take your kid and have some one-on-one time.  It’s not about you or how easy this would make your life…it’s about the birthday kid.

It’s really easy to segue into birthday gifts.  Here’s what I’ve seen and what I really think:

• It seems acceptable by most to purchase two small gifts…one from each of your children…rather than one large gift.
• However, some feel that one large gift would suffice as long as the money adds up.
• What I really think:  Do whatever you want.  If the kid is into arts and crafts, two small gifts would be easy.  If the kid is into those ridiculously expensive Legos, one large gift would be appreciated.  There is no right or wrong (even if some people on FB try to make you think there is)!!!

Several parents are posting about splitting their kids now that school registration has begun here in the US.  Should I split them up?  Should I keep them together?  Here’s what I’ve seen and what I really think:

• Many parents think it’s widely acceptable to go against what the school says.  Most school systems have policies on multiples and try their damndest to make sure they’re followed.  Many parents just think they’re wrong…or stupid.  Schools rarely do research when forming their policies, don’t you know?
• Many parents think it depends on the kids.  If they’re very reliant on each other, it may be a good idea to keep them together.
• More parents than I realized thought that it was a good idea to keep them together because it makes it easier for them…the parent…without giving a whole lot of though to what might be best for their children.
• Then you have parents whose twins were very reliant on each other who think it helped them tremendously to split up.
• What I really think:  No one really knows what is best for you.  It’s good to get other opinions on the matter, but too many opinions can also muddy the waters.  I split mine up in preschool.  It’s been the best thing we’ve done.  They’ve both come out of their shells and now they’re not competing in the classroom.  Sometimes they actually have normal conversations at school without trying to tell me what the other one did wrong during class.  It’s up to you, but give it a lot of thought before you make any final decisions.  I think that it’s important to treat twins as individuals as well as a unit…just gotta figure out when the “unit thinking” is appropriate.

This brings us all to message boards.  Here’s what I’ve seen and what I really think:

• These message boards can be a really good place to ask questions or request feedback.
• They can offer lots of ideas and experiences.
• They can also get nasty really quick.
• Online “talking” was really important to me when the Crazies were very young and now it’s gone by the wayside a little bit as I’ve seen people really come out over the internet.  It’s scary what people will say over a computer instead of what they might say to your face.
• What I really think:  Message boards and FB can be valuable tools.  They can be a “lifeline” to those of us cooped up in a house in the dead of winter with two (or three or four) sick kids.  However, make sure to read everything with a grain of salt and watch for those trolls.  You know the ones…the ones who will say things just to get everyone all fired up.  They’re lovely little people in real life, I’m sure, but stay away from them on the internet.  Don’t engage.  It’s what they want.  Find your community…wherever it may be…and treat it with tenderness.

Lots of luck to our lovely hostess with her future endeavors!  This website, in particular, was a huge source of information for me and Husband on our path to having the Crazies and getting them through the first few years.  Thank you so much for having this community for us, Amanda!

If anyone wants to come over and visit us at Casa de Crazies, feel free!  We love to have company (but leave your trolls at home)!

Insanely adorable, right? The beauty of eShakti is that you can customize their already great dresses to fit your needs.

Their sizes are true to what you would buy in a department store, which makes ordering them incredibly easy. eShakti sells their clothes in sizes 0-36W and their clothes ship within 7 business days.

I did not make any alterations to my dress when I ordered it and it fit like a total glove when it arrived. I cannot wait to wear this dress on Easter Sunday and then throughout the summer. The material is light and there are a ton of little details in the dress.

This is my third item from eShakti and I keep falling more in love with them with each arrival. Check out eShakti’s website to check out all of their new Spring styles!

Why did you start your blog?

I started blogging as a way to keep both my parents and my in-laws in voles in my pregnancy since they both lived far away, my parents a few states per and my in laws in Israel.

Were you surprised to discover you were carrying twins?

Surprised is a nice was of putting how I felt when I found out I was having twins. I was in shock and horrified. I was scared of having a baby, especially since I barely had time to think about it before I found out I was pregnant. I just didn’t know how we would handle two babies physically and financially. But, it didn’t take long, maybe two weeks before I was thrilled and proud of the opportunity to be a mom of multiples.

What was your pregnancy like?

My pregnancy was a hard one. I think the worse mom feels the better baby does. I felt awful. Morning sickness in the first trimester and by month 6 I was pretty uncomfortable. But when the carpal tunnel, pupps, and sinitus set in I was ready to be done.

What has been your biggest accomplishment these past 17 months?

Aside from raising two smart, beautiful, fun little people my biggest accomplishment would be changing out the blinds in my house for sheers. I know it’s not moving a mountain or anything but I love the way the sheets soften the light in our house and I did it all my self, removed the old, made and hung the new.

What is your best advice for a new parent of multiples?

My favorite advise to give to moms of multiples is to tell them that when they feel sad that they can hold both babies when they need to be held it’s ok, they will be ok and will have so much fun just a few months down the road being a twin.

What question or questions do you have for the families in the community?

As my girls get older I find my self with more questions related to general toddler development rather than twin development, but then there are the concerns about separating them at school or even during free time between my husband and I.

Be sure to leave your answer in the comment section and then head over to Smiling Watermelons to leave some bloggy love!

Multiples and More started back in 2009 with my friend Lani and I. We wanted to create a community of families with multiples where information could be found in one place instead of having to do a dozen different Google searches. I’ve been running the site solo for the past 2 years and have quite honestly just hit my wall.

I want to keep the community alive though and will keep the Facebook and Twitter pages live and active. Maybe one day I will have the extra time to post some new and exciting articles on here.

I want to thank all of you for your continued support these past four years, especially to all of you that have been on this journey with me for all four of those years! I also want to thank all of the amazing contributors from the past four years: Jen, Missy, Steph, Tonya, Gina, Rebecca, Jackie and Christina.

I look forward to continuing on with you through social media.

All my best,

Amanda

I will start this post by saying I am not Irish, but I grew up in the south suburbs of Chicago, so that kind of counts. Every year on St. Patrick’s Day my Mom would make corned beef, cabbage and potatoes. It’s a tradition for us, even though we’re Polish. So I’m curious:

What are your St. Patrick’s Day traditions?

Leave your answer in the comment section and if you have a post about it leave the link.